LONDON - International news organizations called on Syrian rebel leaders on Wednesday to stop armed groups kidnapping journalists, saying dozens of abductions were preventing full media coverage of the civil war. In a letter to the opposition leadership, 13 major news organizations including Reuters said they estimated that more than 30 journalists were being held in Syria: "As a result of these kidnappings, a growing number of news organizations no longer feel that it is safe for their reporters and photographers to enter Syria and many have decided to limit their coverage of the war," they added. Asking opposition leaders to secure the release of journalists, the organizations said their staff accepted the risk of injury and death in reporting from war zones: "But the risk of kidnapping is unacceptable," they said. "And the leadership is in a position to reduce and eliminate that risk." Kidnappings are common in rebel-held northern areas around Aleppo, Idlib and Raqqa. The Committee to Protect Journalists called the letter an "unprecedented step." The CPJ has recorded the deaths of more than 50 journalists in Syriasince 2011 and it said there had been at least seven abductions in the past two months alone. —Reuters

A Filipino salesman faces a life sentence in the United Arab Emirates for allegedly trying to sell 0.06 gram of methamphetamine to a police informant.

But the Filipino, 30, entered a plea of not guilty before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Tuesday, according to a report on UAE news site Gulf News on Wednesday.

"The law enforcement procedures were carried against me in an unlawful manner. The prosecutors’ warrant bore a wrong name... and it was mentioned that my car was blue (but) my car is red. The substance was not seized in my possession. I am not guilty," the report quoted the Filipino, whose name it withheld, as saying before presiding judge Mohammad Jamal.

Prosecutors had sought the toughest punishment for the Filipino, who they said possessed a "mind-altering substance for trafficking purposes," the report said.

Citing Article 49 of the Anti-Narcotics Law, possession of a mind-altering substance for trafficking may fetch a fine of Dh50,000 to Dh200,000 (P 602,913 to P2,411,652).

An Emirati anti-narcotics police captain testified that a female informant told them the Filipino was looking for someone to buy methamphetamine in July.

The police captain said they asked the informant to communicate with the defendant and arrange to buy the mind-altering substance in Satwa.

The captain said the Filipino arrived in a blue car and stopped in front of the woman near the Iranian Hospital, then stepped out of his car and spoke with the informant.

When he collected the money, he took out something from his pocket and handed it to the informant, and the police raided the place and arrested him.

The Dubai Police’s forensic laboratory confirmed the methamphetamine weighed 0.06 grams, the report said. — LBG, GMA News

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