Aussies paid Canadian's ransom in Somalia

SYDNEY, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- An Australian businessman says the family of a Canadian woman has yet to come up with their half of the ransom paid to Somali kidnappers.

Dick Smith told The (Sydney) Daily Telegraph that he and the family of Australian captive Nigel Brennan came up with the entire $600,000 that led to the release of Brennan and Canadian freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout earlier last week.

"At the present time, all of the ransom has come from Australia. Nothing has come from Canada," Smith said. "I find that extraordinary."

The newspaper said Wednesday that the pair was recovering in Kenya after a 15-month ordeal that began when Lindhout and Brennan, a photo journalist, were grabbed while traveling to a refugee camp in the strife-torn African nation.

The ransom negotiations were handled by a British firm that charged several thousand dollars for its services, the newspaper said.