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  • Palestinian activist Ramy Shaath says France is seeking to deport him

    Palestinian activist Ramy Shaath says France is seeking to deport him

    PARIS – A prominent Palestinian-Egyptian pro-Palestinian activist has leveled serious accusations against French authorities, claiming the government is attempting to deport him under the guise of public security threats in retaliation for his vocal advocacy on behalf of Palestinian rights. Ramy Shaath, 54, made the claims in a pre-recorded video statement posted to social media platforms on May 14, arguing that the pending deportation order is not an isolated measure, but part of a wider coordinated effort to muzzle Palestinian voices and their supporters across France.

    Shaath co-founded the grassroots pro-Palestinian group Urgence Palestine shortly after the outbreak of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, a role he says has put him directly in the crosshairs of French officials. He told viewers that the latest action comes after multiple previous legal attempts to target him fell short, leaving authorities to pursue deportation as an alternative tactic to silence his work.

    Born with dual Egyptian-Palestinian citizenship, Shaath has a long track record of nonviolent activism. In 2014, he established the Egyptian national chapter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, an international campaign focused on pressure against Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. His activism extends beyond Palestinian issues: he participated in Egypt’s 2011 pro-democracy uprising, and has long tied his support for Palestinian rights to opposition to authoritarian rule across the Arab world. He was arrested by Egyptian authorities in 2019, held for more than two and a half years without formal charges in degrading conditions – including a crowded, insect-infested cell and later isolated confinement in a windowless room – before being released in January 2022. His release drew public praise from French President Emmanuel Macron at the time.

    Shaath has deep family ties to France: he is married to a French national, and the couple shares a French-Palestinian daughter. Even with these connections, he says officials have already created significant barriers to his life in the country long before the deportation order was announced. He told reporters he faced extensive delays and hurdles when attempting to renew his French residency permit. Beyond immigration issues, he alleges his bank account was shut down without advance warning and his national health insurance card was suspended, administrative actions that have severely disrupted his ability to hold employment, travel across borders, and access critical medical care.

    As of Tuesday, France’s Interior Ministry has not issued any public response to Shaath’s allegations or answered requests for comment from news outlets. The activist says he and his legal team intend to mount a robust legal challenge to the deportation proceedings, bringing the case before both French national courts and the European Court of Human Rights to defend his right to remain in France and continue his nonviolent advocacy work.

  • Whale found dead near Danish island after German rescue operation

    Whale found dead near Danish island after German rescue operation

    In a conclusion that has reignited debate over large-scale marine wildlife rescue efforts, a humpback whale that captured German public attention after repeated stranding on the Baltic coast has been confirmed dead near the Danish island of Anholt, between Denmark and Sweden.

    The story of the 12-meter mammal, nicknamed alternately “Timmy” and “Hope” by rescuers and local media, began on March 23, when it first became stranded on a sandbank off Germany’s Poel Island, before re-stranding multiple times on Timmendorfer Beach in Lübeck Bay after an initial escape. After several unsuccessful rescue attempts by German state authorities, officials ultimately called off the official operation, leaving conservationists and the public divided over the whale’s fate.

    The impasse broke when two private German entrepreneurs, Karin Walter-Mommert and Walter Gunz, stepped forward to fully fund an independent rescue mission. The team fit the weak whale with a satellite tracking device, coaxed it into a custom water-filled barge named Fortuna B, and transported it out to the deeper, saltier waters of the North Sea, releasing it in early May. The operation was immediately hailed as a landmark moment by regional officials: Till Backhaus, environment minister for Germany’s northern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, called the mission a success and an inspiring example of what collective action could achieve for animal welfare across the country.

    But the private rescue sparked fierce controversy even before the whale was released. Leading wildlife conservation organizations warned from the start that the vulnerable, underweight animal faced very low odds of long-term survival. The German Oceanographic Museum pointed out that the whale’s prolonged stay in the low-salinity Baltic waters had already left it severely weakened, putting it at constant risk of drowning even after relocation. The international NGO Whale and Dolphin Conservation added that the extended stranding had caused permanent skin damage from low salinity, arguing that the stressful translocation would only prolong the animal’s suffering rather than save it.

