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CRIME

Yemenis demand $2 mln for German hostages

Yemeni hostage-takers holding a family of five Germans and a Briton since June are demanding a ransom of $2 million for their release, news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Wednesday.

Yemenis demand $2 mln for German hostages
Photo: DPA

The report on the magazine’s website came a day after Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Kurbi said the hostages had been located in Saada in northern Yemen and that his government had begun talks to secure their freedom.

The five Germans, including three children, and the Briton were abducted together with two German Bible students and a South Korean, all women, who were shot dead soon afterwards.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who visited Yemen this week, thanked President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Yemeni authorities for doing “everything in their power” to return the hostages home safely.

Der Spiegel said that a Huthi rebel was acting as a go-between, and that the hostage-takers were also demanding immunity, free passage and a guarantee that they will not be handed over to neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Sanaa has repeatedly pointed the finger of blame at Huthi rebels for the kidnappings, a charge they deny saying the government was behind the abduction as an excuse to attack the rebels and their stronghold in Saada.

The Huthis, who have since November also been in conflict with the Saudi military across the border, denied holding the hostages on Wednesday.

“To carry out kidnappings is not our way, it’s not our style, and the accusations against us are unfounded,” Mohammad Abdelsalam, a spokesman for the rebellion, told AFP by telephone.

“Our relations with Germany have been historically good,” he said, pointing out that a leading figure in the Huthi movement, Yahia al-Huthi, lived in exile in Germany.

He said the Yemeni authorities were “responsible for the fate of the hostages and any other person to be found on Yemeni soil.”

More than 200 foreign citizens have been kidnapped in the past 15 years in Yemen. The vast majority have been freed unharmed.

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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