French prosecutors demand Marine Le Pen be barred from office in fake jobs trial

French prosecutors demand Marine Le Pen be barred from office in fake jobs trial
French far-right party Rassemblement National (RN) former president now MP Marine Le Pen (L) and fellow RN MP Bruno Bilde (L) walk outside the courtroom during a break in the closing arguments hearing of her trial with 24 others for embezzling funds from the European Parliament for the benefit of the far-right party, in Paris on Nov. 13, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 14 November 2024
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French prosecutors demand Marine Le Pen be barred from office in fake jobs trial

French prosecutors demand Marine Le Pen be barred from office in fake jobs trial
  • The prosecution made the request in a Paris court where Le Pen, 56, and other defendants from her National Rally party are on trial accused of creating fake jobs at the EU parliament
  • They deny the charges

PARIS: French prosecutors in the embezzlement trial of France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Wednesday demanded she get a jail sentence and a ban from public office if convicted, potentially barring her from running for president in 2027.

The prosecution made the request in a Paris court where Le Pen, 56, and other defendants from her National Rally party are on trial accused of creating fake jobs at the EU parliament. They deny the charges.

If granted by the court, the ban would exclude her from running in France’s 2027 presidential election, in what would be her fourth attempt to become head of state.

The National Rally, like other far-right parties around Europe, is riding high following a strong performance in European elections in June.

The prosecution demanded all two dozen defendants be banned from public office for five years, effective immediately after the verdict, even if the defense team appeals.

“The law applies to all,” prosecutor Nicolas Barret told the court, as Le Pen sat in the front row of the defendants’ benches.

He added that the ban would “prohibit the defendants from running in future local or national elections.”

He demanded a five-year jail sentence for Le Pen, calling for at least two years of that to be a “convertible” custodial sentence, meaning there would be a possibility of partial release.

The prosecution also demanded the RN be fined two million euros ($2.1 million) and Le Pen herself 300,000 euros.

Le Pen promptly denounced the prosecutors’ motion as excessive, branding it an “outrage” and accusing prosecutors of trying to “ruin the (RN) party.”

“I think the prosecutors’ wish is to deprive the French people of the ability to vote for who they want,” she said.

The alleged fake jobs system, which was first flagged in 2015, covers parliamentary assistant contracts between 2004 and 2016.

Prosecutors say the assistants worked exclusively for the party outside parliament.

Addressing the trial last month, Le Pen said she was innocent.

“I have absolutely no sense of having committed the slightest irregularity, or the slightest illegal act,” she told the court.

The RN’s chairman Jordan Bardella called the prosecutors’ demands on Wednesday an “assault on democracy.”

“The prosecution is not acting justly,” he wrote on X. “It is seeking to persecute and take revenge on Marine Le Pen.”

Prosecutor Louise Neyton told the court earlier in Wednesday’s hearing her team was “not here to persecute” but as the result of a “long judicial investigation.”

She and Barret presented evidence that they said showed an “organized system” of embezzlement by which the party had aimed to “save money.”

Questioned last month about how exactly she selected her presumed parliamentary aides, and what their tasks were, Le Pen gave general answers, or said she could not remember.

If convicted, Le Pen would be able to lodge an appeal.

European Parliament authorities said the legislature had lost three million euros ($3.4 million) through the jobs scheme.

The RN has paid back one million euros, which it insists is not an admission of guilt.


More than 20 dead in fresh Pakistan monsoon rains: authorities

More than 20 dead in fresh Pakistan monsoon rains: authorities
Updated 25 sec ago
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More than 20 dead in fresh Pakistan monsoon rains: authorities

More than 20 dead in fresh Pakistan monsoon rains: authorities
  • More than 20 people have died in a fresh spell of monsoon rain in Pakistan, the country’s disaster management agency said on Wednesday
ISLAMABAD: More than 20 people have died in a fresh spell of monsoon rain in Pakistan, the country’s disaster management agency said on Wednesday.
Ten people died in Karachi, the financial capital in the south, due to urban flooding that caused house collapses and electrocution. Eleven more died in the northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

Russia’s drone strikes spark fire at energy facility in Odesa region, Ukraine says

Russia’s drone strikes spark fire at energy facility in Odesa region, Ukraine says
Updated 23 min 29 sec ago
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Russia’s drone strikes spark fire at energy facility in Odesa region, Ukraine says

Russia’s drone strikes spark fire at energy facility in Odesa region, Ukraine says
  • Russia’s drone strikes spark fire at energy facility in Odesa region, Ukraine says

Russia launched a “massive drone strike” on the southern Ukrainian region of Odesa, injuring one person and causing a large fire at a fuel and energy facility, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said on Wednesday.

Administration of the Izmail district in the Odesa region said on social media that port infrastructure in the city was damaged.