    Weeks after the successful release, a whale carcass was spotted off Anholt Island on Thursday. Confirming the identity took several days, as poor weather conditions initially prevented authorities from accessing the site. On Saturday, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency announced it had verified the carcass was indeed the rescued humpback, and successfully recovered its tracking device.

    Currently, Danish officials say there are no immediate plans to remove the carcass from the coastal area or conduct a necropsy to determine the exact cause of death, as the remains do not yet pose a hazard to local navigation or ecosystems. However, authorities have issued a public safety warning: local residents and visitors are urged not to approach the carcass, as decomposing whale remains can carry zoonotic diseases transmissible to humans. Officials also noted that there is a small risk of a natural rupture driven by buildup of decomposition gases inside the mammal’s body, a common hazard with large beached whale carcasses.

  • France says cruise ship Andes virus matches known South American viruses

    France says cruise ship Andes virus matches known South American viruses

    PARIS – France’s world-renowned Pasteur Institute has completed full genomic sequencing of the Andes virus isolated from a French passenger who fell ill after a voyage on the MV Hondius cruise ship, and confirmed that the pathogen matches well-documented strains already circulating in South America. As of the latest update, researchers have uncovered no evidence of new genetic traits that would increase the virus’s transmissibility or make it more lethal to humans.

    French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist shared the key findings in a public post on X Friday, emphasizing that the sequenced variant aligns with strains currently tracked by public health systems across South America. “At this stage, no element suggests the emergence” of a more transmissible or dangerous form of the virus, Rist wrote.

    Genomic analysis verified that the virus taken from the French patient is an exact match to samples collected from other infected cases on the same vessel, Pasteur Institute officials confirmed. It also bears a very close genetic resemblance to archived Andes virus samples from endemic regions across South America. All virus samples collected from passengers on the MV Hondius are identical to one another, and carry roughly 97% genetic similarity to known Andes strains circulating in South America, including variants found in rodent populations, the natural reservoir for the virus.

    Jean-Claude Manuguerra, head of the Pasteur Institute’s Environment and Infectious Risk unit, explained that the 3% genetic divergence seen in the sequenced samples falls within the expected range of natural viral variation. The small differences do not appear to alter the core biological characteristics of the virus that affect how it spreads or harms human hosts, he noted.

    The French passenger tested positive for Andes virus following her trip aboard the MV Hondius, and has since received inpatient care at a Paris medical facility. French public health officials previously disclosed that the patient was in serious condition when admitted. Currently, virological investigations remain ongoing, conducted in close collaboration between Pasteur Institute researchers, French national health authorities, and global public health partners. Rist added that the full genomic sequencing data will be shared openly with the international scientific community to support global monitoring and research efforts, noting that the new data will improve understanding of the virus and enable more rigorous ongoing public health surveillance.

  • Rescue diver dies during search for bodies of Italians who drowned in Maldives caves

    Rescue diver dies during search for bodies of Italians who drowned in Maldives caves

    A devastating double tragedy has unfolded off the coast of the Maldives, where a rescue diver has lost his life during operations to recover the remains of five Italian divers who died in an earlier catastrophic scuba incident. The accident, already marked as the deadliest single diving disaster in the history of the popular Indian Ocean tourist destination, has compounded grief on both sides of the continent.

    The first incident unfolded on Thursday morning, when a group of five Italian divers entered the water at Vaavu Atoll, a remote reef system located roughly 100 kilometers south of the Maldivian capital Male. The group never returned to their departure yacht, the Duke of York, prompting an immediate search and rescue operation. Local authorities confirmed that a yellow weather warning for rough sea conditions was already in effect for the area before the divers entered the water.

    Four members of the deceased group are affiliated with the University of Genoa: ecology professor Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, and two university researchers. The fifth fatality was Gianluca Benedetti, an experienced diving instructor and boat operations manager contracted for the expedition. As of Saturday, just one body has been recovered from a deep cave system located 60 meters below sea level – twice the maximum depth permitted for recreational scuba diving in Maldivian waters, which is capped at 30 meters. Officials say it remains unclear why the group chose to explore the deep, unregulated cave system.

