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Qatar Tribune
3 days ago
- Climate
- Qatar Tribune
Fast-moving French fire kills one as over 2,150 battle the blaze
DPA Paris A large and rapidly spreading vegetation fire in southern France has killed a woman who refused to evacuate her home, the local prefecture and a mayor said on Wednesday. The victim - a woman in her 60s - died at home in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, Mayor Xavier de Volontat told the broadcaster BFMTV. When the neighbourhoods threatened by the fire were being evacuated, the woman refused to leave her home, he said. 'The fire came very quickly, and she was trapped in her burning house.' Overnight, the fire spread across 16,000 hectares, affecting 15 municipalities. Currently, 2,150 firefighters are working to contain the blaze in in the southern French region of Aude. Aerial firefighting operations resumed in the morning. The fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon in the municipality of Ribaute, located roughly between the cities of Carcassonne and Narbonne. The flames then spread rapidly through the mountainous Corbières region, fuelled by strong winds. The local prefecture expects unfavourable weather conditions to persist. Two civilians have been injured in the fire, one of whom suffered severe burns; they were taken to hospital. Additionally, 11 firefighters have been injured during the operation, one of them seriously. One person is reported missing. Tourists were forced to evacuate two campsites in the area. Numerous roads have been closed due to the fire, including a section of the A9 motorway. Early in the morning, 2,500 households were without electricity. Authorities have urged residents to stay indoors unless explicitly instructed to evacuate. Several locations have been evacuated due to the fire. 'The civil protection department managed to accommodate and shelter more than 500 people during this very difficult night,' a spokesman for the agency told BFMTV. The small community of Jonquières has been particularly badly affected. Mayor Jacques Piraud told the newspaper Le Monde that 70 to 80% of the municipality had been burnt. 'It's unreal, black, the trees are completely charred.' The drought in the area was so severe that the conifers bordering the villages were burning like torches, he said. 'Since 1949, this is undoubtedly the fire that has destroyed the most hectares of land,' French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said at the scene on Wednesday. Within just a few hours, the flames had affected as much land as all the previous fires in 2019, 2020 and 2021, he said. He said helicopters and army forces would be deployed to battle the fire. French Prime Minister François Bayrou said that climate change was forcing the region to think fundamentally about the future. This involves the question of which crops farmers should grow and how forests should be maintained, he said.
Qatar Tribune
27-07-2025
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Pogacar wins fourth Tour de France title as Van Aert takes last stage
PA Media/DPA Paris Tadej Pogacar celebrated his fourth Tour de France title in Paris but was denied what would have been a stunning final stage victory as Wout van Aert rode away on the wet cobbles of Montmartre to win on the Champs-Elysees. Pogacar looked keen to take what could prove to be a unique opportunity to win in yellow in Paris as the introduction of three ascents of the climb to Montmartre reshaped the usual final day procession into the capital, but Van Aert broke clear on the last time up to take the glory on Sunday. Although the general classification times had been neutralized in the soggy conditions, Pogacar still had to finish to secure his title yet was willing to risk it all on the greasy cobbles in pursuit of a fifth stage win of this Tour. The Slovenian attacked each time up the narrow climb to whittle down a leading group to just a handful of riders, but had no response when Van Aert made his move 400 metres from the summit of the final ascent, winning solo by 19 seconds from Davide Ballerini. Pogacar, 26, sat up to safely bring home the yellow jersey and beat his rival Jonas Vingegaard by a final margin of four minutes and 24 seconds, moving level with Chris Froome on four titles, one shy of the record jointly held by Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain and Jacques Anquetil. 'I'm just speechless to win a fourth Tour de France, six years in a row on the podium,' the 26-year-old Pogacar said. 'This one feels especially amazing and I'm super proud I can wear this yellow jersey. 'I found myself in the front even though I didn't really have the energy to motivate myself to race today. I was really happy they neutralized the times in the GC, then it was more relaxed to race. I found myself in the front but hats off to Wout, he was incredibly strong.' German Florian Lipowitz finished third overall, some 11 minutes down on Pogacar and one minute three seconds ahead of 22-year-old Scot Oscar Onley who has enjoyed a breakout Tour. On the 50th anniversary of the first Champs-Elysees finish, the race returned to the French capital after last year's enforced absence due to the Olympic Games. Race organizers had been inspired by incredible scenes in Montmartre during those Games to add the climb to this day and totally shake up the complexion of the usual parade into Paris. The route change left potential for time gaps at the finish, but with heavy rain falling organisers announced general classification times would be taken earlier in the stage to remove the peril. After the usual photoshoots on the approach to the capital, the race was on as soon as they hit the Champs-Elysees for the first time before really exploding on the first time up the climb. Pogacar's attacks splintered the groups but Van Aert had team-mate Matteo Jorgenson to help him and used his relative freshness to power away from Pogacar in the decisive moment.
