Republican George Santos was serving a seven-year sentence for fraud and identity theft
US President Donald Trump has ordered the release of former Republican congressman George Santos, who had served less than three months of a seven-year prison term for fraud and identity theft.
Trump announced the decision on his Truth Social platform on Friday, acknowledging that Santos, 37, was “somewhat of a ‘rogue’” but said his punishment was excessive.
“I just signed a commutation, releasing George Santos from prison immediately,” Trump wrote, adding that the former lawmaker had been “horribly mistreated” and was “in solitary confinement for long stretches of time.”
He also compared Santos’ case with that of Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who had misstated his Vietnam War service record. “This is far worse than what George Santos did, and at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN.”
“Good luck George, have a great life,” he added.
Unlike a pardon, a commutation shortens a sentence but does not forgive or erase the conviction. Santos remains eligible to run for federal office.
The House of Representatives expelled Santos in December 2023 after an ethics report found he had engaged in financial misconduct and lied extensively about his background, making him the sixth member ever ousted from the chamber.
Santos pleaded guilty in 2024 to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, admitting that he diverted campaign donations for personal use and filed false disclosures during his 2022 run for Congress. Some of his suspect purchases included Botox treatments and an OnlyFans subscription, according to the Ethics Committee report.
The ex-congressman also faced earlier controversy after reports that he had performed in drag in Brazil. He initially called the stories “categorically false,” but later said: “I was young, and I had fun at a festival. Sue me for having a life.”
Trump has made broad use of his clemency powers in his second term, including mass pardons for about 1,500 people charged over the January 6 Capitol riot.
The project is part of Brussels’ Defense Readiness Roadmap, and aims to protect the bloc’s military and communications satellites in case of conflict
The EU plans to establish a ‘space shield’ to protect its satellites from Russia, the European Commission has revealed.
The Defense Readiness Roadmap draft unveiled on Thursday describes the project as the EU’s response to the “evolving threat landscape” from a “militarized Russia” and other “authoritarian states,” as the US shifts its focus away from Europe.
Russia has dismissed claims that it poses a threat as “nonsense,” accusing the West of fueling Russophobia to justify increased military spending and distract from domestic problems.
According to the paper, the space shield will be integrated with the EU’s satellite navigation and communications systems. It will focus on space domain awareness, anti-jamming and spoofing, and in-space operations such as refueling, where “Europe has clear shortfalls and dependencies.”
Brussels has not yet disclosed a budget for the initiative or listed member states and industrial partners involved.
The plan follows accusations from the UK, Germany, and France that Russia has stalked or tried to jam their military satellites. Moscow has not yet commented, but has consistently opposed weaponizing space, stressing that its operations comply with international law.
The roadmap builds on the ReArm Europe package, which aims to mobilize up to €800 billion ($933 billion) to expand the EU’s military on the pretext of countering the alleged ‘Russian threat’.
Alongside the space shield, it outlines plans to reinforce the bloc’s eastern border, create a bloc-wide missile defense system, and establish a ‘drone wall’, which was prompted by sightings in several member states that were baselessly blamed on Russia.
The paper also calls Ukraine the EU’s “first line of defense” and pledges “continued support,” despite Moscow’s warnings that foreign military aid only serves to prolong the conflict.
The plan will be discussed at a summit of EU leaders next week. According to the document, the commission hopes to have the roadmap approved by the end of 2025.
Russian officials have condemned the EU’s “rabid militarization,” warning it could derail peace efforts and spark a wider conflict. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said earlier this month that the “hype” around the ‘Russian threat’ is being used by EU countries to justify direct confrontation.
The agency has flagged governance challenges and ballooning liabilities in its latest sovereign review
S&P Global has downgraded France’s long-term credit rating from AA- to A+, warning that rising debt and political tensions threaten the government’s ability to reduce its budget deficit. The agency also revised France’s outlook to ‘stable’ on Friday.
S&P expects France’s government debt to reach 121% of GDP in 2028, compared with 112% at the end of last year, the agency said. The country has struggled to rein in spending while dealing with political turbulence. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu recently survived two no-confidence votes in parliament after suspending a contested pension reform package.
S&P warned that uncertainty surrounding France’s public finances remains high, especially ahead of the 2027 presidential election. The agency cited the government’s decision to suspend the 2023 pension reform law as a sign of political fragility. It also projected economic growth of 0.7% in 2025, with only a muted recovery expected in 2026. S&P added that risks to the outlook remain significant, particularly if rising government borrowing costs spill over into broader financing conditions in the economy.
