Who is Zac Goldsmith? Newly single Ellie Goulding strikes up unlikely friendship with wealthy politician
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What is the Tom Brady Diet? NFL legend still sticks to rigorous regime
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Tristan Tate: Inside Andrew Tate's brother and misogynist influencer's dating life
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France endures fifth night of violence after teenager’s funeral with street battles in Marseille
France has endured a fifth night of violence following a day when emotional mourners gathered for the funeral of a teenager whose killing by police sparked nationwide unrest. Even though the rioting appeared to be less intense on Saturday, with tens of thousands of police deployed in cities across the country, more than 700 people were arrested. Police fired tear gas and fought street battles with protestors late into the night in flashpoint Marseilles. Earlier in the day, 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk was laid to rest in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, where he had been shot dead by a police officer during a traffic stop on Tuesday, triggering days of fierce clashes. President Emmanuel Macron postponed a state visit to Germany, which was due to begin on Sunday, to handle the worst crisis for his leadership since the “Yellow Vest” protests paralysed much of France in late 2018. Some 45,000 police were on the streets with specialised elite units, armoured vehicles and helicopters brought in to reinforce its three largest cities, Paris, Lyon, and Marseille. In the early hours of Sunday morning, the situation was calmer than the previous four nights, although there was some tension in central Paris, and sporadic clashes in the Mediterranean city of Nice and the eastern city of Strasbourg, with Marseille city centre proving to be the biggest flashpoint. In Paris, police increased security at the city's landmark Champs Elysees Avenue following a call on social media to gather there. The street, usually packed with tourists, was lined with security forces carrying out spot checks. Shop facades were boarded up to prevent potential damage and pillaging. The interior ministry said 1,311 people had been arrested on Friday night, compared with 875 the previous night, although it described the violence as "lower in intensity". Police had made 719 arrests nationwide by early Sunday. Local authorities all over the country announced bans on demonstrations, ordered public transport to stop running in the evening, and some imposed overnight curfews. This came after a day of heightened emotions when several hundred people lined up to enter Nanterre’s grand mosque for the funeral of the teenager, of Algerian and Moroccan parents, who was fatally shot by police. Volunteers in yellow vests stood guard, while a few dozen bystanders watched from across the street. Some of the mourners, their arms crossed, said “God is Greatest” in Arabic, as they spanned the boulevard in prayer. Marie, 60, said she had lived in Nanterre for 50 years and there had always been problems with the police. “This absolutely needs to stop. The government is completely disconnected from our reality,” she said. The shooting of the teenager, caught on video, has reignited longstanding complaints by poor and racially mixed urban communities of police violence and racism. Nahel was known to police for previously failing to comply with traffic stop orders and was illegally driving a rental car, the Nanterre prosecutor said on Thursday. Macron has denied there is systemic racism in French law enforcement agencies. There is also a broader anger in the country’s poorest suburbs, where inequalities and crime are rife and French leaders have failed for decades to tackle what some politicians have called a “geographical, social and ethnic apartheid.” The unrest, a blow to France's global image just a year from holding the Olympic Games, will add political pressure on Macron. He had already faced months of anger and sometimes violent demonstrations across the country after pushing through a pension overhaul. Postponement of the state visit to Germany is the second time this year he has had to cancel a high-level event because of the domestic situation in France. In March, he cancelled King Charles’ planned state visit. Rioters have torched 2,000 vehicles since the start of the unrest. More than 200 police officers have been injured, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Saturday, adding that the average age of those arrested was 17. Justice Minister Eric Dupont-Moretti said 30% of detainees were under 18. More than 700 shops, supermarkets, restaurants and bank branches had been "ransacked, looted and sometimes even burnt to the ground since Tuesday", Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said. In Marseille, where 80 people had been arrested on Friday, police said they had detained 60 people. "It's very scary. We can hear a helicopter and are just not going out because it's very worrying," said Tatiana, 79, a pensioner who lives in the city centre. In Lyon, France's third largest city, police deployed armoured personnel carriers and a helicopter. The unrest has revived memories of nationwide riots in 2005 that lasted three weeks and forced then President Jacques Chirac to declare a state of emergency, after the death of two young men electrocuted in a power substation as they hid from police. Players from the national soccer team issued a rare statement calling for calm. "Violence must stop to leave way for mourning, dialogue and reconstruction," they said on star Kylian Mbappe's Instagram account. The South Winners supporters group, an influential fan group for Olympique de Marseille, called on the city's youth to "be wise and show restraint". "By acting in this way you are dirtying Nahel's memory and are also dividing our city." Events including two concerts at the Stade de France on the outskirts of Paris were cancelled, while LVMH-owned fashion house Celine cancelled its 2024 menswear show on Sunday, creative director Hedi Slimane said on Instagram. With the government urging social media companies to remove inflammatory material, Darmanin met officials from Meta, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok. Snapchat said it had zero tolerance for content that promoted violence. The policeman whom prosecutors say acknowledged firing a lethal shot at Nahel is in preventive custody under formal investigation for voluntary homicide, equivalent to being charged under Anglo-Saxon jurisdictions. His lawyer, Laurent-Franck Lienard, said his client had aimed at the driver's leg but was bumped when the car took off, causing him to shoot towards his chest. "Obviously (the officer) didn't want to kill the driver," Lienard said on BFM TV. Read More France riots - live: Nearly 500 arrested on the fifth night of unrest as teen’s funeral held Macron needs to get a grip on police brutality and social exclusion Warning to British travellers amid rioting in France France faces 5th night of rioting over teen's killing by police, signs of subsiding violence What the papers say – July 2 France riots: Cities face fifth night of violence despite police reinforcements
