Latest news with #ElyséePalace
Forbes
21 hours ago
- Science
- Forbes
Imaging Satellites Can Protect Ceasefire, Peacekeeper Lives In Ukraine
Images captured by futuristic satellites circling the globe—of Russian tanks crashing the border with democratic Ukraine—were blasted out to iPhone screens across the continents. Spectators stretching from elite EU campuses to the Elysée Palace were captivated when Ukraine's outgunned defenders began launching miniature weaponized drones that halted the armored battalions, whose retreat was imaged in technicolor by spacecraft hundreds of kilometers above the Earth. These robotic photographers, whizzing through orbit at 28,000 kilometers per hour, seemed to change the world—and the war—overnight. Their sensational imagery of the lightning invasion of Ukraine, and its remarkable defense, generated allies for the embattled nation around the world. Yet these celestial imagers might also aid a future peacemaking coalition deployed to help halt the conflict, predicts Valerie Sticher, a renowned scholar on peace initiatives and conflict resolution at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich. Imaging satellites often provide the sole means to safely monitor the most dangerous war zones, and could play a pivotal role in supporting peacekeepers sent to observe a future ceasefire agreement in Ukraine, says Dr. Sticher. One of the globe's top experts on the use of remote sensing technology, including imaging satellites, in ceasefire monitoring, Sticher tells me in an interview that photographs of conflict zones captured by orbiting spacecraft have already been used to help observers steer clear of high-risk hotspots. As satellite-based cameras and radar imaging tech become more advanced and extensive, she says, they could become essential tools in observing truces in war-torn regions like Ukraine. 'I don't think the use of satellite images and other remote sensing technology (such as cameras mounted on drones) can directly replace human ceasefire monitors,' she says. 'But they can play an important role in expanding monitoring to areas where human monitors cannot go for safety reasons.' Ceasefire monitoring teams can now use satellite-based photographers as avatars to chronicle trenches, tanks, troops and other dangers. Satellite 'imagery can also provide photographic evidence that is harder to dispute than witness accounts—an important advantage in the context of potential disinformation campaigns,' Sticher says. This transformation of imaging sats into surrogate truce observers began during an earlier ceasefire operation in Ukraine mounted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The OSCE deployed its 'Special Monitoring Mission' team of hundreds of unarmed observers as part of a ceasefire agreement that Moscow only haltingly signed onto after its troops led the surprise takeover of the Ukrainian region of Crimea, and then started arming Moscow-backed militias along the nearby borderlands. Yet the terms of the truce provided no enforcement mechanisms for ceasefire violations, much less for punishment of any party breaking the agreement. As a result, violations exploded, sometimes endangering the patrols of the peacekeepers. In 2017, after a surreptitiously planted landmine killed peacekeeper Joseph Stone, an American paramedic, the ceasefire contingent ramped up reliance on satellites to monitor especially hazardous sectors surrounding the 400-kilometer-long 'line of contact' separating the two sides in the conflict. U.S. Senator Roger Wicker said at the time that he lamented Joseph Stone's 'tragic death' while carrying out peacekeeping duties 'in territory controlled by Russian-backed separatists.' Wicker, who is now the powerful chairman of the Senate's Armed Services Committee, added: ''Russian-led separatist forces continue to commit the majority of ceasefire violations' in Ukraine, and said OSCE observers were likely deliberately targeted by the Russian-supported militants. Sticher, who has headed a series of leading studies on ceasefire monitoring aided by advanced satellite technologies, says in one paper: 'The war in Ukraine has pushed the role of satellite imagery in armed conflicts into the spotlight.' During the first space race, the superpowers began launching super-secret spacecraft to detect the firing of nuclear missiles and map enemy military installations. But with the new-millennium NewSpace race, expanding constellations of independent satellites outfitted with sophisticated cameras, she says, are being 'employed by a wide range of human rights, humanitarian, and peacekeeping actors to mitigate the impact of violence or support the resolution of armed conflicts.' The peacekeeping operation in Ukraine has been lauded worldwide for its leading-edge use of satellites and uncrewed aerial vehicles, or drones, equipped with cameras to provide real-time detection of troop movements, missile batteries and the flow of refugees away from battlefronts. But the makeshift ceasefire agreement, riddled with breaches, sometimes placed the monitors in high-risk situations. 