The billionaire founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France last Saturday. Russia urges France not to turn the investigation as “political persecution,” and this arrest is reverberating around the world.Durov is under formal investigation over alleged illegal activities on Telegram.
France has already resisted attacks on its internet and rail services only days into the Paris Olympics. However, tens of thousands of police, gendarmes, and soldiers are part of the massive security force that has been put in place.As Lisa Bryant reports from Paris; a large number of the soldiers currently manning the streets of the French city have served overseas.
The Paris Olympics kick off on Friday evening with a stunning ceremony on the Seine River. The figures behind the event are staggering: billions of dollars, millions of tourists, thousands of athletes, and security forces. Aside from severe weather and political upheaval, the city’s first Olympic Games in a century faced a number of serious roadblocks in the lead-up, including COVID-19 threats and strike action.
In an attempt to undermine promises to make these Games the most inclusive ever, rights groups accuse French authorities of “social cleansing” ahead of the Paris Olympics by uprooting migrants, sex workers, and others from the capital.The government says it’s simply trying to address a longstanding problem.Â
In Paris, France, breakdancing makes its debut as a new Olympic sport. VOA’s Heather Maxwell talks to B-Girl Fatima Zahra El Mamouny and B-Boy Bilal Mallakh ahead of of their major game participation.
Some of the last surviving World War Two veterans gather in Normandy, France, next month on June 6, to mark the 1944 allied landings that began the country’s liberation from Nazi German control.However, a second war in Ukraine,another war on Europe’s doorstep casts a dark shadow on this 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Under the Taliban, Rashmin Joyenda, an Afghan woman, fought for women’s freedom and education in Afghanistan. She has now found asylum in France. She fled her country after being detained by the Taliban for her protests, and she now speaks out against the regime from Paris.
A Pakistani journalist who was forced to flee his country out of fear for his safety now runs a club in France for fellow exilesThey get together to discuss issues and share ideas with locals.
At Washington’s National Building Museum, French daredevil Philippe Petit showed his skill of defying gravity.Petit still uses no safety net or harness at the age of 73 while walking the wire. Maxim Moskalkov had a talk with the famous wire walker.
Burkina Faso coup supporters were seen waving Russian flags and asking for the country to swap allegiances from France to Moscow. While the level of pro-Russian sentiment in Burkina Faso is unclear, many are dissatisfied with French efforts to assist in the fight against militant groups