French Prosecutors Request Carlos Ghosn, French Culture Minister Stand Trial in Corruption Case

Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn attends a press conference with the President of Lebanon's University of Kaslik (USEK) launching a joint initiative to help the crisis-ridden country, in the northern city of Jounieh on September 29, 2020. (AFP)
Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn attends a press conference with the President of Lebanon's University of Kaslik (USEK) launching a joint initiative to help the crisis-ridden country, in the northern city of Jounieh on September 29, 2020. (AFP)
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French Prosecutors Request Carlos Ghosn, French Culture Minister Stand Trial in Corruption Case

Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn attends a press conference with the President of Lebanon's University of Kaslik (USEK) launching a joint initiative to help the crisis-ridden country, in the northern city of Jounieh on September 29, 2020. (AFP)
Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn attends a press conference with the President of Lebanon's University of Kaslik (USEK) launching a joint initiative to help the crisis-ridden country, in the northern city of Jounieh on September 29, 2020. (AFP)

The French prosecutor's office for financial crimes has requested former automobile executive Carlos Ghosn and French culture minister Rachida Dati stand trial following its probe into corruption, a judicial source said on Friday.

A judge must make a decision on the request.

Investigators had been probing the consulting fees French culture minister Rachida Dati once received from the Renault-Nissan auto alliance. The alliance had hired Dati as a consultant after she stepped down as justice minister to stand for the European Parliament.

Dati has denied irregularities in the fees she received during that time and Ghosn, who fled from Japan in a box aboard a private jet to Lebanon, has denied allegations of misconduct against him.

Ghosn, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenships, has not left Lebanon since 2019 because of an Interpol Red Notice issued by Japan.

Representatives for the culture ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for Renault and Ghosn's lawyer declined to comment.



US Treasury Chief Says Businesses Working with Iranian Airlines Risk Sanctions

US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent testifies during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on “A Review of the President's FY2027 Budget Request for the Department of the Treasury” on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, 22 April 2026. (EPA)
US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent testifies during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on “A Review of the President's FY2027 Budget Request for the Department of the Treasury” on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, 22 April 2026. (EPA)
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US Treasury Chief Says Businesses Working with Iranian Airlines Risk Sanctions

US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent testifies during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on “A Review of the President's FY2027 Budget Request for the Department of the Treasury” on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, 22 April 2026. (EPA)
US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent testifies during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on “A Review of the President's FY2027 Budget Request for the Department of the Treasury” on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, 22 April 2026. (EPA)

Businesses working with Iranian airlines risk US sanctions, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday, calling the warning a part of a campaign to put economic pressure on Tehran amid the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Iranian state media reported over the weekend that Iran has resumed commercial flights from Tehran's international airport for the ‌first time ‌since the start of the war.

‌Iran's ⁠state media reported ⁠that flights were scheduled to depart for Istanbul, Oman's capital of Muscat, and for Iraq and Qatar.

The US Treasury Department has said Washington is imposing a "financial stranglehold" on the Iranian government.

"Doing business with sanctioned Iranian ⁠airlines risks exposure to US sanctions," Bessent ‌said in a post ‌on X.

"Foreign governments should take all actions necessary ‌to ensure that companies in their jurisdictions do not ‌provide services to those aircraft, including the provision of jet fuel, catering, landing fees or maintenance," he said.

Bessent said the Treasury Department "will not hesitate to act against ‌any third parties that facilitate or conduct business with Iranian entities."

A Trump ⁠administration official ⁠said the Treasury Department will impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions "that continue to facilitate Iran's activities."

A fragile ceasefire in the Iran war began nearly three weeks ago.

The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states with US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.


White House to Review Trump’s Security After Gunfire Near Press Dinner

 25 April 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump delivered remarks during a press conference in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House, following the cancellation of the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner amid reports of a possible shooting. (dpa)
25 April 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump delivered remarks during a press conference in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House, following the cancellation of the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner amid reports of a possible shooting. (dpa)
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White House to Review Trump’s Security After Gunfire Near Press Dinner

 25 April 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump delivered remarks during a press conference in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House, following the cancellation of the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner amid reports of a possible shooting. (dpa)
25 April 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump delivered remarks during a press conference in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House, following the cancellation of the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner amid reports of a possible shooting. (dpa)

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles will meet with law enforcement and homeland security early this week to review security protocols after Saturday's shooting in a Washington hotel where President Donald Trump and top officials were attending a dinner, a senior White House official told Reuters.

