The envoy to is to be tried in Paris in November on charges of sexual assault on four men, one of whom - a male Paris City Hall staffer - claimed he was.Luigi Ventura, 74, had served as the Papal Nuncio  — the pontiff’s diplomatic representative — in Paris since 2009.He was first accused of “inappropriately touching” a man at City Hall on January 17, when the Nuncio attended a New Year’s address to diplomats, religious leaders and civil society figures by the mayor, Anne Hidalgo.The first plaintiff was described as a member of City Hall’s General Delegation for International Relations....…The envoy to is to be tried in Paris in November on charges of sexual assault on four men, one of whom - a male Paris City Hall staffer - claimed he was.Luigi Ventura, 74, had served as the Papal Nuncio  — the pontiff’s diplomatic representative — in Paris since 2009.He was first accused of “inappropriately touching” a man at City Hall on January 17, when the Nuncio attended a New Year’s address to diplomats, religious leaders and civil society figures by the mayor, Anne Hidalgo.The first plaintiff was described as a member of City Hall’s General Delegation for International Relations....WW…

Emmanuel Macron on Thursday approved a plan to rebuild Notre-Dame's famed spire as it was before it crashed to earth in last year's devastating fire in the Paris cathedral."The president trusts the experts and approved the main outlines of the project presented by the chief architect which plans to reconstruct the spire identically," said the Elysee. His green light to restore the 19th-century spire atop the 13th-century edifice constitutes a change of heart for the president, who had suggested in the aftermath of the disaster he wanted a "contemporary gesture".It came as the French...…Emmanuel Macron on Thursday approved a plan to rebuild Notre-Dame's famed spire as it was before it crashed to earth in last year's devastating fire in the Paris cathedral."The president trusts the experts and approved the main outlines of the project presented by the chief architect which plans to reconstruct the spire identically," said the Elysee. His green light to restore the 19th-century spire atop the 13th-century edifice constitutes a change of heart for the president, who had suggested in the aftermath of the disaster he wanted a "contemporary gesture".It came as the French...WW…

The pandemic may have started as early as October, according to a new joint study of its genetic make-up by researchers at University College London and the University of Reunion Island.The pathogen wreaking havoc on the world, known scientifically as SARS-CoV-2, is thought to have made the jump from its initial host to humans at some point between October 6 and December 11.The findings – based on analysis of more than 7,000 genome sequence assemblies collected from around the world since January – will be published in a forthcoming edition of scientific journal Infection Genetics...…The pandemic may have started as early as October, according to a new joint study of its genetic make-up by researchers at University College London and the University of Reunion Island.The pathogen wreaking havoc on the world, known scientifically as SARS-CoV-2, is thought to have made the jump from its initial host to humans at some point between October 6 and December 11.The findings – based on analysis of more than 7,000 genome sequence assemblies collected from around the world since January – will be published in a forthcoming edition of scientific journal Infection Genetics...WW…

British intelligence tipped off Belgium that China was spying on the European Commission via the Maltese embassy in Brussels, according to French reports.According to Le Monde, British agents warned their Belgian counterparts that the Chinese were using Malta’s embassy as a , which is in close proximity.It said that China had covered the €21m bill to buy and refurbish the nine-floor, state-of-the-art embassy building known as “Dar Malta” in 2007.According to Le Monde, Belgian state security has long accused the embassy of containing surveillance equipment installed by Chinese secret...…British intelligence tipped off Belgium that China was spying on the European Commission via the Maltese embassy in Brussels, according to French reports.According to Le Monde, British agents warned their Belgian counterparts that the Chinese were using Malta’s embassy as a , which is in close proximity.It said that China had covered the €21m bill to buy and refurbish the nine-floor, state-of-the-art embassy building known as “Dar Malta” in 2007.According to Le Monde, Belgian state security has long accused the embassy of containing surveillance equipment installed by Chinese secret...WW…

Coronavirus is "under control" in , which will not impose another nationwide lockdown even in the event of a second wave in the autumn, according to the head of the country's scientific council."We can reasonably say the virus is currently under control," Jean-Francois Delfraissy,  the president of the scientific council advising the French government on public health strategy during the epidemic, told France Inter radio."The virus is still circulating, in certain regions in particular... but it is circulating slowly."The number of daily deaths has fallen, with just 44...…Coronavirus is "under control" in , which will not impose another nationwide lockdown even in the event of a second wave in the autumn, according to the head of the country's scientific council."We can reasonably say the virus is currently under control," Jean-Francois Delfraissy,  the president of the scientific council advising the French government on public health strategy during the epidemic, told France Inter radio."The virus is still circulating, in certain regions in particular... but it is circulating slowly."The number of daily deaths has fallen, with just 44...WW…