CEEFAX 1 104 Sun 08 Aug 14:20/50 ************ ************************** * *** *** ** ************ **** ************ ***************** FOREIGN OFFICE CONFIRMS HOSTAGE RELEASE The Foreign Office has confirmed that rebels holding 38 hostages in Sierra Leone have agreed to release them. A Foreign Office spokesman said no timetable had been agreed to free the hostages, who include five UK soldiers. Rebel commander Johnny Paul Koroma told the BBC he had spoken to the group holding the United Nations hostages. He said he had assured them he was not being held prisoner by a rival rebel group as they had believed. World news digest and in brief....142 News Index 102 Flash 150 Regional 160