Militant group will release sick women from captivity,
report says
Associated Press Aug 11, 07 1:41 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Taliban will release two South Korean hostages who have become sick after nearly a month of captivity in Afghanistan. The announcement came during talks between the militant group and South Korean emissaries, but hasn't been confirmed by international groups monitoring the situation.
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Hostages said to be safe while negotiations continue
Reuters Aug 10, 07 5:01 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A South Korean team began face-to-face negotiations with the Taliban today, hoping to secure the lives of 21 Korean aid workers abducted last month. The meeting is taking place in an Afghan government-controlled zone where the Taliban has been guaranteed temporary safe passage. Seoul has already cautioned that it doesn't have the power to release any Taliban prisoners, Reuters reports.
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Leaders of divided peninsula will
meet for first time since 2000
Reuters Aug 8, 07 7:47 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The leaders of North and South Korea will meet for a three-day summit at the end of the month for the first time in 7 years, Reuters reports. The summit in Pyongyang is expected to have little impact on the six-party negotiations that succeeded in inducing the North Koreans to shut down its nuclear reactor in exchange for shipment of oil and other aid. But it was welcomed by all parties.
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Delegation arrives in Afghanistan while Afghans, Taliban search for venue
Reuters Aug 4, 07 3:55 PM CDT
(Newser)
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South Korean officials are in Afghanistan seeking direct talks with the Taliban, Reuters reports, as the terrorist group and the Afghan government bicker over a venue for their own negotiations to free the 21 remaining Korean hostages. Two male members of the church group have been killed by the kidnappers.
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Frustrated South Korean govt. lacks authority to satisfy kidnappers' demands
Reuters Aug 3, 07 4:38 PM CDT
(Newser)
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South Korean officials on a desperate mission to Afghanistan are attempting to impress upon the Taliban that they cannot single-handedly meet the organization's demands. The delegation has been in contact with the kidnappers in an efforts to negotiate the release of 21 South Korean hostages, Reuters reports, but it can't guarantee the liberation of Taliban prisoners in Afghan custody.
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Scandal overshadowed self-fertilizing eggs
New York Times Aug 3, 07 7:22 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The South Korean stem cell researcher who faked cloning a human egg and forged research results actually made a huge discovery without realizing it. Scientists reviewing his work have discovered that his team's embryonic stem cells were the product of unfertilized eggs that underwent parthenogenesis, or divided on their own, the Times reports.
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South Korean delegation heads to DC to seek help in hostage crisis
Reuters Aug 2, 07 9:06 PM CDT
(Newser)
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South Korean delegates arrived in Afghanistan today to press for an end to the 2-week hostage crisis that has left two dead, Reuters reports. Seoul has asked for direct talks with the Taliban, which continues to hold 21 church workers, most of them women. But South Korea is powerless to meet kidnappers' demands that the Afghan government release rebel prisoners.
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More will die unless prisoners are freed, kidnappers warn
Reuters Jul 31, 07 4:35 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Afghan police have found the body of a second Korean hostage killed by the Taliban, Reuters reports. The man was shot in the head, and his body found in a clover field close to the spot where 23 Korean missionaries were kidnapped last week. The kidnappers have threatened to kill more hostages unless the Afghan government releases all Taliban rebel prisoners by tomorrow.
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CNN Jul 30, 07 1:56 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Taliban has killed a second South Korean hostage, a spokesman for the extremist group told CNN in a telephone interview today, adding that the corpse was dropped off in the province of Ghazni in central Afghanistan. Officials have not located any bodies in that area. The militants already murdered a 42-year old pastor, one of the 23 church group members who were kidnapped 11 days ago.
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Karzai blasts Taliban, saying abductions
are 'against Islam'
Reuters Jul 29, 07 11:51 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The Taliban will kill 22 South Korean hostages tomorrow if the Afghan government does not release insurgent prisoners, a spokesman for the kidnappers said today. The Taliban leadership council issued the most recent death threat since the abductions Wednesday, signaling its seriousness, Reuters reports. And Afghan and foreign troops are stationed in Ghazni, where the hostages are being held.
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In phone call, female hostage pleads for release
Reuters Jul 28, 07 3:49 PM CDT
(Newser)
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One of the 22 South Korean hostages held in Afghanistan spoke to a Reuters reporter today, saying she and the other remaining hostages are continually moved to different locations. She appealed to both the Taliban and the Afghan government to free them. A senior Afghan official said force “certainly” will be used if necessary to free the captives, Reuters reports.
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Woman says she and 21 other South Korean hostages are ill
BBC Jul 27, 07 6:51 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A South Korean woman pleaded to be rescued with her fellow hostages yesterday, saying all of church volunteers being held captive by the Taliban are sick and the situation is growing worse. Her captors listened to her conversation with an Afghan reporter, the BBC reports; the 32-year-old nurse wept as she spoke in Korean and Farsi, according to the Independent.
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Taliban still holds 22 kidnap victims
Associated Press Jul 26, 07 9:50 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A day after militants shot and killed a hostage, a high-level South Korean envoy is rushing to Afghanistan today to try to save the lives of the 22 remaining hostages held by the Taliban. South Korean and Afghan officials insist they won't use force to free the captives, though the kidnappers are said to have conflicting demands.
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