French artist imprisoned in Azerbaijan due to graffiti is freed after 14 months
PARIS — A French street artist who had been sentenced to three years in prison in Azerbaijan for painting a graffiti in the metro has been pardoned and freed, French authorities said Tuesday.
Théo Clerc has returned to France following 422 days in detention after he was pardoned by Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told lawmakers.
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Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
An electric scooter is blamed for a violent fire that killed 4 in a French city
PARIS (AP) — Four people were killed in an 'extremely violent' blaze seemingly caused by a battery-powered electric scooter that tore through a 10-story housing block in Reims, the capital of France's Champagne region, authorities said Saturday. A 13-year-old jumped to his death from the 4th-floor apartment where the fire started in the early hours of Friday and a burned body found inside is believed to be that of his older brother, aged 15, said Reims prosecutor François Schneider. An 87-year-old woman and her 59-year-old son who lived on the 8th floor suffocated to death in the smoke, he said. Two people were seriously injured, including the dead boys' stepfather who was badly burned, and 26 others were treated in hospital for lighter injuries, he said. Schneider said there is 'no doubt' that the blaze was accidental, spreading quickly from the scooter that caught fire for reasons unknown. Battery fires 'are extremely difficult to extinguish' and fire officers battled the blaze for more than three hours, the prosecutor said.
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reveals why military recruitment has soared under Trump
Joining "Fox & Friends" live from Normandy, France, where Allied forces once stormed the beaches to turn the tide of World War II, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth honored the 81st anniversary of D-Day with a message that looked not only to the past but to the future. As the nation honors the bravery and sacrifices of World War II veterans, Hegseth emphasized a new wave of patriotism among today's young Americans – one he says is driving an uptick in military recruitment. "It's historic. Of course it's a morale shift. It shifts back to the day President Trump was elected and then inaugurated," he said Friday. The Army alone has posted the best recruiting numbers in years, reaching 61,000 for fiscal year 2025, with four months remaining. That's an increase of more than 6,000 from 55,150 in fiscal year 2024. Hegseth told co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt, Lawrence Jones and Brian Kilmeade that the spirit inside the U.S. armed forces is "incredible" right now, and the morale shift isn't isolated to the Army. "It's also the Air Force, it's also the Navy, it is also the Marine Corps, Coast Guard and, as the president says, law enforcement," he continued. "Across the board, the spirit of our country, [there's a] willingness and desire to serve, because they see leadership that believes in the country that's going to have their back, that says, 'We want you to be warriors. We're not doing this politically correct garbage anymore. We're doing war fighting. We're training, we're preparing, we're focused on [getting] back to basics, and… the young people of America have responded, and they'll continue to respond." Hegseth attended this year's ceremony where military officials and veterans commemorated the 81st anniversary of D-Day. He started his morning with a physical training session with rangers from the 75th Ranger Regiment on Omaha Beach at nearly the same time as the first landing craft would have hit in 1944. "These men [World War II soldiers] were willing to charge toward the guns with almost no chance of success, especially in those first waves, and they did it for us," he said. Days ago, the defense secretary honored the sacrifices of U.S. armed forces at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., where he greeted a number of World War II veterans whose resolve remains high more than half a century later. "The contrast of those 100-year-old World War II vets and then those 25-year old Army Rangers that I did a workout with this morning – the blood of fighting for freedom still pumps in the veins of Americans, and we still raise those types, and that's what was really cool to see."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
French defence minister announces drone production in Ukraine
French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu has stated that a French car manufacturer, in cooperation with a defence company, will launch drone production in Ukraine. Source: Le Monde; European Pravda Details: French car and defence companies will manufacture drones on Ukrainian territory. Lecornu considers this a "mutually beneficial" partnership with Kyiv. "We are launching an entirely new partnership, under which a major French car company will join forces with a small or medium-sized French defence business to establish production lines in Ukraine for manufacturing drones," he said. He did not specify the type of drones but noted they would be used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Lecornu also mentioned that these drones would be available to French armed forces so they "maintain constant tactical and operational training that corresponds to the realities" of the war in Ukraine. He said that Ukraine would provide feedback on the use of these drones in combat conditions. "There is no need to ask French citizens to work on the production line in Ukraine," Lecornu emphasised. He added that Ukrainians are "better than us at developing drones and, most importantly, at forming the doctrine of their application". Background: On 5 June, Ukrainian and French defence ministers discussed possibilities for joint weapons production for the needs of Ukraine's defence forces during a meeting in Brussels. Ukraine and its partner countries decided to establish a mechanism for defence production, according to an agreement reached at the 28th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (also known as the Ramstein Format) held on 4 June at NATO headquarters. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
