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☆ In French banlieues, distrust of police runs deep
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Layli Foroudi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Rioters have torched cars and public transport but also targeted town halls, police stations and schools - buildings that represent the French state. Some said Nahel, who was shot dead on Tuesday, could have been any of them, or their sons, brothers or friends. Yann Bastiere, a representative of the Unite SGP police union, said the officer who shot Nahel was innocent until proven guilty. Belaidi said teachers were not replaced and hospitals lacked resources, which has led to a feeling of abandonment by the state. Reporting by Layli Foroudi; additional reporting by Elizabeth Pineau; Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Benjamin Belaidi, Belaidi, Emmanuel Macron, Mohamed Jakoubi, Nahel, Yann Bastiere, Bastiere, Karima, Emile Chabal, Chabal, Olivier Klein, Layli Foroudi, Elizabeth Pineau, Angus MacSwan Organizations: PARIS, Reuters, police, Unite SGP police, Edinburgh University . Investment, France Inter, Thomson Locations: Paris, Nanterre, France, Nahel, Blanc Mesnil, Clichy

But officially colour-blind France has long refused to acknowledge any racial factor was at play. "From that point on, unions were involved in everything that's co-managed, including the managing of human resources," he told Reuters. But these fines are rare and rights groups say police officers often end up with light sentences, fuelling a sense of impunity. A rise in lethal police shootings over the last few years has been linked to a law reform in 2017, which broadens the circumstances in which an officer can use their firearm. "It is completely vague, and it allows to shoot much more freely," said Caille of the left-wing CGT police union.

Persons: Cedric Mas, Olivier Cahn, that's, " Cahn, Christophe Castaner, Gerald Darmanin, Franck Louvrier, Nicolas Sarkozy, Darmanin, Ravina Shamdasani, Anthony Caille, –, Sebastian Roche, Michel Rose, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Rights, Twitter, Cergy University, Reuters, Socialists, United Nations, Police, CGT Police, of, Society, CGT, Thomson Locations: PARIS, Britain, France, United States, Paris, Moroccan, – France, U.S, Nice

[1/4] Spanish Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz reacts during a campaign rally for her new left-wing umbrella party Sumar in the southern district of Orcasitas, Madrid, Spain, June 24, 2023. POPE'S BLESSINGOnce a Communist, Diaz now shies away from labelling herself as such or appealing solely to left-wing voters, although she rarely misses an opportunity to criticise capitalism. "We need better wages, especially in a country where the causes of inflation are tremendous corporate margins," she said. Two days later, Diaz registered Sumar, which first surfaced as a loose movement to unite the left in 2022, as a potential kingmaker bloc to run in the election. Reporting by Belén Carreño and Elena Rodríguez in Madrid; editing by Andrei Khalip and Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yolanda Diaz, Isabel Infantes, Pedro Sanchez, Diaz, Sanchez, Vox, Sanchez's, Shostakovich, Billie Eilish, Pope Francis, Pope, Podemos, Belén Carreño, Elena Rodríguez, Andrei Khalip, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Spanish Labour, REUTERS, Socialists, Reuters, Socialist, People's Party, Spanish Socialist Workers ' Party, PSOE, Communist, Spanish Catholic Church, Thomson Locations: Orcasitas, Madrid, Spain, MADRID, Sanchez's, Ukraine

☆ Sudan's RSF says it seized police camp as fighting rages
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Reuters was not immediately able to verify the footage or the RSF statement. Witnesses also reported a sharp increase in violence in recent days in Nyala, the largest city in the western Darfur region. The U.N. raised the alarm on Saturday over ethnic targeting and the killing of people from the Masalit community in El Geneina in West Darfur. The Central Reserve Police has been deployed by the army in ground fighting in recent weeks. There was also fighting between the army and the RSF last week around El Fashir, capital of North Darfur, which the U.N. says is inaccessible to humanitarian workers.

