BAGHDAD,— Iraq, Six French nationals convicted of membership in Islamic State (IS/ISIS) were sentenced to life in prison by an Iraqi court on Tuesday.

A seventh French defendant received a 15-year prison sentence, a Reuters witness present at the hearing said.

The defendants were part of a group of 47 French Islamic State suspects moved from detention facilities in northeastern Syria to Iraq last year.

U.S. forces and Iraqi authorities coordinated the transfer under a broader relocation arrangement.

The judge said the convictions and sentences fell under Iraq’s counterterrorism law, which was applied in this case to joining Islamic State and spreading fear.

He said the court chose life imprisonment over the death penalty because the six defendants were young.

The seventh man, who is 23, was sentenced to 15 years, according to the Reuters witness.

Defense lawyer Abbas al-Maliki said the defendants would challenge the sentences before the Court of Cassation.

Proceedings against the French nationals began last month.

Islamic State captured extensive territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. A U.S.-led coalition and local forces defeated the group’s territorial control in 2019, although some militants remained active after many were detained.

The United States said in January that transfers of Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq had begun.

The decision came amid security concerns over detention facilities in northeastern Syria, where Kurdish-led forces had lost control of parts of the region.

In March 2026, a French court handed a life sentence to an Islamic State-linked jihadist for crimes against Iraq’s Yazidi minority, in the first case of its kind tried in France.

(With files from Reuters)

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Islamic Slogans and Looting Poisoned France’s Protests

Goran Halabjai | Exclusive to iKurd.net
Translate by iKurd.net from Kurdish Awene.

Events in France and a Few Observations

Over the past few days, many cities across Europe, especially in France, have experienced unrest, and widespread protests have disrupted the peace in those cities. Thousands of students, wage earners, small business owners, and ordinary citizens took to the streets to protest.

As I mentioned, these protests were organized by students, teachers, and wage earners. The reasons included the rising cost of education, cuts to workers’ wages, rising prices, and a declining ability to save money.

In such circumstances, these groups have a legitimate right to make the authorities aware of their difficult living conditions and to pursue some of their demands. They can use peaceful and civil methods to express their dissatisfaction, including holding demonstrations.

It is true that protests in developed countries do not always end as the organizers planned. Often, groups of troublemaking young people infiltrate the protests. By using slogans that have little to do with the protesters’ actual demands, they change the nature of the protest and lead it in the wrong direction.

The motives of these troublemakers fall into two main categories. First, they may be opponents of the groups organizing the protests, whether those groups are political or nonpolitical.

The second possibility is that they are acting on behalf of the authorities to discredit the groups or individuals who organized the demonstrations and thereby undermine the purpose and goals of the protests.

What happened in France and Italy was different. The difference was that these “troublemakers” came from an environment in which civic and democratic action was not valued. I would say that the vast majority of these young people involved in looting were not trying to express dissatisfaction, nor did they sympathize with the protesters. Instead, they saw the situation as an opportunity to loot and chant Islamic slogans.

You may have noticed that, in many places, some young Muslim men shouted “Allahu Akbar” or held copies of the Quran while chanting Islamic slogans. They went so far as to call for Islamic law, or Sharia, to be implemented in that country.

I am not saying that all the looters were Muslim. Undoubtedly, ethnic French people were also among them, but they made up a very small proportion. By looking closely at their facial features, one could identify which ethnic groups they belonged to.

Emmanuel Macron had been waiting for an opportunity to reveal his hostility toward the left. He quickly accused young French leftists of trying to overthrow the French government through looting and violence.

Going forward, it is important for any group organizing a protest to be aware of these troublemakers. Otherwise, instead of achieving its goals, the group may end up being blamed for the unrest.

Those young Muslims must also understand that they will gain nothing through unrest, looting, and chanting Islamic slogans. Instead, they may face prison sentences or be deported to the countries they came from.

Therefore, they should respect the laws, constitutions, and cultures of the countries that have opened their doors to them and given them a better life, a life they might only have dreamed of in their own countries, rather than actually experienced.

