MISSING TOURIST UPDATE:

After a long silence on the matter the Algerian government said it was in touch with unnamed assailants believed to be holding the tourists. But last week it denied any such contact or that negotiations were under way to free the tourists.

The Swiss French-language weekly magazine Hebdo reported in its latest edition that the Algerian authorities had received ransom demands for between $23-$34 million for the group.

Blaise Godet, head of the Swiss foreign ministry’s political directorate who recently returned from Algeria, said Swiss authorities were not “negotiating with anyone” but were in constant touch with the Algerian authorities.

“There is no indication that the people (tourists) are no longer alive,” he told reporters in Berne on Monday.

About 5,000 Algerian troops are searching the vast Algerian Sahara, an area the size of France. Military aircraft and helicopters equipped with night vision are also being used.

It’s a big desert.