ALGERIA: Italian woman kidnapped

An Italian woman on a tourist trip to the Sahara desert in Algeria has been kidnapped by men armed with automatic weapons, according to Algeria's official APS news agency.

The woman was kidnapped Wednesday night in the desert south of the Algerian town of Djanet, and a major security operation was under way to find her Friday, the agency reported, citing a local authority.

-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske