Around the World

FRENCH president Emmanuel Macron touched down in Vietnam on Sunday expecting a routine diplomatic visit. But less than 24 hours after landing he found himself fending off claims of marital strife after his wife Brigitte, 25 years his senior, seemingly attacked him as they left the plane. The SunEmmanuel Macron appears to be hit in the face by his wife in footage showing them leaving the plane[/caption] The President briefly composed himself after what having been engaging in what looked like an intense conversation with his spouseAP Getty - ContributorThe Macrons have faced plenty of scrutiny thanks to the fact that Brigitte is 25 years his senior[/caption] Though French officials dismissed the speculation, the eyebrow-raising incident is just the latest in a relationship that has been plagued with scandal and controversy from the moment it started.  The future president was just 15 years old (which is the age of consent in France) when he met the woman who he would go on to make his First Lady. At the time she was 39 years old and married with three children – and his drama teacher in school. Macron, 47, can be seen standing in the plane’s door engaged in a seemingly tense conversation, before 72-year-old Brigitte’s arm reaches out and shoves the president in the face.  A startled Macron then leaves the plane – though notably she appears to reject his offer of taking his arm as they walk down the stairs.  When the video came to light, French officials initially called it “probable fake news” – comparing it to the recent viral photo that some said was proof Macron had a cocaine habit.  But after the Vietnam arrival footage was verified as being true, Macron and his aides once again downplayed the footage. “My wife and I were horsing around, having a joke, and I was surprised by that and that becomes a sort of geopolitical disaster. It’s nonsense,” he said. An aide also added: “It was a moment when the president and his wife were unwinding one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh – it was a moment of complicity.” But according to body language expert Judi James, this incident looks to be anything but what the French term “chamaillerie”, a bit of horsing around.  “I find it shocking that they’ve attempted to explain it by saying that it was just play, just a couple letting off steam,” said Judi. “Her hand comes out and presses against his face, and if anybody wants to try this on themselves, you’ll feel how vulnerable it makes you feel.  “Macron looks rather shocked. We can see later on, if we look at a close up of his hand, we can see that it’s bored into a fist. The knuckles look white – so clearly a lot of pent up tension.” “These are veterans of being on the world stage,” added Judi. “They know that when the plane lands, if they did want to have a little bit of fun and laughter, they would do it before they got to the plane door.  “When we see them emerging, there’s this attempt to sort of do a glow up, to pretend that nothing happened.  “That’s not normal body language behaviour in any relationship. I find it very worrying, as well as disturbing.” Schoolkid romance While Brigitte now faces a barrage of speculation concerning what else might be plaguing their relationship behind closed doors, it’s far from the first time she’s been at the receiving end of criticism.  And much of that is thanks to the very unconventional way the couple found themselves together in the first place.  AFPBrigitte seemed to refuse his offer of taking his arm when they disembarked[/caption] EPABrigitte has been France’s First Lady ever since Macron stormed to the presidency in 2017[/caption] France 5The couple met when Macron was just 15 years old and she was his 39-year-old drama teacher. Pictured, in 1993[/caption] Brigitte was not only 25 years Macron’s senior, but also his drama teacher at the Catholic Lycee La Providence in Amiens, where her daughter, Laurence, was his classmate. “At 15, Macron had the maturity of a 25-year-old,” his former sports teacher Daniel Leleu told to Bloomberg. “He preferred to spend his time talking with the teachers rather than his classmates.” The young Emmanuel and his 39-year old teacher started to grow close when they co-authored a drama piece together after meeting in 1993. “You know, the day when we wrote the play together, I had a feeling I was working with Mozart,” Brigitte later recalled to a friend.  “The writing became an excuse. I felt that we had always known each other.” “All the teachers were buzzing about Emmanuel,” she said of the time she arrived to teach at the school, adding that she soon found herself enamoured with his “exceptional intelligence, a way of thinking that I had never seen before.”  Brigitte at the time was married to banker Andre-Louis Auziere, and already had three children together.  What is clear is that when Emmanuel met Brigitte, we couldn’t just say, ‘That’s great.’ Francoise Macron It was the summer of 1994 when her family found out about the affair, after the pair were caught sunbathing by her elderly parent’s pool, according to Maelle Brun’s biography Brigitte Macron: An Unfettered Woman. According to the book, upon hearing that his wife was having an affair Auziere had a “violent reaction” and stormed out of the family home.  