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French couple submits ‘scientific’ evidence in lawsuit against US influencer

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French couple submits ‘scientific’ evidence in lawsuit against US influencer



Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron plan to present “scientific” evidence and photos proving that France’s first lady is a woman, their lawyer confirmed Friday.

Attorney Tom Clare said the Macrons intend to testify in their lawsuit against conservative American commentator Candace Owens, who they accuse of fueling online rumors questioning whether Brigitte Macron is transgender.

“There will be expert testimony, scientific in nature, demonstrating the falsity of the statements,” Clare told the BBC on the “Fame Under Fire” podcast. The law firm confirmed his comments to AFP.

Speculation about Brigitte Macron’s gender has circulated in France for years. The lawsuit comes as President Macron faces low popularity and political instability.

Clare did not disclose details about the expert testimony but said it is designed to show that Owens, a social media influencer with a large following, spread false claims about the first lady.

The plaintiffs filed their defamation case in Delaware in July and also plan to submit photos of Brigitte Macron with her children and from her pregnancies.

“These falsehoods are like a cancer,” Clare said. “They metastasize into mainstream media. And because Owens has a large audience, people pay attention.”

On Thursday, Owens posted a message on her X channel dismissing the Macrons’ allegations against her as “verifiably false.”

“She [Brigitte Macron] isn’t suing me for saying she’s a man. She has never sued anyone ever for saying she’s a dude. Because she is one,” Owens wrote.

Brigitte Macron, 72, has also taken to the courts in France to combat claims she was born a man.

Two women were convicted in September 2024 of spreading false claims after they posted a YouTube video in December 2021 alleging that Brigitte Macron had once been a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux who is actually her brother.

The ruling against Natacha Rey and Amandine Roy was overturned by a Paris appeals court and Macron appealed to the highest appeals court, the Court de Cassation, earlier in July.



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Trump purchases $100 million worth of Netflix, Warner Bros bonds

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Trump purchases 0 million worth of Netflix, Warner Bros bonds



US President Donald Trump purchased about $100 million in municipal and corporate bonds from mid-November to late December, his latest disclosures showed, including up to $2 million in Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery bonds just weeks after the companies announced their merger.

Financial disclosures posted on Thursday and Friday showed the majority of Trump’s purchases were municipal bonds from cities, local school districts, utilities and hospitals.

But he also bought bonds from companies including Boeing, Occidental Petroleum and General Motors.

The investments were the latest reported assets added to Trump’s expanding portfolio while he is in office.

It includes holdings in sectors that benefit from his policies, raising questions about conflicts of interest.

For example, Trump said in December that he would have a say in whether Netflix can proceed with its proposed $83 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, which faces a rival bid from Paramount Skydance.

Any deal to acquire Warner Bros will need regulatory approval.

A White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said on Friday that Trump’s stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third-party financial institutions and neither Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested.

Like many wealthy individuals, Trump regularly buys bonds as part of his investment portfolio.

He previously disclosed at least $82 million in bond purchases from late August to early October.



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Trump says Pakistani PM’s ‘saving 10 million lives’ remark is an honour

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Trump says Pakistani PM’s ‘saving 10 million lives’ remark is an honour



US President Donald Trump has reiterated his claim of having stopped a war between Pakistan and India, while also saying that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked him for saving at least 10 million lives.

He made the remarks at the renaming of Southern Boulevard to Donald J Trump Boulevard in Washington on Friday.

“In a year, we made eight peace deals and ended the conflict in Gaza. We have peace in the Middle East…We stopped India and Pakistan from fighting, two nuclear nations…The Pakistani Prime Minister said Donald Trump saved at least 10 million people, and it was amazing,” he said.

The US president further recalled that the Pakistani prime minister’s remarks were an honour for him.

Trump cited his administration’s foreign policy record and repeated assertions of brokering peace between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Trump has made similar claims multiple times since May 10 last year, arguing that US pressure helped defuse tensions between India and Pakistan.



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Saudi King Salman leaves hospital after medical tests

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Saudi King Salman leaves hospital after medical tests


Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz chaired a virtual cabinet meeting from his office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 28, 2024. — Reuters
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz chaired a virtual cabinet meeting from his office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 28, 2024. — Reuters

Saudi Arabia’s 90-year-old King Salman was discharged from hospital after undergoing medical tests in the capital Riyadh, the kingdom’s Royal Court said on Friday, adding that the results were “reassuring”.

The monarch “left the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh today (Friday) after undergoing medical tests that proved reassuring”, the royal court said in a statement shared on state media, having announced his admission earlier in the day.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude oil exporter, has for years sought to quell speculation over King Salman’s health.

He has been on the throne since 2015, though his son Mohammed bin Salman was named crown prince in 2017 and acts as de facto ruler.

The monarch’s well-being is rarely discussed, but he has been admitted for surgery and tests on multiple occasions in recent years.

In 2024, the Royal Court said he suffered from lung infections, which he recovered from.

He was hospitalised in May 2022, when he went in for a colonoscopy and stayed for just over a week for other tests and “some time to rest”, the official Saudi Press Agency reported at the time.

He was also admitted to hospital in March 2022 to undergo what state media described as “successful medical tests” and to change the battery of his pacemaker.

In 2020, he underwent surgery to remove his gall bladder.





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