Briefs

KIDNAPPED – Italy’s foreign ministry said yesterday it believed Italian photojournalist Gabriele Torsello, who has disappeared in southern Afghanistan, had been kidnapped.

*NO TALKS – Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday said preparations for his first working meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have broken down, an official said, in a new setback for attempts to restart Mideast peace efforts. *SENTENCED – Iraq’s Central Criminal Court has sentenced an al-Qaeda member to death and convicted 64 others on charges of belonging to armed groups and other crimes, the US military command said Sunday.*FREED – Two Italian tourists kidnapped on August 22 by bandits in Niger were released in Libya by their captors and returned home.Nampa- Reuters-AFP-AP*SENTENCED – Iraq’s Central Criminal Court has sentenced an al-Qaeda member to death and convicted 64 others on charges of belonging to armed groups and other crimes, the US military command said Sunday.*FREED – Two Italian tourists kidnapped on August 22 by bandits in Niger were released in Libya by their captors and returned home.Nampa- Reuters-AFP-AP