Main content

How I Negotiated With al-Qaeda

Imtiaz Sooliman helped to free al-Qaeda hostage Stephen who was held in Mali for six years

Stephen McGown was held hostage in Mali by al-Qaeda for six years. Today we can reveal how his release was negotiated. We hear from Stephen's father Malcolm and from Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman who supervised the negotiations with the hostage takers. In 2011 Stephen McGown set off to travel from the UK to South Africa on his motorbike. He was staying in a hotel in the Malian city of Timbuktu when he was captured

Wayne Dixon is a man on a mission: he's trying to walk the whole coast of Great Britain - more than 7,000 miles - picking up litter as he goes along.Wayne has been struggling with depression all his life - and this project is helping him as much as it's helping others.

Christy Krobroth is an alligator wrangler who lives in Texas. Following Hurricane Harvey many parts of the city have been flooded and many wild alligators have sought refuge in people's gardens and driveways. Christy has been busy trying to rescue them.

Vigg贸 Sigur冒sson is a rescue man in the Icelandic coast guard. It's a treacherous job - facing roaring winds, rolling seas and ferocious blizzards. And it's Viggo's job to go out in this weather - he drops out of the side of a helicopter and attempts to save people from the sea, the tops of volcanos and cracks in glaciers.

Image: Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, chairman of the South African charity Gift of the Givers
Credit: Alex Housing

Available now

53 minutes

Last on

Fri 15 Sep 2017 06:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 14 Sep 2017 11:06GMT
  • Thu 14 Sep 2017 15:06GMT
  • Thu 14 Sep 2017 17:06GMT
  • Fri 15 Sep 2017 03:06GMT
  • Fri 15 Sep 2017 05:06GMT
  • Fri 15 Sep 2017 06:06GMT

Contact Outlook

Contact Outlook

Info on how we might use your contribution on air

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Step into someone else鈥檚 life and expect the unexpected