Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso

Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media tycoon and prominent pro-democracy activist, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on national security charges, prompting widespread international condemnation and renewed concerns over the city’s declining civil liberties. Lai’s daughter, Claire Lai, said the sentence was “heartbreakingly cruel” given her father’s age and deteriorating health, warning that it could mean he would “die a martyr behind bars”. His son, Sebastien Lai, described the punishment as “draconian” and “devastating”. The 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily was convicted in December of sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. He pleaded not…

Former US president Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, have called for their congressional testimony on links to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to be held in public, arguing that closed-door proceedings would allow the issue to be politicised. Both were ordered to give private depositions before the House of Representatives’ oversight committee, which is examining Epstein’s connections to influential figures and the handling of information about his crimes. Democrats say the Republican-led investigation is being used to target political opponents of President Donald Trump, rather than to conduct genuine oversight. Trump, who had a longstanding association with Epstein,…

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the United States has set a fresh deadline of June for Ukraine and Russia to reach a peace agreement, signalling increased pressure from Washington to bring the war to an end by early summer. Speaking to reporters, the Ukrainian president said the Trump administration was pushing for a clear timetable to end the conflict and had invited both sides to further talks next week. “They say they want to get everything done by June,” Zelenskyy said. “They will do everything to end the war and they want a clear schedule of all events.” He added that…

The last remaining treaty limiting deployable nuclear weapons between the United States and Russia expired on Thursday, ending decades of bilateral arms control between the world’s two largest nuclear powers. The New START treaty, signed in 2010, capped deployed strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550 for each country. It also established inspection regimes and notification requirements designed to ensure compliance. Russia halted inspections and notifications during its war in Ukraine, but the US State Department said last month that Moscow is not believed to have significantly exceeded the treaty’s limits. Former US president Joe Biden extended the agreement in 2021 for…

French prosecutors have raided the Paris headquarters of Elon Musk’s social media platform X and summoned the billionaire and the company’s former chief executive for questioning as part of a cybercrime investigation. The Paris prosecutor’s office said the search was being carried out by its cybercrime unit, the national police cyber division and Europol. In a post on X on Tuesday, the office added that it would no longer publish on the platform. In a separate statement, prosecutors confirmed that Musk and Linda Yaccarino, who stepped down as X’s chief executive in July last year, had been called in for…

A small number of sick and wounded Palestinians have begun crossing into Egypt for medical treatment after Israel allowed a limited reopening of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing, raising cautious hopes amid fragile diplomatic efforts to stabilise the conflict. Egyptian officials said about 150 people were expected to leave Gaza on Monday, with 50 permitted to enter, more than 20 months after Israeli forces closed the crossing. By nightfall, however, only 12 Palestinians had been allowed back into the territory, according to Palestinian and Egyptian sources cited by Reuters. A further 38 failed to clear security checks and were forced to…

NASA has postponed its landmark mission to send astronauts around the Moon and back after technical problems emerged during a key test of its most powerful rocket to date. The US space agency had planned to launch Artemis II from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida as early as next week. However, Nasa said overnight that the mission would be delayed until March, without confirming a specific launch date. The decision followed a “wet dress rehearsal”, an extensive launch-day simulation in which engineers detected a hydrogen leak in the Space Launch System (SLS). A separate issue was also found with…

A member of a key US vaccines advisory panel has drawn criticism after describing vaccination recommendations as coercive and likening them to “medical battery”, despite vaccines being voluntary at the federal level. In an article for the New York Times, Milhoan argued that vaccine guidance leaves families with “no choice”. However, the US government has never mandated childhood vaccinations nationwide. Instead, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) issues evidence-based recommendations, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may choose to adopt. On a recent podcast, Milhoan appeared to misrepresent the committee’s role, saying: “We make a recommendation,…

Preparations are under way to reopen Gaza’s main border crossing at Rafah, although it remains unclear whether any Palestinians will pass through before the end of the day, officials have said. Before the war, the Rafah crossing with Egypt was Gaza’s only direct exit to the outside world for most Palestinians and a vital entry point for humanitarian aid. It has been largely closed since May 2024. Cogat, the Israeli military body responsible for humanitarian coordination, said the crossing would reopen in both directions for Gaza residents travelling on foot. Its operation will be coordinated with Egypt and the European…

Thousands of people are expected to gather in Budapest on Saturday to demand the resignation of a senior Hungarian politician over racist remarks directed at Roma people earlier this month. János Lázár made the comments at a political forum while arguing that migration was not a solution to Hungary’s labour shortage. Referring to cleaning work on intercity trains, he said Roma people would do the job, using an offensive slur. The remarks, recorded on video, quickly circulated online and prompted a strong backlash. Roma organisations, civil society groups and opposition politicians called on Lázár to apologise and step down. “He…