A prisoner armed with explosives escaped Saturday from a prison in northern France after taking five staff hostage, officials said. The man quickly released four hostages after exiting the facility and kept one as he fled in a car that he abandoned along with the last hostage on a highway, local administrative officials said. mla/lc/fb

The Supreme Court directed Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Emmanuel Bautista to disclose to the court the location of the soldiers involved in the abduction of activist Jonas Burgos, based on the new evidence submitted by his mother, Edita. “The Court directed the incumbent Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines Lieutenant General Emmanuel T.

A Dhaka court on Wednesday sent four bloggers, arrested on charges of making derogatory comments about Islam and Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) through the Internet, to jail.Passing the order, Metropolitan Magistrate M Erfan Ullah also fixed April 15 for further hearing of two bail petitions filed by the lawyers of the accused in the presence of the investigation officers.They are: Asif Mohiuddin, Moshiur Rahman Biblop, (online pseudonym ‘Allama Shaitan’), Russell Parvez, 36, (‘Apobak’) and Subrato Shuvo, 25, (`Lalu Kasai’).DB inspectors Mynul Islam and M Sazzad Hossai

A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Sheikh Afzal of Haris Steel Mills, involved in Bank of Punjab scam. Bench comprising Justice Khawaja Imtiaz Ahmed and Justice Khalid Mehmood issued this order by accepting bail petition of Afzal. The petitioner through his counsel pleaded that he had done plea-bargain with National Accountability Bureau. He said he had deposited agreed amount with NAB authorities but he was not being released. He requested the court to release him on bail.