BBC News with Marion Marshall

The Kenyan government says a French woman who was kidnapped overnight from a beach resort has now been taken to Somalia. They said her attackers escaped after a

shootout

when coast guard vessels and helicopters called up with the boat which was carrying her. Several

abductors

were injured in the exchange. The woman who is in her 60s and severely disabled was staying near the resort of Lame. France now warns tourists not to travel to the area. Kenya’s tourism minister Najib Balala told the BBC that the area was difficult to police.

"That border line is a long unmanned border and whatever we are going to do if we don't have the support of the international committee to address the Somali issue, then it is very challenging to manage to man the border in Somalia".

Syria's official news agency says three security personnel have been killed while trying to defuse a bomb near Damascus. And three civilians working with the police were killed by gunmen in Hama. Anti-government groups say two of their activists were also killed near Damascus. A BBC correspondent in the region says activists were questioning whether they would be able to break the

stalemate

with the government without using force.

Egyptian State Media say the ruling military council has decided to amend part of a disputed election law. Earlier this week, a coalition of political parties threatened to