United Nations (United States) (AFP) - 02/03/2018 - 00:39
N. Korea flouts sanctions, earning $200 mln from banned exports: UN
Washington (AFP) - 02/03/2018 - 00:19
US Fed orders Wells Fargo to halt expansion after 'pervasive misconduct'
New York (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 22:07
Dow falls more than 650 points, down 2.6% in biggest drop since Sept 2015
Paris (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 21:03
Islam scholar Tariq Ramadan charged with rape: legal source
New York (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 20:32
Dow down 2% as US stock sell-off accelerates
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 20:31
Pentagon pushes for new, low-yield nuclear bombs
Caracas (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 19:48
Venezuela's Maduro confirmed by party as candidate for re-election
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 19:28
Democrats warn Trump of 'constitutional crisis' if probe chief sacked
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 18:35
Congress releases memo alleging FBI abuse of power
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 18:14
Trump declassifies memo alleging FBI abuse of power
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 17:39
Trump hosts North Korean defectors in Oval Office
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 15:36
US concerned sarin gas used in Syria: Mattis
Chicago (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 15:29
Nassar sentencing hearing halted as father lunges at disgraced doctor
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 14:35
US adds 200,000 new jobs in January, unemployment steady at 4.1%
New York (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 14:27
ExxonMobil Q4 profits nearly quintuple to $8.4 bn on US tax reform
London (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 14:12
London mosque terror attacker jailed for at least 43 years
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 13:00
Trump accuses Justice Dept, FBI of pro-Democrat bias
London (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 12:35
UK, EU Brexit negotiators to meet in London on Monday: official
Colombo (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 11:51
Maldives' Nasheed vows to run for president
Geneva (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 11:22
90 migrants feared dead in boat capsize off Libya: UN
Marseille (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 10:03
Five dead after two army helicopters crash in France: investigators
Frankfurt am Main (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 07:33
Deutsche Bank reports 512 mn euro loss in 2017
Tokyo (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 07:31
Sony profits soar more than tenfold, forecast revised up
Theunissen (Afrique du Sud) (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 06:01
All 955 miners trapped in S.Africa resurface unharmed: mining company
Shanghai (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 04:38
Car slams into pedestrians in Shanghai, 18 hurt: government
Theunissen (Afrique du Sud) (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 04:28
Several miners among 950 trapped in S. Africa resurface
Havana (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 02:38
Fidel Castro's eldest son commits suicide: Cuba state media
San Francisco (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 22:49
Apple reports $20 bn profit in record-setting quarter
San Francisco (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 22:19
Google parent Alphabet reports $3 bn loss on tax provision
Washington (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 21:26
Trump to approve release of explosive memo: White House
Washington (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 19:13
US not ruling out military strikes after new chemical attacks in Syria: official
Colombo (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 19:07
Maldives court orders release of political prisoners
London (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 17:06
Man found guilty of fatal London mosque terror attack
Johannesburg (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 15:44
950 miners trapped in S.Africa after power outage: company
Paris (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 14:49
Briton to face trial for 1996 murder of Frenchwoman in Ireland: lawyer
Nairobi (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 13:21
Kenya's High Court suspends media shutdown
Beijing (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 13:06
Alibaba net profit soars 35% to $3.7 billion in Q3
Istanbul (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 11:50
Turkey court rules local Amnesty chief to remain in jail: rights group
Yangon (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 10:41
Myanmar court denies bail to Reuters journalists held under secrecy law
Frankfurt am Main (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 08:25
Daimler books record net profit in 2017 of 10.9 bn euros
The Hague (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 08:20
Unilever posts rising 2017 profits of 6.5 bn euros
London (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 08:16
Shell says annual profit almost triples to $13 bn
Yangon (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 06:38
Petrol bomb thrown at Suu Kyi's lakeside villa: Myanmar govt
Warsaw (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 01:57
Polish senate passes Holocaust bill slammed by Israel
San Francisco (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 22:24
Facebook profit up 20 percent to $4.26 bn
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 20:04
US Fed keeps rates unchanged; says inflation will 'move up' this year
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 18:38
One dead as train carrying Republicans hits truck, lawmakers safe
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 18:20
US terror designation for Haniya won't deter 'resistance': Hamas
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 17:18
US puts Hamas chief Haniya on terror blacklist
New York (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 13:49
Boeing 4Q earnings jump 92% to $3.1 bn, topping estimates
Istanbul (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 13:30
Turkey court orders conditional release of local Amnesty chief
Paris (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 12:57
Rape-accused Islam scholar Tariq Ramadan held in Paris: legal source
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 12:31
Brazil unemployment falls under 12 percent in 2017: government
Luxembourg (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 12:07
Italy asks EU court to quash medicines agency move to Amsterdam
Paris (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 11:59
Macron warns Turkey against 'invasion' of Syria
Hong Kong (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 11:46
Hong Kong bans ivory sales in landmark vote
Brussels (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 11:06
Eurozone unemployment holds at nine-year low
Kabul (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 08:31
6.1 magnitude quake rattles northern Afghanistan: USGS
Tokyo (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 08:24
Nintendo raises net profit forecast on Switch console and yen
Tokyo (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 07:27
Fujifilm says to slash 10,000 jobs at Fuji Xerox subsidiary
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 04:32
Trump says North Korea could 'very soon' threaten US soil
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 04:25
Trump says stands with Iranians' 'courageous struggle'
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 04:16
Trump vows to keep Guantanamo Bay prison open
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 04:15
Trump warns China, Russia challenge American values
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 04:00
Trump: 'open borders' promote guns, gangs and cost lives
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 03:51
Trump calls for $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 03:23
Trump urges US parties set aside differences

