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France Prohibits ‘Abaya’ Dress On First Day of school

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France Prohibits 'Abaya' Dress On First Day of school

In response to a recently announced prohibition, French officials on Monday began inspecting over 500 outlets as students throughout the nation returned to the classroom.

The government stated last month that it was outlawing the abaya in schools, claiming that it violated the laws requiring educational institutions to be secular, which have already seen Muslim headscarves outlawed on the basis that they are a sign of religious allegiance.

The political right applauded the action, but the hard-left claimed it violated civil liberties.

“Things are going well this morning. There is no incident for the moment, we will continue all day to be vigilant so that the students understand the meaning of this rule,” said Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne as she visited a school in northern France.

But she added that there was a “certain number” of schools where girls had arrived wearing an abaya.

“Some young girls agreed to remove it. For the others, we will have discussions with them, and use educational approaches to explain that there is a law that is being applied,” she added.

The hard-left has accused the government of centrist President Emmanuel Macron of trying with the abaya ban to compete with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and shifting further to the right.

Education Minister, Gabriel Attal, told RTL radio that authorities had identified 513 schools that could be affected by the ban at the start of the school year.

There are around 45,000 schools in France, with 12 million pupils going back to school on Monday.

He said work had been done ahead of the start of the school year to see in which schools this could present a problem, adding that trained school inspectors would be placed in certain schools.

Attal however said he was against imposing a ban on parents wearing clothes that had religious significance when they accompanied their children on school outings.

“There is a difference between what happens in school and what happens outside school. What matters to me is what happens in school,” he said.

Some leading figures on the right have called on the government to make children wear school uniform in state schools and Attal said he would announce a uniform trial in the autumn.

“I am not sure it’s a miracle solution that will solve all school problems. But I think it merits testing,” he added.

The wearing of “signs or outfits by students ostensibly showing a religious affiliation” in schools was prohibited under a law passed in March 2004.

Large crosses, Jewish kippas, and Islamic head scarves are examples of this.

Abayas, a long, baggy garment worn to adhere to Islamic views on modest dress, occupied a grey area and had not previously faced an outright prohibition, in contrast to headscarves.

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US Takes Drastic Action Against UK-Based Palestine Action, Declares Group ‘Terrorist’

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The United States has taken drastic action against the UK-based Palestine Action group, designating it as a “specially designated global terrorist” organisation and imposing sanctions on the group.

The designation was announced on Wednesday by the US, which accused Palestine Action of supporting “an act of terrorism.”

The US also designated two other organisations — Italy-based Autistici/Inventati, also known as A/I Collective, and the pro-Palestinian group Masar Badil — as terrorist organisations.

US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott described the three groups as “violent far-left terrorist groups.”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would deploy its financial powers against the organisations.

“Political terrorism has no place in our society, and we will continue to cut the financial lifelines of these groups until they are eliminated,” Bessent said.

Palestine Action was established in 2020 and is currently appealing a ban imposed on it by the British government.

The UK ban has resulted in thousands of arrests, while rights organisations have criticised the move, arguing that it amounts to criminalising dissent.

According to its stated objective, Palestine Action seeks to end what it describes as “global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.”

The group gained increased international attention after Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas fighters in southern Israel.

The latest US designation comes as President Donald Trump’s administration continues its efforts to target organisations it considers part of the far-left movement.

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In April, Amnesty International criticised what it described as attempts by the leaders of the United States, Israel and Russia to impose a new “predatory” world order through crackdowns on dissent.

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US Military Newspaper Chiefs Sacked Over Editorial Freedom Row

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The United States Department of Defense has fired the editor-in-chief, publisher and a reporter of a long-running military newspaper amid a growing dispute over editorial independence.

The newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Erik Slavin, told CBS News that he was dismissed for “insubordination” after speaking to the network about disagreements with the Department of Defense.

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The department had earlier this year said it wanted to steer the publication’s coverage away from what it described as “woke distractions.”

The newspaper’s publisher, Max Lederer, who had served in the position since 2007, was also notified that he was being terminated. His dismissal came just three days after he announced plans to retire from the publication.

Reporter Lara Korte also confirmed that she had been fired for alleged insubordination.

“Today, I was informed that the Department of Defense is firing me for insubordination after I told a CBS reporter that I work for Stars and Stripes — not the Pentagon, not any administration, and not any policy maker,” Korte wrote on X.

The dismissals came only days after the newspaper published a report detailing grim conditions faced by crewmembers aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

The report triggered fresh criticism of President Donald Trump’s handling of the war with Iran. The aircraft carrier had been deployed before the conflict in the Middle East began in February.

Last weekend, the US military announced that a new carrier strike group had arrived in the region, while Trump said the Lincoln would be replaced.

Slavin had also drawn attention last month after publicly opposing what he described as attempts by the Department of Defense to interfere with the newspaper’s editorial decisions.

During an interview on “CBS Sunday Morning,” Slavin was asked whether there were any editorial red lines he would not cross.

“‘Don’t run a perfectly accurate story, run this instead. Here it is, written by the Pentagon.’ That would be a red line,” he said.

Lederer had announced his retirement on Tuesday, with his departure initially scheduled for September 30.

He said his decision followed fundamental differences between his leadership philosophy and the plans the Department of Defense had for the organisation.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has faced criticism from sections of the media over his approach to journalism since taking charge of the department in 2025.

The independence of US military media outlets has increasingly come under scrutiny.

Shortly before Lederer announced his retirement, active-duty US Navy Captain William Urban was installed as military deputy to the publisher, a move interpreted by some, including Democratic lawmakers, as weakening the publication’s editorial independence.

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Ferrari’s First Electric Car Makes History With Record $40m Auction Sale

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Ferrari’s first fully electric car, the Luce, has made automotive history after a bespoke version of the vehicle sold for a record $40 million at a charity auction in California.

The tailor-made Ferrari Luce “Chassis 0” was sold during Monterey Car Week on Saturday, becoming the most expensive new car ever sold at auction, according to collector car auction company RM Sotheby’s.

The winning bid was 36 times the car’s original estimate of $1.1 million.

SEE MORE: Police Arrest Man For Driving Fake Ferrari In Italy

Ferrari USA celebrated the landmark sale in an Instagram post, saying, “The bids kept climbing. Then, history was made,” while describing the transaction as a new record for the highest-priced new car ever sold at auction.

The sale comes months after Ferrari unveiled the Luce in May. The electric model features a distinctive bubble-like design that differs significantly from the Italian automaker’s traditional angular styling and has received mixed reactions from some Ferrari enthusiasts.

Ferrari previously described the Luce as “a different sort of Ferrari for a different sort of Ferrari client.”
The Luce is powered by four electric motors, with one motor driving each of its four wheels.

The exclusive “Chassis 0” features a pearl-like semi-gloss finish with a personalised pigment that produces changing reflections ranging from green to violet when struck by light.

Its interior is equally distinctive, featuring Perla Le Mans metallic leather and black design elements against a predominantly white background.

Ferrari said proceeds from the record-breaking auction will go to The Ferrari Foundation to support educational initiatives.

Following the auction, the vehicle will return to Maranello, northern Italy, where it was built, before being delivered to the unnamed winning bidder in the first quarter of 2027.

Meanwhile, deliveries of the regular Ferrari Luce, priced at about €550,000 ($640,000), are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026.

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