French police win plaudits after high-risk Olympics

French police win plaudits after high-risk Olympics
General view of police officers on horses outside the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, before the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics on August 11, 2024. (REUTERS)
Short Url
Updated 12 August 2024
Follow

French police win plaudits after high-risk Olympics

French police win plaudits after high-risk Olympics
  • There were incidents over the last fortnight but nothing that marred the event overall to the widespread relief of organizers
  • Two weeks of competition saw packed stadiums, with 743,000 people attending sports venues on a single day on July 30

PARIS: The vaulting ambition of the Paris Olympics made them risky and hard to police, but French security forces kept thousands of athletes and millions of fans safe — a “gold medal” performance according to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.
The two-week sporting extravaganza which finished on Sunday led to a security operation like no other in recent French history, with the mobilization of around 75,000 police, soldiers and private security guards on the opening night on July 26.
There were incidents over the last fortnight — an attack on the French railways, a pitch invader at the 100m men’s final — but nothing that marred the event overall to the widespread relief of organizers.
“These Olympic Games involve both great French medals and a great gold medal for the ministry of the interior and the security forces,” Darmanin said last week as he visited officers on duty in Marseille in southern France.
The sense of satisfaction and self-congratulatory tone of his remarks reflected the immense pressure and doubts raised in the run-up to the Games over whether France’s already stretched resources would be up to the task.

Their first test was securing the Olympic torch relay, a journey through 450 French towns and cities as well as overseas territories.
Then came unexpected parliamentary elections in July, followed by the unprecedented opening ceremony along a six-kilometer (four-mile) stretch of the River Seine which had been giving planners sleepless nights since it was unveiled in 2021.




Police officers stand guard over the Seine River prior to the opening ceremony at the 2024 Summer Olympics on July 26, 2024, in Paris. (AP)

In the end, the 300,000 ticketed spectators who watched from the river banks were troubled by nothing more than torrential rain, with the streets of the capital flooded with uniformed officers.
“For those of us that have been here on the ground, we’ve seen the security footprint here. It is impressive,” Nicole Deal, chief of security for Team USA, said on the day of the ceremony. “I have never seen (one) quite like this in any other Games.”
Two weeks of competition saw packed stadiums, with 743,000 people attending sports venues on a single day on July 30.
Other events from the triathlon to the marathon took place through the streets of the capital.
Around a million people lined the course of the men’s and women’s cycling road races on August 3-4.
“Without any doubt, French security services deserve a gold medal,” French criminologist and university professor Alain Bauer, a vocal critic of the open-air opening ceremony format, told AFP.

He said it was down to “exceptional investment” and “essential changes” which saw organizers notably scale down the size of the opening ceremony crowd under pressure from the interior ministry.

Having been excluded from the Games, Russia was said by French officials to be plotting to destabilize them, with France’s cyber-security agency on high alert for attacks that could disrupt the organizing committee, ticketing or transport.
The arrest of a 40-year-old suspected member of Russian secret services on the eve of the Games set nerves jangling.
The war in Gaza, threats from the Daesh group, and France’s history of home-grown Islamist terror plots and far-right extremism also raised fears about the possibility of an attack that would ruin the party.
Not everyone has found the security operation something to celebrate, however.
Charities complained loudly about repressive policing of the homeless, sex workers and migrants ahead of the Games, while anti-Olympics protest groups say they have been prevented from exercising their democratic rights.
Around 45 activists from the Extinction Rebellion climate change protest group were detained by police the day after the opening ceremony as they prepared to occupy a bridge over the River Seine in central Paris.
The “Saccage 2024” group, which has been running so-called “Toxic Tours” highlighting the downsides of the Games, said it had been prevented from guiding a group of around 20 people to sites in northern Paris last week.
Around 30 riot police and four police cars prevented the tour and three members of the collective were taken to a local police station for questioning.
“No charges were pressed against any of the arrested people at the end of the police custody, further proof that this was in reality an attempt at intimidation,” the group wrote on Instagram.
 


Singapore’s long-ruling party on track for landslide win

Singapore’s long-ruling party on track for landslide win
Updated 03 May 2025
Follow

Singapore’s long-ruling party on track for landslide win

Singapore’s long-ruling party on track for landslide win
  • Supporters of the PAP, which had ruled Singapore since 1959, gathered at a stadium waving flags and cheering in an early celebration

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s long-ruling People’s Action Party is on track to win another landslide in Saturday’s general elections, according to a sample count of votes released by the Election Department.
The sample count showed the PAP in strong leads in 82 out of 97 seats, which gives it a total 87 seats in an enlarged parliament.
The opposition Workers Party maintained 10 seats. The sample count was not conclusive, but has mirrored final results in the past.
It marked an improvement for the PAP, which secured 83 seats in 2020 polls. It also will bolster Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his first electoral test since taking office a year ago. A final result was expected in the early hours of Sunday.
Supporters of the PAP, which had ruled Singapore since 1959, gathered at a stadium waving flags and cheering in an early celebration.

