World News
Former French president Sarkozy released from prison after three weeks
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been released from jail, three weeks into a five-year prison term for taking part in a criminal conspiracy.
He will be subject to strict judicial supervision and barred from leaving France ahead of an appeal trial due to be held next year.
On 21 October, the former centre-right president, 70, was sentenced to five years for conspiring to fund his 2007 election campaign with money from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
His legal team immediately filed a request seeking his release.
Writing on social media after the release, Sarkozy said his “energy is focused solely on the single goal of proving my innocence.”
“The truth will prevail… The end of the story is yet to be written.”
Sarkozy’s car was seen leaving La Santé prison in Paris just before 15:00 (14:00 GMT), less than an hour-and-a-half after a court agreed to his early release.Soon after, he was seen arriving at his home in western Paris.
Christophe Ingrain, one of Sarkozy’s lawyers, hailed his client’s release as “a step forward” and said they would now be preparing for the appeal trial expected in March.
One condition of Sarkozy’s release is he does not contact any other witnesses in the so-called “Libyan dossier” or any justice ministry employees.
During his incarceration, he was visited by Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin. The visit prompted 30 French lawyers to file a complaint against Darmanin, highlighting what they said was a conflict of interest as Darmanin was a former colleague and friend of Sarkozy’s.
Speaking to a court in Paris via video link on Monday morning, Sarkozy described his time in solitary confinement as “gruelling” and “a nightmare”.
He said he had never had the “mad idea” of asking Gaddafi for money and stated he would “never admit to something I haven’t done”.
Sarkozy also paid tribute to prison staff who had made his time in prison “bearable”. “They have shown exceptional humanity,” he said.
Sarkozy’s wife, the singer and model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and two of the former president’s sons were present in the courtroom to support him.
Sarkozy is the first French ex-leader placed behind bars since World War Two Nazi collaborationist leader Philippe Pétain was jailed for treason in 1945.
Since entering prison, Sarkozy has been held in a cell in the isolation wing.
He had a toilet, a shower, a desk, a small electric hob and a small TV – for which he paid a monthly €14 (£12) fee – and the right to a small fridge.
He also had the right to receive information from the outside world and family visits, as well as written and phone contact – but was in effect in solitary confinement. He was allowed just one hour a day for exercise, which he did by himself in the wing’s segregated courtyard.
Two bodyguards were stationed in nearby cells, which the interior minister Laurent Nuñez said was due to Sarkozy’s status. There was “obviously a threat against him”, Nuñez said.
Sarkozy was president from 2007 to 2012. Ever since he left office, he has been dogged by criminal inquiries and for months had to wear an electronic tag around his ankle after a conviction last December for trying to bribe a magistrate for confidential information about a separate case.
World News
Thailand suspends Cambodia ‘peace deal’
Thailand says it is suspending the implementation its “peace deal” with neighbouring Cambodia over a disputed border – just two weeks after Donald Trump presided over its signing.
Thailand’s announcement came after soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion near the Cambodian border in Sisaket province, a government spokesman said.
Cambodia has said it remains committed to the deal, which was is supposed to bring a lasting peace following border clashes which left more than 40 dead in July.
The two sides signed the agreement – which Thailand has refused to call a peace deal – in October during a ceremony with the US president in Malaysia.
But on Monday, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told a news conference on Monday that he agreed with the decision taken by the country’s defence chiefs, saying the “security threat…. has not actually decreased”.
According to the Bangkok Post, the soldiers were injured while on patrol – one of whom lost their foot.
Anutin said he planned to visit the injured soldiers on Tuesday.
World News
Tim Davie: A 20-year BBC career that finally ran out of road
Tim Davie’s resignation as the BBC’s top boss brings to an end his 20-year career at the corporation.
He stepped down on Sunday after saying “mistakes were made” following criticism a Panorama documentary misled viewers by editing a speech by US President Donald Trump.
The 58-year-old reached the top of the organisation in June 2020, when he was named the BBC’s 17th director general.
At the time of his appointment, he said: “I have a deep commitment to content of the highest quality and impartiality,” and when he took the helm, said one of his top priorities would include negotiating with the government over the future of the licence fee.
One of the BBC’s longest-serving executives, he first joined the broadcaster from Pepsi to become director of the Marketing, Communications & Audiences division in 2005.
He then took over responsibility for radio stations including Radios 1, 2, 3 and 4 as director of the Audio & Music division in 2008.
A month after being named chief executive of the corporation’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide in 2012, he stepped in to become acting director general after the resignation of George Entwistle.
Davie returned to BBC Worldwide after Tony Hall was appointed as George Entwistle’s permanent successor, with Davie overseeng the merger of BBC Worldwide with the BBC’s production arm to form BBC Studios in 2018.
After landing one of the most high-profile jobs in Britain – and globally – his tenure as director general saw huge challenges.
Former BBC media editor Amol Rajan described the job as “hellish” when Davie first took over.
And while Davie has won praise for successfully overseeing the BBC’s move towards digital, putting measures in place to change its workplace culture and focusing on boosting the BBC’s commercial success, overall, it’s not been an easy ride.
In 2024, the disgraced BBC News presenter Huw Edwards was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after he admitted charges of making indecent images of children.
Davie told the press in September last year that there was “shock” and “a lot of upset” within the BBC over Edwards, who had been the BBC’s highest-paid journalist.
There was also controversy over comments made online by former Match of the Day host Gary Lineker.
