France to relax nightly curfew on May 19, to scrap it on June 30: Source

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The French government will begin relaxing its COVID-19 curfew from May 19, a source familiar with the plan said on Thursday ahead of an expected announcement by President Emmanuel Macron. Macron told local newspapers in an interview that the nightly curfew would be moved back from 1900 to 2100 CET from May 19 and to … Read more

Boris Johnson: From Brexit hero to ‘vacuum of integrity’

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Boris Johnson has faced unprecedented pressure from Brexit and the coronavirus outbreak since he became British prime minister in 2019. But he is again under scrutiny about revelations of lavish spending on his official apartment. Questions about who paid for the Downing Street refurbishment have focused opposition attacks on the Conservative prime minister’s long history … Read more

France draws up bill on surveillance of jihadist websites

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France plans to strengthen its counter-terrorism laws by permitting the use of algorithms to detect activity on jihadist and other extremist websites. Draft legislation was submitted to President Emmanuel Macron and his government at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, after a wave of Islamist and Islamist-inspired attacks on French soil in recent years, including last … Read more

Ahead of Idriss Deby’s funeral, Chad rebels say command hit by air strike

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Chadian rebels said on Friday their command centre was bombed on Wednesday night in an attempt to kill their leader, as the nation gathered to pay homage to slain President Idriss Deby who was killed on the frontline on Monday. The rebels have this month swept south across the desert from their bases in Libya … Read more

Despite transatlantic ‘love fest’, EU charts third way in ties with US and China

Despite transatlantic ‘love fest’, EU charts third way in ties with US and China

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken‘s first videoconference with European Union foreign ministers last month was so good humoured that some diplomats in Europe described it as a “love fest”. But two senior envoys who attended said there was no direct response from the ministers gathered in Brussels when Blinken said: “We must push back … Read more

EU, China leaders seal long-awaited investment deal

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Top European Union officials and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded a business investment deal on Wednesday that will open big opportunities to European companies, but has the potential to irk the new American administration. Amid concerns about the human rights situation in China, the EU said the seven-year-long negotiations were concluded in “principle” during a … Read more

Thousands protest as France reels from police violence

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PARIS: Thousands took to the streets across France on Saturday to demand the government abandon a contentious new security law, in a controversy intensified by the beating and racial abuse of a black man by police officers that shocked the country. The demonstrations against the security law – which would restrict the right of the … Read more

Beijing eyes nuclear technology from France to strengthen its geopolitical dominance

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New Delhi: China has intensified lobbying and “backchannel negotiation” in its attempts to obtain billions of dollars’ worth of civilian nuclear technology from France, global security agencies that track Beijing’s moves to dominate geo-politics, said. The proposed move, if it fructifies, could be a setback for stability in Asia and emerge as a matter of … Read more

View: Want religious freedom and right to free speech? Then grant others the right to offend

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I stand with French President Emmanuel Macron in declaring that free speech includes the right to offend. Those offended are welcome to protest peacefully, but not to gag or kill the offenders. In France, a Christian teacher was assassinated by a Muslim fanatic for showing his class controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed earlier published … Read more

India deplores personal attack on French President; describes language unacceptable

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NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday displayed solidarity with France and deplored personal attacks on President Emmanuel Macron by terming it as ‘violation of the most basic standards of international discourse’. “We strongly deplore the personal attacks in unacceptable language on President Emmanuel Macron in violation of the most basic standards of international discourse,” MEA asserted … Read more