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February 19, 2019

French far-right weekly barred from Twitter over ‘hate speech’

The Twitter account of the French far-right weekly Rivarol was suspended Monday after repeated denunciations by watchdogs, with an anti-racism group hailing an “important victory”. The French government’s special representative on racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination, Frederic Potier, said the suspension…

February 18, 2019

After IS, French women held in Syria say ready to go home

Detained after fleeing the Islamic State group’s crumbling Syrian holdout, two women from France say they are ready to go home — if they are judged fairly. Behind the fence of a camp in Kurdish-held territory, the detainees wore long…

February 18, 2019

British boat rescues migrants trying to cross Channel

A British boat rescued 34 migrants crossing the Channel aboard a small motorised boat on Monday, Britain’s interior ministry said. “Today Border Force responded to an incident in the Channel involving a small boat containing 34 people,” the ministry said…

February 18, 2019

Amnesty urges release of Egyptian lawyer held over yellow vests

Rights group Amnesty International called Monday for the release of an Egyptian lawyer arrested after posing in a photo wearing a yellow vest symbolic of protests in France. Mohamed Ramadan, a human rights lawyer, was arrested on December 10 in…

February 18, 2019

Belgian Jewish museum trial interrupted as juror questioned

The trial of a Frenchman accused of shooting dead four people at the Jewish museum of Belgium was briefly interrupted on Monday as police were summoned to question a juror. “We cannot start the closing arguments under these conditions,” judge…

February 18, 2019

French court okays screening of film on priest’s abuse of boy scouts

A French court Monday approved cinema screenings of an award-winning director’s new film about the real-life story of a priest accused of sexually abusing boy scouts, even though the case has yet to come to trial. The 73-year-old priest, Bernard…

February 18, 2019

Swiss bank UBS faces French court ruling on fraud charges

A Paris court will rule Wednesday on whether Swiss banking giant UBS illegally tried to convince French clients to hide billions of euros in Switzerland, charges which prompted prosecutors to seek a record 3.7 billion-euro fine. The trial opened last…

February 18, 2019

‘Air Cocaine’ smuggling trial starts in France

Two former French air force pilots went on trial in France on Monday six years after they fled the Dominican Republic following a spectacular drugs bust on a private jet in the Caribbean nation. In what has become known as…

February 18, 2019

France sees ‘no reason’ to oppose extradition of Italian militants

France sees “no reason” to oppose the extradition of former Italian militants sought by Rome, one of the irritants between the neighbours, a minister said in an interview published Monday. French European Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau revised France’s long-standing position…