France’s crackdown on its foreign Roma population came under fire from all sides of the political and social spectrum yesterday on Tuesday as pressure mounted on the government to abandon its plan to “return” hundreds of people to their native countries.
French Minister of the Interior Brice Hortefeux insists that opposition to the strategy comes exclusively from a left-leaning Parisian elite out of touch with the mood of mainstream society, but a torrent of criticism is now stoking a backlash from the people the government claims to represent.
As the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance issued a statement saying it was “deeply concerned” about France’s tactics, a doctor and humanitarian aid worker said she would refuse the country’s highest honor in protest at the clampdown.
“After the expulsions of Afghans and now of the Roma, I would prefer to refuse this Legion d’Honneur with my head held high,” said Anne Marie Gouvet, who has taken part in several aid missions to conflict zones.
Arthur Hervet, a priest in the northern city of Lille, said he would return his national order of merit medal to Hortefeux as a sign of his anger over the “war” waged by the government on the Roma.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
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