Goran Halabjai is a senior Kurdish writer, commentator, and social media figure known for his outspoken and critical views on Kurdish political authorities and Islamic fundamentalism. Halabjai’s FB.

This article was originally published in the Kurdish language in Awene Newspaper on October 26, 2026.

The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of iKurd.net or its editorial team.

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Kurdish Opposition to the Nomination of Reza Pahlavi for the 2026 Freedom Prize for the Iranian People

Kurdish American Education Society KAES via iKurd.net

October 12, 2026

Ardishir Rashidi Kalhur
President
Kurdish American Education Society

The Honorable Steffen Saebisch
President
Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Karl-Marx-Strasse 2
14482 Potsdam, Germany

Subject: KAES Statement of Opposition to the Nomination of Reza Pahlavi for the 2026 Freedom Prize for the Iranian People

Dear President Saebisch,

I am writing on behalf of the Kurdish American Education Society (KAES) to formally express our opposition to the nomination of Mr. Reza Pahlavi as the recipient of the Foundation’s Freedom Prize for the Iranian People.

While we respect the significance of this award and the longstanding work of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in promoting democratic values, we believe that Mr. Pahlavi’s record and political conduct do not align with the principles and criteria that should guide the selection of such an honoree.

Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, Mr. Pahlavi and many of his supporters in the Iranian diaspora have advocated for the restoration of the former dictatorial system that ruled Iran under the Pahlavi family. In our view, such efforts do not represent a commitment to a genuinely democratic and inclusive future for all peoples of Iran.

The human rights record of the former Pahlavi regime, particularly with respect to political freedoms and the treatment of non-Persian national communities, has been the subject of extensive historical documentation and criticism. Many Kurds, along with other national minorities in Iran, experienced political repression and denial of cultural, political and linguistic rights during that period.

As members of the Kurdish national community in Iran, whose people have endured repeated human rights violations under both the current Islamic Republic and previous governments, we do not believe that Mr. Pahlavi can credibly represent the aspirations of all the peoples of Iran.

Awarding him a prize that purports to recognize the struggle for freedom would, in our view, overlook the experiences and sacrifices of millions who continue to seek genuine democracy, equality, and self-determination.

Our position should not be interpreted as an expression of grievance against the Persian people. Rather, it reflects our belief that the diverse nations and communities of Iran deserve representation that is inclusive, democratic, and respectful of their distinct identities and rights. We do not consider Mr. Pahlavi to be an appropriate representative of those aspirations, nor do we believe his record merits this distinction.

Honorable Mr. Saebisch, the Freedom Prize should be reserved for individuals whose actions demonstrate a sustained commitment to liberty, human dignity, democratic principles, and equal rights. Such recognition should be based on merit, sacrifice, and a proven record of advancing freedom, rather than on inherited political status, historical prominence, or political favoritism

We respectfully urge the Foundation to reconsider this nomination in light of these concerns. Should the Foundation wish to receive additional information or supporting references regarding the historical and political issues raised in this letter, we would be pleased to provide them.

Should the Friedrich Naumann Foundation decide to consider alternative candidates for this honor, we respectfully submit that the parents of Zhina (Jina) Amini would represent a more compelling choice.

Through their dignity, courage, and perseverance following their daughter’s death, they have become internationally recognized symbols of the struggle for human rights, justice, and freedom in Iran.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely,

Ardishir Rashidi-Kalhur, the President of Kurdish American Education Society, Los Angeles, U.S.

The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.

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WASHINGTON,— US President Donald Trump called on Saturday for Ukraine to replace its leader, criticizing Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil sites a day after announcing a diesel deal with Russia that angered President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky offered some of his sharpest criticism yet of the White House, linking the US move to lift sanctions on Russian diesel to a Russian strike that killed 20 people, including three children, in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Saturday.

Global diesel prices have risen sharply since the Iran war began in February, becoming a political problem for Trump’s Republican Party ahead of next month’s midterm elections, where Democrats could gain control of one or both chambers of Congress.

“I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president,” Trump told reporters at the White House, saying Zelensky had hurt global diesel supplies by striking Russian refineries.

He said Zelensky was creating problems for American farmers and ranchers, since Russia supplies much of the world’s diesel fuel.