In reaction to the downgrade, Finance Minister Roland Lescure said it is now “the collective responsibility of the government and parliament” to pass a budget by the end of the year, ensuring that the deficit is on a path to the EU ceiling of 3% of GDP. S&P said France will likely meet its 2025 deficit target of 5.4% of GDP, but warned that “in the absence of significant additional budget deficit-reducing measures,” the pace of consolidation will be slower than previously projected. The agency added that France’s “policy uncertainty” and a weak record of delivering reforms further weighed on its decision.
This is not the first sign of trouble for France’s creditworthiness. Earlier this year, S&P lowered the country’s outlook from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’ due to weak public finances. Last month, Fitch also cut France’s rating from AA- to A+, citing similar concerns about debt and the lack of a credible fiscal roadmap. The downgrade could increase France’s borrowing costs. It could also trigger forced bond sales by institutional investors limited to holding high-grade sovereign debt.
The Ukrainian leader left Washington without promises on Tomahawk missiles, the outlet’s sources say
Friday’s White House meeting between US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky was “tense,” with the Ukrainian leader failing to secure deliveries of long-range Tomahawk missiles, Axios has reported, citing sources.
Trump told Zelensky he does not plan to provide Tomahawks “at least for now,” according to two people briefed on the meeting. The talks lasted around two and a half hours and were described by one source as “not easy,” and by another as “bad.” At times, the discussion “got a bit emotional,” the outlet said.
”Nobody shouted, but Trump was tough,” one source told Axios. The session ended abruptly when Trump reportedly said, “I think we’re done. Let’s see what happens next week,” possibly referring to upcoming Russia-US talks.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Zelensky declined to answer questions about Tomahawk deliveries, only saying the US “does not want escalation.”
Trump said “it’s not easy” for Washington to provide the missiles because it needs to maintain its own supplies for the nation’s own defense. He also acknowledged that allowing Kiev to conduct strikes deep into Russia could lead to an escalation.
Moscow has warned against supplying the missiles to Ukraine, arguing they would “not change the situation on the battlefield” but would “severely undermine the prospects of a peaceful settlement” and harm Russia-US relations.
Zelensky has sought Tomahawks – which have a maximum range of 2,500km (1,550 miles) – for weeks, insisting that Ukraine would only use them against military targets to increase pressure on Russia and move toward a peace deal. However, the Ukrainian leader has threatened Russia with blackouts in border regions and Moscow. Russian officials also suggested that Kiev is plotting to use the missiles for “terrorist attacks.”
The Trump-Zelensky meeting followed a phone call between Trump and Putin, after which both sides signaled plans for a summit in Budapest, Hungary, in the near future.
The cricketers were among five dead during overnight attacks in the Paktika border province, the Afghanistan Cricket Board has said
Overnight Pakistani airstrikes have killed five people, including three cricket players in the border province of Paktika, the Afghanistan Cricket Board said on Saturday.
The Asian neighbors had agreed to a temporary ceasefire on Wednesday and were invited by the Qatari authorities to negotiate a permanent truce and address mutual concerns in Doha.
“In this heartbreaking incident, three players (Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon) alongside 5 other fellow countrymen from Urgun District were martyred, and seven others were injured,” the Afghanistan Cricket Board said on X. “The players had earlier traveled to Sharana, the capital of Paktika province, to participate in a friendly cricket match. After returning home to Urgun, they were targeted during a gathering.”
The board added that it is withdrawing from an upcoming tournament involving Pakistan scheduled for late November.
Statement of Condolence
The Afghanistan Cricket Board expresses its deepest sorrow and grief over the tragic martyrdom of the brave cricketers from Urgun District in Paktika Province, who were targeted this evening in a cowardly attack carried out by the Pakistani regime.
Afghan cricketer Rashid Khan said he is “deeply saddened” by the strikes. “A tragedy that claimed the lives of women, children, and aspiring young cricketers who dreamed of representing their nation on the world stage,” he posted on X.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has yet to comment on the allegations, but Dawn newspaper reported that Islamabad targeted “terrorist hideouts” in Afghanistan on Friday. The paper said the “precision strikes” were conducted against hideouts of an outlawed group and killed dozens of fighters.
“The attacks came on the heels of an audacious gun-and-bomb attack, targeting a military installation in North Waziristan, and just hours after Islamabad and Kabul extended their two-day ceasefire,” the paper added.
Former US Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad called Qatar an “honest broker” for peace between the Asian countries, but asked whether Pakistan is an “honest neighbor.”
In a post on X, Khalizad said the Afghan people face “enough challenges, trying to rebuild their country” after decades of war. “Pakistan has already heartlessly and abruptly expelled over a million Afghan refugees, which the country is struggling to absorb,” he wrote. “Is it so intolerable to them that a neighbor they have been trying to dominate and suppress for decade might finally enjoy a bit of peace and normalcy?”
