Remember Corsica,&nbsp;the French island made famous by popular comic book character Asterix?&nbsp;Well, for the lovers of Hindi cinema, it's the island Ved and Tara went holidaying in Imtiaz Ali's 2015 film Tamasha.

Corsica is back in the news&nbsp;with a bang, quite literally, as the authorities reported a sonic boom on the picturesque island on Thursday (June 20).

Experts said that the sonic boom heard in Italy's Tuscany and the French island of Corsica may have been a meteorite. The sonic boom was initially mistaken by holidaymakers, locals and officials for an earthquake.&nbsp;

The town of Campo nell’Elba, on the Italian tourist island of Elba, said on its Facebook page that a nearby tracking station had “captured a seismic, acoustic event felt by everyone” at 4:30 pm (1430 GMT).

Later, reports in the Corsican media said it was also felt on the island.

Tuscany regional government president Eugenio Giani initially said it was an earthquake. But Giani later backtracked from his comments as Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) ruled out an earthquake.&nbsp;

The Italian Air Force told Giani it had nothing to do with the sonic boom.

"The type of event which caused the tremor, felt by many as an earthquake over the entire coast of Tuscany and in some inland areas, is currently unconfirmed," Giani wrote on social media.

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The region's Geophysics Institute and the University of Florence said in a joint statement that whatever caused the boom was travelling at 400 miles per second.

"A meteorite entering the atmosphere seems the most likely and in line with the data registered".

The Corriere della Sera daily quoted an unnamed person from Italy's civil protection agency saying "the impact would have been registered by seismographs. The most likely hypothesis is still an airplane".

Notably, it's not the first time a mysterious sonic boom has been registered. Similar events in 2012, 2016 and 2023 have yet to be explained.

(With inputs from agencies)

Remember Corsica, the French island made famous by popular comic book character Asterix? Well, for the lovers of Hindi cinema, it's the island Ved and Tara went holidaying in Imtiaz Ali's 2015 film Tamasha.

Remember Corsica, the French island made famous by popular comic book character Asterix? Well, for the lovers of Hindi cinema, it's the island Ved and Tara went holidaying in Imtiaz Ali's 2015 film Tamasha. Corsica is back in the news with a bang, quite literally, as the authorities reported a sonic boom on the picturesque island on Thursday (June 20). Experts said that the sonic boom heard in Italy's Tuscany and the French island of Corsica may have been a meteorite. The sonic boom was initially mistaken by holidaymakers, locals and officials for an earthquake. The town of Campo nell’Elba, on the Italian tourist island of Elba, said on its Facebook page that a nearby tracking station had “captured a seismic, acoustic event felt by everyone” at 4:30 pm (1430 GMT). Later, reports in the Corsican media said it was also felt on the island. Tuscany regional government president Eugenio Giani initially said it was an earthquake. But Giani later backtracked from his comments as Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) ruled out an earthquake. The Italian Air Force told Giani it had nothing to do with the sonic boom. "The type of event which caused the tremor, felt by many as an earthquake over the entire coast of Tuscany and in some inland areas, is currently unconfirmed," Giani wrote on social media. Also watch | Explosion in Punjab province: Authorities suspect 'Sonic Boom' × The region's Geophysics Institute and the University of Florence said in a joint statement that whatever caused the boom was travelling at 400 miles per second. "A meteorite entering the atmosphere seems the most likely and in line with the data registered". The Corriere della Sera daily quoted an unnamed person from Italy's civil protection agency saying "the impact would have been registered by seismographs. The most likely hypothesis is still an airplane". Notably, it's not the first time a mysterious sonic boom has been registered. Similar events in 2012, 2016 and 2023 have yet to be explained. (With inputs from agencies)

Remember Corsica from Tamasha? A mysterious sonic boom has rattled French island

On Thursday, a severe and unanticipated storm tore over the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, killing at least six people, among them a teenage girl.