Earlier Saturday, Zelensky said Trump’s Friday announcement of the diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin had emboldened Moscow. Kyiv has urged Washington instead to pressure Moscow into serious talks to end the war, now in its fifth year.

Russia’s government said Saturday it had partly lifted its ban on diesel exports.

“Today, Russia said thank you for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia,” Zelensky said.

He said the previous night showed again that Russia sees any easing of pressure as permission to keep fighting and bombing cities, adding that different signals were needed.

Zaporizhzhia, in southern Ukraine, has been a frequent target of Russian bombing, with strikes growing heavier in recent months.

Trump has clashed with Zelenskiy before. On February 19, 2025, Trump labeled Zelenskiy “a dictator without elections” and warned that unless Zelenskiy moved quickly to secure peace, he would have no country left.

The tension escalated further on February 28, 2025, when Trump and Zelenskiy clashed openly at the White House over the war.

On Saturday, a six-year-old girl was among the dead after a strike flattened part of an apartment building. Her grandfather, Anatoliy Chumniy, wept over her body after rescuers pulled it from the rubble and laid it on the ground in a white bag.

“Her birthday would have been at the end of the month,” he said through tears.

It was the third deadly mass attack on Ukraine in a week. Nearly 80 civilians were killed in Russian strikes on Wednesday and Thursday, including at least 30 killed by a bomb in the eastern city of Kramatorsk and 22 others killed by a missile in Pryluky, about 130 kilometers, or 80 miles, east of Kyiv.

The diesel deal also drew criticism from US lawmakers, including Republican Representative Don Bacon, who said Congress should enforce sanctions it had recently passed rather than lift them.

Analysts said the deal was unlikely to bring lasting lower fuel prices, noting the volumes involved remain far below what Russia usually exports when its refineries are not under attack.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke with Zelensky on Saturday and said Britain would strengthen sanctions on Russia, a Downing Street spokesperson said, adding that the two leaders would meet in person within days.

The strikes followed talks on Friday in Miami between Ukrainian and European officials and US negotiators, aimed at shaping a joint plan to end the war, according to a person familiar with the talks.

Trump announced the diesel deal while those talks were underway, a move Zelensky said caught Kyiv by surprise.

The Ukrainian delegation returned home Saturday, presidential aide Dmytro Lytvyn told the Interfax Ukraine news agency.

Putin said after speaking with Trump on Friday that an immediate resumption of peace talks was unlikely, citing Ukrainian drone strikes on Moscow.

US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may travel to Moscow within two weeks, Russia’s state news agency TASS reported Saturday, citing a source.

At the White House, Trump also criticized Zelensky over the lack of a peace deal while demanding an end to Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy sites.

“I said to him, ‘Do what you want. Don’t hit refineries. There’s plenty of targets. Don’t hit refineries.’ And he went out and he hit,’” Trump said, adding that Zelensky had “better stop.”

He said Ukraine should pick a new leader who can make a deal, since Zelensky had many chances to do so but never did.

(With files from Reuters)

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WASHINGTON,— The United States imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court on Friday, escalating the Trump administration’s longstanding dispute with the institution and creating new tensions with European allies.

The announcement came hours after South African jurist Navi Pillay, a former member of the court’s Appeals Chamber, received the Nobel Peace Prize.

The ICC, which has 125 member states, condemned Washington’s decision as an “assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order.” It called on its members to defend the court.

“The Court cannot stand alone. Its fate now rests also in the hands of the states that created it,” the institution said. It warned that the issue extended beyond the court itself to the international order founded on the rule of law, adding, “History will judge this moment.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would not permit the ICC to prosecute Americans.

“President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans,” Rubio said in a statement first published by Reuters.

He said Washington would prohibit transactions with what he called a “rogue court,” seeking to cut its resources and impair its ability to function.

The Treasury Department announced a six-month initial grace period, along with exemptions covering some telecommunications, software, pension payments and transactions involving detainees.

Rubio said the measures were intended to give the ICC and its member states time to address U.S. objections. The sanctions could be adjusted if those concerns were not resolved.

