President Emmanuel Macron Friday denounced what he described as an "antisemitic hydra" that had crept into "every crack" of society two decades after Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old French Jewish man, was tortured to death.
To commemorate Halimi, whose abduction and murder in 2006 horrified France, Macron planted an oak tree in the garden of the Elysee Palace, joined by Halimi's sister, Anne-Laure Abitbol.
By Elizabeth Pineau
PARIS, Feb 13 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron called for intensified efforts to combat antisemitism in France, as recent government data showed hostility toward Jews has remained high despite adecline in recorded incidents last year.
France, which has the largest Jewish community in Europe, documented 1,320 antisemitic acts in 2025, accounting for 53% of all anti-religious incidents, according to a report released on Thursday by the Interior Ministry.
By Sam Tobin
LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Britain's ban on pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation was ruled unlawful by London's High Court on Friday, though the ban will temporarily remain in place and the government said it would appeal against the decision.
Palestine Action was proscribed in July, having increasingly taken "direct action" against Israel-linked defence companies in Britain, often blocking entrances or spraying red paint.
MOSCOW, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States on ending the war in Ukraine will move to Geneva next week and Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky will head the Russian delegation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Friday.
Russian news agencies quoted him as saying the talks would take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.They follow two rounds of negotiations in Abu Dhabi at which Russia's team was led by Igor Kostyukov, its head of military intelligence.
The High Court in London on Friday upheld a challenge to a UK government ban on activist group Palestine Action under terror legislation, saying it had interfered with the right to freedom of speech.
The 2025 ban put Palestine Action on a blacklist that also includes Palestinian militants Hamas and the Lebanese Iran-backed group Hezbollah, and sparked a severe backlash.
And it made it a criminal offence to be a member of the group or to demonstrate support for it - punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
GENEVA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - A U.N. human rights spokesperson said on Friday she was very worried about attacks on independent U.N. experts after European governments criticised Francesca Albanese who is mandated to report on human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.
By Daren Butler
ISTANBUL, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Almost one year after he was jailed, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has told Reuters that Tayyip Erdogan should call elections "now" and predicted that the president would lose if he ran again.
Imamoglu has emerged in recent years as Erdogan’s main rival, with polls suggesting he could indeed defeat Turkey's leader of more than two decades if he is able to run.
MUNICH, Feb 13 (Reuters) - About 3,000 Islamic State detainees have so far been transferred from Syrian prisons to Iraq and the process is continuing, Iraq's foreign minister said on Friday, adding that Baghdad was in discussions with some countries to repatriate them soon.
Speaking in a wide-ranging interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Fuad Hussein said Baghdad would need more financial assistance to deal with the influx, and warned that there had been a recent uptick in Islamic State activity in Syria.
ANKARA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Turkey detained 16 people and seized assets worth about 300 million lira ($6.9 million) on Friday in an investigation into alleged money laundering linked to content shared on the OnlyFans platform, prosecutors said.
The probe, led by a department investigating terrorism financing and money laundering crimes, targeted 25 suspects and two companies in operations across eight provinces, including Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya, the Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office said.
Feb 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. is sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East amid tensions with Iran, U.S. media outlets reported late on Thursday.
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its escort ships will be sent to the Middle East from the Caribbean, the New York Times, which first reported the news, said, citing U.S. officials.
The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside of regular business hours.
