80 years on, Macron leads tribute to victims of Nazi raid on Jewish orphanage

80 years on, Macron leads tribute to victims of Nazi raid on Jewish orphanage
Left to right, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, French President of the National Assembly Yael Braun-Pivet and French President Emmanuel Macron pay tribute at the Maison d'Izieu memorial to the deported Jewish children, during a visit as part of the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the French Liberation, in Izieu, France, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 07 April 2024
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80 years on, Macron leads tribute to victims of Nazi raid on Jewish orphanage

80 years on, Macron leads tribute to victims of Nazi raid on Jewish orphanage

LYON: French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday marks 80 years since Nazi forces raided a Jewish orphanage in the southeast of France and sent almost all its occupants to extermination camps.
The event is among the first of a sequence of ceremonies Macron will lead this year to mark eight decades since the penultimate year of World War II that in the summer of 1944 saw D-Day followed by the liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation.
A handful of former residents of the orphanage in the village of Izieu are due to attend the ceremony headed by Macron late Sunday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, he also visited a remote Alpine plateau to pay tribute to heroes of the resistance who, in early spring 1944, were killed or captured by Nazi forces with the help of French collaborators.
On April 6, 1944, the 44 Jewish children aged four to 12 then hosted in the orphanage were rounded up by the Gestapo with their seven instructors, also Jewish.
The raid was carried out on the orders of Klaus Barbie, the notorious Nazi known as the “Butcher of Lyon.” Barbie fled to South America after the war but was extradited from Bolivia to France in 1983 and in 1987 was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of crimes against humanity. He died in prison in 1991.
All the Izieu victims were deported to the death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland or to German-occupied Estonia. Only one instructor survived.
Until then it was “a magnificent place,” where the children could be “among friends,” take classes or take a walk as in peacetime, remembered Roger Wolman, 85, who left the orphanage in 1943.
Between May 1943 and April 1944, the Izieu colony, founded by Sabine Zlatin, a Jewish resistance fighter of Polish origin, took in around 100 children whose parents had been deported. Until the raid, it had been left relatively untouched.
“We went to school, we had a quiet life” even if the adults knew that “it was becoming more and more dangerous,” said Bernard Waysenson, who arrived at the end of the summer of 1943 with his sister and brother. They left at the end of November of the same year to join their family.
Like him, seven former residents will participate in the commemorations organized by the museum inaugurated 30 years ago.
“The memory I have of the war is above all our survival,” Waysenson told AFP.
The event will see the celebration of “the commitment of those who stood up against Nazism by welcoming the victims of persecution, and of those who opposed the abomination of republican values, by bringing the executioner Klaus Barbie to justice,” the French presidency said.
Macron earlier paid tribute to 106 resistance fighters buried in mountain plateau of Glieres, also in the Alps, which was an important hub for the French resistance against Nazi rule.
From January to March 1944, 465 resistance fighters gathered at Glieres to receive airdrops of weapons in the run-up to the Allied landings in the south of France in August 1944.
But the German army — with the assistance of a French collaborationist militia — decided to attack in late March of that year.
Two thirds of the resistance fighters were taken prisoner and 124 killed during the fighting or shot. Nine disappeared and 16 died in deportation.
“At an altitude of 1,400 meters, France rose up. It lived as it should never have ceased to live, as it should never cease to exist,” Macron said.
Macron emphasized that the battle could not simply be seen as French on one side, fighting Germans on another.
“French people imprisoned French people, French people murdered French people,” he said, referring to the collaborators and describing this as a “French tragedy.”
This year’s commemorations will reach a peak with ceremonies for the 80 years since the Normandy landings of D-Day in June. A host of world leaders are expected to attend, including US President Joe Biden.
In August, the 1944 liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation will be marked.