Established in 2002, the ICC prosecutes war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The Trump administration has repeatedly challenged its authority, previously imposing sanctions on prosecutors and judges.

The latest measures expand the potential impact by exposing companies that provide services to the court to penalties.

Washington has objected to ICC arrest warrants against Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It has also criticized the court’s earlier investigation into actions by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. The ICC says that investigation is “deprioritized.”

Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan told Reuters that the sanctions were designed to weaken international rule of law and undermine an independent judicial institution. She said the court would continue its work across its investigations and prosecutions.

The ICC has publicly indicted more than 70 people in cases involving international conflicts and political leaders.

Its targets have included Netanyahu, Hamas figures, Russian President Vladimir Putin, former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Charges against Kenyan President William Ruto and former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta were withdrawn.

The Nobel Peace Prize committee cited political pressure on international legal institutions in awarding the prize to Pillay. She served on the ICC’s Appeals Chamber from 2003 to 2008.

The committee described the award as an expression of support for international tribunals when “judges and institutions of international law are under political attack.”

“An international legal system in which war criminals are held to account and the victims of abuse see justice served is a precondition for a peaceful world,” the committee said.

The court’s membership includes every European Union country and every NATO member except the United States and Turkey. Its headquarters are in the Netherlands, a member of both the EU and NATO.

Sanctions imposed by Washington generally bar U.S.-based companies from working with designated organizations. Banks may close their accounts, insurers may withdraw coverage, and software companies may stop providing services.

The Trump administration imposed targeted sanctions on ICC officials during his first term, but Biden rescinded them. Washington announced a new round of sanctions just days after Trump returned to office in January 2025.

The court had been preparing for the possibility of broader restrictions for months. Officials moved office computers away from Microsoft software to open-source alternatives and made new arrangements for banking and health insurance.

ICC Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler called on the European Union earlier this week to prepare a “blocking mechanism” to protect European countries against the extraterritorial effects of U.S. sanctions.

Rubio said the administration had postponed the action while waiting for the ICC and countries that joined its founding Rome Statute to address U.S. concerns. He said those efforts had not succeeded.

“Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC,” Rubio said. He urged U.S. allies that are members of the court, many of which depend on American service members for their defense, to curb its activities.

(With files from Reuters)

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OSLO,— Former International Criminal Court judge Navi Pillay, who headed a United Nations panel that found Israel guilty of “genocide” in Gaza, received the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday “for her efforts to promote peace and international law.”

The Nobel Committee said this year’s prize highlights the need to protect an organized international order.

In its citation, the committee warned that the global legal system is under heavy strain and its institutions are being attacked.

It said the world is shifting toward power politics at the cost of legal rules and respect for justice, adding that when power replaces rights, it weakens stability, trust and peaceful coexistence.

Pillay, 85, was born in Durban, in South Africa’s Natal province, into a family of Indian Tamil background.

She has served as a judge on several international courts, including the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

She also chaired the UN Commission of Inquiry on the so-called occupied “Palestinian” Territory, which last year concluded that Israel had committed “genocide” in Gaza. Israel rejected the report, calling it “scandalous.”

Pillay previously served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. In 1967, she became the first woman to open a law practice in Natal and the first non-white woman to sit on South Africa’s High Court.

The Nobel Committee said Pillay held states and national leaders accountable, gave hope to victims of violence and conflict, and showed a strong moral compass throughout her long career.

The citation noted a consistent thread running from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists to her role as judge in major international court cases.

The ICC, based in The Hague, has faced growing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who last month called on countries to withdraw from the court.

Washington has already placed targeted sanctions on several ICC prosecutors and judges, and sources say officials are weighing broader sanctions in response to the court’s actions against Israeli leaders.

Haakon Gjerloew, acting director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, said the committee’s choice of Pillay was not meant as a direct rebuke of Trump.

He said the award mainly promotes an international legal order, though Trump may still react since Pillay was part of the ICC.

The Peace Prize is the fifth Nobel awarded this week, following prizes in literature, chemistry, physics and medicine. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the Peace Prize in 2025.

