Briefly

FRANCE

Le Pen barred from running for office

A French court on Monday sentenced far-right leader Marine Le Pen to a five-year ban on running for office with immediate effect, throwing into doubt her bid to stand for president in 2027. She was also given a four-year prison term, with two years of the term suspended and the other two to be served outside jail with an electronic bracelet, the court ruled. Including Le Pen, nine people from her National Rally party were convicted over a scheme where they took advantage of European Parliament expenses to employ assistants who were actually working for the party.

JAPAN

Feared megaquake could kill 300,000

Japan's economy could lose as much as $1.81 trillion in the event of a megaquake off its Pacific coast, which could potentially kill about 300,000 people, a government report said on Monday. The expected economic damage of 270.3 trillion yen equals nearly half of Japan's GDP, and the government sees about an 80 percent chance of a magnitude 8 to 9 earthquake along the seabed zone the Nankai Trough. In the worst-case scenario, as many as 298,000 people could die from tsunamis and building collapses, it said.

Agencies via Xinhua