Day: October 13, 2023
A teacher has been killed and two people have been seriously injured in a knife attack at a school in France, the BBC reports.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said the attack happened at the Gambetta high school in the northern city of Arras.
Local officials say the attacker has been arrested.
The attacker shouted “Allahu Akbar”, or “God is greatest”, during the attack, police told the AFP news agency.
The attacker is believed to be in his 20s.
French channel BFMTV has reported that the brother of the attacker has also been apprehended by police.
The channel said the person killed was a French language teacher, while a sports teacher was also stabbed and injured.
Local media have reported that the attacker was a former pupil at the school.
Police say the situation is now under control.
French President Emmanuel Macron will visit the school later on Friday.
The school attacker was of Chechen origin and on the national security register, according to the police.
The National Assembly in Paris has suspended its session in solidarity with the victims.
The Human Comedy by William Saroyan is on stage at the David Schall Theatre in Hollywood courtesy of the Actors Co-op Theater Company until November 5, 2023. The production is written and directed by Thom Babbes, the Armenian Film Society reports.
Set in war front America in 1942, this coming-of-age tale tells the story of Homer Macaulay, a 14-year-old boy who delivers telegrams at night to make money for his family. During the course of two days, Homer grows from an idealistic boy to a mature young man as he struggles with the unfairness of the world around him and the pain of families to whom he delivers the War Department’s death notices.
Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, called on William Saroyan to write a treatment to raise the morale of Americans during World War II. The writer delivered the story for The Human Comedy, which MGM purchased the rights for $60,000— over $1 million, adjusted for inflation.
William Saroyan expressed interest in directing the film, and wrote and directed the 10-minute film, The Good Job, as a proof of concept. Unfortunately, he did not get the directing job for The Human Comedy— which went to Clarence Brown, who had multiple Best Director nominations under his belt by that point.
William Saroyan tried to buy back his script, and when he couldn’t, he left the studio and denounced the film. The film, which starred Mickey Rooney, was a massive success, and won William Saroyan an Oscar for Best Original Motion Picture Story at the 1943 Academy Awards.
Human rights groups have accused Israel of committing war crimes by using white phosphorus munitions in its military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, where it has been engaged in a fierce conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah since October 10, 2023.
White phosphorus is a chemical substance that ignites when exposed to oxygen and creates intense heat and thick smoke. It can be used as a smokescreen or a weapon, but it also causes horrific injuries when it comes in contact with people, burning them down to the bone and causing multiple organ failure.
Rights groups said it has verified video and witness accounts that show Israeli forces used white phosphorus in artillery attacks on October 11 and 12, 2023, over the Gaza City port and two rural locations along the Israel-Lebanon border. The videos show multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus, which spread the incendiary effects over a wider area and increased the risks to civilians in densely populated areas like Gaza.
Israel’s use of white phosphorus has drawn international criticism and outrage, especially as it continues to bombard Gaza from air, land, and sea in an assault that has killed more than 1,500 Palestinians, including at least 500 children, in retaliation for Hamas’ surprise infiltration of Israel and killing of over 1,300 Israeli soldiers and civilians.

