The bloody three-day hostage standoff at a natural gas plant in the Sahara took a dramatic turn yesterday as Algeria’s state news service reported that nearly 100 of the 132 foreign workers kidnapped by Islamic militants had been freed.

CASH-STRAPPED Libyan rebels won a financial lifeline potentially worth billions of dollars from the United States and other allies yesterday, as forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi pounded a rebel town in the west.