The Philippines yesterday reiterated its "strong commitment" to the global fight against terrorism in a bid to appease allies who criticized its decision to withdraw its troops from Iraq to save a Filipino hostage held by militants.
"We will maintain our strong stand against terrorism in the face of this isolated event," presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said, referring to the hostage crisis involving truck driver Angelo dela Cruz, who was freed on Tuesday. However, he then acknowledged that the Philippines had agreed to the militants' demands.
"The release of Angelo was based on negotiations and on meeting the conditions [of the his captors]," he said.
Bunye said he did not foresee any long-term damage to US-Philippine ties.
"We will consider the United States as our big brother in the security arena," Bunye added. "Our long-standing and maturing relations with the United States will survive this hostage crisis."
Dela Cruz, a 46-year-old father of eight, was released unharmed a day after the Philippines pulled out.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has said she does not regret her decision to withdraw the country's 51-member contingent in Iraq.
DISASTER: The Bangladesh Meteorological Department recorded a magnitude 5.7 and tremors reached as far as Kolkata, India, more than 300km away from the epicenter A powerful earthquake struck Bangladesh yesterday outside the crowded capital, Dhaka, killing at least five people and injuring about a hundred, the government said. The magnitude 5.5 quake struck at 10:38am near Narsingdi, Bangladesh, about 33km from Dhaka, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. The earthquake sparked fear and chaos with many in the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people at home on their day off. AFP reporters in Dhaka said they saw people weeping in the streets while others appeared shocked. Bangladesh Interim Leader Muhammad Yunus expressed his “deep shock and sorrow over the news of casualties in various districts.” At least five people,
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DEATH SENTENCE: The ousted leader said she was willing to attend a fresh trial outside Bangladesh where the ruling would not be a ‘foregone conclusion’ Bangladesh’s fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday called the guilty verdict and death sentence in her crimes against humanity trial “biased and politically motivated.” Hasina, 78, defied court orders that she return from India to attend her trial about whether she ordered a deadly crackdown against the student-led uprising that ousted her. She was found guilty and sentenced to death earlier yesterday. “The verdicts announced against me have been made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate,” Hasina said in a statement issued from hiding in India. “They are biased and politically motivated,” she
It is one of the world’s most famous unsolved codes whose answer could sell for a fortune — but two US friends say they have already found the secret hidden by Kryptos. The S-shaped copper sculpture has baffled cryptography enthusiasts since its 1990 installation on the grounds of the CIA headquarters in Virginia, with three of its four messages deciphered so far. Yet K4, the final passage, has kept codebreakers scratching their heads. Sculptor Jim Sanborn, 80, has been so overwhelmed by guesses that he started charging US$50 for each response. Sanborn in August announced he would auction the 97-character solution to K4
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