Hurricane Erin churns up dangerous waves and closes beaches along US East Coast

Hurricane Erin churns up dangerous waves and closes beaches along US East Coast
Updated 26 min 10 sec ago
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Hurricane Erin churns up dangerous waves and closes beaches along US East Coast

Hurricane Erin churns up dangerous waves and closes beaches along US East Coast
  • Warnings about rip currents have been posted from Florida to the New England coast
  • Tropical storm watches were issued for Virginia and North Carolina as well as Bermuda

RODANTHE, N.C.: Hurricane Erin churned slowly toward the eastern US on Tuesday, stirring up treacherous waves that already have led to dozens of water rescues and shut down beaches along the coast in the midst of summer’s last hurrah.

While forecasters remain confident the center of the monster storm will remain far offshore, the outer edges are likely to bring damaging tropical-force winds, large swells and life-threatening rip currents into Friday.

Warnings about rip currents have been posted from Florida to the New England coast, and the biggest swells along the East Coast are expected over the coming two days. Rough ocean conditions already have been seen along the coast — at least 60 swimmers were rescued from rip currents Monday at Wrightsville Beach, near Wilmington, North Carolina.

New York City closed its beaches to swimming on Wednesday and Thursday, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered three state beaches on Long Island to prohibit swimming through Thursday. Several New Jersey beaches also will be off-limits.

“Enjoy the shore, enjoy this beautiful weather but stay out of the water,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday.

Off Massachusetts, Nantucket Island could see waves of more than 10 feet (3 meters) later this week. But the biggest threat is along the barrier islands of North Carolina’s Outer Banks where evacuations have been ordered.

Erin has become an unusually large and deceptively worrisome storm, with its tropical storm winds stretching 230 miles (370 kilometers) from its core. Forecasters expect it will grow larger in size as it moves through the Atlantic and curls north.

It continued to lash the Turks and Caicos Islands on Tuesday, where government services were suspended a day earlier and residents were ordered to stay home, along with parts of the Bahamas before its expected turn toward Bermuda and the US

By Tuesday, Erin had lost some strength from previous days and dropped to a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (161 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. It was about 540 miles (869 kilometers) south-southeast of North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras.

Tropical storm watches were issued for Virginia and North Carolina as well as Bermuda.

Climate scientists say Atlantic hurricanes are now much more likely to rapidly intensify into powerful and catastrophic storms fueled by warmer oceans. Two years ago, Hurricane Lee grew with surprising speed while barreling offshore through the Atlantic, unleashing violent storms and rip currents.

On the Outer Banks, Erin’s storm surge could swamp roads with waves of 15 feet (4.6 meters). Mandatory evacuations were ordered on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands. More than 1,800 people had left Ocracoke by ferry since Monday.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein warned residents along the coast to be prepared in case they need to evacuate and declared a state of emergency Tuesday. Bulldozers shored up the dunes, and on Hatteras, the owners of a pier removed a few planks, hoping the storm surge will pass through without tearing up the structure.

Most residents decided to stay even though memories are still fresh of Hurricane Dorian in 2019 when 7 feet (2.1 meters) of water swamped Ocracoke, said Randal Mathews, who serves as a county commissioner.

Tom Newsom, who runs fishing charters on Hatteras, said he’s lived there almost 40 years and never evacuated, and he wasn’t going to this time either.

Comparing this hurricane to others he has seen, he called this one a “nor’easter on steroids.”

Bryan Philips, who also lives on the island, said he’d evacuate if they were getting a direct hit. He expects the roads will be open by the weekend to make sure one of the last summer weekends isn’t lost.

“That’s their main concern: getting tourists back on the island as soon as possible,” said Philips.

The Outer Banks’ thin stretch of low-lying barrier islands that jut into the Atlantic are increasingly vulnerable to storm surges. There are concerns that parts of the main highway could be washed out, leaving some routes impassible for days. And dozens of beach homes already worn down from chronic beach erosion and the loss of protective dunes could be at risk, said David Hallac, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Farther south, no evacuations had been ordered, but some beach access points were closed as forecasts call for water levels up to 3 feet (1 meter) over normal high tides for several days.


9/11 victims’ fund architect slams changes to New Hampshire abuse settlement program

9/11 victims’ fund architect slams changes to New Hampshire abuse settlement program
Updated 29 min 39 sec ago
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9/11 victims’ fund architect slams changes to New Hampshire abuse settlement program

9/11 victims’ fund architect slams changes to New Hampshire abuse settlement program
  • It was recently changed to give the governor the authority to fire the fund’s administrator and to allow the attorney general to veto awards
  • As of June 30, nearly 2,000 people had filed claims with the settlement fund, which caps payouts at $2.5 million. A total of 386 had been settled, with an average award of $545,000

CONCORD: An attorney who helped design and implement the 9/11 victims’ compensation fund says New Hampshire lawmakers have eroded the fairness of a settlement program for those who were abused at the state’s youth detention center.

Deborah Greenspan, who served as deputy special master of the fund created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, recently submitted an affidavit in a class-action lawsuit seeking to block changes to New Hampshire’s out-of-court settlement fund for abuse victims. She’s among those expected to testify Wednesday at a hearing on the state’s request to dismiss the case and other matters.

