Yémen

The 30-year-old said she never stopped hoping as France 'never gives up on one of its citizens', while Paris denied paying ransom.

The 30-year-old, who worked as a consultant on a World Bank-funded project, was seized in the capital Sanaa in February.

Isabelle Prime, 30, a consultant for Yemen's Social Fund for Development, appears distressed in the video appeal to French and Yemeni leaders.

Isabelle Prime, 30, who worked for Ayala Consulting on a World Bank-funded project, was the only member of firm's staff left in Yemen.

The 30-year-old woman, who is believed to have ties with the World Bank, was taken by unidentified armed men in the capital Sanaa.

Ideological leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said France had replaced a 'weakened' US in what he called the 'war on Islam'. 

The two men of Tunisian origin, who are believed to be members of an al Qaeda cell in Yemen, were arrested while trying to leave the country.

The Yemen national airline faces manslaughter charges over crash off the Comoros Islands that killed 152 people and left just one survivor.

France joins with US, UK and Germany in a temporary closure of its Yemen embassy for several days from Sunday over 'very serious' security alert.

France has thanked Oman for its role in obtaining the release of three French aid workers held hostage in Yemen for five months.