Knife attacker near Paris leaves mother, sister dead

Published

6 years ago

August 23, 2018

Two people were killed and one “badly injured” in a knife attack Thursday morning in Trappes, a suburb west of Paris, according to France’s National Police.

The attacker was also killed, police said.

“After the attack, he ran into a house to hide. He left shortly afterward and threatened police before being neutralized,” police said.

Authorities have not yet given an indication of motive for the attack. The matter may have been a family dispute, CNN’s French affiliate BFM-TV reported.

The two people who were killed were the attacker’s mother and sister, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry told CNN.

Interior Minister Gérard Collomb told reporters in Trappes that “the attacker had serious psychiatric problems” and that he “was known for being a terror apologist.”

“He was someone who was unstable rather than committed to terrorism and who might respond to a call from ISIS,” he said.

The attacker was on the File for the Prevention of Terrorist Radicalization, a targeted watch list which focuses on would-be jihadists.

The person who was seriously injured was not a member of the family, Collomb added. The police investigation continues, he said.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack via its Amaq media outlet but did not provide any evidence to support the claim.

The anti-terror Paris prosecution office has not yet opened an investigation into the attack, as is customary if there is a strong indication of a link to terrorism.

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Morocco, France seal reconciliation with commercial deals

Published

14 hours ago

October 30, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

As the two nations end years of diplomatic hostilities, Morocco signed a number of economic agreements during French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to the country, including an agreement to purchase high-speed trains from the French company Alstom on Monday.

In the last three years, Paris and Rabat have had a tense relationship, particularly because of immigration concerns and the disputed Western Sahara region, which Morocco wants to be recognised as Moroccan by the international world.

Macron paved the way for the reunion in July by supporting Morocco’s stance on Western Sahara after treading carefully to avoid upsetting Morocco’s adversary Algeria. Macron is travelling with about 40 business executives and 12 ministers.

Before the contract signing event at the Moroccan royal palace on Monday, Macron and his wife Brigitte were greeted at the airport by King Mohammed VI, who was walking with a cane in an unusual honour for a foreign visitor.

As Morocco looks to extend an existing line farther south to Marrakech by 2030, Alstom of France and Morocco’s rail operator ONCF struck a deal to purchase 12 high-speed carriages and the option for an additional six.

French energy companies Engie and EDF also inked agreements to grow in the renewable energy space, and TotalEnergies inked a hydrogen agreement, though the exact sum was not immediately made public. Additionally, the shipping corporation CMA CGM revealed plans to invest in a port terminal in Morocco.

Although they did not provide a detailed breakdown, French officials stated that contracts for both parties totalled more than 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion).

Additionally, France hoped the visit would ease tensions surrounding immigration, a contentious subject in France where right-wing groups are pressuring the government to return more undesired migrants to nations like Morocco.

To put pressure on these nations to make it easier for those people to return, Paris decided in 2021 to substantially reduce the number of visas it gives to travellers from North Africa.

Musings From Abroad

Ghana: Ahead of elections, US imposes visa restrictions on those ‘undermining democracy’

Published

1 day ago

October 29, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Ahead of Ghana’s December presidential and legislative elections, the United States, on Monday, unveiled a policy restricting visas for those Washington believes are contributing to the country’s democratic decline.

“This visa restriction policy would apply only to specific individuals who undermine democracy and is not directed at the Ghanaian people nor the government of Ghana,” U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said in a statement.

Ghana’s track record of stability and peaceful elections since switching to multiparty governance in the early 1990s sets it apart from other countries in West Africa.

The nation’s standing as a secure democracy in a turbulent subregion has been emphasised by rising insecurity and democratic backsliding elsewhere in West Africa.

Up until now, the United States and Ghana have maintained cordial ties based on common views on a wide range of foreign policy matters and expanding counterterrorism collaboration.