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - 02/03/2018 - 00:39
N. Korea flouts sanctions, earning $200 mln from banned exports: UN
Washington (AFP) - 02/03/2018 - 00:19
US Fed orders Wells Fargo to halt expansion after 'pervasive misconduct'
New York (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 22:07
Dow falls more than 650 points, down 2.6% in biggest drop since Sept 2015
Paris (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 21:03
Islam scholar Tariq Ramadan charged with rape: legal source
New York (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 20:32
Dow down 2% as US stock sell-off accelerates
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 20:31
Pentagon pushes for new, low-yield nuclear bombs
Caracas (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 19:48
Venezuela's Maduro confirmed by party as candidate for re-election
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 19:28
Democrats warn Trump of 'constitutional crisis' if probe chief sacked
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 18:35
Congress releases memo alleging FBI abuse of power
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 18:14
Trump declassifies memo alleging FBI abuse of power
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 17:39
Trump hosts North Korean defectors in Oval Office
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 15:36
US concerned sarin gas used in Syria: Mattis
Chicago (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 15:29
Nassar sentencing hearing halted as father lunges at disgraced doctor
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 14:35
US adds 200,000 new jobs in January, unemployment steady at 4.1%
New York (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 14:27
ExxonMobil Q4 profits nearly quintuple to $8.4 bn on US tax reform
London (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 14:12
London mosque terror attacker jailed for at least 43 years
Washington (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 13:00
Trump accuses Justice Dept, FBI of pro-Democrat bias
London (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 12:35
UK, EU Brexit negotiators to meet in London on Monday: official
Colombo (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 11:51
Maldives' Nasheed vows to run for president
Geneva (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 11:22
90 migrants feared dead in boat capsize off Libya: UN
Marseille (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 10:03
Five dead after two army helicopters crash in France: investigators
Frankfurt am Main (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 07:33
Deutsche Bank reports 512 mn euro loss in 2017
Tokyo (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 07:31
Sony profits soar more than tenfold, forecast revised up
Theunissen (Afrique du Sud) (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 06:01
All 955 miners trapped in S.Africa resurface unharmed: mining company
Shanghai (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 04:38
Car slams into pedestrians in Shanghai, 18 hurt: government
Theunissen (Afrique du Sud) (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 04:28
Several miners among 950 trapped in S. Africa resurface
Havana (AFP) - 02/02/2018 - 02:38
Fidel Castro's eldest son commits suicide: Cuba state media
San Francisco (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 22:49
Apple reports $20 bn profit in record-setting quarter
San Francisco (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 22:19
Google parent Alphabet reports $3 bn loss on tax provision
Washington (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 21:26
Trump to approve release of explosive memo: White House
Washington (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 19:13
US not ruling out military strikes after new chemical attacks in Syria: official
Colombo (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 19:07
Maldives court orders release of political prisoners
London (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 17:06
Man found guilty of fatal London mosque terror attack
