Hostage taking

If you’re being held hostage by terrorists overseas and you’re French or Spanish, there’s a good chance your government will find a way to free you — by paying a ransom through indirect means. If you’re American or British, your best bet is to try and escape — or hope for a daring military raid.

In the wake of the hostage crisis in Iran in 1979, six Americans managed to take refuge with Canadian diplomats. The Canadians and the CIA worked together to create a fake movie that would provide cover for them to leave the country. The whole matter is the plot for a new movie, out this week.

Sigifredo Lopez was held hostage by FARC guerrilla for seven years. But law enforcement officials say Lopez was actually a collaborator with them, and have charged him in connection with the death of his fellow lawmakers.

Algeria has allowed journalists to visit the gas facility attacked by Islamic militants last month. The BBC’s Richard Galpin was among them, and describes the scene to anchor Marco Werman, and brings us up to date on the investigation.

Early Thursday, the Algerian government forces launched an operation to try and free the hostages, some of whom are Americans. The operation apparently began when Algerian forces fired on a militant convoy that was carrying some of the captives.