AFP, Paris
A week-long French prison strike sparked by a spate of inmate attacks on guards looks set to enter a second week after unions on Saturday rejected proposals to end the standoff.
A solution to the crisis had looked to be inching closer after two of France’s three major prison unions-CGT and Ufap-Unsa-suspended a protest action to put fresh proposals on security and employment to staff after a week of tension.
Lankan police lose gun as elephants charge
AFP, Colombo
Sri Lankan police who were charged by elephants as they staked out a cannabis farm dropped an automatic rifle as they ran for their lives, sparking a hunt Sunday for the missing weapon.
Policemen who had been camping out near the plantation in a bid to catch crooks turned tail and scarpered after the huge creatures started hurtling after them.
“The constables dropped their weapons and fled to save their lives when the elephants charged,” a statement said.
13 Syrians died of cold in Lebanon
AFP, Beirut
The number of Syrians who have died trying to flee their war-torn country into neighbouring Lebanon during a snowstorm has risen to at least 13, the United Nations said Saturday.
A group of Syrians, including children, had tried to enter neighbouring Lebanon late on Thursday through a smuggling route but were caught in a fierce storm. The Lebanese army and civil defence said on Friday they had retrieved the bodies of 10 Syrians, including two children and six women.
Chinese, Russians shore up ME tourism
AFP, Madrid
Chinese and Russian visitors boosted Middle Eastern tourism last year following a 2016 slump as Europeans gave the area a wide berth on security fears, according to the World Tourism Organization (WTO).
The Mideast region as a whole drew 58 million foreign tourists in 2017 — a 4.8 percent rise on the previous year-the Madrid-based WTO said in its latest figures released midweek.
