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The United States and Iran were to hold a fresh round of technical and high-level nuclear negotiations in Oman on Saturday, after both sides reported progress in previous meetings.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, leading Tehran’s delegation, arrived in Muscat on Friday ahead of the mediated talks, with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff expected to head the American side.The technical talks will come first, followed by the high-level negotiations.Araghchi expressed “cautious optimism” about the process this week, saying that “if the sole demand by the US is for Iran to not possess nuclear weapons, this demand is achievable”.But if Washington had “impractical or illogical demands, we will naturally encounter problems”, he added.US President Donald Trump, in an interview published Friday by Time magazine, reiterated his threat of military action if a deal fell through, but also suggested he was optimistic about an agreement, saying he “would much prefer a deal than bombs being dropped”.Michael Anton, the State Department’s head of policy planning, will lead Washington’s expert-level delegation, while deputy foreign ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi will lead Tehran’s, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.Iranian state television reported from Muscat that the meetings were expected to begin around 0830 GMT, without specifying which session it was referring to.Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Friday that the new talks, like the previous rounds in Muscat and Rome the past two Saturdays, would be mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi.Baqaei wrote on X that Iran’s delegation aimed to secure its “lawful right to use nuclear energy… while taking reasonable steps to demonstrate that our programme is entirely peaceful”.The “speedy” termination of sanctions is also “a priority”, he added.The recent negotiations are the highest-level engagement between the long-time foes since Trump withdrew during his first term from a landmark 2015 nuclear accord that offered Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.- ‘Hostile’ sanctions -Since returning to office in January, Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions against Tehran.In March, he wrote to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proposing talks, but also warning of potential military action if diplomacy failed.On Tuesday, Washington announced new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil network — a move Tehran described as “hostile” ahead of Saturday’s talks.Western nations, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons — an allegation Tehran has consistently denied.Iran maintains its nuclear programme is strictly for peaceful purposes.On Wednesday, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi called on Iran to explain tunnels built near its Natanz nuclear site, seen in satellite imagery released by the Institute for Science and International Security.The Washington-based think-tank also noted construction of a new security perimeter.”We’re asking them, what is this for? They are telling us, it’s none of your business,” Grossi told reporters.Tehran had no immediate comment.- ‘Non-negotiable’ right -In an interview released Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated Washington’s firm stance against Iran’s uranium enrichment.”If Iran wants a civil nuclear programme, they can have one just like many other countries in the world have one: and that is they import enriched material,” he said on the Honestly podcast.Iran currently enriches uranium up to 60 percent, far above the 3.67 percent limit imposed by the 2015 deal but still below the 90 percent threshold required for weapons-grade material.Araghchi has previously called Iran’s right to enrich uranium “non-negotiable”.A commentary in Iran’s conservative Kayhan daily on Saturday said: “By repeating the tone of threats and denying the right to enrichment, Trump and his Secretary of State have shown that what Washington is after is ‘Iran’s surrender’ and not an ‘equal agreement.'”Araghchi said in the text of a speech posted to X earlier this week that Iran was looking “to build at least 19 more reactors”.Tehran has recently sought to reopen dialogue with Britain, France and Germany — also signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal — holding several rounds of nuclear talks ahead of the US meetings.On Thursday, Araghchi said he was willing to visit the European countries for talks.Last week, Rubio urged them to decide whether to trigger the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 agreement, which would automatically reinstate UN sanctions on Iran over its non-compliance.The option to use the mechanism expires in October.Iran has warned that it could withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if the snapback is triggered.

