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UPI
2 days ago
- Climate
- UPI
Europe swelters under heatwave with record start to summer
People cool down in the fountains of Trocadero, across from the Eiffel Tower, during a heatwave in Paris. Heat warnings were in effect for the first part of the week across 16 regions in France, including Paris which was placed on the country's highest heat alert as temps hit 100 degrees. File Photo by Ian Langsdon/EPA-EFE June 30 (UPI) -- Europe is sweltering under an intense heatwave, as temperatures soar across Spain, Portugal, France and Italy for one of the hottest summer starts ever recorded. Spain is experiencing its hottest June on record. On Saturday, El Granado in Andalusia hit 114 degrees Fahrenheit. In Portugal, the heat registered close to 116 degrees in Mora. "Over the next few days, at least until Thursday, intense heat will continue in much of Spain," said Ruben del Campo, a spokesperson for the national meteorological service AEMET. In Turkey, wildfires burned for a second day, as strong winds fanned the flames near Izmir, and forced the evacuation of more than 50,000 people. Fires also broke out in Croatia and Greece amid extreme temperatures. Heat warnings were in effect in 16 cities in Italy, including Rome and Venice, and across 16 French regions, including Paris. Paris, which is seeing a record number of tourists, was placed on the country's highest "red" heat alert. Other regions remained under an "orange" alert. Nearly 200 schools throughout France are closed or partially closed. Government officials in Italy planned to ban open-air work during the hottest part of the day, as tourists sought refuge in fountains. The heat is also being felt in Germany, where temperatures are expected to top 100 degrees this week. The heatwave is being blamed for lowering water levels on the Rhine River, the country's major shipping route. And heat alerts were issued for England and Wales, where milder temperatures are more common. The United Nation's human rights chief blamed the heat on climate change and warned Monday that heatwaves will become more common if human causes are not reined in. "Rising temperatures, rising seas, floods, droughts and wildfires threaten our rights to life, to health, to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and much more," Volker Turk told the UN's Human Rights Council. Excessive temperatures throughout Europe are typically reserved for summer's hotter months of July and August, as UN Secretary General António Guterres called for "more ambitious Climate Action now," during a UN conference in Seville. "Extreme heat is no longer a rare event -- it has become the new normal," Guterres wrote in a post on X. "I'm experiencing it firsthand in Spain during the Financing for Development Conference," he added. "The planet is getting hotter and more dangerous -- no country is immune."
GMA Network
24-06-2025
- GMA Network
France charges Briton over staged Disneyland ‘marriage' with child
Disneyland Paris emphasized in a statement that the event had been "immediately cancelled" by its teams "after the identification of significant irregularities." Ian Langsdon/ AFP/ File photo PARIS — France charged a British citizen with offenses including money laundering and identity theft after he allegedly organized a bizarre ceremony at Disneyland Paris where he played the role of the groom in a fake marriage with a nine-year-old girl, prosecutors said Tuesday. He is suspected of hiring the theme park before it opened to the public on Saturday for the staged wedding event, in a contract worth €130,000. The man, who has not been named but has a criminal record in the UK for sexual assault offenses, has in addition to his charges also been named as an assisted witness—a step before being indicted—in a probe into suspected corruption of a minor, prosecutors said. The incident initially caused grave alarm when staff alerted police that it could have concerned an illegal child marriage, with the purported "bride" a nine-year-old Ukrainian girl. It later turned out to have been entirely staged but authorities immediately launched an investigation. The British man played "the role of the groom after being professionally made up to display a face completely different from his own," the prosecutor for the Meaux region Jean-Baptiste Bladier told AFP. French judicial authorities were informed by their British counterparts that the man "has been convicted in the past, notably for sexual offenses against minors," he added on Tuesday. The man is currently wanted by British authorities for failing to comply with his obligations as a registered sex offender. 'Significant irregularities' The authorities have designated a 24-year-old Latvian who played the role of the bride's sister at the event as an assisted witness. The prosecutor said investigations showed the "marriage" was in fact "a fictitious ceremony intended to be filmed privately." The Briton is suspected of "recruiting, with the help of a Latvian citizen, other Latvian nationals to ensure the smooth running of the event, as well as around 100 French extras, who were falsely presented to Disneyland Paris as wedding guests," the prosecutor said. The Ukrainian child, who arrived in France two days before the event, suffered "no violence, either physical or sexual" and "was not forced to play the role" of bride, the prosecutor had said at the weekend. According to the prosecutor, Disneyland Paris was deceived, with "the organizer impersonating a Latvian national and using false documents to secure the contract to hire the park." The event was scheduled to take place between 5:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. local time, outside public opening hours, on the privatized premises "at a total cost of €130,000," according to a police source who asked not to be named. But Disneyland Paris emphasized in a statement sent to AFP on Sunday that the event had been "immediately cancelled" by its teams "after the identification of significant irregularities." — AFP
GMA Network
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- GMA Network
French police probe fake Disneyland ‘marriage' with nine-year-old
Disneyland Paris staff were astonished when the nine-year-old appeared wearing high heels on Saturday morning, barely able to stand in the elaborate footwear, and they alerted the authorities. Ian Langsdon/ AFP/ File photo PARIS — French police were on Sunday probing the circumstances of a bizarre stunt at Disneyland outside of Paris, with a group of adults suspected of hiring the theme park and paying hundreds of extras to stage a fake marriage for a nine-year-old Ukrainian girl. Two people were held for questioning in the case, which initially caused alarm when staff alerted police on Saturday that it could have concerned an illegal child marriage. But investigators now believe that the so-called "marriage" was staged, with the girl's mother reportedly saying that she wanted her to feel like a Disney "princess" for the day. "The event turned out to be a staged event, with the guests themselves extras" invited to be part of the stunt, deputy prosecutor Alexandre Verney said. "So it wasn't a wedding, but a staged wedding filmed with around a hundred extras. They hired Disneyland Paris, pretending it was a real wedding," he told AFP. Four people were arrested and taken into custody, and the questioning of two of them—suspected of fraud and money laundering—was extended on Saturday evening. They are the so-called "groom" who is believed to be behind the event, 22 years old and "presumed to be British," and a Latvian woman, 24, said a source close to the case. However, the other two people detained—a 41-year-old Ukrainian woman, and a 55-year-old Latvian man—were released. The investigations, including a medical examination of the nine-year-old girl, a Ukrainian national, found that "she had not been subjected to any violence or coercive acts," the prosecutor's office said. According to the Le Parisien daily, which first reported the incident, a man had several weeks previously hired the Disneyland Paris complex for a sum of €130,000 ($150,000) for several hours before it opened to the public. Staff were astonished when the nine-year-old appeared wearing high heels on Saturday morning, barely able to stand in the elaborate footwear, and they alerted the authorities, it said. The paper said the man who organized the event had submitted false documents concerning his identity and Disneyland filed a complaint. Hundreds of extras were bussed in to play the part of the guests, it said, while the girl's mother told investigators she wanted to organize a "day worthy of a princess" for her daughter. — Agence France-Presse
