45 h. ago South Korea’s Yoon gets 5 years in prison for obstructing justice during martial law bid

A South Korean judge sentenced former president Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday to five years in prison for obstructing justice and other charges linked to his disastrous martial law declaration and its chaotic aftermath. It is the first in a series of verdicts for the disgraced ex-leader, whose brief suspension of civilian rule in South Korea on December 3, 2024, prompted massive protests and a showdown in parliament. Now ousted from power, Yoon faces multiple trials for actions taken during that...

Events

48 h. ago Trump’s ‘America first’ agenda driving countries closer to China: survey

United States President Donald Trump’s “America first” agenda is helping to make China great again and ushering in a “truly multipolar world”, according to a survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations. “A year on from Trump’s return, in countries across the globe, many people believe China is on the verge of becoming even more powerful,” the think tank said after surveying 25,949 people from 21 countries, including the US, China, Russia, Britain and Brazil. Most respondents thought...

Politics

51 h. ago Brazil judge orders ‘immediate’ transfer of Bolsonaro to a better

A Brazilian judge on Thursday ordered the immediate transfer of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro to a prison with “more favourable” conditions. The 70-year-old former leader will move to a special detention unit with a kitchen, private outdoor area and a double bed at a prison complex in the capital Brasilia, according to a ruling seen by Agence France-Presse. Brazil’s Supreme Court convicted Bolsonaro last year of plotting a coup to cling to power following his narrow 2022 re-election...

Events

51 h. ago Brazil’s Bolsonaro sent to new prison with roomier cell, more perks

Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro was on Thursday transferred to prison, where he will serve his sentence for orchestrating a failed coup in “more favourable” conditions, according to a court order. The 70-year-old former leader was sentenced to 27 years in prison last year for his attempts to cling to power following his narrow 2022 re-election loss to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro’s family has repeatedly complained on podcasts and social media about the conditions in which he was...

Events

51 h. ago Brazil’s Bolsonaro sent to prison with roomier cell, more perks

Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro was on Thursday transferred to prison, where he will serve his sentence for orchestrating a failed coup in “more favourable” conditions, according to a court order. The 70-year-old former leader was sentenced to 27 years in prison last year for his attempts to cling to power following his narrow 2022 re-election loss to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro’s family has repeatedly complained on podcasts and social media about the conditions in which he was...

Events

59 h. ago Trump administration wins appeal to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a freed pro

A federal appeal panel on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that released Mahmoud Khalil from an immigration jail, bringing the government one step closer to detaining and ultimately deporting the Palestinian activist. A three-judge panel of the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeal in Philadelphia instructed the lower court to dismiss Khalil’s habeas petition, a court filing that secured his release. The panel ruled that the federal district court in New Jersey did not have jurisdiction over...

Politics

3 d. ago US halts visas for 75 countries indefinitely; China not on the list

The administration of US President Donald Trump is halting visa processing for people from more than 70 countries, the US State Department has confirmed to the Post. “The State Department is pausing immigrant visa processing for 75 countries”, a State Department official said on Wednesday. China is not included in the list, which has countries like Thailand, a US ally, and Brazil, a close neighbour in the western hemisphere, along with Russia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Egypt, Jordan...

Politics

4 d. ago Hong Kong activist loses legal fight over prison shorts ban for female inmates

A jailed activist has lost a judicial review against a Hong Kong Correctional Services Department rule that prohibits female inmates from wearing shorts in summer, with the court ruling that the women’s standard prison uniform was carefully designed and did not constitute discrimination. High Court judge Russell Coleman said on Tuesday that there was “little merit” in Chow Hang-tung’s argument that the department’s clothing policy violated her right to equality. Under the existing rules, female...

Events

4 d. ago Malaysia’s judiciary faces ‘immense pressure’ as court cases surge 60%, chief justice warns

Malaysia’s top judge has warned that the country does not have enough judges to deal with a growing workload, stressing that this has placed an “immense and growing pressure on the justice system”. In his speech at the Opening of the Legal Year 2026 on Monday, Chief Justice of Malaysia Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh said that the number of court cases in Malaysia had surged in the past few years by about 60 per cent. He cited how criminal case registrations had risen from 1,522,005 cases in 2021 to...

Events

4 d. ago Executive of Hong Kong’s Apple Daily ‘regrets’ not standing up to ex

The lawyer representing a former Apple Daily senior executive has said his client regretted not standing firmly by her journalistic principles against the editorial interference of her ex-boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying. Three High Court judges adjourned sentencing Lai and eight others until an unspecified date after defence lawyers wrapped up their mitigation arguments at West Kowloon Court on Tuesday. Appeals for leniency were made on behalf of six former senior executives of Apple Daily, who pleaded...

