PARIS: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Tuesday urged Israel to allow foreign press into the besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza, as warnings of famine mount after 21 months of war.
“I ask that the free and independent press be allowed to access Gaza to show what is happening there and to bear witness,” he told France Inter radio in an interview from eastern Ukraine.
He spoke after the AFP news agency warned that the lives of Palestinian freelance journalists it was working with in Gaza were in danger and urged Israel to allow them and their families to leave the occupied coastal territory.
Asked if France would help evacuate these stringers, Barrot said France was “addressing the issue.”
“We hope to be able to evacuate some collaborators of journalists in the coming weeks,” he said.
On Monday, a group of journalists at AFP called the Societe des Journalistes (Society of Journalists) sounded the alarm, urging “immediate intervention” to help reporters working with the agency in Gaza.
The SDJ cited the example of one such freelancer, a 30-year-old living with his family in Gaza city, who reported on Sunday that his older brother “fell because of hunger.”
AFP responded in a statement posted on X and Instagram.
“Since October 7, Israel has prohibited access to the Gaza Strip for all international journalists.
“In this context, the work of our Palestinian freelancers is crucial to inform the world,” it said.
“But their lives are in danger, which is why we urge the Israeli authorities to allow their immediate evacuation along with their families.”
AFP evacuated its eight staff members and families from Gaza between January and April 2024.
Barrot urged an “immediate ceasefire” after Israel on Monday expanded military operations to the central city of Deir el-Balah.
“There is no longer any justification for the Israeli army’s military operations in Gaza,” he said.
“This is an offensive that will exacerbate an already catastrophic situation and cause new forced displacements of populations, which we condemn in the strongest terms.”
France FM urges foreign press access to Gaza
https://arab.news/bfa93
France FM urges foreign press access to Gaza
- Barrot urged an “immediate ceasefire” after Israel on Monday expanded military operations to the central city of Deir el-Balah
- He spoke after the AFP news agency warned that the lives of Palestinian freelance journalists it was working with in Gaza were in danger
EU warns Meta it must open up WhatsApp to rival AI chatbots
- The EU executive on Monday told Meta to give rival chatbots access to WhatsApp after an antitrust probe found the US giant to be in breach of the bloc’s competition rules
BRUSSELS: The EU executive on Monday told Meta to give rival chatbots access to WhatsApp after an antitrust probe found the US giant to be in breach of the bloc’s competition rules.
The European Commission said a change in Meta’s terms had “effectively” barred third-party artificial intelligence assistants from connecting to customers via the messaging platform since January.
Competition chief Teresa Ribera said the EU was “considering quickly imposing interim measures on Meta, to preserve access for competitors to WhatsApp while the investigation is ongoing, and avoid Meta’s new policy irreparably harming competition in Europe.”
The EU executive, which is in charge of competition policy, sent Meta a warning known as a “statement of objections,” a formal step in antitrust probes.
Meta now has a chance to reply and defend itself. Monday’s step does not prejudge the outcome of the probe, the commission said.
The tech giant rejected the commission’s preliminary findings.
“The facts are that there is no reason for the EU to intervene,” a Meta spokesperson said.
“There are many AI options and people can use them from app stores, operating systems, devices, websites, and industry partnerships. The commission’s logic incorrectly assumes the WhatsApp Business API is a key distribution channel for these chatbots,” the spokesperson said.
Opened in December, the EU probe marks the latest attempt by the 27-nation bloc to rein in Big Tech, many of whom are based in the United States, in the face of strong pushback by the government of US President Donald Trump.
- Meta in the firing line -
The investigation covers the European Economic Area (EEA), made up of the bloc’s 27 states, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — with the exception of Italy, which opened a separate investigation into Meta in July.
The commission said that Meta is “likely to be dominant” in the EEA for consumer messaging apps, notably through WhatsApp, and accused Meta of “abusing this dominant position by refusing access” to competitors.
“We cannot allow dominant tech companies to illegally leverage their dominance to give themselves an unfair advantage,” Ribera said in a statement.
There is no legal deadline for concluding an antitrust probe.
Meta is already under investigation under different laws in the European Union.
EU regulators are also investigating its platforms Facebook and Instagram over fears they are not doing enough to tackle the risk of social media addiction for children.
The company also appealed a 200-million-euro fine imposed last year by the commission under the online competition law, the Digital Markets Act.
That case focused on its policy asking users to choose between an ad-free subscription and a free, ad-supported service, and Brussels and Meta remain in discussions over finding an alternative that would address the EU’s concerns.
