Paris, May 28: A Malian migrant has been hailed a hero after he scaled the front of a building in Paris to save a child hanging from a fourth-floor balcony, the media reported on Monday.

Video of the 22-year-old Mamoudou Gassama's spectacular rescue went viral on social media on Sunday, reports the BBC.

In less than a minute, he pulls himself from balcony to balcony and grabs the four-year-old as a neighbour tries to hold the child from an adjoining flat. The incident took place on Saturday evening on a street in the north of the city.

President Emmanuel Macron has invited Gassama to the Elysee Palace on Monday to thank him personally.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also praised Gassama's heroism and said she had called him to thank him. She referred to him as the "Spiderman of the 18th", referring to the Paris district where the rescue took place.

 

 

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Hyderabad: Telangana-based Urdu daily The Munsif Daily has published a blank editorial in protest against the Congress-led state government's alleged decision to freeze government advertisements. The newspaper claims it is being targeted for its critical coverage of the government's shortcomings.

Comparing the move to the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi in the 1970s, the daily accused the Congress government, led by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, of attempting to suppress press freedom.

A Congress spokesperson told NDTV that the government had reduced spending on newspaper advertisements and that it was the government's prerogative to decide whom to support.

In a statement, *Munsif* Executive Editor Ather Moin said the newspaper had reported on communal unrest under the Congress rule, highlighting police failures and the state's inaction. It covered issues such as the demolition of an abandoned mosque in Chilkur, the removal of dupattas from minority schoolgirls' uniforms, and the government's failure to protect Waqf properties. The daily also raised concerns about delayed salaries for imams and muezzins, non-payment of stipends for divorced women, and the absence of a Muslim representative in the Telangana cabinet.

"If the Revanth government expects us to convince our readers that Telangana has turned into a land of milk and honey under Congress rule, then that is something we cannot do," the statement read. "Instead, we shall continue to ask: Why have lands turned barren? Why has starvation forced the poor to the brink? Why have helpless daughters been violated?"

The editorial also criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, recalling his 2023 statement in Washington about press freedom being under threat in India. It claimed that while several Urdu newspapers had criticised the Modi government without facing ad revocations, the Congress government in Telangana was punishing Munsif for its reportage.

"In 1975, Indira Gandhi tried to silence the press—and failed. Today, her party is repeating history. But let it be known: The pen is still mightier than the sword. Journalism in India will not be silenced," the statement added.