Rioting raged in cities around France for a fourth night despite massive police deployment, with cars and buildings set ablaze and stores looted, as family and friends prepared Saturday to bury the 17-year-old whose killing by police unleashed the unrest. The government suggested the violence was beginning to lessen thanks to tougher security measures, but damages remained widespread, from Paris to Marseille and Lyon and French territories overseas, where a 54-year-old died after being hit by a stray bullet in French Guiana. The interior ministry announced 994 arrests around France by early Saturday. France’s national soccer team — including international star Kylian Mbappe, an idol to many young people in the disadvantaged neighborhoods where the anger is rooted — pleaded for an end to the violence. “Many of us are from working-class neighborhoods, we too share this feeling of pain and sadness” over the killing of 17-year-old Nahel, the players said in a statement. “Violence resolves nothing. … There are other peaceful and constructive ways to express yourself.” They said it's time for “mourning, dialogue and reconstruction” instead. The fatal shooting of Nahel, whose last name has not been made public, stirred up long-simmering tensions between police and young people in housing projects who struggle with poverty, unemployment and racial discrimination. The subsequent rioting is the worst France has seen in years and puts new pressure on President Emmanuel Macron, who appealed to parents to keep children off the streets and blamed social media for fueling violence. Family and friends were holding a funeral gathering Saturday for Nahel in his hometown of Nanterre. Anger erupted in the Paris suburb after his death there Tuesday and quickly spread nationwide. Early Saturday, firefighters in Nanterre extinguished blazes set by protesters that left scorched remains of cars strewn across the streets. In the neighboring suburb Colombes, protesters overturned garbage bins and used them for makeshift barricades. Looters during the evening broke into a gun shop and made off with weapons in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, police said. Officers in Marseille arrested nearly 90 people as groups of protesters lit cars on fire and broke store windows to take what was inside. Buildings and businesses were also vandalized in the eastern city of Lyon, where a third of the roughly 30 arrests made were for theft, police said. Authorities reported fires in the streets after an unauthorized protest drew more than 1,000 people earlier Friday evening. The Interior Ministry said 994 arrests were made during the night, with more than 2,500 fires. The night before, 917 people were arrested nationwide, 500 buildings targeted, 2,000 vehicles burned and dozens of stores ransacked. While the number of overnight arrests was the highest yet, there were fewer fires, cars burned and police stations attacked around France than the previous night, according to the Interior Ministry. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin claimed the violence was of “much less intensity.” Hundreds of police and firefighters have been injured, including 79 overnight, but authorities have not released injury tallies for protesters. Nanterre Mayor Patrick Jarry said France needs to “push for changes” in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Despite repeated government appeals for calm and stiffer policing, Friday saw brazen daylight violence, too. An Apple store was looted in the eastern city of Strasbourg, where police fired tear gas, and the windows of a fast-food outlet were smashed in a Paris-area shopping mall, where officers repelled people trying to break into a shuttered store, authorities said. In the face of the escalating crisis that hundreds of arrests and massive police deployments have failed to quell, Macron held off on declaring a state of emergency, an option that was used in similar circumstances in 2005. Instead, his government ratcheted up its law enforcement response, with 45,000 police deployed overnight. Some were called back from vacation. Darmanin ordered a nationwide nighttime shutdown Friday of all public buses and trams, which have been among rioters’ targets. He also said he warned social networks not to allow themselves to be used as channels for calls to violence. “They were very cooperative,” Darmanin said, adding that French authorities were providing the platforms with information in hopes of cooperation identifying people inciting violence. “We will pursue every person who uses these social networks to commit violent acts,” he said. Macron, too, zeroed in on social media platforms that have relayed dramatic images of vandalism and cars and buildings being torched. Singling out Snapchat and TikTok, he said they were being used to organize unrest and served as conduits for copycat violence. The violence comes just over a year before Paris and other French cities are due to host 10,500 Olympians and millions of visitors for the summer Olympic Games. Organizers said they are closely monitoring the situation as preparations for the Olympics continue. The police officer accused of killing Nahel was handed a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide. Preliminary charges mean investigating magistrates strongly suspect wrongdoing but need to investigate more before sending a case to trial. Nanterre prosecutor Pascal Prache said his initial investigation led him to conclude that the officer’s use of his weapon wasn’t legally justified. Nahel’s mother, identified as Mounia M., told France 5 television that she was angry at the officer but not at the police in general. “He saw a little Arab-looking kid, he wanted to take his life,” she said. “A police officer cannot take his gun and fire at our children, take our children’s lives,” she said. The family has roots in Algeria. Race was a taboo topic for decades in France, which is officially committed to a doctrine of colorblind universalism. In the wake of Nahel’s killing, French anti-racism activists renewed complaints about police behavior. Thirteen people who didn’t comply with traffic stops were fatally shot by French police last year. This year, another three people, including Nahel, died under similar circumstances. The deaths have prompted demands for more accountability in France, which also saw racial justice protests after George Floyd’s killing by police in Minnesota. This week’s protests echoed the three weeks of rioting in 2005 that followed the deaths of 15-year-old Bouna Traoré and 17-year-old Zyed Benna, who were electrocuted while hiding from police in a power substation in Clichy-sous-Bois. ___ Joly reported from Nanterre. Associated Press journalists Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Climate change keeps making wildfires and smoke worse. Scientists call it the 'new abnormal' Japanese journalist barred from entering Hong Kong without clear reason, newspaper says Morning-after pill vending machines gain popularity on college campuses post-Roe

