WESTERN * BEVERAGES 8 \f WELCOME PARENTS TARANTULA J&fc A Tequila 750 ml. 70° CROWN ROYAL BACARDI Rum 750 ml. 80° JOSE CUERVO Authentic Margarltas j 1.75 Ltr. 19.9° Wednesday, April 14, 2004 THE BATTllI Employees of Russian company held hostage in Iraq released By Hamza Hendawi THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WESTERN * BEVERAGES 701 University Dr. East (979) 846-12 57 2205 Longmire (979) 764-9577 Major Credit Cards Accepted Hours: Monday - Saturday 10 am to 9 pm 1'rices (iood 4/14/04 to 4/17/04 In oisc of nrintin" emir, slnn- price pn-vnils Aggie Dance Team Try-Outs May 8th G. Rollie White Coliseum Registration 8 a.m. Prep Classes April 24th A May 1st 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Student Rec Center Questions? Contact Erin at 680-8023 aggiegirlerin@hotmail.com www.aggieathletics.com I RTiin^i^j TRAY el 1 Cameron meeb BAGHDAD, Iraq — Eight employees of a Russian energy company seized by masked gunmen who broke into their house in Baghdad were released unharmed Tuesday after less than a day in captivity, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Dozens of foreigners from at least 12 countries have reportedly been kidnapped in recent days. Nine Americans were missing, including a Mississippi man whose abductors have threatened to kill him. The abduction of the five Ukrainians and three Russians at their residence Monday appeared to be a new tactic by kidnappers. All the past kidnappings have come on the roads, with civilians whisked away after their vehi cles come under attack. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said that no one had claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and no demands were known to have been made prior to the release of the captives. The men work for the Russian energy company Interenergoservis, which is restoring a power plant near Baghdad. “As a result of the efforts made during the past hours by the Russian side, all the special ists of Interenergoservis who were abducted on the evening of April 12 have been released,” the ministry said in a statement. It said the captives had returned to their residence in Baghdad and none had been hurt. Ukraine has 1,6(X) troops helping keep security in southern Iraq. Russia has none and opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq last year. Yakovenko noted the U.S.-led coalition was responsible for maintaining security in Iraq. “Abductions of foreign citizens in Iraq have resulted from a sharp escalation of ten sions in the country', for the security of which the coalition authorities are now responsible,” he said. The U.S. military' said two American sol diers and seven employees of U.S. contractor u Kellogg, Brown & Root were missing in Iraq. They disappeared after their convoy was ambushed Friday near Abu Ghraib, w est of Baghdad. Only one, Thomas Hamili, a 43-year-old truck driver from Mississippi, is known to have been abducted. His captors have threatened to kill and mutilate him unless U.S. troops ended their assault on the city of Fallujah. The deadline passed Sunday with no word on his fate. The U.S. Department of Defense identified the two missing soldiers as Sgt. Elmer C. Krause, 40, of Greensboro. N.C., and Pfc. Keith M. Maupin, 20, of Batavia, Ohio. Both W'ere assigned to the Anny Reserves 724th Transportation Company, Bartonville, Ill. Seven Chinese men abducted by gunmen in the city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, were freed late Monday, the Chinese govern ment said. A brief Foreign Ministry statement from Beijing said the men were released to an Iraqi religious group who passed them on to diplomats. “Their health and spirits are good." the statement said. Abductions of foreign citizens in Iraq have resulted from a sharp escalation of tensions in the country. The Japanese hostages werebei a previously unknown group calling “Mujahedeen Brigades,’’ which fe- Japan pull its troops out of Iraq wnlm days or it would bum them alive. Koizumi has staunchly refused to the withdrawal, and the deadline can went with no word on their fate. Also Monday, a member of t) appointed Governing said at least 12 foreign have been released. Abdul-Hamid did not the nationalities of the hostages or where they However, a member office reached later number of those relei unclear. Earlier, spokesman for Isi Clerics Committee, insurgents had released hostages of various ni ties, including Pakistanis. It was he and Abdul-H referring to the or Alexander Yakovenko Foreign Ministry spokesman tn hostages, or if the Q * eslinot ' he time The tr raqi cim The seven had entered Iraq from Jordan on Saturday and were captured the next day, China’s Foreign Ministry' said. China hasn’t contributed irtxvps to the U.S.