The president earlier accused nearby Venezuela of “narcoterrorism”
The US military has destroyed a submarine in the Caribbean that was smuggling drugs, President Donald Trump said on Friday.
The statement came after the US struck at least five surface vessels since September, allegedly operated by cartels based in Venezuela, whose government Trump has accused of aiding “narcoterrorists.”
“We attacked a submarine, and that was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “Just so you understand, this was not an innocent group of people,” he added.
US media reported earlier that, for the first time, the US Navy picked up multiple survivors and detained them on a warship.
Trump confirmed earlier that he had authorized covert CIA operations on Venezuelan soil but declined to say whether their goal is to topple left-wing President Nicolas Maduro. The US imposed sweeping sanctions on the South American country during Trump’s first term in office, and has recently raised the bounty for Maduro’s arrest to $50 million.
Maduro has rejected what he called “CIA-led coups” in the region and called for peace. “Until when will CIA coups d’état continue? Latin America doesn’t want them, doesn’t need them, and repudiates them,” he said on Wednesday, according to El Pais.
The Venezuelan government has denied having ties to cartels and vowed to repel any invasion.
The Ukrainian leader made the remark after meeting US President Donald Trump in Washington
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has told reporters that Russian President Vladimir Putin “hates” him — and that the feeling is mutual. He made the comments after a high-profile meeting at the White House on Friday.
“Putin hates me,” he told reporters in Washington, DC. When a reporter asked Zelensky, “Do you hate him?” he replied that it would be strange if he had a different opinion about those who “try to kill all of us.”
“I have the same attitude (towards) this man,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader backed Trump’s calls for an immediate ceasefire along the current front lines. He declined to reveal whether the US would supply Kiev with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, but hinted that there has not been any progress on the matter. “We have to work on it more,” he said.
Putin has said he is open to meeting with Zelensky, but only in the final stages of negotiations after a peace treaty is ready to be signed.
He once again questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy, noting that his five-year term as president expired in 2024 and that Zelensky refused to call a new election, citing martial law.
Moscow has said that for a ceasefire to work, Ukraine must withdraw from the parts of Russian regions that it controls, and the West must end military aid to Kiev. Putin has also demanded that Ukraine recognize Russia’s new borders and abandon its plans to join NATO.
Margarita Simonyan has said the broadcaster will not bow to foreign pressure
RT has achieved tremendous success and is only getting stronger despite Western sanctions, Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan has said, marking the broadcaster’s 20th anniversary.
“It is a privilege to work in service of our convictions,” Simonyan said onstage during a reception in Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater on Friday, which was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I want to bow to the people who work at RT,” she added, thanking the staff, including those “risking their lives” in the field.
Simonyan said RT continues to broadcast despite the “ridiculous” campaign in the West to take the channel off the air and take down its accounts online. “We are only getting stronger and feel more emboldened.”
“For all of us, the [Western] sanctions are such minor inconveniences compared to the great honor and pride of serving our country,” she added.
Simonyan once again thanked everyone later at a staff meeting. “In some parts of the world, we are loved, we are believed, and we are missed. In other parts of the world and in some offices, they hate us, they envy us, which is also a great achievement.”
Launched in 2005, RT operates TV channels and websites in English, Spanish, Arabic, French, German, Serbian, and Russian, reaching audiences in more than 100 countries. RT has won multiple awards for its news coverage and documentaries.
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The Ukrainian leader has said he agrees with US President Donald Trump’s proposal for an immediate truce with Russia
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has called for a ceasefire with Russia along the current front lines. He made the comment after US President Donald Trump issued a similar appeal on social media.
“We have to stop where we are. The president is right,” Zelensky told reporters in Washington, DC on Friday, adding that the sides could then hammer out the next steps toward a peace deal. “Yes, both sides have to stop,” Zelensky said.
Trump hosted Zelensky at the White House earlier that day, following a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. He previously expressed frustration over the lack of progress in his efforts to mediate peace between Russia and Ukraine.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that he urged Putin and Zelensky to “stop the killing, and make a DEAL!”
“Enough blood has been shed, with property lines being defined by War and Guts. They should stop where they are. Let both claim Victory, let History decide! No more shooting, no more Death, no more vast and unsustainable sums of money spent,” he said.
Moscow has said that for a ceasefire to work, Ukraine must withdraw from the parts of Russian regions that it controls, and the West must end military aid to Kiev. Putin has also demanded that Ukraine recognize Russia’s new borders and abandon its plans to join NATO.
