France

Myanmar protests focus on junta’s economic support

11:57 pm February 18, 2021

Yangon: State railway workers in Myanmar continued to strike Thursday despite a police rampage the previous night targeting them in a sign of the military junta’s concern over growing civil disobedience by public workers protesting the coup. Three-quarters of the country’s civil servants are on strike, all private banks are closed and the protests have weakened the […]

Internet disruption reported in southeast Iran amid unrest

UN nuclear chief to visit Tehran to discuss inspections

11:37 pm February 17, 2021

Berlin: The head of the UN nuclear watchdog will travel to Iran this weekend in an effort to find a “mutually agreeable solution” that allows it to continue its inspections in the country, the organisation said Wednesday. The International Atomic Energy Agency said that Director General Rafael Grossi will visit Tehran on Saturday for discussions with senior Iranian officials, whom it did not identify. […]

CMS holds Global Interfaith Convention to promote communal harmony

France, West Africa to step up counterterrorism efforts

9:00 pm February 16, 2021

Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday urged West African leaders to step up efforts in the fight against Islamic extremists in the Sahel region both on the military and political fronts, with support from the international community. Macron joined by video from Paris Tuesday a summit held in N’Djamena, Chad with the leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Mauritania. “The challenge of the N’Djamena summit is to take a next step, further and stronger,” Macron said. […]

Protesters say French anti-radicalism law is anti-Muslim

11:14 pm February 14, 2021

Paris: Activists rallied Sunday in Paris to demand that the French government abandon a bill aimed at rooting out Islamist extremism that the protesters say could trample on religious freedom and make all Muslims into potential suspects. French lawmakers hold a key vote Tuesday on the draft law, which is expected to win approval in […]

AP Interview: French government to tackle child abuse issue

11:51 pm February 12, 2021

Paris: France has a “deeply rooted” societal problem with child sexual abuse, the French official responsible for children and families acknowledged Friday while discussing new government plans to address it with tougher laws and heightened vigilance in schools. Speaking in an interview with The Associated Press, Adrien Taquet, a secretary of state in the French Health Ministry, said “there […]