Iraq’s deputy justice minister has finally acknowledged that the convicted killer of aid worker Margaret Hassan has escaped from prison – 11 months after the event.

MINISTER for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has demanded the Iraqi government explain the disappearance from prison of the man who kidnapped and killed Irish aid worker Margaret Hassan.

THE sister of murdered aid worker Margaret Hassan claimed the man accused of her murder went missing just before his retrial.

The sister of murdered Irish aid worker Margaret Hassan claimed that the man accused of her murder went missing just before his retrial.

THE family of an Irish-born aid worker who was kidnapped and murdered in Iraq have described the adjournment of her killer’s trial as a boost to the continued efforts to locate her remains.

Islamic militants with alleged links to al-Qaida looted two United Nations compounds in southern Somalia and said they would ban three UN agencies from operating in areas they controlled.

A member of the gang that kidnapped and murdered Irish-born aid worker Margaret Hassan has been jailed for life in Iraq today.

An alleged member of the gang that kidnapped and murdered Irish-born aid worker Margaret Hassan is due to go on trial in Iraq today.

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama’s long tenure on the bestseller list is paying off. He and his wife, Michelle, made $2.7 million (€2m) last year, nearly all of it from his books.

United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon said Sudan's expulsion of 13 aid groups would cause "irrevocable damage" to humanitarian operations in Darfur.

The UK expressed “deep concern” today after Israeli airstrikes killed more than 150 people in the Gaza Strip.

Aid groups must stop their field work in Zimbabwe, the country’s social welfare minister said tonight.

BURMA’S military leaders were accused yesterday of deliberately keeping the full plight of suffering cyclone survivors from aid agencies.

Burma's military leaders were accused today of deliberately keeping the full plight of suffering cyclone survivors from aid agencies.

MARCH 17, 2003: US President George Bush gives Saddam Hussein 48-hour deadline to give up power.

Any agreement hammered out by a massive United Nations climate change conference starting in Indonesia this week would not make sense without the participation of the US, the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases, the UN’s climate chief said today.

A male aid worker from the North is one of two people missing and feared kidnapped in Somalia.

Children in Darfur are enduring “unspeakable acts of violence and abuse” from killing and rape to abduction, torture and recruitment, as fighters in the escalating four-year conflict, a world group of relief and human rights organisations said today.

Sudan braced for a diplomatic showdown today as the government confirmed it intended to secure the chairmanship of the African Union.

The sister of Irish aid worker Margaret Hassan, who was taken hostage and killed in Iraq, has called on the Muslim community to demand the return of her body in the wake of Saddam Hussein’s death.

THE family of murdered Dublin-born aid worker Margaret Hassan last night underlined their determination to give her the honour of a dignified burial.

An Iraqi man has been sentenced to life in prison in connection with the abduction and murder of Irish-born care-worker Margaret Hassan.

Three men are due to go on trial in Iraq today charged in connection with the murder of aid worker Margaret Hassan.

Irish aid worker Margaret Hassan, who was murdered in Iraq, died because the British government refused to speak to her kidnappers, her family claimed today.

Security forces in tanks and on foot took up positions around the Afghan capital today to prevent a repeat of deadly anti-foreigner riots, the most widespread violence in the city since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

Hundreds of Afghan troops and Nato peacekeepers are guarding the capital today, following riots sparked by a deadly traffic accident involving US troops.

A traffic accident involving US troops sparked the worst riot in the Afghan capital since the fall of the Taliban regime, which left at least five dead and 60 injured.

An Italian woman released in Afghanistan after being held hostage for more than three weeks said her abductors treated her well, an Italian newspaper said today.

A VIDEO of an Italian aid worker who was kidnapped nearly two weeks ago in Kabul was broadcast yesterday on an Afghan television station.

A MAN claiming to have kidnapped an Italian aid worker in Afghanistan told Reuters yesterday he had killed her, but a government spokesperson said she was still alive.

Afghan police had no word today on the fate of an Italian hostage after the deadline passed in the purported kidnapper’s threat to kill her unless his demands were met – but a senior officer said authorities did not believe the ultimatum was serious.

A MAN claiming to have kidnapped an Italian aid worker in the Afghan capital threatened yesterday in an interview on local television to kill her unless his demands were immediately met.

A man claiming to have kidnapped an Italian aid worker in the Afghan capital threatened today in an interview on local television to kill her unless his demands were immediately met.

A group of “thieves” has claimed responsibility for kidnapping an Italian relief worker from her car in the Afghan capital Kabul, a senior police official said today.

RENEWED efforts are being made to find the body of Irish-born aid worker Margaret Hassan after a number of men captured in Iraq were questioned about the case.

Three Iraqis are in custody in connection with the murder of Irish aid worker Margaret Hassan after raids against insurgents, Baghdad Embassy officials confirmed tonight.

A number of suspects have been detained over the abduction of aid worker Margaret Hassan, feared killed last year, the US military said today.

The Irish-born aid worker who was murdered by Iraqi militants last year is to receive one of Ireland's most prestigious awards in recognition of her work.

The Iraqi husband of murdered aid worker Margaret Hassan is arriving in Ireland this week to accept the country’s most prestigious peace prize on her behalf.

Murdered Irish-born aid worker Margaret Hassan was tonight posthumously awarded the Tipperary International Peace Prize.

The “martyrdom” of murdered aid worker Margaret Hassan was honoured in a memorial service to her today.

A memorial mass takes place in England today for the murdered Dublin-born aid worker, Margaret Hassan.

The mutilated body of a Western woman found in the Iraqi city of Fallujah is definitely not that of Irish-born aid worker Margaret Hassan, the British Foreign Office said today.