Q: Who paid the ransoms for the three hikers held by the Iranians?
— Margaret Thomson, Marietta
A: The government of Oman, a U.S. ally in the Gulf, paid the $1 million bail ($500,000 each) for American hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who were released Wednesday from an Iranian prison. Oman also paid the $500,000 bail for Sarah Shourd, who was released in September 2010. Payment of bail must be arranged through third parties, such as Oman, due to U.S. economic sanctions on Iran, The Associated Press reported.
Q: Which Georgians died in 9/11 attacks and what were the circumstances of where they were that day?
— Robert Derro, Duluth
A: Four Georgians – Claude Michael Gann, 41, Maynard S. Spence Jr., 42, Harshad Sham Thatte, 30, and Maj. Steve Long, 39 – died on Sept. 11, 2001, according to published reports by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Washington Post, New York Times and CNN.com. Gann, of Roswell, was a sales executive with Algorithmics who was attending a conference at Windows of the World, the restaurant in the North Tower. Spence, of Douglasville, and Thatte, of Norcross, were consultants at Marsh & McLennan and were at the World Trade Center for a meeting. Long was with U.S. Total Army Personnel Command in Alexandria, Va., and was killed while attending a meeting at the Pentagon. He was an Augusta State graduate and a decorated veteran of Grenada and the Gulf War.
Lori Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or e-mail q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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