More than 1,300 people have sued the state since 2020 alleging that they were physically or sexually abused as children while in state custody, mostly at the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester. Most of them put their lawsuits on hold after lawmakers created a settlement fund in 2022 that was pitched as a “victim-centered” and “trauma-informed” alternative to litigation run by a neutral administrator appointed by the state Supreme Court. But the Republican-led Legislature changed that process through last-minute additions to the state budget Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed in June.

The amended law gives the governor authority to hire and fire the fund’s administrator and gives the attorney general — also a political appointee — veto power over settlement awards. That stands in stark contrast to other victim compensation funds, said Greenspan, who currently serves as a court-appointed special master for lawsuits related to lead-tainted water in Flint, Michigan.

She said it “strains credulity” to believe that anyone would file a claim knowing that “the persons ultimately deciding the claim were those responsible for the claimant’s injuries.”

“Such a construct would go beyond the appearance of impropriety and create a clear conflict of interest, undermining the fairness and legitimacy of the settlement process,” she wrote.

Ayotte and Attorney General John Formella responded by asking a judge to bar Greenspan’s testimony, saying she offered “policy preferences masquerading as expert opinions” without explaining the principles beyond her conclusions.

“Her affidavit is instead a series of non sequiturs that move from her experience to her conclusions without any of the necessary connective tissue,” they wrote.

The defendants argue that the law still requires the administrator to be “an independent, neutral attorney” and point out that the same appointment process is used for the state’s judges. They said giving the attorney general the authority to accept or reject settlements is necessary to give the public a voice and ensure that the responsibility for spending millions of dollars in public funds rests with the executive branch.

As of June 30, nearly 2,000 people had filed claims with the settlement fund, which caps payouts at $2.5 million. A total of 386 had been settled, with an average award of $545,000.

One of the claimants says he was awarded $1.5 million award in late July, but the state hasn’t finalized it yet, leaving him worried that Formella will veto it.

“I feel like the state has tricked us,” he said in an interview this week. “We’ve had the rug pulled right out from underneath us.”

The Associated Press does not name those who say they were sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly. The claimant, now 39, said the two years he spent at the facility as a teenager were the hardest times of his life.

“I lost my childhood. I lost things that I can’t get back,” he said. “I was broken.”

Though the settlement process was overwhelming and scary at times, the assistant administrator who heard his case was kind and understanding, he said. That meeting alone was enough to lift a huge burden, he said.

“I was treated with a lot of love,” he said. “I felt really appreciated as a victim and like I was speaking to somebody who would listen and believe my story.”

Separate from the fund, the state has settled two lawsuits by agreeing to pay victims $10 million and $4.5 million. Only one lawsuit has gone to trial, resulting in a $38 million verdict, though the state is trying to slash it to $475,000. The state has also brought criminal charges against former workers, with two convictions and two mistrials so far.

The 39-year-old claimant who fears his award offer will be retracted said he doesn’t know if he could face testifying at a public trial.

“It’s basically allowing the same people who hurt us to hurt us all over again,” he said.


Australia lashes Netanyahu over ‘weak’ leader outburst

Australia lashes Netanyahu over ‘weak’ leader outburst
Updated 20 August 2025
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Australia lashes Netanyahu over ‘weak’ leader outburst

Australia lashes Netanyahu over ‘weak’ leader outburst
  • Netanyahu was infuriated when Australia declared it would recognize Palestinian statehood next month, following similar pledges from France, Canada and the United Kingdom

SYDNEY: Australia lashed Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday after he said the country’s prime minister was weak, with a top minister saying strength was more than “how many people you can blow up.”

For decades, Australia has considered itself a close friend of Israel, but the relationship has swiftly unraveled since Canberra announced last week it would recognize a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu drastically escalated a war of words on Tuesday night, calling his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese a “weak politician who betrayed Israel.”

Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Wednesday it was the sign of a frustrated leader “lashing out.”

“Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry,” Burke told national broadcaster ABC.

“What we’ve seen with some of the actions they are taking is a continued isolation of Israel from the world, and that is not in their interests either.”

Through the 1950s, Australia was a refuge for Jews fleeing the horrors of the Holocaust.

The city of Melbourne at one point housed, per capita, the largest population of Holocaust survivors anywhere outside of Israel.

Netanyahu was infuriated when Australia declared it would recognize Palestinian statehood next month, following similar pledges from France, Canada and the United Kingdom.

In the space of nine days since that decision, relations between Australia and Israel have plummeted.

Australia on Monday canceled the visa of far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman — a member of Netanyahu’s governing coalition — saying his planned speaking tour would “spread division.”

The tit-for-tat continued on Tuesday, when Israel retaliated by revoking visas held by Canberra’s diplomatic representatives to the Palestinian Authority.

Then came Netanyahu’s social media outburst. “History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews,” he said on X.

Israel finds itself increasingly isolated as it continues to wage war in Gaza, a conflict triggered by the October 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has severely restricted the entry of humanitarian aid.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said last week that Netanyahu had “lost the plot.”

Relations between Australia and Israel started fraying late last year following a spate of anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.

Netanyahu accused the Australian government of harboring “anti-Israel sentiment” after a synagogue was firebombed in December.