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Madagascar gang free French hostage after ransom paid

Agence France-PresseApril 19, 2013 12:00
Kidnappers in Madagascar have freed a French executive, whom they admitted was mistakenly targeted, in exchange for an undisclosed ransom, the victim said Friday. Francois Raphael, director of construction firm Henri Fraise, was held for three days by four balaclava-clad, armed men who abducted him on Monday evening. "I was released yesterday night at around 9:30 pm (1830 GMT), I got home all right," he told AFP by telephone on Friday. "A ransom was paid, but you will understand that we do not want to disclose the amount."

Suspect in girl's kidnapping sought in Mexico

April 9, 2013 10:36
Police in Baja California state are searching for a U.S. man suspected in the kidnapping of a 10-year-old girl in Los Angeles. An official with state police says there is strong evidence Tobias Dustin Summers could be hiding in Tijuana, across the border from San Diego.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, says police received a report that Summers was spotted in the border city's red light district.He says police searched the area but didn't find him.

Kidnap threat stalks Syrians

April 4, 2013 22:31
Syria's residents, already terrorised by a conflict now in its third year, are also being stalked by the increasing threat of kidnap, with motives ranging from sectarianism and prisoner exchange to ransom. Syria's government on Tuesday offered kidnappers an amnesty deal, giving them 15 days to hand over victims or face sentences ranging from life with hard labour to execution, if their victims were murdered or sexually abused.

CORRECTED-(OFFICIAL)-UPDATE 2-N.Y. 'cannibal cop' convicted of plot to kidnap women

March 12, 2013 11:45
(U.S. Attorney's office corrects maximum term for lesser charge) By Chris Francescani NEW YORK, March 12 (Reuters) - A New York City police officer was convicted of plotting to kidnap, cook and eat women following a trial that shed light on an underworld of people who derive pleasure from fantasizing about cannibalism online.

Ex-spooks besiege Mozambique HQ in protest

February 20, 2013 13:15
Hundreds of disgruntled former internal security agents besieged the headquarters of Mozambique's intelligence services Wednesday, demanding pensions and warning a wave of unexplained kidnappings will go unsolved without their help. Around 250 of the cold war veterans joined the protest to demand their pensions be paid. "In no other part of the world can an intelligence agent be got rid of during his lifetime," a spokesperson for the protesting secret servicemen, Adolf Beira, told AFP.

URGENT ¥¥¥ France says 'will not yield to terrorists' over hostages

February 20, 2013 11:01
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Wednesday that France would not give in to "terrorists" after the kidnapping of seven members of a French family in northern Cameroon. Seeming to exclude the possibility of paying a ransom, Fabius told the National Assembly: "We must do the maximum (to free the hostages) but nothing would be worse than yielding. We will not yield to terrorist groups." cr/mm/ach/lc

URGENT ¥¥¥ Gunmen kidnap six foreigners in Nigeria

February 20, 2013 07:15
Gunmen who stormed an oil service ship in southern Nigeria have kidnapped six foreigners and demanded a $1.3 million ransom for their release, police told AFP. "Three of those abducted are from Ukraine, two from India one from Russia... One of the kidnappers called to demand the sum of 200 million naira (one million euros, $1.3 million) Bayelsa state police spokesman Fidelis Odunna said of the Sunday attack. joa-bs/txw

Nigeria: Gunmen kidnap seven foreigners

February 17, 2013 07:02
Gunmen have kidnapped seven foreigners at a Lebanese-owned construction site in northern Nigeria, and shot dead their security guard, police said on Sunday.
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