Dalai Lama in France

PARIS: Tibetan exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, arrived in Paris on Saturday on the latest leg of a European tour that threatens fresh damage to France’s relations with China. The Dalai Lama is in France to be named an honorary citizen of Paris. He has insisted it is not political even though China has lashed out at the European countries that have received the 73-year-old Buddhist leader this week. French officials have said it is a coincidence that the Dalai Lama is visiting at the same time as US President Barack Obama, and there are no plans for the Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader to meet top political representatives. — AFP

Nigerian boat freed

NAIROBI: Somali pirates have freed a Nigerian tugboat captured around 10 months ago, putting an end to the longest such hijacking off the coast of Somalia, a maritime watchdog said on Saturday. “Yenegoa Ocean is free,” said Andrew Mwangura, who heads the Nairobi-based East African Seafarers Assistance Programme. The ship and its 11-man Nigerian crew were captured in the Gulf of Aden on August 4 on its way back from Singapore. — AFP

Climber found dead

BEIJING: The body of an American climber has been found after an avalanche in southwestern China, Xinhua said on Saturday. Rescue workers were still searching for two other American members of the group who went missing on Mount Gongga in Sichuan province, Li Zhixin, an official with the Chinese Mountaineering Association, said. The report did not identify whose body had been found. Wade Johnson and Micah Dash were last heard from on May 20 at the base camp of Mount Edgar, according to an e-mail his parents sent to friends. — AP

Gaza blast

GAZA CITY: A 21-year-old Palestinian was killed and another wounded in a Gaza Strip explosion apparently caused by unexploded munition on Saturday. Witnesses said Tamer al-Daghma was killed by the blast when he stumbled upon an unknown object near his home outside the southern town of Khan Yunis. — AFP