France welcomes release of Franco-American national held in Venezuela
"France applauds the efforts of the U.S State Department to secure his release," it said.
Hunter, 37, was among 10 Americans detained in Venezuela, whose release was announced by U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday.
The release was part of a coordinated prisoner exchange, with El Salvador's government sending detained Venezuelans home in exchange for the return to the U.S. of 10 Americans held in Venezuela.
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The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Higher US tariffs part of the price Europe was willing to pay for its security and arms for Ukraine
France's prime minister described it as a 'dark day' for the European Union, a 'submission' to U.S. tariff demands. Commentators said EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen's handshake with President Donald Trump amounted to capitulation. The trouble is, Europe depends mightily on the United States, and not just for trade. Mirroring Trump, Von der Leyen gushed that the arrangement she endorsed over the weekend to set U.S. tariff levels on most European exports to 15%, which is 10% higher than currently, was 'huge.' Her staff texted reporters insisting that the pact, which starts to enter force on Friday, is the 'biggest trade deal ever.' A month after NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte ingratiated himself with Trump by referring to him as 'daddy,' the Europeans had again conceded that swallowing the costs and praising an unpredictable president is more palatable than losing America. 'It's not only about the trade. It's about security. It's about Ukraine. It's about current geopolitical volatility. I cannot go into all the details,' EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told reporters Monday. 'I can assure you it was not only about the trade,' he insisted, a day after 'the deal' was sealed in an hour-long meeting once Trump finished playing a round of golf with his son at the course he owns in Scotland. The state of Europe's security dependency Indeed, Europe depends on the U.S. for its security and that security is anything but a game, especially since Russia invaded Ukraine. U.S. allies are convinced that, should he win, President Vladimir Putin is likely to take aim at one of them next. So high are these fears that European countries are buying U.S. weapons to help Ukraine to defend itself. Some are prepared to send their own air defense systems and replace them with U.S. equipment, once it can be delivered. 'We're going to be sending now military equipment and other equipment to NATO, and they'll be doing what they want, but I guess it's for the most part working with Ukraine,' Trump said Sunday, sounding ambivalent about America's role in the alliance. The Europeans also are wary about a U.S. troop drawdown, which the Pentagon is expected to announce by October. Around 84,000 U.S. personnel are based in Europe, and they guarantee NATO's deterrent effect against an adversary like Russia. At the same time, Trump is slapping duties on America's own NATO partners, ostensibly due to concerns about U.S. security interests, using Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, a logic that seems absurd from across the Atlantic. Weaning Europe off foreign suppliers 'The EU is in a difficult situation because we're very dependent on the U.S. for security,' said Niclas Poitiers at the Bruegel research institution in Brussels. 'Ukraine is a very big part of that, but also generally our defense is underwritten by NATO.' 'I think there was not a big willingness to pick a major fight, which is the one (the EU) might have needed with the U.S.' to better position itself on trade, Poitiers told The Associated Press about key reasons for von der Leyen to accept the tariff demands. Part of the agreement involves a commitment to buy American oil and gas. Over the course of the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fourth year, most of the EU has slashed its dependence on unreliable energy supplies from Russia, but Hungary and Slovakia still have not. 'Purchases of U.S. energy products will diversify our sources of supply and contribute to Europe's energy security. We will replace Russian gas and oil with significant purchases of U.S. LNG, oil and nuclear fuels,' von der Leyen said in Scotland on Sunday. In essence, as Europe slowly weans itself off Russian energy it is also struggling to end its reliance on the United States for its security. The Trump administration has warned its priorities now lie elsewhere, in Asia, the Middle East and on its own borders. That was why European allies agreed at NATO's summit last month to spend hundreds of billions of dollars more on defense over the next decade. Primarily for their own security, but also to keep America among their ranks. The