Virginia Giuffre, who accused disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein and Britain’s Prince Andrew of sexual abuse, has taken her own life at her home in Australia, her family said Saturday.Giuffre, a US and Australian citizen, was 41.”It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” the family said in statement provided to AFP by her agent.”She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.”Giuffre had accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave, and said she had sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17 — a minor under US law — after meeting him through the American billionaire.In 2019, Epstein took his own life in a New York City jail cell, while awaiting his own trial for sex crimes.Prince Andrew repeatedly denied her allegation of sexual assault and avoided trial by paying a multimillion-dollar settlement. As part of the deal, he reportedly gave money to a charity for sex-trafficking victims.”There are no words that can express the grave loss we feel today with the passing of our sweet Virginia,” Giuffre’s family said, remembering her “incredible courage and loving spirit”.”In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight. We know that she is with the angels.”Western Australia police, who do not confirm identities in such cases, said emergency services gave first aid after being alerted Friday night that a 41-year-woman had been found unresponsive at a home in Neergabby, north of Perth.”Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” they said in a statement.- ‘Awe-inspiring’ -Detectives were investigating but “early indication is the death is not suspicious”, police said.Giuffre was taken to hospital after a car she was in crashed with a school bus in late March north of Perth.Giuffre initially posted a picture to social media from her hospital bed of her bruised face, saying she only had four days to live.Her agent later said Giuffre had not realised the post was being published to the public.Western Australia police said at the time it was a “minor crash” between a school bus carrying 29 children and another vehicle.Giuffre left three children, Christian, Noah, and Emily, who were “the light of her life”, her family said.Local media have reported there were difficulties between her and estranged husband Robert.After she was reportedly charged with breaching a family violence restraining order in February, her agent said that Giuffre “looks forward to defending herself against his malicious claim”.Giuffre was “deeply concerned” about the welfare of her children who were in her husband’s custody, the agent said.Giuffre’s lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, said she had been a “dear friend” and a champion for other victims.”Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring.”New York-based agent Dini von Mueffling described her client as “one of the most extraordinary human beings”.”Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she said.

Federal agents on Friday arrested a US judge for allegedly shielding an undocumented migrant, escalating a struggle between the White House and courts over President Donald Trump’s hardline deportation policies.Hannah Dugan, a Milwaukee County circuit judge, allegedly “intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject” whom agents were intending to detain at her courthouse, FBI director Kash Patel said in a post on X.She was arrested on charges of obstruction, Patel said in his post.”Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public,” Patel said.The Trump-appointed director deleted his post minutes after it appeared, but later reposted it.Later on Friday, Patel wrote “No one is above the law” in another post on X, accompanied with a photo of a handcuffed person being led to an unmarked vehicle with tinted windows. The image is taken from behind, and the only faces in the photo have been blurred out. “From the bench to the backseat. This is what accountability looks like,” wrote Donald Trump Jr., who shared the post, suggesting the handcuffed person in the photo was Dugan.The incident has set off a torrent of criticism by Democrats and applause by some Republicans.Pam Bondi, who as US attorney general oversees the FBI, defended the arrest of Dugan, and issued a chilling warning to those who may harbor illegal aliens: “We will find you.””We’re sending a very strong message today,” Bondi told Fox News. “If you are harboring a fugitive, we don’t care who you are, if you are helping hide one… anyone who is illegally in this country — we will come after you and we will prosecute you.”- Court appearance -Charging documents described an incident at Dugan’s courthouse last Friday during which the judge was “visibly upset and had a confrontational, angry demeanor” when federal agents came to arrest the migrant — Eduardo Flores-Ruiz from Mexico — who was facing misdemeanor charges.The complaint alleges Dugan escorted Flores-Ruiz out of the courtroom through a door used by jury members in order to keep him from the agents.Dugan, who was elected to the bench in 2016, appeared in court Friday before a judge in the federal courthouse in downtown Milwaukee, where she made no public comments, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.According to the paper, her attorney Craig Mastantuono told the court: “Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety.”A number of federal and state judges across the United States have issued rulings that put several of Trump’s executive actions on hold, particularly related to his bid to exercise unprecedented powers in deporting migrants.The Trump administration has been butting heads with federal judges, rights groups and Democrats who say he has trampled or ignored constitutionally enshrined rights in rushing to deport migrants, sometimes without the right to a hearing. House Democrat Darren Soto blasted the Dugan arrest as “third world country dictator type of stuff.””Everyday they get more desperate,” he posted on X. “This will be bounced out of court as quick as the rest of their illegal actions.”Speaking to broadcaster MSNBC on Friday night, Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin said the Trump administration has spent the past month waging “an intense assault on judicial independence.”Several Republicans however rushed to Patel’s defense. “The corruption and determination of these anti-American activist judges to put illegal aliens ahead of American citizens is appalling,” congresswoman Diana Harshbarger said. “Thankfully, a stand is being taken against them.”On Thursday, a former county magistrate judge in New Mexico and his wife were taken into custody after federal agents raided their home over their harboring of an alleged undocumented migrant who investigators said was a member of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, US media reported.The Trump administration has dug in its heels over deportation cases in which legal experts and Democrats say residents are being expelled without due process.The White House has defied the Supreme Court’s ruling that the administration must “facilitate” the return of a Maryland resident who was deported to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.Bondi said the man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is “not coming back” to the United States.