Qatar Tribune
27-07-2025
- Qatar Tribune
3 killed in France as car veers off road in local race
DPA Paris A third person has died after a racing car at the Rallye de la Fourme in central France struck several people who were watching the event, reports said on Saturday. The car veered off the road during the event in the Puy-de-Dome region, local officials said in a post on X. After two people were killed at the scene, a third person who was seriously injured died later in hospital. Two of the people who died were brothers, aged 60 and 70, according to reports citing the public prosecutor's office. They said the third person was a father, 44. 'Several people' who were present at the time of the accident were also in shock and were attended to by medics, reports said. An investigation into negligent homicide has been launched, according to broadcaster BFMTV, citing the public prosecutor's office. The car was driven by a 22-year-old woman accompanied by a 51-year-old co-driver, the reports said. The rally was immediately stopped, said local official Joel Mathurin, according to a video broadcast by French channel BFMTV. The race organisers confirmed this in a brief post on Facebook, saying the race was stopped shortly before 11 am (0900 GMT). 'There will be no award ceremony,' they said. The accident affected spectators who were in a cordoned-off area, reports said. An investigation has been launched to clarify the circumstances, Mathurin said in the video on BFMTV. Psychological support was also being provided nearby. The same rally was overshadowed by a fatal accident last year, when a race car hit a man responsible for securing the track, the organizers said.
Qatar Tribune
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Interpol deletes wanted notice for anti-whaler Paul Watson
DPA Paris Well-known anti-whaling activist Paul Watson is no longer wanted by the international police organization Interpol, after the 'red notice' against him was deleted. The notice issued at Japan's request has been deleted, according to a spokesman for the France-based organisation on Wednesday. An internal control commission made the decision in light of Denmark's decision not to extradite Watson to Japan. A red notice allows a country to request that a person be located and provisionally arrested. It is not the same as an international arrest warrant. Interpol coordinates cross-border cooperations, but each country decides for itself how to handle a case. According to Watson's lawyer, William Julié, the commission considered the manhunt for the conservationist to be disproportionate, partly because the case was so old and no serious crime had been alleged. Following an incident with a whaling ship in the Antarctic in 2010, the Japanese authorities had Watson searched and accused him of damaging the ship and preventing the whalers from doing their work. Watson denied any wrongdoing. In July last year, the Canadian-American citizen was detained in Greenland. However, Denmark eventually released him and decided not to extradite him to Japan.
Qatar Tribune
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Milan avoids crash to strengthen grip on Tour de France green jersey
PA Media/DPA Paris Jonathan Milan avoided a late crash in Valence to sprint to his second victory of this year's Tour de France and strengthen his grip on the green jersey while Tadej Pogacar stayed safe in yellow. Several riders went down in wet, slippery conditions entering the last kilometre of the 160km stage from Bollene, blocking the road and leaving less than a dozen riders to contest the sprint. From their number, it was no surprise to see the in-form Milan hold off a late charge from Jordi Meeus. It was a victory Milan needed in the fight for the points leader's green jersey as his advantage over Pogacar at the start of the day was 11 points, and given this could prove to be the last chance for the sprinters with the Montmartre climb added to Sunday's final stage into Paris. The late crash meant that general classification times were neutralized for those in the front group, allowing Pogacar to roll home still four minutes and 15 seconds clear of Jonas Vingegaard going into two big stages in the Alps. Biniam Girmay was among the sprinters caught in the crash and the Eritrean looked in some discomfort after receiving treatment. Tim Merlier did not go down but was held up, unable to contest the sprint. 'I'm really happy, I'm without words,' said Milan, who credited his Lidl-Trek team-mates after getting through Tuesday's stage to Mont Ventoux. 'I didn't survive alone, it's always with the help of team-mates. Without all of this, I already would not be here ... 'They also helped me when I was dropped on the first climb and then on the second climb did a really good pace. 'It was a difficult final because of the weather and the roundabouts, I was a bit scared but they helped me and this is really fantastic, it's really a team victory.' In a Tour which has offered relatively few sprint opportunities, the fast men knew they needed to take this one, and particularly Milan, given the criticism directed at his team after they failed to fight for the points at Tuesday's intermediate sprint before Ventoux. Milan was dropped by the peloton on the first of two categorised climbs on this stage which had left open the possibility of a breakaway prospering here. But he recovered with the help of team-mate Quinn Simmons, who then put in another big turn to help reel in a four-man group up the road. The last of those escapees, Jonas Abrahamsen, was reeled in 4km from the finish but by then rain was falling heavily, creating the treacherous conditions that led to the crash which effectively blocked the road under the flamme rouge. Milan's points lead ballooned to 72 points, but he will still need to target the intermediate sprints in the mountains to be sure of holding off Pogacar, who has a narrow opportunity to become the first man to win all three major classifications at a Tour since Eddy Merckx in 1969.