    The 20 other Italian nationals who remained aboard the Duke of York during the dive were unharmed, and are now receiving consular support from the Italian Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

    On Saturday, the mission to recover the four remaining bodies claimed a new casualty: Staff Sgt Mohamed Mahdhee, a Maldivian military rescue diver. Government spokesperson Mohamed Hossain Shareef told the BBC that eight rescue divers entered the water that day, but only seven returned to the surface. When fellow rescuers returned to search for Mahdhee, they found he had blacked out at depth. He was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

    Maldives military officials have emphasized that the recovery operation carries extreme risk, worsened by persistent unfavorable weather conditions that have complicated search efforts. Following news of Mahdhee’s death, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu traveled to Vaavu Atoll to personally oversee ongoing operations and meet with response teams.

    Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani offered his official condolences to the people of Maldives following the second loss of life. “These days of grief for Italy are compounded by the news that one of your brave soldiers… died while attempting to dive to reach the bodies of our fellow Italians,” Tajani said in a statement. “This tragedy unites Italy and the Maldives in grief and respect for the victims.”

  • Man dies following alleged shoplifting incident

    Man dies following alleged shoplifting incident

    A tragic incident unfolding in the heart of Dublin city center has left one man dead and another injured following an alleged shoplifting incident on Friday. According to official updates from Irish law enforcement, the event unfolded shortly before 5 p.m. local time on Henry Street, one of Dublin’s busiest retail thoroughfares.

    Security personnel working in the area took a man in his 30s into custody in connection with the suspected theft at a local retail outlet. As the suspect attempted to escape the scene, he collided with and injured an elderly man in his 80s. First responders transported the older man to Dublin’s Mater Hospital, where medics confirmed he was suffering from injuries that are not considered life-threatening.

    However, the situation took a fatal turn for the detained suspect. Gardaí, Ireland’s national police service, confirmed that the man in his 30s quickly became unresponsive while still at the detention site. Emergency services immediately rushed him to the same Mater Hospital, but medical teams were unable to revive him, and he was officially pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

    In line with standard investigative protocol for such incidents, Gardaí have moved quickly to secure all evidence. The entire incident site was cordoned off immediately after the event to preserve forensic evidence, and specialist forensic teams have now completed their examination of the area. Irish authorities have notified the coroner of the death, and the Office of the State Pathologist has been assigned to conduct a full post-mortem examination to determine the exact cause of death. The findings from this autopsy will play a critical role in guiding the direction of Gardaí’s ongoing investigation into the incident.

    Per regulatory requirements for deaths involving individuals in detention, the case has automatically been referred to Fiosrú, the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, which will oversee the probe to ensure full transparency and accountability throughout the investigation process.

  • Arrest made after man dies in north Dublin house

    Arrest made after man dies in north Dublin house

    A fatal incident at a residential property in north Dublin has left one man dead and triggered the arrest of a second individual, according to official updates from Irish law enforcement. Gardaí, Ireland’s national police service, confirmed that emergency dispatchers received an emergency alert shortly after 12:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, prompting immediate deployment of both police officers and emergency medical teams to the Brookwood Heights neighborhood in Artane.

    Upon arrival at the scene, first responders administered urgent on-site medical care to a 30-year-old man who had been injured at the property. Despite the prompt intervention of emergency personnel, the 30-year-old was pronounced dead a short time after treatment began.

    In the immediate aftermath of the incident, law enforcement took a man in his 60s into custody in connection with the death. Investigative teams have already notified the local coroner and the Office of the State Pathologist as standard procedure for unexplained fatalities. A post-mortem examination has been scheduled to determine the exact cause of the 30-year-old man’s death, which will provide critical evidence for the ongoing investigation.

    As of the latest update, no further details about the relationship between the two men or the circumstances leading up to the incident have been released to the public. Gardaí are continuing their investigation into the death at the north Dublin property.

