ATTACK ON MAYOR’S HOUSE SHOCKS FRANCE DESPITE ‘CALMER’ NIGHT

PARIS

A G E N C I E S

FR E N C H politicians expressed horror on Sunday after the home of the mayor of a Paris suburb was attacked in a new night of rioting over the killing of a teen by police, even if the violence nationwide was less intense than in previous days

The government of President Emmanuel Macron has been battling five consecutive nights of violent protests since 17-year-old Nahel M was shot dead in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday by a police officer during a traffic check

The killing of Nahel M who was of Algerian origin has revived longstanding accusations of institutional racism within the French police who rights groups say single out minorities during controls

Seeking to quell what has become one of the biggest challenges to Macron of his presidency the interior ministry has for the last two nights deployed 45 000 police and gendarmes nationwide as well as helicopters and armoured vehicles

The interior ministry said 719 people were arrested overnight, around half the figure from the previous night with intense clashes still reported in several places including the southern city of

Marseille but calmer elsewhere Attention focused on the attack on the home of Vincent Jeanbrun the rightwing mayor of L Haÿ-les-Roses outside Paris which saw a burning car rammed by rioters into the entrance of his home with the aim of it setting fire to the building, prosecutors said The mayor ’s wife and children aged 5 and 7 were at home although the mayor himself was at the town hall to deal with the riots The wife was badly injured sustaining a broken leg, prosecutors said Prosecutors have opened an attempted murder investigation “Last

Baltimore mass shooting leaves 2 dead, 28 injured at street party

BALTIMORE UNITED STATES

Two people were killed and 28 others were injured in a mass shooting in Baltimore, Maryland, early Sunday morning at the scene of a holiday weekend block party according to police and local media reports

An 18-year-old woman and 20-year-old man were killed and three victims were still in critical condition according to police in Baltimore, a city about 40 miles (64 km) north of Washington, DC

The suspect or suspects were still at large

“This investigation is ongoing, and we will not rest until the people responsible are held accountable ” Mayor Brandon Scott and the police department said in a joint statement The tragedy rattled the city at the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend when Americans typically gather for parades, barbecues and fireworks

The shooting occurred shortly after midnight at the

“Brooklyn Day” block party in the Brooklyn Homes neighborhood of Baltimore which hundreds of people attended local media reported Alko read Guard gunman dead in shooting at US consulate in Saudi Arabia A witness told TV station Fox 45 that they had heard 20 to 30 shots fired

A local reporter posted an image to Twitter showing police tape, cups and other litter strewn across a yard that appeared to be the crime scene Nine people were transported from the scene to local hospitals while 20 others affected walked into hospitals in the area police said Medstar Harbor Hospital s emergency department treated 19 patients on Sunday morning, all suffering varying degrees of injury from gunshot wounds after the incident, MedStar Health Baltimore said in an email All but one patient had been released as of Sunday morning

Musk says T witter will limit how many tweets users can read

SAN FRANCISCO

R E U T E R S

Twitter is limiting how many tweets per day various accounts can read, to discourage “extreme levels” of data scraping and system manipulation Executive Chair Elon Musk said in a post on the social media platform on Saturday Verified accounts were initially limited to reading 6 000 posts a day Musk said adding that unverified accounts will be limited to 600 posts a day with new unverified accounts limited to 300

The temporary reading limitation was later increased to 10,000 posts per day for verified users, 1,000 posts per day for unverified and 500 posts per day for new unverified users Musk said in a separate post without providing further details

Previously Twitter had announced it will require users to have an account on the social media platform to view tweets, a move that Musk on Friday called a temporary emergency measure ”

British

LONDON A F P

PCB seeks permission from gov t to participate in World Cup 2023 being held in India

avenue in central Paris following calls on social media to take the rioting to the heart of the capital

The massive police presence helped keep the violence in check said Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin A calmer night thanks to the resolute action of the security forces, he tweeted early Sunday But Paris police chief Laurent Nunez cautioned on BFM TV: “No one is declaring victory ”

In Marseille which has seen intense clashes and looting police dispersed groups of youths Saturday evening at Canebiere, the main avenue running through the centre of the city, AFP journalists said

LAHORE

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sought permission from the federal government to participate in the ICC Men s World Cup 2023 being held in India later this year

