BESANCON // A French nursery school hostage drama ended Monday when five children and their teacher were freed after police overpowered their sword-wielding teenage kidnapper, officials said.
The 17-year-old armed with two swords burst into the school in the eastern city of Besancon and initially took 20 children hostage as parents dropped them off for the start of class.
The youth released most of them over the morning but kept five, aged between four and six, as well as their woman teacher for several hours in the one-storey school in the middle of a public housing estate.
Police negotiators spent the morning in contact with the youth by telephone and a police unit specialising in hostage situations surrounded Charles-Fourier school in Planoise, a neighbourhood on the western edge of Besancon.
Elite French police moved inside the building around midday but the hostage drama continued, with worried parents waiting anxiously just outside the police security perimeter.
The youth, whom media reports said was from the area and had a history of depression and psychological problems, at one point told negotiators that he wanted a weapon to kill himself
"The release happened as meals were being served," said Education Minister Luc Chatel, who had rushed to the scene.
Police were able to overpower the hostage-taker easily after he was separated from the children as they prepared to eat, he said.
Besancon mayor Jean-Louis Fousseret said the hostage-taker "went into the establishment armed with two swords and declaring that he wanted something," but did not say what exactly that was.
Lazahre ben Atmane, one of the dozens of people gathered near the police security perimeter, said authorities had phoned him at work to say his son was being held.
But the boy was one of the pupils freed after the initial hostage-taking and was reunited with his father.
Hostage-taking at French nursery schools is extremely rare. But 1993 saw a notorious case in the chic Paris suburb of Neuilly, where President Nicolas Sarkozy was then mayor.
An armed man calling himself "Human Bomb" took a class of 21 children hostage and demanded a ransom of the equivalent of 15 million euros.
Police shot him dead and the children were freed unharmed.
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
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PSG's line up
GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)
Defence - RB: Dani Alves (free transfer); CB: Marquinhos (€31.4 million); CB: Thiago Silva (€42m); LB: Layvin Kurzawa (€23m)
Midfield - Angel di Maria (€47m); Adrien Rabiot (youth academy); Marco Verratti (€12m)
Forwards - Neymar (€222m); Edinson Cavani (€63m); Kylian Mbappe (initial: loan; to buy: €180m)
Total cost: €440.4m (€620.4m if Mbappe makes permanent move)
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In The Heights
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Stars: Anthony Ramos, Lin-Manual Miranda
Rating: ****
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
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How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.