- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
Macron denies Telegram founder's arrest 'political'
President Emmanuel Macron on Monday denied any political link to the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov as the tech tycoon spent a second day in French custody following his surprise arrest at a Paris airport.
Numerous questions have been raised about the timing and circumstances of Durov's detention, which a source close to the case said had been extended until Wednesday.
The 39-year-old billionaire is accused of failing to curb the spread of illegal content on Telegram, which has over 900 million users. The company has rejected the accusations.
Born in Soviet times into a family of academics in Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, Durov spent his childhood in Italy before building up Russia's then biggest social network VKontakte (VK) in his early 20s.
He set up Telegram after leaving Russia a decade ago, and Forbes magazine estimates his current fortune at $15.5 billion.
In a post on X to address what he called "false information" concerning the case, Macron said Durov's arrest "took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation".
"It is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter," he wrote in a highly unusual comment on a legal case.
Durov holds a French passport in addition to his Russian nationality.
- 'Nothing to hide' -
Late on Monday, French authorities again extended his initial detention for questioning until Wednesday, according to a source close to the investigation.
When the initial 96-hour questioning period ends, the investigating magistrate can either free Durov or press charges and remand him in custody.
Durov, who has been based in Dubai in recent years, arrived in Paris from the Azerbaijani capital Baku, and was planning to have dinner in the French capital, a source close to the case said.
He was accompanied by a bodyguard and a personal assistant who always travel with him, added the source, asking not to be named.
One key question is why Durov flew into France when he would have likely been aware he was wanted in the country. "Perhaps he had a feeling of impunity," said one source close to the case, asking not to be named.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Baku on a state visit to Azerbaijan on August 18 and 19, though Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that the two had met.
Durov is accused of failing to take action to curb the criminal use of his platform.
France's OFMIN, an office tasked with preventing violence against minors, issued an arrest warrant for Durov in a preliminary investigation into alleged offences including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organised crime and promotion of terrorism, another source said.
Telegram said in response that "Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe".
"Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act -- its moderation is within industry standards," it added.
"It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform."
- 'Enforce the law' -
Telegram has positioned itself as a "neutral" alternative to US-owned platforms, which have been criticised for their commercial exploitation of users' personal data.
It also plays a key role since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, used actively by politicians and commentators on both sides of the war.
But critics accuse it of hosting often illegal content ranging from extreme sexual imagery to disinformation and also narcotics services.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Moscow had received no information from France on why Durov was detained, saying "we do not know concretely what Durov is accused of".
Elon Musk, who leads the Tesla car group and X, formerly Twitter, posted the hashtag #FreePavel on his platform and commented in French, "Liberte Liberte! Liberte?" (Freedom Freedom! Freedom?).
Macron said that while France is "deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication", such freedoms are "upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life".
"It is up to the judiciary, in full independence, to enforce the law," he said.
M.A.Vaz--PC