Lineker left the BBC sooner than planned in May 2025 after sharing a social media post about Zionism that included an illustration of a rat, historically used as an antisemitic insult.
Davie said at the time of Lineker’s exit that the former footballer had “acknowledged the mistake made” but thanked the presenter and former footballer for “his passion and knowledge” in sports journalism.
Further scrutiny over his leadership came over the summer, as more unwelcome headlines dogged the corporation.
There was a crisis at BBC flagship series MasterChef, after both of its presenters – Gregg Wallace and John Torode – were sacked following a report which upheld allegations against them..
Asked about poor workplace culture as he faced questions from the the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Davie said he thought “we’re at a moment in society where we’re calling it out”.
Davie added he was “not letting anything lie” when it came to rooting out abuses of power within the corporation
The spotlight also fell on Saturday night stalwart Strictly Come Dancing, with Davie apologising to contestants after complaints of abusive behaviour on the show.
The BBC has also faced strong criticism for a live broadcast of Bob Vylan’s performance at the Glastonbury festival, during which the band’s singer led crowds in chants of “death, death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]” and made other derogatory comments.
Davie said that what had happened was “deeply disturbing”, adding: “The BBC made a very significant mistake broadcasting that.”
He said that he had done the “right thing” at the time, by pulling it off the iPlayer and that the measures which have since been put in place would “categorically prevent what happened”.
Davie also said he thought the corporation made the “right decision” to not air Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, a controversial documentary which was later picked up by Channel 4.
The BBC shelved the programme due to impartiality concerns it had surrounding the production.
Earlier in the year, a separate documentary, Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, was pulled from iPlayer after it was found that the narrator was the son of a Hamas official.
The film, made by independent production company HOYO Films, was later found by a review to have breached editorial guidelines on accuracy.
The BBC board also had to apologise over “missed opportunities” to tackle “bullying and misogynistic behaviour” by former BBC Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood.
An independent report into what the BBC knew about Mr Westwood’s conduct was published in February, highlighting a series of incidents and allegations it said amount to a “considerable body of evidence” which it failed to investigate properly.
Westwood, who has always denied claims of misconduct, has since been charged with four counts of rape.
Davie’s tenure also included overseeing cuts to BBC local services which he defended as being “the right thing”, but admitted were “very difficult and unpopular”.
He’s also had to deal with issues surrounding equal pay at the BBC.
It was only six months ago, in a speech to civic and community leaders in Salford, that Davie insisted the BBC could help tackle a “crisis of trust” in British society.
He set out measures he said would allow the broadcaster to play a leading role in reversing a breakdown in trust in information and institutions, as well as tackling division and disconnection between people.
But in his resignation letter on Sunday, Davie said “the BBC is delivering well but there have been some mistakes made and as director general I have to take ultimate responsibility”.
BBC chairman Samir Shah described Davie as “a devoted and inspirational leader and an absolute believer in the BBC and public service broadcasting”.
“He has achieved a great deal,” Shah added. “Foremost, under his tenure, the transformation of the BBC to meet the challenges in a world of unprecedented change and competition is well under way.”
World News
Canada’s Carney welcomes MP who defected to the Liberals
A Conservative MP’s decision to cross the floor and join the Liberal party is “exceptionally valuable”, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday, as he looks ahead to passing his first federal budget.
Chris d’Entremont from Nova Scotia defected to the Liberals on Tuesday shortly after Carney put forward his fiscal plan, inching the Liberal government closer to a majority.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, d’Entremont said he left because he no longer felt represented by Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre.
Poilievre and his party have criticised Carney’s budget as doing little to address the cost of living while ballooning Canada’s deficit.
In a statement, the Conservative party accused d’Entremont of breaking his promises to the Canadians who elected him, and of defecting due to “personal grievances” with the party.
Nova Scotia’s d’Entremont resignation sent shockwaves through Ottawa on budget night.
In announcing his decision to leave, d’Entremont said he supported the Liberal budget and that it “hits the priorities” he has heard from people in his constituency.
“I came to a clear conclusion: there is a better path forward for our country,” he said.
At a news conference on Wednesday, he criticised Conservative leader Poilievre for what he said is his “negative” style of politics.
The MP won his riding narrowly last April in the riding of Acadie-Annapolis, coming ahead of the Liberal candidate by just one percentage point.
His decision to defect comes ahead of a scheduled leadership review for Poilievre in January and amid wider criticisms that his combative style of politics contributed to the Conservatives’ election loss earlier this year.
It also pushes Carney’s Liberals closer to a majority, as the prime minister looks to pass his government’s first budget through parliament. Failure to do so could risk another election.
On Wednesday, Carney appealed for more allies. “We’ll speak to anyone publicly or otherwise who can support us,” he said.
Carney later walked with the new Liberal MP into his first national caucus meeting, where they were greeted with applause.
A vote on the budget is expected to be held mid-November.
Carney’s government has called the fiscal plan as an “investment budget” meant to attract capital to Canada and shield it from the impact of US tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
It increases Canada’s deficit to C$78bn ($55.3bn; £42.47bn), the second largest in history, but also includes cuts like slashing the size of the federal workforce by 10% in the coming years.
The Conservatives and the Quebec sovereigntist party the Bloc Québécois have both indicated they will oppose it.
“This costly budget forces Canadians to spend more on debt interest than on healthcare transfers,” said Poilievre in the House of Commons on Tuesday evening.
The left-leaning New Democratic Party’s interim leader Don Davies said they still want time to study the budget before they decide. The party holds seven seats.
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