Model scout for Jeffrey Epstein found dead at his home near Paris

Amelia Gentleman

A modelling scout who recruited women for Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead at his home near Paris, French officials have said.

Daniel Siad, 69, was under investigation by the prosecutors specialising in human trafficking in France, accused of rape and other charges. His name appeared in more than 1,000 documents in the US Department of Justice Epstein files that were declassified earlier this year.

Siad was one of several French men accused of aiding Epstein to traffic and abuse women. He had not yet been questioned by investigators, but had denied the allegations, saying he wanted to give his version of events.

He was found dead in his home on Monday evening. An investigation to determine the cause of death has been opened and an autopsy is to be carried out.

The files revealed Siad to be one of Epstein’s most loyal correspondents. He remained in frequent contact with him until months before the financier’s death, receiving wired payments apparently for expenses incurred during travel to find women.

And over in Hungary, the country’s chief ⁠prosecutor Gábor Bálint Nagy submitted his resignation on Wednesday, the latest senior official to leave as the new government led by Péter Magyar pursues its reforms.

In a statement, Nagy – elected to his post by the previous government of Viktor Orbán last year for a nine-year term – said he was “subjected to a series of attacks through my person, far beyond the framework of acceptable professional and public debates, despite the fact that I performed my mandate in accordance with the law.”

Magyar noted his resignation, saying in a social media post:

“With this, the country is free of yet another Orbán puppet who was obstructing the political transformation.”

Since ousting Orbán from power in April elections, Magyar has pushed to get rid of a host of top officials including unpopular ex-president Tamás Sulyok, removed by a constitutional amendment on Sunday, AFP noted.

In other news from Berlin, Thorsten Frei will be the new parliamentary leader of the ruling CDU/CSU party in Germany, replacing Jens Spahn who resigned over the weekend after he and his husband used a surrogate mother to become parents, a practice he has criticised in the past and his party is vehemently opposed to.

Surrogacy is banned in Germany, a policy Spahn refused to relax when he was health minister in 2020, so he and his husband, Daniel Funke, used a surrogate mother in the US.

Frei served as deputy chair of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group from 2018 to 2021 and as chief whip from 2021 to 2025, before leading the office of chancellor Merz over the past year.

A German government ⁠spokesperson said on Wednesday that Berlin was “highly irritated” by the renewed detention of Deutsche Welle ⁠correspondent Alican Uludağ in ⁠Turkey.

The ​Turkish prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday that Uludağ had been detained again on ⁠suspicion of inciting hatred and hostility and publicly spreading misleading information, Reuters reported.

Later on Wednesday, an Ankara ⁠court released Uludağ under judicial control measures banning him ​from travelling abroad, Deutsche Welle ‌said.

The German government spokesperson said Turkish authorities were acting in violation of the freedom of the press that Turkey had committed ⁠itself to by joining the Council of Europe ​and signing the ​European Convention on Human ​Rights.

Meanwhile, in France, 5,764 more deaths than usual were recorded during a record-breaking heatwave last month, health authorities have said, describing the excess mortality among people aged 15 and older as “unprecedented”.

Those who lost their lives between 17 June and 2 July died of “all causes” – none yet clearly linked to the heat, they said.

In comparison, the country reported 5,722 excess deaths linked to heat over the whole summer last year.

As we await any updates on whether the EU ambassadors managed to agree on the 21st package of sanctions on Russia, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas took to social media to highlight the work on tackling Russia’s shadow fleet.

In a post on X, she said:

“We’re turning up the pressure on Russia’s shadow fleet. The oil tanker MV SOUTH STAR, suspected of sailing under false flag in breach of international maritime law, has been boarded on 20 July by Operation @EUNAVFOR_MED IRINI forces for flag verification. Every illicit voyage helps sustain Russia’s war machine. We are matching our sanctions with action at sea.

In parallel, Member States this week have authorised Operation @EUNAVFOR ATALANTA to begin conducting flag verification boardings of suspected Russian shadow fleet vessels, in the same way Operation IRINI does. This decision further tightens the net.”

Meanwhile, Germany ⁠denied online reports that it ⁠was ⁠conducting ​nuclear-weapons research, dismissing them on ⁠Wednesday as Russian propaganda ⁠aimed at ​discrediting Berlin’s ‌efforts to ‌support Ukraine.

“The ‌German government regards these statements as part of the usual ‌Russian propaganda. The allegations made ​are simply unfounded … it is an attempt ⁠to discredit Germany ​as Ukraine’s strongest ​supporter,” ​a government ​spokesperson ‌said in comments reported by Reuters.

Back to Ukraine, the country’s new commander in chief said Ukraine’s ⁠armed forces have been tasked ⁠with stepping ⁠up ​counteroffensive actions.

“The ‌president of ‌Ukraine has set ‌clear objectives for us: to continue and intensify offensive operations ‌in all domains, to plan new ​operations behind enemy lines, to develop our military ⁠and its technologies, ​and ​to build ​up the ​capabilities of ‌the Armed ​Forces ​of Ukraine,” Mykhailo Drapatyi said on Facebook.

Firefighters continued to battle huge blazes in Spain and France on Wednesday, with the risk of more wildfires very high across much of Spain even as a major one raging in its central Guadalajara province receded, allowing ⁠some residents to return home, Reuters reported.

In France, where ⁠two firefighters died on Tuesday as ​their truck was engulfed in flames in the southwest region of Gironde, authorities urged people to avoid using barbecues in areas hit by heatwaves. They stressed that nine out of 10 wildfires start, accidentally or not, as a result of human activity, Reuters said.