Family uproar Nor did the news that their son was having an affair with one of his teachers go down well with Emmanuel’s parents, both doctors.  Initially, they believed he had been dating Brigitte’s eldest daughter, Lawrence, until a friend revealed the truth.  “We just couldn’t believe it,” his mother Francoise recalled. “What is clear is that when Emmanuel met Brigitte, we couldn’t just say, ‘That’s great.’” His father Jean-Michel, meanwhile, said he “almost fell off his chair” when he learned of the affair.  The pair asked Brigitte that she stop dating their son until he turned 18.  The young Macron was considered a star pupil in school thanks to his intelligence MegaAt the time, Brigitte was married with three children[/caption] AlamyAfter a ten-year-long divorce from her banker husband, the couple wed in 2007[/caption] But in reply she said “I can’t promise you anything,” according to the France 3 documentary Brigitte Macron: A French Novel. News of the affair quickly spread around town, causing uproar. Furious anonymous letters were sent to the headquarters of the chocolate factory run by Brigitte’s family. Neighbours and locals also went out of their way to spit on Brigitte’s front door whenever they walked past it, while friends of the teacher were quick to denounce her. “Friends with whom she went on holiday changed overnight and no longer wanted to speak to her,” an acquaintance told her biographer.  Marriage vow Despite the backlash the pair were undeterred, their relationship continuing to blossom. Speaking to Paris Match magazine, Brigitte revealed that when he was just 17 the young romantic made a vow that he would marry her, and promised to come back to find her once he had completed further studies at a prestigious pre-university school in Paris. “You cannot get rid of me. I will come back and marry you,” he is reported to have told her. I told myself that he would fall in love with someone his [own] age. It didn’t happen Brigitte Macron “My head was in a mess,” Brigitte added as she recalled this period of separation. “I told myself that he would fall in love with someone his [own] age. It didn’t happen.” Macron would go on to study politics and international affairs at university, during which time his fellow classmates recall him running to the station at the end of each week to visit her. Brigitte, however, was still married, and it would be a full ten years until her divorce to her banker husband was finalised. With the papers eventually signed in 2007, the couple wasted no time in tying the knot, although she was initially reluctant to say yes to his proposal over fears he would want to have children. Brigitte, then aged 54, and Macron, then aged 29, wed each other in the seaside town of La Touquet – ironically the same place that she married her first husband back in 1974. In attendance were his parents as well as Brigitte’s three children and other family members.  Macron’s toast at the ceremony did not shy away from the relationship’s unusual origin story either.  At 17 Macron made a promise to Brigitte that he would marry her GettyNeighbours and friends shunned Brigitte when news of their affair broke[/caption] ReutersDuring the election Macron was accused of using Brigitte to hide a homosexual relationship[/caption] “Each and every one of you is a witness to these last 13 years,” he said. “And you have accepted us. You have made us what we are today.  “I want to thank you for loving us the way we are, and I want to thank Brigitte’s children because this has not been easy for them.” ‘Heads held high’ Tiphaine Auziere, Brigitte’s youngest daughter, was just 9 years old when she found out about her mother’s affair. “I learned a lot about human nature then,” she said. “I know that in these moments we must focus on what is important and move forward, ignoring the criticism. “There was everything, attacks, rumours, punishments. At that time there were no such things as social networks, but we lived in a small provincial town, everything was known. “Despite this, we held our heads high.” Nonetheless, Tiphaine, now 41, has no hard feelings towards Emmanuel. “A family separation can be a sorrow and an opportunity,’ she added.‘Recomposition can prove to be an enrichment. I have a beloved father and stepfather.” By the time the couple were married, Macron was a rising star in the world of French politics and in 2017 became France’s youngest-ever president at the age of 39, after a period in government as Minister of Finance. Their relationship faced serious scrutiny during the election, with opponents fuelling unfounded claims that he was using Brigitte to hide a homosexual relationship. Despite the intense scrutiny of the world stage and a string of crises affecting his presidency, the couple have continued to put on a brave show in public.  But with the emergence of Sunday’s bizarre footage, questions will only continue to mount over what their relationship is really like behind closed doors.