China says top military official Miao Hua suspended, under investigation

China says top military official Miao Hua suspended, under investigation
Updated 59 min 2 sec ago
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China says top military official Miao Hua suspended, under investigation

China says top military official Miao Hua suspended, under investigation
  • Latest senior apparatchik to fall in a sweeping crackdown on graft in the country’s armed force
  • Unconfirmed reports say defense minister Dong Jun was also placed under investigation for corruption

BEIJING: China said Thursday that top military official Miao Hua had been removed from office and was suspected of “serious violations of discipline,” the latest senior apparatchik to fall in a sweeping crackdown on graft in the country’s armed forces.
The ruling Chinese Communist Party “has decided to suspend Miao Hua from duty pending investigation,” Wu Qian, spokesman of China’s Ministry of Defense, told a press briefing.
Wu did not provide further details about the charges against Admiral Miao, a member of Beijing’s powerful Central Military Commission.
But “serious violations of discipline” are commonly used by officials in China as a euphemism for corruption.
The announcement follows reports, unconfirmed by Beijing, that Defense Minister Dong Jun has been placed under investigation for corruption.
If confirmed, Dong would be the third Chinese defense minister in a row to be probed for graft.


India’s parliament suspended temporarily after row over allegations against Adani group

India’s parliament suspended temporarily after row over allegations against Adani group
Updated 28 November 2024
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India’s parliament suspended temporarily after row over allegations against Adani group

India’s parliament suspended temporarily after row over allegations against Adani group
  • The problem is that India’s states are unprepared for the rapid rise in renewable generating capacity, lack adequate transmission infrastructure and storage

NEW DELHI: Both houses of Indian parliament were suspended temporarily on Thursday within minutes of opening as opposition lawmakers disrupted proceedings for the third day this week seeking a discussion on allegations against the Adani Group.

US authorities have accused Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and managing director of Adani Green, Vneet S. Jaain, of being part of a scheme to pay bribes of $265 million to secure Indian solar power supply contracts, and misleading US investors during fund raises there.

“We want a discussion on this in parliament. It is going to be the third day that we are demanding a reply from the prime minister” on the Adani issue, Manickam Tagore, a lawmaker from the main opposition Congress party, which has been leading the protests against the business group, told news agency ANI.

Many of India’s opposition parties accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of favoring Adani and blocking investigations against him in India, accusations both have denied.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has been a vocal critic of Adani, said Gautam Adani, 62, should be arrested.

While the government has not made any comment on the indictment, Modi’s BJP has said it had no reason to defend Adani, adding that the party was not against industrialists and considered them partners in nation-building efforts.

“Let him defend himself,” BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal said on Tuesday, adding that the law would take its course.


Landslides in Indonesia’s Sumatra kill at least 27, rescuers search for missing

Landslides in Indonesia’s Sumatra kill at least 27, rescuers search for missing
Updated 28 November 2024
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Landslides in Indonesia’s Sumatra kill at least 27, rescuers search for missing

Landslides in Indonesia’s Sumatra kill at least 27, rescuers search for missing
  • Torrential rain in the province since last week had caused flash floods and landslides in four different districts
  • Extreme weather is expected in Indonesia toward the end of 2024, as the La Nina phenomenon increases rainfalls across the tropical archipelago

JAKARTA: Indonesian rescuers are searching for passengers trapped in a minibus buried in mud after flash floods and landslides hit several locations in North Sumatra province, killing at least 27, an official said on Thursday.
Torrential rain in the province since last week had caused flash floods and landslides in four different districts, Indonesia’s disaster agency has said.
A landslide in a village in Deli Serdang on Wednesday killed seven and injured 20, Hadi Wahyudi, North Sumatra police spokesperson told Reuters.
Rescuers were looking for missing people, including those trapped in a minibus and other vehicles on a hilly interprovince road hit by a mudslide, he said, adding he could not give an estimate for the number of affected people.
In other places, rescuers have found 20 dead during a search that started over the weekend. They are still searching for two missing.
“Today, we’re focusing our search to find missing people and clearing the roads affected by the landslides,” said Hadi, adding excavators were deployed.
The landslides and flash floods damaged houses, mosques, and rice fields.
Heavy rains also triggered floods in the provincial capital of Medan, forcing a delay in votes for a regional election in some polling stations.
Extreme weather is expected in Indonesia toward the end of 2024, as the La Nina phenomenon increases rainfalls across the tropical archipelago, the country’s weather agency has warned.


The Australian Senate debates the world’s first social media ban for children under 16

The Australian Senate debates the world’s first social media ban for children under 16
Updated 28 November 2024
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The Australian Senate debates the world’s first social media ban for children under 16

The Australian Senate debates the world’s first social media ban for children under 16
  • The bill that would make social media platforms liable for fines of up to $33 million for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts

MELBOURNE: The Australian Senate was debating a ban on children younger than 16 years old from social media Thursday after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly supported the age restriction.
The bill that would make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts.
It is likely to be passed by the Senate on Thursday, the Parliament’s final session for the year and potentially the last before elections, which are due within months.
The major parties’ support for the ban all but guarantees the legislation will become law. But many child welfare and mental health advocates are concerned about unintended consequences.
Unaligned Sen. Jacqui Lambie complained about the limited amount of time the government gave the Senate to debate the age restriction, which she described as “undercooked.”
“I thought this was a good idea. A lot of people out there thought it was a good idea until we looked at the detail and, let’s be honest, there’s no detail,” Lambie told the Senate.
Opposition Sen. Maria Kovacic said the bill was not radical but necessary.
“The core focus of this legislation is simple: It demands that social media companies take reasonable steps to identify and remove underage users from their platforms,” Kovacic told the Senate.
“This is a responsibility these companies should have been fulfilling long ago, but for too long they have shirked these responsibilities in favor of profit,” she added.
Sen. David Shoebridge, from the minor Greens party, said mental health experts agreed that the ban could dangerously isolate many children who used social media to find support.
“This policy will hurt vulnerable young people the most, especially in regional communities and especially the LGBTQI community, by cutting them off,” Shoebridge told the Senate.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly carried the bill 102 votes to 13.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland urged senators to pass the bill which she said reflected the Australian community’s view.
“The ... government is on the side of supporting parents and protecting young people,” Rowland told the House.
Once the legislation becomes law, the platforms would have one year to work out how they could implement the ban before penalties are enforced.
The platforms complained that the law would be unworkable, and urged the Senate to delay the vote until at least June next year when a government-commissioned evaluation of age assurance technologies made its report on how young children could be excluded.
Critics argue the government is attempting to convince parents it is protecting their children ahead of general elections due by May. The government hopes that voters will reward it for responding to parents’ concerns about their children’s addiction to social media. Some argue the legislation could cause more harm than it prevents.
Criticisms include that the legislation was rushed through Parliament without adequate scrutiny, is ineffective, poses privacy risks for all users, and undermines parental authority to make decisions for their children.
Opponents of the bill also argue the ban would isolate children, deprive them of the positive aspects of social media, drive them to the dark web, discourage children too young for social media to report harm and reduce incentives for platforms to improve online safety.


Explosions heard in Ukraine’s Odesa, Kropyvnytskyi – media reports

Explosions heard in Ukraine’s Odesa, Kropyvnytskyi – media reports
Updated 28 November 2024
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Explosions heard in Ukraine’s Odesa, Kropyvnytskyi – media reports

Explosions heard in Ukraine’s Odesa, Kropyvnytskyi – media reports
  • Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper urged residents to stay in shelter in a message on the Telegram app

Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa and the city of Kropyvnytskyi in central Ukraine on Thursday morning amid reports of a Russian cruise missile attack, Ukrainian news outlet Zerkalo Tyzhnya and other local media reported.
Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper urged residents to stay in shelter in a message on the Telegram app.