Rain batters Corsica as storm kills 6 people

France's&nbsp;Interior&nbsp;Minister&nbsp;Gerald Darmanin said on Monday that he would travel to&nbsp;Corsica&nbsp;later this week and hold&nbsp;talks&nbsp;with local elected officials&nbsp;after&nbsp;violent&nbsp;protests&nbsp;erupted on the weekend, a few weeks before the presidential election.

Calm must be restored immediately, the&nbsp;minister&nbsp;said in a statement.

Darmanin will head to&nbsp;Corsica&nbsp;on Wednesday and Thursday.

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Protesters in the northern&nbsp;Corsican town of Bastia attacked public buildings and threw projectiles at police on Sunday in the latest demonstration over an attack on a jailed nationalist at a mainland&nbsp;French&nbsp;prison.

Colonna, a&nbsp;Corsican shepherd, is serving a life sentence for the 1998 murder of Claude Erignac, who as prefect of&nbsp;Corsica&nbsp;embodied the power of the&nbsp;French&nbsp;state on an island with a history of separatist violence.

The attack left the&nbsp;Corsican militant in a coma and led to renewed calls for nationalist prisoners to be transferred from the&nbsp;French&nbsp;mainland to the island, closer to their families.&nbsp;

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Authorities have long rejected these demands, saying nationalist prisoners were special status prisoners.

In a bid to ease tensions, Prime&nbsp;Minister&nbsp;Jean Castex last week removed this status for Colonna and two other detainees, members of the so-called "Erignac commando". But the move was seen as too little too late by Colonna’s supporters in&nbsp;Corsica.

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French&nbsp;prosecutors have also launched a terrorism investigation as Colonna's attacker was serving a nine-year sentence for planning terrorist attacks.

France's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Monday that he would travel to Corsica later this week and hold talks with local elected officials after violent protests erupted on the weekend, a few weeks before the presidential election.

France's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Monday that he would travel to Corsica later this week and hold talks with local elected officials after violent protests erupted on the weekend, a few weeks before the presidential election. Calm must be restored immediately, the minister said in a statement. Darmanin will head to Corsica on Wednesday and Thursday. Also read | Thousands protest in France to call for more attention towards climate Protesters in the northern Corsican town of Bastia attacked public buildings and threw projectiles at police on Sunday in the latest demonstration over an attack on a jailed nationalist at a mainland French prison. Colonna, a Corsican shepherd, is serving a life sentence for the 1998 murder of Claude Erignac, who as prefect of Corsica embodied the power of the French state on an island with a history of separatist violence. The attack left the Corsican militant in a coma and led to renewed calls for nationalist prisoners to be transferred from the French mainland to the island, closer to their families. Also read | France accuses Russia of 'lies' over Ukraine rights allegations Authorities have long rejected these demands, saying nationalist prisoners were special status prisoners. In a bid to ease tensions, Prime Minister Jean Castex last week removed this status for Colonna and two other detainees, members of the so-called "Erignac commando". But the move was seen as too little too late by Colonna’s supporters in Corsica. Watch | Russia-Ukraine Conflict: France warns world on war as NATO deploys rapid response force French prosecutors have also launched a terrorism investigation as Colonna's attacker was serving a nine-year sentence for planning terrorist attacks.

French interior minister heading for Corsica for talks after violent protests

Corsican lawmakers on Thursday called on the French state to close down radical mosques on the Mediterranean island, hours after an underground separatist movement issued a threat against Islamic extremists. 
 
The regional parliament adopted a resolution urging Paris to ensure the immediate closure in Corsica &quot;of prayer or meeting places that act as centres of radicalisation or where hateful speeches are made, creating an atmosphere that is favourable to violence&quot;. 
 
The resolution was adopted with a landslide, with MPs from the nationalist, left and right parties voting for, and only three Communists abstaining. 
 
Passed at the peak of the tourist season, the text also calls for tighter security measures in areas frequented by holidaymakers. 
 
The resolution was passed after a splinter group of the nationalist Corsican National Liberation Front (FLNC) in a statement warned Islamists that any attack on the island would trigger &quot;a determined response, without any qualms&quot;. 
 