Johannesburg (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 15:44
950 miners trapped in S.Africa after power outage: company
Paris (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 14:49
Briton to face trial for 1996 murder of Frenchwoman in Ireland: lawyer
Nairobi (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 13:21
Kenya's High Court suspends media shutdown
Beijing (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 13:06
Alibaba net profit soars 35% to $3.7 billion in Q3
Istanbul (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 11:50
Turkey court rules local Amnesty chief to remain in jail: rights group
Yangon (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 10:41
Myanmar court denies bail to Reuters journalists held under secrecy law
Frankfurt am Main (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 08:25
Daimler books record net profit in 2017 of 10.9 bn euros
The Hague (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 08:20
Unilever posts rising 2017 profits of 6.5 bn euros
London (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 08:16
Shell says annual profit almost triples to $13 bn
Yangon (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 06:38
Petrol bomb thrown at Suu Kyi's lakeside villa: Myanmar govt
Warsaw (AFP) - 02/01/2018 - 01:57
Polish senate passes Holocaust bill slammed by Israel
San Francisco (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 22:24
Facebook profit up 20 percent to $4.26 bn
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 20:04
US Fed keeps rates unchanged; says inflation will 'move up' this year
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 18:38
One dead as train carrying Republicans hits truck, lawmakers safe
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 18:20
US terror designation for Haniya won't deter 'resistance': Hamas
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 17:18
US puts Hamas chief Haniya on terror blacklist
New York (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 13:49
Boeing 4Q earnings jump 92% to $3.1 bn, topping estimates
Istanbul (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 13:30
Turkey court orders conditional release of local Amnesty chief
Paris (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 12:57
Rape-accused Islam scholar Tariq Ramadan held in Paris: legal source
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 12:31
Brazil unemployment falls under 12 percent in 2017: government
Luxembourg (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 12:07
Italy asks EU court to quash medicines agency move to Amsterdam
Paris (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 11:59
Macron warns Turkey against 'invasion' of Syria
Hong Kong (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 11:46
Hong Kong bans ivory sales in landmark vote
Brussels (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 11:06
Eurozone unemployment holds at nine-year low
Kabul (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 08:31
6.1 magnitude quake rattles northern Afghanistan: USGS
Tokyo (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 08:24
Nintendo raises net profit forecast on Switch console and yen
Tokyo (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 07:27
Fujifilm says to slash 10,000 jobs at Fuji Xerox subsidiary
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 04:32
Trump says North Korea could 'very soon' threaten US soil
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 04:25
Trump says stands with Iranians' 'courageous struggle'
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 04:16
Trump vows to keep Guantanamo Bay prison open
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 04:15
Trump warns China, Russia challenge American values
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 04:00
Trump: 'open borders' promote guns, gangs and cost lives
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 03:51
Trump calls for $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan
Washington (AFP) - 01/31/2018 - 03:23
Trump urges US parties set aside differences

