A court has acquitted Austrian ex-leader Sebastian Kurz of making false statements
A panel of judges at Vienna's upper state court acquitted Kurz after a short appeal hearing, the Austria Press Agency reported.
The case centered on Kurz's testimony to an inquiry that focused on the coalition he led from 2017, when his conservative Austrian People's Party formed a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party, until its collapse in 2019.
Prosecutors accused the 38-year-old of having given false evidence in June 2020 regarding his role in the setting up of a holding company, OeBAG, which administers the state's role in some companies, and the appointment of his former close confidant Thomas Schmid to its leadership.
In February 2024, Kurz was found guilty of making false statements about the appointment of the company's supervisory board, though not about that of Schmid. He was given an eight-month suspended sentence.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Norway to review sovereign wealth fund's Israel investments
OSLO: Norway's government said on Tuesday it had ordered a review of its sovereign wealth fund portfolio to ensure that Israeli companies contributing to the occupation of the West Bank or the war in Gaza were excluded from investments. The review followed a report by the Aftenposten daily that said the $1.9 trillion fund had built a stake in 2023-24 in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel's armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets. The fund's investment in the Bet Shemesh Engines Ltd. (BSEL) group is worrying, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told public broadcaster NRK. 'We must get clarification on this because reading about it makes me uneasy,' Stoere said. BSEL did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the fund, took a 1.3 percent stake in BSEL in 2023 and raised this to 2.09 percent by the end of 2024, holding shares worth $15.2 million, the latest available NBIM records show. In light of Aftenposten's story and the security situation in Gaza and the West Bank, the central bank will now conduct a review of NBIM's Israeli holdings, Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday. NBIM CEO Nicolai Tangen told NRK that BSEL had not appeared on any lists of recommended exclusions, such as by the United Nations or the fund's own ethics council. Norway's parliament in June rejected a proposal for the sovereign wealth fund to divest from all companies with activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. The fund, which owns stakes in 8,700 companies worldwide, held shares in 65 Israeli companies at the end of 2024, valued at $1.95 billion, its records show. Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, has sold its stakes in an Israeli energy company and a telecoms group in the last year, and its ethics council has said it is reviewing whether to recommend divesting holdings in five banks.
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump says drop in energy prices will prompt Putin to ‘stop killing people'
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said declining energy prices could pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt the war in Ukraine. 'If energy goes down enough, Putin is going to stop killing people,' Trump said in an interview on CNBC. 'If you get energy down, another $10 a barrel, he's going to have no choice because his economy stinks.'
Leaders
6 hours ago
- Leaders
Iran Says Any Future Talks Should Hold US Accountable for Nuclear Site Attacks
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei stated that any future talks should hold the United States accountable for its attacks on Iran's nuclear sites, according to AFP. Israel, US Attacks on Iranian Nuclear Sites On June 13, Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Iran under the name of Operation Rising Lion. The military campaign targeted Iran's nuclear facilities and killed top military commanders and nuclear scientists. The US became directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran on June 22 after launching airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan. 'In any potential negotiation… the issue of holding the United States accountable and demanding compensation for committing military aggression against Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities will be one of the topics on the agenda,' Baqaei told a press briefing on Monday. When asked about the possibility of engaging in direct talks with the US, Baqaei answered: 'No.' Nuclear Talks In July, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stated that Tehran would restart nuclear talks with the US if there were assurances of no more attacks against Iran, according to The Associated Press. Araqchi also noted that Iran has always been ready and will be ready in the future for talks about its nuclear program. However, 'assurance should be provided that in case of a resumption of talks, the trend will not lead to war.' Araqchi stated that Tehran intends to collaborate with the UN nuclear watchdog, but this cooperation would take on new form and would be guided and managed through the Supreme National Security Council, according to Reuters. He also mentioned that that access to Iranian Nuclear sites bombed by Israel and the US posed security and safety issues. According to the new law, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should have approval by the Supreme National Security Council for any future inspection of Iran's nuclear sites. In a speech to Tehran-based foreign diplomats, Araqchi emphasized Iran's need to resume uranium enrichment on its soil. Related Topics: IAEA to Visit Iran Within Next Two Weeks Iran-Europe Nuclear Talks Loom as Sanctions Deadline Nears Iran Fired Banned Cluster Munitions against Israel: Amnesty Short link : Post Views: 7
