To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (34807 ) 3/16/2004 11:49:10 AM From: NickSE Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 793659 Here's an example...ngPray enlighten us as to German methods. Freed hostages head for Germanynews.bbc.co.uk Fourteen Europeans freed from a five-month hostage ordeal in the Sahara desert are on a plane heading for Germany. The tourists - nine Germans, four Swiss and a Dutchman - left the Malian capital Bamako bound for Cologne just before 0000 GMT. Earlier, the group had flown in from the northern oasis town of Gao, after a journey by road from the desert outpost of Tessalit, a day after being freed by suspected Islamic extremist kidnappers. The group - thin, dirty and many of them wearing ragged desert robes and turbans - attended a welcoming ceremony at Bamako's presidential palace before leaving Mali, the Associated Press reported. The tourists are reported to be well, but exhausted. Ransom row Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder hailed their release as a victory against international terrorism. But a row has erupted in Germany over reports that a ransom was paid. Malian authorities said on Monday that the hostages had been handed over, and at least one phoned home overnight with the good news. The German press has reported that the kidnappers wanted $5m for each hostage as well as security guarantees. Germany's ZDF television said a Malian negotiator had given a ransom to the hostage-takers, but that the money did not come from the German Government. The BBC's Ray Furlong in Berlin says most German newspapers take it for granted that Germany paid a ransom - even though Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said on Monday it was not Germany's policy. The speculation is that Mali has put forward the money, and that Germany will then provide it with foreign aid. cont'd.....