    News
  
Smugglers blamed after five migrants shot in Calais
        2
        Feb
        2018      

					    
					    AFP / Philippe HUGUEN
					    Three fights across Calais drew in hundreds of the migrants camped out in the hope of stowing away on a truck to England
				    
Four migrants were fighting for their lives on Friday after being shot during a giant brawl in Calais, in what the French government called an "intolerable" escalation of violence in a port that serves as a gateway to Britain.
Twenty-two people were hospitalised with injuries after three fights across the city on Thursday that drew in hundreds of the migrants camped out in the hope of stowing away on trucks bound for England, according to officials.
Four Eritreans between 16 and 20 years old were shot in the neck, chest, abdomen and spine at a food distribution point, and remained in critical condition Friday evening. A fifth who was also shot was not facing life-threatening injuries.
Police were searching for a 37-year-old Afghan, a suspected migrant smuggler, over the attack.

					   
					   AFP / Kun TIAN
					    A map of Calais, France, locating the sites of clashes between migrants blamed on people smugglers

				    
"It sounds like score-settling: the person or persons responsible for the gunfire arrived at the food distribution area near the hospital where the Eritrean community was gathered and immediately opened fire," an official at the prosecutor's office in the nearby town of Boulogne-sur-Mer said.
A number of other migrants sustained stab wounds in the other melees sparked by the incident.
There were no signs of tension at the site of the attack on Friday, but, according to an official source, raids by states services "intensified", with several buses taking mainly Afghan migrants to other centres in the region.
Interior Minister Gerard Collomb, who visited the scene, said the recurring brawls had become "intolerable for the people of Calais and the migrants" and told those with dreams of Britain to stay away.
His remarks came as the UN's migration agency reported at least 90 people were feared dead off the coast of Libya after their boat capsized.
- The Calais 'wall' -

					    
					    AFP / Denis Charlet
					    Interior Minister Gerard Collomb appealed to migrants to stay away from Calais -- long a jump-off point for illegal Channel crossings -- saying the government would not allow them settle there
				    
The violence in Calais comes two weeks after President Emmanuel Macron visited the city with a message of zero tolerance on migrants setting up camps like the sprawling "Jungle" which was razed in 2016.
He later met with Prime Minister Theresa May, who agreed to pay more to stop migrants reach England's shores.
Crucially, Macron did not seek to renegotiate a controversial 2003 deal effectively pushing Britain's borders back onto French soil.
Collomb blamed the tensions in Calais on smugglers who reportedly charge as much as 2,500 euros ($3,100) to sneak migrants onto trucks crossing the Channel by ferry or through the Eurotunnel.
"These networks must be broken up," he said Friday, announcing police reinforcements for the area.
The deaths happened when shots were fired on Thursday during a standoff between Eritreans and Afghans.
"There were migrants who had no money, the smugglers got angry and fired shots," an 18-year-old Afghan migrant, who gave his name as Daniel, told AFP while waiting in near-zero temperatures for tea and bread from a charity on Friday.
Shortly afterwards, over 100 Eritreans armed with iron rods and sticks attacked a group of around 20 Afghans at another food distribution point next to an industrial estate, prosecutors said.
Police intervened to protect the Afghans, the authorities said.
Two police officers were injured during the clashes.
Collomb appealed to migrants to stay away from Calais, saying the government would not allow them to settle there. 

					    
					    AFP / PHILIPPE HUGUEN
					    Migrants next to a parking lot in Calais, where shots were fired during a standoff between about 100 Eritreans and some 30 Afghans
				    
Calling Calais "a wall which the migrants are slamming into", he said: "The message I want to get across is that if you want to go to Britain, it's not here you should come."
- Grim conditions -

					   
					   POOL/AFP/File / Michel Spingler
					    French President Emmanuel Macron visited Calais in January

				    
The notorious Calais 'Jungle', once home to about 10,000 people, was demolished in 2016, but hundreds more migrants have since descended on the city.
Mainly young African and Afghan men, they live in camps in the woods, emerging at night to try to waylay passing trucks. 
The police systematically tear down their encampments and use tear gas and batons to prevent them holding up truckers.
The grim conditions, made worse by a particularly wet winter, have led to tensions between groups of migrants from different regions that sometimes spills over into violence.
In July, 16 people were injured in a brawl, one seriously.
Francois Guennoc, spokesman for the migrant support charity L'Auberge des Migrants, called the situation a "disaster".
"There are a lot of tensions related to it being winter... and a lot of police pressure against attempts to set up camps. Then there are the smugglers, who try to ply their trade and block people who do not pay," he told AFP.

Home

News

Smugglers blamed after five migrants shot in Calais

2 Feb 2018

AFP / Philippe HUGUEN Three fights across Calais drew in hundreds of the migrants camped out in the hope of stowing away on a truck to England

Four migrants were fighting for their lives on Friday after being shot during a giant brawl in Calais, in what the French government called an "intolerable" escalation of violence in a port that serves as a gateway to Britain.