Developing countries should strike swift trade deals with the United States at the “earliest possible” opportunity, the president of the World Bank told AFP Friday, after a busy week with global financial leaders in Washington. Ajay Banga was interviewed by AFP at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s Spring Meetings, which have been held this year under a cloud of uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s stop-start tariff rollout.The Bank has been advising developing countries to get a deal done quickly with the United States, and to then focus attention on cutting trade barriers and boosting regional flows of goods, Banga said. “You need to negotiate trade systems with the US at the earliest possible (opportunity),” he said. “If you delay, it hurts everyone.”Trump’s tariffs have roiled financial markets, sent volatility surging and spooked investors and consumers. Since returning to office in January, the US leader has imposed a “baseline” 10 percent tariff on most countries, with much higher duties on China, and 25 percent sector-specific levies on areas including steel, aluminum, and automobiles not manufactured in the United States. He also introduced much higher tariffs on dozens of countries — which have since been temporarily paused — accusing them of having an unfair trade balance with the United States. – Bessent ‘not wrong’ on China -Banga also addressed the criticism leveled by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the Bank earlier this week.Bessent criticized China’s “absurd” developing country status and called on Banga and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to “earn the confidence of the administration.” “I don’t think he’s wrong,” Banga said of Bessent’s comments on China. “A country that is the size of China and the capability of China, at some point, should no longer be taking money from IBRD,” he said, referring to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — an arm of the World Bank that lends largely to middle-income countries. Such a move would require the support of the World Bank’s executive board, which is made up by member states. China, Banga said, borrowed around $750 million from the IBRD last year, while paying billions of dollars to the institution in repayments and donations. “My view is, I’ve brought it down to 750 (million), and I’m trying to figure out a way to deal with China to bring it down further,” he said. “I want to get it done. And that’s what I’m talking to the Chinese about.” Banga said the Trump administration’s criticisms of the World Bank, which included “expansive policy overreach,” were not unusual, citing newly elected governments in countries including France, Japan and Korea.”I keep telling people this is a perfectly constructive request, to say, tell me and show me that you guys are the kind of people that advance the interests of my taxpayer, of my country,” he said.”I take it in that spirit,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”- Energy at ‘lowest possible cost’ -Since taking the helm of the Washington-based development lender in 2023, Banga has pushed to streamline operations and encourage private sector participation, while focusing on job creation and electricity connectivity. Among the Bank’s current priorities is a push with the African Development Bank to connect 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa to electricity by 2030 — a process that will require a vast amount of new energy to be brought online.”You should try and get (energy) in the best, accessible way and the lowest possible cost,” Banga said, suggesting that in addition to renewable power, nuclear and gas could help provide a base load — two energy sources the World Bank is currently hesitant to finance.The Bank’s executive board is set to discuss its energy strategy in June, Banga said, adding that funding for both nuclear and gas would likely be on the agenda. Banga said the Bank is also pushing to encourage private sector job creation in developing countries — beyond simply outsourcing jobs from advanced economies.”Because then you end up with challenges in (advanced economies), and you can see that people are speaking about them with their votes,” he added. 

US President Donald Trump arrived in Rome on Friday for the funeral of Pope Francis, where he will brush shoulders with an array of world leaders on the unexpected first foreign trip of his second term.Trump, who was accompanied by wife Melania, had a distant relationship with the late pontiff who criticized him sharply on his signature policy of mass deportations of migrants.But Trump will be centre-stage for a major diplomatic gathering on Saturday with some 50 heads of state, including 10 reigning monarchs, at the Vatican. Trump said it was possible he could meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in what would be the two leaders’ first time together since a disastrous White House meeting on February 28.Trump and Vice President JD Vance in that meeting berated Zelensky, calling him ungrateful for the billions of dollars of US military assistance given since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.Trump, while calling on Russia to stop its aerial attacks on Ukraine, has recently blamed Zelensky for the war and the continuing bloodshed.Zelensky said he may miss the funeral however due to military meetings after a deadly Russian strike on Kyiv.No meetings have been announced in Rome for Trump, who is due to stay only half a day.Trump told reporters on Air Force One he would meet “some people” including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whom he hosted earlier this month at the White House to discuss tariffs.But he said any meetings would be quick and added: “Frankly it’s a little disrespectful to have meetings when you’re at the funeral of the pope.”Trump may also find discomfort around some of the other mourners — chief among them his predecessor, Joe Biden.Biden is a devout Catholic and was close with Francis. He will travel independently to Rome, his office said, even though former presidents generally travel on Air Force One for funerals. Trump has relentlessly attacked Biden and torn down his legacy in his nearly 100 days in office, with Biden in turn recently speaking out against Trump’s policies.President George W. Bush took two of his predecessors, Bill Clinton and his father, on Air Force One for Pope John Paul II’s funeral in 2005.