More than 400,000 protest across France, challenging Macron as clashes erupt in Paris

More than 400,000 protest across France, challenging Macron as clashes erupt in Paris

TOI

Clashes broke out Saturday in Paris and other French cities amid demonstrations held a week after others that degenerated into street violence and prompted a robust security backlash as President Emmanuel Macron seeks to restore order.

More than 400,000 people rallied across France over school funding and soaring living costs, mounting a fresh challenge to Macron’s government.

Police arrested nearly 1,000 people as officers were confronted with “an extremely elevated level of violence” from black-clad “ultra-left” extremists, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said.

The Paris march began peacefully. But near its endpoint at Porte de Vincennes, some protesters threw projectiles while police fired volleys of tear gas and used water cannons to disperse people.

The Interior Ministry put nationwide turnout at 410,000, including 110,000 in Paris. Authorities had confined the capital’s march to the city’s southeastern edge, keeping protesters away from central neighborhoods hit by last weekend’s destruction.

Riot squads also fired tear gas at protesters in Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nantes.

Two people were “seriously” injured, Nuñez said: one man in Toulouse, who reportedly had fingers blown off, and another person in Clermont-Ferrand. He did not give details of either case.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said 64 people had been arrested in connection with Saturday’s demonstration and 40 placed in police custody. Those arrested included six minors. Most arrests concerned suspected weapons offenses or participation in a group preparing violence or property damage, the office said.

The unrest is testing Macron’s authority in the final months of his presidency before voters choose his successor in May. The stakes are high: the far-right National Rally has accused his government of failing to protect the public and urged people to channel their anger into votes for them.

Nuñez had announced a nationwide deployment of up to 70,000 officers, backed by helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons.

Trade unions led the procession, followed by protesters in raincoats carrying flags and handmade placards.

What began last month as a protest over staff shortages at a high school southeast of Paris has spread nationwide and beyond France.

Protests against war and rising living costs also took place across Italy on Saturday, with clashes between demonstrators and police in Turin, Rome and Bologna, while rallies in Milan were largely peaceful.

Authorities deployed large numbers of police officers to prevent a repeat of last weekend’s violence, when protesters clashed with police, looted shops and vandalized property. No looting or vandalism was observed by Reuters witnesses on Saturday.

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Central American Migrant Caravan Surges North Toward U.S.

VIDEO: Central American Migrant Caravan Surges North Toward U.S. as Members Root for Democrat Midterm Win

Isaac

A fresh migrant caravan made up largely of Central Americans is moving north through southern Mexico — and some members are openly telling a reporter they hope Democrats win the November midterm elections.

The group left Tapachula, Chiapas, near Mexico’s border with Guatemala, on October 20. Estimates have ranged from roughly 400 to more than 600 people.

Independent reporter Julio Rosas captured video of the caravan’s departure and reported that some of the migrants told him they were rooting for a Democratic victory.

By Friday, the story was continuing to circulate as the caravan advanced through southern Mexico:

The political timing is impossible to miss. Election Day is November 3, and the caravan’s movement is now unfolding as Americans decide control of Congress.

But the group’s destination is not entirely uniform.

Milenio reported that roughly 400 migrants had gathered in Tapachula after traveling from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Some said they intended to seek work in Mexican states such as Oaxaca or Nuevo León, while others hoped to continue farther north.

The local outlet described families traveling with children after running low on money during long walks through Central America. One Salvadoran woman said unemployment drove her family to leave home and that poor weather, dehydration and injuries had made the journey more punishing.

Milenio also reported that separate groups had crossed into Mexico during the preceding week before regrouping in Tapachula. The caravan then resumed its march along the coastal route through Chiapas.

Video and images posted after the departure showed hundreds moving along highways in southern Mexico:

By Thursday, La Jornada reported that the group had reached Huixtla after walking approximately 45 kilometers. The Mexican newspaper placed the caravan’s size above 600 and identified it as the second “Fe y Esperanza” caravan.

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Report: Iran advancing sophisticated plots to assassinate senior US officials

Report: Iran advancing sophisticated plots to assassinate senior US officials

ynet

U.S. intelligence has warned that Iran has significantly intensified efforts to assassinate American diplomats and senior officials in the Middle East and beyond, with some plots reportedly reaching advanced stages, as Washington reduces its diplomatic presence across the region amid fears of a wider military confrontation.

The warning appears in a one-page intelligence memorandum dated October 23 and sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The document was first reported by Axios and subsequently obtained by the Associated Press, while CNN reported on the related diplomatic staffing reductions and the disruption facing American diplomatic families.

In the memo, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned that Iran had "substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel" and that potentially lethal plots had reached "advanced stages" in the Middle East and other countries.

The document does not identify specific targets, disclose which countries outside the Middle East may be involved or provide details about how the alleged assassination attempts would be carried out. It indicates, however, that the underlying intelligence has already been shared with senior State Department officials.

Clayton also expressed concern that the information was not reaching enough American personnel who could be exposed to the threats. He offered to lower the classification level of as much of the intelligence as possible, allowing Rubio to distribute the warnings more widely.

US quietly moves diplomats and families across Middle East

The intelligence warnings come as Washington has begun scaling back its diplomatic presence across several Middle Eastern countries, with personnel and family members being relocated amid growing security concerns.

Earlier this week, the State Department ordered nonessential personnel and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, including the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran. Officials cited the intensifying attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels as the immediate reason for the decision.

On Friday, the department moved to further reduce diplomatic and government staffing at embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Unlike the mandatory departure order issued for Saudi Arabia, personnel at these four missions have not been formally ordered to leave.

The embassies remain open under restricted operations, a designation that allows Washington to maintain essential diplomatic functions while limiting the number of personnel stationed there.

Staffing adjustments have also been taking place more quietly at American diplomatic posts in Bahrain and Kuwait, with no publicly announced change in their operational status.

For many American diplomats and their families, the latest moves have brought back memories of the earlier stages of the war with Iran. Some had only recently returned to their assignments after being evacuated during the height of the fighting, forcing them to find temporary accommodation and arrange new schooling for their children.

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Netanyahu warns Israel must prepare for possible Western banking sanctions, citing digital currencies as an alternative,

Netanyahu warns of possible banking sanctions, proposes digital currencies as alternative

Israel National News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised eyebrows on Friday when he said Israel must begin preparing solutions for the possibility that sanctions imposed by Western countries could extend to the Israeli banking system.

Speaking in an interview broadcast on Israel's Economy Channel, the Prime Minister stated that digital currencies could offer one possible solution.

"Of course I'm concerned," Netanyahu replied when asked about the possibility of sanctions targeting Israel's financial system. "You have to understand that there could be sanctions, including banking sanctions. You need to prepare an alternative economic system. And you know what that is. You know about digital currencies, and I'm working on that as well. There are other things, too."

Asked whether he was referring to blockchain technology as an alternative, the Prime Minister replied: "Yes, that's one of the ways. And I've already asked for a plan to be prepared for that."

Netanyahu also commented on the issue of US military assistance to Israel.

"If you think we're going to continue receiving what I secured twice, tens of billions of dollars in American assistance for the defense budget, get used to the fact that it won't continue, because America has changed. It's over. It's only a matter of time."

Opposition leader Yair Lapid responded to Netanyahu's remarks, saying, "Netanyahu's statement is insane, but correct. If his government is reelected, military aid will stop and severe economic sanctions will be imposed on the State of Israel."

Pestilence: Africa at risk of continent-wide Ebola crisis, health chief warns

Africa at risk of continent-wide Ebola crisis, health chief warns

Ruben Nyanguila

The Ebola outbreak that began in DR Congo is becoming a continental crisis after authorities initially underestimated its spread, the head of Africa's public health agency told Semafor as new cases were reported as far afield as Nigeria.

More than 4,600 people have died in the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain which was first detected in DR Congo in May, though health experts believe it had been circulating undetected for weeks. It has now spread further across Africa than any previous Ebola outbreak, with cases in the continent's central, eastern and western regions. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, confirmedits first case of the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no proven vaccine, despite being absent from the agency's initial list of 15 countries at risk, he said. Kenya has reported nine cases while Uganda, which recorded 20 cases, was declared free of Ebola in August.

"We could see every region of Africa affected, and that is beginning to happen," Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an exclusive interview. He said the outbreak had initially been viewed as less dangerous and easier to contain, with little expectation that it would spread to other African regions, which had proved to be wrong.

Ebola is changing how African governments organize their response, Kaseya said, with Nigeria's case prompting stronger solidarity across the continent. Health, finance and transport ministers will meet next week with regional organizations invited, to discuss national and cross-border measures.

Kaseya said he expects a response plan dividing responsibilities among regional organizations and other partners to be ready by then, ahead of a summit of African leaders where he hopes to secure funding commitments.

As Ebola spreads across Africa, Kaseya warned against closing borders to contain it. "We do not recommend border closures," he said, arguing that the measure had already proved ineffective. "People will start using informal, unofficial routes, and they will still cross."

The patient diagnosed in Nigeria, a woman who had traveled from Uganda, went roughly 10 days undiagnosed. "The patient was in one private facility, then another, without being tested," Kaseya said. That delay posed a greater risk of further spread than in Kenya, he said. Kenya isolated its first patient soon after arrival.

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