Turkish security forces are detaining hundreds of people in the aftermath of an Islamic State attack on an Istanbul church. Authorities are warning of further attacks against Jews and Christians. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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France’s Sarkozy Found Guilty Again Over Campaign Funds
PARIS — A Paris appeals court ruled Wednesday that former President Nicolas Sarkozy was guilty of illegal campaign financing over his failed 2012 reelection bid, confirming a previous ruling by a lower court, but his lawyer said he would take his case to France’s highest court.
Sarkozy was handed a one-year prison sentence, half of which was suspended, that can be served through alternative means, such as wearing an electronic bracelet without going to jail.
Sarkozy, 69, had been handed a one-year prison sentence in 2021 when first found guilty, although that was suspended while he launched his appeal. The new appeal will again mean the sentence is placed on hold.
“Today’s ruling is highly questionable. That is why we will appeal to the Cour de Cassation,” his lawyer Vincent Desry told reporters, reiterating that Sarkozy was innocent.
The Cour de Cassation is the country’s highest court, and its rulings typically focus on whether the law has been applied correctly rather than on the facts of the case. Appeals to the court can take years.
Sarkozy was in court on Wednesday to hear the verdict but left without commenting to waiting reporters.
President from 2007 to 2012, Sarkozy has remained an influential figure among conservatives and is on friendly terms with President Emmanuel Macron — despite a string of trials and investigations linked to various legal issues surrounding his campaign finances.
He has always denied accusations that his party, Les Republicains, then known as the UMP, worked with a public relations firm named Bygmalion to hide the true cost of his campaign — marked by lavish show events previously unseen in French politics.
During a hearing, Sarkozy put the blame on some members of his campaign team: “I didn’t choose any supplier; I didn’t sign any quotation, any invoice,” he told the court.
France sets strict limits on campaign spending. Prosecutors allege that the firm invoiced UMP rather than the campaign. They say Sarkozy spent $45.9 million on his 2012 campaign, almost double the permitted amount.
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Not Enough Chargers in Top EV Market California, Drivers Say
Over 1.7 million electric cars are currently on the road in California. But drivers in the nation’s largest EV market say they are struggling to find chargers. VOA’s Anna Rice narrates this report by Angelina Bagdasaryan. Video: Vazgen Varzhabetian
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US Senate Passes $95B Foreign Aid Package for Ukraine, Israel, Indo-Pacific
The U.S. Senate approved a $95 billion aid package to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan early Tuesday. But as VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, the bill faces a tough path to passage in the Republican-majority U.S. House of Representatives.
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Biden Slams Trump for NATO Comments, Urges Republicans to Fund Ukraine
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday delivered a forceful refutation of challenger Donald Trump’s harsh criticism of NATO, seeking to portray support for the former president as a threat to American interests.
House Republicans deciding whether to support a congressional measure providing support for Ukraine’s defense must choose to “stand with America or Trump,” he said.
Speaking at the White House, Biden slammed weekend remarks in which Trump said that when he was president, he told NATO leaders he would not defend members who failed to meet their financial commitments to the security bloc — and that he would, in fact, support Russian aggression against them.
“I would encourage them [Russia] to do whatever the hell they want,” Trump said he told another head of state.
“No other president in our history has ever bowed down to a Russian dictator,” Biden said Tuesday. “Let me say this as clearly as I can: I never will. For God’s sake, it’s dumb, it’s shameful, it’s dangerous, it’s un-American.”
Biden spoke Tuesday to urge House lawmakers to pass a $95 billion security aid package for Ukraine and Israel. The Senate approved the spending package earlier Tuesday.
“This bipartisan bill sends a clear message to Ukrainians, and to our partners, and to our allies around the world: America can be trusted,” Biden said.
“America can be relied upon, and America stands up for freedom. We stand strong for our allies. We never bow down to anyone and certainly not to Vladimir Putin. So let’s get on with this. Remember, the United States pulled together a coalition of nearly 50 nations to support Ukraine.”
Biden also used the former president as a foil to sketch out fundamental principles of his foreign policy.
“When [Trump] looks at NATO, he doesn’t see the alliance that protects America and the world,” Biden said. “He sees a protection racket. He doesn’t understand that NATO is built on fundamental principles of freedom, security and national sovereignty.”
And, Biden claimed, Trump’s doctrine caters not to Americans, but their enemies.
“Our adversaries have long sought to create cracks in the alliance,” he said. “The greatest hope of all those who wish America harm is for NATO to fall apart. You can be sure that they all cheered when they heard Donald Trump.”
Biden’s political critics did not immediately respond to his comments. But experts in presidential rhetoric note that Biden employed a classic tactic that has worked in the past.
