List of All Articles with Tag 'd'

French magistrates have ordered former president Nicolas Sarkozy and 12 others to go on trial on charges that his 2007 presidential campaign received millions in illegal financing from the government of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The national financial prosecutor, Jean-Francois Bohnert, announced that the decade-long investigation has been formally closed. The trial will run from January to April 2025, the statement said. The case is the biggest of multiple corruption investigations involving Sarkozy. He has been convicted in two others. He denies wrongdoing in all cases. In the Libya case, he is charged with illegal campaign financing, embezzling, passive corruption and related counts. Sarkozy has been under investigation in the Libya case since 2013. Investigators examined claims that Gaddafi's government secretly gave Sarkozy 50 million euros (£42 million) for his winning 2007 campaign. The sum would be more than double the legal campaign funding limit at the time and would violate French rules against foreign campaign financing. The investigation gained traction when French-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine told news site Mediapart in 2016 that he had delivered suitcases from Libya containing five million euros (£4.2 million) in cash to Sarkozy and his former chief of staff. Takieddine later reversed course and Sarkozy sought to have the investigation closed. In May, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) demanded that Sarkozy be tried, citing charges against him of "concealment of laundering public funds, passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and criminal conspiracy with a view to committing a crime punishable by 10 years in jail". Investigating magistrates, who had the last word, gave the go-ahead for a trial, the PNF said. After becoming president in 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Gaddafi to France with high honours later that year. Sarkozy then put France at the forefront of Nato-led air strikes that helped rebel fighters topple Gaddafi's government in 2011. In an unrelated case, Sarkozy was sentenced to a year under house arrest for illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 re-election bid. He is free while the case is pending appeal. He was also found guilty of corruption and influence peddling in another case and sentenced to a year under house arrest in an appeals trial in May this year. He took the case to France's highest court, which suspended the sentence. Associated Press Read More French former President Nicolas Sarkozy to go on trial over Libya financing for 2007 campaign Wagner leader ‘killed’ in plane crash: Your questions answered by an expert Minister calls out ‘arsonist scum’ as 79 arrested over Greece wildfires

An overview of the media in St Kitts and Nevis, as well as links to broadcasters and newspapers.

Provides an overview of St Kitts and Nevis, including key facts about this Caribbean nation.

The increased focus on mental health in the last few years has seen more and more people turning to things like mindfulness, meditation and talking therapies to cope with stress. While these techniques can be very effective, it’s important to remember that stress isn’t ‘all in your head’ – it can have a serious physical impact as well. “Stress is how you feel and respond when life puts you under a lot of pressure,” says Dr Luke Powles, associate clinical director at Bupa Health Clinics. “A certain amount of stress can be positive, as it can help you prepare for challenges and respond to them,” Powles adds. “But too much stress, especially over a long period of time, can cause both mental and physical problems.” That’s why it’s vital to look at the sources of stress in your life and be aware of both the short and long-term symptoms. Here’s how stress can affect different parts of the body… Heart and lungs A sudden surge of stress can make you feel like you’ve just run up several flights of stairs. “Immediately, you’re going to get an increase in your heart rate, with that almost panic attack or anxiety-like feeling,” says Dr Alka Patel, aka the Health Hacktivation Doctor. “Your breathing rate is going to speed up as well, because you’re trying to oxygenate your blood.” That’s also why you might get sweaty palms or pits: “You get vasodilatation of your blood vessels – you’re basically trying to increase blood flow to your body, so sweating is a very immediate phenomenon for most people.” Stressful situations can raise your blood pressure temporarily too, Powell says: “If you’re stressed over a long time, you could possibly develop long-term high blood pressure.” The link between stress and heart disease is mitigated by other factors. “Stress may not directly cause coronary heart disease, such as a heart attack or stroke and cholesterol,” says Powell. “But if you smoke, drink, or eat more to cope with stress, you increase your risk of these. Stress may also increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.” Doctors also warn about heart rate variability (HRV), meaning the variation in the pauses between heartbeats. “You want a high HRV because you want to be adaptable,” Patel explains. “When you’re under chronic stress your HRV starts to drop, and that tells you that you’re not resilient in the face of stress.” Stomach and gut Feeling too anxious to eat? Or craving carbs when you’re under pressure? “You’re releasing this surge of cortisol, the stress hormone, very quickly, which is then trying to get as much sugar and fuel on board,” Patel explains. “A lot of people will then either notice the hunger response: ‘I’ve got to eat lunch to manage my stress’. Or you notice the dip, which is: ‘I don’t want to eat, I can’t eat anything else’.” You might experience digestive issues as well, she continues: “With an immediate stress reaction, everything else in your body has to stop. This means you can start to get those symptoms of diarrhoea, upset stomach, that kind of thing, because all of those digestive processes have to have to halt in order to manage your stress.” There are also some links between chronic stress and certain illnesses, including digestive complaints. “If you have a pre-existing health condition, stress could make it worse, or flare up,” says Powell. “Examples of conditions that can be aggravated by stress include irritable bowel syndrome, eczema, asthma and psoriasis.” Muscles A surge of stress can cause muscle spasms called fasciculation and tension in the cervical muscles of the neck, which might lead to a headache. “People don’t necessarily associate headaches with muscles, but you can get spasms in your upper neck muscles and shoulders,” Patel says. “You feel the tension in the muscles going over your scalp – and that’s why we call these tension headaches.” Teeth and mouth Stress can also harm your oral health, which should be dealt with by a dentist. “Teeth grinding (bruxism) is often linked to stress, but lots of people aren’t aware they have the condition because it happens in their sleep,” says Powell. “Symptoms include headaches, earache, stiffness and pain in the jaw or mouth; teeth which are breaking or look worn down; and facial swelling.” Inflammageing A hot topic among longevity specialists in recent years, ‘inflammageing’ means chronic inflammation that has a damaging effect and is caused by a variety of diet and lifestyle factors. “Stress accelerates ageing, and then there’s a whole cascade of stuff that goes on as a result of that,” says Patel. “[It affects] your immune response, the communication between your cells, muscle function and your bones.”

Poland's domestic security agency is investigating whether an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease that killed seven people in the south of the country might be the result of intentional tampering with the water system, authorities said on Friday.

The ultranationalist minister's statement in an interview sparked a storm of criticism online.

A brand of frozen mixed vegetables and sweet corn sold at Kroger and Food Lion is being recalled because of potential bacterial contamination.

Fukushima operator Tepco reveals sample results after release of contaminated water into Pacific.

An overview of St Vincent and the Grenadines, including key facts about this Caribbean nation.

A city council in Australia has voted to remove a statue of William Crowther, a former premier of the state of Tasmania, who decapitated the body of an Aboriginal man.

The lager-maker will take a huge loss on the division which, it said, had taken longer to jettison.

In a high-profile case that rocked the commercial shipping industry, a sailor accused of raping a student from the US Merchant Marine Academy has agreed to surrender his credential to work on ships, but he will not be criminally prosecuted.