More than a million people Sunday had signed a petition urging the French government to ditch a law allowing the reintroduction of a banned pesticide experts say is deadly to bees.

The so-called “Duplomb law” has stirred public anger for permitting a return of acetamiprid — a chemical known to be toxic to pollinators such as bees and to ecosystems. It was adopted on July 8 but has not yet come into effect.

A 23-year-old master’s student launched the petition against the law on July 10, with support quickly snowballing with the backing of many including actors and several left-wing lawmakers. More than 500,000 people signed it in 24 hours from Saturday and Sunday alone.

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The law’s proponents however argue farmers face too much regulation in France as is, and allowing them to use acetamiprid again would help reduce the constraints they face.

National Assembly Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet on Sunday ruled out abandoning the legislation, named after the conservative lawmaker who proposed it, as it would “save a certain number of our farmers”.

The petition’s author, Eleonore Pattery, who describes herself as “a future environmental health professional”, called the new law a “scientific, ethical, environmental and public health aberration”.

“It represents a frontal attack on public health, biodiversity, the coherence of climate policies, food security, and common sense,” she said.

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– ‘Bee killer’ –

Acetamiprid has been banned in France since 2018, but remains legal within the European Union.

The insecticide is particularly sought after by beet and hazelnut growers, who say they have no alternative against pests and face unfair competition.

On the other hand, beekeepers have branded the chemical “a bee killer”. French scientists who have studied its disorientating effects on bees confirm it is toxic to them.

Its effects on humans are also a source of concern but, in the absence of large-scale studies, its risks remain unclear.

The petition calls for the “immediate repeal” of the law and a “citizen-led consultation involving health, agricultural, environmental and legal stakeholders”.

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Launched on July 10, two days after the Senate adopted the text, it had already passed 500,000 signatures on Saturday.

– Appeal to Macron –

Petitions do not in themselves trigger a review or repeal of the legislation but unprecedented public support may prompt renewed parliamentary discussion on the matter.

Under French rules, if a petition reaches 500,000 verified signatures, the National Assembly may choose to hold a public debate limited to the content of the petition itself.

Speaker Braun-Pivet told the broadcaster franceinfo on Sunday she would be in favour of such a debate, but lawmakers “could not in any case go back on the law which has been voted through”.

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President Emmanuel Macron does have the power to send the text back for deputies to re-examine it, and on Sunday Green party leader Marine Tondelier appealed to him to do just that in a video posted online.

In late June, ahead of the law’s passage, several thousand demonstrators — including farmers, environmental organisations and scientists — rallied across France calling for the bill to be withdrawn.

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Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.

Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.

Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways

The Israeli air force struck approximately 75 targets in the past day across the Gaza Strip.

The IDF confirmed the death of Hamas terrorist Bashar Thabat on Sunday. He was killed in the Nuseirat area in the Gaza Strip on July 10.

Thabat was head of a department in the Development and Projects Division and in that role, was responsible for the research and development processes within Hamas’s weapons production headquarters.

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Troops in the 646th Brigade directed a wave of airstrikes on Beit Hanun Saturday night, targeting tunnels and above-ground sites used by terrorists. Troops on the ground killed several terrorists operating in the area.

The Israeli air force struck approximately 75 targets in the past day across the Gaza Strip.

The IDF’s Division 98 destroyed terror infrastructure in the area of Gaza City. They also directed airstrikes on terrorist squads en route to attacking IDF troops, according to the military.

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip, July 20, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)

The IDF’s 99th and 162nd divisions destroyed terror infrastructure in northern Gaza, and the IDF’s 143rd division did the same in southern Gaza.

WAMPSVILLE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The Madison County Sheriff tells NewsChannel 9 his office will enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, allowing some of his deputies to enforce certain parts of immigration law.

The partnership enrolls the Madison County Sheriff’s Office in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287(g) program. The program allows state or local police departments to take on some of ICE’s work depending on the model chosen by the partnering agency.

“You have no idea where they’re from, no I.D., no anything,” said Sheriff Todd Hood. “ICE has that data. Why wouldn’t we want that, to get some information?”

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The Madison County Sheriff, specifically, signed up for the “Warrant Service Officer” model, which allows its deputies to be trained and execute civil immigration warrants. In the sheriff’s words, his office would be allowed to “help or facilitate the custodial transfer of removable aliens — with criminal or pending criminal charges — who are arrested by state or local law enforcement agencies.”

“They have to have a criminal charge or a court order from a judge in order to take them in,” said Sheriff Hood.

When asked, the sheriff said his deputies encounter undocumented immigrants in their jail “not very much. He suspects the program would be needed in a limited number of cases.

“That’s what I want people to know,” said Hood. “It’s political and they try to spread this terrible narrative that the Gestapo’s going to come in. It’s not like that at all. We just want to know who’s in here.”

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Because Madison County is a vibrant farming community, the new agreement could cause new concerns for migrant farmers. There’s as many as 500 people working at Green Empire Farms just down the road from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office in Wampsville.

