Austrian court acquits ex-vice chancellor in retrial

BERLIN (AP) — Austrian media say a Vienna court has acquitted former Austrian Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache of trying to change laws to favor a private hospital in exchange for donations to his political party. The trial at the Vienna Criminal Court was a repeat, after a higher court last year overturned the initial conviction, saying exculpatory chat messages had not been sufficiently appreciated during the original trial in 2021. Strache is the ex-leader of the far-right Freedom Party and served as vice chancellor from 2017 to 2019. He initially received a 15-month suspended prison sentence for accepting two bribes totaling 12,000 euros (dollars). He had pleaded not guilty to the charges.