Persons: RSF, Witnesses, El Geneina, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed al, Samani, Saleh Haroun, El, Ravina Shamdasani, Khalid Abdelaziz, Emma Farge, Aidan Lewis, Helen Popper, Giles Elgood Organizations: Sudan's, Rapid Support Forces, Central Reserve Police, Reuters, Human, International Organization for Migration, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman, Nyala, Darfur, El Geneina, West Darfur, El, Kordofan, United States, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman we've, El Fashir, North Darfur, Chad, Sudan, Dubai, Geneva

☆ Sudan's RSF says it seized police base as fighting rages
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Witnesses also reported a sharp increase in violence in recent days in Nyala, the largest city in the western Darfur region. The U.N. raised the alarm on Saturday over ethnic targeting and the killing of people from the Masalit community in El Geneina in West Darfur. Khartoum and El Geneina have been worst affected by the war, although last week tensions and clashes escalated in other parts of Darfur and in Kordofan, in the south. The Central Reserve Police has been deployed by the army in ground fighting in recent weeks. There was also fighting between the army and the RSF last week around El Fashir, capital of North Darfur, which the U.N. says is inaccessible to humanitarian workers.

Persons: Witnesses, El Geneina, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed al, Samani, Saleh Haroun, El, U.N, Ravina Shamdasani, Khalid Abdelaziz, Emma Farge, Aidan Lewis, Helen Popper, Giles Elgood, Mark Porter Organizations: Sudan's, Rapid Support Forces, Central Reserve Police, Reuters, Human, International Organization for Migration, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman, Nyala, Darfur, El Geneina, West Darfur, El, Kordofan, United States, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman we've, El Fashir, North Darfur, Chad, Sudan, Dubai, Geneva

☆ Paris 2024 flame to be lit on April 16, relay to visit overseas territories
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Julien Pretot | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"It's going to be spectacular and will showcase all our territories," Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet said at a ceremony at the French capital's Sorbonne university. Following a brief domestic relay in Greece the flame is then handed over to the host city. Paris organisers have said they will use a three-masted ship the 'Belem' to take it the port city of Marseille, where the sailing competitions of the Olympics will take place. Usually the flame, held in a safety lantern, is flown by plane to the Olympic Games host city. Paris 2024 organisers have been planning to install the Olympic flame on the Eiffel Tower, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters last month.

Persons: Stephanie Lecocq PARIS, Armel Le, Tony Estanguet, Laure, Florent Manaudou, Dimitri Pavade, Anne Hidalgo, Julien Pretot, Kirsten Donovan, Toby Davis Organizations: Sorbonne University , Paris, Michel, French, Sorbonne, National Assembly, Senate, Olympic Games, Eiffel, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Marseille, Paris, France, Olympia, Athens, Montpellier, Corsica, Bordeaux, Brest, Strasbourg, Reims, Ville, Greece, Belem, Phocaea

☆ Tunisians struggle to buy sheep for Eid as economic crisis bites
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Jihed Abidellaoui | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] A Tunisian sheep breeder waits for customers at a livestock market in Borj El Amri, ahead of the Eid al-Adha, Tunisia June 17, 2023. REUTERS/Jihed Abidellaoui/File PhotoSummary Tunisians traditionally buy sheep for Eid al-Adha festivalDrought and expensive fodder increase sheep pricesTunisians already struggling with inflation and economyTUNIS, June 20 (Reuters) - Tunisians hoping to buy a sheep to slaughter for Islam's Eid al-Adha festival next week are facing much higher prices because of a drought, adding to public anxiety at an economic crisis that looks set to worsen. "We can't afford these prices," he said. He has already decided to sell 200 of his 350 sheep because he cannot afford to feed them. Farmers Union official Khaled Ayari said Tunisia had produced 1.2 million sheep for Eid in 2022 but only about 850,000 this year.

Persons: Jihed, Eid, Ridha Bouzid, Khaled Frekhi, El, Nabil Rhimi, Rhimi, Khaled Ayari, Haithem, Jihed Abidellaoui, Angus McDowall, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Farmers Union, Thomson Locations: Borj El, Adha, Tunisia, TUNIS

"The internal dynamic of this war is a bit beyond what an external actor can really influence". After the latest 24-hour truce expired on Sunday, residents in Khartoum and capital area reported fresh artillery fire and clashes. The United States and Saudi Arabia, which lies across the Red Sea from Sudan, have sponsored talks in the Saudi port city of Jeddah. EXODUSThe failure of talks has put the nation, which was already reliant on aid, in a perilous humanitarian state. It could take generations to try to put back together," said Alan Boswell, Horn of Africa Director for Crisis Group.