Meanwhile, in the western Balkans, the danger ⁠has shifted from heatwaves to hailstorms, with several people injured in North Macedonia and eastern Kosovo.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent and scientists say human-driven climate change is increasing the intensity of heatwaves, droughts and wildfires, while also creating conditions for sudden, destructive storms.

Morocco’s foreign ministry said it ⁠was concerned by the death of a ⁠national during ⁠a ​police arrest in Bologna in Italy and urged ⁠a “thorough investigation,” Reuters reported.

The Moroccan ministry called on ‌Tuesday night for the necessary explanations regarding the death ​to be provided and for responsibility to be established.

Rabat urged Italian authorities to “shed full light” on the incident and called for “responsibility to be established and that the full application of the required legal measures and procedures be guaranteed”, the foreign ministry said in a statement reported by AFP.

Here is our explainer on the case:

Two trams collided on a key bridge in Rotterdam on Wednesday leaving at least 15 hurt, one seriously, AFP reported.

The Erasmus Bridge is a major landmark in the Dutch port city, spanning the Maas river, and a major transport hub.

Webcam footage of the bridge showed a tram steaming into the back of another, sending debris flying across the lanes of traffic and damaging both trams, AFP said.

Rotterdam authorities initially said 18 were injured, but revised this down to 15, according to national broadcaster NOS. The seriously injured person has been taken to hospital.

Jakub Krupa

Let’s take a quick look at other news from around Europe.

EU talks on finalising 21st package of sanctions against Russia under way

Jennifer Rankin

in Brussels

Here in Brussels talks between senior EU diplomats are under way in the latest attempt to overcome Greece’s opposition to the bloc’s sanctions against Russia.

Greece is the last remaining obstacle to the EU’s 21st round of sanctions against Russia, as it seeks to block a ban on transporting oil that would affect a large shipping company, Dynagas, owned by billionaire George Prokopiou.

Dynagas, which specialises in transporting liquefied natural gas in sub-zero temperatures, has invested in icebreakers to transport energy from Russia’s Yamal peninsula in Siberia to non European countries.

But amid great fanfare, the EU agreed last year that the “the purchase, import or transfer, directly or indirectly” of Russian LNG will cease from 1 January 2027.

Athens is now holding up the 21st package, as it seeks an exemption on this previously agreed measure. The 21st round of sanctions includes measures targeting crypto companies, banks and oil traders helping Russia evade sanctions. It would maintain a price cap on Russian oil at $44 to prevent the Kremlin gaining from rising crude prices, following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz

The stand-off has already necessitated an emergency prolongation of the EU’s oil price cap on Russia. Without further agreement., the oil price cap will go up automatically later this summer. EU ambassadors meeting in Brussels on Wednesday have given themselves until tomorrow to resolve the impasse.

A ban on imports of Russian cod has already been dropped, amid opposition from Portugal and Germany, the latter fearing the impact on the price of fish fingers.

A proposed ban on Russian combatants entering the EU looks set to be delayed, following opposition from France and Italy, two member states that grant large numbers of visas to Russian tourists.

The unraveling of the package has prompted some insiders to ask if the EU’s sanctions policy is reaching its limits.

But Ukraine, which is enduring an intensification of Russian attacks that have increased the numbers of civilians killed and injured, argues the EU can still do more to pressure Russia.

Writing on X, Ukraine’s sanctions envoy Vladyslav Vlasiuk wrote:

“Is it fair that while many [EU] companies left the [Russian] market and accepted the cost, others stayed, earned windfall profits, and now seek exemptions?”

And sticking to that topic, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr ⁠Zelenskyy said ⁠major general ⁠Ihor ​Skybiuk would replace ⁠Andrii Hnatov as the head of ⁠Ukraine’s General ​Staff, ‌as he continued reshuffling the military.

“He is a highly experienced officer who defended Ukraine shoulder to shoulder with the new Commander-in-Chief. It is important that all components of our Armed Forces continue to function in complete coordination.,” Zelenskyy said on X.

Meanwhile, responding to the top military brass reshuffle in Ukraine, the Kremlin said these changes will not affect the situation on the frontline, AFP reported.

“I don’t think this will lead to any changes on the frontlines,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Moscow intends to continue pressing in its almost four-and-a-half-year offensive.

Rubio gets asked about his plans to meet Russia’s foreign minister Lavrov tomorrow.

He says “the war in Ukraine, I think, has in many ways impeded the ability of Russia and the US to find areas of agreements on other topics,” but the US can still cooperate with Moscow in some areas.

He says the US “would like to see that war come to an end,” and “it would be good for Russia if that war came to an end,” so “we will raise it.”

“The US remains open and willing to play a constructive role in bringing that war to an end if that opportunity presents itself,” he says.

He says the talks between the US and Russia didn’t make much progress in recent months, but “perhaps there are now new conditions in place that will allow that conversation to happen and it is one of the things we will explore tomorrow.

Jakub Krupa

Right on cue, US secretary of state Rubio is speaking to reporters in Manila now.

He’s, perhaps understandably, mostly getting questions about Iran, but I am listening in for any lines on Europe, Ukraine or Russia ahead of his Lavrov meeting later this week.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov just told reporters that he will be meeting US secretary of state Marco Rubio on the sidelines of a regional Asean (that’s the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) forum in Manila this Thursday.

One to watch.