Israeli far-right minister backs contentious West Bank settlement plan
14/08/2025
Hong Kong court to hear closing arguments in mogul Jimmy Lai's trial
14/08/2025
Serbia: Clashes erupt for a second day at anti-government protests
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Wildfires kill at least 3 and displace thousands across southern Europe
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DR Congo: US sanctions armed group, mining firms
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Last chance saloon for global plastic pollution treaty
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US places $5 million reward for top Haiti gang leader's arrest
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French animal shelters see surge in heatwave cases
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Four years on: Taking stock of the Taliban's return to Kabul
14/08/2025
Trump-Putin summit: Ukraine's European allies discuss ceasefire conditions
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France 24
35 minutes ago
- France 24
Macron vows to punish antisemitic 'hatred' after memorial tree cut down
Politicians across the political spectrum condemned the act as an attack against the memory of Ilan Halimi, who was kidnapped by a gang of around 20 youths in January 2006 and tortured in a low-income housing estate in the Paris suburb of Bagneux. Found three weeks later, the 23-year-old died on the way to hospital. An olive tree, planted in 2011 in Halimi's memory, was cut down, probably with a chainsaw, on Wednesday night in the northern Paris suburb of Epinay-sur-Seine. The incident stoked fresh concerns about an increase in antisemitic acts and hate crimes in France as international tensions mount over Gaza. "Every effort will be made to punish this act of hatred," Macron said on X, adding that France's fight against antisemitism will be "uncompromising". "The nation will not forget this son of France who died because he was Jewish," Macron said. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou called the tree "a living bulwark against oblivion". "The never-ending fight against the deadly poison of hatred is our primary duty," he added. Officials pledged to plant a new memorial tree "as soon as possible". - 'Extremely painful' - Members of France's Jewish community -- one of the largest in the world -- have said the number of antisemitic acts has surged following the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023 which was followed by Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip and aid blockade. In 2006, Halimi's murder struck horror into France's Jewish community and stirred debate about antisemitism in France. Police at the time initially refused to consider the murder a hate crime, and tens of thousands took to the street to demand justice. Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), said on Friday the felling of the tree was "extremely painful". "There is nothing more cowardly, and those who have murdered his memory are no better than those who took his life 20 years ago," Arfi told AFP. "This is not just another antisemitic act, it is a way for antisemites to shout that they are here more than ever." Herve Chevreau, the mayor of Epinay-sur-Seine, filed a criminal complaint. Paris police chief Laurent Nunez condemned what he called a "despicable act" and said an investigation had been launched. Halimi was lured by a 17-year-old girl to a housing estate basement in the suburbs, where he was attacked and subdued with ether. Held prisoner for ransom, Halimi was tortured for 24 days before he was found naked, bound and gagged on February 13, 2006. Youssouf Fofana, the head of the gang dubbed the "Barbarians", was sentenced to life in prison. The son of Ivorian immigrants, Fofana had recruited followers among youths from Paris's bleak immigrant suburbs. Two other trees planted in tribute to Halimi were vandalised and sawn down in 2019 in the southern suburb of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois, where Halimi was found dying near a railway track. Reported antisemitic acts in France surged from 436 in 2022 to 1,676 in 2023, before dipping to 1,570 last year, according to the interior ministry.
France 24
35 minutes ago
- France 24
Hodgkinson happy to be back on track ahead of Tokyo worlds
The 23-year-old Briton, also a two-time world silver medallist, will compete in the two-lap race at the Diamond League meeting in Silesia, Poland, on Saturday. "Yeah, it's been a long time, over a year since Paris," Hodginkson told a press conference on Friday. "That wasn't my plan to be this late, but I'm just super happy to get back in the start line. "I missed it. I missed it a lot. This is what I trained to do. So I can't wait to get out there and just give it my absolute best. And yeah, we'll see what happens." It marks the end of a long road back from a hamstring injury for Hodgkinson. She was forced to withdraw from an event in February that bore her name – the Keely Klassic, in which she wanted a tilt at the long-standing world indoor 800m world record. Hodgkinson then pulled out of last month's Diamond League meet in London. But just a month away from the world championships in Tokyo, Hodgkinson will return to action in southwest Poland. In what looks like a perfect line-up for a comeback after so long out of elite competition, the field is relatively moderate. Oratile Nowe of Botswana has the best season's best with 1min 57.49sec, while the field also includes the Australian duo of Abbey Caldwell and Catriona Bisset, American Raevyn Rogers and Slovakia's Gabriela Gajanova, who finished runner-up to Hodgkinson in the European championships in Rome last year. Her biggest rivals such as Kenya's Mary Moraa, Ethiopian Tsige Duguma and South African Prudence Sekgodiso are all absent, while Hodgkinson's in-form training partner Georgia Hunter Bell will race the 1,500m in Chorzow. Following 800m wins at the Diamond League events in Stockholm and London, Hunter Bell will test herself in the longer event against Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay and Diribe Welteji in a high-quality line-up. Hodgkinson, however, is expected to go head-to-head with Hunter Bell, the Olympic 1500m bronze medallist, over 800m at the Lausanne Diamond League next week as the days count down to Tokyo. "Tomorrow is just a stepping stone on the way there," Hodgkinson said. "I'm looking forward to getting out there, just being competitive again, and I've come out ready to go. "I'm just excited to put something together. It's been a frustrating year, for real. "It's been so long coming off the back of winning the Olympics last year, not ideal at all, that I just couldn't even get on the start line. And it's definitely been a bit upsetting at times.
Local France
an hour ago
- Local France
French PM decries 'anti-Semitic hatred' after memorial tree cut down
On January 20, 2006, 23-year-old Ilan Halimi, was kidnapped by a gang of youths and tortured in a housing estate in the Paris suburb of Bagneux. Found three weeks later, he died on the way to hospital. An olive tree, planted in 2011 in Halimi's memory, was cut down, probably with a chainsaw, overnight Wednesday to Thursday in the northern Paris suburb of Epinay-sur-Seine, officials said. The move stoked fresh concerns about an increase in anti-Semitic acts and hate crime against Jewish people in France. "The tree for Ilan Halimi, a living bulwark against oblivion, has been cut down by anti-Semitic hatred," Bayrou said on X on Friday. "No crime can eradicate memory. The never-ending fight against the deadly poison of hatred is our primary duty," he added. Herve Chevreau, the mayor of Epinay-sur-Seine, said on Thursday he had filed a complaint. Paris police chief Laurent Nunez condemned what he called a "despicable act." "An investigation has been launched. Everything will be done to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice," Nunez said on X. Jewish groups in France have said that the number of anti-Semitic acts has surged following the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023 which was followed by Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip and aid blockade. Advertisement Halimi was lured by a 17-year-old girl to a housing estate basement in the suburbs, where he was attacked and subdued with ether. Held prisoner for ransom, Halimi was tortured for 24 days before he was found naked and handcuffed to a tree near a railway track on February 13, 2006. Halimi's kidnap and murder stirred debate about anti-Semitism in France after police initially refused to consider it a hate crime, with tens of thousands taking to the street to demand justice. Youssouf Fofana, the head of the gang, was sentenced to life in prison.
