Colin Freeman (L) and Jose Cendon (R) walk together in Bosasso airport, January 4, 2009. Somalia kidnappers have freed two journalists, British correspondent Freeman and Spanish photographer Cendon, a government official said on Sunday.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    MADRID, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Spanish photographer Jose Cendon and British writer Colin Freeman, kidnapped on Nov. 26, were released Sunday in the northern Somali region of Puntland, the Spanish Foreign Ministry confirmed.

    Spanish public radio RNE reported that Cendon was in good health and spoke by telephone with Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.

    Cendon's mother, Maria Carmen Docampo, said his sister Julia was on her way to Kenya to meet the photographer and would accompany him to Spain.

    Cendon had spent weeks in Somalia's northern area, one of the main redoubts of the pirates, where at least 80 ships were hijacked in 2008.

    Cendon and Freeman were seized on Nov. 26 on their way to the airport of Bosasso, the commercial capital of the semiautonomous state of Puntland, along with two Somali journalists.

    They were in the country to report on piracy for the British newspaper the Daily Telegraph. Cendon worked for a variety of media throughout east Africa, including AFP.

Jose Cendon (L) and Colin Freeman sit at their hotel in Bosasso, January 4, 2009. Somali kidnappers have freed two journalists, British correspondent Freeman and Spanish photographer Cendon, a government official said on Sunday.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

French warship foils two new attacks by Somali pirates 

   PARIS, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- A French warship foiled two attacks Sunday by Somali pirates, rescuing two commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden, the French president's office said.

A French warship foiled two attacks Sunday by Somali pirates, rescuing two commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden, the French president's office said.(Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Patrolling off the Somali coast, the French warship "Jean de Vienne" captured 19 Somali pirates when they tried to seize a Croatian freighter and a Panamanian cargo ship. They will be transferred to Somali authorities, said the French president's office in a statement. Full story
Two European journalists released by Somali kidnappers 

    MOGADISHU, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Two European journalists have been released by Somali kidnappers, reports from agencies said on Sunday, citing a regional governor.

    British correspondent Colin Freeman and Spanish photographer Jose Cendon were set free after weeks of captivity, according to Muse Gelle Yusuf, governor of Bari in the northern Puntland region. Full story