Rio-Paris crash in 2009: Air France and Airbus condemned on appeal. In a verdict “resounding†, the Paris Court of Appeal declared Thursday Air France and Airbus “guilty of involuntary homicide†in the crash of the Rio-Paris flight which occurred in 2009, indicates the German wave. The worst air disaster in the history of French aviation left 228 dead, mainly French, Brazilians and Germans. The carrier and the manufacturer, judged “solely and entirely responsible†of the accident, were each ordered to pay the maximum fine of 225,000 euros. “Although this amount is symbolic, it damages the reputation of both companies… who have both announced their intention to appeal to the Court of Cassation, notes the German broadcaster. Analysis of the black boxes established that the starting point of the accident had been the icing of the Pitot speed probes, a failure already noted on other flights. “The accident of flight AF 447 is the story of a predicted catastrophe which could have been avoided if each of the companies involved had taken stock of the seriousness of the failure†, said the judges in their decision.
Ukraine will strengthen its defenses on the Belarusian border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday from Slavutych, near the Belarusian border, that Ukraine “was going to strengthen its local defenses in the face of a potential threat from Belarus†, reports The Kyiv Independent. This announcement comes “amid growing concerns in kyiv, where there are fears that Russia is seeking to open a new front†in northern Ukraine, “involving Belarus, close ally of Moscow and northern neighbor of Ukraine†, observe the site. Russia and Belarus have been carrying out joint military exercises since Tuesday, which are supposed to end on Thursday. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has denied any plans to involve his country in the war – unless a “aggression is committed†against its territory.
The United States will deploy 5,000 soldiers to Poland. Donald Trump announced Thursday on his Truth Social network the sending of “5 000 soldats supplémentaires†in Poland, “a week after the Pentagon canceled the planned deployment of 4,000 troops to this country†, relave la BBC. The American president said that this decision was motivated by the good relations he had with his Polish counterpart, Karol Nawrocki. The tenant of the White House “provided no further details as to whether these additional troops were part of the initially planned deployment or whether it was a separate operation†, notes the British broadcaster. The 1isIn May, the United States announced the withdrawal of 5,000 soldiers from Germany, after a verbal escalation between Donald Trump and the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, over the war in Iran.
A section of the original staircase of the Eiffel Tower sold for 450,000 euros. A section of fourteen steps from the original staircase of the Eiffel Tower was sold for 450 euros 160 euros in Paris on Thursday. 2.75 meters high and weighing 1.4 tonnes, this section comes from the spiral staircase “which connected the second and third floors of the tower when it was inaugurated in 1889†, précise Euronews. The staircase was dismantled and cut into 24 sections during renovation work on the monument in 1983 and the installation of elevators. Few of these sections “remained in France and they were kept by their original purchasers†, and their appearances on the market are rare, according to the Artcurial auction house, which estimated the lot between 120,000 and 150,000 euros. A similar flight of steps was sold for 552,750 euros in 2008.
