COLU @ CONCEPTS

Image copyright NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Image caption Justin Smith (left) and Veronica Darden had worked at the prison for a number of years Two prison guards have died after inmates attempted to break out of a North Carolina jail. Justin Smith, 35, and Veronica Darden, 50, died after prisoners at the Pasquotank Correctional Institution tried to escape on Thursday at 15:00 local time (19:00 GMT). Three other guards remain in a critical condition in hospital. According to officials, the inmates set fire to the prison's specialty sewing plant before attempting the escape. Two US prison guards killed during escape The initial fire was put out, but the prisoners lit a second fire at the plant, where about 30 inmates work. The fire was finally extinguished by 17:00 local time. The exact circumstances surrounding the deaths of Ms Darden, the manager responsible for supervising and training at the plant, and Mr Smith, a correctional officer, have not be...

Image copyright ANTHONY JEAN/SOS MÉDITERRANÉE Image caption Migrants are often crowded on to unseaworthy boats, such as rubber dinghies A rescue ship has docked in Sicily with 606 migrants picked up in less than two days off the Libyan coast. They are from about 20 countries in Africa and the Middle East. Aid group SOS Méditerranée says they include 241 children and 11 pregnant women. Many of the women from sub-Saharan Africa said they had suffered sexual abuse. Some of the migrants are malnourished,  the group reports . Fifty had fled to Libya from war-torn Syria. But violence also plagues Libya. The flow of irregular migrants to southern Europe via the Mediterranean is well below the 2016 level. But Italy is struggling to cope, as most migrants now take the perilous central Mediterranean route from Libya. The Syrians taken aboard the Aquarius rescue ship include entire families and two women in the ninth month of pregnancy. The ship is now in Palermo, where the migr...

Image copyright REUTERS Image caption WeChat is one of China's most popular apps Chinese messaging app WeChat has apologised after its software used the N-word as an English translation for the Chinese for "black foreigner". The company blamed its algorithms for producing the error. It was spotted by Ann James, a black American living in Shanghai, when she texted her Chinese colleagues to say she was running late. Ms James, who uses WeChat's translation feature to read Chinese responses, got the reply: "The [racial slur] is late." Horrified, she checked the Chinese phrase - "hei laowai" - with a co-worker and was told it was a neutral expression, not a profanity. WeChat acknowledged the error to  China-focused news site Sixth Tone , saying: "We're very sorry for the inappropriate translation. After receiving users' feedback, we immediately fixed the problem." China social networks 'spreading terror' Chinese ...

Image caption The two-year-old tigress is responsible for killing four people A court in India's western state of Maharashtra has upheld an order to kill a two-year-old tigress responsible for killing four people. Wildlife activists had challenged a shoot-to-kill order issued by the state forest department on 23 June. The tigress was first captured in July after killing two people and injuring four in the town of Brahmapuri, in Maharashtra. It was set free in Bor Tiger Reserve, but has since killed two more people. Dr Jerryl Banait, who opposed the order to shoot the big cat, told the BBC that he would challenge the verdict in India's Supreme Court. Animal rights activists insist the tigress should be tranquilised and moved to another location. But panic is growing among the locals in its territory. Face to face with a man-eating tiger India's most famous tiger, Machli, dies Elephant and tiger attacks highlight India's wildlife conflict Forest officia...

Image copyright AFP Samsung Electronics chief executive Kwon Oh-hyun has resigned citing an "unprecedented crisis". It is the latest management upheaval at the firm after the heir of the entire Samsung Group was imprisoned for corruption in August. Mr Kwon is one of three co-chief executives of Samsung Electronics. His resignation comes on the same day the firm forecast record quarterly profits, citing higher memory chip prices. Mr Kwon said he had been thinking about his departure "for quite some time" and could "no longer put it off." "As we are confronted with unprecedented crisis inside out, I believe that time has now come for the company [to] start anew, with a new spirit and young leadership to better respond to challenges arising from the rapidly changing IT industry," he said in a statement. He will remain on the board of Samsung Electronics until March 2018. Management crisis Ryan Lim, founding partner of the Singapore...

Image copyright ALAMY Image caption Mission Beach is a popular stopover for backpackers travelling along the Queensland coast Three skydivers have died in Queensland after they apparently collided mid-air, say Australian authorities. Paramedics and police were called to Mission Beach, a popular skydiving spot about 140km (87 miles) south of Cairns. Two men in their 30s, and a woman in her 50s, were found dead at the scene, Queensland police said  in a statement. Police said initial investigations found one person may have collided with tandem skydivers, and their parachutes failed to deploy correctly. Queensland's ambulance service told the  Australian Broadcasting Corporation that one skydiver was found in the garden of a residence, and the other two were found close by. A resident was also quoted as saying the bodies were found about 1.5km north of the usual landing site. Operating company Skydive Australia told  local media  that it had suspended its...