  • Teenage captain Celebrini scores 2 and Canada shuts out Italy at ice hockey worlds

    Teenage captain Celebrini scores 2 and Canada shuts out Italy at ice hockey worlds

    The IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship continued its group stage play across Swiss host cities on Saturday, with 19-year-old captain Macklin Celebrini emerging as the breakout star of the day, leading Canada to a dominant 6-0 shutout victory over Italy in Fribourg.

    Celebrini, the tournament’s youngest Canadian captain in recent memory, notched a three-point performance, headlined by two clinical goals that underscored his rising status as one of hockey’s most promising young talents. His first marker of the tournament came with just over three minutes left in the opening frame: after a sharp cross-ice feed from Porter Martone, Celebrini fired a rapid one-timer from the right circle to push Canada’s lead to 3-0. He doubled his personal tally just over two minutes into the second period, lifting a smooth backhand shot into the top corner of the net to extend Canada’s advantage to 4-0, with newly minted post-NHL playoff addition Sidney Crosby picking up the primary assist on the play.

    The lopsided result marked Canada’s second consecutive win to open its Group B campaign, following a tight 5-3 victory over defending contender Sweden on Friday. Other goals came from Dylan Holloway, Fraser Minten, Evan Bouchard and Ryan O’Reilly, while goaltender Cam Talbot turned away all 19 shots Italy sent his way to secure the clean sheet.

    Canada’s scoring surge got started early in the first period, when Holloway and Minten found the back of the net just 47 seconds apart. Holloway converted a cross-crease pass from John Tavares to beat Italian starting goaltender Davide Fadani, before Minten slammed home a rebound to double the lead. Late in the second period, Bouchard scored on a power play, and O’Reilly added another goal 25 seconds later to cap the rout, wrapping up the 6-0 scoreline. Italy, the tournament’s returning competitor that made its way back to the top division for the first time since 2022, was unable to find a breakthrough against Canada’s tight defensive structure.

    In other Group A action held in Zurich, Finland notched its second straight win of the tournament with a 4-1 defeat of Hungary. Florida Panthers star Aleksander Barkov, who made his return to competitive play after missing the entire NHL season through injury, earned two assists to anchor Finland’s offensive push. Another opening-day match in Zurich saw newcomer Britain fall 5-2 to Austria, after the Austrian side jumped out to a commanding three-goal lead within the first 10 minutes of play. Britain fought back with two goals from David Clements and Liam Kirk, scored 37 seconds apart in the first period, but Austria extended its lead with two second-period goals, while limiting Britain to just two total shots on goal in the frame. Peter Schneider led Austria’s offense with two goals on the day.

    Back in Fribourg, Slovakia secured a narrow 2-1 win over Norway, courtesy of Marek Hrivik’s game-winning goal scored midway through the final period. Saturday’s slate of games concluded with two primetime matchups: host Switzerland faced off against Latvia in Zurich, while the Czech Republic took on Slovenia in Fribourg. Canada is set to return to Group B play on Monday, where they will face Denmark.

    This report was compiled from Associated Press sports coverage.

  • Swatch shuts stores after crowds queue for new watch

    Swatch shuts stores after crowds queue for new watch

    A highly anticipated limited-edition watch collaboration has sparked chaotic scenes across the globe, forcing Swiss watch giant Swatch to close all its participating retail locations across the United Kingdom over public safety concerns. The unprecedented demand for the new Royal Pop pocket watch, created in partnership with luxury Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet, drew hundreds of eager collectors and fans to Swatch stores over the weekend, leading to overcrowding, reported aggression, and widespread store closures.

    The collaboration, which launched eight distinct watch models priced at an accessible £335, was billed by Swatch as a disruptive, groundbreaking partnership between two iconic Swiss watchmaking brands. Drawing inspiration from the mid-20th century Pop Art movement, the collection is described by the company as a fusion of joyful, bold aesthetic and high-end fine watchmaking craft. However, the extreme accessibility of the price point, paired with the limited production run, created a feeding frenzy among watch enthusiasts and resellers alike. Within days of the launch announcement, resold examples of the Royal Pop watch were already listed on secondary online marketplaces for as much as £16,000 – a nearly 4,700% markup from the original retail price.

