World News 20-09-2004 Family Pleads for life of Hostage who: Kidnapped British civilian Kenneth Bigley what: May already be dead, family fears where: Iraq when: Today snippet: "The family of a British hostage in Iraq have made a plea for his release as the deadline set by kidnappers approaches," reports the BBC. Philip Bigley says his older brother, Kenneth, an engineer from Liverpool, "regarded the Arab world as his `home from home` and the stress on their mother was unbearably harsh". Mr Bigley was kidnapped on last week with US civilians Jack Hensley and Eugene Armstrong. "In Iraq officials said authorities were pursuing a number of leads in connection with the kidnapping of the men, who were shown blindfolded and bound in a video released at the weekend," reports The Guardian. "British and US special forces were also thought to be standing by." "Fanatics linked to al-Qaeda said Mr Bigley and two Americans grabbed from a house in Baghdad would be beheaded within 48 hours," says The Mirror. "But with no indication when the deadline began there were fears the 62-year-old civil engineer might already be dead." Meanwhile, Britain`s prime minister Tony Blair said the nature of hostilities amounted to a "new conflict" and, says The Sun, he called on world leaders to "unite to defeat terrorists there even if they disagreed with toppling Saddam Hussein". And on the subject of the latter, The Telegraph says the former dictator`s trial is likely to start next month. Iraqi interim prime minister Iyad Allawi says it won`t take long because the evidence against him is "overwhelming" and he hinted that it would end in Saddam`s execution. [... more]

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