World
EU buys blender for a African school – even though it has no electricity | World | News

Hapless eurocrats have been accused of squandering taxpayers’ money after buying a blender for a school in African even though it has no electricity, and funding a “conflict prevention” radio station which only plays music.
The European Union green-lit the purchases as part of a(£4.1 billion (€5billion) trust fund for Africa, according to a report from the European Court of Auditors (ECA).
Dozens of similar initiatives were flagged as a misuse of public funds, being described as “activities that were no longer sustainable, difficult to implement or with no direct connection to the most urgent aspects of the migration crisis”.
The 66-page document reveals many of these projects, some of which date back to a time when the UK was still a member of the bloc, were described as “a poor use of funds”.
It also highlighted concerns that criminal gangs and people smugglers could have benefited from billions of euros spent by Brussels in Africa, intended to curb illegal migration to Europe.
Frank Furedi, executive director of conservative think tank MCC Brussels told the Daily Telegraph: “The EU has turned wasting taxpayers’ money into an art form. When it comes to wastefulness, its €5bn EU Trust Fund for Africa is in a class of its own.”
As the auditors put it, “The Commission is still unable to identify and report on the most efficient and effective approaches to reducing irregular migration and forced displacements in Africa.”
The EU Emergency Trust Fund was launched by the European Commission in 2015, during the height of the migration crisis, when millions of people entered the bloc illegally, and before Brexit.
The cash been invested in projects aimed at “stability” and addressing the “root causes of irregular migration and displacement” in Africa.
However, on a visit to one project, auditors found “a school with no access to electricity received a blender to complement training in food preparation and conservation”.
The report went on to criticise such allocations as “activities that were no longer sustainable, difficult to implement or with no direct connection to the most urgent aspects of the migration crisis.”
Other notable projects included EU-funded investments in the Al Shabbi seafront in Benghazi and a Roman theatre in Sabratha.
The European Commission claims to monitor the success of its overseas initiatives, but has no way of measuring whether they actually help curb illegal migration.
In their findings, the auditors noted that “the Commission is still unable to identify and report on the most efficient and effective approaches to reducing irregular migration and forced displacements in Africa”.
The EU has sought to justify such projects as efforts to create jobs in Africa, supposedly reducing the incentives for people to flee to Europe. Nevertheless, the auditors found little evidence of success.
One example was a poultry farm in Ethiopia, built with EU funds and featuring a solar-powered chicken shed and slaughterhouse. The report commented: “At the time of our visit, the beneficiary explained it was not economically viable to operate the business. The premises were empty.”
In the Sahel, a radio station was set up with EU funding to promote “youth expression” and “conflict prevention”. However. the auditors found it “only played music,” with “no link to the project’s stated aims.”
A maritime rescue centre in Tripoli, Libya, was aimed at monitoring asylum seekers attempting to cross to Europe. However, despite the delivery of equipment in December 2021, the facility, built from containers, remained “locked up and unused”.
The EU’s Africa Trust Fund is set to be phased out in 2025, when it is set to be replaced by a much larger budget from the bloc’s foreign aid and development fund.
World
Grand Canyon tragedy as man, 65, plunges 134ft to death | World | News

A 65-year-old man has died after plunging 130ft into the Grand Canyon, prompting a rescue effort to retrieve his body. The unnamed man fell over the edge of Guano Point on the western rim of the canyon within the Hualapai Reservation, according to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office. A search and rescue team was dispatched to the scene and located the man amid a pile of rock fragments.
The Hualapai Nation Police Department, the Hualapai Nation Fire, and security personnel from Grand Canyon West also lent their support in the recovery effort. Images released by the sheriff’s office show rescue teams with a stetcher going down the side of the canyon as the recovery mission went into the night.
The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue said: “Search and Rescue responded and located him about 130 feet down on a scree pile.
“Technical rope technicians set up a lowering and raising system using ropes to recover him and convey the body to the Mohave County Medical Examiners Office.”
The sheriff’s office added: “Helping on this recovery were Hualapai Tribal Police Department, Hualapai Nation Fire, Grand Canyon West Security – thank you for your assistance.”
The cause of the man’s fall is not yet known. Guano Point is a well-visited part of the Grand Canyon, offering stunning views of the canyon from the western rim.
Grand Canyon National Park Trips states that the likelihood of dying from a fall off the rim of the Grand Canyon is approximately one in 1.95 million visitors.
The National Park Service has safety guidelines for visitors, which advises hikers to say on the designated trails and walkways, and always keep at least six feet from the edge.
No one should cross barriers or rails, and all groups should keep an eye on their members, especially children. No barriers or rails should be crossed over and those hiking in groups should keep an eye on all members, especially children.
It adds: “Know where the edge is. Watch for food placement and trip hazards. Do not run, jump, or perform physical stunts when near the rim. Do not back up without first looking where you are going.”
World
Fake Maddie ‘hid bombshell evidence proving she wasn’t Madeleine McCann under mattress’ | World | News

