KABUL, May 29: Looking tense and wrapped in a brown blanket, kidnapped Italian aid worker Clementina Cantoni appeared in a videotape broadcast on Afghan television on Sunday, flanked by gunmen pointing assault rifles at her. Prompted by a man not seen on the tape, Clementina Cantoni, 32, was asked to identify herself and name some family members. Wearing a headscarf and looking pale, she spoke only when urged to. She did not appeal for freedom.

Ms Cantoni, who works for CARE International, was abducted on May 16 by four armed men who stopped her vehicle on a street in the centre of Kabul.

Asked by the man to give the date, Ms Cantoni said hesitantly: “Today is ... May 28? Sunday.” —Reuters