US, Frenchmen freed after kidnapping in West Africa
NIAMEY, Niger: Four weeks after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger, an American aid worker and a French journalist kidnapped and held by Islamist extremists were freed and flown to the country's capital this week.
US officials said no ransom was paid for aid worker Jeffery Woodke, who was held for more than six years, and praised Niger's government for helping secure his release. The French gover