-led military force in Iraq and it was unclear why the seven were there. The official Xinhua News Agency described them as vil lagers who went to the Middle East on their ow n from a Chinese region w ith a tradition of sending migrants abroad to work. State televi sion said they didn ’t work for China’s govern ment or a state company . In Tokyo, optimism faded Monday that three Japanese civilians abducted last week would be released quickly after a top govern ment spokesman suggested authorities were no longer confident of their safety. w-ere included in The nine were truck drivers forli supply convoys, which have corns heavy attack in recent days fypod ieshave the western and southern ouisfe roops mi Baghdad. 1 ight of the nine treed hostages^ seen in .i video broadcast Sunday on Alla The eight included two Turks, Pakistanis, a Nepalese, a Filipinom! Indian. The identity of the ninth hoste not immediately known Thailand and New Zealand said forces in Iraq had been confined total ters because of increasing unrest and gov ernments said they were mulling ill nosques. to bring them home ahead of schedule Thailand’s 443-member contingeuot diers is scheduled to stay in h\ September. New Zealand has 60 aran neers in the southern city of Basra. From MTV's The Real World San Diego! Come Go EUROPE NIGHT! Scare planning your nexC advendure wiCh STA Travel and The Real World's Cameran! Davis Continued from page 1 STA Travel College Station 721 Texas Ave., College Station (979) 696.5077 STA TRAVEL | www.statravel.com onune >> on the PHone >> on campu/ »> on the /treet Wohlgemuth emerged as the candidate who will represent the Republican party for the District 17 race against Chet Edwards, D-Texas, in the November general elections. Wohlgemuth received 17,010 votes (54 percent) and Snyder received 14,494 votes (46 percent). Wohlgemuth said she is the best can didate for District 17 because she repre sents the views and values of the district. “I believe that people will see that I have had a record of proven conserva tive leadership, and Edwards does not reflect those conservative values, which is evident in his liberal voting record,” Wohlgemuth said. Snyder said she would have repre sented District 17 well due to her con servative values, and that she saw her self as a problem solver, unlike Wohlgemuth. ”1 am a problem solver, not a politi cian. and I am a conservative that rep resents the views and values of District 17,” Snyder said. Wohlgemuth said that as one of the largest employers in the district, the suc cess of A&M is an important issue to concentrate on, and that the plan to appropriate money to improve Highway 21 is proof of her efforts to bring busi nesses to the Brazos Valley. “Bringing businesses to the Brazos Valley will be advantageous not only to the area but Texas A&M as well." Wohlgemuth said. Edwards said he is looking forward to the campaign for the District 17 race in November against Wohlgemuth. “1 congratulate Wohlgemuth for winning the election, though I believe her negative attacks have helped jump- start our campaign,” Edwards said. Edwards said his general cam paign will begin Wednesday in Brazos County at Savannah’s Porch at 5:30 p.m. NICHO DAV o play o eft until So wh lot want oops an rly. This en they lefense c leath, mi ors chee This k lescribed nortar an 'orces ha; 'eserved. Gen. / icknowle icaled-dc NEWS IN BRIEF Man facing extradition on murder charges commits s PARIS (AP) — A New Jersey man France after allegedly killing his lover in United States committed suicide by himself with a bedsheet from a drainage pif«| his French jail cell, his lawyer said Tuesday Paul Eduardovich Goldman, 39, a U.S. citizen, killed himself Sunday afternoor prison in the suburbs of Grenoble, in theRei Alps, even though he was under suicide said attorney Arnold Levy-Soussan. ‘‘He hanged himself with a sheet in hi the lawyer told The Associated Press '' already tried to commit suicide at the start incarceration in January. So he was among detainees under special surveillaocs ‘‘I don't understand because he was not to be left alone and to be under constant veillance. But that wasn’t the case, authorities made a big mistake. 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