'OSCE staff reported that the risk of UAVs being shot down was a serious impediment to monitoring,' Sticher and her colleague Aly Verjee, a scholar at Sweden's University of Gothenburg, say in one study. The ceasefire operation lost dozens of drones blasted by belligerents, partly due to 'resistance to being monitored.' And while satellites that passed overhead every 90 minutes provided staggered snapshots of changes along the frozen battlefront, they add, 'Over time, the parties became apt at camouflaging their heavy weapons systems' to hide from these high-altitude scouts. Sticher lauds the peacekeepers who served in the earlier ceasefire operation, which ended with Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. She adds that a colleague at ETH Zurich, Alexander Hug, co-led that mission and penned a captivating first-hand account on his team and their satellite backup. Hug says in his chronicles on the conflict that his peacekeeping contingent relied on satellite cameras to track an ever-changing labyrinth of dangers produced by the smoldering war. Satellites helped his ceasefire observers track major changes on the battlefield, including 'the positions of the forces, damage to critical infrastructure, [and] the presence of weapon systems and other military-type installations.' 'If satellite imagery revealed newly placed anti-tank mines on a patrolling route,' he says, 'the Mission first deployed a UAV in the area to verify the facts and could, if the mines were still in place, re-route the patrol.' In a preface to Hug's report, Philippe Étienne, former French ambassador to the U.S., says although the ceasefire endeavor 'could not prevent Russia's aggression against Ukraine, it helped to contain violence during the phase it was active.' And while the truce was pummeled by outbreaks of violence, 'predominantly by Russian troops and affiliated armed group troops in eastern Ukraine,' Ambassador Étienne says, the peacekeeping team 'managed to negotiate temporary pauses in the fighting, to enable the evacuation of civilians caught in the middle of the war.' Yet Étienne, who also served as chief diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, suggests the peacekeeping mission, its next-generation satellite wingmen, and even the house-of-cards ceasefire pact should all be studied in advance of crafting any future truce arrangement for Ukraine. France has been the major global power to press the Kremlin to enter ceasefire talks with Ukraine, and co-shaped a new round of EU sanctions against Russia until it does so. So far, the White House has failed to match the new European sanctions or the stepped-up pressure on Vladimir Putin to suspend the fighting during peace negotiations. Yet French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said during a recent roundtable with journalists and scholars, hosted by the Atlantic Council think tank, that Paris and Washington might still join forces to cajole Moscow into joining a ceasefire summit. 'Right now, the main obstacle to peace is Vladimir Putin,' said Minister Barrot. During his stopover in Washington, Barrot added, he praised 'Senator Lindsey Graham, who put together a massive package of sanctions … aimed at threatening Russia into accepting a ceasefire.' Senator Graham has already amassed a veto-proof majority in the Senate backing the bill, and Minister Barrot said the centuries-old allies could coordinate to quickly push for truce talks. At the same time, there has been a rush of global peace advocates offering to host ceasefire negotiations. During the very first mass he celebrated to mark his out-of-the-blue election as the new Bishop of Rome, Pope Leo XIV lamented: 'Martyred Ukraine awaits negotiations for a just and lasting peace.' Building on the anti-war legacy of Pope Francis, who was a prime force behind the promulgation of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, Pope Leo also met privately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and proposed the world's smallest nation—Vatican City—could help stage a first round of peace talks with the holder of the globe's biggest stockpile of nuclear weapons, Russia. Switzerland, which hosted a 'Summit on Peace in Ukraine' last year, could play a key role in brokering and monitoring a future ceasefire, says Dr. Sticher. The quest to end wars and promote peace across the continents is such a central element in Switzerland's identity that it is enshrined in the Swiss constitution. Halting the barrage of bullets and missiles that is decimating Ukraine could draw on a wealth of scholarship and experience across Switzerland, Sticher says: 'Switzerland can play a role, there is Swiss expertise in both ceasefire mediation and ceasefire monitoring.' Any new ceasefire agreement, Dr. Sticher adds, must avoid repeating the mistakes of the earlier pact. 'The new ceasefire should be clear and strong in outlining strategies for dealing with violations,' she says. The truce should also 'explicitly provide for the incorporation of technology such as satellite imagery into a future ceasefire observation mission.' 'If the two sides reach an agreement on a ceasefire with a demilitarized zone, and agreement on what types of weapons can be in what proximity of this zone,' she says, 'then satellite imagery could be used to verify that the parties comply with this agreement.' In ceasefires of the future, Sticher adds, expanding use of satellite imagery 'can be an invaluable tool to support human monitors'—by helping document the ever-changing dangers of battle zones and by providing crystal-clear evidence of truce violations.
