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BOGOTA -- Three Americans held captive by Colombia's leftist rebels for 5 1/2 years published a memoir Thursday full of wrenching survival stories and unkind words about Ingrid Betancourt, the most famous hostage who shared their jungle prisons. The chronicle of the U.S. military contractors' 1,967 days as rebel captives describes their pain and perseverance, mind-numbing boredom in jungle cages, forced marches in chains, close calls under fire and ultimately, a miraculous rescue. ( Read Rest at Link)

Tran Trong Duyet - a sprightly retiree and amateur ballroom dancer - must rank as one of John McCain's more unlikely supporters.Four decades ago, during the Vietnam war, Mr Duyet was in charge of the notorious Hoa Lo prison - the place where Mr McCain says he was brutally beaten and tortured during five-and-a-half years as an American prisoner of war. "McCain is my friend," said 75-year-old Mr Duyet as he feeds the caged birds he now keeps in his garden in this coastal city. "If I was American, I would vote for him." Informal chatsNavy pilot John McCain was...

UK captive 'felt like a traitor' Faye Turney has reportedly struck a six-figure deal Leading Seaman Faye Turney has told how she "felt like a traitor" when she was forced to write "confession" letters shown on Iranian television. The only woman among the 15-strong Royal Navy crew has also defended her decision to sell her story to ITV1's Trevor Macdonald and the Sun newspaper. Some of the reported six-figure sum for the interview will go to navy families. Relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq have criticised the decision allowing the crew to sell their stories. Lord Heseltine, the former deputy...

Captive speaks of Taleban horror Daniele Mastrogiacomo, 52, thought he would be killed An Italian journalist freed after being kidnapped by the Taleban in Afghanistan says he saw his captors cut off the head of one of two Afghans with him. Daniele Mastrogiacomo, who works for the La Repubblica daily, was seized two weeks ago in southern Helmand province. Mr Mastrogiacomo was said to be in good health in hospital. His driver's body has yet to be handed over, while his translator was also freed on Monday. The men were kept in chains and moved 15 times while in captivity,...

Giant pandas breeding at Wolong Nature Reserve

Riviting interview about women who are trapped in marriages to Moslem men in Israel. The link with go to interview.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2006 – Iraqi soldiers and police are conducting a house-to-house search for American freelance journalist Jill Carroll, who was taken hostage in the Baghdad area Jan. 7, a senior Iraqi military officer said on U.S. television today. "We isolate areas in cooperation with the police and go house to house searching for Jill," Lt. Gen. Nasser Abadi told Fox News Channel. "We've done three areas now, and tomorrow we'll finish one big district." Abadi, the deputy commanding general of Iraqi Joint Forces, expressed hope that his soldiers would soon find the 28-year-old woman who'd been filing Iraq-based...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2005 – The United States is a law-abiding nation and never has transported captured terrorists to another country to be tortured as part of the interrogation process, the senior U.S. diplomat said today. "Torture is a term that is defined by law. We rely on our law to govern our operations. The United States does not permit, tolerate or condone torture under any circumstances," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., as she prepared to depart on a four-day European trip to Germany, Romania, Ukraine and Belgium. Rice rebutted recent news...

As former hostage Douglas Wood meets Prime Minister John Howard, PAUL KENT travels to Iraq to meet the man who saved the Australian's life ON THE night they brought in 35 more Australian troops to do Australia's fighting, the little man with the eternal light was out in the Iraqi suburbs, weaving whatever it is that makes the legend grow. He is not Australian, yet he senses the place he holds in Australian hearts. He is not a big man, and yet with every new conquest he seems to grow. "Big power," he calls it, and he couldn't be more...