Paris, France | AFP | France was on edge Saturday on the eve of its most unpredictable presidential election in decades, which will take place under heightened security after the jihadist killing of a policeman. The shooting on Paris’s world-renowned Champs Elysees avenue on Thursday thrust questions of security to …
Read More »French election: what you need to know
Paris, France | AFP | Nearly 47 million French voters go to the polls on Sunday in the first round of the country’s presidential election. – Why is it important? – France is the EU’s second-biggest economy and also one of the world’s biggest military and diplomatic powers. With two …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Spate of attacks masks a weakening Islamic State
Paris, France | AFP | The steady drip of jihadist attacks in Europe, including the slaying of a policeman on Paris’s world-famous Champs Elysees Thursday, might give the impression the Islamic State group is thriving — but experts say that’s wrong. Under the pressure of the international coalition in Iraq …
Read More »‘Human hen’ artist condemned after hatching nine eggs
Paris, France | AFP | A French artist who hatched nine eggs after sitting on them for three weeks has been condemned by an animals rights group for depriving the chicks of a mother. Abraham Poincheval hardly slept in the 23 days he spent nesting inside a glass vitrine in …
Read More »Another shooting in Paris, French police officer dead
Paris, France | AFP | One police officer was killed and two others wounded Thursday in a shooting on Paris’s famed Champs Elysees, just days ahead of France’s presidential election, police said. France’s interior ministry said the gunman was killed after opening fire on the officers at around 9:00 pm …
Read More »Sex workers protest in Paris against penalising clients
Paris, France | AFP | Sex workers protested in central Paris on Saturday, marking the first anniversary of a French law which made it illegal for their clients to pay for sex. The protesters, mostly young women but including some men, held up banners saying “Stop the fines, our aggressors, AIDS, …
Read More »London, Paris, Seoul launch ‘name-and-shame’ polluting car index
Paris, France | AFP | The mayors of Paris, London and Seoul on Wednesday launched an initiative to rate the most polluting vehicles in a bid to keep them off the roads of their cities. The aim of the “Air’volution” scheme is to help drivers avoid buying the most harmful …
Read More »Scientists closer to wiping HIV out of body
France’s CNRS research institute says it has found a new way to zoom in on AIDS virus hideout Scientists have found a way to pinpoint elusive white blood cells which will provide a hideout for the AIDS virus in people taking anti-HIV drugs. These “reservoir” cells have long been a …
Read More »Kasparov wants to bring chess to 1 million African schoolchildren
Paris, France | AFP | Russia’s former world chess champion Garry Kasparov wants to bring the game to a million children in Africa as an educational tool to sharpen their learning skills and build confidence. “We have plenty of data collected from around the world… that proves beyond any doubt …
Read More »France warns against cuts to UN mission in DR Congo
United Nations, United States | AFP | France’s ambassador to the United Nations warned Tuesday that drastic cuts to the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo would be tantamount to “playing with fire” as the country faces election turmoil. France has circulated a draft resolution to renew …
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