“Which is that presidents always look more presidential — and he needs to look more presidential — when they’re getting tough against foreign dictators,” said Jeremi Suri, a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “That’s a good issue for him to show that he’s capable. That’s an old trope — almost too easy a trope.”
And, he said, Biden’s words could resonate among Republican lawmakers.
“I think this is going to have very real world implications, because I think that the pressure is building for many Republicans who are running for reelection in the House to show that they are not crazy on foreign policy,” he said.
VOA asked two representatives of the Trump campaign what the former president made of Biden’s words. They did not immediately respond.
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US Inflation Slows as Price Pressures Ease Gradually
WASHINGTON — Annual inflation in the United States cooled last month yet remained elevated in the latest sign that the pandemic-fueled price surge is gradually and fitfully coming under control.
Tuesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that the consumer price index rose 0.3% from December to January, up from a 0.2% increase the previous month. Compared with a year ago, prices are up 3.1%.
That is less than the 3.4% figure in December and far below the 9.1% inflation peak in mid-2022.
The latest reading is well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target at a time when public frustration with inflation has become a pivotal issue in President Joe Biden’s bid for re-election.
Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, so-called core prices climbed 0.4% last month, up from 0.3% in December and 3.9% over the past 12 months. Core inflation is watched especially closely because it typically provides a better read of where inflation is likely headed. The annual figure is the same as it was in December.
Biden administration officials note that inflation has plummeted since pandemic-related supply disruptions and significant government aid sent it soaring three years ago. And a raft of forward-looking data suggests that inflation will continue to cool.
Still, even as it nears the Fed’s target level, many Americans remain exasperated that average prices are still about 19% higher than they were when Biden took office.
The mixed data released Tuesday could reinforce the caution of Fed officials, who have said they’re pleased with the progress in sharply reducing inflation but want to see further evidence before feeling confident that it’s sustainably headed back to their 2% target. Most economists think the central bank will want to wait until May or June to begin cutting its benchmark rate from its 22-year-high of roughly 5.4.
The Fed raised its key rate 11 times from March 2022 to July of last year in a concerted drive to defeat high inflation. The result has been much higher borrowing rates for businesses and consumers, including for mortgages and auto loans. Rate cuts, whenever they happen, would eventually lead to lower borrowing costs for many categories of loans.
In the final three months of last year, the economy grew at an unexpectedly rapid 3.3% annual rate. There are signs that growth remains healthy so far in 2024. Businesses engaged in a burst of hiring last month. Surveys of manufacturing companies found that new orders rose in January. And services companies reported an uptick in sales.
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How COVID-19 Changed US Office Fashion
Hybrid work relaxed office fashion, but formal attire might be making a comeback
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Two Armenian Soldiers Killed by Azerbaijani Fire
TBILISI, Georgia — Armenia said on Tuesday that two of its soldiers had been killed by Azerbaijani fire along the heavily militarized border, the first fatal incident since the two sides last year began negotiating a deal to end more than 30 years of intermittent war.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app that two of its soldiers had been killed and several more wounded at a combat post near the southern Armenian village of Nerkin Hand.
Azerbaijan’s border service said in a statement that it staged a “a revenge operation” in retaliation for a “provocation” it said Armenian forces had committed the day before.
It said that further “provocations” would be met with “more serious and decisive measures from now on.”
“The military and political leadership of Armenia is fully responsible for the incident.”
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said that Armenian forces Monday evening fired at Baku’s positions along a northwestern section of the border, around 300 kilometers from Nerkin Hand. Armenia’s Defense Ministry denied that such an incident took place.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in conflict for over three decades over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan in September retook Karabakh in a lightning offensive, prompting a rapid exodus of almost all of the territory’s Armenian inhabitants, and a renewed push from both sides for a treaty to formally end the conflict.
Although fatal exchanges of fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been common for decades, the border had become more peaceful since the start of talks, with little serious fighting since the collapse of Karabakh in September 2023.
The peace talks have in recent months appeared to stagnate, with both sides accusing the other of sabotaging the diplomatic process.
Biden, Jordanian King Express Concerns About Rafah Operation in Gaza
Jordan’s King Abdullah II, the first Arab leader to visit the White House since October 7, met with President Joe Biden to discuss a hostage deal and the future of Gaza as Israel began operations Monday in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Jordan is pushing a cease-fire, while Biden over the weekend appeared to criticize Israel’s strategy. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House.
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Trump Comments on NATO Send Shock Waves Throughout Europe
Shock waves across European capitals and a rare rebuke from NATO followed the latest comments by former President Donald Trump about the U.S. commitment to the alliance. Trump said that if he returned to the White House, he would invite Russia to attack allies that he termed “delinquent.” VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.
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