GRENOBLE, France: An avalanche killed three off-piste skiers, including two Britons, in the French Alps on Friday, prosecutors said a day after several ski resorts shut down due to the risk of snowslides.
The avalanche in Val d’Isere swept away six skiers, killing one French national and the two Britons, prosecutor Benoit Bachelet said.
A third British citizen suffered minor injuries, he added.
Emergency services responded quickly but could not prevent the deaths, a resort official said, noting that all of the victims had avalanche transceivers.
There have now been at least 25 avalanche deaths in France this winter season, with the majority occurring since January.
The deaths followed a rare, day-long red alert across the southeastern Savoie region on Thursday — a danger level issued only twice before since the system was introduced 25 years ago.
The warning prompted several resorts to close all or part of their pistes.
On Friday, the red alert was lifted Friday in Savoie but the risk level remained high across the Alps, with “very unstable snow cover” especially above 1,800 (5,900 feet) to 2,000 meters altitude, according to the Meteo France weather service.
Storm Nils, which passed through France on Thursday, dumped 60-100 centimeters of snow, according to the weather service.
Two British skiers among three dead in French Alps
https://arab.news/jsft3
Two British skiers among three dead in French Alps
- Emergency services responded quickly but could not prevent the deaths
- Deaths followed a rare, day-long red alert across the southeastern Savoie region
Pull him off TV: Steve Bannon shuts down Sen. Lindsey Graham
- Trump’s former chief strategist called for the senator to be registered as a foreign agent
DUBAI: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called on Tuesday for US Senator Lindsey Graham to be registered as a foreign agent of the Israeli government, escalating a growing conservative backlash against the senator’s vocal support for Israel.
Speaking on his podcast “War Room,” Bannon said Graham should be “pulled off of television,” adding: "This is dangerous… because you have guys like Lindsey Graham and dozens more that are doing the wrong thing.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Graham said: “To all the antisemites, to all the isolationists… I’m not with you, I’m with Israel, I will be with Israel to our dying day.”
Graham also urged Gulf Arab states to join military action against Iran. “What I want you to do in the Middle East, to our friends in Saudi Arabia and other places, [is] step forward and say, ‘this is my fight too, I join America, I’m publicly involved in bringing this regime down,’” he said.
In a post on X, Graham questioned the value of a US defense agreement with Saudi Arabia following the evacuation of the American embassy in Riyadh, writing: “Why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”
Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News, responded to Graham’s comments in a Sky News interview, saying: “He flip flops so much, it’s actually entertaining.”
“On one hand, he says he will never set foot in Saudi Arabia. The next day, he’s here signing multimillion-dollar deals.”
“I don’t think anyone here takes him seriously,” Abbas added.
He warned Graham to be careful what he wished for: “Do you really want Saudi Arabia involved in this war putting our oil facilities at risk or do you want us stabilizing the energy markets?”
Graham pressed further, warning that inaction would carry a price. “Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard. If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”
“Hopefully this changes soon. If not, consequences will follow.”
Graham's remarks drew sharp criticism from Bannon and others including podcast host Megyn Kelly.
She questioned on X whether Graham was overstepping his authority as a senator, writing: “When did Lindsay Graham become our president?”
Kelly also said Graham had threatened Lebanon, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, the wider Arab region, and Spain within a 24-hour period.
The problem with Graham “isn’t (just) that he’s a homicidal maniac, it’s that Trump likes and is listening to him,” she said in another post.
