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France arrests 11 after activist’s death

PARIS — French police investigating the beating of a far-right activist who died of brain injuries have arrested 11 people, prosecutors said Wednesday, in a case adding fuel to long-standing divides in French politics ahead of presidential elections in 2027.

Quentin Deranque, a 23-year-old student described as a fervent nationalist, died in a hospital on Saturday. He was beaten two days earlier by a group of people in the city of Lyon, in fighting between far-left and far-right supporters on the margins of a student meeting where a far-left lawmaker, Rima Hassan, was a keynote speaker.

An autopsy found that Deranque suffered a fractured skull and fatal brain injuries, according to Lyon’s prosecutor, Thierry Dran.

Hassan, a French Palestinian who was born in a Syrian refugee camp, is a European Parliament lawmaker for the far-left France Unbowed party. In a post on X after the attack on Deranque but before he died of his injuries, Hassan expressed “horror” over the violence and condemned it.

Deranque’s death triggered a storm of recriminations, mostly blaming France Unbowed. Its opponents accuse it of fomenting violence and tensions with its combative far-left politics, which include fierce criticism of Israel.

The party is led by veteran hard-left politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a former Trotskyist who ran for the presidency in 2012, 2017 and 2022 but failed to advance to the decisive runoff round.

Fireworks shop blast in China kills 12

BEIJING — An explosion at a fireworks shop in China’s Hubei province on Wednesday killed 12 people, state media reported, the second such explosion as the country celebrates the Lunar New Year.

Emergency responders put out the blaze at the fireworks shop in the town of Xiangyang, central Hubei, on Wednesday afternoon, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Investigators are now looking into the cause of the explosion, the report said without giving further details.

Fireworks are a large part of the Lunar New Year celebration in China, but their use has also been the cause of multiple accidents.

On Sunday, another accident at a fireworks shop in eastern Jiangsu province killed eight people and injured two. Authorities had said a resident had set off fireworks near the shop.

The central government warned of the dangers in a statement Tuesday, saying, “Fireworks are still the biggest risks during the Spring Festival period,” according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

Gabon blocks social media platforms

LIBREVILLE, Gabon — Gabon has suspended access to social media and digital platforms throughout the central African nation until further notice, the authorities said as critics accuse the country’s leader of cracking down on dissent.

The communications agency said it had observed on social media and digital platforms what it described as inappropriate, defamatory, hateful and insulting content that undermines human dignity, the country’s institutions and national security.

The agency’s statement added that this constitutes offenses punishable under national and international laws, as well as under policies on moderation adopted by major digital platforms.

Social media platforms, including Facebook and TikTok, were severely affected Wednesday. The two, along with WhatsApp, the messaging service owned by Meta, are the most widely used by Gabonese citizens. WhatsApp calls were also experiencing significant disruptions on Wednesday.

The country’s leader, Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, had toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who was accused of irresponsible governance.

Last year, Oligui Nguema won the presidential election, raising hopes for a return to constitutional democracy. However, critics say he has been increasingly clamping down on critical voices, targeting independent media and trade unionists.

Bulgaria appoints caretaker government

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgarian President Iliana Yotova on Wednesday appointed a caretaker government ahead of another round of parliamentary elections in April in a bid to stave off the country’s political instability and economic woes.

Yotova singled out the preparation of fair elections as the most important task of the new interim government. She also referred to the urgent need to allay people’s fears of rising prices of goods and services after the country’s adoption of the single European currency in January.

The president also said that the interim Cabinet must be sworn in formally at a special ceremony in parliament, and that she will issue a decree to hold snap parliamentary elections on April 19.

Interim Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov, 50, holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Truman State University in Missouri and a doctorate from the University of Vienna in Austria. Having held senior positions in academia and European financial institutions, he was appointed deputy governor of the Bulgarian central bank in Sofia in 2023.