The former Italian PM was acquitted of allegations he paid witnesses to lie in an underage prostitution case as legal errors meant he had no case to answer, according to a court summary.
24 mostly young female guests were allegedly bribed at his so-called Bunga Bunga parties in a previous trial, but is now jubilant, writing on Twitter, “finally acquitted after more than 11 years of suffering, mud-slinging and incalculable political damage.”
Ukraine’s accession to NATO is not being discussed right now, given the ongoing hostilities between Moscow and Kiev, the French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Saturday.
Speaking to the Russian RTVI Channel, Anne-Claire Legendre was asked about Ukraine’s bids to join the European Union and the US-led military alliance. She described the EU’s decision to grant Ukraine candidate status in June 2022 as “very important,” sending a signal of “serious political support” for Kiev’s course and reflecting Ukrainians’ desire to embrace European values.
However, she refrained from naming exact dates for Kiev to become part of the EU, saying Brussels is formulating a roadmap that could take “more or less time.” The spokeswoman noted that EU members seek to “move towards a concrete cooperation with our Ukrainian friends.”
Chinese Military Aircraft Enter Taiwan Ahead of Blinken Beijing Visit
More than a dozen Chinese military aircraft and four naval vessels were detected around Taiwan on Friday morning, according to defense officials.
The latest border move by Beijing came ahead of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s trip to China, scheduled for February 5-6.
Earlier, the Pentagon claimed to have discovered a spy balloon over the northern US. In comments cited by the US media, an unnamed senior US defense official said Washington was “confident” that the balloon belonged to China, while Beijing has since claimed it was a "civilian airship intended for meteorological research".