Persons: Magdi El, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Mokhtar, Hemedti, Mokhtar, Omar al, Bashir, Mahasin Ibrahim, Alan Boswell, Horn, Aidan Lewis, Khalid Abdelaziz, Daphne Psaledakis, Nafisa, Edmund Blair, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Rapid Response Forces, United Arab Emirates, Valley Institute, U.S . State Department, Reuters, Crisis, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Khartoum, CAIRO, truces, United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Saudi, UAE, Cairo, Abu Dhabi, African Union, KHARTOUM, Omdurman, Bahri, Darfur, North Kordofan, Port Sudan, El Geneina, Chad, Sudanese, Africa, East, Europe, Dubai, Washington

☆ Sudanese warring factions to resume indirect talks as clashes intensify
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Saudi-owned Al Arabiya said the two sides had agreed to indirect talks without providing details. RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said on Sunday he had spoken with Farhan and expressed his support for the Jeddah platform. Artillery and air strikes continued overnight, with residents in southern and eastern Khartoum and northern Bahri reporting sounds of artillery and gun clashes on Tuesday morning. Looters, some of whom Khartoum residents and neighbourhood committees said belong to the RSF, have pillaged neighbourhoods, stealing cars, breaking open safes, and occupying homes. Aid groups have struggled to provide extensive assistance to Khartoum residents, who face electricity and water shortages as well as dwindling supplies in shops and pharmacies.

Persons: Al Arabiya, RSF, General Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Faisal bin Farhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Farhan, Jawahir Mohamed, El Obeid, Dafallah al, Haj, Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa Eltahir, Adam Makary, Christina Fincher, Grant McCool Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Sovereign, Artillery, army's Engineers Corps, Engineers ' Corps, Emergency Lawyers, Nafisa, Thomson Locations: KHARTOUM, United States, Saudi Arabia, Al Arabiya, Khartoum, Saudi, Jeddah, Bahri, OMDURMAN, Omdurman, Darfur, Egypt, Sudan, Dubai, Cairo

☆ Shelling, looting in Sudan's capital as military factions battle for eighth week
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Late on Sunday, residents reported intense fighting across the three cities that make up the nation's wider capital - Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri - and smoke could be seen rising from several areas early on Monday. In Khartoum East district, RSF troops who have spread out in neighbourhoods across the capital were in full control and were looting extensively, said Waleed Adam, a resident of the area. Residents have also reported widespread looting and insecurity in the area. There was no immediate comment from the army, which had denied on Sunday that the RSF had taken the town. In El Obeid, a city 360 km (220 miles) southwest of Khartoum and on a key route from the capital to Darfur, residents reported large deployments of RSF forces and the closure of some roads.

Persons: Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, Mohamed Saleh, Waleed Adam, El, Khalid Abdelaziz, Adam Makary, Aidan Lewis, Sriraj Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, REUTERS, U.S, Reuters, North Darfur State, Thomson Locations: Khartoum North, Sudan, Sudan Khartoum, Darfur, DUBAI, Khartoum, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman, Bahri, Khartoum East district, DARFUR, Sudan's, Kutum, North Darfur, El Obeid, Dubai, Cairo

[1/5] A view of a ransacked supermarket Auchan, after Senegal opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was sentenced to prison in Dakar, Senegal June 3, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra BensemraDAKAR, June 3 (Reuters) - Streets filled with rubble and ransacked shops greeted residents of some Dakar neighbourhoods on Saturday - fallout from clashes between anti-government protesters and police that have gripped Senegal in recent days. Mobs smashed windows and looted at least two gas station shops overnight in Dakar's Ouakam and Ngor districts, while an Auchan supermarket in densely populated Grand Yoff was torched and ransacked. The unrest is the latest in a string of protests in Senegal, long considered one of West Africa's most stable democracies. The opposition is also concerned that President Macky Sall will try to bypass the two-term limit and run again in February elections.

Persons: Ousmane Sonko, Khadija, Ndiaye, Macky Sall, Edward McAllister, Bate Felix, Alessandra Prentice, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Senegal, Dakar, DAKAR, Dakar's, Ouakam, West

☆ Sudan's war scatters country's emergent art scene
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Adam Makary | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Abdullah is a member of a youthful art scene that gained momentum from the popular uprising against autocrat Omar al-Bashir and finds itself scattered by war four years later. "We've always been repressed, especially during Bashir's time," said 28-year-old Rahiem Shadad, who co-founded Downtown Gallery in Sudan's capital in 2019. Shadad's gallery has raised just over $8,500 of a $30,000 target to support artists financially during the war. Painter and retired art professor Salah Abdelhay fled to Egypt with his wife and two daughters. Reporting by Adam Makary and Fatma Fahmy Editing by Aidan Lewis and Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Rahiem Shadad, Omar al, Bashir, Yasmeen Abdullah, I'd, Abdullah, autocrat Omar al, We've, Shadad, Muhammed Yusuf, Yusuf, Khalid Abdelrahman, Painter, Salah Abdelhay, Adam Makary, Aidan Lewis, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Downtown, Thomson Locations: Khartoum, Sudan, Cairo, Egypt, CAIRO, Sudan's, Shendi, Omdurman, Wadi Halfa

☆ Raging wildfire empties homes in eastern Canada, pollutes air in US
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Eric Martyn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The fire, which is about 30 kilometres (19 miles) west of downtown Halifax, has already forced 18,000 people to evacuate their homes. No fatalities have been reported but about 200 homes, structures have been damaged, the CBC reported, citing the Halifax Regional Municipality. Forest fires also led to evacuations of about 400 homes in the province of New Brunswick over the weekend, officials said. "The stories and the images we're seeing coming out of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are heartbreaking," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa, pledging federal support for the Atlantic provinces. The Halifax wildfire was expected to cause poor air quality hundreds of miles to the south in parts of the U.S. East Coast and Midwest as smoke drifts across the regions.

Persons: David Steeves, Justin Trudeau, what's, Brendan O'Brien, Ismail Shakil, Sriraj Kalluvila, Marguerita Choy, Deepa Babington Organizations: HALIFAX, U.S, Nova, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, CBC, CBC News, U.S ., National Weather Service, Thomson Locations: Nova Scotia, Halifax, Canadian, Halifax Regional Municipality, New Brunswick, Ottawa, Atlantic, Bedford , Nova Scotia, West Bedford, Alberta, U.S . East Coast, Midwest, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania , New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago

[1/5] A view shows an apartment building damaged during a massive Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 30, 2023. KYIV, May 30 (Reuters) - At least one person died and four were injured as a result of Russia's third attack on Kyiv in 24 hours, official said early on Tuesday, with Ukraine's air defence forces destroying more than 20 drones. Photos from Kyiv's officials and Reuters' witnesses showed flames bursting out from the top floors of the building and smoke rising from the roof. According to preliminary information, Tuesday's attacks were carried out only with Iranian-made Shahed drones, Kyiv's military administration said. "The enemy continues to attack the capital," Klitschko said in a post on the Telegram message.

[1/5] A view shows an apartment building damaged during a massive Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 30, 2023. One person died and four were injured when debris from a destroyed Russian projectile hit a high-rise apartment building sparking a fire, Ukrainian officials said. Russian state-owned news agency RIA cited the defence ministry as saying more than one air base had been hit. Moscow said it invaded Ukraine to "denazify" its neighbour and protect Russian speakers. Russia said on Monday the grain deal would no longer be operational unless a U.N. agreement with Moscow to overcome obstacles to Russian grain and fertiliser exports was fulfilled.

[1/3] Smoke from the Tantallon wildfire rises over houses in nearby Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada, May 28, 2023. REUTERS/Eric MartynHALIFAX, May 29 (Reuters) - A wildfire in the eastern Canadian city of Halifax led to mandatory evacuation orders for thousands of homes, with officials saying residents are not allowed to return until advised by municipal authorities. These suburban communities are home to many of the city's workers and are situated about 15 miles from Halifax. The wildfire, aided by strong winds and tinder-dry woods, damaged dozens of homes and also hampered rescue services. But most of those fires have since been brought under control, helping oil and gas production to resume.

In a statement on Saturday, the RSF accused the army of violating the ceasefire and destroying the country's mint in an air strike. Those who remain in Khartoum are struggling with failures of services such as electricity, water and phone networks. On Saturday, Sudanese police said they were expanding deployment and also called in able retired officers to help. Services have collapsed and chaos has spread in Khartoum," said 52-year-old Ahmed Salih, a resident of the city. The RSF has denied reports that its soldiers are engaged in sexual assaults or looting.