SHOCKING new evidence has emerged in the case of Australian teen Pheobe Bishop who vanished 12 days ago. Detectives are not ruling out whether Pheobe’s housemates are involved in her disappearance after discovering weapons inside one of their cars, according to reports. FacebookA car owned by Pheobe Bishop’s housemate was found to have weapons and was later spotted with new number plates[/caption] FacebookThe new number plate, which appears to have been made with black tape and maroon paint, reads 474-BW8[/caption] FacebookThe car belongs to Pheobe’s housemate Tanika Bromley who was charged on Monday with unlawfully possessing weapons[/caption] The car belonging to Phoebe’s housemate Tanika Bromley was also spotted by a local on Monday with new number plates, reports the Mail. Pheobe, 17, was last seen on May 15, leaving the home she shared with couple Bromley and James Wood in Gin Gin near the Bundaberg Region of Australia. The teen was supposed to fly to Brisbane and then to Perth to see her “high-school sweetheart” boyfriend but CCTV footage showed that she never entered the airport. Detectives said they believe Bromley and Wood drove the teen to the airport. Both the Gin Gin property and the car were declared crime scenes. Bromley, 33, was arrested over the weekend after police allegedly found weapons in her silver Hyundai ix35, Australian news outlet news.com.au reported. While at the time, these gun offences were said to be “unrelated” to the teen’s disappearance, detectives are not ruling out possible links, according to 7News Australia on Tuesday. The day before, a new number plate was discovered to have been painted and taped over the Hyundai’s original plate. The new plate reads 474-BW8. The Hyundai symbol at the back of the vehicle was also changed to a Toyota symbol.  Pheobe is believed to have been driven to the airport by her housemates James Wood and Tanika Bromley9 News Queensland PoliceBromley’s 2011 silver Hyundai ix35 hatchback was declared a crime scene along with the Gin Gin house[/caption] Bromley appeared in the Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Monday, where police alleged they found a shortened firearm, ammunition and two replica handguns inside a grey Hyundai. Additional ammunition was also reportedly found at the home. Wood reportedly attended court to support her. Bromley was granted bail on Tuesday, according to 7News Australia. It comes after reports on Monday that police have expanded the search for Pheobe to a nearby national park, just an hour from the airport where she was due to catch a flight. The Good Night Scrub National Park is located around 40 kilometres south of Gin Gin. Pheobe’s mum, Kylie Johnson, also issued an emotional plea on Facebook: “As we enter day 11 of Pheobe still not being home, our numbness to our tears, to our hearts breaking and this hell is heavy.” She said: “Not knowing what to say, what to do or even how to continue to live in this cyclone of uncertainty. “The tears come, the anger and frustrations come and most of all our hearts are shattering more and more each Day.” After reviewing Pheobe’s recent social media activity, police understood that the teen had been been “in and out” of home for several years. The teenager had saved up for months to pay for a ticket to visit her boyfriend. She made a last minute call to him moments before she was due to board a flight to Western Australia. Despite suggestions that she made it through the airport – a family member has since revealed that she never checked in to her flight. The family member said: “She didn’t check in for her flight to visit her boyfriend who she spoke to on the phone at 8.30am.” “Her phone has been switched off from this point. She hasn’t contacted anyone at all, no one has seen her.” Her social media accounts have not been active since she went missing. Pheobe’s disappearance is being treated as suspicious. No charges have been made in relation to it. Pheobe Bishop timeline by Harvey Geh May 14: Pheobe Bishop’s last known bank transaction takes place. May 15: Pheobe is reportedly dropped off near Bundaberg Airport’s terminal by her housemates, James Wood and Tanika Bromley, in order to catch a flight to Brisbane and then to Perth to visit her boyfriend. May 15, 8:30am: Pheobe makes a final phone call to her boyfriend before her scheduled flight. Her phone is then switched off and has remained inactive since. May 15, post-8:30am: Pheobe fails to check in for her flight. CCTV footage confirms she did not enter the airport terminal. May 16: Family and police initiate search efforts. Pheobe’s social media accounts show no activity during this period. May 24: Nine days after disappearing, Pheobe’s distressed mum pleads with the public for information. She says she is “absolutely begging anyone with any information to contact the Queensland Police Service”. May 25: The search effort is widened to cover more area and homicide officers are brought in to help. May 26: Specialist units expand the search for the teen to a nearby national park, just an hour from the airport. Pheobe’s housemate Tanika Bromley is charged with two counts of authority required to possess explosives, one count of possessing restricted items and one count of unlawful possession of weapons. May 27: Bromley is granted bail. Pheobe Bishop has been missing for 12 days9 News

