France

20 May 2020; MEMO: Over 150 well-known personalities from the Arab world have called for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and political prisoners from jails in Arab states, citing the coronavirus pandemic during imprisonment as a “double punishment”.

The Arab figures consist of diplomats, journalists, artists, academics, human rights activists and intellectuals, all of whom contributed to the call in a column published yesterday on the French-language political site Orient XXI.

PARIS/BERLIN, May 18 (Xinhua) -- France and Germany on Monday jointly proposed that the European Commission borrow money on capital markets in the European Union's (EU) name and create a 500-billion-euro (546 billion U.S. dollars) recovery fund to help the coronavirus-battered European economies and regions.

Describing the proposal as "a major step forward," French President Emmanuel Macron told a joint video press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that it was the first time France and Germany agreed to let the EU raise debt jointly.

PARIS, May 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) – After 26 years on the run, Felicien Kabuga, alleged to have been a leading figure in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, has been arrested in Paris, France’s public prosecutor’s office and the police announced on Saturday.

Kabuga, now aged 84, once one of Rwanda’s richest men and accused of financing the genocide, has been living under a false identity in a flat, in Asnieres-Sur-Seine on Paris suburbs, said the statement.

PARIS (Reuters) - Rwanda genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga was arrested on Saturday in the Paris region, the French Justice Ministry said.

Kabuga, 84, who was living under a false identity in a flat in Asnieres-Sur-Seine, near Paris, had been pursued by international justice for 25 years, the ministry said in a statement.

French gendarmes arrested him at 0530 GMT on Saturday, the ministry said.

PARIS, May 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The novel coronavirus has killed more than 300,000 people worldwide, mostly in Europe and the United States, since it emerged in China late last year.

A total of 300,140 people have died across the globe from 4,403,714 officially registered cases.

The United States has registered the most deaths at 85,813 followed by Britain with 33,614, Italy at 31,368, France at 27,425 and Spain with 27,321 fatalities.

PARIS, May 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France on Wednesday reported a drop in coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours compared with previous days, as its overall toll passed the 27,000 mark.

The new deaths brought the total toll in hospitals and nursing homes from the pandemic in France to 27,074, the health ministry said.

But the ministry also acknowledged a counting error has revised down the toll in nursing homes by 15 people from the day earlier, adding it did not yet have a toll from nursing homes for Wednesday.

PARIS, May 12 (Xinhua) -- France's death toll from the coronavirus reached 26,991 on Tuesday, overtaking Spain's 26,920 as it recorded 348 more deaths in the last 24 hours. France thus became the world's fourth worst-hit country in terms of deaths after the United States, Britain and Italy, data from the Health Ministry showed.

Meanwhile, some 21,595 are hospitalized, among them 2,542 are in intensive care units, down by 170, consolidating a downtrend reported since April 8.

PARIS, May 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The coronavirus pandemic has now claimed more than 290,000 lives worldwide, according to official sources at 2200 GMT on Tuesday.

In total, 290,477 deaths have been registered, with Europe accounting for 159,205 of them.

The United States is the worst-affected country with 82,105 deaths, followed by Britain (32,692), Italy (30,911), France (26,991) and Spain (26,920).

PARIS, May 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of schools reopened throughout France on Tuesday as the government eases its coronavirus lockdown rules despite some fears of a second waves of infections.

According to official figures there were 348 new COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, bringing the national total to 26,991.

Primary and nursery schools reopened however, with teachers wearing face masks and the children’s chairs separated to avoid spreading the disease.

PARIS, May 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The number of Coronavirus cases worldwide topped four million as some of the hardest-hit countries readied to lift lockdown restrictions, despite concerns about a second wave of infections.

Governments around the world are trying to stop the spread of the disease while scrambling for ways to relieve pressure on their economies, which are facing a historic downturn with millions pushed into unemployment.