Manila - Libya has agreed to pay $1 million for each of the 12 foreign hostages held by Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines, clearing the way for their release fairly soon, sources close to the negotiations said yesterday.
The hostages were to have been freed last weekend, but the fundamentalist Abu Sayyaf guerrillas held off the release after Libya haggled to lower the ransom to $700,000 per captive, according to the sources.