diplomacy involved was not always elegant. 'Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win,' Rutte wrote in a private text message to Trump, which the U.S. leader promptly posted on social media. Rutte brushed off questions about potential embarrassment or concern that Trump had aired it, saying: 'I have absolutely no trouble or problem with that because there's nothing in it which had to stay secret.' A price Europe feels it must pay Von der Leyen did not appear obsequious in her meeting with Trump. She often stared at the floor or smiled politely. She did not rebut Trump when he said that only America is sending aid to Gaza. The EU is world's biggest supplier of aid to the Palestinians. With Trump's threat of 30% tariffs hanging over European exports — whether real or brinksmanship is hard to say — and facing the prospect of a full-blown trade dispute while Europe's biggest war in decades rages, 15% may have been a cheap price to pay. 'In terms of the economic impact on the EU economy itself, it will be negative,' Poitiers said. 'But it's not something that is on a comparable magnitude like the energy crisis after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, or even COVID.' 'This is a negative shock for our economy, but it is something that's very manageable,' he said. It remains an open question as to how long this entente will last. ___
Scottish Sun
6 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
I wanted REAL truth about Area 51… my reckless idea cost military $11m & almost sparked ‘deadliest mass shooting' ever
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IT started as a joke, posted by a bored keyboard warrior who couldn't sleep. But the invitation to Storm Area 51 - the top secret US military base where conspiracy theorists believe evidence of alien invasions is stored - caused a national security alert, involving the State Department, US Marshals and Air Force, the FBI and millions of dollars. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 13 A joke about storming Area 51 ended up costing the government millions 13 Crowds turned up to the air force base with officials worried they would try to storm it Credit: Reuters 13 Matty Roberts made the group on Facebook as a joke Credit: CNN And the midnight post, by 20-year-old Matty Roberts, saw millions of alien-obsessed geeks hailing him as their spiritual leader and making plans to converge on the Nevada military base - with potentially fatal consequences. The extraordinary incident, in 2019, is told in the two-part Netflix documentary, Trainwreck: Storm Area 51. Living with his mum in California, Matty's long black hair and beard, pallid complexion, baseball cap and excitable talk, perfectly fits the mould of 'computer nerd'. Bored with his dead-end job selling vapes at a deserted shopping mall, he entertained himself watching humorous podcasts, memes and YouTube videos. One day he stumbled upon amateur Ufologist Jeremy Corbell on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast talking about the top-secret US Air Force base, Area 51, where he claimed alien space craft were hidden. 'I thought, 'Oh, my God, this finally explains the flying saucers stories,'' says Matty. 'It was fascinating but I filed it in the back of my mind and my shift ends and I go home.' It might have ended there but a decision made in the middle of the night to post a jokey message encouraging people to 'Storm Area 51' was to have unimaginable consequences. 'I have this sh**posting account on Facebook, which is my happy place,' he says. It is where he posts satirical and provocative material from his bedroom. 'It's great because nobody knows who you are. You can post stupid stuff – memes, random thoughts that come to mind, funny, zingy one-liners. 'That night, I can't sleep. My mind's kind of going. And then it comes to me. The ultimate sh**post. If the government won't tell us anything about this top-secret military base, what if every fool on the internet converged on Area 51? What would they do? Shoot everyone? I'm an Area 51 investigator – FBI raided my home & tried to silence me but I know secret UFO base is hiding new weapons "It seemed like a hilarious idea to me. Jokes are funnier when they're edgy. So, I'm going to make it sound like a real call to arms.' Having named the event 'Storm Area 51: They Can't Stop All of Us', he went back to bed. 'I just thought it would be a funny post for my page of 40 followers,' he recalls. 'I didn't think it would go anywhere.' Reality hits But the following morning, Matty was astonished to find hundreds signing up for the event. Over the next few days it continued to attract thousands, from people thinking they are aliens, to adrenaline junkies, conspiracy theorists and wannabe social media stars. All were competing with each other in posting humorous alien-related memes. But worryingly, as well as enjoying the fun, most were seriously intent on making the raid happen. 