 


Gabon swears in ex-junta chief Oligui as president

Gabon swears in ex-junta chief Oligui as president
Updated 03 May 2025
Follow

Gabon swears in ex-junta chief Oligui as president

Gabon swears in ex-junta chief Oligui as president
  • The main concerns are an aging electricity network, which suffers frequent power cuts, youth unemployment that hovers at 40 percent, poor or lacking roads, and a ballooning public debt, forecast to hit 80 percent of GDP this year

AKANDA, Gabon: Gabon began swearing in on Saturday President-elect Brice Oligui Nguema, who led a coup ending decades of Bongo family rule and swept polls last month with nearly 95 percent of the vote.
The general and former junta leader, who toppled Ali Bongo in August 2023, ending 55 years of dynastic rule by the Bongo family, officially takes the presidential reins after leading a 19-month transition government.
Some 20 African heads of state arrived for the inauguration ceremony at a stadium north of the capital, Libreville, while supporters decked out in T-shirts and flags bearing Oligui’s likeness packed out the 40,000-capacity venue.

BACKGROUND

Some 20 African heads of state arrived for the inauguration ceremony at a stadium north of the capital, Libreville.

Leaders in attendance include Gambia’s Adama Barrow, Senegal’s Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Djibouti’s Ismail Omar Guelleh, and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo from Equatorial Guinea.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s president, Felix Tshisekedi, likewise entered around midday.
Tickets were free to attend the investiture at the Angondje stadium, built to honor the friendship between Gabon and China.
It marks the country’s first swearing-in ceremony for such a large audience.
From the morning, the roads of the capital, Libreville, and around the Angondje stadium were clogged with traffic, AFP journalists saw.
On the program for the ceremony was a series of artistic performances and a military parade, according to state media, which will be followed by a “victory concert” on the Libreville waterfront in the evening.
In the lead-up, hundreds of workers have been painstakingly cleaning and repainting areas around the main roads leading to the stadium.
Authorities and official media have called for people to be public-spirited because of the influx of foreign guests.
“All citizens of Greater Libreville are asked to extend a warm welcome to these distinguished guests,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
It called on residents near the stadium to “take part in cleaning and beautifying” the area.
Oligui, 50, faces serious challenges in leading the oil-rich country, which needs to revamp crucial infrastructure and diversify its economy, but is heavily indebted.
The main concerns are an aging electricity network, which suffers frequent power cuts, youth unemployment that hovers at 40 percent, poor or lacking roads, and a ballooning public debt, forecast to hit 80 percent of GDP this year.
During the transition, Oligui portrayed himself as a “builder,” launching numerous construction projects, while vowing to “crack down” on corruption to get the country back on track.

 


Over 45,000 affected by Somalia flash floods

Flash floods have forced thousands to flee to makeshift camps. (Supplied)
Flash floods have forced thousands to flee to makeshift camps. (Supplied)
Updated 03 May 2025
Follow

Over 45,000 affected by Somalia flash floods

Flash floods have forced thousands to flee to makeshift camps. (Supplied)
  • “The flooding swept away homes and inundated crops, disrupting livelihoods in one of Somalia’s most agriculturally vital regions,” OCHA noted

NAIROBI: More than 45,000 people have been affected by flash floods in Somalia since mid-April, the UN said, with at least four people killed in the rapidly rising waters.
The Horn of Africa is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change, and extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent and intense. “Since 15 April, flash floods due to heavy to moderate rains in Somalia have affected over 45,000 people and swept away four people, including two children and a woman,” said UN humanitarian agency OCHA, in a report published on April 30.
It warned the flooding came at a time when NGOs — often the frontline responders — are “facing crippling funding reductions that have severely limited their ability to respond to emerging needs.”
It detailed that roughly 6,000 people were displaced in the Middle Shabelle region after the Shabelle River burst its banks on April 29.
It said families have sought refuge in makeshift camps on higher ground but are “facing acute shortages of food, clean water, and health care.”
“The flooding swept away homes and inundated crops, disrupting livelihoods in one of Somalia’s most agriculturally vital regions,” OCHA noted.
The day before, some 9,500 people were also displaced in central Galmudug State after light to moderate rains caused flash floods, it said. The floods come as the international humanitarian community grapples with the US decision to dismantle much of USAID, the country’s main foreign development arm.
“Currently, many humanitarian organizations in areas where the flash flooding is occurring have been forced to pause, scale back, or even close their critical programs,” OCHA noted.
Intense floods hit Somalia in 2023. More than 100 people were killed and over a million were displaced after severe flooding caused by torrential rains linked to the El Nino weather pattern.

