Macron welcomes back to France journalist freed in Mali

PARIS (AP) — French journalist Olivier Dubois has been welcomed home by President Emmanuel Macron, one day after he was released in Mali. Dubois was held hostage by Islamic extremists for nearly two years. He was kidnapped in April 2021 from northern Mali, a region of the country wracked by jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Dubois was greeted by his sister and father at the Villacoublay military airport, southwest of Paris. He then hugged Macron. The conditions of his release, including whether it involved a ransom, have not been disclosed. An American aid worker was also freed in Mali on Monday.