List of All Articles with Tag 'eu'

French magistrates have ordered former president Nicolas Sarkozy and 12 others to go on trial on charges that his 2007 presidential campaign received millions in illegal financing from the government of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The national financial prosecutor, Jean-Francois Bohnert, announced that the decade-long investigation has been formally closed. The trial will run from January to April 2025, the statement said. The case is the biggest of multiple corruption investigations involving Sarkozy. He has been convicted in two others. He denies wrongdoing in all cases. In the Libya case, he is charged with illegal campaign financing, embezzling, passive corruption and related counts. Sarkozy has been under investigation in the Libya case since 2013. Investigators examined claims that Gaddafi's government secretly gave Sarkozy 50 million euros (£42 million) for his winning 2007 campaign. The sum would be more than double the legal campaign funding limit at the time and would violate French rules against foreign campaign financing. The investigation gained traction when French-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine told news site Mediapart in 2016 that he had delivered suitcases from Libya containing five million euros (£4.2 million) in cash to Sarkozy and his former chief of staff. Takieddine later reversed course and Sarkozy sought to have the investigation closed. In May, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) demanded that Sarkozy be tried, citing charges against him of "concealment of laundering public funds, passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and criminal conspiracy with a view to committing a crime punishable by 10 years in jail". Investigating magistrates, who had the last word, gave the go-ahead for a trial, the PNF said. After becoming president in 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Gaddafi to France with high honours later that year. Sarkozy then put France at the forefront of Nato-led air strikes that helped rebel fighters topple Gaddafi's government in 2011. In an unrelated case, Sarkozy was sentenced to a year under house arrest for illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 re-election bid. He is free while the case is pending appeal. He was also found guilty of corruption and influence peddling in another case and sentenced to a year under house arrest in an appeals trial in May this year. He took the case to France's highest court, which suspended the sentence. Associated Press Read More French former President Nicolas Sarkozy to go on trial over Libya financing for 2007 campaign Wagner leader ‘killed’ in plane crash: Your questions answered by an expert Minister calls out ‘arsonist scum’ as 79 arrested over Greece wildfires

By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS The Dutch nominee to run the European Union's climate change portfolio is likely to

Ukraine’s allies now worry the war is dragging into a long fight that may strengthen Vladimir Putin’s hand

Unlike in the UK, grades were still boosted to reduce the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Agnetha Fältskog has a new solo album on the way and has signed to BMG.

UK consumer confidence rebounded in August as inflation showed signs of cooling and strong wage growth buoyed household

A mysterious naked “wolf man” holding a wooden spear has been photographed by hikers in the Harz mountains of central Germany. The photos show the man covered in dirt and hair as he plays with sand on the floor. The hikers, Gina Weiss, 31, and her friend Tobi, 38, were walking in the woods near Blankenburg in the state of Saxony-Anhalt on Tuesday evening when they spotted him. “When we reached the sand caves we saw the wolf man. He stood up high on one of the caves and held a long wooden stick like a lance in his arm,” Ms Weiss told Bild newspaper. The wolf man and the hikers locked eyes but no words passed between them in those ten minutes, the hikers said. “He wouldn’t take his eyes of us, said nothing. He looked dirty like a Stone Age man from a history book.” Reports of a wolf man are not uncommon in Blankenburg. Authorities said they have been receiving intel about such a figure roaming the forests for the past five years. Fire sites and branch shelters have even been found in the area, as Alexander Beck, the head of Blankenburg fire brigade, said: “Someone clearly knows how to live outside and adapt to the changing seasons.” Members of the fire brigade have also reported seeing a forest dweller wearing fur but said that he ran off, according to MDR, the regional public broadcaster. In March this year, hikers said they saw a “wolf man” running around the forest and also reported seeing a fire-bolt. Emergency services searched the area but only found old fire sites. A volunteer with the local fire service told The Telegraph that they had not noticed anything unusual in the forest. They described the story as “nonsense” and suggested the photos of the wolf man were “a prank”. Nonetheless, Germany’s dense forests and shrubbery have always inspired folklore, with the ninetheenth-century Brothers Grimm among the most notable fairytale collections to be rooted in the dark woods. Read More In-N-Out owner reveals where ‘animal style’ name comes from More hearings begin soon for Summit's proposed CO2 pipeline. Where does the project stand? Here’s the best time to plant fruits and vegetables

Russia’s refined fuel exports are on course to slump to a 15-month low, amid strong domestic demand for

Rolex SA is upending the world of luxury watch retailing by buying Bucherer AG in a deal that

Parts of southern Europe will get a final few days of hotter-than-normal temperatures before a broad pattern of

Shares of Watches of Switzerland Group Plc fell as much as 25% on concerns the biggest retailer of

CMC Markets Plc shares slumped as much as 20% after the financial derivatives dealer’s full-year guidance fell short