AJACCIO, France: Hundreds of people marched in Corsica after two days of violent anti-Arab riots, sidestepping a ban on demonstrations in a flash point neighborhood by taking their protests elsewhere in the capital.
Two people were detained over days of rioting on the French Mediterranean island, which saw demonstrators vandalize a Muslim prayer hall and set fire to religious books.
Hundreds marched through poor areas of the capital Ajaccio on Saturday for a second straight day, shouting slogans such as “This is our home!” and “Arabs get out.”
Corsica’s administrator Christophe Mirmand announced a ban on all protests and gatherings until at least Jan. 4 in the poor Jardins de l’Empereur housing estate, the epicenter of the violence.
But hundreds took to the streets again on Sunday, dodging the ban by marching through other Ajaccio neighborhoods chanting: “We fight against scum, not against Arabs!“
“We aren’t thugs, we aren’t racists,” they cried as they marched to the police station and then through several low-income areas, before returning to the Jardins de l’Empereur estate where they were blocked by police.
The unrest followed a Christmas Eve clash in which two firefighters and a police officer were injured at the estate, home to some 1,700 people, half of them of non-French origin.
Regional official Francois Lalanne said a fire had been deliberately lit in the neighborhood in a ruse aimed at “ambushing” the emergency services.
A firefighter told French television that about 20 people armed with iron bars and baseball bats had tried to attack them, but were unable to smash through the windows of their truck.
Two men in their 20s were held in custody as part of a probe into the unrest.
“Their involvement in the attack against the firefighters is still under investigation,” said prosecutor Eric Bouillard, adding the men had had brushes with authorities in the past.
The next day, 600 people gathered outside police headquarters in Ajaccio in a show of support for the police and firefighters. But some 300 broke away to head for the housing estate.
![]()
Hundreds march in Corsica after anti-Arab protests
Hundreds march in Corsica after anti-Arab protests
Police target Ukrainians and Russian in ransomware probe
BERLIN: Police have carried out raids against two members of a ransomware group known as “Black Basta” in Ukraine, and issued an arrest warrant for its Russian head, German prosecutors said Thursday.
The group is accused of using malware to encrypt systems and then demanding money to restore them.
Between March 2022 and February 2025, its members extorted hundreds of millions of euros from around 600 companies and public institutions around the world, the prosecutors said in a statement.
The victims were mainly “companies in Western industrialized nations” but also included hospitals and other public institutions.
As part of a coordinated operation between Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Ukraine and Britain, police searched the homes of two Ukrainian suspects and seized evidence, the prosecutors said.
Investigators have also identified and issued an arrest warrant for a Russian citizen accused of being the founder and head of the group, they said.
German police named the suspect as Oleg Evgenievich Nefedov, 35.
Nefedov “decided on targets, recruited employees, assigned them tasks, participated in ransom negotiations, managed the proceeds and used them to pay the members of the group,” the police said.
The searches in Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv were directed against suspected members of the group accused of so-called hash cracking, a method of guessing passwords.
Ukrainian officials also searched the home of another member of the group near Kharkiv in August, whose job was allegedly to help ensure the malware was not detected by antivirus programs.
Black Basta extorted some 20 million euros ($23 million) from around 100 companies and institutions in Germany alone, the prosecutors said.
The group is accused of using malware to encrypt systems and then demanding money to restore them.
Between March 2022 and February 2025, its members extorted hundreds of millions of euros from around 600 companies and public institutions around the world, the prosecutors said in a statement.
The victims were mainly “companies in Western industrialized nations” but also included hospitals and other public institutions.
As part of a coordinated operation between Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Ukraine and Britain, police searched the homes of two Ukrainian suspects and seized evidence, the prosecutors said.
Investigators have also identified and issued an arrest warrant for a Russian citizen accused of being the founder and head of the group, they said.
German police named the suspect as Oleg Evgenievich Nefedov, 35.
Nefedov “decided on targets, recruited employees, assigned them tasks, participated in ransom negotiations, managed the proceeds and used them to pay the members of the group,” the police said.
The searches in Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv were directed against suspected members of the group accused of so-called hash cracking, a method of guessing passwords.
Ukrainian officials also searched the home of another member of the group near Kharkiv in August, whose job was allegedly to help ensure the malware was not detected by antivirus programs.
Black Basta extorted some 20 million euros ($23 million) from around 100 companies and institutions in Germany alone, the prosecutors said.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.