The prize carries a value of 12 million Swedish crowns, about $1.2 million, and will be presented in Oslo on December 10, marking the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist who created the awards in his 1895 will.

(With files from Reuters)

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BERLIN,— The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a historic victory in Sunday’s state election in Saxony-Anhalt, a result that left Mamad Mohamad, a Green Party lawmaker, feeling torn.

Mohamad, 46, came to Germany from Syria in 1996 as a 16-year-old Yazidi Kurd. He is set to become one of the first lawmakers with an immigrant background to sit in the state parliament, alongside Mustafa Groener of the Left party.

Mohamad called the outcome a “poisoned victory.”

“My heart was split,” he said, describing the moment early projections showed the AfD doing better than expected while Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative party fell to its lowest level ever.

The AfD has pushed for years for stricter immigration and asylum rules. The party says Germany has lost control of its borders and that migration is straining public services, security and social unity.

Its election platform calls for a state-level push to deport asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected.

The party also wants businesses to use artificial intelligence and automation instead of relying on skilled workers from what it calls “culturally alien” backgrounds.

The AfD denies that its language creates a hostile environment for migrants. It says it only opposes illegal and uncontrolled migration.

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said Monday that anyone who works, pays taxes, follows the law and adds value to society is welcome.

The mood in Mohamad’s home was quiet on Monday. He said his daughter did not want to go to school, one of several schools the AfD has criticized for running programs on threats to democracy.

Undra Dressler, managing director of the State Network of Migrant Organizations in Saxony-Anhalt, said the election result caused unease but not shock among immigrant communities, which have long dealt with discrimination and barriers to jobs, education, health care and public services.

“All of this is our reality,” she told Reuters.

Still, she said Sunday’s vote marks a turning point. She said many people in migrant communities have already packed their bags with firm plans to leave, and some have already gone.

Pascal Begrich, managing director of the democracy advocacy group Miteinander, said he does not expect a mass departure, citing economic factors. But he said both migrants and employers are reconsidering their future in the state.

“There are companies asking themselves whether they really want to locate here and whether they can ensure their workers will be safe,” Begrich told Reuters.

Mohamad said the political shift could make it harder to draw new residents to a state already losing population. “Skilled workers and families will look elsewhere,” he said.

Dressler and Begrich both said any future state government will still have to follow Germany’s constitution and its protections for minorities.

“Every government is bound by this,” Dressler said. “And the 15 other federal states have a duty to monitor this and, if necessary, to intervene.”

(With files from Reuters)

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THE HAGUE,— Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander convicted of genocide for the 1995 killing of at least 8,000 Muslim men and boys in a United Nations designated safe zone in Bosnia, died Thursday while in U.N. custody.

The Srebrenica massacre marked the deadliest single act of a war that stretched more than three years. During that conflict, Mladic’s Serb nationalist forces shelled the besieged city of Sarajevo daily using artillery, tanks, mortars and heavy machine guns, killing 10,000 people.

Victims of the Srebrenica killings were buried in mass graves over four days in July 1995. Some bodies were later dug up and moved to remote mountain sites in an effort to conceal the killings.

The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia determined the goal was ethnic cleansing, the forced removal of Bosnian Muslims, Croats and other non Serbs to open land for a Greater Serbia.

Judges found Mladic worked alongside late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic in a joint criminal plan to carry out that goal.

At a 2014 hearing, Mladic, known to critics as the Butcher of Bosnia, told the tribunal, “I do not recognise this court.” After receiving a life sentence in 2017, he shouted that the proceedings were lies.

Mladic’s lawyer, Dragan Ivetic, confirmed the death Thursday but did not state a cause. Ivetic said Mladic had spent his final months in the hospital wing of the U.N. detention facility near The Hague.

His son said official papers listed his birth date as March 12, 1942, though he was actually born March 8, 1943.

Karadzic, convicted of genocide in 2016, and Mladic were among the most wanted men in Europe after Western nations ended the Bosnian war.

Mladic, however, lived openly though quietly in Belgrade until Milosevic was removed from power in a 2000 uprising.

