- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
France probes case of man gravely injured at water protest
French prosecutors said Wednesday they were probing the case of a man seriously wounded at a demonstration over access to water, after his family filed a criminal complaint.
The 32-year-old has been fighting for his life in a coma since Saturday's thousands-strong environmental protest against a new "mega-basin" gathering water for irrigation in the western Deux-Sevres region.
The probe was prompted by his parents, who filed a complaint alleging attempted murder as well as the prevention of access by first responders.
Protest organisers said Tuesday that the man, from the southwestern city Toulouse, was seriously wounded when he was struck in the head by a tear gas grenade fired by police.
"People close to him are determined to bear witness and uncover the truth about what happened," they added.
The case is being investigated by military prosecutors in western city Rennes who have jurisdiction over France's gendarmes -- police officers belonging to the armed forces.
Warlike scenes of Saturday's clashes between around 5,000 protesters and 3,200 police in the open fields made headlines over the weekend.
Fielding helicopters, armoured vehicles and water cannon, security forces fired thousands of tear gas grenades and dozens of other projectiles in a response the DGGN police authority described as "proportionate to the level of threat".
Authorities say officers were faced with "an unprecedented explosion of violence" and targeted with Molotov cocktails and fireworks.
- Ambulance access -
But Human Rights League (LDH) observers on the scene said police made "unrestrained and indiscriminate use of force" against all the demonstrators, rather than targeting violent groups or individuals.
AFP journalists saw police begin using tear gas as soon as the marchers arrived.
Prosecutors in nearby Niort counted 47 wounded police and seven demonstrators requiring medical aid, including two in danger for their lives -- one of whose condition has since improved.
Protest organisers complained of 200 wounded, 40 seriously including one person who lost an eye.
In an audio recording published by daily Le Monde, a member of the ambulance service told the LDH that "commanders on the ground" were holding them back from the scene, without identifying individuals.
The service said on Twitter Tuesday that "sending an ambulance with oxygen into an area with clashes is not recommended given the risk of explosion".
Deux-Sevres' prefect -- the top government official in the region -- wrote in a Tuesday report to the interior ministry that it was "very difficult" for ambulances to reach wounded demonstrators as "the clashes had not stopped or were starting again".
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has responded to the clashes by vowing to ban one of the associations that organised the protests.
M.Mendoza--CPN