Journalists covering fighting freed

ROME - Four Italian journalists who were taken hostage in Libya were released on Thursday, the Italian foreign ministry said.

The four Italian journalists, three men and a woman, were abducted by militias loyal to Muammar Gadhafi as they were driving in a car near Zawiya in western Libya.

On Wednesday, five Chinese journalists trapped in a Tripoli hotel were safely evacuated with the help of the Chinese embassy in Tripoli, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.