Algeria toll rises

Algiers, Jan. 21 (Reuters): A total of 37 foreign workers died at an Algerian desert gas plant and seven are still missing after a hostage crisis coordinated by a Canadian, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said today.

Sellal also said that 29 Islamists had been killed in the siege, which Algerian forces ended by storming the plant, and three had been captured alive.

Russia planes

Moscow (AP): The Russian government says it is sending two planes to Lebanon to evacuate Russians from Syria, the first such effort since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad began in March 2011.

Merkel loss

Hanover (Reuters): Germany’s Centre-Left Opposition edged Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives from power in a regional vote in Lower Saxony on Sunday, reviving its flagging hopes of defeating her in September’s national election.

Tanker seized

Abidjan (Reuters): Gunmen seized a Nigerian-owned Panama-flagged tanker off Ivory Coast’s port of Abidjan as it prepared to unload 5,000 tonnes of fuel, port officials said on Monday.