News in Brief(14-5-2018)

Beijing, Moscow 'have potential to work' jointly for Syria peace

SHANGHAI, May 13: Moscow and Beijing have the potential to boost cooperation to find ways of solving the Syrian issue, and the sides should continue efforts aimed at protecting the ceasefire regime, Chinese Special Envoy for Syria Xie Xiaoyan told TASS on Sunday. "The relations between China and Russia imply a sweeping strategic partnership and collaboration. We are constantly in touch and conduct consultations. Each side contributes to the Syrian problem's settlement," he said. — TASS

Anti-terror investigators flagged Chechnyan Paris knife attacker

PARIS, May 13: The knifeman who killed one man and wounded four other people Saturday night in Paris was on an anti-terror watchlist of suspected extremists, sources close to the inquiry told AFP on Sunday. The Frenchman, born in 1997 in the Russian republic of Chechnya, was on the so-called "S file" of people suspected of radicalised views who could pose security risks, the sources said. — AFP

Relatives of Sri Lanka's missing sceptical of new probe team

COLOMBO, May 13: Office of Missing Persons has been set up to investigate disappearances of thousands of people during and after country's civil war, but relatives of the missing remain sceptical, saying they have 'no trust in it'. Sri Lanka's government has set up an independent body to investigate the disappearances of thousands of people during and after the country's civil war. — Al Jazeera

Barred Iranian director gets standing Cannes ovation

CANNES, France, May 13: The new film by Iran's Jafar Panahi, who is banned from leaving Iran, has premiered to a standing ovation at the Cannes film festival, with a seat left symbolically empty for the dissident director. Panahi's children and the cast of "Three Faces", which is vying for the Palme d'Or top prize. — AFP