Al Qaida released a new videotape of kidnapped American hostage Warren Weinstein in which he begs President Barack Obama to save his life.

“My life is in your hands, Mr. President,” Weinstein, 70, a former Peace Corps and U.S. Agency for International Development official, said on the video posted May 6 on Islamist websites. “If you accept the demands, I live. If you don’t accept the demands, then I die. It’s important that you accept the demands and act quickly and don’t delay.”

The demands include a halt to U.S. airstrikes and the freeing of all al Qaida and Taliban suspects, according to reports.

Weinstein, of Rockville, Md., was kidnapped in August outside Pakistan while he was working for J.E. Austin Associates, a private company that advises Pakistani businesses.

It is not known when the video was recorded. — jta