France

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Horsemeat Scandal Gets Worse
 Horsemeat Scandal Gets Worse 
Feb 14, 2013 7:35 AM CST

Horsemeat Scandal Gets Worse

Meat tainted by vet drug 'bute' could be in French food supply

(Newser) - Europe's horsemeat scandal continues to worsen in both size and scope. For one, the meat of three horses tainted with "bute"—the veterinary drug phenylbutazone—possibly entered the human food chain in France, reports the AP . The British government said today that eight horse carcasses processed in...

French House OKs Gay Marriage; 1 Step Remains

Bill just needs to clear Senate to become law

(Newser) - Same-sex marriage is now just one step away from being legal in France. The country's lower house of parliament today voted 329 to 229 to approve a controversial bill that would redefine a marriage as a contract between two people, without reference to gender, allowing gay and lesbian couples...

Serial-Rapist DNA Test Leads Cops to Twins

So Marseille police are ordering unusual genetic test

(Newser) - Police in the French city of Marseille relied on DNA evidence to arrest a serial rapist accused of attacking six women, the Telegraph reports. Only problem: His DNA nearly matches his twin brother's, so police hauled them both in. And the victims, unable to tell them apart, positively identified...

French, Mali Forces Re-Take City After Rebel Canoe Raid

Analysts warn this could be start of guerrilla campaign

(Newser) - It may be too soon to call Mali "mission accomplie," after Islamic rebels renewed fighting in the eastern city of Gao last night, reports the Christian Science Monitor . About a dozen rebels sneaked across the Niger River over the weekend in canoes, placing snipers on buildings to fire...

China at Heart of Sweeping Cyberspying War on US

Economic espionage is costing America billions

(Newser) - The past five years have seen a mammoth international effort to spy on the computer systems of US businesses and other institutions, an intelligence report finds—and China is by far the biggest threat. The goal: to gather economic information to benefit the spying countries, the Washington Post reports. Targeted...

9/11 Truther Defaces Iconic Louvre Painting

'Liberty Leading the People' said to have inspired Statue of Liberty

(Newser) - A 28-year-old woman has been arrested after museum guards caught her scribbling graffiti on an iconic Eugene Delacroix painting at the newly-opened Louvre branch in Lens, France. The 1830 painting, dubbed "Liberty Leading the People," was featured on France's pre-euro 100-franc note, and reportedly inspired the Statue...

French Eye Mali Exit
 French Eye Mali Exit 
Feb 6, 2013 3:03 AM CST

French Eye Mali Exit

Minister hopes to begin handover to African troops soon

(Newser) - French troops may start pulling out of Mali as early as next month, handing over to a still-developing African force. The potential withdrawal, floated by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in a newspaper interview, came as forces from France and Chad secured a key bastion in northern Mali, the city...

Paris Women Now Legally Allowed to Wear Pants

Minister of women's rights revokes archaic law

(Newser) - No more skirting the issue: A French official announced Friday that women are legally allowed to wear pants in Paris, Global Post reports. Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the minister of women's rights, revoked a little-noticed 200-year-old law banning the practice: "This law is incompatible with the principles of equality between...

Hollande Visits as French Army Continues Mali Strikes

France keeps up pressure in country's north via airstrikes

(Newser) - France's Defense Ministry has said the country's military forces continued aerial strikes in northern Mali, just a few hours after a visit to the country by President Francois Hollande. French troops bombarded Islamist sites in Kidal and Tessalit in northern Mali overnight yesterday into today, according to a...

France Says &#39;Non&#39; to &#39;Hashtag&#39;
 France Says 'Non' to 'Hashtag' 
Jan 31, 2013 10:23 AM CST

France Says 'Non' to 'Hashtag'

But some complain new term 'mot-dièse' not right word

(Newser) - Au revoir, "hashtag." French language cops are striking the English word from their lexicon in favor of the francophone mot-dièse, reports the Local as picked up by Time . The Commission Générale de Terminologie et de Néologie is tasked with preserving the language, and similarly...

France: Mali Fighting Over, Time for Talks

Mali interim prez refuses to talk to Islamic militants, only secular groups

(Newser) - With French forces retaking the last city held by rebels , Paris is now looking for the Mali government and "legitimate representatives" from rebel groups to talk, reports al-Jazeera . "We have arrived at a moment of change," says France's defense minister, declaring that "the French intervention...

France Takes Mali's Last Rebel City; Next: the Hard Part

A force of African nations will try to keep militants from mounting comeback

(Newser) - France is wrapping up the first phase of its Mali mission: Its forces took back the last big urban center once held by Islamic militants, reports Reuters . The success in Kidal follows similar operations in Gao and Timbuktu over the last three weeks, and now France is getting ready to...

US Might Step Up Involvement in Mali

Considers sending refueling planes for French jets: New York Times

(Newser) - The US has provided modest tactical and intelligence aid to France so far in its fight against al-Qaeda-linked militants in Mali, but the New York Times reports that US officials are now considering a notable increase—sending in aerial refueling planes for French fighter jets. Talks have been under way...

Frenchwoman Freed From Mexico Prison After Outcry

Florence Cassez had been sentenced for kidnapping

(Newser) - A Frenchwoman whose 60-year Mexican prison sentence caused international controversy was released from jail yesterday. Florence Cassez was sentenced in 2005 for her role in a kidnapping gang after television showed her arrest as three victims were freed. But the segment was staged by police: In fact, she'd been...

Swine Flu Shot May Have Caused Kids' Narcolepsy

795 European recipients of GlaxoSmithKline drug report illness

(Newser) - Children across Europe have been developing narcolepsy at increased rates since 2009—and experts fear the crisis may be linked to a GlaxoSmithKline swine flu vaccine. The incurable sleep disorder has surged in Sweden, Finland, Norway, France, and Britain, experts say, and it can take a devastating toll: Reuters recounts...

Huge Swath of France Smells Like Rotten Eggs

No, not permanently

(Newser) - Insert Pepé Le Pew joke here: The northwestern part of France currently smells like rotten eggs, reports Reuters . The bizarre aroma is the result of a non-lethal leak of the gas Mercaptan at a chemicals factory about 75 miles northwest of Paris. Though the leak occurred yesterday, winds carried the...

22 Hostages Still Missing in Algeria: Report

...as standoff between military, militants continues

(Newser) - After the Algerian military launched an attack on militants holding hostages at a gas field, numbers remain hazy, but Reuters reports that the whereabouts of 22 of those hostages—14 Japanese and eight Norwegians—remain unknown. Algerian special forces continue to surround the site, a local insider tells Reuters, adding...

Early Reports: 35 Hostages Killed in Algeria Crisis

Many had already escaped, according to earlier reports

(Newser) - Some 35 hostages and 15 Islamist militants in the Algerian crisis have reportedly been killed in a helicopter attack launched by the Algerian military, reports the AP . Those numbers, however, were released by the militants, who also announced that seven of the 41 hostages taken, including two Americans, are still...

Germany to Withdraw 300 Tons of Gold From US

Country's reserves stored mostly abroad

(Newser) - Germany boasts gold reserves worth $183 billion—but two-thirds of the stuff is kept outside the country. Now, the country's central bank is set to make a heck of a withdrawal, including some 300 tons currently in a vault under Manhattan, stored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New...

France Launches Mali Ground Offensive

Troops will be fighting Islamist rebels within hours, military says

(Newser) - France has launched a ground operation in Mali, and its troops should be in direct combat with radical Islamists "within hours," military officials tell the AP . The incursion began overnight, with troops pressing from the capital into rebel-held northern territory. France also announced yesterday that it was boosting...

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