A Philippine court sentenced six men to death for kidnapping...

A Philippine court sentenced six men to death for kidnapping two ethnic Chinese sisters and their driver, just five days after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ended a moratorium on capital punishment.
The decision by Judge Teresa Soriaso of the Manila Regional Trial Court automatically goes to the Supreme Court for review.
"The law has made it inevitable under the circumstances of the case that the accused face the supreme penalty of death," the judge wrote in her 25-page decision.
Arroyo's move to allow the first executions in three years came in response to a rash of abductions for ransom targeting Chinese-Filipinos in Manila, a relatively tiny group that holds considerable power in business and politics.
Mary Grace and Michelle Yao were abducted, along with their driver, in front of their school in December 1998 and driven south of the capital to a resort in the province of Batangas. Exaltacion Yao, the mother of the victims, testified she haggled with the kidnappers to lower the ransom demand from 30 million pesos ($542,000) to 500,000 pesos.
Police rescued the sisters, who were 18 and 16 at the time, and arrested the kidnappers after killing two of the gang.
The six men sentenced to death - including a former police officer, taxi driver and cigarette vendor - denied the charges.