New Delhi: The French rail system was disrupted just hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics Friday. In a significant and “malicious” act of sabotage, vandals targetted key signal substations and cables along major railway lines, causing widespread chaos and diversion of trains from their intended routes, authorities said.
The state-owned railway operator, SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français) reported that the damaged lines included those connecting Paris with several major cities — Lille in the north, Bordeaux in the west and Strasbourg in the east. A large number of trains were diverted or cancelled. Thousands of rail staff were deployed to repair the damage.
Authorities described the acts as “coordinated” and said that one attack was foiled, and have hinted at “industrial espionage”, CNN reported.
⚠️ Due to coordinated acts of malice in France, affecting several high speed lines, several high speed trains are being diverted or cancelled.
Our teams are fully mobilised in stations, in the call centers, and onboard to ensure that all passengers are informed and can reach… https://t.co/IRXQK6lCtu
— SNCF Voyageurs (@SNCFVoyageurs) July 26, 2024
The attack on the French rail system was followed by German rail operator Deutsche Bahn issuing a warning about potential disruptions to long-distance services. Railway company Eurostar’s high-speed trains between London and Paris were compelled to switch to slower lines, while a bomb alert caused a brief suspension of operations at the Basel-Mulhouse airport near France’s border with Switzerland, according to a Reuters report.
While no group or individual has taken responsibility for this attack, the Paris prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation, detailing four separate charges related to the damage of state property and organised crime. A fine of 300,000 euros ($325,000) and up to 20 years in jail are the penalties for certain of the listed offences.
French athlete asked to wear cap instead of hijab
Another controversy hitting the Paris Olympics is France’s tussle with the ‘hijab’. A 26-year-old French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla had claimed earlier this week that she was barred from the Olympics opening ceremony because she wears a hijab.
“You are selected for the Olympics, organised in your country, but you can’t participate in the opening ceremony because you wear a headscarf,” she had posted on her Instagram account.
However, within two days of Sylla’s comments, an agreement was reached between Sylla and the French Olympic Committee, allowing her to switch to a ‘special cap’.
“In consultation with the French Athletics Federation, the French Ministry of Sports, Paris 2024, and Berluti, discussions were held with Sounkamba Sylla. She was offered the possibility of wearing a cap during the parade, which she accepted,” the French Olympic Committee said Thursday in a statement.
French luxury brand Berluti has designed uniforms for the French athletes for the Games.
It has been two decades since France banned hijab and other religious symbols in schools, but the issue has garnered significant attention in the last couple of years. The country with a 10 percent Muslim population prides itself on its ‘secularism’ or Laïcité, and the Olympics is the latest addition to the spaces where the French are not allowed to wear religious symbols.
Pakistan calls Netanyahu a ‘terrorist’
The Pakistan government has designated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “terrorist”, urging the world to take cognisance of Israel’s war crimes against the people of Gaza, especially the civilian casualties since October last year. The country has also formed a committee to identify companies supporing the Israeli offensive for a nationwide boycott.
The decision comes after week-long pro-Palestinian protests in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi and Islamabad by right-wing Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan or TLP, who sought a ban on Israeli products in the country, medical aid to Palestine and the declaration of Netanyahu as a terrorist.
Hamas — the Palestinian resistance group that Israel blames for starting the war — welcomed this decision by the Pakistan government. While Pakistan does not have any diplomatic relations with Israel, it presented a resolution on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), calling for “an end to the sale, transfer, and diversion of military arms and equipment to Israel”.
Japan imposed asset-freeze sanctions this week against four Israeli settler individuals for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Meanwhile, the Israeli PM visited the US Capitol, where he received standing applause for his speech seeking US support and claiming that the war is not just of Israel alone. He implied that the fight against Iran is also a fight to protect America.
“Iran understands that to truly challenge America, it must first conquer the Middle East. And for this, it uses its many proxies, including the Houthis, Hezbollah, and Hamas,” he said.
Inspired by Kenyan protests, Ugandan youth take to streets
Over 90 young men and women were arrested in Uganda’s Kampala and 42 were charged by a court for being a “common nuisance” and “causing disorder”, among other offences, while participating in a “banned rally”. President Yoweri Museveni has discouraged protestors, claiming that they are “playing with fire”. Museveni has been Uganda’s president for almost 40 years.
The anti-corruption protests, which are said to have been inspired by the Gen Z-led demonstrations in Kenya in June, saw an online circulation of posters and calls for action. The protestors like the ones in Kenya are mostly youth. They have demanded a reduction in MPs salaries and the resignation of the Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament Anita Among, who is said to be involved in corrupt practices.
Arrests have been made following almost six weeks of protests in various parts of the city against corruption. Rights groups have condemned the arrests, calling them a “blatant violation of the rights to peaceful assembly and free speech, guaranteed by the constitution”.
2 deadly landslides within an hour in Ethiopia
Two successive landslides have killed at least 257 people in southwest Ethiopia. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the death toll could be much higher and may go up to 500. The initial landslide struck between 8:30 am and 9 am Monday, and about an hour later, a second landslide hit, burying those who had rushed to help the victims of the first disaster.
The region, vulnerable to the effects of climate change, had seen days of heavy rains and flooding before Monday’s incidents. In May this year, seasonal rains in southern Ethiopia had caused flooding, mass displacement and significant damage to livelihoods and infrastructure, affecting over 19,000 people. The region has a history of such incidents, with at least 32 people killed in two separate landslides in 2018.
OCHA has highlighted the urgent need to evacuate more than 15,000 people due to the increased risk of further landslides. Those needing evacuation include at least 1,320 children under the age of five, and 5,293 pregnant women or new mothers.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his condolences over the disaster. His spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, conveyed Guterres’s deep sadness and noted that UN agencies were mobilising the provision of critical supplies, including food, nutrition, and health aid, to those affected by the landslides.
Meanwhile, Typhoon Gaemi, after causing death and destruction in Taiwan and Philippines, has hit China. Over 15,000 people have been displaced as China activated its highest-tier disaster warning.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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