Milosevic died in custody on March 11, 2006, months before a verdict was due in his own genocide trial covering Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.

The force Mladic built to fight in Bosnia became known for brutality. Prisoners were reportedly denied water and forced to eat salt in extreme heat, starved and abused in camps, forced off a bridge and shot, or gunned down at night in large groups after being led out with chemical gas.

Munira Subasic, whose husband and son were killed after Bosnian Serb forces took Srebrenica, said Mladic represented every atrocity of the war, adding that Germany had Hitler and Serbia has Mladic.

Mladic arranged for cameras to record his forces entering Srebrenica, where he addressed his troops and Dutch peacekeepers who had trusted his promise that residents would not be harmed.

He told the camera the town was being given to the Serb people as a gift, framing it as payback tied to Ottoman era history.

A day later, his soldiers were filmed giving candy to children while thousands of men and boys were being prepared for execution.

When NATO threatened limited airstrikes in 1995, his troops responded by taking U.N. peacekeepers hostage and chaining some to potential targets.

In November 1996, facing heavy Western pressure, Mladic stepped down as army chief under orders from Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic, who later served prison time for war crimes.

Born to a partisan fighter killed in 1945, Mladic served in the old Yugoslav People’s Army before Yugoslavia began breaking apart in 1991.

When Bosnian Serbs rebelled against Bosnia’s move to secede in 1992, he was named commander of the newly formed Bosnian Serb army, which quickly took control of about 70 percent of the country while 22,000 U.N. peacekeepers stood by under neutral orders.

Serbia’s post Milosevic leaders avoided arresting Mladic for years despite Western pressure, given his standing among nationalists.

He was finally detained in 2011 without resistance, showing signs of a stroke. He suffered a heart attack in 2013 and repeatedly told courts he was gravely ill.

Requests to attend family graves and later appeals for release were denied. In August 2026, a U.N. physician warned his death could come within weeks, but his final release request was again rejected.

(With files from Reuters)

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PARIS,— France’s Constitutional Council on Friday struck down a bill that would have banned social media access for children under 15, ruling that it violated free speech protections.

The decision is a setback for President Emmanuel Macron, who has now asked his government to rewrite the measure.

The law, had it stood, would have stopped anyone younger than 15 from opening a new social media account starting September 1.

Existing accounts held by young users would have had to be shut down by platforms within four months. Companies also would have been required to use an age verification system approved by France’s privacy watchdog.

The Constitutional Council said the bill demanded proof of age from users but did not spell out clear rules or limits for how that proof should be collected. Judges said this created problems for both free expression and the right to privacy.

The council stated that the rules in question placed an unfair burden on freedom of expression and communication, and did not include enough legal protection for people’s private lives.

French lawmakers passed the bill in July, making France the first country in Europe to follow Australia’s lead.

Australia’s ban, the first of its kind in the world, blocked users under 16 from accessing platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube starting in December.

Australian officials are now weighing tougher penalties after early results showed mixed outcomes.

Other governments have taken or proposed similar steps to limit young people’s access to social media, including China, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

The European Union has also said it intends to push for stronger safeguards for children against harmful features on social platforms.

Major social media companies have generally pushed back against sweeping bans, arguing they already have safeguards for younger users, such as age limits.

Still, these companies have said they would follow any bans set by governments. Google, Meta, Snap and TikTok did not respond right away when asked for comment.

Macron, who in April encouraged teenagers to put down their phones and read books to become better citizens, has directed Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to revise the bill to address the court’s concerns, according to a statement from the Elysee Palace.

The Elysee said Macron wants the new version in place before spring 2027, when France will hold its next presidential election. Macron is barred from seeking a third term.

Political analyst Henase Karim told the iKurd.net News that requiring identity verification for internet use would end online anonymity, since users would need to submit official documents KYC to prove who they are, and with connecting to the internet, they must log in with it.

Karim said any country adopting such rules is limiting personal freedom, pointing to Australia and the United Arab Emirates as examples of nations he described as restrictive on rights and freedoms.

