Paris, France | AFP | France has frozen the financial assets of a Congolese general placed on the UN’s sanctions list for supporting a massacre of civilians by a suspected militia in 2014 and 2015, according to a notice published Sunday. The government will freeze the “funds and financial resources” in …
Read More »Macron pledges aid for historic Senegal city threatened by Atlantic
Saint Louis, Senegal | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron got a rousing welcome Saturday from tens of thousands as he visited the historic city of Saint-Louis, Senegal’s former capital, and announced an aid package of 40 million euros for the UNESCO World Heritage site which is threatened by coastal …
Read More »Rihanna vows to ‘never stop’ fight to put children back in school
Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Megastar Rihanna vowed she would “never stop fighting” to get millions of children back in school on Friday as French President Emmanuel Macron promised a major boost in foreign aid for education in developing nations. Macron co-hosted a conference in Dakar organised by the Global …
Read More »Rihanna presses leaders to fund global education
New York, United States | AFP | Rihanna on Thursday used her star power to urge key governments to commit to ensuring education for the world’s poorest as she takes part in an international conference in Senegal. The chart-topping singer arrived in the capital Dakar where she on Friday will …
Read More »DR Congo rebel colonel arrested in Tanzania: rights group
Paris, France | AFP | A former DR Congo army colonel who threatened an uprising against President Joseph Kabila has been arrested in neighbouring Tanzania, which may be preparing to extradite him, a rights group said Thursday. John Tshibangu, who deserted to rebel against Kabila in 2012, said in a …
Read More »Turkey says France ‘cannot give lessons’ over Syria
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey on Thursday told France to refrain from giving “lessons” over its campaign in Syria, where Ankara is pressing a fierce offensive against Kurdish militia. The warning from Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu came a day after French President Emmanuel Macron told Ankara that it …
Read More »#MeToo movement ‘long overdue’ says Nigerian author Adichie
Paris, France | AFP | The great global reckoning with sexual harassment is “long overdue”, says acclaimed Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, but the feminist figurehead in Africa hopes it is not “a passing fad”. As the global #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct continues in the wake of the disgraced …
Read More »Macron tells Davos elite: ‘France is back’
Davos, Switzerland | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron told the world’s business elite in Davos on Wednesday that France was back as a European powerhouse under his reformist government. “France is back at the core of Europe,” Macron said in English in a highly anticipated speech, before switching to French …
Read More »World powers step up pressure on Syria, Russia over chemical attacks
Paris, France | AFP | Two dozen countries agreed Tuesday to push for sanctions against perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria, with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson saying Russia “ultimately bears responsibility” for such strikes. Twenty-four nations approved a new “partnership against impunity” for the use of chemical weapons, just …
Read More »France says it fell short on greenhouse gas emissions
Paris, France | AFP | France failed to meet its targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in 2016, the government said Monday, just a month after President Emmanuel Macron warned that “we are losing the battle” against global warming. The environment ministry said the country emitted 463 tons of greenhouse gases, …
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