French mayor on burkini ban: Muslims must accept our way of life

The Mayor of the French town of Riviera, Marc Etienne Lansade has told Muslim beach goers not to come to his town if they aren't prepared to accept their way of life by not wearing burkinis to beaches.
"If you don't want to live the way we do, don't come. You have to behave in the way that people behave in the country that accepted you, and that is it," Mayor Marc Etienne Lansade told CNN.

"If you are accepted in Rome -- do like Romans do," he said, adding, "go in Saudi Arabia and be naked and see what will happen to you."

Lansade, alongside several other mayors in France maintains that burkinis have been banned in his town despite a ruling by France's highest administrative court that mayors do not have the right to outlaw burkinis.

The court ruling comes after more than 30 French towns banned the burkini, a swimsuit which covers the whole body except for the face, hands and feet and is worn mostly by Muslim women.

 

Italy earthquake: Mass funeral for 35 victims

A mass funeral has taken place in Italy for some of the 290 people killed in Wednesday's powerful earthquake.

Thirty-five victims from the town of Arquata were mourned at a sports hall in the regional capital, Ascoli Piceno.

The coffins, laid out in rows on the floor, included two painted white for two children killed.

The death toll from the quake, which struck a mountainous central region, has again risen as more bodies were found.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was among those attending the funeral along with President Sergio Mattarella, who earlier visited Amatrice, the town with the most casualties.

Bishop Giovanni d'Ercole urged those affected not to lose courage.

"Together, above all we will restore life to our communities, starting from our traditions and from the rubble of death," he said.

The coffins will be taken for burial to a cemetery near Arquata, a local official told Ansa news agency.

Most victims of the earthquake were Italian, but several foreigners were among those killed, including three Britons. 

Flags are flying at half mast across the country as Italy remembers victims of the quake.

More than 200 people died in Amatrice alone. Along with Arquata and Accumoli, Pescara del Tronto was also hard-hit.

Many bodies have also been brought to a makeshift morgue in an aircraft hangar in the city of Rieti, where relatives have been identifying loved ones.

The first funeral for one of the earthquake's victims was held on Friday, for the son of a state official who died in Amatrice.

At least 388 people have been treated in hospital for their injuries while more than 2,000 people were made homeless.

The 6.2-magnitude quake hit in the early hours of Wednesday, 100km (65 miles) north-east of Rome.