&quot;What the Salafists want is clearly to install in our home the politics of Daesh, and we are ready for that,&quot; the FLNC October 22 group said in a statement published in the Corse Matin daily, using another name for the Islamic State group. 
 
&quot;Your mediaeval philosophy does not scare us,&quot; the statement added.Then, addressing &quot;Muslims in Corsica&quot; in general, the militant group called on them to &quot;take a stand&quot; by denouncing radical Islamism, and urged them to inform on &quot;disaffected youths who are tempted by radicalisation&quot;. 
 
The group also warned the government in Paris that it would be held partly responsible for any jihadist attack on the island, &quot;because it knows who the Salafists in Corsica are&quot;. 
 
In less than two weeks IS group jihadists claimed four bloody assaults in France and Germany that killed nearly 90 people, wounded hundreds and left the continent on edge. 
 
Fear of fresh violence and tensions in France have spiked since July 14&nbsp;when a Tunisian man ploughed a 19-tonne truck into a crowd leaving a fireworks display in the Riviera city of Nice.&nbsp; 
 
Then on Tuesday morning, two jihadists slashed a priest&#39;s throat during mass in northern France.&nbsp; 
 
One of the attackers had been charged over terror links, after two failed attempts to join jihadists fighting in Syria. 
 
In Corsica last December, angry protesters vandalised a Muslim prayer hall and trashed copies of the Koran after an assault on firefighters that was blamed on local youths of Arab origin. 
 
&quot;The parents abandon them, the problem is education,&quot; a 35-year-old local resident named Mehdi said at the time. &quot;But us, we want to all live together, without a problem.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

Resolution was passed after Corsican National Liberation Front warned Islamists that any attack on the island would trigger a firm response

Corsican lawmakers on Thursday called on the French state to close down radical mosques on the Mediterranean island, hours after an underground separatist movement issued a threat against Islamic extremists. The regional parliament adopted a resolution urging Paris to ensure the immediate closure in Corsica "of prayer or meeting places that act as centres of radicalisation or where hateful speeches are made, creating an atmosphere that is favourable to violence". The resolution was adopted with a landslide, with MPs from the nationalist, left and right parties voting for, and only three Communists abstaining. Passed at the peak of the tourist season, the text also calls for tighter security measures in areas frequented by holidaymakers. The resolution was passed after a splinter group of the nationalist Corsican National Liberation Front (FLNC) in a statement warned Islamists that any attack on the island would trigger "a determined response, without any qualms". "What the Salafists want is clearly to install in our home the politics of Daesh, and we are ready for that," the FLNC October 22 group said in a statement published in the Corse Matin daily, using another name for the Islamic State group. "Your mediaeval philosophy does not scare us," the statement added.Then, addressing "Muslims in Corsica" in general, the militant group called on them to "take a stand" by denouncing radical Islamism, and urged them to inform on "disaffected youths who are tempted by radicalisation". The group also warned the government in Paris that it would be held partly responsible for any jihadist attack on the island, "because it knows who the Salafists in Corsica are". In less than two weeks IS group jihadists claimed four bloody assaults in France and Germany that killed nearly 90 people, wounded hundreds and left the continent on edge. Fear of fresh violence and tensions in France have spiked since July 14 when a Tunisian man ploughed a 19-tonne truck into a crowd leaving a fireworks display in the Riviera city of Nice. Then on Tuesday morning, two jihadists slashed a priest's throat during mass in northern France. One of the attackers had been charged over terror links, after two failed attempts to join jihadists fighting in Syria. In Corsica last December, angry protesters vandalised a Muslim prayer hall and trashed copies of the Koran after an assault on firefighters that was blamed on local youths of Arab origin. "The parents abandon them, the problem is education," a 35-year-old local resident named Mehdi said at the time. "But us, we want to all live together, without a problem." (AFP)

Corsican lawmakers urge France to close down radical mosques

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