MUSLIM rebels freed an ailing German housewife from 12 weeks in captivity in southern Philippine jungle where the gunmen still hold several mostly foreign hostages. Renate Wallert, boarded a helicopter in the town of Jolo shortly after she was handed over by the Abu Sayyaf rebels to chief hostage negotiator Robert Aventajado at their jungle lair. There was no word if any ransom had been paid. The rebels have demanded $1m for each of the hostages kidnapped from the Malaysian island resort but the government has said it will not pay any ransom. The rebels are still holding the two remaining members of the Wallert family, seven other Malaysians, two French nationals, two Finns, two South Africans, two Filipinos and a Lebanese. In recent weeks the rebels have also abducted a German magazine reporter and three members of a French television crew — all of whom were reporting on the original hostage case — and 13 Filipino evangelists who went to the rebel camp to pray for the hostages.
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