France Expels Palestinian Activist

Palestinian activist Mariam Abu Daqqa, 72, has been expelled by France 
Christophe SIMON - AFP
Palestinian activist Mariam Abu Daqqa, 72, has been expelled by France Christophe SIMON - AFP
TT

France Expels Palestinian Activist

Palestinian activist Mariam Abu Daqqa, 72, has been expelled by France 
Christophe SIMON - AFP
Palestinian activist Mariam Abu Daqqa, 72, has been expelled by France Christophe SIMON - AFP

France on Friday expelled a Palestinian activist to Egypt after a protracted court battle over her presence, police said.

Mariam Abu Daqqa, 72, is a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) which is considered a "terrorist" organization by the European Union.

Abu Daqqa was detained by police on Wednesday night after the State Council, France's highest administrative court, overturned a lower court ruling that had suspended an interior ministry expulsion order.

Abu Daqqa had a 50 day visa to visit France to take part in conferences on the Middle East conflict. The ministry said that her presence was a risk after the deadly October 7 Hamas attacks against Israel.

She took part in two conferences that had been banned while in France.

Reached by phone at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport as she awaited a flight to Cairo, Abu Daqqa slammed her expulsion as "an attack against the right of Palestine to have a state, an identity, an existence".

"The process that I have undergone is not worthy of a democratic government," she said.

Her lawyers, Elsa Marcel and Marie David, told AFP they would launch further appeals and even take the case to the European Court of Human rights.

France, which has large Jewish and Muslim populations, has seen a spike in tensions amid the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.



Malaysia Coast Guard Locates Oil Tanker Involved in Collision Off Singapore

A handout photo taken and released by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency on July 19, 2024 shows the Singapore-flagged tanker Hafnia Nile on fire in Tanjung Sedili, near Singapore. (Photo by Handout / Malaysian Maritime Enforcement A / AFP)
A handout photo taken and released by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency on July 19, 2024 shows the Singapore-flagged tanker Hafnia Nile on fire in Tanjung Sedili, near Singapore. (Photo by Handout / Malaysian Maritime Enforcement A / AFP)
TT

Malaysia Coast Guard Locates Oil Tanker Involved in Collision Off Singapore

A handout photo taken and released by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency on July 19, 2024 shows the Singapore-flagged tanker Hafnia Nile on fire in Tanjung Sedili, near Singapore. (Photo by Handout / Malaysian Maritime Enforcement A / AFP)
A handout photo taken and released by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency on July 19, 2024 shows the Singapore-flagged tanker Hafnia Nile on fire in Tanjung Sedili, near Singapore. (Photo by Handout / Malaysian Maritime Enforcement A / AFP)

Malaysia's coast guard said on Sunday it had located and intercepted a large oil tanker that was involved in a fiery collision with another vessel two days ago off Singapore, reported Reuters.
The coast guard said on Saturday that the Sao Tome and Principe-flagged tanker Ceres I had left the location of the collision that caused a fire and injured at least two crew members. The ship was also believed to have turned off its tracking system, the coast guard said.
The Ceres I was found in Malaysian waters with two tugboats towing it, the coast guard said in a statement on Sunday.
The Ceres I and the two tugboats have been detained by the coast guard for further investigation, it added.
Meanwhile, aerial surveys conducted by the coast guard found minor traces of an oil spill at the location of the collision between the Ceres I and the Singapore-flagged Hafnia Nile, the coast guard said in the statement on Sunday.
"The environment department has been informed and will conduct further monitoring," it said.