The Sheriff said: “If you’re keeping your nose clean and doing a good job, you’re pretty low on the radar when it comes to dealing with law enforcement. When you’re dealing drugs, human trafficking, that stuff, now you’re on the highest level of alert for law enforcement.”

The Sheriff says the deal is between his office and federal government. He says the Madison County Board of Supervisors can share an opinion, but not override the agreement.

In formal guidance, the New York State Attorney General’s Office advises against state or local police signing 287(g) agreements. Her office said the policy is legally murky when compared to State Law and builds distrust between migrant communities and local law enforcement.

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The Camden Police Department, in Oneida County, has signed up for the “Task Force Model” of 287(g), which is a more elaborate ability to enforce immigration law on the streets of the village.

Before the Madison County Sheriff, sheriffs in Broome, Nassau, Niagara and Rensselaer Counties entered into versions of the program.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSYR.

One person has been killed and two others injured in a Russian drone attack on the Pavlohrad district of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on the night of 17-18 July.

Source: Serhii Lysak, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram

Quote: “The Russians attacked the Pavlohrad district overnight, namely the Verbky and Bohdanivka hromadas. A 52-year-old man was killed. Two others, aged 38 and 40, have been injured.” [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.]

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Details: Lysak said the attack had damaged premises belonging to a transport company and caused a fire, which has since been extinguished.

Updated: Later, Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) said the driver of an electric locomotive had been killed.

“The enemy hit an electric locomotive in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The driver has been killed. His assistant has been injured but is in a stable condition,” Ukrzaliznytsia reported.

The Rozdory hromada in the Synelnykove district was also hit by drones. Cars were burning there.

The Russians targeted Nikopol with an FPV drone. The aftermath of this attack is still being investigated.

Lysak added that air defenders had downed three Russian drones over the oblast.

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Iran’s armed proxies are ramping up pressure on key points in the Middle East as Tehran attempts to rebuild its regional influence, eroded by almost two years of a destructive Israeli military campaign.

Tehran’s Houthi allies in Yemen ended months of calm in the Red Sea last week with strikes on two commercial ships travelling in the critical waterway. Proxies in Iraq are suspected of disrupting oil production in the Kurdish region, and shipments of hundreds of rockets bound for Hezbollah in Lebanon have been intercepted by Syrian forces over the past months.

The increasing activity by the proxies reflects Iran’s determination to continue supporting a network of disruptive armed groups – long seen as essential to Tehran’s deterrence strategy, despite their failure to deter recent Israeli and American attacks on Iranian soil – ahead of possible talks with Washington to reach a new nuclear deal. But so far, neither the United States nor Iran appears to be willing to make major compromises.

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“Iran was never going to stop resupplying their groups,” said Michael Knights, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute specializing in the military and security affairs of Iraq, Iran and the Gulf states.

“They might not be able to send this much or regularly – more stuff might get intercepted – but if you’re the (Iranian) Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force right now, what you’re trying to show is ‘we still exist, we’re intact, nothing has changed.’”

Israel launched an unprecedented attack on Iran last month, targeting and killing key military figures, including the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami, critical to sustaining and expanding the Islamic Republic’s regional proxy network, and Behnam Shahriyari, who Israel says was responsible for weapons transfers to Tehran’s proxies.

But even as Iran reels from the loss of key military figures, it has persisted in arming those proxies, signaling that it still views them as a strategic asset to expand its regional leverage.

Smoke rises in north Tehran on June 23, 2025. – Elyas/AFP/Getty Images

Yemen

Just three days after a ceasefire was declared between Iran and Israel, a vessel carrying 750 tons of Iranian missiles and military equipment, including missiles, drone engines and radar systems, was intercepted in the Red Sea by forces loyal to Yemen’s exiled government, the United States Central Command said Wednesday. It added that the “massive Iranian weapons shipment” was destined for the Houthis.

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The interception, according to the US military, marked the “largest weapons seizure” in the history of the Yemeni National Resistance Forces (NRF) – a pro-US, anti-Houthi group led by Tariq Saleh, the nephew of Yemen’s late leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The Iranian foreign ministry denied that it had sent weapons and called it a “deceitful attempt” by the US to “divert public opinion.”

The Houthis in Yemen have used Iranian weaponry to launch attacks on both Israel and commercial vessels in the Red Sea. An attack on a Greek-owned ship last week killed four crew members, injured others and left 11 people missing, the European Union naval operation Aspides told CNN. Six of those on board were captured by the Houthis, a UK-based maritime risk management company, Vanguard Tech, told CNN.

A screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 8, showing plumes of smoke rising from what is said to be Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier, the MV Magic Seas that was attacked off southwest Yemen. – Houthi Media Center/Reuters

Days before that, the Houthis targeted a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, the Magic Seas, using unmanned boats, missiles and drones.

