World
French authorities open probe into Le Pen's 2022 campaign finances
The judicial probe, which began last week, will investigate allegations of accepting a financial loan, misappropriation of property, fraud and forgery.
French criminal prosecutors have launched a preliminary inquiry into alleged illegality in the financing of Marine Le Pen’s 2022 presidential campaign, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday.
The judicial probe, which began last week, will investigate allegations of accepting a financial loan, misappropriation of property, fraud, and forgery.
The investigation was opened after the National Commission for Campaign Accounts and Political Financing submitted a review of Le Pen’s campaign financing and alerted the authorities about its findings, domestic media reported.
Le Pen invested around €11.5 million in her 2022 presidential bid — her third run for France’s highest office, and the second she lost to President Emmanuel Macron.
Troubles with cash flow
One of the main figures of the far-right National Rally party (RN), Le Pen is no stranger to allegations of financial malfeasance.
She is already facing embezzlement charges stemming from claims that she and 26 other party members set up a fake jobs scheme at the European Parliament to finance RN activities in France.
If found guilty, she could face up to 10 years in prison and a prohibition from running for public office.
Her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of RN under its original name, the National Front, is also among the accused.
In 2020, RN had to reach a court settlement with a Russian company to clear its outstanding loan debt going back to 2014.
The party, believed to be heavily in debt at the time, took out a €9.4m loan from the relatively unknown First Czech Russian Bank — owned by the firm of a billionaire friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Gennady Timchenko — in the run-up to Le Pen’s 2017 presidential run.
Although the loan deal was not public at first, an investigation by French outlet Mediapart exposed the arrangement, triggering a hail of criticism and allegations that Le Pen and RN were under the Kremlin’s influence.
After the First Czech Russian Bank lost its licence, a Russian aeroplane parts company, Aviazapchast, took over the loan, then brought charges against Le Pen’s party in front of the Moscow Arbitration Court.
Le Pen claimed at the time that she had reached out to a Russian bank because Western banks had refused to give her loans, accusing them of discrimination.
After she lost the 2017 presidential race — also to Macron — two French banks shut down accounts belonging to Le Pen and RN.
Le Pen, a self-professed admirer of Putin, has urged the West in the past to withdraw its sanctions against Moscow for its partial invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea in 2014.
She has softened her stance since, saying the only issue she had with Macron’s staunch support of Kyiv against Moscow’s ongoing full-scale invasion was that he has not allowed France to become a belligerent in the conflict.
RN leader Jordan Bardella has also been largely supportive of Ukraine in the run-up to the French snap legislative elections earlier this month, saying he was ready to confront the Kremlin if he became PM and pledged he would not allow Moscow to “consume Ukraine”.
However, he has since been appointed president of the freshly formed Patriots for Europe group at the European Parliament.
Founded by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the Freedom Party of Austria’s Herbert Kickl and Czech ANO leader Andrej Babiš, the far-right group — now the parliament’s third-largest — is expected to take a largely pro-Russian line.
Additional sources • AP
World
Adani's Bribery Scandal Raises Concern on Market, Public Disclosure Lapses
World
A look inside the most expensive house in the world — the home of the UK’s monarch
The world’s most expensive house is located in London, England.
Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the king, is widely considered the most expensive house in the world, valued at around $4.9 billion.
Buckingham Palace is far from a traditional house with 775 rooms and 50,000 people visiting each year for receptions, dinners, state banquets and other events, according to the royal family website.
ROYAL FAMILY SPOUSES: KATE MIDDLETON, MEGHAN MARKLE, OTHER CURRENT SPOUSES OF ROYAL FAMILY MEMBERS
This, of course, is outside the half million tourists who visit the destination each year. In 2023-2024, about 530,000 tourists visited Buckingham Palace, according to Statista.
In addition to viewing the breathtaking palace, visitors often watch the famous Changing of the Guard ceremony.
For those who want a look inside Buckingham Palace, guests can view the state rooms in the summer as well as on select dates in the winter and spring when small guided tours are available, according to the Royal Collection Trust website.
OWNER OF WORLD’S LARGEST CAR COLLECTION HAS OVER 7,000 VEHICLES IN HIS POSSESSION
Since 1837, Buckingham Palace has been the official London residence of the United Kingdom’s sovereigns, according to the royal family website.
Among the 775 rooms located in Buckingham Palace are 19 state rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 bedrooms for staff, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms, according to the royal family website.
The royal palace is full of breathtaking places, including the White Drawing Room, the Throne Room, the Ballroom and the 47-meter Picture Gallery filled with historical art.
SET SAIL ON WORLD’S LARGEST CRUISE SHIP, WHICH CAN ACCOMMODATE OVER 7,000 GUESTS PER VOYAGE
The Grand Staircase and 39-acre Palace Garden are other highlights.
The balcony of the royal palace is where generations of royals have stepped out for public appearances.
Another home ranked as one of the most expensive is Antilia in Mumbai, India.
Antilia holds the Guinness World Record for the “most expensive private house in the world.”
The mansion is estimated to be worth between $1 billion and $2 billion, according to Architectural Digest India.
It is owned by business magnate Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries.
The 400,000-square-foot residence is 570 feet tall.
The 27 stories of Antilia include numerous swimming pools, a spa and a theater, according to Guinness World Records.
The property also includes 168 parking spaces and three helipads.
World
WHO says mpox remains public health emergency of international concern
UN health agency says its decision is ‘based on the rising number and continuing geographic spread of cases’.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says it will keep its alert for mpox at the highest level amid a surge in cases.
A WHO committee made up of about a dozen independent experts made the decision at a meeting in Geneva on Friday, three months after the WHO first declared a public health emergency of global concern in August.
The WHO said its decision was “based on the rising number and continuing geographic spread of cases, operational challenges in the field, and the need to mount and sustain a cohesive response across countries and partners”.
There has been a surge in mpox cases this year, predominantly focused in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighbouring countries.
A first batch of vaccines was rolled out last month and appears to have had an impact on containing cases of the highly contagious disease, but the United Nations agency has been waiting for substantial proof to discuss the impact of vaccinations.
The African Union’s health watchdog warned at the end of October that the mpox outbreak was still not under control and called for more resources to avoid a pandemic that it said could potentially be worse than COVID-19.
The virus is usually mild, but it can be fatal in rare cases.
Mpox is believed to have killed hundreds of people in the DRC and elsewhere last year as it also spread to Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria and Uganda, causing a continent-wide emergency.
The disease can be spread through close contact with an infected person, sexual activity or breathing in infectious particles. The virus then replicates and spreads to the lymph nodes, leading them to swell before further spreading and causing rashes or lesions.
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