France

PARIS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adopted a decision concerning the establishment of a Category I Institute on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education in Shanghai, China on Monday, during the 216th session of its executive board here.

(AP) --- Organizers of the Paris Olympics said they have sold 6.8 million tickets out of 10 million available with 14 months left before the opening ceremony and on Tuesday brushed off criticism that prices are too high.

Tony Estanguet, the organizing committee president, said the second ticketing phase that ended last week exceeded expectations despite some fans — and athletes — complaining about hefty prices.

22 May 2023; MEMO: The Iraqi national fencing team withdrew from the individual competitions in the World Fencing Championship in Istanbul, a qualifier for the Paris Olympics, after the competition draw pitted it against the Israeli team.

PARIS (AP) — French Open organizers are giving all players access to an online tool meant to protect them from cyberbullying and harassment on social media.

The French tennis federation said Monday the technology developed by a French company will be made available to all players taking part in this year’s clay-court Grand Slam tournament. The software uses artificial intelligence to filter comments posted to social media accounts and block those that are deemed toxic or abusive.

17 May 2023; MEMO: The French government is to pay reparations to thousands more Algerians and their families who were held in internment camps in France after the North African country's war of independence, AFP reports.

According to the report, the French government agreed to increase the number of Algerians and their relatives eligible to claim compensation for being forced to live in deplorable and squalid living conditions several decades ago.

PARIS (AP) — France pledged additional military aid for Ukraine on Sunday, including light tanks, armored vehicles, training for soldiers and other assistance as the Ukrainians gear up for a counteroffensive against Russian forces, following surprise talks in Paris between the Ukrainian and French presidents.

PARIS (AP) — The 22 women mostly met violent deaths. Their bodies, some dismembered, were found in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands over a span of 43 years — the most recent in 2019. Police say some showed signs of abuse or starvation.

But who they were is unknown, frustrating detectives’ hunts for their killers.

PARIS (AP) — French international news agency Agence France-Presse says its Ukraine video coordinator was killed Tuesday during a rocket attack near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

Arman Soldin, 32, was with a team of AFP journalists traveling with Ukrainian soldiers when the group came under fire with Grad rockets, the agency said. The rest of the AFP team was uninjured.

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron led the traditional ceremony on Paris’ Champs-Elysees Monday, commemorating the day that marked the end of World War II in Europe in 1945.

Flanked by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, Macron laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe monument. A brass band played the Marseillaise.

PARIS, May 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni “is incapable of resolving the migration problems” faced by her country, France’s interior minister said Thursday in comments that risk fuelling tensions
between Paris and Rome.

In a radio interview in Paris, Gerald Darmanin said Italy faced a “very serious migration crisis” and he drew parallels between Meloni and French far-right leader Marine Le Pen.