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FRENCH public-sector trade unionists have warned they will not provide red carpets during the visit of Britain’s King Charles to Paris, but non-striking workers are expected to roll them out.

The CGT union representing staff at the national furniture service, which is responsible for making and maintaining red carpets among other items, said this week they would strike during the sovereign’s trip to France.

Charles and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, are expected to arrive in France on Sunday for their first official trip abroad since he ascended the throne last September.

France is in the grip of fierce protests and strikes over President Emmanuel Macron’s pensions reform, meaning the king’s schedule is still being worked out. | AFP

INDIAN MP Rahul Gandhi in his first reaction after being convicted by a Surat court this week said, “my religion is truth”.

Quoting the late Mahatma Gandhi, Rahul said in a tweet in Hindi: “My religion is based on truth and non-violence, truth is my God, and non-violence is a way to achieve it.”

The Surat district court in Gujarat convicted Gandhi on Thursday in a criminal defamation case over his “Modi surname” remark in 2019. The maximum possible punishment is two years.

BJP MLA and former Gujarat Minister Purnesh Modi had filed the case against Rahul for his comment on “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?”.

Should he appeal the sentence and fail, he will face disqualification as an MP and may not be able to contest elections for the Indian National Congress. | IANS

Kenya

KENYA’S president, William Ruto, vowed this week to rein in “impunity” and sought to reassure investors in the wake of violent opposition protests against his government.

Hundreds of people took to the streets in the capital, Nairobi, and other parts of Kenya in response to opposition leader Raila Odinga’s call for action over the severe cost of living crisis.

“I want to give my commitment that the business and investment environment in Kenya is secure and conducive on a sustainable basis,” Ruto said.

More than 200 people were arrested and a student was killed in protests. | AFP

Pakistan

ONE person was killed and eight others injured during a stampede for free flour in inflation-wracked Pakistan on Thursday, the first day of the holy month of Ramadaan.

The price of basic food items has rocketed in recent months, with inflation at a nearly 50-year-high as the country grapples with a balance of payments crisis that has seen it forced back into negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.

“Nine people were taken to hospital where one person died,” said Muhammad Arif, the police chief for Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where the incident happened. | AFP

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