As per Elon Musk's latest announcement, Twitter has started limiting the number of tweets a person can read. The tech mogul, who took over the platform in October in a $44 billion (£35 billion) sale, revealed on Sunday (2 July) that verified accounts can read up to 6,000 posts a day. Meanwhile, unverified users are limited to 600 a day, with newer Twitter accounts restricted to reading 300. "Rate limits increasing soon to 8,000 for verified, 800 for unverified & 400 for new unverified," he added later. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO said Twitter had imposed the "temporary limit" to "address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation." The decision sparked a furious backlash from many users, with one writing: "Sooo what’s everyone’s Instagram? Where we movin’ to cause this Twitter limit is dumb AF." Another added: "Seriously fed up with twitter now. This ‘rate limit’ thing is ridiculous. You can’t read a thread or see replies. What is the point? Why is Elon doing this… and why didn’t he warn people weeks ago if he was going to change rules?" Musk did not say when the limits will increase, or how long the restrictions will be in place for. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Inevitably, many more Twitter users hit back at the move in the most Twitter way possible: Memes. To add salt to the wound, thousands of people complained of problems accessing the site on Saturday (1 July). #Twitterdown and RIP Twitter began trending as frustrated users were faced with a message saying "Rate limit exceeded. Please wait a few moments then try again." Last week, people trying to access Twitter were told they would need to log in to an account to view tweets, in what Musk called a "temporary emergency measure." It comes after another outage in February, when many users were not able to tweet, follow accounts or access their direct messages as the platform was plagued by widespread technical problems. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

'It was greatest battle in radio history and the people of Chicago went 'click' and they turned him off,' said Mancow Muller on Howard Stern’s show

Nearly 80,000 people have taken to the streets of Barcelona to celebrate the club’s Spanish league titles for the men’s and women’s squads

Harry Kane and the Prince of Wales led the congratulations after England swept aside co-hosts Australia 3-1 to reach their first World Cup final. The Lionesses roared past the Matildas in front of a 75,784-strong crowd thanks to second-half strikes from Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo. Ella Toone had fired England into the lead in the first half, but Sam Kerr produced a thunderous equaliser before Hemp and Russo helped Sarina Wiegman’s side end their run of World Cup last-four exits. Kane, England’s men’s record goal-scorer, was able to provide instant reaction during an interview with Sky Sports, saying: “Massive congratulations to the Lionesses. “It sounds like a heck of a game and massive congratulations. We’re all behind them and hopefully they can do it in the final.” Mead, player of the tournament when England won the European Championships last summer but who missed this tournament through injury, wrote on Twitter: “World Cup Final baby! Get in Lionesses.” Former England defender Gary Neville said: “An incredible achievement by the Lionesses. One more to go.” The prince tweeted his best wishes to the Lionesses for the final and offered his commiserations to Australia. “What a phenomenal performance from the Lionesses – on to the final,” he said. “Commiserations to The Matildas, you’ve played brilliantly and been fantastic co-hosts of this World Cup.” Gary Lineker, who won the Golden Boot for England at the 1986 World Cup, added: “Absolutely superb performance. “A World Cup final. A World Cup final at football. It’s been a while. What a wonderful achievement.” Retired Euros winner Ellen White expressed her emotions in the BBC studio following a roller-coaster second-half. Kerr levelled with a sensational long-range strike in the 63rd minute, but Hemp put England back in front eight minutes later before Russo finished with aplomb to send the Lionesses into the final. White, England’s women’s record goal-scorer, said on the BBC: “I feel quite emotional because what this team have done, the legacy they have created. To finally say we’re in a World Cup final, I feel so proud of this team. It is ridiculous. “They have had roller-coaster tournament and at times been criticised for the way they played, but the bond they share, to make a World Cup final is incredible and for Sarina to make World Cup finals back-to-back (she led the Netherlands to the 2019 final) shows what a coach she is. “I’ve never seen her like that, quite emotional, but it is because she puts so much into it.” White also hailed England’s current main striker Russo, adding: “She is in her own now. She’s taken the number nine role, grabbed it with both hands and it is a lot of pressure to be England number nine.” Ex-England player Alex Scott said on the BBC: “You almost run out of words for this Lionesses team. “Lauren Hemp and Jess Carter’s clearance, there were so many big moments that sum this team up that they have a unity, resilience and they have the quality too.” Izzy Christiansen, who represented England on 32 occasions, told BBC Radio Five Live: “To be honest I’m out of superlatives to describe Sarina Wiegman. You've just seen another masterclass again from Sarina Izzy Christiansen on England boss Sarina Wiegman “To come in and change the culture, instil a winning mentality, create a brand of football that’s pragmatic, interesting, lets the talent flourish. “We saw in the starting XI that she had all of her best players on the pitch, some managers struggle to find ways to get the best out of their best players. “You’ve just seen another masterclass again from Sarina.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live England book place in World Cup final – The Sydney victory in pictures Sarina Wiegman asks if she’s in ‘a fairytale’ as England reach World Cup final World Cup joy, Ashes glory and netball delight – Big England wins in Australia

There’s been discriminatory chanting in the stands, a team bus pelted with stones, a game called off because of crowd trouble, and precious few goals on the field

It's up to you to debate whether this is a case of divine intervention or not,

As the first woman on the Supreme Court, Justice O'Connor was a trailblazer and a powerful moderate.

The Bank of England does not need to raise interest rates further to bear down on inflation because

All the latest on Hurricane Idalia, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami's perfect run ended, Joe Burrow returned to practice and more in the Roundup.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 15, 2023--

Anthony Joshua will fight Robert Helenius in London on Saturday after the Finnish boxer was parachuted in as a late...