A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Kidnappers free daughter of millionaire
AMSTERDAM - Kidnappers demanding a ransom in cocaine have released the daughter of a Dutch millionaire businessman they had held for two days, police said yesterday.
Claudia Melchers (37) was released unharmed in the eastern town of Arnhem during the night, Willem Woelders, head of the Amsterdam detective department, told a news conference.
Mr Woelders said police found a ransom note in English in the home of Mr Melchers in a wealthy Amsterdam suburb. The note demanded delivery of 300kg of cocaine, which would have a street value of about €15 million.
Mr Woelders said he did not know whether anybody had handed over the drugs, but neither the police nor the family had had any contact with the kidnappers. - (Reuters)
Woman survives crash into ravine
SYDNEY - A 60-year-old Australian woman whose car plunged 70m into a ravine survived for eight days under a rock ledge until a rescuer spotted car skidmarks in the dirt.
Kathryn Ellacott lived on water from a stream near her wrecked car until she was found on Wednesday and winched out of the ravine, 60km north of Townsville in northern Queensland. - (Reuters)
32 die in Indian warehouse blast
PATNA - Firecrackers stored in a factory warehouse exploded in the eastern Indian state of Bihar yesterday, killing at least 32 people and injuring 72.
The explosion occurred in a factory in a congested area of Khusrupur town, about 50km south of the state capital, Patna. - (Reuters)