French military intel chief's resignation seen as fallout for misjudging Putin's intentions in Ukraine
CBSN
Paris — The head of France's military intelligence has quit his post in what's being seen as fallout from France misjudging Russia's intentions in Ukraine. As the U.S. predicted Russia was ready to invade Ukraine, France preferred to believe it wouldn't go that far.
Early in March, the head of France's armed forces, General Thierry Burkhard, admitted there had been very different interpretations of available intelligence.
"The Americans said that the Russians were going to attack, and they were right," he told Le Monde newspaper. "Our services thought instead that the cost of conquering Ukraine would be colossal and that Russia had other options" to bring down the regime of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Noumea — France's president held a flurry of meetings with local representatives in the restive Pacific territory of New Caledonia on Thursday, urging calm after deadly rioting, and vowing thousands of military reinforcements will stay in place to quell what he called an "unprecedented insurrection."
Kathmandu — Nepali climber Phunjo Lama on Thursday reached Mount Everest's summit in 14 hours and 31 minutes, smashing the record for the world's fastest ascent of the mountain by a woman. Climbers usually take days to reach the top of the 29,032-foot mountain, spending nights on its different camps to rest and acclimatize.
New Delhi — Indian justice officials have changed course amid outrage over the bail terms set for a teenager accused of killing two people while driving a Porsche at high speed while drunk and without a license. The 17-year-old son of a wealthy businessman had been ordered to write a 300-word essay and work with the local traffic police for 15 days to be granted bail — a decision that was made within 15 hours of his arrest.