Twenty-two people were hospitalised with injuries after three fights across the city on Thursday that drew in hundreds of the migrants camped out in the hope of stowing away on trucks bound for England, according to officials.

Four Eritreans between 16 and 20 years old were shot in the neck, chest, abdomen and spine at a food distribution point, and remained in critical condition Friday evening. A fifth who was also shot was not facing life-threatening injuries.

Police were searching for a 37-year-old Afghan, a suspected migrant smuggler, over the attack.

AFP / Kun TIAN A map of Calais, France, locating the sites of clashes between migrants blamed on people smugglers

"It sounds like score-settling: the person or persons responsible for the gunfire arrived at the food distribution area near the hospital where the Eritrean community was gathered and immediately opened fire," an official at the prosecutor's office in the nearby town of Boulogne-sur-Mer said.

A number of other migrants sustained stab wounds in the other melees sparked by the incident.

There were no signs of tension at the site of the attack on Friday, but, according to an official source, raids by states services "intensified", with several buses taking mainly Afghan migrants to other centres in the region.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb, who visited the scene, said the recurring brawls had become "intolerable for the people of Calais and the migrants" and told those with dreams of Britain to stay away.

His remarks came as the UN's migration agency reported at least 90 people were feared dead off the coast of Libya after their boat capsized.

- The Calais 'wall' -

AFP / Denis Charlet Interior Minister Gerard Collomb appealed to migrants to stay away from Calais -- long a jump-off point for illegal Channel crossings -- saying the government would not allow them settle there

The violence in Calais comes two weeks after President Emmanuel Macron visited the city with a message of zero tolerance on migrants setting up camps like the sprawling "Jungle" which was razed in 2016.

He later met with Prime Minister Theresa May, who agreed to pay more to stop migrants reach England's shores.

Crucially, Macron did not seek to renegotiate a controversial 2003 deal effectively pushing Britain's borders back onto French soil.

Collomb blamed the tensions in Calais on smugglers who reportedly charge as much as 2,500 euros ($3,100) to sneak migrants onto trucks crossing the Channel by ferry or through the Eurotunnel.

"These networks must be broken up," he said Friday, announcing police reinforcements for the area.

The deaths happened when shots were fired on Thursday during a standoff between Eritreans and Afghans.

"There were migrants who had no money, the smugglers got angry and fired shots," an 18-year-old Afghan migrant, who gave his name as Daniel, told AFP while waiting in near-zero temperatures for tea and bread from a charity on Friday.

Shortly afterwards, over 100 Eritreans armed with iron rods and sticks attacked a group of around 20 Afghans at another food distribution point next to an industrial estate, prosecutors said.

Police intervened to protect the Afghans, the authorities said.

Two police officers were injured during the clashes.

Collomb appealed to migrants to stay away from Calais, saying the government would not allow them to settle there.

AFP / PHILIPPE HUGUEN Migrants next to a parking lot in Calais, where shots were fired during a standoff between about 100 Eritreans and some 30 Afghans

Calling Calais "a wall which the migrants are slamming into", he said: "The message I want to get across is that if you want to go to Britain, it's not here you should come."

- Grim conditions -

POOL/AFP/File / Michel Spingler French President Emmanuel Macron visited Calais in January

The notorious Calais 'Jungle', once home to about 10,000 people, was demolished in 2016, but hundreds more migrants have since descended on the city.

Mainly young African and Afghan men, they live in camps in the woods, emerging at night to try to waylay passing trucks.

The police systematically tear down their encampments and use tear gas and batons to prevent them holding up truckers.

The grim conditions, made worse by a particularly wet winter, have led to tensions between groups of migrants from different regions that sometimes spills over into violence.

In July, 16 people were injured in a brawl, one seriously.

Francois Guennoc, spokesman for the migrant support charity L'Auberge des Migrants, called the situation a "disaster".

"There are a lot of tensions related to it being winter... and a lot of police pressure against attempts to set up camps. Then there are the smugglers, who try to ply their trade and block people who do not pay," he told AFP.