'I was like, 'What the f***?! I figured I had to tell my mom,' says Matty. She warned him that people might not understand it was a joke and that he could get into a lot of trouble. 13 The base's secrecy has bred numerous conspiracy theories Credit: Getty 13 The popularity of the group quickly span out of control Credit: Supplied 13 The Little A'Le'Inn motel became inundated with calls Credit: AP:Associated Press Area 51 has been the testing site for some of America's top fighter planes, such as the U-2, the F-117 and the Stealth Bomber. Security forces who guard the base are authorised to shoot to kill anyone crossing the barrier. With Matty now receiving messages from people threatening to kill guards who got in their way, things were getting serious. 'I told Mom I would sort it,' he says. 'So, I added a line to the description saying that if we Naruto run, we can move faster than the guards bullets.' Naruto is a young Ninja character in a series of Japanese manga cartoon stories who has a distinctive run in which he leans forward and holds his arms out behind him. Matty's followers needed no such explanation. Instantly, he was bombarded with videos of people in alien and superhero costumes running Naruto-style down the street. 'I was just trying to help calm things down but the whole thing exploded even more,' he says. 'Now, I'm suddenly this renegade guy that's got this group of people where everything I say is funny. I had no idea what I'd started. I thought, 'For God's sake, this is just a joke. Nobody's actually planning on going there.'' I thought, 'Oh, this isn't funny anymore' Sheriff Kerry Lee But they were. On the long road in the desert-land of Nevada to Area 51, known popularly as the Extraterrestrial Highway, Connie West runs the only motel – the Little A'Le'Inn in the small town of Rachel, with a population of 56 people. The motel has a bar, just 10 rooms and a camping site. 'July 11th, our phone started ringing,' she says. 'Somebody wanted to hire a camping spot. As soon as I hung up with that person, the phone was ringing again and again. It was insane. Everybody was wanting to come on the 20th of September. I thought, 'What's going on?'' Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee, whose patch takes in Area 51, was growing increasingly concerned. 'When my friend texted me, saying, 'Have you seen this post?' I thought it was another one of those wacko things people say and it never happens,' he says. 'It wasn't until the days progressed and things started getting bigger and bigger, that I thought, 'Oh, this isn't funny anymore.' We have less than 12 officers to police an 11,000 square-mile county.' Celeb endorsements After the story was covered on mainstream TV news channels, things just got bigger and bigger with celebrities getting in on the joke. Miley Cyrus posted a selfie of herself with an alien captioned: 'That one time @ Area 51.' Lizzo, Billie Eilish, Elon Musk and the Jonas Brothers also joined in. With over a million people now planning to converge at Rachel, Nevada, Matty was desperately trying to think of a way to stop the momentum. 'It's gone from just being dipsh** on the internet to now I've got real people coming to a real place that can get really hurt. How the f*** did it come to this?' 13 The base is closely guarded by the military Credit: Corbis - Getty 13 Celebrities started to get in on the event Credit: X/MileyCyrus 13 Matty told is followers to run like Naruto to dodge bullets After a messenger suggested they throw an electronic dance party in the desert, right by Area 51, he saw his opportunity to divert the focus. He gave it the green light and was then advised that only one man could pull off an event this big – legendary events organiser Disco Donnie. 'I was at my place on the beach and I got this call from a promoter explaining that this Area 51 post had gone viral,' says Donnie. 'He asked me if I wanted to get involved and do a festival. I was like, 'Sure. When is it?' And he said, 'In September.' 'I said, 'Two months from now? No way. That's crazy.' Normally, I'd have at least eight months to plan something like that. 'When I looked to see where they were trying to do it, it was in the middle of the desert. I knew it was impossible, but I also didn't want to be left on the sideline. This could be it.' Meanwhile, the mainstream media had discovered Matty's identity and were following him with cameras. With little time to spare, Donnie and Matty drove to Area 51 and met up with Connie at her motel, who decided to go into partnership with them. But Donnie was despairing of the logistics of holding the event. Suddenly, some dickhead from California is bringing a million people over there Matty Roberts 'When you're doing a show in the middle of nowhere, you have to bring everything yourself – porta potties, fencing, staff, water, staging. We were building a city from nothing.' As the realisation of what was happening set in, locals did all they could to stop the invasion of alien thrill-seekers. 