التصنيف: أخبار

Ian Bailey, the British journalist sentenced in his absence for the murder of a French film producer in Ireland, has died of a suspected heart attack aged 66, according to his solicitor.

Bailey was given a 25-year sentence in 2019 after a court in Paris found him guilty of killing Sophie Toscan du Plantier in West Cork in 1996.

The 39-year-old, who was married to celebrated French filmmaker Daniel Toscan du Plantier – who worked with the likes of Federico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman – was found bludgeoned to death outside her holiday home near the coastal village of Schull on 23 December.

Bailey, who lived a few miles away and was the first reporter on the scene, covered her death as a journalist before being first questioned over her death in February 1997.

He became the key suspect because of scratches on his arms, which he said he got while cutting down a Christmas tree, an alleged history of domestic violence, and a local resident’s report of seeing a man resembling his description on a bridge near the murder scene.

Read more: Why murder of French film producer is shrouded in mystery

But no forensic evidence ever linked him to the crime and he was never charged with the murder by Irish police.

In 2020, the Irish courts blocked his extradition to France – where the law allows suspects to be tried for murdering French citizens abroad – for the third time.

When Bailey was convicted, he had no legal representation for the case, did not attend court and described the whole situation as farcical.

He always maintained his innocence, continued to live in West Cork, and died in the coastal town of Bantry, where Irish media said he was living.

His solicitor Frank Buttimer, who has known Bailey since March 1997, said he was “very upset” to hear of his death.

“I knew Ian was very unwell, we were in communication in the past five days, but I didn’t know he was terminally unwell,” he said.

“He had a very severe heart condition, a very bad heart condition, and had cardiac events prior to Christmas.

“He was a candidate for surgical intervention but wasn’t well enough, so he was trying to become well enough.”

Bailey, who was born in Manchester, worked as a journalist in England before moving to West Cork in the mid-1990s where he also turned his hand to poetry, gardening and running a pizza stall with his former partner.

Tens of thousands of Germans have taken to the streets to protest against the far-right.

The demonstrations are in response to a report claiming that several members of the far-right Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) had taken part in a meeting where plans to deport migrants en masse were discussed.

In Berlin, crowds braved freezing temperatures to show their condemnation.

Signs read “Racism is not an alternative” and “Nazis out”.

Organisers said 350,000 had gathered, while local media reported police put the number at 100,000.

“We need to do much more about what’s going on in Germany, we don’t want any Nazis coming back and we want to have a colourful society,” said Lydia who held her rainbow sign aloft.

Many are afraid Germany is going in a direction they aren’t comfortable with.

“Racist people are growing and we would like to send a sign that we don’t like it,” explained Uvi.

Dalila added: “It makes me scared. You can feel it everywhere; there’s a movement going more and more to the right side. That’s why I like to come here.”

In Munich, protests had to be called off due to overcrowding after around 100,000 people showed up.

Huge crowds also gathered in cities including Frankfurt, Cologne and Hamburg over the weekend.

Many demonstrators are calling for the AfD party to be banned.

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Some have compared the so-called “remigration” proposal with the Nazis’ initial plan to deport European Jews to Madagascar.

“What we see here is not oblivious to history, but deliberately pursuing Nazi ideologies; what we see are right-wing extremist networks and right-wing extremist ideologies,” German interior minister, Nancy Faeser, recently told reporters.

This is a clear attempt to define ethnically who belongs in Germany and who does not and we will not allow that.”

In a video message ahead of the weekend’s demonstrations, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed the protests as “good and right”.

He warned: “Right-wing extremists are attacking our democracy. They want to destroy our cohesion.”

Investigation uncovers alleged ‘master plan’

The investigation by journalism network Correctiv alleged a “master plan” for the mass deportation of German asylum-seekers and German citizens of foreign origin was discussed at a meeting in Potsdam in November attended by members of the AfD, neo-Nazis and other far-right extremists.

Two members of the Christian Democrats (CDU), the party of former chancellor Angela Merkel, were also said to be present, although it’s reported neither holds an office in the party.

At the meeting, the Austrian leader of the far-right Identitarian Movement, Martin Sellner, reportedly proposed a project of “remigration” which would see “unassimilated” immigrants forced to leave Germany even if they had citizenship.

The idea for deportees to be sent to a “model state” in North Africa was also floated, Correctiv reported, citing hidden camera footage, accounts by attendees and reporters staking out the hotel where the meeting was held.

AfD denies plans are party policy

The AfD, which is polling second in nationwide surveys, has denied the plans are party policy.

Co-leader Alice Weidel parted ways with one of her advisers who participated in the talks.

Simon Green, professor of politics at Aston University, said: “To ban a party which is actually doing quite well which has significant public support brings with it real political risks as well because what happens to those supporters.

“Defeating populist and extreme right-wing parties through legal means is a process which is flawed with risk. Typically, it is better to defeat these parties politically than legally.”

Despite the AfD’s denial, numerous cities have seen demonstrations throughout the week.

The AfD is under investigation by security authorities in several German states and risks being declared an extremist organisation by national authorities, which could lead to it being banned.

The party denies it is extremist or racist.

واشنطن واس – واشنطن – غزة:

أكد الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة، أنطونيو غوتيريش أن «الدمار الشامل الذي لحق بقطاع غزة وعدد الضحايا المدنيين في مثل هذه الفترة القصيرة» لم يسبق لهما مثيل على الإطلاق خلال فترة ولايته أميناً للأمم المتحدة.

جاء ذلك في كلمته أمام قمة حركة عدم الانحياز المنعقدة في العاصمة الأوغندية كمبالا، موضحاً أن العاملين في المجال الإنساني يواجهون القصف المستمر، والمخاطر اليومية التي يتعرضون لها، والقيود الهائلة على الطرق المتضررة، وانقطاع الاتصالات، ومنع الوصول، مشيراً إلى فقدان 152 من موظفي الأمم المتحدة في غزة، ومؤكداً أن «المرض والجوع» يتفاقمان، حيث يموت الناس بفعل نقص الغذاء والمياه النظيفة، وانقطاع الكهرباء وشح الدواء في المستشفيات.

وقال أمين عام الأمم المتحدة يجب أن نبذل كل ما في وسعنا لمنع امتداد هذا الصراع إلى جميع أنحاء المنطقة، منبهاً إلى أن رفض قبول حل الدولتين للإسرائيليين والفلسطينيين، وإنكار حق الشعب الفلسطيني في إقامة دولة، «أمر غير مقبول»، ومؤكداً على أنه «يجب أن يعترف الجميع بحق الشعب الفلسطيني في بناء دولته».

وفي سياق متصل واصلت طائرات ومدفعية الاحتلال الإسرائيلي يوم أمس، استهدافها لمستشفيات مدينة خان يونس جنوب قطاع غزة.

وأفادت مصادر طبية فلسطينية، أن طائرات مسيرة إسرائيلية استهدفت المستشفى الأوروبي جنوب شرق مدينة خان يونس، الذي يتواجد فيه آلاف النازحين. كما واصلت الدبابات الإسرائيلية الاقتراب من المداخل والطرق الشرقية والشمالية المؤدية لمستشفى ناصر الطبي، الذي يسمع في محيطه دوي قصف عنيف من طائرات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، التي توفر الغطاء لتقدم الدبابات.