- EU talks? -Trump’s trip to Italy comes after he rattled European allies by imposing sweeping tariffs, although he at least temporarily has backed down from the most severe measures.French President Emmanuel Macron, one leader who has managed to forge a bond with Trump, and outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be at the funeral, as will top EU officials Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa.Meloni had already extended an invitation to Trump to visit Rome before the pope’s death, saying that it could provide an opportunity for talks with European leaders.Also in attendance will be Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a veteran leftist whose vanquished rival Jair Bolsonaro is an ideological soulmate of Trump.Lula has been critical of Trump but has avoided major confrontation since the Republican billionaire’s return.The funeral will also bring leaders more ideologically in tune with Trump including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and President Javier Milei of Argentina, the late pope’s home country.Trump also paid a brief visit to France after his election but before his inauguration for the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral. Macron brought him together with Zelensky on the sidelines.Trump’s first foreign trip was supposed to be to the oil-rich Gulf Arab states, where he is hoping to see business opportunities and press them to accept closer relations with Israel.He is to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from May 13.Trump will however be keeping one important appointment: with First Lady Melania Trump for her 55th birthday, which also falls on Saturday.He told reporters he hadn’t had time to buy any presents but added that “I’m taking her for dinner on Air Force One.”burs-dk/tw

A gathering of global economic leaders in Washington wraps up Saturday with tariff talks between the United States and partners still unresolved — and anxiety building over the state of the global economy.The International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s spring meetings provided an important opportunity for countries to discuss trade at the sidelines, speaking with President Donald Trump’s new administration.But despite US officials touting progress on tariff talks, analysts tell AFP that the hard work to reaching deals lies ahead.Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has slapped 10 percent tariffs on most US trading partners and a separate 145 percent levy on many products from China.Dozens of countries face a 90-day deadline expiring in July to strike an agreement with Washington and avoid higher, country-specific rates.But despite Trump saying that there are many deals on the table, details have been scant.”Coming out, I think we have more confusion, not more clarity, in terms of what the administration wants for negotiations,” said Josh Lipsky, international economics chair at the Atlantic Council.Participants likely left the spring meetings with “a lot of anxiety about what these meetings will be like when they reconvene in six months, both for the state of the global economy and for individual countries,” he told AFP.- ‘Notoriously tedious’ -“No deals have been announced but that’s not surprising. Trade agreements take time to negotiate,” said Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former US trade negotiator.While the uptick in negotiating activity is a “positive sign,” she added, “holding meetings is a far step from announcing deals.”For now, Washington has prioritized discussions with key allies like Japan, South Korea and Switzerland — in line with the Trump administration’s comments that it would place more focus on about 15 important trading relationships.Barath Harithas, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said the emphasis on 15 or so partners is “likely pragmatic.””Comprehensive tariff negotiations are notoriously tedious, typically spanning years rather than months, and cannot realistically be compressed into a 90-day ultimatum period,” he added. US officials have met with counterparts from countries like South Korea and Japan this week.But negotiations with Thailand, although initially scheduled, have been postponed as Washington sought further review on crucial issues, Harithas said.EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters Friday that there remains “a lot of work ahead” to reach a deal with Washington.Underscoring the differences between both sides, Dombrovskis added that tariffs are not a solution to address underlying trade imbalances — a goal of the Trump administration as it rolled out various levies.Earlier Friday, Trump also cast doubt on a further tariff pause when speaking to reporters.- ‘Frustration’ -Lipsky of the Atlantic Council said it is seen as “unrealistic” for a series of deals to be struck by July, even if some discussions may bear fruit.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent maintained Wednesday that Washington was close to a pact with India and making progress with other partners.But he added: “A satisfactory arrangement does not necessarily mean the actual trade document, it means that we have reached agreement in principle.”With current economic worries sparked by Trump’s policy decisions, Lipsky said there has been disappointment with current conditions.”The frustration that I’ve heard this week is that this was unnecessary,” Lipsky added.And tensions between Washington and Beijing are “not headed towards any immediate resolution,” he said.While Trump said in a Time magazine interview that Xi has called him, Beijing previously disputed that tariff talks were ongoing.Countries are now resigned to the idea that high US-China tariffs are here to stay, at least in the near future, he added.A European official told AFP there have been two negotiation channels that are not always in agreement — with Bessent on one hand and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on the other.”The only thing I’m fairly sure of,” the official said, “is that in the end, the decision is made by President Trump.”

