Sarkozy vows to press Syria to help free Israeli soldier hostage (AFP)

PARIS (AFP) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday he would press his Syrian counterpart Bashar Al-Assad to use "all the power" of his country to free a French-Israeli soldier held by Gaza militants. Sarkozy has invited Assad to Paris along with some 40 foreign leaders for a summit on July 13 to launch a new "Mediterranean Union", aimed at boosting cooperation between European Union and north African and Middle Eastern rim states. "I will have the opportunity, when I see ... President Bashar Al-Assad, to ask him to use all Syria's power so that the soldier (Gilad) Shalit is freed," said Sarkozy, who is to meet separately with Assad on the eve of the summit. He made his comments in a speech welcoming the Colombian former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, a joint French national who was released this week after... [read full story]