GEORGE CLOONEY - CLOONEY APPEALS TO BRITISH PRIME MINISTER FOR HELP IN KIDNAPPING CASE

CLOONEY APPEALS TO BRITISH PRIME MINISTER FOR HELP IN KIDNAPPING CASE

Hollywood star GEORGE CLOONEY has asked the U.K.'s Prime Minister GORDON BROWN to use his influence to save the life of a wealthy British businessman kidnapped in the Middle East. The actor - who last month (18Jan08) was appointed Messenger of Peace of the U.N. - became involved in the case of 26-year-old Alsadig Abdullah, who has been missing inside the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for four months, in his attempts to promote peace talks in Sudan's troubled Darfur region. In his letter, Clooney refers to Brown's own demands for a solution to the refugee crisis, writing: "Whatever transpires it is clearly of interest to all of us with an interest in Darfur and the future of Sudan to facilitate anything that might further peace and stability in that country. "Our petitions and interventions to the authorities in the UAE will be less effective than even informal ones from you." A spokesperson at Brown's official residence, 10 Downing Street, said, "The prime minister has received the letter. He will get back to George Clooney as soon as possible." More than 200,000 people have been killed and more than two million turned into refugees by famine and war, since civil war broke out in Sudan in 2003.