French Court Sentences 8 on Trial over 2016 Truck Attack in Nice

Photos and names of the 86 victims of the July 14, 2016 truck attacks are seen on a memorial on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, August 29, 2022. (Reuters)
Photos and names of the 86 victims of the July 14, 2016 truck attacks are seen on a memorial on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, August 29, 2022. (Reuters)
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French Court Sentences 8 on Trial over 2016 Truck Attack in Nice

Photos and names of the 86 victims of the July 14, 2016 truck attacks are seen on a memorial on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, August 29, 2022. (Reuters)
Photos and names of the 86 victims of the July 14, 2016 truck attacks are seen on a memorial on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, August 29, 2022. (Reuters)

A French court said on Tuesday all eight defendants on trial over a 2016 truck rampage in the French city of Nice were guilty for their roles in the crime, in which 86 people were killed. 

Attacker Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel was shot dead by police on the spot after causing devastation and chaos on a two km stretch of Nice's seaside boulevard, where families had been celebrating Bastille Day. 

The court found Mohamed Ghraieb, the main defendant and a friend of Bouhlel, guilty of belonging to a terrorist organization. He was handed an 18-year prison sentence. 

The court also found two other defendants guilty of helping Bouhlel to obtain weapons and the truck. 



The Chinese President's Envoy Meets with Vance and Musk on the Eve of Trump's Inauguration

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attends a meeting with Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China January 11, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Pool/File Photo
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attends a meeting with Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China January 11, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Pool/File Photo
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The Chinese President's Envoy Meets with Vance and Musk on the Eve of Trump's Inauguration

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attends a meeting with Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China January 11, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Pool/File Photo
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attends a meeting with Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China January 11, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Pool/File Photo

China's vice president held meetings with the US vice president-elect and US business leaders, including Elon Musk, in Washington on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration, as the two major powers tackle ongoing tensions over trade and technology.
Han Zheng, who serves as an envoy for Chinese President Xi Jinping at the inauguration, “discussed a range of topics including fentanyl, balancing trade and regional stability” with J.D. Vance, according to the Trump transition team, The Associated Press said.
Han stressed the “extensive common interests and enormous space of cooperation” the United States and China share in economic and trade relations despite “some disagreements and frictions,” according to a readout of his meeting with Vance issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs and other measures against China in his second term, while also hinting at ways in which the two rival powers could cooperate on issues such as regional conflicts and curbing the export of substances used in the production of fentanyl.
In an unorthodox move, Trump last month invited Xi to his inauguration. No head of state has previously made an official visit to the US for the inauguration, according to State Department historical records.
While Xi will not personally attend the event, he and Trump held a phone call on Friday during which they discussed trade, fentanyl and TikTok. The Chinese social media app restored service to users in the US on Sunday, just hours after it went dark in response to a federal ban, which Trump said he would pause by executive order on Monday.
Han also met with Musk and other top US business executives, including representatives of the US-China Business Council and the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The Chinese vice president reiterated promises for an improved business environment for foreign firms in China and expressed hopes that US companies will continue expanding investment in the country.
Musk, whose company Tesla operates a factory in Shanghai, posted on his platform X after the meeting that he has long opposed the TikTok ban “because it goes against freedom of speech.”
“That said, the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X is not allowed to operate in China is unbalanced,” he wrote. “Something needs to change.”
X is banned in China alongside other major US social media and news apps and websites, including YouTube, Google, Facebook and many major US media.