Indian rebels deadline extended

21 March 2012 Last updated at 04:08 GMT  Mr Bosusco runs an adventure tourism agency in Orissa Maoist rebels in eastern India have extended a deadline for their demands to met in exchange for returning two Italian men they kidnapped last week to late Wednesday.

A deadline of Sunday for their list of 13 demands to be met was earlier extended to late Tuesday.

The rebels have demanded an end to military operations against them and the release of jailed Maoists.

They say the two Italians are safe and in good condition.

Paulo Bosusco, 54, and Claudio Colangelo, 61, were seized while trekking in a tribal area of Orissa state, one of several regions of India where Maoist rebels are active.

Talks over the Italians' release are stalled because of differences between the government and rebels over mediators.

On Tuesday, the rebels named three mediators, including one Maoist leader who is in prison.

The government rejected two of the names and announced its list of three mediators. The rebels responded with fresh names as replacements, but one of the replacements has refused to negotiate for the rebels.

No violence

The Maoists have said said they would not engage in violence until the expiry of the deadline and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said security forces would halt operations against the rebels during talks.

This is the first time Westerners have been kidnapped in Orissa state by Maoists.

Main states where Maoist groups operate

A Maoist spokesman accused the pair of photographing bathing women.

The Orissa government recently imposed severe restrictions on the movement of tourists inside areas inhabited by tribes people.

Mr Bosusco ran an adventure tourism agency in Orissa while Mr Colangelo was visiting from Italy.

Italian Consul General Joel Melchiori has told the BBC he was working with Orissa officials to find a solution.

The abduction comes at a time of strained relations between Italy and India.

They have been involved in a diplomatic dispute since Indian police arrested two Italian marines a month ago in the southern port of Kochi. The pair are accused of killing two Indian fishermen.

The Maoists have a strong presence in many eastern states, and have been described by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the country's biggest security threat.

In his first remarks on the kidnapping, he said "the abduction of two foreign national recently is a reminder of the challenge to our internal security by Naxal [Maoist] and left-wing extremism."

The rebels say they are fighting for a communist state and for the rights of tribal people and the rural poor.

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Detention extended in Aruba missing woman case

ORANJESTAD, Aruba — A U.S. businessman who has been detained in the presumed death of his travel companion will have to spend at least 60 more days in custody as prosecutors try to build a case against him, an Aruba judge ruled Wednesday.

The examining magistrate agreed to extend the detention of Gary V. Giordano at the request of prosecutors after a hearing inside the prison on the Dutch Caribbean island.

The hearing was closed and the decision was not released. But it was announced by the Aruban prosecutor's office, which said Giordano is suspected of involvement in the possible drowning of his companion Robyn Gardner.

Giordano has been in custody for nearly a month since he told police that Gardner disappeared while they were snorkeling off the southern tip of the island.

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At the end of the 60 days, prosecutors can ask the judge to extend the detention further or they can bring him to trial. Solicitor General Taco Stein said they are considering a range of possible charges, including murder, manslaughter, accidental death and insurance fraud.

Story: Aruba releases more photos of missing US woman

Prosecutors have not disclosed any evidence against him but have said he gave inconsistent accounts about the 35-year-old woman's disappearance. They also confirmed he was the beneficiary of a $1.5 million accidental death insurance policy he took out on her.

Stein said before the ruling that prosecutors provided the judge with the findings of the investigation so far but did not reveal all the evidence against Giordano.

"There are some things we still need to confront him with," Stein said.

Giordano's lawyer, Michael Lopez, said before the hearing that he believed his client would be released. Otherwise, he said, he would have no immediate comment on the ruling, but he has said previously that there is no evidence of any crime.

Giordano, a 50-year-old from Gaithersburg, Maryland, has been held in his own cell at the island's jail, but authorities plan to move him to a cell that he would share with two other prisoners, Stein said.

Giordano, who owns a temporary staffing business in the U.S., and Gardner, from Frederick, Maryland, arrived in Aruba on July 31 for what was supposed to be a five-day vacation. He was arrested three days after he reported her missing as he tried to leave the island. Her body has not been found.

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