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Tunisia Court Extends Prison Term for Nabil Karoui

Nabil Karoui. AFP file photo
Nabil Karoui. AFP file photo
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Tunisia Court Extends Prison Term for Nabil Karoui

Nabil Karoui. AFP file photo
Nabil Karoui. AFP file photo

A Tunisian corruption court tripled the prison term facing a businessman who challenged President Kais Saied in the 2019 presidential election.
Nabil Karoui — a populist media mogul who has been plagued by charges since being imprisoned in the lead-up to that election — was sentenced on Friday to three years behind bars. The court's spokesperson said he was charged with unlawfully receiving more than $1 million in foreign funds to bankroll his campaign.
Karoui is among the many prominent figures from business and politics who have been targeted in investigations of corruption, foreign funding and undermining state security.
Facing a raft of charges, he crossed from Tunisia to Algeria in 2021, where he was arrested and later fled. His whereabouts are unknown.
Karoui was originally sentenced to one year in prison but the term was tripled after Tunisia’s public prosecutor filed an appeal. Karoui will also be ineligible to run for office for five years.
Karoui founded Tunisian television channel Nessma TV and headed what was once one of the country's largest political parties. He was arrested and imprisoned in the middle of his 2019 campaign season on suspicion of money laundering but released before election day.

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France to Host Lebanon Aid Conference, Macron Says

France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the 19th Summit of the Francophonie at the Grand Palais in Paris, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the 19th Summit of the Francophonie at the Grand Palais in Paris, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
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France to Host Lebanon Aid Conference, Macron Says

France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the 19th Summit of the Francophonie at the Grand Palais in Paris, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the 19th Summit of the Francophonie at the Grand Palais in Paris, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)

France will host an international conference this month to help drum up humanitarian aid for Lebanon and strengthen security in the southern part of the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday.

"We will hold in the next few weeks a conference to provide humanitarian aid, support the international community and support the Lebanese armed forces boost security, especially in southern Lebanon," Macron said after a meeting of French speaking countries in Paris.

Israel has begun an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon and sent troops across the border in recent weeks after nearly a year of exchanging fire with Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Fighting had previously been mostly limited to the Israel-Lebanon border area, taking place in parallel to Israel's year-old war in Gaza against Palestinian group Hamas.  

Earlier, Macron said shipments of arms used in the conflict in Gaza should be stopped as part of a broader effort to find a political solution.  

France is not a major weapons provider for Israel, shipping military equipment worth 30 million euros ($33 million) last year, according to the defense ministry's annual arms exports report.  

"I think the priority today is to get back to a political solution (and) that arms used to fight in Gaza are halted. France doesn't ship any," Macron told France Inter radio.  

"Our priority now is to avoid escalation. The Lebanese people must not in turn be sacrificed, Lebanon cannot become another Gaza," he added.  

Macron's comments come as his Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot is on a four-day trip to the Middle East, wrapping up on Monday in Israel as Paris looks to play a role in reviving diplomatic efforts.