A French journalist, Florence Aubenas, and her Iraqi interpreter have been freed in Iraq after a five-month hostage ordeal, officials in Paris said yesterday, setting off a wave of relief in France -- but also raising questions as to whether a ransom was paid.
Aubenas and the interpreter, Hussein Hanun, were "in good health," President Jacques Chirac said in a televised address.
"On behalf of everyone, I want to express to Florence Aubenas and Hussein Hanun our happiness and that of the entire nation to know that they are free and will soon be returning to us," he said.
PHOTO: AFP
After a brief stopover in Cyprus, Aubenas headed home to Paris, where she was expected late yesterday, on a government jet accompanied by French Foreign Minister Phillippe Douste-Blazy. Hanun returned to his family in Baghdad.
Chirac paid homage to an "exceptional" public campaign in France and elsewhere that had pressed for the pair's release, as well as to Aubenas' family and to the French intelligence and military services deployed in Iraq.
The left-wing Paris newspaper Liberation for which Aubenas worked said the two were freed Saturday.
"We are completely swept away with joy at Liberation. It's a huge relief after five months of nightmare," managing editor Antoine de Gaudemar said.
No details about the circumstances of the release were given, and authorities did not identify the hostage-takers.
The last time the French public had seen Aubenas was March 1, when a video was released of her looking gaunt and desperate and pleading for help.
Aubenas' mother, Jacqueline, said "we're so happy" at the news and added that Chirac had telephoned her Saturday to give her the news but asked that the family keep it quiet.
"Florence is a very strong person. Certainly she must be affected by her detention, but Florence will become Florence very quickly. I have total confidence in my daughter," she told LCI Television.
France's politicians and media joined in the chorus of expressions of happiness and relief at the news.
The European Commission, in a statement, also welcomed the release, and called on "the different groups in Iraq to free all remaining hostages in captivity and pursue their goals through the political process and not through violence and intimidation."
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
RSS