Luigi Mangione, accused of gunning down an insurance executive in cold blood in a slaying that has divided Americans, pleaded not guilty to murder charges Friday, after he was arraigned in court.Mangione has now been charged in both New York state and federal court over the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He pleaded not guilty to the federal charges in a Manhattan court on Friday. The case has stirred debate about political violence and the state of the healthcare system in the United States, and is the first case in which the Justice Department is seeking the death penalty since Donald Trump returned to the White House.Mangione wore beige prison scrubs — in contrast with the sharp, civilian wardrobe in which he has previously appeared — and conferred with his lawyers, an AFP correspondent saw.He is charged with murder, two counts of stalking, and a firearms offense.The focus in the case will now shift to the trial date, with the judge due to set a timetable at a hearing scheduled on December 5, exactly a year and a day after last year’s murder.Outside court, a van fitted with a video screen accused the Justice Department of “barbaric” conduct alongside an image of Mangione.Well-wishers brandished signs and chanted, with one stopping to admonish prosecutors for rushing the cases against him.- Insurance ‘horror’ stories -One woman dressed in the green overalls of the Super Mario character Luigi and brandished a sign relating to the case.Lindsay Floyd, an activist working in support of Mangione, said ahead of the hearing that “these are serious accusations that deserve some reflection, not this vilification before the trial has even begun.”Early on December 4, 2024, Mangione allegedly tracked Thompson in New York, walked up behind him and fired several gunshots from a pistol with a silencer, federal prosecutors said. He had traveled to the city by bus from Atlanta about 10 days before the crime.Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9, following a tip from staff at a McDonald’s restaurant after a days-long manhunt. In the state case, Mangione has also pleaded not guilty and could face life imprisonment with no parole, if convicted.Mangione’s lawyer Karen Agnifilo — wife of Sean “Diddy” Combs’s lawyer Marc Agnifilo — said that the federal case should be heard before the state one because of the risk of the death penalty.Marc Agnifilo was seen rushing from a hearing in the Combs case to attend the arraignment of Mangione, for whom he is also a lawyer.”It’s a side door kind of day,” he said.Elliott Gorn, a history professor at Loyola University Chicago, said that what struck him most in the days following the murder “was the deep sense of grievance that many Americans were suddenly talking about in the open.”  “We’d just had a months-long political campaign, and the subject barely came up, but then suddenly the floodgates opened, and everyone seemed to have a horror story of medical care denied,” he said.

Luigi Mangione, accused of gunning down an insurance executive in cold blood in a slaying that has divided Americans, pleaded not guilty to murder charges Friday, after he was arraigned in court.Mangione pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan court to the four-count indictment that is the first case in which the Justice Department is seeking the death penalty since Donald Trump returned to the White House.Mangione has been charged in both New York state and federal court for slaying UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a case that has stirred debate about political violence and the state of the healthcare system in the United States.In the state case, Mangione has also pleaded not guilty and could face life imprisonment with no parole, if convicted.Early on December 4, Mangione allegedly tracked Thompson in New York, walked up behind him and fired several gunshots from a pistol with a silencer, federal prosecutors said. He had traveled to the city by bus from Atlanta about 10 days before the crime.Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9, following a tip from staff at a McDonald’s restaurant after a days-long manhunt. 

Disgraced former Republican lawmaker George Santos, who was expelled from the US Congress for using stolen donor cash to bankroll a lavish lifestyle, was sentenced to seven years in prison Friday.Republican Santos, 36, had faced at least two years in prison and a maximum of 22 years after pleading guilty to wire fraud and identity theft for his elaborate grifting while a lawmaker.”He admitted to engaging in a brazen crime spree that took place over a period of years. He stole personal identities and financial information from campaign contributors, made unauthorized transfers of money to his campaign, and to himself personally,” said prosecutor John Durham.”He went so far as to seek out elderly people with cognitive impairment and dementia.”Judge Joanna Seybert in Federal District Court in Central Islip sentenced Santos to seven years and three months.In August 2024 she had ordered Santos to pay more than $370,000 in restitution which prosecutors say has gone unpaid.He emerged from the courthouse flanked by his lawyers, tugging at his collar, but did not speak to reporters.”Stop the deception,” shouted a crowd of local activists as Santos climbed into a white SUV to leave.Earlier, well-wishers put their arms around Santos, who wore a charcoal suit and sunglasses, as he arrived at the courthouse for sentencing.Ahead of his sentencing, Santos suspended his Cameo account on which users had been able to pay to request custom videos.”I have disabled the ability to make new requests as I am unsure if I will be able to fulfill them in recent days,” he wrote on X.He has said that he has no plans to request a pardon from US President Donald Trump and is resigned to prison.Despite his guilty plea, federal prosecutors have insisted that Santos’s social media shows his claims of remorse “ring hollow.””As of this writing, despite years of actively courting media attention and capitalizing on his infamy, Santos has forfeited nothing of his ill-gotten gains and has not repaid one cent to any of the victims of his financial crimes,” prosecutors wrote.- Spectacular downfall -The downfall of the congressman from Long Island came after it was revealed he had fabricated almost his entire backstory including his education, religion and work history.Santos was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2022 and indicted the following year for stealing from campaign donors and engaging in credit card fraud, money laundering and identity theft.Santos used donor money for Botox treatments and the OnlyFans porn website, as well as luxury Italian goods and vacations to the Hamptons and Las Vegas, according to an investigation by a congressional ethics committee.He had been scheduled to go on trial on September 9 on some two dozen charges, but opted instead to enter a guilty plea to wire fraud and identity theft.Santos’s bizarre biographical fabrications included claiming to have worked for Goldman Sachs, being Jewish and having been a college volleyball star.He was ultimately doomed by the congressional probe that found overwhelming evidence of misconduct and accused him of seeking to “fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy.”Santos was expelled from the House in 2023, becoming only the third person to be ejected as a US lawmaker since the Civil War, a rebuke previously reserved for traitors and convicted criminals.In February 2024, voters in his suburban New York district picked Democrat Tom Suozzi to replace him.

US President Donald Trump headed to Rome on Friday for the funeral of Pope Francis, where he will brush shoulders with an array of world leaders on the unexpected first foreign trip of his second term.Trump had a distant relationship with the late pontiff who did not hesitate to criticize him sharply on his signature policy of mass deportations of migrants.But Trump will not miss what is set to be a major diplomatic gathering on Saturday with some 50 heads of state, including 10 reigning monarchs, expected to attend. Among them may be Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in what would be the two leaders’ first time together in person since a disastrous White House meeting on February 28.Trump and Vice President JD Vance in that meeting berated Zelensky, calling him ungrateful for the billions of dollars of US military assistance since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.Trump, while calling on Russia to stop its aerial attacks on Ukraine, has also recently blamed Zelensky for the war and the continuing bloodshed.Zelensky said Friday he may miss the funeral due to military meetings after recent deadly Russian strikes on Kyiv.- Biden not on Air Force One -No meetings have been announced in Rome for Trump, who is due to stay only half a day in the Eternal City.But Trump may find discomfort around some mourners around him — chief among them his predecessor, Joe Biden.Biden is a devout Catholic and was close with Francis. He will travel independently to Rome, his office said, even though former presidents generally travel on Air Force One for funerals. Trump has relentlessly attacked Biden and torn down his legacy in his nearly 100 days in office, with Biden in turn recently speaking out against Trump’s policies.President George W. Bush took two of his predecessors, Bill Clinton and his father, on Air Force One for Pope John Paul II’s funeral in 2005.Trump’s trip to Italy comes after he rattled European allies by imposing sweeping tariffs, although he at least temporarily has backed down from the most severe measures.French President Emmanuel Macron, one leader who has managed to forge a bond with Trump, and outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will both be at the funeral, as will top EU executives Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa.Also in attendance will be Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a veteran leftist whose vanquished rival Jair Bolsonaro is an ideological soulmate of Trump.Lula has been critical of Trump but has avoided major confrontation since the Republican billionaire’s return.The funeral will also bring leaders more ideologically in tune with Trump including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and President Javier Milei of Argentina, the late pope’s home country.Trump also paid a brief visit to France after his election but before his inauguration for the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral. Macron brought him together with Zelensky on the sidelines.Trump’s first foreign trip was supposed to be to oil-rich Gulf Arab states, where he is hoping to see business opportunities and press for closer relations with Israel.He is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from May 13.