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Confessions of husband-beaters: The women who admit to hitting their male partners - as the world reels from clip of Brigitte Macron shoving her husband Emmanuel on a plane
All eyes were on Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron on Monday as they touched down in Vietnam when a clip of the French President, 47, being shoved by his 72-year-old wife went viral. The shocking incident, which occurred on the plane just as the aircraft door opened, saw Brigitte put her hand in her husband's face as she appeared to push him backwards. The Macrons, who have been married since 2007, have denied any abuse in their relationship, with a close associate of the president describing the moment as a harmless 'squabble' between a married couple. An official from the Élysée Palace also downplayed the footage, insisting the moment had been misinterpreted and the couple were simply 'having a laugh', brushing off any suggestion that tensions were running high between the French First Couple. Nonetheless, the incident has opened up a conversation about domestic violence in relationships where a woman is the perpetrator and a man is the victim. Statistically, women are significantly more likely to be victims of domestic abuse, thousands of men around the UK are also subjected to abuse within the home at the hands of their partner. In 2024, 1.6 million women and 712,000 men reported domestic abuse in England and Wales, according to The Office of National Statistics. And some women who have attacked their male partners have even confessed to their actions online - taking to parenting forum Mumsnet to anonymously reveal their actions. In a series of posts, some women have revealed how they lost their tempers with their partners and confessed their guilt over reacting with violence. One anonymous mother-of-two opened up about an altercation she had with her husband after he arrived home 'wasted drunk'. She explained: 'Last night he went out and said he'd be back by 11 as that's when the baby normally wakes to feed and toddler often wakes at the same time. He wasn't back but I managed to feed and settle baby so just texted him to ask for an ETA. 'He said half an hour - fine. It took a while to burp and settle baby so text him again but didn't deliver so worried a bit. 'Then after another half hour toddler wakes up inconsolable that it's me coming to him and not dad, so texted [my husband], gone back to friend's house, back soon - fine. 'Toddler not settling so tried calling [my husband] and it hangs up. We have each other on 'find your friends' app (for convenience, no issues with trust) and it says he's in a park half an hour away?? So, I start to panic and think he's either gone to get drugs (out of character) or been attacked.' The woman revealed he eventually came home, two and a half hours after he said he would. After questioning him she claimed he 'defensively' said he was going to bed instead of explaining where he was. Then she admitted to grabbing him by the shirt and shoving him, blaming 'sleep deprivation' and 'panic' saying her mind was 'crazy'. She added: 'I know I need to control my anger and I regret being physical but I was so upset. One anonymous sleep deprived mother-of-two opened up about an altercation she had with her husband after he arrived home 'wasted drunk' People rushed to the comments to say there is no excuse for violence and the woman should seek help 'I'll obviously apologise but don't know how to move on from this? Baby has been awake since about 4am, I haven't had any proper sleep since 11pm, just feel miserable right now.' In response, readers urged her to seek help and warned there is no excuse for violence in the home. One person wrote: 'You need to go to the doctors and get help and apologise to your husband. You were in the wrong, and whilst I can sympathise how you got there, it was still wrong. 'Good luck OP; I hope your husband forgives you and you are able to get the help you need.' Another added: 'So much is wrong with your post OP. Bottom line, assaulting one's partner is never acceptable regardless of the genders. 95% of your post is your excuses and rationale for why you assaulted him. It reads to me that you don't really regret hitting him, you just want people to join your pity party and tell you your assault was excusable.' Another woman also took to the parenting platform to admit she punched her partner repeatedly. She explained: 'I don't want to be flamed. I know I was wrong. 'We had a bad night and a bad morning, both stressed and argued. It got out of hand and I punched him repeatedly. I feel dreadful. He was calm and left the house. Another woman also took to the parenting platform to admit she punched her partner repeatedly Many suggested the woman should hand herself into the police for domestic assault Another mother- of-two, who admitted to having 'anxiety and depression' claimed she lashed out on her husband and rushed to social media for advice Many rushed to the comments with sympathy for her situation, saying it sounds like she doesn't have any support but said there is no excuse for violence 'We have huge problems that I can't go into as it will out me, its no excuse I know but we are both under immense pressure, tired and stressed. 'I love him and I feel so ashamed. What do I do now? Where do I seek help for this, I don't want it to happen again. 'If he had done it to me I'd be terrified and would leave. How can I ever make things better?' Many suggested the woman should hand herself into the police for domestic assault. One person wrote: 'Go to the police. You've assaulted him. You should be arrested.' Another added: 'Taking yourself to the police will prove to your husband that you are truly ashamed of what you have done.' Meanwhile another said: 'Go and see your GP. You say you are stressed and under immense pressure, go and see your doctor immediately. Do not brush this aside. Be prepared for your partner to leave though. He deserves to live free from abuse.' Another mother-of-two, who admitted to having 'anxiety and depression', claimed she lashed out at her husband and rushed to social media for advice. Many rushed to the comments with advice to 'end the relationship' as it was 'toxic' She revealed she has been with her husband for 10 years and they have been married for two years. They share two children together; a one-year-old and six-year-old. The mother explained they are living in an isolated area with no car and she was feeling unhappy in her marriage. She explained: 'I have serious doubts on whether we should be together or not but if I leave him what do I do? I've nowhere else to go, I've asked him to leave but he won't go.' She explained the pair had an agreement and she hit her partner, revealing it wasn't the first time it happened. She admitted: 'We had a row today and I lost my temper and I hit him, it's not the first time it's happened. 'He says he can't stand me, so I say leave then if you're that unhappy, but he won't! I'm ready for a breakdown if I have to sit in this house one more day with no car!' She revealed she is stuck at home with the two children all day with no shops nearby and she has started to resent her partner. She added: 'I'm not using that as an excuse as I know there is no excuse for violence. I didn't hurt him really (I couldn't even if I tried) he's a big strong man, I'm weak compared to him. Elsewhere another woman confessed to 'slapping' her partner, saying she 'feels sick to my stomach and have been crying all day' Some suggested that the woman should seek therapy for her own childhood trauma, while others condemned both her and her partner for the toxic altercation 'But I know that's not the point. I feel terrible I hate myself for being like this. I just feel so isolated and in a rut. 'I know I need help but who do I ask? I was gonna speak to my doctor but I'm afraid they'll take my kids. I'm a good mother, my kids are my life. I couldn't bear to be apart from them.' Many expressed sympathy for her situation and acknowledged that she felt unsupported - but insisted there was no excuse for violence. One person said: 'Go back to your GP. It really sounds like you need some support/ someone to talk to. You're doing amazingly for your kids. Hugs.' Another added: 'If this was a man posting this or if the situation was reversed there would be outrage. 'Your husband should be calling the police. Assault is never okay regardless of how big the other person is. 'It's not a great example for your kids to have a physically abusive mother either. You need to remove yourself from the situation, get help and be grateful you haven't been arrested.' Someone else admitted to feeling 'ashamed and disappointed' in herself for lashing out at her partner. She explained: 'All day he was doing things and trying to cause an argument. 'Like this morning he was refusing to take his son (aged two) back to his mum's so I had to whilst he was still in bed and I had to give his son breakfast and get him dressed. 'Then this afternoon he was ignoring me. And when he spoke to me he started an argument. 'And I was so fed up with him and angry I hit him. He's gone out now, probably to the pub. I'm so ashamed.' Many rushed to the comments with advice to 'end the relationship' as it was 'toxic'. One person said: 'This relationship sounds toxic without the domestic violence, let alone with it. 'For both your sakes end the relationship, and get some help with dealing with anger and how to avoid resorting to violence.' Another added: 'You need to end the relationship. Neither of you sound like a good example for a two year old to be around.' Elsewhere another woman confessed to 'slapping' her partner, saying she 'feels sick to my stomach and have been crying all day.' She started by explaining that she has come from an abusive household herself as her mother was violent to her growing up. After moving out of home she had a 10 year relationship which had no violence in it but they separated because they were more like 'friends.' However she is currently in a one-year long relationship with a man and things got heated between them. She explained: 'Last night we had a row, it came out of nowhere really. I was working late and I was really stressed and getting a bit upset, he just made some stupid comment 'why don't you go and cry about it, grow up' I asked him to leave because I could see the argument brewing, he refused. 