Free Republic

Three Ethiopian exchange students 'vanish' during trip to Houses of Parliament By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 24th July 2009 Three African exchange students have vanished during a trip to the Houses of Parliament. The three Ethiopian men were among a group of nine visitors who were staying with families in Hartlepool as part of a three-month visit to the UK. But at the end of a day's tour in the Houses of Commons and Lords, the trio failed to turn up and organisers Global Xchange were forced to report them missing. Missing: Muluneh Tilahun Abera (left) and Habtamu Debela have not...

House by house, Edna Burgette knocked on doors last fall in her Scranton neighborhood, asking whomever answered whether the 17-year-old Colombian boy at her side could stay with them for the school year. "Take him. He is a good boy. He speaks English," Mrs. Burgette said. People closed their doors in his face. The boy then spent several months in a home with an 80-year-old man, where he was not allowed to eat food in the refrigerator, and where he lost too much weight. The scenario, written in a complaint to the U.S. Department of State by his mother, Nemesia...

The U.S. Department of State has launched a review of the alleged neglect and financial exploitation of 12 foreign exchange students in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties. As the agency responsible for the oversight of foreign-exchange student programs, the department is working with officials from the Lackawanna County office of Children and Youth Services. Pending the outcome of the investigation, the State Department will adopt new procedures if necessary, officials said Friday. On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging her to investigate the department's oversight of U.S. youth exchange programs. "We share...

As a foreign exchange student in Scranton, a girl from Nigeria was forced to live with ex-convicts, given only sardines to eat and was hospitalized for malnutrition and dehydration, according to her new host mother. A Lackawanna County grand jury is considering whether charges are warranted in the alleged neglect of nine foreign exchange students who lived with area host families. Meanwhile, the scope of the investigation has reached into Luzerne County, where the treatment of three exchange students is being questioned, said Teresa Osborne, Lackawanna County director of human services. The county office of Children and Youth Services is...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - An illegal immigrant from Egypt, charged in Memphis with using a fake Social Security number, is set for trial in March. A federal judge put 29-year-old Mahmoud Maawad on the court's March docket today without setting a specific trial date. Maawad has drawn attention because at the time of his arrest in September he possessed a DVD on "how to look and act like a pilot" and a map of the Memphis airport. Authorities have said they have no evidence linking Maawad to terrorists but want to keep him behind bars, anyway, until he goes to...

Chinese businessman Richard Liu may not be widely known in San Antonio, but at the University of Texas at San Antonio — especially at the College of Business — Liu is like a rock star. Liu should be a star throughout San Antonio. Not many U.S. cities have business schools that receive $3 million from a successful Chinese businessman to fund a U.S.-China business student exchange program, setting up numerous future business ties and potential industrial development. The UTSA business school this week added Liu's name to an auditorium as a display of appreciation to Liu (pronounced "loo"). He lives...