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Iraq archbishop kidnappers wanted $1 million: police
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Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho attends a press conference in Rome in this November 23, 2007 file photo
Paulos Faraj Rahho, the archbishop of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, was abducted on February 29 after gunmen attacked his car and killed his driver and two guards.
Rahho's body was found in an empty lot in eastern Mosul on Thursday and is due to buried on Friday. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has blamed al Qaeda for his death.
"Reports reached us that there were talks between the kidnappers and relatives of the kidnapped archbishop ... we heard that a ransom demand reached $1 million," said Brigadier-General Khaled Abdul Sattar, the police spokesman for Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital.
Andraws Abuna, assistant to the Chaldean patriarch of Baghdad Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, said there had been talks between Christian officials and the kidnappers but he did not know about the ransom.
The U.S. military also said it had no details about the ransom but U.S. commanders in northern Iraq have said the kidnappers may have wanted money.
Abuna said the Church in Mosul had received a call on Thursday telling them Rahho was dead.
Church members found his half-buried body in an empty lot and took it to Mosul morgue, Abuna said, adding he did not know who made the call.
Chaldeans belong to a branch of the Roman Catholic Church that practices an ancient Eastern rite and form the biggest Christian community in Iraq.
Rahho's death drew condemnation from the Vatican, President George W. Bush and Maliki.
Police said it was not clear whether Rahho, 65, had been killed or died of other causes. He appeared to have been dead a week and had no bullet wounds, police at the morgue in Mosul said. He was dressed in black trousers and a blue shirt.
Sattar said the body showed signs of decomposition.
A number of Christian clergy have been kidnapped and killed and churches bombed in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. A former archbishop of Mosul, Basile Georges Casmoussa, was kidnapped in 2005 but was released after a day in captivity.
Source: Reuters
Int’l film star supports children’s road safety campaign
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The event is being held by the Vietnam Helmet Wearing Coalition (VHWC) and the FIA Foundation for road safety campaigning and research.
A panel of VHWC members will be on hand to discuss the upcoming Phase III of the National Helmet Wearing Public Awareness Campaign, focusing on children’s helmet use and road safety education.
In addition, Yeoh, a Road Safety Ambassador with the FIA Foundation will discuss the organization’s efforts to highlight the importance of children’s road safety worldwide, as well as upcoming road safety activities of the United Nations.
Reported by Vinh Bao
Versatile beauties
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Model Thanh Hang proves she can act in Nu Hon Than Chet
Thanh Hang surprised local audiences this Tet as a sharp-tongued but soft-hearted bartender in Nu Hon Than Chet (Kiss of Death), one of Vietnam’s highest-grossing films ever.
Initially famous for her long legs, Hang made a splash with her first supporting role in 2002’s Gai Nhay (Bar Girls), which is considered a landmark Vietnamese film.
She took on the role confidently without ever attending an acting class.
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| Beauty queen Truong Ngoc Anh plays a scrap vendor in Phat Tai |
In this year’s romantic comedy Kiss of Death, Hang plays An, a young bartender who meets her dream man just days before she is scheduled to die.
The audience learns that she is about to die because her dream man is in fact an angel of death sent to take her to the underworld.
An desperately tries stay alive but gives in to her death in the arms of her lover, whose kiss takes her away from the earthly world.
Nguyen Quang Dung, who wrote and directed Kiss of Death, says he auditioned over 100 actresses before Hang finally showed him the lively character he was looking for.
He says he was not necessarily aiming for Hang, despite her popularity in Bar Girls.
“The producer asked me whether I was sure about hiring Hang, but at that time I was torn.”
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| Ngo Thanh Van’s first role in Sai Gon Tinh Ca |
Hang then tested out her skills by playing the lead as the director spent a week auditioning the male lead and was able to convince Dung she had what it takes.
Due to several scandals, the musical Sai Gon Tinh Ca (Saigon Love Story), originally made in 2004 by Vietnamese American director Ringo Le, has not been released in local cinemas until this year.
The movie was the first time singer Ngo Thanh Van, one of the film’s female leads, had ever acted.
Van has just won best actress at the 15th Golden Lotus Vietnamese Film Festival for her lead role in last year’s Dong Mau Anh Hung (The Rebel), which was filmed after Saigon Love Story, but released before.
Lastly, this movie season, actress Truong Ngoc Anh in her first ever humorous character plays a pretty countryside girl who sells scraps and waste in Phat Tai (Becoming Rich).
Hilarious antics ensue when a wealthy man falls in love with Anh’s character and the bumpkin tries awkwardly and desperately to act rich.
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