Johannesburg

Thursday

Sunny. Pleasantly warm.

13°C
28°C

7 day forecasts

Hostage has heart problems

2005-05-04 09:21

Canberra - Australia on Wednesday appealed for the release of an Australian engineer kidnapped in Iraq, saying he has a serious heart condition.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he made the plea in an interview with the Arabic al-Jazeera network in New York after an Australian task force arrived in Baghdad to work for the release of Douglas Wood, a 63-year-old resident of California with an American wife.

"I made the point in the interview with al-Jazeera that Douglas Wood is not a well man," Downer told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio on Wednesday in New York. "He has a very serious heart condition; he has a problem with one of his eyes as well."

Prime Minister John Howard has ruled out paying any ransom or meeting the insurgents' demands to withdraw Australia troops from Iraq, but has said the government would do all it can to secure Wood's freedom.

Wood's nephew in the Australian capital Canberra, Nick Wood, said Australian relatives also hoped to release a video taped statement on Wednesday appealing for his release.

David Edge and Jim Fidge, school friends of Douglas Wood, said his family remained worried but confident of the government's actions.

"I spoke to one of the brothers yesterday and of course they're very worried and upset by the whole thing," Edge told the Seven Network television.

"But they have confidence in the government's ... very quick reaction to the whole problem, so hopefully that will bear results," he added

Fidge described Wood as easygoing with a strong religious background.

"I gather this will give him some sort of background for resilience, I guess," Fidge told Seven.

"But it's a terribly serious situation to be in and one can only guess, really," he added.

A task force of Australian defence personnel, police and diplomats arrived in Baghdad late on Tuesday to try to secure Wood's release with the help of the United Nations.

Downer said it is believed that Wood was kidnapped from his Baghdad apartment or on his way to work perhaps 48 hours before video footage showing him pleading for his life was released at the weekend.

"We're making a very big effort to (get Wood out alive); so are our friends and allies and so are the Iraqis," Downer said.

- AP

inside news24

Weather
Traffic
Lottery
Cpt: 15-23°C Sunny. Mild. Pta: 17-32°C Sunny. Pleasantly warm.
Jhb: 13-28°C Sunny. Pleasantly warm. Bloem: 16-32°C Morning clouds. Pleasantly warm.
Dbn: 19-24°C A few showers. Afternoon clouds. Mild. PE: 17-21°C Mostly sunny. Mild.
7 day forecasts...

Jobs - Find your dream job

Cars - Search 1000's of new and used cars

AUDI

2009 Audi A3 2.0 T Sportback Manual - 24000kms
Lava Grey & Tan leather interior
R 275 000

VOLKSWAGEN

Polo Classic 1.8 Lux
1998
R 38,760.00

TOYOTA

Fortuner 4.0 4x4 AT
2008
R 307,000.00

SUZUKI

Swift 1.5i GLS 5-dr
2009
R 144,990.00

Property - Find a new home

MENLO PARK

Single Residential R2,500,000

GEELHOUTPARK EXT 6

Single Residential R1,030,000

SEDGEFIELD

Single Residential R2,720,000

Travel - Look, Book, Go!

Cape Town Summer

Escape the Jozi crunch and head down to the Mother City this festive season with package deals from R1 814 per person sharing. Book now!

Free Games - TOO MUCH NEWS? TAKE A BREAK!

Kalahari.net - shop online today

Great Festive Savings on Books

Up to 30% Off ALL Books. 2.3 million titles on SALE.

Sleek New iPod Range. Order Your's Now!

iPod nano 16GB - Black, Was R2,499.00 Now R2,299.00! Save R200!

Up to 40% off Fabulous Festive Flicks

46 000 DVDs and Blu-Ray on sale now! Pre-order Up and District 9!

Up to 20% off ALL Music

100s of festive new releases now in stock! Now, Bump 25, Bon Jovi & more!

1000s of Festive Toys on Sale

Lots of Toys, free gift wrap, lowest prices on Lego Mindstorm, Ben 10, Hannah Montana & more!

Hot Deal of the Day!

Up to 30% off Books

Ends midnight, 30 November

2.3 million titles on sale! New Stieg Larsson, Jeremy Clarkson, Jamie Oliver & more!

Up to 40% Off Sale on All Books, Toys, CDs, DVDs & Games!