Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will learn his fate in a corruption trial on Thursday in which he is accused of taking millions of euros from late Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi to help finance his 2007 election campaign.
French prosecutors have requested a seven-year jail sentence for Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012.
He can appeal if found guilty, which would likely suspend his sentence.
The 70-year-old has been on trial since January on charges of "concealing the embezzlement of public funds, passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and criminal conspiracy with a view to committing a crime".
Investigators allege he made a corrupt pact with the Libyan government involving Libyan spies, a convicted terrorist, arms dealers and allegations that Gaddafi provided Sarkozy's campaign with millions of euros shipped to Paris in suitcases.
Sarkozy has repeatedly denied any guilt, and said the case is politically motivated.
Despite lingering legal headaches, and having his Legion of Honour, France's highest distinction, stripped in June, Sarkozy remains an influential figure on the French political stage.
He recently met with his former protege, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, and has also lent credibility to the National Rally (RN), led by Marine Le Pen, saying the far-right, anti-immigrant party now forms part of the "republican arc."
Sarkozy has faced legal battles since leaving office.
Last year, France's highest court upheld his conviction for corruption and influence peddling, ordering him to wear an electronic tag for a year, a first for a former French head of state. The tag has now been removed.
Also last year, an appeals court confirmed a separate conviction for illegal campaign financing over his failed re-election bid in 2012.
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Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry has confirmed the number of casualties its citizens suffered as a result of the 5 June drone attacks on the cargo ships Natra and Zircon in the Sea of Azov. In a statement, it said four Azerbaijani citizens were killed and four others were injured.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has warned ahead of World Environment Day that Afghanistan's worsening water crisis is disproportionately affecting women and girls, who bear much of the responsibility for securing water for their families.
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Armenian authorities arrested six candidates from the pro-Russian Strong Armenia bloc on Saturday, one day before voters were due to take part in parliamentary elections.
More than 6,000 people gathered outside a vote-counting centre in Seoul on Friday night, demanding this week’s local elections be repeated after ballot shortages left some voters unable to cast their ballots.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry has confirmed the number of casualties its citizens suffered as a result of the 5 June drone attacks on the cargo ships Natra and Zircon in the Sea of Azov. In a statement, it said four Azerbaijani citizens were killed and four others were injured.
The U.S. said it struck Iranian radar sites on Qeshm Island and in Goruk after intercepting four drones, while Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they launches retaliatory strikes on four tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and targeted U.S. bases in the Gulf.
The Iranian national football team is set to arrive in North America for the World Cup after finally securing travel documents, but a dispute over U.S. visa approvals continues to cast a shadow over the country's tournament preparations.
At least a dozen people were wounded, two critically, on Saturday (6 June) in Toledo, Ohio, as two shooters traded gunfire, police said.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 7 June, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih al‑Zaidi will pay an official visit to the United States, bringing with him a delegation of business leaders, private‑sector representatives and banking officials, in an effort to boost investment and deepen economic ties with Washington.
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