Radouane Lakdim, a 25-year-old Moroccan-born French national, had been on a list of suspected extremists since 2014 and was being monitored, leading to criticism of the security services from some politicians over their failure to prevent the attack. Lakdim killed four people and injured four others on Friday in three separate shootings in the towns of Carcassonne and nearby Trebes, where he took hostages at a supermarket before being shot by anti-terror police. The police source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Lakdim had been sent a letter in March asking him to arrange a face-to-face meeting with agents from France’s domestic intelligence agency DGSI. Lakdim’s 18-year-old girlfriend, a radicalised Muslim convert who was detained after the attack, was set to appear before a judge on Monday evening. Prosecutors have called for her to be charged with terrorist conspiracy and kept in custody. A 17-year-old friend of Lakdim’s was meanwhile released on … [Read more...] about France gunman ’summoned by anti-terror police before attack’
Vietnamnews
Egypt heads to polls to choose between Sisi and ’rival’
Polling stations open at 0700 GMT for the three-day vote in which Sisi is all but guaranteed to win a second four-year term. Security will be tight across the country. The Islamic State group’s Egyptian affiliate, which has killed hundreds of soldiers and civilians, has threatened attacks on election-related installations. On Saturday, two policemen were killed in a car bomb attack targeting the provincial head of security for the Alexandria governorate. The security chief was unharmed. Some 60 million people in Egypt, the most populated Arab country, are registered to vote on March 26, 27, and 28. Official results are expected on April 2. They will have the choice between Sisi and Moussa Mostafa Moussa, who registered right before the close date for applications, saving the election from being a one-horse race. Moussa, who has denied he is a "puppet," had been leading a Sisi re-election campaign until the moment he registered as a candidate. Other opponents have been sidelined, … [Read more...] about Egypt heads to polls to choose between Sisi and ’rival’
Large amount of shares traded, pulling down indexes
The worst decliners among those stocks were in the trading sector (falling 6.79 percent), the insurance sector (3.3 percent), and the banking sector (2.83 percent). However, shares of the healthcare and rubber product sectors rebounded, up 2.59 percent and 2.54 percent, respectively. At the end of the trading day, the VNXALL-Index fell 21.79 points to 1,594.22 points, with nearly 295 billion shares were traded, worth over VND7.45 trillion ($327.32 million). The VN-Index dropped 18.77 points to 1,153.59 points. Up to 262 million stocks were traded, worth nearly VND7.75 trillion ($340.53 million . The VN30 fell 15.65 points to 1,128.03 points. The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange also dropped 2.17 points to 131.88 points, with 89 million shares being traded, equivalent to nearly VND1.53 trillion ($3.73 million). The HNX30 and the UPCOM Index lost 3.79 points to 254.24 points and 0.48 points to 59.91 points, respectively.-Vietnamnews Tags: shares traded pulling down indexes … [Read more...] about Large amount of shares traded, pulling down indexes
Vietnam, Oman look to fostering investment cooperation
Addressing the seminar, MoIT Deputy Minister Cao Quoc Hung called on the Oman side to organise more visits of enterprises to Vietnam to explore trade and investment opportunities in the country. He urged Vietnamese firms to pay more attention to studying the Oman market through field trips to and exhibitions in the Middle Eastern nation. Hung said many Oman businesses are interested in the Vietnamese market, while local firms have also made inroads into the Oman market. He highlighted the fruitful cooperation between the two countries in recent times, saying two-way trade has witnessed impressive growth, hitting 120 million USD in 2017, an increase of 122 percent year-on-year. At the seminar, the Oman side said the country is considering importing food from Vietnam, expressing the hope that the Vietnamese side will open bonded warehouses in Oman, thus facilitating the distribution of Vietnamese goods in Oman and exports to adjacent markets. Le Thai Hoa, Deputy Head of the … [Read more...] about Vietnam, Oman look to fostering investment cooperation
Cultural exchanges vital to boosting VN-Japan relations: PM
During a reception for Iijima in Hanoi on March 23, PM Phuc said he was pleased to meet the Japanese advisor again when the bilateral relations are flourishing with high political trust. Vietnam and Japan have maintained regular high-level meetings and fostered cooperation in all fields, he said. Japan is currently the biggest provider of ODA, second biggest foreign investor and fourth biggest trade partner of Vietnam, PM Phuc said, noting that in 2017 alone, Japan poured a record amount of 9.11 billion USD in FDI into Vietnam, ranking first among countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation. The PM expects that Japan will continue taking the lead in terms of FDI from now on, particularly in the areas of supporting industry, manufacturing, renewable energy and hi-tech agriculture. He spoke highly of Japan’s Sakura Blossom Festival which is being organised in Vietnam to mark the 45th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties, saying such cultural exchange … [Read more...] about Cultural exchanges vital to boosting VN-Japan relations: PM