The third major security incident targeting Trump in less than two years comes as he prepares for a summer packed with high-profile public events, testing the Secret Service at a moment of high political ‌and global ‌tensions.

Wiles will meet with leaders of the US Secret ‌Service ⁠and the Homeland Security ⁠department to discuss "protocol and practices" for major events involving Trump, the official said.

They said Trump is standing by the Secret Service leadership following the shooting outside the Washington Hilton ballroom where the White House Correspondents' Association dinner was being held.

TRUMP'S SECURITY ALREADY TIGHTENED AFTER INCIDENTS

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in interviews that Trump and other administration officials were the likely intended targets of the suspect, ⁠a California man who was expected in court on Monday ‌to face felony charges.

The 31-year-old is suspected ‌of firing a shotgun at a Secret Service agent at a checkpoint one floor ‌up from the ballroom entrance before being tackled and arrested. Trump and first ‌lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the dinner.

In July 2024, a sniper's bullet skimmed Trump's ear during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Two months later, Secret Service agents spotted an armed man hiding in bushes a few hundred yards from where Trump ‌was golfing in Florida. Since then, security around Trump has tightened, and bulletproof glass is used when he speaks ⁠at outdoor events.

Wiles' ⁠meeting will examine Saturday's security response and measures to keep future events safe, the official said.

Trump is expected to attend events this summer for the nation's 250th anniversary and the football World Cup.

Trump told reporters that the first lady had found Saturday's incident traumatic. Nevertheless, the couple was continuing with plans to welcome Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla on Monday for several days of events.

After the shooting, Trump praised the security response, argued that security concerns were more justification to continue building his East Wing ballroom, and mused to reporters about the risks of being president.

Asked if he was satisfied with his protection, he said: "I'd be up here right now saying they didn't do their job," adding: "Believe me, because, you know, it's my life."


Putin Praises Iranian People for Resistance to US in Talks with Araghchi

27 April 2026, Russia, Saint Petersburg: Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Saint Petersburg. (Kremlin/dpa)
27 April 2026, Russia, Saint Petersburg: Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Saint Petersburg. (Kremlin/dpa)
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Putin Praises Iranian People for Resistance to US in Talks with Araghchi

27 April 2026, Russia, Saint Petersburg: Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Saint Petersburg. (Kremlin/dpa)
27 April 2026, Russia, Saint Petersburg: Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Saint Petersburg. (Kremlin/dpa)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday praised the Iranian people for battling to stay independent in the face of US and Israeli pressure and said Moscow would do all it could to help Tehran.

Russia has offered to mediate to try to help restore calm to the Middle East following US and Israeli strikes, which Moscow has strongly condemned. ‌It has ‌also repeatedly offered to store Iran's enriched uranium ‌as ⁠a way of ⁠defusing tensions, a proposal spurned by the United States.

"We see how courageously and heroically the Iranian people are fighting for their independence and sovereignty," Putin told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, saying he hoped they could get through what he called a "difficult period" and that peace would prevail.

"For our part, we will do everything that serves your interests and the interests ⁠of all the peoples of the region to ensure ‌that peace is achieved as ‌quickly as possible," said Putin.

Putin received Araghchi in the presidential library in Russia's former ‌imperial capital St Petersburg as sources from mediator Pakistan said work ‌had not halted to bridge gaps between the United States and Iran.

Putin said he received a message from Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, last week, and asked Araghchi to convey to him that Russia intended to ‌continue its strategic partnership with Tehran.

That 20-year agreement was sealed last year. Russia is building two new ⁠nuclear units at ⁠Bushehr - the site of Iran's only nuclear power plant - and Iran has supplied Russia with Shahed drones for use against Ukraine, the production of which Moscow has since localized.

Araghchi, who said he wanted to brief Putin on the situation around his country, thanked Putin for Moscow's support.

"It has also been proven to all that Iran has friends and allies, such as the Russian Federation, who stand by Iran precisely in difficult times," he said.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said that Moscow wanted to see the US and Iran continue negotiations. There should be no return to military action, he added, something he said was not in anyone's interests.