The numbers involved in France’s largest child abuse trial are staggering: 299 alleged victims, sexually abused in nine hospitals over 25 years - all by one doctor, prosecutors say.

By Juliette Jabkhiro VANNES, France (Reuters) -A retired surgeon went on trial in western France on Monday accused of raping and sexually assaulting hundreds of young patients, some while they were under anesthetic,

The former surgeon on trial in France for raping or sexually abusing 299 mostly underage and unconscious patients has confessed. "I have committed heinous acts," the 74-year-old retired doctor said on Monday after the indictment and the names of all the victims were read out in court in the French city of Vannes.

One person has died and several are wounded following a knife attack at a town market in eastern France, in what French authorities have described as an act of terror.

As he began his attack, the 37-year-old was heard shouting, “Allahu akbar,” according to France’s antiterrorism police. The Arabic phrase, meaning “God is great,” is an everyday expression used in religious and nonreligious settings alike, but has also become a war cry in some terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalists.