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Rykte att Brigitte Macron är transperson ”ett försök att tysta kvinnor”

En desinformationskampanj om att hustrun till Frankrikes president är transperson har börjat spridas i USA, skriver nyhetsbyrån AFP. I en nu raderad video upprepade den konservativa kommentatorn Candace Owens nyligen påståenden om att Brigitte Macron egentligen är född som man under namnet Jean-Michel Trogneux.

De falska påståendena började cirkulera efter presidentvalet i Frankrike 2021 och spreds till USA via forum som 4chan.

Enligt organisationen National Democratic Institute syftar kampanjer av den här typen till att ”tysta kvinnor och driva bort dem från det offentliga rummet”.

Brigitte Macron och hennes bror Jean-Michel Trogneux har stämt två kvinnor för förtal efter att de spridit påståendet på Youtube 2021. Enligt källor till AFP ska fallet upp i domstol nästa år.

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The "wedding pictures" spread online: "We love each other"

A flurry of humorous posts spread on social media after the meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian President Lula da Silva. This is reported by Le Figaro and several other media.

The reason is the unusually loving press pictures that are spread from the meeting.

"All pictures of Macron with other world leaders look like a happy gay couple," writes one user.

Now Macron also joins the discussion. On X, he shares a picture with Lula where their own faces are cut into the movie poster of the romantic musical film "La La Land".

"Some have compared the photos from my visit to Brazil with the photos from a wedding, I tell them: It was one! France loves Brazil and Brazil loves France," he writes.

Joking aside, the two major economies are regarded as key geopolitical players within the framework of the US-China rivalry, states France 24. France also sees Brazil as an important bridge to a number of emerging countries. Macron's visit is a sign that the relationship is about to be revived, writes The Guardian. 

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Nio gripna i Tadzjikistan för koppling till Moskvadåd

Nio personer som tros ha koppling till de misstänkta för terrordådet i Moskva har omhändertagits av säkerhetspolisen i Tadzjikistan, enligt den statliga ryska nyhetsbyrån Ria Novosti.

Samtliga ska ha omhändertagits i staden Vahdat i måndags och förts till huvudstaden Dusjanbe.

Ryska säkerhetstjänsten har pekat ut fyra män från Tadzjikistan som misstänkta för attacken för en vecka sedan där 143 människor dödades. 

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Poland's abortion legislation
Poland's president stops over-the-counter morning-after pills

Poland's president has used his veto to stop the government's plans to make morning-after pills over-the-counter, writes TT.

President Andrzej Duda is allied with the former PIS government, which during its time in power introduced an almost complete ban on abortion in Poland.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk recently stated that his government was ready to present a bill opening up the right to abortion and easing restrictions on emergency contraceptive pills.

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Arrested reporters in Russia
WSJ in continuous struggle: "This is how hostage-taking works"

Both the White House and the Wall Street Journal have made major efforts to get the paper's reporter Evan Gershkovich released, but it cannot be said that enough has been done until he is a free man. WSJ publisher Almar Latour tells Politico.

He says that the media attention is important but that there is also a lot of work going on in silence. Latour also has no doubt that the Russian ambition is to use the reporter as a party to a prisoner exchange.

- This is how hostage-taking works.

President Joe Biden says his administration will continue to do everything it can to facilitate a release and condemn the Kremlin's "terrible attempt to use Americans as bargaining chips."

Vladimir Putin, without mentioning him by name, has hinted that they want the murderer Vadim Krasikov released in a prisoner exchange. He is sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany.