Colombia destroys 104 cocaine labs

COLOMBIA • Colombian law enforcement has destroyed 104 cocaine laboratories capable of producing some 100 tonnes of the drug annually, the head of the anti-narcotics police said.

The operation was conducted over five days in the country's south-eastern jungle region. "This is a structural blow to the finances of drug trafficking," anti-narcotics police director General Jose Angel Mendoza said on Tuesday. The labs were burnt down by police commandos.

REUTERS

Peace talks to resume on Sudan conflict

KHARTOUM • The African Union (AU) has announced the resumption of peace talks between Sudan's government and an alliance bringing together Sudanese armed groups and opposition parties in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Mr Mahmoud Kan, chairman of the AU liaison office in Khartoum, said on Tuesday that the first meeting would be held on Aug 8, to be followed by the resumption of talks on cessation of hostilities and delivery of humanitarian assistance.

XINHUA

27 Chinese tourists assaulted in France

PARIS • Twenty-seven Chinese tourists were assaulted by half a dozen men as they boarded a bus that was to take them to Charles de Gaulle airport, a French police source said.

In Tuesday's attack, the robbers stole some pieces of luggage and injured two of the tourists, who were taken to hospital for treatment.

"They sprayed the driver with tear gas and hit two tourists," the source said.

REUTERS