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The attacks, which sank the two vessels, appear to show an escalation of force and were the first recorded this year after months of calm in the busy waterway.

Iraq

Over the past few months, suspected Iran-backed groups have also increased their attacks on Western allies in Iraq, destabilizing oil output in the Kurdish-controlled region of the country.

Five oil fields, including two operated by US companies, were hit after a “spate of drone attacks” by “criminal militias,” Aziz Ahmad, an official in the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), said on Wednesday.

“The KRG welcomed U.S. investment and companies. Now, those same investors are being pushed out in a calculated campaign to economically strangle us,” Ahmad said on X.

Smoke billows from a damaged oil installation at the Sarsang oil field following a drone attack on the Chamanke district near the Kurdish city of Dohuk in northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region on July 16. – Safin Hamid/AFP/Getty Images

The spokesperson for the KRG Peshawa Hawramani told CNN that the drone attacks are “intended to destroy the energy infrastructure” and to ensure that the KRG “has no capacity to produce oil and gas, so it cannot use this as leverage in agreements or rely on it as a source of income.”

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The KRG’s interior ministry blamed attacks earlier this month on the Popular Mobilization Units, a predominantly Shiite Iranian-backed paramilitary force based in Iraq.

“These attacks are being carried out… with the aim of creating chaos,” the interior ministry said after a bomb-laden drone landed near the KRG capital Erbil earlier this month.

Lebanon

Iran’s regional influence has been substantially weakened since Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent campaign to root out Tehran’s proxies from the region.

Iran’s key ally in Lebanon, Hezbollah, sought to support Hamas after October 7 by firing cross-border rockets and opening a second front against Israel. Since then, the group has been severely weakened, losing its once-dominant influence in Lebanon and facing growing internal and Western demands to disarm, as its fighters are targeted by near-daily Israeli strikes.

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The group’s revered leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike last year and its key supply route in Syria was lost after the fall in December of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a crucial ally to Tehran.

A person holds up a picture of late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in Israeli airstrikes last year, on the day of a public funeral ceremony in Beirut, Lebanon, on February 23. – Mohammed Yassin/Reuters

“Hezbollah are losing sway, they’ve lost credibility with their own base. Of course, the Iranians are trying to reinforce some of their proxies to reinforce their negotiating hand, but they’re not making much headway,” a regional official told CNN.

Still, another regional source told CNN that Hezbollah could begin “regrouping itself over the coming weeks” fearing an escalation from Israel. Hezbollah feels it is in an “existential situation” because of the loss of Syria and the growing internal Lebanese pressure, the source added.

Syria

Iran’s attempts to rearm Hezbollah have continued over the past year. The new Syrian government, which staunchly opposes Iran, has seized several shipments of weapons bound for Lebanon, according to the Syrian Interior Ministry.

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Last month, the Syrian interior ministry said in a statement that it had foiled an attempt to smuggle anti-tank Kornet missiles, the same type used by Hezbollah to target Israeli tanks in southern Lebanon. The Syrian police said the weapons were hidden in a truck carrying vegetables in the Homs countryside, which borders Lebanon.

The first regional source who spoke to CNN questioned Tehran’s purpose in arming proxy groups who had proven ineffective in protecting Iran, or achieving their stated mission of “liberating Jerusalem.”

“Why are Hezbollah still arming? What have their arms given them? It has not given them protection, it has not brought them an inch closer to Jerusalem? What are these arms doing except causing misery to a civilian population?” the source said.

Asked if Damascus was seeing Iranian attempts to arm Hezbollah, one senior Syrian government official told CNN, “We’re intercepting Iranian shipments quite often. Mostly seems to be collected locally and put together in small shipments to be smuggled to Lebanon.”

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“We’re also seeing clear activities to send money to networks in Syria through Iraq,” he added.

A solider with Syria’s ministry of defense forces at a house which Hezbollah and Iranian backed militia had used as a weapon storage in Palmyra, Syria, in March 2025. – Salwan Georges/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Trump in ‘no rush’ to talk

Iran’s rearming of groups across the Middle East comes as US President Donald Trump signals his waning interest in negotiations with Tehran.

“They want to negotiate badly. We’re in no rush… we bombed the hell out of their various places, if they want to negotiate, we are here,” Trump said Wednesday.

Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, dismissed the idea that talks were imminent and downplayed their importance.

“Right now is not the time for talks. Negotiations are a tactic… we wait and see if the Supreme Leader finds it useful or not,” Larijani said in a televised statement on Friday.

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A sixth round of negotiations was scheduled June 15, but Israel’s surprise attack the day prior disrupted the plans.

Experts say rebuilding regional armed groups and showcasing their disruptive capabilities could serve as leverage for Iran, as it looks to negotiate from a position of strength despite its recent losses.

“It will strengthen their hand, in theory, to show that they are not just rolling over and subservient… they want to appear defiant but not enough that the US hits them,” Knights said.

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