[03:39.79]The foreign minister Laurent Fabius said no ransom had been paid.

[03:43.55]Now our West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy reports.

[03:47.01]The details of how the hostages were released have yet to emerge but the French President Francois Hollande has thanked his Nigerian counterparts for securing their freedom.

[03:58.70]The four men working for the French mining company Areva were captured more than 1,000 days ago in September 2010 by al-Qaeda militants.

[04:10.21]Both French ministers of foreign affairs and defense are on their way to the West African country to bring the four free men back home.

[04:19.33]The United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn the US embargo against Cuba.

[04:25.67]Only two out of 200 countries, the US and Israel voted against the resolution.

[04:30.98]The American sanctions against Communist Cuba have been in place for more than five decades.

[04:35.97]A Brazilian surfer is thought to have broken the record for the largest wave ever surfed during the storm that battered Western Europe on Monday.

[04:45.61]Carlos Burle was filmed riding a wall of water around 30 meters high off the coast of Portugal.

[04:52.34]He also said the life of her fellow Brazilian surfer who nearly drowned in the huge swirl.

[04:57.83]BBC News

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