- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
- Neural networks, machine learning? Nobel-winning AI science explained
- Boeing delivers 27 MAX jets in September despite strike
- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
Greek MEP Eva Kaili, ex-TV host accused of taking bribes
Only 11 months after she became a European Parliament vice president, Greek MEP Eva Kaili is at the heart of an alleged corruption scandal involving Qatar and the EU, a far cry from the days when she presented the news.
Kaili, 44, was the highest-profile target remanded in custody on Sunday over allegations of bribery by World Cup host Qatar, after investigators found "bags of cash" at her home.
The socialist MEP had her powers as a vice president suspended on Saturday over the claims, following her arrest the day before.
She is one of four suspects to have been charged with participating in a criminal organisation, money laundering and corruption.
Kaili had already raised hackles when she told the parliament in November that Qatar was "a front-runner in labour rights". This was despite widespread anger over the Gulf nation's treatment of workers who built stadiums and infrastructure for the international football tournament.
The scandal has rocked the European Union's legislature.
It also threatens the reputation of Kaili, once hailed as a rising star of Greek socialist party PASOK-Kinal.
Kaili, who hails from Greece's second-largest city, Thessaloniki, entered politics at a young age.
She joined PASOK's youth movement in her early teens and in 1998 became a local councillor in Thessaloniki, when she was only 20 and still a student.
After gaining a Bachelor's degree in architecture, she pursued a career in journalism, while simultaneously studying for a Master's in international and European affairs.
- Youngest socialist MP -
Most Greeks first discovered Kaili when she presented the news on one of the biggest private television channels, Mega, between 2004 and 2007.
But the lure of politics remained and in 2007, she became the youngest PASOK lawmaker in the Greek parliament when she was elected aged 29.
Setting her sights on a larger stage, she became a member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2014, within its Socialists and Democrats group. She was re-elected in 2019.
In 2018, she figured on Politico Europe's list of "Women Who Shape Brussels", who the magazine described as "powerhouses driving debates and influencing policy".
She was elected as one of the European Parliament's 14 vice presidents in January 2022.
At the time of her arrest, Kaili was also part of the parliamentary delegation for developing the EU's relations with the Arab peninsula.
Her partner, Francesco Giorgi, an Italian parliamentary assistant with the Socialists and Democrats group, has also been arrested over the bribery allegations. The couple have a two-year-old daughter.
- 'Trojan horse' -
Shortly before the World Cup began, Kaili visited Qatar.
"Today, the World Cup in Qatar is proof, actually, of how sports diplomacy can achieve a historical transformation of a country, with reforms that inspired the Arab world," she told the EU assembly on November 22.
In Greece, Kaili's political positions have differed from the PASOK line several times over the years, much to the party's chagrin.
In 2018, she criticised an agreement between the left-wing Greek government at the time and the neighbouring former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia that ended a 27-year name dispute.
The country changed its name to "North Macedonia" to distinguish it from the bordering Greek province of Macedonia.
Kaili said she was "ashamed" after the agreement.
PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis has compared her in the past to a "Trojan horse", acting on behalf of the ruling right-wing party, New Democracy.
He said she would not be the party's candidate in the next European Parliament elections, due in 2024.
Faced with the graft scandal, PASOK suspended Kaili from the party and several lawmakers have urged her to resign as an MEP.
D.Avraham--CPN