2023-07-02 15:56
Madonna was allegedly working with Katy Perry just hours before being rushed to ICU, claims source
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2023-07-02 15:52
Ukraine Recap: CIA Chief Burns Calls War ‘Corrosive’ for Putin
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2023-07-02 15:46
Liam Payne and Zayn in rare exchange on social media - a year after THAT interview
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2023-07-02 15:28
Former Tory leader warns Vodafone and Three merger poses ‘dangerous’ security risk
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has warned the merger between Vodafone and Three is “dangerous” and risks giving a company with its roots in Communist Party-ruled China a more prominent place in the UK’s mobile network. The former work and pensions secretary and MP for Chingford and Woodford Green said the proposed deal raised serious questions about national security and competition within the UK telecommunications market. Vodafone and Three, both of which have millions of customers in the UK and Ireland, announced earlier this month that they were joining forces in a multibillion-pound deal they said would create one of Europe’s biggest 5G networks. “This is a dangerous deal, which it seems is yet another example of how the Communist Party is trying to create a Western dependency on China,” Sir Iain told The Independent. “Not only does it raise important questions about competition, but it poses risks to our communication networks and personal data.” Three is owned by CK Hutchison, a Hong Kong-listed conglomerate that has been accused of supporting repression in the former British territory, where thousands of residents fled after China’s implementation of a sweeping national security law used by authorities to crack down on dissent against the regime in Beijing. Sir Iain is among a number of cross-party MPs to raise concerns about the growing influence of China in the West, and in particular, telecoms companies who have their headquarters there and are operating in the UK. “The government still doesn’t seem to understand that Chinese companies can be mandated to hand over their data to Beijing at the drop of a hat,” Sir Iain said. “We should be really worried about that. I also think we need to be taking a closer look at who owns these companies, the links between them and the Chinese government and the origins of the money flowing through them.” Last autumn the government announced that Shenzen-based Huawei technology must be removed from the UK’s 5G public networks by the end of 2027, It followed advice from the National Cyber Security Centre and pressure from Washington, which banned equipment made by the company because it posed an “unacceptable risk” to US national security. In March, prime minister Rishi Sunak warned that China plans to “reshape the world” in plans that posed an era-defining challenge for the UK and its allies in the West but dismissed calls for Beijing to be categorised as a threat, something his predecessor Liz Truss pushed for. The union Unite, which has 1.4 million members, is also campaigning against the merger, which some analysts say could result in job losses and higher prices for consumers who are already being squeezed by the cost of living crisis. The deal has triggered an initial investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority and will be subject to approval under the new National Security and Investment Act. Gail Cartmail, Unite’s executive head of operations, said: “Instead of idly watching the CK Group cream profits from UK businesses, the government should ask if they are a suitable custodian of British assets.” Charlotte Nichols, the Labour MP for Wigan North who sits on the Department for Business and Trade sub-committee on national security, said: “Unite the Union has shared research with me that shows this merger would leave sensitive government contracts and the data of millions of UK consumers in the hands of Three, a company whose key leadership have supported repression in Hong Kong and worked hand-in-hand with the Chinese state for decades. “This will be dangerous deal for the UK and I fully support Unite’s campaign against it.” Other MPs – both Labour and Conservative – have tabled questions to government departments asking what security assessments ministers have made of the proposed merger deal. Both Three and Vodafone refused to comment but have previously dismissed concerns about security, saying that they work closely with security bureaus in what is a regulated industry. The Cabinet Office has said it welcomes foreign trade and investment “where it supports growth and jobs in the UK, meets our stringent legal and regulatory requirements, and does not compromise our national security. “However, we will not hesitate to use our powers to protect national security where we identify concerns.” Read More Vodafone and Three to merge in multibillion-pound deal Vodafone and Three merger: What the huge deal actually means for you Cleverly defends China visit plans and pledges to use UK’s global ‘influence’ Three and Vodafone are merging. Here’s what that means for your phone No one wants to take responsibility for No 10 ‘groper’ complaints, warns accuser Top Tories urge Rishi Sunak to use cabinet reshuffle to get a grip on warring party
2023-07-02 15:25
'Jeopardy! Masters' star Mattea Roach rocks chic look while talking about first lesbian film they ever saw: 'It blew my mind'
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2023-07-02 15:24
'It seemed like such an iconic piece of music': Bruce Springsteen knew Born In The USA would be a hit
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Slipknot's Corey Taylor predicts he has 'another five years left of physically touring like this'
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Leonardo DiCaprio and Jeff Bezos join forces in a $200M effort to protect Amazon rainforest
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2023-07-02 15:19
