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Macron: France Needs to Address Causes of Unrest

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) poses with Pau's mayor Francois Bayrou (L) on the balcony of the city hall during a visit in Pau, southwestern France, on July 6, 2023. (Photo by GAIZKA IROZ / AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (R) poses with Pau's mayor Francois Bayrou (L) on the balcony of the city hall during a visit in Pau, southwestern France, on July 6, 2023. (Photo by GAIZKA IROZ / AFP)
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Macron: France Needs to Address Causes of Unrest

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) poses with Pau's mayor Francois Bayrou (L) on the balcony of the city hall during a visit in Pau, southwestern France, on July 6, 2023. (Photo by GAIZKA IROZ / AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (R) poses with Pau's mayor Francois Bayrou (L) on the balcony of the city hall during a visit in Pau, southwestern France, on July 6, 2023. (Photo by GAIZKA IROZ / AFP)

President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called for order and calm, and efforts to address the roots of several days of unrest around France that was sparked by the police killing of a 17-year-old boy.
The police officer accused of the shooting death of teen Nahel Merzouk is in custody on a charge of voluntary homicide, and a judge in Versailles on Thursday rejected his request for release pending further investigation.
“We all lived through an important moment in the life of our nation,” Macron said in the southern city of Pau on the edge of the Pyrenees. He said that France now needs “order, calm, unity. And then to work on the deep causes of what happened.”
He didn’t address what those causes are. The French leader has blamed parents of young rioters and social networks including TikTok and Snapchat for fueling violence that spread to around 500 cities and towns.
Some activists, along with residents of the low-income neighborhoods where the violence began, say the killing was the latest evidence of systematic police brutality and unaddressed racial discrimination in France.

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Taliban Say India Is a ‘Significant Regional Partner’ after Meeting

Photo: AFP
Photo: AFP
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Taliban Say India Is a ‘Significant Regional Partner’ after Meeting

Photo: AFP
Photo: AFP

The Taliban's foreign office said they saw India as a "significant regional and economic partner" after meeting with its most senior foreign ministry official, the highest level talks with Delhi since their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met acting Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai on Wednesday.
Afghanistan's foreign ministry said in a statement that they had discussed expanding relations with Afghanistan and to boost trade through Chabahar Port in Iran, which India has been developing for goods to bypass the ports of Karachi and Gwadar in its rival Pakistan, Reuters reported.
"In line with Afghanistan's balanced and economy-focused foreign policy, the Islamic Emirate aims to strengthen political and economic ties with India as a significant regional and economic partner," the statement from Afghanistan's foreign ministry said late on Wednesday.
India's foreign ministry said after the Delhi meeting that India was considering engaging in development projects in Afghanistan and looking to boost trade ties.
No foreign government, including India, officially recognizes the Taliban administration.
However, India is one of several countries with a small mission in Kabul to facilitate trade, aid and medical support and has sent humanitarian aid to Afghanistan under the Taliban.
Regional players including China and Russia have signaled they are willing to boost trade and investment in Afghanistan.
The Delhi meeting could ruffle Pakistan, which borders both countries and has fought three wars in the past against India.
Pakistan and Afghanistan also have a strained relationship, with Pakistan saying that several militant attacks that have occurred in its country have been launched from Afghan soil - a charge the Afghan Taliban denies.
Earlier this week India's foreign office told journalists they condemned airstrikes conducted late last year by Pakistan on Afghan soil.