☆ Burundi-born ex-police officer seeks to be Greece's first Black lawmaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Karolina Tagaris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] Conservative New Democracy party candidate Spiros Richard Hagabimana arrives for an election campaign event at the neighbourhood of Nikaia, near Athens, Greece, May 12, 2023. REUTERS/Louiza VradiSALAMINA, Greece, May 16 (Reuters) - In working-class neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Athens, Spiros Richard Hagabimana is going door-to-door in an election campaign that could see him become Greece's first Black lawmaker. Dressed in a suit and tie, Hagabimana walks the streets of the constituency he is contesting in Greece's May 21 election, meeting voters in farmers' markets and cafes. 'I WOULD HAVE BEEN FINISHED'Hagabimana first arrived in Greece in 1991 on a scholarship to study at the Naval Academy. Hagabimana, then a National Police officer, refused orders to suppress demonstrators and was jailed and beaten, he said.

☆ Air strikes, artillery fire escalate as factions battle in Sudan capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DUBAI, May 16 (Reuters) - Air strikes and artillery fire intensified sharply across Sudan's capital early on Tuesday, residents said, as the army sought to defend key bases from paramilitary rivals it has been fighting for more than a month. The air strikes, explosions and clashes could be heard in the south of Khartoum, and there was heavy shelling across the River Nile in parts of the adjoining cities of Bahri and Omdurman, witnesses said. The fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has triggered unrest in other areas of Sudan, especially in the western region of Darfur, but is concentrated in Khartoum. "We don't know what the citizens did to deserve a war in the middle of the houses." Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"I am moving freely around my forces, I am present in Bahri, I am present in Omdurman, I am present in Khartoum, I am present in Sharq al-Nil," Hemedti said. "They are spreading rumours that Mohamed Hamdan has been killed, and these are all lies that show that they are being defeated ... 'FALLING APART'Residents report a rise in looting and lawlessness after police vanished from the streets at the outset of the conflict. On Monday an employee of Sharq el-Nil hospital said the southern part of the facility had been hit by an air strike. On Sunday Burhan froze the bank accounts of the RSF and affiliated firms, and replaced the central bank governor.

☆ Battles shake Sudan's capital as power struggle escalates
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Army and RSF delegations have been meeting since the end of last week in talks sponsored by the United States and Saudi Arabia in the Saudi Red Sea port city of Jeddah. It has also sparked unrest in Sudan's western Darfur region. Conflicts are not new to Sudan, a country that sits at a strategic crossroads between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and the volatile Sahel region. This time intense fighting in Khartoum, one of Africa's biggest cities, has made the conflict far more alarming for Sudanese. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsReporting by Khalid Abdelaziz in Dubai and Mohamed Noureldin in Khartoum; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Edmund BlairOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

They have limited themselves to one meal a day, hoping their dwindling food supplies will last a month longer. "After that, we don't know what we'll do except survive off water and dates," he said by phone from Sudan's embattled capital. They face dwindling food supplies, power cuts, water shortages and patchy telecoms. He would have left Sudan but couldn't because he lost his passport before the fighting began. Life had come to a complete standstill, said Ahmed Khalid, 22, a college student still in Khartoum.

☆ Spain considers ending or curbing controversial 'golden visa' scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/ Albert GeaMADRID, May 8 (Reuters) - Spain could pull the plug on its so-called "golden visa" scheme that grants residency rights to foreigners who invest in real estate in the country, according to the leader of a left-wing party negotiating the issue with the government. "Spanish citizenship cannot be bought," Errejon said, adding that golden visas had led to a "brutal" rise in housing prices and forced locals out of their neighbourhoods without creating any new jobs. Earlier on Monday, El Pais newspaper reported Spain was considering tougher requirements for golden visa applications. From the start of the golden visa scheme in 2013 until last November, Spain issued almost 5,000 permits, with Chinese investors leading the list, government figures show. Errejon said the visas represented a "backdoor privilege" for millionaires, turning Spain into a "sort of colony, often attracting dark money".

☆ Sudan's well-off stuck in limbo at border town en route to Egypt
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Maggie Michael | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

While women, children and the elderly can enter Egypt freely, though often after waiting days in testing conditions at a packed border, Sudanese men aged 16-50 must apply for visas. When she got to Wadi Halfa the bus driver, who had promised to take her to Egypt, dropped her off with her family and demanded more money. He returned to Wadi Halfa to apply for his visa but was told to wait, so he sent his elderly parents to Egypt alone. Half the group continued on to Egypt while the rest settled in a school in Wadi Halfa, sleeping in a classroom with three other families. The school gave him and others a warning that they needed the classrooms back this week for end of year exams.

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