Austria: Former vice chancellor convicted of corruption

VIENNA (AP) — A Vienna court has convicted former Austrian Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache of corruption for trying to change laws to favor a private hospital in exchange for donations to his party. Austrian public broadcaster ORF reported Friday that Strache received a 15-month suspended prison sentence for accepting two bribes totaling 12,000 euros ($14,100). He had pleaded not guilty to the charges and can appeal the verdict. Strache served as vice chancellor from 2017 to 2019 as the leader of the far-right Freedom Party. A 2019 video of him offering favors to a purported Russian investor led to the fall of  Austria’s government at the time.