France

PARIS, June 22 (NNN-SANEWS) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to attend and participate in the New Global Financing Pact Summit to be held in Paris, France, on June 22-23.

This at the invitation of his counterpart, the President of the Republic of France, Emmanuel Macron.

International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana as well as senior government officials will accompany President Ramaphosa to the summit.

21 June 2023; MEMO: Israel is reportedly set to support Saudi Arabia's bid to host the Expo 2030, amid efforts to convince the Kingdom to agree to normalise relations with Tel Aviv.

21 June 2023; MEMO: France has expressed its "deep concern" about Israel killing Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp this week. Five Palestinians were killed during an Israeli military offensive in the refugee camp, and 91 others were wounded, 23 of them critically. Two of the wounded have since died in hospital, including 15-year-old Sadeel Ghassan Turkman, whose death was announced this morning.

PARIS, June 18 (Reuters) - The European Union is speeding up arms deliveries to Ukraine in support of the country's counter offensive against Russian forces, EU industry chief Thierry Breton said on Sunday in an interview with the French daily Le Parisien.

"We are going to step up our efforts to deliver arms and ammunition-- this is a war of high intensity in which they play a crucial role," Breton said, citing a pledge to supply a million high-calibre weapons over the next 12 months.

"We are preparing for the war to last several more months, or even longer," he added.

June 16 (Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 4.8 struck France on Friday, the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said.

The earthquake's epicenter was near a commune in the Charente-Maritime region of western France, at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), GFZ said.

There was no immediate information on casualties or damage from the quake.

The GFZ revised an earlier measurement of a 5.5 magnitude earthquake.

PARIS, June 15. /TASS/: Crimea is an inseparable part of Russia and has nothing to do with today’s conflict in Ukraine, Marine Le Pen, the leader of the parliamentary faction of the National Rally party, told France Info radio on Thursday.

June 14 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said he will meet with Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk on Friday, the second time in just over a month, to promote France as a possible site for one of the electric vehicle (EV) maker's factories as well as to discuss tech regulation.

France has been courting Chinese EV giant BYD (002594.SZ) and Tesla to build factories in the country, officials had previously told Reuters but is competing with other EU countries such as Spain, which is in talks with Tesla too, a source told Reuters.

12 June 2023; MEMO: The United States has notified the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) of its intention to rejoin the international body nearly six years after withdrawing from the membership, Axios reported today. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay informed ambassadors of the member states that the US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Richard Verma, submitted a letter last week formalising the plan to rejoin.

PARIS (AP) — UNESCO announced Monday that the United States plans to rejoin the U.N. cultural and scientific agency — and pay more than $600 million in back dues — after a decade-long dispute sparked by the organization’s move to include Palestine as a member.

U.S. officials say the decision to return was motivated by concern that China is filling the gap left by the U.S. in UNESCO policymaking, notably in setting standards for artificial intelligence and technology education around the world.

PARIS (AP) — Children, parents and grandparents joined a few thousand well-wishers Sunday in a park in the French Alps town of Annecy to show solidarity and support for the victims of a playground stabbing attack that left four young children and two adults hospitalized with serious wounds,

The children represent ’’the poetry of life,″ Annecy Mayor Francois Astorg told the crowd, calling on Annecy residents to “come together to build, instead of to hate.”