THIS is the heart-stopping moment when a nappy-wearing toddler dashes onto a busy road and comes within inches of being hit by a car. The shocking footage was caught via dashcam as the three-year-old girl darts across two lanes in Australia. 9 NewsThis is the heart-stopping moment nappy-wearing toddler dashes into a dual carriageway[/caption] 9 NewsIn the blink of an eye, she charges straight out into the busy dual carriageway[/caption] 9NewsThe kid comes within inches of being hit by a car[/caption] It begins with a standard view of a busy dual carriageway in Queensland. But within a split second, a small child can be seen by the roadside, running towards the middle of the road. In the blink of an eye, she charges straight out into the busy dual carriageway. The kid comes within inches of being hit by a Toyota Hilux. The footage was captured on a 70kmph (43.5mph) road in Bellbird Park, Ipswich. A witness told 7News he had to make a split-second decision between braking or swerving into another lane. He screeched to a halt while the Hilux driver, who was apparently unaware of the danger ahead, overtook him. The Hilux misses the little girl by a hair‘s breadth, who pauses for a second afterwards before continuing to charge around the busy road. Two female drivers then rushed out of their cars to pick up the child and take her to safety. “We looked around and we couldn’t see any parents,” one driver said. The rescuers then drove the kid to Goodna Police Station, where they discovered she had been reported missing by her worried parents. Queensland cops were then able to return the girl to her family. The kid had apparently escaped through a gap in her parents’ garage door. Her parents told 7NEWS that their toddler has autism and that they were busy with two other kids when they realised she had wandered off. The heart-stopping clip has been viewed more than 100,000 times in under 24 hours. Many commenters on the video shared sympathy for the girl’s parents’ plight. “My son is on the spectrum and was also a runner. I feel for the parents,” one viewer said. Another said: “That is absolutely terrifying. She is so so so lucky.” But another viewer took a different tone, saying: “Parents need to keep their eyes on their children.” “That is every parent’s worst nightmare. So glad that kid is okay,” said another. KidSafe Australia has warned: “Children are vulnerable road users. “Anywhere where there is a potential for moving vehicles is a potentially dangerous traffic situation for children.” A 2023 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study found that land transport accidents are the leading cause of death for children between one and 14 years old, 7NEWS has reported.

THIS is the harrowing moment thousands of Gazans overrun an aid site just hours after it opened. Citizens desperate for food are said to have broken through the fences of the compound to reach the humanitarian aid, with shots reportedly fired. XFootage from X appeared to show the harrowing moment thousands of Gazans overrun US-backed aid site[/caption] XPeople are said to have broken through the fences of the compound[/caption] AFPDisplaced Palestinians receive food packages from a US-backed foundation pledging to distribute humanitarian aid in western Rafah[/caption] ReutersTrucks transport aid as Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it has commenced operations to begin distribution of aid[/caption] The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said the sheer number of people seeking aid at its distribution site was so great, its team had to pull back so people could “take aid safely and dissipate”. The Foundation later said that control had been gained of the situation and food distribution was resumed. The UN, which Israel wants to exclude from the aid programme in Gaza, said the disastrous situation was “heartbreaking”. Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said: “We and our partners have a detailed, principled, operationally sound plan supported by Member States to get aid to a desperate population. “We continue to stress that a meaningful scale-up of humanitarian operations is essential to stave off famine and meet the needs of all civilians, wherever they are.” Some unconfirmed reports by Channel 12 say American forces or the IDF opened fire on the general area. It has so far distributed about 8,000 food boxes, totalling 462,000 meals. But this is nothing compared to Gaza’s 2.3 million population that has been on the verge of famine since Israel imposed the aid blockade in early March. Some Palestinians in Gaza have even had to resort to searching through rubbish to find food for their families. Shocking footage appears to show thousands of Palestinian people desperately running to get aid at one of the newly opened distribution sites in southern Gaza’s Rafah. Lines of people walking through a wired off corridor and into a large open field where aid was stacked were also seen in an unconfirmed video. And images shared on social media appeared to show large parts of the fence torn down as people desperately pushed their way onto the site. The content of the packages included rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar, according to recipients. The United Nations among other international aid groups have boycotted the foundation, claiming that Israel is weaponising food and that it will lead to further displacement of Palestinians. They added that it undermines the principle that humanitarian aid should be distributed independently of the parties to a conflict, based