California affected by a new killing 48 hours after that of the Chinese New Year, 15 French women and 32 children from the Syrian jihadist camps repatriated, neonicotinoids finally banned in France: here is a summary of the news this Tuesday morning.
California Bereaved by a New Massacre
The western US state is counting its dead. Just two days after the killings that left 11 dead near Los Angeles in a dance hall on Chinese New Year’s Eve, two new shootings are mourning Californians. Seven Chinese agricultural workers were killed by one of their colleagues. The modus operandi of the suspect, arrested since, questions. Two farms were targeted. The main suspect, 67-year-old Chunli Zhao, made two shootings in a row, moving from place to place. “Zhao was taken into custody without incident and a semi-automatic handgun was located in his vehicle,” San Mateo County Police Chief Christina Corpus said.
15 Women And 32 Children Detained in Repatriated Jihadist Camps
For several years, humanitarian organizations have criticized France for its inaction regarding the women and children imprisoned in camps for jihadists in Syria. 15 women and 32 children were repatriated. This is the third operation of this kind since July 5, 2022. “The minors have been handed over to the services responsible for child support and will be subject to medico-social monitoring. The adults have been handed over to the competent judicial authorities,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Before the repatriations, there was inaction and complicity. In 2019, the UN Committee against Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment was seized by the families of these women and children. The committee recently found that the French state “always remains under an obligation” to protect women and children “against serious human rights violations by taking all necessary and possible measures”. In 2022, France was condemned by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and then by the European Court of Human Rights for its lack of action.
Neonicotinoids Finally Banned
Neonicotinoids are insecticides that directly attack the nervous system of insects. If the insecticide is implicated in the massive decline of bees, France decided in 2021 to authorize it on an exceptional basis for beet seeds. As the government prepared to do the same for 2023, a European court decision ruled these exemptions illegal. The French Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, then declared that France was giving up neonicotinoids. There will be no “third year of derogation on the coating of beet seeds, it’s over for this element, the decision of the Court of Justice (European) is powerful enough not to destabilize even more the system,” he said.
This article is originally published on reforme.net
