France

PARIS, October 29. /TASS/: The police of France’s Lyon apprehended a man armed with a knife at a train terminal Thursday, CNews reported citing a police source.

According to the police, the man was about to carry out an attack.

PARIS, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- France will go into national lockdown starting from Friday to stem the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday evening.

"The virus is circulating at a speed that not even the most pessimistic forecasts had anticipated," said Macron in a televised address to the nation. "Like all our neighbors, we are at the same point, overwhelmed by a second wave which will undoubtedly be harder and more deadly than the first."

PARIS (AP) — Struggling plane maker Airbus says new European virus lockdown measures are making its life “a bit more difficult,” as it announced 1 billion euros ($1.16 billion) in pandemic-related losses for the third quarter Thursday amid a slower-than-expected recovery in air travel.

But CEO Guillaume Faury said Airbus has already repeatedly adapted its operations to cope with the virus and is not predicting major disruptions from the new restrictions, notably those announced in France and Germany on Wednesday.

PARIS, Oct 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Long-term exposure to air pollution may be linked to 15 percent of Covid-19 deaths globally, according to research published that highlights the health risks posed by greenhouse gas emissions.

Previous research has showed how air pollution from exhaust fumes and factories takes two years off the life expectancy of every man, woman and child on Earth.

Now experts in Germany and Cyprus say they have estimated the proportion of deaths from coronavirus that can be blamed of the exacerbating effects of air pollution.

PARIS, Oct 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Several Arab trade associations have announced the boycott of French products, protesting the recent comments made by President Emmanuel Macron on Islam.

Earlier this month, Macron pledged to fight “Islamist separatism”, which he said was threatening to take control in some Muslim communities around France.

He also described Islam as a religion “in crisis” worldwide and said the government would present a bill in December to strengthen a 1905 law that officially separated church and state in France.

26 Oct 2020; MEMO: Several Arab trade groups have announced their boycott of French products in response to incitements against the Islamic religion and insulting statements against Prophet Muhammad, Anadolu reports.

Arab activists also launched several social media campaigns for the boycott of all French products, using several hashtags as #boycottfrance #boycott_French_products #ProphetMuhammad.

PARIS (AP) — French authorities denounced Turkish “propaganda” against France that they said was aimed at fanning hate at home and abroad, and asked Sunday that calls to boycott French products cease immediately, saying such attacks were the work of a “radical minority.”

Meanwhile, the president of Turkey took a second insulting swipe at French President Emmanuel Macron for condoning caricatures of the prophet of Islam in a growing, potentially high-risk dispute.

New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) Pakistan will remain in FATF's 'grey' list till February 2021 as it has failed to fulfil six key obligations of the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog that include failure to take action against two of India's most wanted terrorists Maulana Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed, officials said on Friday.

The virtual plenary of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), held in the last three days, concluded that Pakistan will continue in its 'grey' list.

TASS, October 18: Chechnya’s head Ramzan Kadyrov has denounced the terrorist attack in which a teacher was killed in a Paris suburb and offered his condolences to the teacher’s family, Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel on Saturday.

"We condemn this act of terror and offer condolences to the family of the victim. Strongly opposing terrorism in any manifestations, I urge not to provoke the believers, nor to hurt their religious feelings," the Chechen leader said.

He assured France that the Chechens had nothing to do with the attack.

PARIS (Reuters) - French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday he would propose reinforcing controls on the financial flows of some Islamist associations, after the beheading of a teacher by a suspected Islamist attacker.

“There is a problem of financing a number of Islamist associations on which I think we can and must do better,” he told France 3 Television.

He cited cryptocurrencies as an example were controls could be improved, saying they could be used to finance groups or fighters abroad.