The former leftist rebel in Colombia who kidnapped former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt six years ago has apologized for his actions.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is expected to soon travel to Colombia in a renewed effort to gain the release of French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt.

Colombia has the world's highest kidnapping rate, and in the past 10 years more than 3,000 Colombians have been kidnapped by rebel groups, paramilitaries and common criminals, who use their victims for economic or political gains.

A French mission to provide medical help for French - Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt remains stalled, as officials wait for FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) rebels to grant them access.

France has sent a humanitarian mission to Colombia, in an effort to help ailing French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, who has been held hostage by leftist rebels for the past six years.

France has announced that a mission is under way to help ailing French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, who has been held hostage six years in Colombia by leftist rebels.

Four armed men are holding at least 30 people hostage inside a bank in central Venezuela.

A German engineer and four Afghans kidnapped in southern Afghanistan in mid-July have been freed in exchange for five Taliban prisoners, an official and a Taliban commander say.

A foreigner suspected to be a Dutch man and three Nigerians were recently killed at different locations in the violent oil rich Rivers state of Nigeria.

A Taliban leader taking part in hostage negotiations for the lives of 21 South Koreans said on Saturday that talks are on a "positive track" and that he hopes the captives could be released "today or tomorrow."

Afghan and international forces have initiated an attempt to rescue 23 South Korean hostages their pro-Taleban captors have threatened to kill within hours.

The dreaded Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has denied and refuted the Nigerian government broadcast that MEND supports the massively rigged elections of last April.