 


Zelensky says won’t play Putin ‘games’ with short truce

Zelensky says won’t play Putin ‘games’ with short truce
Updated 03 May 2025
Follow

Zelensky says won’t play Putin ‘games’ with short truce

Zelensky says won’t play Putin ‘games’ with short truce
  • “This is more of a theatrical performance on his part. Because in two or three days, it is impossible to develop a plan for the next steps to end the war,” Zelensky said
  • He said Ukraine would not be “playing games to create a pleasant atmosphere to allow for Putin’s exit from isolation on 9 May“

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed a three-day truce ordered by Russian leader Vladimir Putin as theatrics, but said Kyiv was ready for a full ceasefire.
Moscow said the truce, set to coincide with its World War II commemorations on May 9, was aimed at testing Kyiv’s “readiness” for long-term peace, accusing Zelensky of making a “direct threat” to events on the holiday.
The Kremlin rejected an unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposed by Kyiv and Washington in March, and Putin has since offered little to end the three-year Russia invasion.
“This is more of a theatrical performance on his part. Because in two or three days, it is impossible to develop a plan for the next steps to end the war,” Zelensky said.
He was speaking Friday to a small group of journalists including AFP in remarks embargoed until Saturday.
Some in Ukraine have criticized the truce as an attempt to prevent Kyiv from disrupting the World War II anniversary celebrations, with foreign leaders due in Moscow to watch a military parade on Red Square and an address by Putin.
Zelensky said Ukraine would not be “playing games to create a pleasant atmosphere to allow for Putin’s exit from isolation on 9 May.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the ceasefire was aimed at testing “Kyiv’s readiness to seek ways to achieve long-term sustainable peace.”
Russian shelling killed two people in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Saturday, while a drone strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson left one other person dead, regional officials said.
Russian authorities meanwhile accused Ukraine of an overnight attack on the southern port city of Novorossiysk, damaging apartment buildings and injuring five people.
Leaders of around 20 countries, including China’s Xi Jinping, have accepted invitations to join the May 9 celebration, according to the Kremlin.
Zelensky said some countries had approached Kyiv to warn they were traveling to Russia and had requested safety.
“Our position is very simple toward all countries that have traveled or are traveling to Russia on May 9 — we cannot take responsibility for what is happening on the territory of the Russian Federation,” he said.
“They are ensuring your safety,” Zelensky said, adding that Russia “may take various steps on its part, such as arson, explosions, and so on and then blame us.”
Zelensky did not say what Ukraine would do during the truce, but Russia jumped on the comments, accusing Kyiv of making a “direct threat” to the commemorations.
“He is threatening the physical safety of veterans who will come to parades and celebrations on the holy day,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram. “His statement... is, of course, a direct threat.”
Russian officials have promised grand celebrations for the occasion, during which Putin will seek to rally support for his troops fighting in Ukraine.
Russian troops have been making gruelling gains on several parts of the front, as both Moscow and Kyiv have stepped up their aerial attacks.
The United States has warned it could abandon efforts to broker a ceasefire if it does not see progress.
Washington is seeking “a complete, durable ceasefire and an end to the conflict,” rather than a “three-day moment so you can celebrate something else,” US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said this week.
Bruce said it would ultimately be up to Trump to decide whether to move ahead with diplomatic efforts.
Trump has overhauled US policy toward Russia since taking office, initiating a rapprochement with the Kremlin.
This culminated in an on-camera clash between Trump and Zelensky at the White House on February 28, where both leaders had been set to sign a mineral deal granting US access to Ukrainian resources in exchange for some protection.
Ukraine has since renegotiated the deal, which would see Washington and Kyiv jointly develop and invest in Ukraine’s critical mineral resources.
Zelensky on Friday said the deal was beneficial to both sides and protected Ukraine’s interests, even though the accord offers no concrete security guarantees for Kyiv.
That followed a meeting between Trump and Zelensky at the end of April before Pope Francis’s funeral at the Vatican, the first encounter since their public clash.
“We had the best conversation out of all those that preceded it,” Zelensky said Friday.
“I am confident that after our meeting in the Vatican, President Trump began to look at things a little differently.”


Serbia’s President Vucic cuts short US visit and returns home after falling ill

Serbia’s President Vucic cuts short US visit and returns home after falling ill
Updated 03 May 2025
Follow

Serbia’s President Vucic cuts short US visit and returns home after falling ill

Serbia’s President Vucic cuts short US visit and returns home after falling ill
  • Vucic suddenly fell ill during a meeting in the US
  • He was admitted to the Belgrade Military Hospital upon arrival

BELGRADE: Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic has cut short a visit to the United States and returned to Serbia over an unspecified health emergency, state RTS television reported on Saturday.
Vucic suddenly fell ill during a meeting in the US and decided to return home after consulting doctors, the report said. He was admitted to the Belgrade Military Hospital upon arrival, it added.
Vucic was previously in Miami, Florida, where he had met with former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Vucic had said he also was hoping to meet with US President Donald Trump.
Richard Grenell, US presidential envoy for special missions, expressed hope that Vucic would recover. “Sorry to miss you but hope all is ok,” Grenell wrote on X.
It was not immediately clear what happened and Vucic’s office said they will inform the public later. Vucic, 55, is known to have high blood pressure.
Serbia’s populist leader also has said he would travel to Russia later this month to attend a Victory Day parade in Moscow, despite warnings from European Union officials that this could affect Serbia’s bid to join the bloc.