By RFI French prosecutors have dropped the sexual assault case brought against former IMF chief Dominque Strauss-Kahn by French writer Tristane Banon. They said they had prima facie evidence that a sexual assault took place, but the case was too old to prosecute. More: http://www.english.rfi.fr/france/ 20111013-banon-alleged-sexual-assault-case-against-strauss-kahn-dropped
By Angela Diffley While centre-left hopeful François Hollande took the lead as expected in Sunday’s first round of the Socialist Party primaries, he will have to face a second round, after winning a disappointing 39 per cent of the votes against 31 per cent for runner-up Martine Aubry. Arnaud […]
In Egypt, on her first day in her new High School, a 15 year old Ferial Habib was stopped on the door. Either you put on a Hijab, she was told, or you cannot enter. The girl refused. Habib is Coptic Christian, and they do not usually wear a Hijab in the […]
Alstom’s TGV holds record for high speed rail travel: 574,8 km/h By Rfi An agreement on the construction and operation of a 350 kilometre high-speed rail line linking Tangiers and Casablanca via the capital, Rabat, was signed during Sarkozy’s 2007 visit to Morocco. He vowed then that he would return to […]
By RFI Talks got underway in Paris on Saturday between International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The leaders planned to discuss the European debt crisis before Lagarde heads to Berlin on Sunday to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for more talks on how […]
By RFI The European Union is preparing coordinated action to prop up panic-stricken banks, as world financial chiefs meet in Berlin Thursday. Meanwhile, French and Belgian local authorities are locked in talks with governments and financial players over the crisis-hit Dexia bank. Details:http://www.english.rfi.fr/economy/20111006-finance-bosses-meet-berlin-bank-saving-plans-advance
By Clare Sharkey Paris has launched its first electric car-share scheme, Autolib. It’s modelled on the capital’s popular bicycle-sharing system, Reference: http://www.english.rfi.fr/france/20111003-borrowing-cars-paris
By RFI The first-ever advanced weather and climate research satellite to study the water cycle in the tropics and its relationship to climate change will be launched from the Bay of Bengal on 12 October. Equipment on board the Franco-Indian Megha-Tropique satellite will use microwave technology to cut through […]
PARIS (AFP) – Palestine won a first diplomatic victory in its quest for statehood on Wednesday when the UNESCO executive committee backed its bid to become a member of the cultural body with the rights of a state. Palestine’s Arab allies braved intense US and French diplomatic pressure to bring […]
By RFI France on Friday introduced a ban on praying in the street forcing thousands of muslims into temporary alternative spaces for their day of prayer. Interior Minister Claude Gueant has said that praying in the street is a direct attack on the principle of secularism. In Paris, a former […]
By Tony Cross The TV debate between France’s aspiring Socialist presidential candidates may have beaten Masterchef in Thursday evening’s ratings, but the party still has its work cut out to ensure victory in the election next year. Five million viewers watched the six would-be candidates politely disagree on secondary matters […]
By RFI Nicolas Bazire, Sarkozy’s best man at his 2008 wedding to Carla Bruni, was charged with corruption on Thursday after being questioned overnight in connection with allegations of kickbacks on an arms deal with Pakistan. President Nicolas Sarkozy’s staff issued a communiqué on Thursday to distance him from […]
By RFI French police questioned President Sarkozy’s longtime friend and adviser Brice Hortefeux on Friday, in connection with the so-called Karachi affair, in which two of Sarkozy’s closest allies are already implicated. He was interviewed over a phone call he made to a suspect in the Karachi affair, to warn […]
France 24. REUTERS – The top Socialist candidates for France’s presidential election next year promised on Wednesday to bring the banking system to heel, punish tax evaders and empower the government to steer a faltering economy toward recovery. In their second televised debate ahead of a Socialist party primary next month, […]
France 24. In the first face-to-face encounter since his May 14 arrest in New York, Dominique Strauss-Kahn is Thursday set to face Tristane Banon (right), a French writer who has accused the former IMF chief of attempted rape in 2003. Details. http://www.france24.com/en/20110929-strauss-kahn-french-writer-sex-assault-accuser-tristane-banon-justice-paris-france
Courtesy / Source: BBC Two French Muslim women who continue to wear the full-face veil in defiance of a new law banning it in France have been issued fines by a court. Hind Ahmas and Najate Nait Ali were arrested wearing the niqab in public outside Meaux town hall, eastern Paris, soon after the law came in […]
By RFI French police are trying to track down the instigator of a Facebook page that called on people to cut the throats of Muslims on the Eid Al-Adha holiday. The page has been closed down but its author is being sought for breaking anti-racist laws. More: http://www.english.rfi.fr/culture/20110909-french-police-stop-facebook-call-cut-muslims-throats
Rfi. Fr. The caretaker of the military cemetery of Saint-Michel de la ville discovered racist and Nazi slogans daubed on the gravestones when he closed up on Saturday. The graves belonged to Muslims killed fighting for France during World War I and were immediately repainted and restored. The graffiti were […]
By RFI French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron were greeted by delighted staff when they toured Tripoli Medical Centre, shortly after they arrived separately in the Libyan capital on Thursday. More: http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20110915-cameron-sarkozy-arrive-tripoli-talks-post-kadhafi-regime
By RFI Belgium has moved a step further towards forming a new government after marathon negotiations involving the country’s eight Flemish and Francophone parties. Brussels has been without a government for a world-record 459 days. More: http://www.english.rfi.fr/europe/20110915-belgium-moves-step-closer-forming-government