Upheaval in Paris region after police shoot teen

In a heart-wrenching incident that has shaken the nation, a French teenager lost his life this week after being shot by police during a confrontation in the Paris region. The incident, which occurred on Tuesday, escalated after police stopped a teen driving a yellow vehicle.

According to French media, police initially suggested the teen drove his car towards them with the intention of hurting them but footage posted online tells a different story. It shows two officers at the vehicle. One points his weapon at the driver through the window and appears to fire at point-blank range as he tries to drive off.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently expressed concerns about the safety of aspartame, a commonly used artificial sweetener found in various food and beverage products, including Diet Coke.

Aspartame, an artificial sweetener widely used as a sugar substitute, has faced scrutiny for years regarding its potential health effects. It has been widely reported this week that the sweetener will be listed as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” for the first time by WHO’s cancer research arm, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

The beverage industry, including manufacturers of Diet Coke, has defended the safety of aspartame. They argue that extensive regulatory assessments have

This week the state sold a further 5% of its share in AIB, bringing its total stake in the bank below 50% for the first time since the financial crisis of 2008. The sale is significant as it means the state no longer has a majority share in the financial institution.

The sale of shares is expected to generate €480.5 million for the Exchequer accord- consistently deemed aspartame safe for consumption. They emphasise that the consumption of aspartame, within the approved limits, does not pose a significant risk to human health. IARC’s decisions have also faced criticism for sparking needless alarm over hard to avoid substances or situations. It had previously classified working overnight and consuming red meat as “probably cancer-causing”, and using mobile phones as “possibly cancer-causing”, similar to aspartame.

The incident has sparked outrage locally and law enforcement were deployed in large numbers as anger and disorder broke out Tuesday and Wednesday night. Cars and rubbish bins were set alight and bus shelters were destroyed. Riot police used tear gas to break up protesters, some of whom created barricades throughout the night.

French president Emmanuel Macron has described the shooting as "inexplicable and inexcusable” while French football superstar Kylian Mbappe has called it an "unacceptable situation” while passing on his thoughts to the victim’s family.

“IARC is not a food safety body and its review of aspartame is not scientifically comprehensive and is based heavily on widely discredited research,” said secretary-general of the International Sweeteners Association (ISA) Frances HuntWood.