VIENNA: Two Austrians kidnapped in Tunisia by an al-Qaida affiliate have been released, ending an eight-month ordeal and anguished diplomatic attempts to win their freedom. Wolfgang Ebner, 51, and Andrea Kloiber, 43, were freed on Thursday after 252 days in captivity and were under the protection of Mali's military, Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said on Friday. Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa had claimed responsibility for abducting the pair Feb. 22 while they were on vacation in Tunisia. The precise circumstances leading up to the pair's release remained unclear, but Plassnik said the kidnappers let them go and Defense Minister Norbert Darabos said no rescue operation had been mounted. Austria's government had feared the worst after three deadlines set by their captors had expired with no sign of the missing couple from Salzburg - and no clear sense of exactly where they were being held. The group had unsuccessfully demanded the release of a Muslim husband and wife from an Austrian jail and pressed Austria to withdraw what it said were four Austrian officers in Afghanistan. Austria's Defense Ministry said there were only two officers serving in NATO's force in Afghanistan. In Mali, presidential spokesman Diarra Diakite said the Austrians were being driven Friday from the northeastern town of Douentza to the capital, Bamako. Austrian President Heinz Fischer expressed relief and thanked officials in Mali for their help. "Now the many months of waiting and worrying are over," he said. Kloiber's mother, Christine Lenz, wept on national TV as news of her daughter's release was announced. "I still can't believe it," she said. "I won't completely believe it until I'm able to wrap my arms around Andrea."
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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