Ex-French President Sarkozy’s trial sheds light on Paris’s back-channel talks with Libya’s Gadaffi
Britain, France and other Western countries sought to restore a relationship with Libya for security, diplomatic and business purposes. In 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Gadaffi to Paris with honours for a five-day official visit, allowing him to set up a Bedouin tent near the Elysee presidential palace. Many French people still remember that gesture, feeling Sarkozy went too far to please a dictator.
Pushed on the edge, more and more Tunisians are turning to eating snails as an alternative to beef, veal and fish
Low in fat and high in iron, calcium and magnesium, snails offer both nutritional value and economic relief. In a country where unemployment runs high and median wages remain low, they cost about half as much as beef per kilogramme and often less when sold by the bowl.
France’s Le Pen refuses to bow out of 2027 vote after being convicted of graft and barred from running
Judge Benedicte de Perthuis said Le Pen had been “at the heart” of a scheme to misappropriate more than 4 million euros ($4.3 million) of EU funds and use them to pay the far-right party’s staff back home.
US and Russia delegations meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss Ukraine war, eye Black Sea ceasefire
White House national security adviser Mike Waltz told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the US, Russian and Ukrainian delegations were assembled in the same facility in Riyadh.
New investigation finds Germany knew about Covid lab leak in 2020 but hid evidence from public for political reasons
The FBI had evidence in 2021 that the virus leaked from a lab, but wasn’t allowed to present it, The Wall Street Journal reported last year. Investigative journalist Paul D. Thacker said major US news outlets have not reported on the German investigation “because it doesn’t fit their politics.”
Over 291,000 passengers stranded as huge fire consumes London’s Heathrow airport after 25,000 litres of oil burn
The airport’s owners include France’s Ardian, the Qatar Investment Authority and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, plus other investors in Australia, China and Spain.
Uncertainty surrounds Zelenskiy willingness to relent after Trump, Putin agree to 30-day halt on Ukraine energy facility strikes
Trump has urged Putin to agree to a 30-day ceasefire that he hopes would move one step closer to ending Europe’s biggest conflict since World War Two. The war has killed or wounded hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions and reduced entire towns to rubble.
Russian leader provisionally agrees to 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine pending conclusion of terms
Putin said it appeared that the US persuaded Ukraine to accept a ceasefire and that Ukraine is interested because of the battlefield situation, particularly in Kursk.
Moscow says it’ll talk peace with Ukraine if Crimea, four provinces are recognised as Russian territories
Some US officials, lawmakers and experts fear that Putin, a former KGB officer, would use a truce to intensify what they say is an effort to divide the US, Ukraine and Europe and undermine any talks.
US resumes military aid, intelligence sharing after Ukraine signalled it’s open to 30-day ceasefire
President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, added: “The Ukrainian delegation today made something very clear, that they share President Trump’s vision for peace.”
