Latest news with #AgenceFrancePresse
Russia Today
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Gaza reporters starving to death – journalists' association
The last remaining Palestinian collaborators for Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Gaza are starving, unable to continue working or survive under current conditions, the agency's internal journalists' association has warned. AFP has been relying on ten local freelancers since its staff withdrew from the enclave in early 2024, the Society of Journalists (SDJ) said in a statement on Monday. 'They are young, but their strength is fading. Most no longer have the physical capacity to move through the enclave to do their job,' the association wrote on X. The freelancers get paid but there's nothing to buy, the statement explained. They live in 'utter destitution,' with some suffering from untreated illnesses and severe malnutrition. With no fuel or vehicles available, the journalists travel on foot or by donkey cart to cover the conflict. Since its foundation in 1944, AFP has 'never faced the horror of watching one of our collaborators starve to death,' the association concluded. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot responded to the statement on Monday, saying the government hopes to evacuate some of the agency's collaborators in the coming weeks. He also demanded that international press be allowed to enter Gaza 'to show what is happening there and to bear witness.' Israel has banned foreign journalists from the enclave, citing security risks and the need to prevent the leaking of sensitive operational information. Only tightly escorted visits with the Israeli military have been allowed. Last month, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) described the ban as 'unprecedented' and called for it to be lifted. In May, after nearly three months of total blockade, Israel announced it would permit only a minimal flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Officials described the policy as necessary to prevent mass starvation while continuing to pressure Hamas. International organizations and human right groups have long issued warnings of 'catastrophic hunger' and rising fatalities from malnutrition in Gaza. The current conflict began in October 2023 after a deadly Hamas incursion into southern Israel left 1200 people dead. Since then, over 59,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
South China Morning Post
7 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Ukraine installs anti-drone nets over roads to protect frontline supply routes
A ravaged car with its engine destroyed and doors riddled with shrapnel lay on the side of the road near Dobropillia, a sleepy town not far from the front line in eastern Ukraine. Hit by a small, remote-controlled drone, the mangled chassis was a stark reminder of why Ukraine is hurrying to mount netting over supply routes behind the sprawling front line to thwart Russian aerial attacks. As Russia's invasion grinds through its fourth year, Moscow and Kyiv are both menacing each other's armies with swarms of cheap drones, easily found on the market and rigged with deadly explosives. Agence France-Presse reporters saw Ukrainian soldiers installing green nets on four-metre (13-foot) poles spanning kilometres of road in the eastern Donetsk region, where some of the war's most intense fighting has taken place. A shop hit by a Russian FPV explosive drone in the town of Dobropillia, in the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine. Photo: AFP 'When a drone hits the net, it short-circuits and it cannot target vehicles,' said 27-year-old engineering brigade commander Denis, working under the blazing sun.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Yahoo
Prisoner Serving Multiple Sentences Escapes Jail by Hiding in Fellow Cellmate's Luggage as He's Released
A man escaped from prison as his cellmate was being released by hiding in his bag — and officials are still searching for him According to a French prison administration official, the 20-year-old man serving multiple sentences climbed into his cellmate's laundry bag as he was being released at the end of his sentence Officials believe the man escaped on Friday, July 11, and prison officials only noticed the following morningA man escaped from prison as his cellmate was being released by hiding in his bag — and officials are still searching for him. According to reports from CNN, the BBC and CBS News, Sébastien Cauwel, the director of France's prison administration, told local outlet BFMTV on Sunday, July 13, that the man "took advantage" of his cellmate's release from the Corbas prison, located near the southeastern French city of Lyon. Prison officials believe the man — a 20-year-old who was serving multiple sentences — escaped on Friday, July 11, and they only noticed that he was gone the following morning, Cauwel said. BFMTV reported that the man's cellmate had completed his sentence and was leaving the prison when the escapee got inside his laundry bag. "This is an extremely rare event that we have never seen in this administration and which clearly shows a whole series of serious failures," Cauwel said, calling the incident an "accumulation of errors." Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that the man was also under investigation in a case connected to organized crime, and local investigators were looking into his escape as "part of an organized gang and criminal conspiracy," per the BBC. Last month, the Lyon Bar Association raised concerns about overcrowding at the Lyon-Corbas prison, the BBC reported, and Cauwel said that the prison currently has an occupancy rate of 170%. "That makes the working conditions of our officers more complicated," Cauwel said. Back in May, BFMTV reported that about 1,200 people were detained in the prison, which has a capacity for 678 inmates. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. CNN reported that a similar incident took place last year, when another French prisoner escaped after armed men ambushed a prison convoy transporting him to a jail in Normandy. Reuters reported at the time that the escapee, Mohamed Amra — who has been nicknamed "The Fly" — was arrested again in Romania in February 2025. Read the original article on People
UAE Moments
02-07-2025
- Politics
- UAE Moments
Turkish Magazine's Prophet Muhammad Cartoon Causes Uproar
Hundreds of people came onto the streets in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Monday, June 30, after LeMan magazine published a cartoon, which appears to show the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). LeMan wrote on X, "The work does not refer to the Prophet Muhammed in any way." Portestors gathered outside the magazine's offices in the city, chanting, "tooth for tooth, blood for blood, revenge, revenge". Riot police were deployed, and a correspondent from Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported seeing rubber bullets and tear gas being fired to disperse the crowds. The country's interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, revealed that the magazine's editor-in-chief, graphic designer, institutional director, and cartoonist have been detained. The chief public prosecutor's office has initiated an investigation into the matter for "publicly insulting religious values". The country;s justice minister, Yilmaz Tunc, said that the necessary legal measures will be taken against the detainees. Arrest warrants have been issued for other members of the magazine's senior management. LeMan has apologized fo the cartoon, but they had rejected allegations that the cartoon depicts the Prophet. The cartoonist wanted to portray the righteousness of the oppressed Muslim people by depicting a Muslim killed by Israel, and he never intended to insult religious values," the magazine said in a statement on X. "We do not accept the stain that is cast on us because there is no depiction of our Prophet. You have to be very malicious to interpret the cartoon in this way."
Washington Post
28-06-2025
- Washington Post
Small bear disrupts Japanese airport, prompting low-speed chase on runway
Officials at a small airport in northern Japan conducted a low-speed car chase Thursday to thwart a security risk: a small black bear. An employee at Yamagata airport in Higashine, Yamagata Prefecture spotted the bear near the runway early Thursday morning, according to Japanese outlet Yomiuri Shimbun. Airport personnel briefly shut down operations to run safety checks when staff lost sight of the bear, Yomiuri Shimbun reported. The bear, about four feet tall, reemerged around noon to cause a level of havoc three times its size: Twelve flights were canceled Thursday as airport employees chased the bear around the runway, Yamagata airport official Akira Nagai told Agence France-Presse. 'We're in a stalemate now,' Nagai said at the time, noting that the airport would remain closed until 8 p.m. as they assessed the situation. Nagai confirmed to The Washington Post on Friday that the airport had resumed operations Thursday night after the bear seemed to disappear once more. Yamagata is one of the smaller airports in Japan. The sighting comes as Japan wrestles with an uptick in bear sightings — some of which have resulted in fatalities, Japanese outlet Kyodo News reported in April. Footage from Japan's Nippon TV showed the bear walking through a grassy field and running onto a runway Thursday as a bright-colored car followed behind. In one scene, the bear puts its paws on a fence. 'Given the situation there is no way we can host plane arrivals now,' Nagai told AFP that day. Nagai said hunters were hired to trap the bear. Local police also joined the effort by surrounding the premise, he added. The bear, to Nagai's knowledge, has not been captured. Local hunters are on the lookout. Nagai said he suspects the bear is hiding in the bushes or forest near the airport. Bear sightings — and attacks — in Japan have become increasingly common. Last January, Japan's Ministry of the Environment estimated that the number of bear sightings between April 2023 and October 2023, which is believed to be more than 19,000, surpassed the 18,000 sightings reported in 2020. A week before the black bear delayed flights at Yamagata airport, bear sightings caused a school to move a sports event indoors in Goshogawara, Aomori Prefecture, according to Yomiuri Shimbun. Cate Brown contributed to this report.
