by admin | May 25, 2021 | Media, World
Paris : French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is again at the centre of controversy with a new front cover blaming terrorist attacks in Europe on Islam.
A cover illustration depicts two blood-soaked pedestrians after being hit by a speeding van, with the caption: “Islam is the religion of peace eternal.”
It has become one of the top trending topics on Twitter in France, with users describing it as “Islamophobic”, “racist” and “disgusting”.
Internet users also accused it of stirring up hatred against Muslims by linking Islam to terrorism, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
Prominent Socialist lawmaker and former minister Stephane Le Foll said Charlie Hebdo risked fanning Islamophobia and called the front page “extremely dangerous”.
“To say that Islam is a religion of peace by implying that it is, in fact, a religion of death is extremely dangerous,” Le Foll told French broadcaster BFMTV.
“When you’re a journalist, you need to exercise restraint because making these associations can be used by others,” he added.
France, and Europe generally, has suffered a string of terrorist attacks featuring vehicles being used as a weapon to kill civilians indiscriminately.
Both Muslims and non-Muslims have fallen victim to attacks in London, Berlin, Nice and elsewhere.
Charlie Hebdo itself was a target of a terrorist attack in January 2015 when two gunmen stormed its Paris offices, killing 12 people.
—SM/IINA
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Uncategorized
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Paris (IINA) – Torrential rain and flooding have killed at least 17 people in parts of Europe, with France declaring a natural disaster after the River Seine in Paris burst its banks in some places displacing thousands of people.
Paris’ Louvre and Orsay museums shut their doors in a race to move art treasures from their basements, as the River Seine Saturday neared its highest level in more than three decades. Parisians were urged to stay away from the Seine, which has spilled over its banks in places and at 3:00 am (0100 GMT) Saturday was at 6.09 metres (just under 20 feet) above normal levels. The Seine’s famous tree-lined riverside walkways, usually the evening haunt of strolling couples, were inundated with several feet of eddying water.
French President Francois Hollande made the announcement on Friday, saying compensation would be paid to those affected by the worst flooding to hit the French capital in 35 years. “When there are climate phenomena of such seriousness, we must all be conscious that it’s on a world scale and that we must act,” Hollande said. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has ordered some parks to close, and gymnasiums to open to homeless people amid the flooding, which city authorities said could take weeks to recede. The French interior ministry said the homes of some 20,000 people have been evacuated. Another 20,000 homes in the south of Paris have lost power.
French environment officials said the Seine will reach its maximum level late on Friday as rainfall across the country begins to taper off. As the flooding continues, French authorities said on Friday that a second person had died in the flooding. The 74-year-old man fell into a river in the Seine-et-Marne region east of Paris. He was riding a horse at the time of the accident on Thursday evening.
Earlier in the week, an 86-year-old woman died in her flooded home in Souppes-sur-Loing, southeast of Paris. In Germany, 10 people have been killed, including four in Baden-Wuerttemberg, to Bavaria’s west, in flooding that hit Sunday and Monday. The German Insurance Association estimated that this week’s flooding has caused some $500m in damage in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg alone. Two other people were reported to have been killed in eastern Romania.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Paris (IANS)France pledged to take in 400 refugees per month from Greece, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced on Thursday.
In a statement, Cazeneuve added that 97 refugees arrived this week from Greece and Italy. An additional 253 asylum seekers are due to come next week, Xinhua reported.
The French minister also reiterated determination to honour commitment to help handling migration crisis.
France promises to receive 30,000 refugees over the next two years.
Last September, European leaders agreed on the EU proposal to redistribute 160,000 refugees across European states in order to help struggling Greece to cope with chaotic flows of migrants at its doors.
Escalating wars in Syria and Iraq, adding to persistent political instability in many African countries and in the Middle East, forced millions of people to risk their lives by boarding rickety boats to seek better life on the other Mediterranean rim.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Cairo, (IINA) – The UAE confirmed on Saturday its support for France’s initiative and all Arab and international efforts to achieve a comprehensive and just solution to the Palestinian issue based on international resolutions and firm principles, WAM reported.
This was announced by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash in a speech before the extraordinary meeting of the Arab foreign ministers in Cairo.
“We listened with interest to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who presented a comprehensive briefing about the developments of the vital Palestinian issue. The UAE takes a keen interest in following and supporting the Palestinian issue and undertaking its role as a member of the Arab Nation. It calls for a just and comprehensive settlement to the Palestinian issue based on international resolutions and firm principles”, he said.
He expressed hope that the French initiative would contribute towards reviving stalled peace talks and that the French would continue to mobilize international support for their initiative aimed at solving the Palestinian issue.