As per details, the PCB has written a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif through the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) to provide the national team clearance to visit India for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023

The cricket body has also requested the government to inspect the security of the five venues offered to Pakistan for their World Cup matches night the horror and disgrace reached a new level ” the mayor said in a statement – Utmost severity –T h e s i t u a t i o n w a s m u c h c a l m e r o v e r a l l P r i m e M i n i s t e r E l i s a b e t h

B o r n e t o l d r e p o r t e r s a s s h e v i s i t e d

L’ H a y - l e s - R o s e s “But an act of the kind we saw this morning here is particularly shocking We will let no violence get by unpunished she said urging that the perpetrators be sanctioned with the utmost severity Some 7,000 police were deployed in Paris and its suburbs alone, including along tourist hotspot the Champs Elysees

NEW YORK A F P

On a visit to spotlight violence and chaos in Haiti the UN secretarygeneral on Saturday called for a robust international effort to help the country s beleaguered police in fighting rampant criminal gangs

For months Antonio Guterres has raised the alarm bell about the situation in the Western Hemisphere s poorest country which has been wracked by spiralling violence, a worsening public health situation and political instability

But he traveled to Port-auPrince his first visit to Haiti as head of the United Nations to make his point on the ground We must put Haiti on the international political map, and make the tragedy of the Haitian people the international community’s top priority ” Guterres told a press conference I met Haitians and I felt the exhaustion of a population that has been facing a cascade of crises and unbearable living conditions for too long,” he said

“This is not the time to forget about Haiti ” Guterres said after meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Henry and other political and civil society leaders

Guterres urged the UN Secu-

“They came specifically to do damage loot and leave ” said Youcef Bettahar a shopkeeper at the Merlan shopping mall in Marseille We re really disgusted by what s happening – ‘New crisis meeting’ –

The protests present a fresh crisis for Macron who had been hoping to press on with his second mandate after seeing off months of protests that erupted in January over raising the retirement age

He postponed a state visit to Germany scheduled to begin Sunday, in a sign of the gravity of the situation in France

Macron will head a crisis meeting Sunday with members of his government according to Elysee rity Council which is due to discuss the Haiti situation later this month, to authorize the immediate deployment of a robust international security force ”

In October he relayed Henry’s request for a non-UN force to support the overwhelmed national police force B u t t h e c a l l h a s g o n e u nh e e d e d A f e w c o u n t r i e s h a v e i n d i c a t e d t h e i r w i l l i n g n e s s t o p a r t i c i p a t e , b u t n o n e h a s v o l u nt e e r e d t o l e a d a n o p e r a t i o n i n a c o u n t r y w h e r e m u l t i p l e p a s t f o r e i g n i n t e r v e n t i o n s h a v e b ec o m e m i r e d I call on those states that have the capacity to provide a robust security force to stop hesitating and be ready to follow a Security Council decision ”

Guterres said

Every day counts If we don t act now, instability and violence will have a lasting impact on generations of Haitians ” ‘Widespread sexual violence’

UN officials in recent months have offered increasingly grim assessments of the impact of gang shootings kidnappings and rapes on the Haitian population

Port-au-Prince is surrounded by armed gangs blocking the main roads leading to the northern and southern departments controlling access to water food and health care

Guterres said Saturday

He condemned in the strongest possible terms the widespread sexual violence used by armed gangs as a weapon to instil fear ” Earlier in the week

UNICEF executive director

Catherine Russell said after a trip to Port-au-Prince that the world was failing the Haitian people

She recounted the horrific story of an 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped by five men and raped by three of them

She was eight months pregnant when we spoke and gave birth just a few days later, Russell said, recalling that armed gangs control more than 60 percent of the capital and large swathes of the countryside

Almost half the population or 5 2 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, including almost three million children

No elections have been held since 2016, and Henry, appointed prime minister just days before the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021 faces questions about his legitimacy

Guterres said he had frank exchanges with Henry and others about the “need for a political agreement to put an end to the crisis ” without offering specifics

Soon after the World Cup schedule was announced last Tuesday, we wrote to our Patron, Honourable Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, through the InterProvincial Coordination (IPC) Ministry copying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior requesting clearance to participate in the World Cup a PCB spokesperson told the private publication

