French Children Head Back to School

A teacher, wearing a protective face mask, teaches to schoolchildren in a classroom at a private school during its reopening in Saint-Sebastien-sur-Loire near Nantes as a small part of French children head back to their schools with new rules and social distancing during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France. (Image: Reuters)
A teacher, wearing a protective face mask, teaches to schoolchildren in a classroom at a private school during its reopening in Saint-Sebastien-sur-Loire near Nantes as a small part of French children head back to their schools with new rules and social distancing during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France. (Image: Reuters)
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French Children Head Back to School

A teacher, wearing a protective face mask, teaches to schoolchildren in a classroom at a private school during its reopening in Saint-Sebastien-sur-Loire near Nantes as a small part of French children head back to their schools with new rules and social distancing during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France. (Image: Reuters)
A teacher, wearing a protective face mask, teaches to schoolchildren in a classroom at a private school during its reopening in Saint-Sebastien-sur-Loire near Nantes as a small part of French children head back to their schools with new rules and social distancing during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France. (Image: Reuters)

Millions of French children starting going back to school Tuesday despite a recent rise in virus infections, in a nationwide experiment aimed at bridging inequalities and reviving the economy.

"The virus is still there, and you have to protect yourself," President Emmanuel Macron said in an Instagram video aimed at France´s more than 12 million schoolchildren on their first day back.

He spoke masked. Masks are required throughout the school day for all students 11 and over, and all teachers and school staff.

Masks are also mandatory starting Tuesday in all French workplaces, as the government encourages parents to return to the job while trying to keep infections under control. France reported 3,082 new coronavirus cases Monday, down from recent days but still higher than European neighbors and well above the few hundred daily cases reported in May and June, before summer vacations sent infections rising again. France has reported more than 30,600 deaths related to the virus.



Iran Guards Chief Says Netanyahu ICC Warrant 'Political Death' of Israel

Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP
Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP
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Iran Guards Chief Says Netanyahu ICC Warrant 'Political Death' of Israel

Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP
Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP

The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Friday described the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a former defense minister as the “end and political death” of Israel, in a speech.
“This means the end and political death of the Zionist regime, a regime that today lives in absolute political isolation in the world and its officials can no longer travel to other countries,” Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami said in the speech aired on state TV.
In the first official reaction by Iran, Salami called the ICC warrant “a welcome move” and a “great victory for the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance movements,” both supported by the Islamic republic, AFP reported.
The court also issued a warrant for the arrest of Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif.
The warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant were issued in response to accusations of crimes against humanity and war crimes during Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, sparked by the Palestinian militant group’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The ICC’s move theoretically limits the movement of Netanyahu, as any of the court’s 124 national members would be obliged to arrest him on their territory.
The court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan urged the body’s members to act on the warrants, and for non-members to work together in “upholding international law.”