(With files from Reuters)

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BERLIN,— German officials said Sunday that a deadly vehicle attack near Berlin’s Pride celebration the night before is being treated as an act of Islamist terrorism, as police searched for a suspect described as dangerous and possibly armed.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told reporters near the scene that all available evidence points to a terrorist act linked to Islamist extremism.

He said the suspected attacker had a history of criminal offenses and had shown signs of radicalization, along with ties to Islamist circles.

The attack happened around 10 p.m. Saturday when a white minivan drove into a crowd in Tiergarten park, close to the Brandenburg Gate.

The area sits near Christopher Street Day, one of Europe’s largest annual LGBTQ+ Pride events.

One person was killed, and 29 others were hurt, eight of them seriously, Dobrindt said. Fire officials reported that three of the injured were in life threatening condition, and some victims had stab wounds.

Dobrindt said Germany’s 16 states have been briefed on the attack and told to reassess security plans for large public gatherings, including future Pride events.

He warned that such violent acts could motivate others to carry out similar attacks.

Berlin police identified the suspect overnight as Abdul B. and released his photo, asking the public for help locating him.

They described him as slim, about 1.90 meters, or roughly 6 feet 2 inches tall, with black hair. He was last seen wearing a black hooded top and white pants. Police cautioned residents not to approach him directly.

Dobrindt said the suspect was born in Germany in 2005 and has Lebanese family background. Security officials told Reuters he had been released from juvenile detention just two months earlier.

They said he had reached out to the Islamic State militant group and was already known to Germany’s domestic intelligence service, placed among hundreds of individuals considered potentially dangerous, a status that typically brings ongoing monitoring.

Organizers of Christopher Street Day called off the rest of the event following the attack. Authorities said key details remain unclear, including whether the suspect acted alone, noting that more than one person may have exited the van after the crash.

Television footage from Reuters showed the white minivan wrecked against a tree Sunday morning. German tabloid Bild reported the vehicle was a rented Citroen delivery van and that investigators had searched the suspect’s home.

The attack lands at a difficult moment for Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose coalition government has faced criticism over its performance and is currently undergoing a rocky cabinet shake-up.

Regional elections are scheduled in two months, with the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, focusing its campaign on immigration and public safety as it seeks its first win in leading a state government.

AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla reacted quickly on social media platform X, writing that the party would not let religious extremists divide the country through violence and intolerance.

Germany has seen several vehicle-related assaults on crowds in recent years. In May, a man believed to have mental health problems drove into a pedestrian area in Leipzig, killing two people and seriously injuring three others.

In 2016, Anis Amri, a Tunisian national whose asylum request had been denied and who had connections to Islamist militants, hijacked a truck, killed its driver, and drove into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin.

That attack killed 11 people and injured dozens more. Amri was later shot dead by police in Italy four days afterward.

German police said a 21-year-old man with a history of Islamist extremist activity was shot and killed by officers on Sunday.

Police said the suspect in Saturday’s attack was found at about 6 p.m. local time in a community garden complex in the Spandau district of western Berlin.

According to police, the man ran toward officers while carrying a knife. Officers then opened fire. Despite immediate efforts by emergency responders to revive him, he died at the scene.

Dagmar Euent and Juliane Gotzler, who have a garden plot at the complex, said they heard several gunshots. They said police instructed them to remain inside their garden hut while the incident unfolded.

Berlin Pride attacker shot dead by police

German police said a 21-year-old man with a history of Islamist extremist activity was shot and killed by officers on Sunday, July 26, 2026.

Police said the suspect in Saturday’s attack was found at about 6 p.m. local time in a community garden complex in the Spandau district of western Berlin.

According to police, the man ran toward officers while carrying a knife. Officers then opened fire. Despite immediate efforts by emergency responders to revive him, he died at the scene.

Dagmar Euent and Juliane Gotzler, who have a garden plot at the complex, said they heard several gunshots. They said police instructed them to remain inside their garden hut while the incident unfolded.

Separately, a court in Germany sentenced a Saudi doctor to life in prison in June 2026 after convicting him of killing six people and injuring hundreds when he drove a rented BMW into crowds at a historic Christmas market in Magdeburg just days before Christmas in 2024.

(With files from Reuters)

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