The ICC Men s Cricket World Cup 2023 will begin on October 5 with holders England taking on New Zealand at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, which will also host the final Pakistan will clash with arch-rival India on October 15 in the tournament in Ahmedabad

In a recent development it has been reported that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is likely to send a security team to India to assess the arrangements ahead of the World Cup

‘Hungry’ Djokovic fired up for more Grand Slam glory at Wimbledon

LONDON

A F P

Novak Djokovic says he is still hungry for Grand Slam glory as Wimbledon rivals queue up to hail him as the greatest and his achievements as phenomenal Having wrapped up a men s record 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open, Djokovic now targets an eighth Wimbledon title to equal Roger Federer ’s mark

The 36-year-old Serb has won the title at the All England Club on the last four occasions

A fifth successive victory in two weeks time will take him level with Margaret Court s all-time record of 24 Slams He is also bidding to become just the fourth player in history to win eight or more Wimbledon titles after Martina Navratilova (nine) Federer and Helen Wills Moody (eight)

I still feel hungry for success for more Grand Slams more achievements in tennis said Djokovic As long as there s that drive, I know that I m able to compete at the highest level

He added: “A few days after Roland Garros, I was already thinking about preparation for grass and what needs to be done ” Worryingly for his rivals Djokovic one of the most polarising figures in sport shows no sign of slowing down Eleven of his 23 majors have come since he turned 30 Victory in what would be his 35th Grand Slam final on July 16 would crown him as the tournament’s oldest champion in the Open era

A lot of people are coming up to me and congratulating me reminding me of the historic success said Djokovic

Phenomenal

It s very flattering, but at the same time my mind was already directed towards Wimbledon, what’s the next Slam what’s the next task ”

England up against it, but where there’s Stokes there’s hope

LONDON

R E U T E R S

England will require more heroics from Ben Stokes if they are to pull off an unlikely victory over Australia on Sunday and level an Ashes series threatening to slide out of their control

Chasing 371 for victory at Lord s England had their top-order ripped apart by Aussie pace duo Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins as they stumbled to 114-4 at the close of day four

But with captain Stokes still there, Ben Duckett unbeaten on 50 after a massive let-off just before stumps and the destructive Jonny Bairstow still to come in there is still hope according to England s batting coach Marcus Trescothick I think there s always hope with Ben there, two Bens there, Jonny coming in and the bowlers, Trescothick told the BBC

“If someone can get a big score we can challenge them and try and overcome it We’re still fairly upbeat we re a positive unit We have good days and bad days you enjoy it on a good day, but you don’t get too down on a bad day

You take the rough with the smooth

Needing only six wickets and with England s long tail Australia are within touching distance of going 20 ahead in the series and only once in the history of the Ashes has a side come back from such a deficit to win

But they will be wary of Stokes who memorably scored an unbeaten 135 against them at Headingley in 2019 when England chased down 359 despite being 2869 If England do score 257 runs to emerge triumphant on Sunday it would be only the second time a team has successfully chased down a target of 300 plus at Lord s after West Indies made the 342 required in 1984

It would also be the second-highest successful run chase in the long history of the Ashes although way short of the 404 Australia knocked to win at Headingley in 1948

The way Starc and Cummins bowled on Saturday evening would suggest Australia are unlikely to let victory slip through their fingers, although they were clearly rattled as England opener Duckett was contro- versially reprieved when caught on the boundary by Starc just before the close of play on Saturday

Duckett deflected a bouncer from Cameron Green and was caught on the fine leg boundary by a diving Starc who initially pouched the ball cleanly Despite being given out, Duckett was called back after third umpire Marais Erasmus decided it was not a clean catch, with Starc not in control of “ball and body”

“England have the best of the conditions and now they are getting the best of the rules ” former Australian bowling great Glenn McGrath told the BBC

If that is not out then every other catch that s ever been taken should not be out That is a disgrace If that s England taking that catch, that is out!

Barring something extraordinary on Sunday, it will become a minor detail but England have taken unpredictability to new levels under coach Brendon McCullum and the sell-out crowd at Lord s could yet be in for a treat

We ll see it makes it an exciting day Whatever happens tomorrow, it s going to be an exciting final day, Trescothick said