Kidnapped South Koreans 'freed' in Yemen

Yemeni officials say three South Koreans who were held hostage by tribesmen in a remote area have been released unharmed.

The hostages, a businessman and the wife and daughter of a South Korean diplomat, were kidnapped on Monday.

The officials did not say if the authorities had agreed to the kidnappers' demand: that four Yemenis convicted of raping a young boy from their tribe should be executed.

Men from the tribe abducted two Russian doctors and their wives late last year to press the same demand; they were later freed.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service