GERHARD SCHRÖDER, the German Chancellor, has intervened in attempts to free 31 kidnapped tourists — 15 of them German — in the Sahara Desert. “Contacts are taking place at the moment on the liberation of the tourists,” Lakhdar Dorbani, the Algerian Tourism Minister, said yesterday. The Algerian Government came under pressure after Herr Schröder sent a senior diplomat with a letter to President Bouteflika last week, offering the services of an anti-terrorist commando unit and high-tech equipment. Full Story