Pirates release hostages of Spanish boat

26 men from the crew of the Spanish Playa de Bakio, a fishing ship kidnapped by pirates off the coast of Somalia last week, were safely released this weekend according to El Pais. The Somali government allegedly claimed that a 1.2 million dollar ransom was paid by the Spanish authorities. The Spanish government, under pressure by the opposition, has not yet officially declared if it has paid a ransom or not.