Climate activists throw soup at Mona Lisa in Paris
Paris, Jan 28: Two climate activists hurled soup on Sunday at the glass protecting the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in Paris and shouted slogans advocating for a sustainable food system. This came amid protests by French farmers against several issues, including low wages. In a video posted on social media, two women with the words “FOOD RIPOSTE” written on their t-shirts could be seen passing under a security barrier to get closer to the painting and throwing soup at the glass protecting Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece. “What’s the most important thing?” they shouted. “Art, or right to a healthy and sustainable food?” “Our farming system is sick. Our farmers are dying at work,” they added. The Louvre employees could then be seen putting black panels in front of the Mona Lisa and asking visitors to evacuate the room. Paris police said two people were arrested following the incident. On its website, the “Food Riposte” group said the French government is breaking its climate commitments and called for the equivalent of the country’s state-sponsored health care system to be put in place to give people better access to healthy food while providing farmers a decent income. Angry French farmers have been using their tractors for days to set up road blockades and slow traffic across France to seek better remuneration for their produce, less red tape and protection against cheap imports. (PTI)
India to assist in rescue of Lankan fishermen
Colombo, Jan 28: India has pledged to assist in the rescue of six Sri Lankan fishermen captured by the Somali pirates, Sri Lanka Navy spokesman Gayan Wickremasuriya said on Sunday. The multi-day fishing trawler Lorenzo Putha-4 set sail from Dikowita fishing harbour in Sri Lanka on January 16. Wickremasuriya said the UN’s central maritime command was alerted by Sri Lanka on Saturday on the six fishermen and their trawler being captured by the Somali pirates 840 nautical miles southeast of Mogadishu. He said India has pledged to assist Sri Lanka in the rescue of the fishermen. The pirates had allowed the Sri Lankan fishermen captured to communicate with the fisheries ministry, the state minister of fisheries Piyal Nishantha told reporters. (PTI)
9 Pakistani labourers shot dead in Iran
Islamabad, Jan 28: Pakistan has sought a comprehensive investigation into the killing of nine of its nationals in a brutal attack in Iran that occurred days after the tensions between the two nations following a tit-for-tat cross-border fire. Nine Pakistani workers were gunned down and three others were injured by unidentified attackers who opened indiscriminate fire on them in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province near the border with Pakistan on Saturday. Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that “according to witnesses, unknown armed men killed nine non-Iranians in a house in the Sirkan neighbourhood of Saravan city” in Sistan-Baluchestan province. No group or individual immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. (PTI)