Author: Gaston Babineaux

Tajikistan officially banned the hijab, imposing hefty fines in its latest move to curb Islamic influence. The Central Asian nation of Tajikistan officially prohibited the wearing of hijabs and other “alien garments” this week, as the country’s parliament passed a new bill regulating Islamic clothing and Eid celebrations. The bill, approved by the upper house of parliament, Majlisi Milli, on June 19, comes after years of an unofficial clampdown on the hijab in the Muslim-majority country. Under the new law, individuals wearing hijabs or other banned religious clothing could face hefty fines of up to 7,920 somonis (approximately $700). Companies…

A Russian Ilyushin-76 military transport plane has crashed in the southern Belgorod region near Ukraine. Russia’s ministry of defence said 65 captured Ukrainian military were on the plane heading to the area for a prisoner exchange. Ukrainian military intelligence later released a statement accusing Russia of putting the lives of prisoners of war at risk. It said it had not been told it had to ensure safe airspace over Belgorod. The Ukrainian statement is being seen as a tacit acknowledgement that it shot the plane down. Ria Novosti news agency said another nine people were on the plane, including six…

Impetus for change was US supreme court overturning Roe v Wade, while Germany passes law banning harassment of women at abortion clinics The French parliament has begun debating moves for France to become the first country in the world to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right, guaranteeing women access to the means to end a pregnancy voluntarily. The justice minister, Éric Dupond-Moretti, told the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, on Wednesday that abortion rights were not simply a liberty like any other, “because they allow women to decide their future”. Aurore Bergé, the minister in charge of equality and…

London (04/11 – 50) US government last week intervened in a lawsuit triggered by Hamilton Reserve Bank in St Kitts & Nevis. Somehow, a small bank based in a county with 50,000 inhabitants and GDP of under $1billion has amassed a $250million face-value stake in a Sri Lankan bond. The mysterious ‘global financier’ aka cunning vulture investor, Benjamin Wey is suing Sri Lanka. This specific bond was issued in happier times in 2012 and lacks some now-common clauses that make bonds easier to restructure. HRB’s $250million is enough in theory to veto any restructuring proposal Sri Lanka makes to that…

Niger’s junta said on Friday it had ordered French ambassador Sylvain Itte to leave the country within 48 hours, as relations between the west African country and its former colonial ruler deteriorated further. The junta-appointed foreign ministry said the decision to expel the ambassador was a response to actions taken by the French government that were “contrary to the interests of Niger”. These included the envoy’s refusal to respond to an invitation to meet Niger’s new foreign minister, the ministry’s statement said. July’s military coup in Niger came amid a growing wave of anti-French sentiment, with some locals accusing the European…

The military junta that seized power in Niger has accused France of plotting military intervention to reinstate the deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, as tensions in the region continued to grow in the wake of the coup. The junta said on national TV that France was searching “for ways and means to intervene militarily in Niger” and had held a meeting with the chief of staff of Niger’s national guard “to obtain the necessary political and military authorisation”. The French foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, denied any alleged intention of military intervention in the west African country. “It’s wrong,” she told BFMTV news channel on…

French film-maker Alice Winocour’s brother was inside the Bataclan concert hall in Paris in November 2015; in interviews she has talked about texting him while he hid. He survived the massacre, and now she has made a drama about a fictional terrorist attack on Paris. It’s not about the bloodshed or war zone carnage; her film is a kind of psychological detective tale, following a survivor as she tries to piece together her memories of what happened on the night. It’s a measured, quietly powerful film with a performance from Virginie Efira that seems almost telepathic at times; in scenes where she…

British drivers taking their car across the Channel to France this summer have been reminded that they will need to display a clean air sticker if they plan to enter one of several cities, or face a fine of up to €180 (£154). In a similar move to the clean air and ultra-low emission zones that have been introduced in the UK, France has more than 12 zones, including Paris and several others cities popular with UK tourists. The RAC has warned all cars and motorbikes entering such zones across the Channel – even those from abroad – need to display a sticker,…

Eleven people have died in a fire at a holiday home for disabled people in north-east France. The death toll was confirmed by a public prosecutor after firefighters spent hours combing the destroyed building – a converted barn – for the bodies of victims. The private gîte at Wintzenheim in the Haut-Rhin, near Colmar, had been hired by a group from Nancy for the holidays. Lt Col Philippe Hauwiller, of the fire service said the bodies had been found on the first floor of the building and were identified by drones. Hauwiller added: “It’s hard to say at this stage how…

Berlin, Warsaw (11/8 – 60) The Russian invasion of Ukraine has yet to see an end. Russia has mobilized everything in its power to overcome Ukraine, including recruiting citizens of Kazakhstan to join its military forces. Russia lures Kazakh citizens through digital recruitment advertisements, recently prominent on a number of the country’s internet user pages. Several pop-up ads have started appearing on the internet pages of Kazakh residents, announcing openings for enlistment in the Russian army, with a joining-up bonus of more than USD 5,000. The advert cleverly targets the patriotic soft side of the Kazakhs, displaying flags of the…