on need. xPeople could be seen rushing towards the distribution site after apparently overrunning a fence[/caption] xHuge crowds streamed over the barren land in desperate hope of obtaining supplies[/caption] Christian Cardon, chief spokesperson of the International Committee of the Red Cross: “Humanitarian assistance must not be politicised or militarised.” It currently remains unclear just how many of the GHF’s aid trucks will enter Gaza, with the foundation claiming it will reach one million Palestinians by the end of the week. Israel has launched new biometric screening procedures at aid distribution sites, with Palestinians appearing to have taken note of warnings about the system. Abu Ahmed, 55, a father of seven, said: “As much as I want to go because I am hungry and my children are hungry, I am afraid. “I am so scared because they said the company belongs to Israel and is a mercenary, and also because the resistance [Hamas] said not to go.” Israeli officials have said an advantage of the new system is the opportunity to screen recipients to exclude anyone found to be connected with Hamas. Humanitarian groups briefed on the foundation’s plans say anyone wanting to access aid will have to submit to facial recognition technology. Details of exactly how the system will operate have not been made public. ReutersBoxes of aid are stacked as Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it has commenced operations[/caption] AFPDisplaced Palestinians run to get food packages from a US-backed foundation[/caption] Israel makes extensive use of facial recognition and other forms of biometric identification in the occupied West Bank and has been widely reported to be using such techniques in Gaza as well. It comes after Israel turned on British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer by accusing him of “emboldening Hamas” after the UK demanded an end to their military offensive in Gaza and restrictions to aid last week. Benjamin Netanyahu took aim at the Prime Minister along with Canada and France saying they were on the side of “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”. The allies said earlier this week that they will take “concrete actions” unless Netanyahu changes course and saying Israel was risking breaking international law.

A BRITISH holidaymaker is fighting for his life after plunging from the balcony of Costa del Sol hotel at 5am. The tourist is said to have been rushed to hospital in a “critical condition” after the incident at the Hard Rock Hotel in Puerto Banus, near Marbella. SolarpixA Brit holidaymaker is fighting for his life after plunging from a Costa del Sol hotel[/caption] SolarpixThe tourist is said to have been rushed to hospital in a ‘critical condition’[/caption] The Brit was initially taken to the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella before being transferred to the Regional University Hospital of Malaga. Witnesses say the unnamed holidaymaker plunged from a first-floor balcony – but it’s said to have been the equivalent of a third-floor fall. It’s understood that he fell from the balcony onto a public street. Three friends the Brit was with – who is described by unconfirmed reports as being young – have been quizzed by cops as part of an ongoing investigation. According to local reports, the friends were sleeping at the time and were unaware their pal had fallen to the ground. They were informed by cops when they knocked on their door, reports added. Cops have not yet made any official comment but are not thought to be treating the incident as a case of so-called “balconing”. This is where tourists try to leap into their hotel holiday pools from their rooms or jump between balconies. A mere few weeks ago, a Brit tourist was fighting for his life after reportedly falling from a third-floor apartment in Ibiza. The 19-year-old was rushed to hospital after being found unconscious on the pavement with severe injuries. Emergency services rushed to the horrifying scene in San Antonio where paramedics were able to stabilise the teenager. Medics then took him to the Can Misses Hospital where he was treated for head trauma and serious multiple injuries, as reported by the Ibiza and Formentera Health Area (Asef). From there he was airlifted by helicopter to the Son Espases Hospital in Mallorca for further treatment. And in August last year, a British tourist tragically plunged to her death from the sixth-floor of a hotel in Ibiza. The 19-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene after the fall. Paramedics raced to the scene but could do nothing to save the female holidaymaker due to the severity of her injuries. A spokesman for the force said at the time: “I can confirm a 19-year-old British tourist has died following a fall at a hotel in San Antonio in Ibiza.” A well-placed police source added: “Everything is pointing to this being a tragic accidental fall.” The British teen was the second Brit to fall to their death in the Balearic Isles in a matter of days. A 28-year-old British holidaymaker died in a 15ft fall at a hotel in Palmanova near Magaluf in Majorca after a night out partying just a few days prior. The incident happened at the four-star Reverence Mare Hotel in Palmanova. Civil Guard investigators believe he suffered his fatal accident after trying to enter the wrong hotel following a night out partying and losing his way during an attempted short-cut. SolarpixThe Brit was rushed to hospital[/caption]