'So I got up and I pulled his arm to get him up off the sofa to leave. He jumped up, shouted at me and grabbed my arms, his face was full of rage, my childhood flashed before me and I honestly thought he was going to hit me, so I just slapped him across the face. 'I am in no way trying to condole(sic) my actions from what happened in my childhood and I feel disgusted and ashamed. 'I feel like I need to end the relationship now because I am scared in case it happens again. 'My DP promised he wasn't going to hit me and I think I know deep down that he wouldn't. 'I don't know what came across me, I've never once hit anyone, never had a fall out with friends, not had a confrontational argument with anyone etc. 'I feel sick to my stomach and have been crying all day. I am no better than the abusers my poor mother was with.' Some suggested that the woman should seek therapy for her own childhood trauma, while others condemned both her and her partner for the toxic altercation. One person said: 'Neither of your actions are good and you assaulted him first. Why didn't you leave the room rather then trying to force him? 'Sounds like you need some therapy to get through your past . I'd also take a break from your relationship. Sorry but if you were my partner I'd be leaving. Neither of the actions are good but he used words and you used violence . Definitely not all his fault.' Another added: 'Sounds like you need anger management therapy. You have trauma from your childhood, but you absolutely cannot abuse your partner.' It comes after a woman shockingly admitted to being a husband beater for many years before seeking help from a support group. In 2010, Florence Terry revealed she would lash out at her husband but she now helps others to overcome conflict in their marriages. Speaking to MailOnline, she explained: 'The first time I struck my husband was during an argument over money. He'd decided to pay off a loan without telling me and we'd gone overdrawn. I was worried and tried to discuss it with him, at which point he left the room. 'I felt we hadn't talked it through properly and followed him. The next minute, I was hitting him around the head. I remember losing control and my limbs lashing out. 'Afterwards he was upset and I cried - I felt scared and ashamed of what I'd done. 'I apologised and thought it was a one-off, but in fact it was a pattern that carried on for the next ten years. 'I met my husband through mutual friends at Durham University. I was 19 and he was five years older, more worldly and mature. He was less serious, too, and made me laugh. 'We married five years later. He had a job in IT by then and I started work as a divorce lawyer. The early days of our marriage were steady, but as the stress of my job and responsibilities grew, I took it out on him. 'After that first time, it happened again about 18 months later. I felt a surge of rage I couldn't control. My anger would escalate during arguments over household chores or my husband coming to bed late. I remember feeling I was out of my body, watching myself and telling myself to stop, but I couldn't. I would hit him hard; hitting to hurt. 'One time, I picked up a table and crashed it down so hard on the ground that it broke. I left bite marks in his arm a couple of times - it was similar to the way siblings fight, yet he never once struck back. He'd hold up his hands to shield himself, which made me feel even worse. 'My husband felt emotionally hurt at times - it was upsetting for him to think the person he loved wanted to hurt him - but he never threatened to leave me. 'He felt there was more to me than this behaviour, and that we still had a strong marriage. 'I'm a petite woman, a little over eight stone (51kg), and my husband is a big man. Yet he said he didn't feel emasculated, and that I never physically hurt him. While I exploded, he remained calm.' Florence admitted she was 'thankful' that her husband didn't lash out at her or ever escalate the situation. She added: 'I was using violence to get a reaction. I was verbally aggressive, too. I'd make demeaning comments, sarcastic and personal attacks - all the things that erode love. 'I'd blame him, preach and criticise. I couldn't understand why I wanted to be aggressive to someone I loved. I now realise the anger I felt was to do with stress and low self-esteem. I was packing my life too tightly, working long hours as a lawyer, volunteering at the Citizens Advice bureau and doing soup runs for the homeless. 'I had what I felt was a privileged upbringing; my family was middle class and I went to private schools. I felt I had an obligation to repay this to society. I thought I should be superhuman and I felt my husband should be, too. 'To other people I seemed calm and accommodating, a kind of peacemaker. But inside I was pent up and deeply ashamed of myself. 