    In the UK, the scale of demand caught many by surprise. On Saturday morning, hundreds of people queued outside Swatch’s Liverpool One location on Paradise Street, with some committed fans camping out for two full days to secure a spot near the front of the line. By 7 a.m. BST, Merseyside Police received reports of a group of men acting aggressively and making threats toward other shoppers in the queue. Officers quickly responded to the scene, and the crowd dispersed shortly after the intervention.

    Following the incident, and citing growing safety risks for both customers and staff, Swatch announced it would keep all of its participating UK branches – including locations in London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, and Sheffield – closed for the duration of the launch. The brand has not yet announced when or if the stores will reopen for sales of the limited collection.

    The chaos unfolding in the UK is not an isolated incident. Watch enthusiasts around the world have been lining up for days, even weeks, to get their hands on one of the limited watches. In New York, fans camped outside a Swatch store for a full week, with local reports noting that several people experienced health issues during the prolonged wait in public. Queues also formed outside the brand’s Tokyo location, its global headquarters in Biel, Switzerland, and the Dubai Mall launch event in the United Arab Emirates was ultimately cancelled due to the unexpectedly massive turnout of hopeful buyers.

    BBC News has reached out to Swatch for additional comment on the store closures and future plans for the collection, and has not yet received a response.

  • Pope to visit France in September with a stop at UNESCO

    Pope to visit France in September with a stop at UNESCO

    VATICAN CITY — The Vatican officially confirmed Saturday that Pope Leo XIV will expand his packed 2026 international travel agenda with a four-day official visit to France, scheduled to run from September 25 to 28. The trip will include a stop at the Paris-based headquarters of UNESCO, the United Nations’ cultural and educational agency, marking a key engagement with a global multilateral institution during the pontiff’s busy year.

    This forthcoming French visit will be Pope Leo XIV’s fourth foreign voyage of 2026. The pontiff has already logged two international trips this year: a short one-day visit to Monaco in March, and a longer multi-nation tour of four African countries in April. He is also scheduled to travel to Spain and the Canary Islands in June, ahead of the September trip to France. A potential end-of-year visit to Latin America — including Peru, which Leo has called his beloved second home — remains unconfirmed as of press time, with no final details released by Vatican officials.

    The confirmed trip to France highlights a notable shift in papal travel priorities compared to the 12-year pontificate of Pope Francis. Unlike Francis, who repeatedly opted to prioritize small, remote Catholic communities far from Rome and largely avoided major historic Christian centers in Western Europe, Leo’s itinerary shows a clear new focus on the experiences of Catholic faithful in Europe. This shift comes as informal reports point to a resurgence of interest in the Catholic faith among young European adults, a trend the Vatican appears to be acknowledging through this high-profile visit.

    Francis did travel to France twice during his time as pope, but never completed a full state visit to the French capital Paris. In 2014, he made a single-day trip to Strasbourg to speak to the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, and in 2023 he traveled to the southern port city of Marseille to attend an international conference focused on migration policy.

    Leo’s stop at UNESCO headquarters will also give the pontiff a platform to address a global audience, a notable detail given his decision to forgo a trip to his native United States this year. Traditionally, popes have used invitations to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York as a key opportunity for major global addresses, but Leo has chosen not to make that trip in 2026, instead taking the global stage at UNESCO in Paris.

  • Cannabis worth over €515k seized at Dublin Airport

    Cannabis worth over €515k seized at Dublin Airport

    In a major drug interdiction operation at Ireland’s Dublin Airport, customs and revenue officials have seized a shipment of cannabis valued at more than €515,000 (£449,235), leading to the arrest of a man in his 20s connected to the contraband.

    The seizure unfolded on Friday, after officers targeted the baggage of an incoming passenger who had traveled to the Irish capital from Toronto, Canada. A physical search of the passenger’s checked luggage revealed the cannabis, which had been carefully hidden inside multiple vacuum-sealed packages to evade detection.
    Following the recovery of the drugs, the man was taken into custody by Gardaí, Ireland’s national police service, and is currently being held at a Dublin-area police station for interrogation. As of the latest update from law enforcement, official investigations into the suspected drug trafficking operation remain active, with officers working to trace the full network behind the smuggling attempt.