Former French senator convicted of drugging fellow lawmaker

PARIS — A French court on Friday found former senator Joel Guerriau guilty of drugging a woman lawmaker with MDMA with the intent to sexually assault her, sentencing the 68-year-old to four years in prison, with 18 months to be served behind bars. The ruling followed a high-profile trial that began Monday and centered on Guerriau’s conduct during a November 2023 meeting at his Paris apartment with National Assembly member Sandrine Josso. Prosecutors said the veteran politician spiked Josso’s champagne with the synthetic drug…

Budapest mayor charged, could face fine for staging banned Pride march

BUDAPEST — Prosecutors in Hungary have filed charges against Budapest’s opposition mayor, Gergely Karácsony, seeking a court-imposed fine for organizing the capital’s Pride parade last June despite an official ban, authorities said. The district prosecutor’s office said it had proposed that a court issue a summary judgment without holding a trial, but did not specify the amount of the fine sought. The move escalates a legal battle that has shadowed the city’s record-breaking Pride, which drew an estimated 200,000 people in…

Trump warns Iran: Accept nuclear pact or face harsher military strikes

Trump urges Iran to ‘come to the table’ as U.S. carrier groups move into region; Tehran vows to ‘respond like never before’ U.S. President Donald Trump called on Iran to return to negotiations over its nuclear program, warning that any next U.S. response could be far harsher, as a carrier strike group enters the Middle East amid heightened tensions. “Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal — NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS — one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly…

Israel set to hold funeral for final hostage retrieved from Gaza

MEITAR, Israel — Israel on Wednesday prepared to bury Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage recovered from Gaza, in a funeral that officials and mourners cast as both an intimate farewell and a national moment of closure. Gvili, 24, an off-duty police officer from the elite Yassam unit, was killed while fighting militants during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on southern Israel. His body was taken back into Gaza by the Islamic Jihad militant group, Israeli officials say. He was among about 250 people abducted during the…

EU Court Chastises Hungary for Defying Bloc in UN Cannabis Vote

Europe’s top court has ruled that Hungary violated European Union law by voting against the bloc’s agreed position on cannabis classification during a United Nations meeting, finding Budapest breached the principle of sincere cooperation and the EU’s exclusive external competence. The Court of Justice of the European Union said Hungary “failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law” when, at a 2020 session of the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs, it voted against removing cannabis from a list of substances that also…

Australia faces extreme bushfire danger as temperatures near 50C

Hundreds told to evacuate as out-of-control bushfire threatens Victoria’s Otways amid record heat MELBOURNE, Australia — Authorities ordered hundreds of people to evacuate rural communities in southeast Australia as an out-of-control bushfire threatened towns in Victoria’s Otways region during a punishing heatwave that pushed temperatures toward state records. Emergency warnings expanded to additional rural districts as fire conditions deteriorated. “Due to extreme weather today, the fire is predicted to rapidly expand and…

Budapest mayor charged, risks fine for staging banned Pride parade

Prosecutors in Hungary have filed charges against Budapest’s opposition mayor, Gergely Karacsony, seeking to fine him for organizing the city’s Pride parade last June despite an official ban, according to the district prosecutor’s office. The office said it has asked the court to issue a summary judgment imposing a fine without a trial, but did not disclose the amount sought. The case stems from a Pride parade that organizers said drew more than 200,000 people, a record turnout and a pointed rebuke of Prime Minister Viktor…

Torrential storms trigger landslide, leaving Sicilian town on cliff edge

More than 1,500 evacuated as landslide threatens cliffside homes in Sicily’s Niscemi NISCEMI, Sicily — More than 1,500 people have been evacuated from the Sicilian town of Niscemi after a major landslide, triggered by violent storms, left homes teetering on the edge of a cliff, Italy’s civil protection chief said. Niscemi, a town of about 25,000 in south-central Sicily, sits on a plateau that authorities say is gradually collapsing toward the plain below, driven by water that remains trapped in the subsoil. The shifting…

Rep. Ilhan Omar sprayed with unidentified substance during live speech

MINNEAPOLIS — U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar was targeted during a town hall in Minneapolis when a man rushed the front row and sprayed an unidentified liquid at her from a syringe before being tackled by security, her office said. The man was taken into custody by Minneapolis police as Omar resumed her remarks, telling the audience, “We will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw on us.” The confrontation erupted moments after the Minnesota Democrat called for a hard break from the Trump administration’s immigration…

Senior Trump aide says Minneapolis agents may have violated protocol

White House reviews immigration tactics after fatal Minneapolis shooting; Trump vows to ‘de‑escalate’ WASHINGTON — The White House is examining whether U.S. immigration agents breached protocol before the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti during weekend protests in Minneapolis, senior aide Stephen Miller said, as the administration signaled a shift in tactics amid mounting political fallout. Miller, who oversees President Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda, said the administration had issued “clear guidance”…