Politics

4 d. ago Former Hong Kong Apple Daily executive ‘regrets’ not standing up to ex

A former senior executive of the now-defunct Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily regrets not standing firmly by her journalistic principles against the editorial interference of her ex-boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, her lawyer has told a court hearing. Three High Court judges adjourned the sentencing of Lai and eight others until an unspecified date after defence lawyers wrapped up their mitigation arguments at West Kowloon Court on Tuesday. Appeals for leniency were made on behalf of five former senior...

Politics

4 d. ago Former US Navy sailor jailed for 16 years for selling ship secrets to Chinese contact

A former US Navy sailor convicted of selling technical and operating manuals for ships and operating systems to an intelligence officer working for China was sentenced Monday to more than 16 years in prison, prosecutors said. A federal judge in San Diego sentenced Jinchao Wei, 25, to 200 months. A federal jury convicted Wei in August of six crimes, including espionage. He was paid more than US$12,000 for the information he sold, the US Department of Justice said in a statement. Wei, an engineer...

Events

4 d. ago ‘Mr and Mrs Ho’ in Hong Kong court unrepresented as assault case draws crowds

Hong Kong internet couple “Mr and Mrs Ho” still have no legal representatives in a domestic violence dispute that escalated into a criminal case, which has drawn wide public attention and filled the courtroom. The District Court heard on Tuesday that Ho Huen, 77, widely known as Mr Ho, and his 44-year-old wife, Ye Xiuding, known as Mrs Ho, had yet to hire lawyers to defend themselves after being charged in May last year with unlawfully and maliciously wounding each other. Judge Stanley Chan...

Events

4 d. ago ‘Mr and Mrs Ho’ still without lawyers in Hong Kong court as assault case draws crowds

Hong Kong internet couple “Mr and Mrs Ho” still have no legal representatives in a domestic violence dispute that escalated into a criminal case, which has drawn wide public attention and filled the courtroom. The District Court heard on Tuesday that Ho Huen, 77, widely known as Mr Ho, and his 44-year-old wife, Ye Xiuding, known as Mrs Ho, had yet to hire lawyers to defend themselves after being charged in May last year with unlawfully and maliciously wounding each other. Judge Stanley Chan...

Events

5 d. ago Hong Kong judges doubtful if Jimmy Lai’s health justifies sentence reduction

Three Hong Kong judges who found Jimmy Lai Chee-ying guilty in his national security trial have raised doubts about whether the former media boss is entitled to a reduced sentence on grounds of his health and arrangements in prison, as records showed he was in a stable condition and had requested solitary confinement of his own free will. The High Court justices on Monday began hearing arguments on the length of the sentences to be handed down to the Apple Daily founder and eight others. The...

Events

5 d. ago Hong Kong judges question Jimmy Lai’s bid for lighter sentence, citing stable health

Hong Kong judges in Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial have questioned whether the former media boss is entitled to a reduced sentence on health or custodial grounds, citing records showing he is in a stable condition and had requested solitary confinement of his own free will. The three High Court justices on Monday began hearing arguments on the length of the sentences to be handed down to the Apple Daily founder and eight others. The other defendants pleaded guilty before Lai’s...

Events

6 d. ago Jimmy Lai trial: Hong Kong judges to hear mitigation arguments from defence

Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying is set to return to West Kowloon Court alongside eight co-defendants, as three judges hear mitigation arguments from defence lawyers in his high-profile national security case on Monday. The 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily is the most prominent figure yet to be convicted under the national security law imposed by Beijing in June 2020. Last month, he was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and a...

Events

6 d. ago Jimmy Lai trial: Hong Kong judges hear mitigation arguments from defence

Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has returned to West Kowloon Court alongside eight co-defendants, as three judges hear mitigation arguments from defence lawyers in his high-profile national security case on Monday. The 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily is the most prominent figure yet to be convicted under the national security law imposed by Beijing in June 2020. Last month, he was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and a...

Events

6 d. ago Jimmy Lai’s health stable, solitary confinement by his own will, Hong Kong court hears

Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has returned to West Kowloon Court alongside eight co-defendants, as three judges hear mitigation arguments from defence lawyers in his high-profile national security case on Monday. The 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily is the most prominent figure yet to be convicted under the national security law imposed by Beijing in June 2020. Last month, he was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and a...

Events

7 d. ago How the US raid in Venezuela has triggered Brazilian fury and a Chinese opening

Last weekend, following the US military operation in Venezuela abducting its leader, Nicolas Maduro, Brazil’s president denounced the attack as a “flagrant violation of international law” and having “crossed an unacceptable line”. “These acts represent a grave affront to Venezuela’s sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community,” Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on social media. Lula, who said attacking countries was “the first step towards a...

Politics