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French Muslim Olympic Runner Suspended for ‘Unacceptable’ Anti-Israel, Antisemitic Social Media Posts
Paris 2024 Olympics – Athletics – Men’s 4 x 400m Relay Round 1 – Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France – August 09, 2024. Muhammad Abdallah Kounta of France in action during heat 2. Photo: Reuters/Sarah Meyssonnier
A French Muslim sprinter who recently competed in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris has been suspended by the French Athletics Federation for posting antisemitic and anti-Israel messages on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Two-time Olympian Muhammad Abdallah Kounta, 29, who competed in the 4×400-meter men’s and mix relay races during the Paris Olympics, posted hateful messages on X that “are as shocking as they are unacceptable,” France’s Minister of Sports Amelie Oudea-Castera said Wednesday in a French-language post on X.
“The federation’s president confirmed he has suspended the athlete and referred the matter both to the public prosecutor and to the federation’s disciplinary committee,” Oudea-Castera added.
A day earlier, an X account by the name Sword of Solomon drew attention to some controversial French-language tweets posted by Kounta between 2021 and 2024. In the various posts, Kounta praised Hamas terrorists responsible for the Oct. 7 deadly attacks in Israel, “incited hatred of Israel, trivialized the Holocaust and quoted a surah [chapter] from the Koran considering Jews and Christians as enemies,” according to Sword of Solomon, which also shared screenshots of the athlete’s tweets. Kounta additionally reposted a tweet that described France as a “country of degenerate racists” and liked the Facebook page of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is internationally designated as a terrorist organization.
After his old posts on X were resurfaced, Kounta — who made his Olympic debut in the 2020 Tokyo Games – posted a picture on social media of himself wrapped in a French flag and wrote in the caption: “I am French, Muslim and proud.” He then apologized if he had offended people with his past remarks.
“I’m against genocides and all forms of racism or injustice, and I don’t think I need to prove how much I love my country,” Kounta said. “People who were there in the Stade de France [where the athletic events took place] can attest to that fact.”
France has seen a record surge in antisemitic incidents since Hamas’ atrocities on Oct. 7, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.
The post French Muslim Olympic Runner Suspended for ‘Unacceptable’ Anti-Israel, Antisemitic Social Media Posts first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy
Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.