'People in this tiny little town live there for a reason,' says Matty. 'Now suddenly, some d***head from California is bringing a million people over there.' 'Mass shooting' fears Colonel Cavan Craddock commanded the 99th Air Base Wing, which provided support for Area 51. 'Imagine someone has a gun,' he says. 'If people start shooting and suddenly, hundreds or maybe thousands of people get shot over this event, you're looking at one of the deadliest mass shootings in the history of our nation.' Sheriff Kerry Lee declared the Lincoln County to be in a state of emergency. 'I got a call from the Los Angeles Police Department,' he says. 'They were getting together every government agency they could to deal with this thing. So, I jumped in my patrol car and headed to Las Vegas.' 13 Alien followers protested outside Area 51 Credit: © 2025 Netflix, Inc. 13 Matty Roberts faced pressure from the authorities to tone down the event Credit: © 2025 Netflix, Inc. 13 Alien enthusiasts threw music parties instead Credit: AFP He sat at a big U-shaped table with the Las Vegas Police Department, the FBI, the State Department, US Marshals and US Air Force personnel. It was decided that the best way to stop the event from happening was to put pressure on Matty. That was when the FBI called at his home. 'I'm sitting there shaking, thinking I'm about to get a bag over my head and thrown into a van and shipped off to God-knows-where,' says Matty. 'And they are grilling me to find out whether or not I am actually a terrorist. 'I'm telling them the truth. I'm not actually planning on doing this. We're planning a music festival. They essentially let me know that it was my ass on the line if anybody decided to go in there and storm the base. 'After the meeting I needed to figure out a way to move away from Storm Area 51 and rebrand it so I can keep myself out of prison.' He starts looking at the famous 1960s music festival Woodstock, with its peace and hippy vibe and came up with the idea of a similar large-scale event called Alienstock. With Disco Donnie having pulled out, another promoter named Frank DiMaggio took over the running of the gig and finally persuaded Matty to hold it in Las Vegas, where there was a venue and infrastructure. The festival successfully took place but, worryingly to the authorities, that didn't stop the faithful from continuing on their mission to Storm Area 51. 'All of our forces were ready,' says Colonel Cavan. 'We'd been monitoring events and around 3am we were starting to see some increased activity.' People were congregating, chanting, 'They can't stop us all,' and then counting down from 10 to one before charging the base Naruto-style…. and stopping. To whoops of laughter, they spent the rest of the evening partying at their ad-hoc music festival in the desert. 'It was a joke,' says Sheriff Kerry Lee. 'They got their moment of fame and their picture and it was done. Three point five million people turned out to be just a few hundred in the end.' But the joke had ended up costing Lincoln County $250,000 and the US military an estimated $11 million for beefing up security. Matty made just $1700 from selling T-shirts at Alienstock and then slipped back into anonymity. 'I'd just gone through the most surreal and exciting moment of my life,' he says. 'And one week later, I'm back at the vape shop.' Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 drops on Netflix on July 29
BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
Witness History Eta's assassination of Juan Mari Jáuregui
On 29 July 2000, retired Spanish politician Juan Mari Jáuregui was assassinated by Basque separatists Eta. Deemed a terrorist organisation by the European Union, Eta killed more than 800 people between 1968 and 2010. Its goal was to create an independent Basque state out of territory in south-west France and northern Spain. Following Jáuregui's murder, his widow Maixabel Lasa worked to help victims of political violence and highlight their suffering, weakening Eta's support. A decade later, she received a message from one of the men involved in Jáuregui's murder. He wanted to meet her and take responsibility for his actions, beginning a remarkable friendship. In 2011, Eta declared a permanent ceasefire, and formally disbanded in 2018. Maixabel Lasa speaks to Ben Henderson. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina's Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous 'tear down this wall' speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler's List; and Jacques Derrida, France's 'rock star' philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world's oldest languages. (Photo: Maixabel Lasa. Credit: Arnaitz Rubio/Europa Press via Getty Images)
