Swiss hostage appeals to government for help

A Swiss woman kidnapped by al-Qaeda in Yemen has appealed to her government a second time to assist in her release. She appeared in a video put on the Internet wearing the hijab (the Muslim head covering). She appeared to be in good health, and seemed to be calm and relaxed. She said that she was being well treated. As well as a ransom of 50,000,000 euros, al-Qaeda also demands the release of al-Qaeda members from Saudi and Yemeni jails, according to a Yemeni source. Al-Qaeda kidnapped the woman in March near her home in Hodeida, west Yemen. The 35 year-old was a teacher working for the International Education Center for Languages.