Macron announced that the French armed forces took control of a Russian Shadow Fleet oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean

The French Navy, supported by the UK and other partners, has detained a sanctioned tanker sailing from Russia in the Atlantic Ocean, President Emmanuel Macron stated. "Yesterday morning, the French Navy detained another oil tanker, the Tagor, sailing from Russia and subject to international sanctions. This operation was carried out on the high seas in the Atlantic Ocean with the support of several partners, including the UK, and in strict accordance with maritime law," the French leader wrote in a post on his X page.

According to the VesselFinder monitoring service, the Tagor oil tanker flies the flag of Madagascar. It made its last port call in Murmansk in early May, the service’s website noted.

Previous seizures
On March 20, the French Navy conducted an operation involving the Deyna oil tanker in the western Mediterranean Sea. The vessel was flying the Mozambican flag and had departed from Murmansk. French President Emmanuel Macron noted that the Deyna was part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet. On April 16, the press service of the Mediterranean Maritime Prefecture reported that the French authorities had lifted the detention of the Deyna after the fine was paid.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized that Moscow would use all available means to ensure respect for the principle of freedom of navigation in order to counter EU piracy in maritime areas.

NATO says it’s working with US to understand details of troop reduction in Germany

#NATO is working with the United States to understand the details of the US decision for a planned drawdown of US troops from Germany, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart says.

“We are working with the US to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany. This adjustment underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defence and take on a greater share of the responsibility for our shared security – where we’re already seeing progress since Allies agreed to invest 5% of GDP at the NATO Summit in The Hague last year,” writes Hart on X.

“We remain confident in our ability to provide for our deterrence and defence as this shift towards a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO continues,” she adds.

Over 3,000 children suffer abuse in Catholic environment in Spain

The number of people who suffered sexual abuse as minors in the Catholic environment in Spain exceeds 3,000, the El Pais newspaper reports, citing its own investigation launched in 2018. According to the paper, about 1,600 priests and parishioners are suspected of sexual abuse. El Pais notes that it has shared its findings with the Spanish Episcopal Conference, the Vatican and Spain’s human rights commissioner.

A survey conducted by the office of the Spanish rights commissioner in 2023 showed that about 1.13% of adults in the country - some 440,000 people - may have suffered sexual abuse in the Catholic environment.