Extremists storm mosque in historic Poitiers

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October 21, 2012

masjid

 

Paris, October 21: A group of extremists has stormed an unfinished mosque in the historic city of Poitiers in western France in a display of animosity toward Islam.

 

Seventy-three protesters travelled from all over France to the city to take part in the anti-Islam demonstration on Saturday.

 

They gathered at the mosque before dawn, and disrupted a prayer, chanting and waving banners protesting against the construction of mosques and the immigration of Muslims.

 

They also climbed onto the roof of the mosque and unfurled their banners.

 

"We are thunderstruck… these are people who are stuck in the year 732, and who don't see that the world has changed,” local Muslim leader and imam Boubaker al-Hadj Amor said, referring to the Battle of Tours, which occurred in Poitiers in that year, with Charles Martel leading the Christian army in a victory that halted the Muslims' furthest advance into Europe.

 

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault “firmly” condemned the action as a “provocation that reveals an unacceptable religious hatred.”

 

Interior Minister Manuel Valls also condemned the "hateful and inadmissible provocation" and the "questionable confusion" of the group.

 

The International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism called the occupation a “demonstration of hate.”

 

According to the regional prefect, Yves Dassonville, the protesters dispersed when police arrived and detained four people, who said they were the organizers, for questioning.

 

The police started investigating “an unauthorized demonstration, incitement to racial hatred, participation in a gathering with a view to carrying out joint damage.”

 

Charges of theft are also probable as they also removed ten of the mosque's carpets and took them to the roof, where they were damaged by rain.

 

“We were planning to stay longer, but as we had no intention whatsoever of a physical confrontation, we are leaving with the police in a good mood without an unhappy ending,” a spokesman for the demonstrators said.

 

Finally, the extremists were compelled to evacuate the mosque at 1:00 p.m.


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News Network
March 30,2020

Geneva, Mar 30: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has reached 634,835, among them 29,957 fatalities, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday.

Over the past 24 hours, 63,159 people were confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus and 3,464 people died, the WHO said.

According to the latest situation report, the majority of the confirmed cases - more than 361,000 - are presently concentrated in Europe, with Italy leading the tally with over 92,000 cases, followed by Spain with over 72,000 cases, and Germany with over 52,000 cases.

Italy and Spain are also the countries that top the worldwide death toll from COVID-19, with 10,023 and 5,690 fatalities, respectively.

The second most affected region is currently the Americas with over 120,000 verified COVID-19 cases, of which the majority - over 103,000 - have been found in the United States. The US is also the country with the highest single tally of COVID-19 cases at the moment.
The WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11.

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News Network
April 4,2020

Madrid, Apr 4: Spain recorded a second successive daily drop in coronavirus-related deaths with 809 fatalities, official figures showed Saturday.

The total number of deaths in Spain now stands at 11,744, second only to Italy. A record 950 people died on Thursday.

The number of new cases also slowed at 7,026, taking the total to 124,736.

Recoveries over the last 24 hours stood at 3,706, taking that total to 34,219.

The Madrid region was the worst affected accounting for 40 percent of the deaths, 4,723, and 29 percent of the cases at 36,249. The northeastern region of Catalonia was in second place with 2,508 deaths.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is due to decide whether to prolong the emergency measures and confinement declared on March 14 for another two weeks in order to get on top of the outbreak.

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News Network
February 21,2020

Washington, Feb 21: US President Donald Trump has made yet another tall claim about the size of the crowd that will welcome him in Ahmedabad, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told him that there will 10 million(1 crore) people to greet him on his arrival for his maiden visit to India.

President Trump and First Lady Melania are scheduled to travel to Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi on February 24 and 25.

Speaking to reporters at the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday, Trump said that Modi told him that "we'll have 7 million people between the airport and the event."

"So it's going to be very exciting. But he says between the stadium and the airport, we'll have about 7 million people. So it's going to be very exciting. I hope you all enjoy it," he said.

On Thursday, Trump upped the crowd size by three million at a 'Keep America Great' rally in Colorado.

"I hear, they are going to have 10 million people. They say anywhere from six to 10 million people are going to be showing up along the route to one of the largest stadiums in the world, the largest cricket stadium in the world, which is brand new and beautiful," said Trump, who is seeking reelection in the November presidential polls.

But according to a top civic official in Ahmedabad, the total population of the city is only around 70 lakh.

The authorities believe that between one to two lakh people are expected to line up along the 22-km route of the road show by Modi and Trump from the airport to the Motera cricket stadium, said to be the world's largest.

"We believe that around one to two lakh people will gather to welcome the dignitaries during the road show," Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said on Thursday, contradicting the claims made by the US President.

As per the road show route plan, Trump and Modi will first reach the Sabarmati Ashram, a place closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, from Ahmedabad airport.

Addressing his supporters, Trump spoke about his India visit and said the "Namaste Trump" rally in Ahmedabad would spoil him.

"Prime Minister Modi said, we will have 10 million people greet you. Here's my problem. We have a packed house. We have a lot of people, thousands of people that couldn't get in. It's going to look like peanuts from now on," he said.

"I'll never be satisfied with the crowd. If we have 10 million people in India, how can I be satisfied when we fill up like a 60,000-seat stadium? I am getting spoiled," Trump said.

One of Trump's supporters from the audience then suggested that he build a bigger stadium.

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