From AFP via globeandmail.com:

Kidnappers of three journalists, including one Canadian, are demanding a $2.5-million (U.S.) ransom, a traditional Somali chief in contact with the abductors said yesterday.

"The kidnappers demanded $2.5-million and we are trying to secure their release," said Dahir Farah, who has been participating in negotiations to free the three journalists abducted in Somalia last month.

Another person claiming to be an intermediary for the kidnappers spoke of the same ransom demand. He also allowed two people claiming to be the foreign journalists to speak briefly.

"I'm Amanda, the Canadian journalist. Our health situation is very well for the time being," Amanda Lindhout, 26, a freelance foreign correspondent from Red Deer, Alta., purportedly said.