'Eventually I accepted something had to change. I'd heard about domestic violence groups, but only for men. I felt my behaviour carried an added stigma - women weren't expected to be violent, especially high-powered working women who volunteered for charities. 'Then I found an anger management course on the internet. It was nerve-racking at first, and I knew I'd have to face up to aspects of my life I'd prefer to overlook. Yet the course was a turning point and by the time it finished I felt confident I could control myself. 'Then, two years later, I hit my husband again. I had become complacent, assumed that I'd changed. So when I slapped his face for the last time, I was forced to confront the situation. 'This time I told my family and friends what had been happening. That they didn't criticise or judge was a huge help. Soon after, I decided to go part-time as a lawyer and a mediator, and now I run a course to help people deal with anger and conflict. 'My husband and I are still together, and I'm careful not to choose language that is aggressive. If i ever get angry and feel my heartbeat quicken, I leave the room, but that is rare. 'I wouldn't claim our marriage is now perfect, but it's pretty good. It's a caring and gentle relationship, which feels like a big achievement for me.' Florence now runs the anger management group to help people learn to control their anger.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Watch: Macron shoved in face during ‘squabble' with wife Brigitte
Credit: Reuters Emmanuel Macron has been filmed being shoved in the face by his wife Brigitte after the couple landed in Vietnam. The footage, shot by the Associated Press news agency in Hanoi on Sunday evening, showed the French president standing alone as the plane's door opened. Suddenly, the arms of his wife, who was off-camera, can be seen through the doorway emerging from the left, before she pushes him strongly in the face with both hands. Mr Macron appeared taken aback, but then swiftly regained his composure and turned to wave through the open door. Moments later, the couple walked down the plane's staircase for an official welcome by Vietnamese officials, though Mrs Macron, dressed in red, did not take her husband's offered arm. Footage of the incident, along with photographs of Mr Macron appearing to look stern and angry in the aftermath, quickly spread on social media sites. The Elysée Palace initially denied the authenticity of the images, claiming they were AI-generated by accounts hostile to the centrist French head of state, before finally conceding they were genuine. A close associate of the president later described the incident as a couple's harmless 'squabble'. Meanwhile, another member of Mr Macron's entourage downplayed its significance by insisting it was a 'moment of togetherness'. 'It was a moment when the president and his wife were decompressing one last time after a 16-hour journey before the start of the trip by joking around,' the source told reporters. 'It's a moment of togetherness. No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists,' the source added, blaming pro-Russian accounts for negative comments about the incident. 'There was obviously no violent gesture between Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron. To say the opposite – based on a very partial, fleeting image, without sound and without context – is dishonest and shows a serious lack of understanding of them.' Vietnam is the first stop on an almost week-long tour of Southeast Asia by the French president. During the trip, it is expected he will pitch France as a 'third way' between the US and China in the region. He will also visit Indonesia and Singapore. Vietnam is facing significant levies on exports to the US, while it is also embroiled in disputes with China, another important trade partner, over territories in the South China Sea. An aide to Mr Macron said his 'Indo-Pacific strategy' had gained new relevance because of Donald Trump's trade war. He said the French president was 'defending the idea of international trade rules – we don't want a jungle where the law of the strongest prevails'. Meanwhile, Vietnam has adopted a 'bamboo diplomacy' approach of seeking strength through flexibility and attempting to stay on good terms with the world's major powers. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Macron denies bringing cocaine on to Kyiv train
