Odisha hostage crisis: Maoist-backed mediators serve ultimatum

Maoist-backed mediators on Thursday threatened to withdraw from negotiations for the release of an Italian tourist if the Odisha government did not concede three demands of the Maoists by Friday evening. Italian national Bosusco Paolo, 54, is in captivity of the rebels since March 14 when he was abducted along with another Italian, Claudio Colangelo, 61, from a forested area on the border of the state's Ganjam and Kandhamal district.