Tag: France

Canada’s Justin Trudeau defends the burkini

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday defended individual rights and freedoms while touting cultural diversity and tolerance when asked about a controversy swirling in France over a burkini ban. “We should be past tolerance in Canada,” Trudeau told reporters after meeting with his ministers to plan the government’s legislative agenda. Some lawmakers in Canada’s Quebec province have called for outlawing “burkinis” — body-concealing Islamic swimsuits — following bans in at […]

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Olympics: NBA Spurs stars Ginobili, Parker end international careers

by Jim SLATER RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Star guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, NBA teammates for the San Antonio Spurs, bid emotional farewells to international play Wednesday after quarter-final losses at the Rio Olympics. Spain defeated Parker and his French teammates 92-67 while Ginobili’s Argentina side was routed 105-78 by the US NBA stars. “It has been an amazing run,” Ginobili said of a 20-year span topped by 2004 Olympic gold. “I’m […]

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Factbox: Why the Zika virus is causing alarm

  (REUTERS HEALTH)   Global health officials are racing to better understand the Zika virus behind a major outbreak that began in Brazil last year and has spread to many countries in the Americas. The following are some questions and answers about the virus and current outbreak: How do people become infected? Zika is transmitted to people through the bite of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same type that spreads dengue, chikungunya […]

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Olympics: USA goes 5-0 as Thompson dumps slump

by Dan Martin RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — NBA marksman Klay Thompson shook off his Rio slump to net 30 points but the USA laboured again to defeat France Sunday as Olympic basketball heads for the knockout rounds. The 100-97 victory means the two-time defending gold medallists have won their group at 5-0 but must wait until Monday to learn their quarter-final opponent. Australia, meanwhile, beat Venezuela 81-56 to finish second in Group A […]

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Firefighters battle blazes in southern France and Portugal

MARSEILLE, France (AFP) – by Andrea PALASCIANO Fires that raged through countryside near Marseille left a trail of destruction but were no longer threatening the southern French city on Thursday, firefighters said. Around 500 people have been forced to flee their homes since Wednesday as flames fanned by strong winds consumed more than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of mainly scrubland and forest and gutted several homes. French President Francois Hollande said authorities believe some of the […]

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French ferry evacuated after mystery underwater blast

MARSEILLE, France (AFP) — A passenger ferry docked in the southern French port of Marseille was evacuated Sunday after an explosion was felt on board, with authorities investigating if it was caused by an old wartime bomb. France has been on high alert following the Bastille Day truck attack in Nice which killed 84 and the jihadist murder of a priest last week. All the passengers had already disembarked after their voyage from Corsica and […]

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Islamic state posts video of men it says were French church attackers

REUTERS — Islamic State’s news agency on Wednesday (July 27) released a video of two men it said were those who attacked a church in France in which they pledged allegiance to the group’s leader. The video was published on a social media website carrying the logo of Amaq news agency a day after two men burst into the Catholic church in Normandy during a service, forced the priest to his knees and slit his […]

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Priest murdered in French church attack: what we know so far

by Pauline FROISSART PARIS, France (AFP) — An elderly priest had his throat slit in a church in northern France on Tuesday after two men stormed the building and took hostages. The attack in the Normandy town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray came as France was still coming to terms with the Bastille Day killings in Nice claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group. Here is what we know so far about the church attack: What happened? Two […]

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Priest killed in French church before police shoot dead hostage-takers

  (REUTERS)  Two attackers killed a priest with a blade and seriously wounded another hostage in a church in northern France on Tuesday before being shot dead by French police. There were no immediate details on the identity or motives of the two assailants but the investigation was handed to the anti-terrorist unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office. A police source said it appeared that the priest had his throat slit. The Vatican condemned what […]

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France probes possible security failings in Nice attack

PARIS, France (AFP) – by Andrea BAMBINO with Catherine MARCIANO in Nice French President Francois Hollande on Thursday promised “truth and transparency” from an inquiry into allegations of lax security the night of the Bastille Day attack in Nice that killed 84 people. “When there is a tragedy, or in this case an attack with many dead… there will naturally be questions,” Hollande said during a visit to Dublin, adding that the conclusions of the police probe […]

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Five detained over Nice attack to face judge

by Anne Pascale REBOUL Sophie DEVILLER NICE, France (AFP) — Five people detained after last week’s massacre in Nice are due to appear before a judge Thursday, as France is set to pass a law extending the state of emergency. The government is scrambling to reassure a jittery population after the country’s third major attack in 18 months killed 84 people out celebrating Bastille Day. Four men and one woman aged between 22 and 40 […]

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European and Asian leaders condemn Nice terrorist attack

  EUROPEAN and Asian leaders who are gathering at the Asia-Europe meeting summit in Mongolia on Friday (July 15) condemned the attack in French Riviera city of Nice, as they expressed disbelief about the latest attack in France. “Everyone who is here at the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) summit is united in the disbelief about the attack of mass murder in Nice,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the major summit between Asian […]

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