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Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy talks to journalists, next to his wife Carla-Bruni Sarkozy and his lawyers, after the verdict in his trial with other defendants on charges of corruption and illegal financing of an election campaign related to alleged Libyan funding of his successful 2007 presidential bid, at the courthouse in Paris, France, September 25, 2025.
Hard Numbers: Ex-French prez sentenced after Libyan corruption case, Taiwanese aides convicted of Chinese espionage, Anti-ICE sniper kills detainee, Australian film altered in China
5: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison and fined about $106,000 for conspiring with Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s former dictator, to fund Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign. The unprecedented ruling requires him to serve time even if he appeals, and is more harsh than many expected.
4: Four ex-staffers of Taiwan’s ruling DPP, including aides to President Lai Ching-te and security chief Joseph Wu, were convicted of spying for China. Sentences reached 10 years, with one aide also found guilty of money laundering and facing further charges for allegedly building a Chinese-linked criminal network.
1: A sniper killed one detainee and injured another two at an immigration facility in Dallas, Texas, before turning the gun on himself. The words “ANTI-ICE,” referring to the immigration enforcement agency, were inscribed on one of the bullet casings, suggesting the sniper may have been intending to hit a law enforcement official – though none were harmed. The attack raises yet more concerns over the rise of political violence in the United States.
90%: A new Australian horror film called “Together,” which has received a 90% score on the Rotten Tomatoes review site, was digitally altered in China such that a scene featuring same-sex couple now appears to be a heterosexual one. Chinese moviegoers noticed the difference when screenshots showing the original scenes went viral online. Homosexuality is legal in China, but isn’t formally recognized. Many of China’s LGBTQ+ community are ostracized, and some are even jailed.
US sanctions on Russia don't hit hard; Nicolas Sarkozy found guilty
Ian Bremmer discusses the World In (a little over) 60 Seconds:
The Biden administration announced its first sanctions. How will it affect US-Russia relations?
Not very much. About as bad as they were under the Trump administration, even though Trump personally wanted to be aligned with Putin, the administration was not. This is the same approach on sanctions as we've seen from the European Union, they could go a lot harder. It's not sector level. It's not major state enterprises. It's a few Russian officials that were involved in the chemical program for Russia. And at the end of the day, the Russians are annoyed, but they're not going to hit back. That's that. Okay.
Myanmar's protests are getting more violent. Will it get worse and how will end?
It's hard to imagine it not getting worse. I mean, now you see dozens getting killed in one day. The fact is that Aung San Suu Kyi would be allowed back in government eventually, probably, if that meant that the military still was able to control the elections. I can't see her being willing to do that and provide the legitimacy. And so, as a consequence, you kind of have a standoff where they can push the elections earlier, but it's going to be unfree and unfair. And that means that Myanmar is going to still be run by the military. And the Chinese government is more than happy with that. You are starting to see some other governments in the region trying to act as conduits for discussion to see if a compromise can be worked out because clearly the violence is troubling. Hard to see it happening. So again, this is going to get uglier before it gets better.
What's the story with former French President Nicholas Sarkozy going to jail?
Well, he has a three-year sentence, two of which has been suspended, but one is going to be house arrest. First time you've seen that from a former French president, and for corruption for influence peddling. And so, that's a pretty big precedent in France. We've already seen it, of course in Italy with Berlusconi. Big question is, do we see it in the United States? People will be talking about that, no question.