The 24-year-old who claimed to be missing British girl Madeleine McCann hid damning evidence that she was lying about her identity under a mattress for almost two years, it’s been claimed. Julia Wandelt, who was sentenced to six months in jail for harassing the McCann family this week, secretly kept childhood photos that proved she wasn’t the missing Brit under her mattress, according to The Sun. Wandelt, who grew up in Poland, reportedly had photos of her father holding her as a baby in her possession, despite denying any association with her parents.
A five-week trial at Leicester Crown Court heard the 24-year-old claim to have memories, induced by hypnosis sessions, of being abducted and living with the McCanns as a child, including feeding Madeleine’s younger brother, Sean. Wandelt was convicted of harassment for turning up at the McCann’s home, sending letters and messages and repeatedly begging for a DNA test on Friday, November 7. She was found not guilty of stalking them.
Before launching her campaign of harassment, which included calling Kate, Madeleine’s mother, more than 60 times in one day, Wandelt reportedly stayed for three weeks in 2023 with private investigator and medium, Dr Fia Johansson.
Dr Johansson said the 24-year-old had shared medical evidence and childhood photos with her, revealing happy early years in Poland, despite Wandelt’s insistence that she did not believe her mother and father were her real parents.
Dr Johansson told The Sun that she also paid for Wandelt to do a DNA test, which proved she was of Polish, Romanian and Lithuanian descent, prompting her to become hysterical and threaten to visit the McCanns.
Wandelt was also handed a restraining order during this week’s trial, with a judge telling her she poses a “significant risk of the harassment of the McCanns in the future”.
She has already served the extent of her jail sentence on remand, waiting for trial, and is likely to be deported to Poland imminently.
Following the verdict and sentencing, the McCanns released a statement expressing “no pleasure in the result”.
“Like most people, we did not want to go through a court process … and only wanted the harassment to stop,” they said.
“The decision to prosecute was taken by the Crown Prosecution Service, based on the evidence gathered by the police. We hope Ms Wandelt will receive the appropriate care and support she needs, and any vulnerability will not be exploited by others.
“If anyone has any new evidence relating to Madeleine’s disappearance, please pass this on to the police.”
Madeleine’s disappearance from a holiday resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007, remains unsolved despite extensive publicity and large-scale and ongoing police investigations.
World
Donald Trump rages immigrants ‘flooding’ into Europe in major attack on EU | World | News

US President Donald Trump has claimed immigrants are “flooding” into Europe as he hailed Hungary’s far-right Viktor Orban. Mr Trump made the comments while hosting the Hungarian Prime Minister at the White House in an apparent bid by Mr Orban to broker another summit between the US and Russia on the conflict in Ukraine. “If you look at [Mr Orban’s] stance on immigration and other things, you know, if you look at Europe, they made tremendous mistakes in immigration,” the US President said. “It’s really hurting them very badly. He has not made a mistake on immigration.
“They have people flooding Europe all over the place and it’s hurting it. The crime rates are way up, bad things are happening.” Hungary has refused to follow the orders of the European Court of Justice on admitting immigrants and has been forced to pay fines as a result.
Under existing legislation, those who cross Hungary‘s borders cannot afterwards submit requests for asylum, but can only do so from an embassy outside the country.
Hungary has taken a hardline approach to migrants from outside the EU since 2015, when over a million people entered the country while fleeing war in Syria. Authorities built border fences and attempted to push back those crossing the border.
The two leaders opened their meeting with a series of complimentary remarks about one another, with Mr Trump praising Mr Orban for “running a great country” and pledging to discuss “trade, the Russia-Ukraine conflict [and] energy prices”.
Mr Orban, who is a long-time Trump ally, also criticised the president’s predecessor Joe Biden, suggesting that his tenure in the White House had “ruined” the relationship between the US and Hungary.
It was widely speculated before the meeting that the nationalist leader would seek a waiver on US sanctions on the purchase of Russian oil, with Mr Orban admitting his country is dependent on Moscow’s oil and gas, telling the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that without the supplies, “energy prices will skyrocket, causing shortages in our reserves”.
Questioned if he would be willing to give Hungary an exemption on the Russian oil sanctions, Mr Trump said: “We’re looking at it, because it’s very difficult for him to get the oil and gas from other areas. As you know, they don’t have … the advantage of having sea.”
The US President also said he had agreed with Mr Orban that the war in Ukraine must end soon. Asked why he didn’t meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest last month, he said: “The basic dispute is they just don’t want to stop yet. And I think they will, I think it’s taking a big toll on Russia.”
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