Credit: Reuters Emmanuel Macron has denied bringing cocaine onto a train headed to Kyiv for a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine's European allies. On Monday, his office took the unusual step of addressing a video that showed the French president hiding a white object as he sat alongside Sir Keir Starmer and Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor. The footage had gone viral over the weekend due to the mystery object's apparent resemblance to a bag of the class A drug. The video was shared widely by Kremlin-backed social media channels. In reaction, Maria Zakharova, Russia's foreign ministry spokesman, claimed that 'the fate of Europe is being decided by utterly [drug] dependent individuals' and accused Mr Zelensky of being an 'unstable drug addict'. Alex Jones, a hard-Right US radio host and prominent conspiracy theorist, reinforced the Russian claims as he reposted the video and wrote: 'Cocaine-fuelled nuclear war, loving, megalomaniacs on display!' He called the Ukrainian leader a 'known cocaine enthusiast' and said that all three world leaders looked 'cracked out'. The Elysée Palace insisted the object was a tissue in a post on its official X account: 'This is a tissue. For blowing your nose' it posted alongside a high-definition image of the crumpled object. Next to it, the Palace posted a picture of the three leaders with the caption: 'This is European unity. To build peace.' The Elysée added: 'When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs.' It accused 'France's enemies, both at home and abroad' of spreading disinformation, but stopped short of pointing the finger at Russia. Kirill Dmitriev, Vladimir Putin's top negotiator, reposted the video, writing: 'Is this footage AI or real? If it's real – are we looking at sugar or something entirely different? If it's something else, it explains a lot of recent ideas and proposals.' A second conspiracy arose over the so-called 'cocaine spoon', which Mr Merz rapidly concealed when the photographers entered the room. Footage later showed it was a plastic tea stirrer. This month, France said that the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service, was ramping up a social media and cyber campaign against Mr Macron's administration. The French president has been the target of false conspiracies, fed by Russian media. Mr Macron, Sir Keir and Mr Merz were travelling on a night train from Poland to the Ukrainian capital for a meeting on Saturday morning with Mr Zelensky and Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister. At the talks, Kyiv's allies demanded that Putin agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine by Monday, which he rejected. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Carney and Macron meet in Paris as US-Canada tensions rise
Newly sworn in Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday to discuss strengthening economic and commercial ties. His visit comes as Canada finds itself in the middle of a trade war with the United States, which has imposed 25% tariffs on many goods imported from Canada, including steel and aluminium. Ottawa has retaliated with counter-tariffs on the US. US President Donald Trump has also been campaigning for Canada to become the "51st state" and frequently belittled the previous Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau. The fact Carney, who was sworn in on Friday, is making his first trip abroad to Europe – and not to the US like many of his predecessors – is seen as a signal to Washington. "Unfortunatley, we are in the midst of an economic and geopoltical crisis," Carney, speaking in French, said alongside Macron before the two held talks. He said Canada would be guided the values of "sovereignty solidarity, dynamism and sustainability." "We know that economic cooperation, not confrontation, enables us to build strong economies," he said, calling France a "trusted ally." Macron said he was honoured by the visit and called Canada a unique friend. First France, then UK On Saturday, Carney's office announced his first trip abroad since taking office would bring him to France followed by the United Kingdom, in an effort "to strengthen two of our closest and longest-standing economic and security partnerships." Carney and Macron were to discuss bilateral ties as well as artificial intelligence (AI), according to the Canadian premier's office. The Elysée Palace said, in a statement published by French media, that the leaders would also discuss the war in Ukraine as well as international crises and "the projects at the heart" of the "strategic partnership" between the two countries. The Elysée said that Macron and Carney would also discuss "major global issues, particularly with a view to the UN Ocean Conference set to take place in Nice from June 9-13." After his stop in Paris, Carney was due to head to London for talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, then to Canada's Arctic territory of Nunavut, which encompasses over 2 million square kilometres and forms most of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. "My visit to France and the United Kingdom will strengthen trade, commercial, and defence ties with two of our strongest and most reliable partners, and my visit to Nunavut will be an opportunity to bolster Canada's Arctic sovereignty and security, and our plan to unlock the North's full economic potential," Carney said ahead of the trip. Carney's visit to Nunavut comes amid concerning rhetoric coming out of the White House since Trump returned to power in January. Trump has been talking for months about wanting to take control of Greenland, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark, and expand US influence in the Arctic. Trump has also been publicly musing for weeks about annexing Canada as the 51st US state.
