26 h. ago US man who faked death and fled to UK gets at least 5 years for rape

An American who faked his own death and fled to Scotland to evade justice was sentenced Monday to five-years-to-life in prison for raping his ex-girlfriend 17 years ago. Nicholas Rossi, 38, who potentially could spend the rest of his days behind bars, went to great lengths to conceal his identity and flee after committing the rape in the western state of Utah in 2008, authorities said. State Judge Barry Lawrence pointed to this as an “aggravating factor” as he handed down the sentence in a Salt...

Events

4 d. ago China’s economy ‘cannot survive’ without American consumers, says financial journalist

China’s economy ‘cannot survive’ without American consumers, says financial journalist  Fox Business

Economics

6 d. ago Man gets six months for Hong Kong bomb hoax aimed at framing girlfriend’s ex

A man has been sentenced to six months in prison after he placed bomb hoax threats targeting Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium in an attempt to plant blame on his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend for the criminal act. At West Kowloon Court on Wednesday, Zhang Kejia, 35, pleaded guilty to making three bomb hoax threats on May 13 this year, and to perverting the course of public justice while in custody at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre in June. Acting Principal Magistrate Andy Cheng Lim-chi sentenced Zhang to...

Events

6 d. ago Man gets 6 months for Hong Kong bomb hoax aimed at framing girlfriend’s ex

A man has been sentenced to six months in prison after he placed bomb hoax threats targeting Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium in an attempt to plant blame on his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend for the criminal act. At West Kowloon Court on Wednesday, Zhang Kejia, 35, pleaded guilty to making three bomb hoax threats on May 13 this year, and to perverting the course of public justice while in custody at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre in June. Acting Principal Magistrate Andy Cheng Lim-chi sentenced Zhang to...

Events

6 d. ago Hong Kong man jailed over attempted killing of father in murder

A Hong Kong warehouse worker has been sentenced to four years in prison for attempting to kill his 90-year-old father in a failed murder-suicide bid two years ago. The High Court on Wednesday ruled that the sentence given to Au Chi-ming was appropriate, balancing society’s condemnation of such crimes, the need to deter similar acts and the “tragic” circumstances of the case. The 53-year-old defendant pleaded guilty last month to trying to kill his bedridden father as part of his attempt to take...

Events

9 d. ago Paedophile singer Ian Watkins killed in UK’s ‘Monster Mansion’ jail attack

Ian Watkins, the former frontman of the British rock band Lostprophets, was killed on Saturday in a prison attack in England, where he was serving a 29-year sentence for multiple sex crimes against children. Watkins, 48, pleaded guilty in November 2013 to 13 child sex offences – including making or possessing child pornographic images, sexually assaulting at least one child under 13 and attempting to rape a baby. He was sentenced the following month for what the judge called “new depths of...

Events

1 week ago Japan’s AI child porn loophole exposed by football executive’s conviction abroad

A senior Japanese football executive’s conviction in France for viewing AI-generated child abuse images has triggered a wave of national soul-searching and renewed demands for Japan to close legal loopholes that critics say are fuelling the proliferation of hyperrealistic exploitative imagery online. Masanaga Kageyama, the Japan Football Association’s former technical director, was handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence by a French court on Monday after he was caught watching sexually...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump says he will consider pardons for Ghislaine Maxwell and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

US President Donald Trump on Monday left the door open to a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of helping the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. Trump also said that Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was sentenced on Friday to more than four years in prison over his conviction on prostitution-related charges, had requested a pardon. On the same day that the US Supreme Court declined to hear Maxwell’s bid to overturn her conviction, Trump,...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump opens door to pardon for Maxwell, says Diddy asked for one

US President Donald Trump on Monday left the door open to a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of helping the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. Trump also said that Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was sentenced on Friday to more than four years in prison over his conviction on prostitution-related charges, had requested a pardon. On the same day that the US Supreme Court declined to hear Maxwell’s bid to overturn her conviction, Trump,...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Diddy’ sentenced to over 4 years in prison for prostitution conviction

Sean “Diddy” Combs was sentenced on Friday to more than four years in prison over the hip-hop mogul’s July 2 conviction on prostitution-related charges. Combs, 55, was convicted on two counts of arranging for paid male escorts to travel across state lines to take part in drug-fuelled sexual performances – sometimes known as “Freak Offs” – with Combs’ girlfriends while he recorded video and masturbated. The jury acquitted him on the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, which...

Events

2 w. ago Thai gunman gets life sentence for Cambodian politician Lim Kimya’s murder

A Thai gunman was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for the murder of a Cambodian opposition politician in Bangkok, a judge said. French national Lim Kimya, a former opposition lawmaker in Cambodia, was shot dead on January 7 by Ekkalak Paenoi as the ex-MP visited Bangkok with his wife. Cambodian opposition figures have accused the country’s powerful former leader Hun Sen of ordering the shooting. This week, Lim Kimya’s widow called for a full accounting of who was behind it. “The actions of...

Politics

2 w. ago Australian drug boss to be retried after lawyer’s police informant past exposed

A court in Melbourne ruled on Friday that one of Australia’s most famous drug kingpins must face a retrial after his defence lawyer was revealed to have been a police informant. Tony Mokbel - one of the key figures in Melbourne’s years-long gangland war – was handed a 30-year prison sentence in 2012 after pleading guilty to masterminding an elaborate drug syndicate. Violence linked to his group, known as “The Company”, claimed dozens of lives and was later immortalised in the hugely popular...

Events

3 w. ago Former aide to AfD politician handed prison sentence for China spying

Former aide to AfD politician handed prison sentence for China spying  Reuters

Events

3 w. ago Vietnam jails former Saigon Jewelry CEO as gold bullion scam costs state dearly

A Vietnamese court convicted a former top-ranking gold executive and 15 others in a case that spotlighted shortcomings in the state’s monopoly on gold trading, which is now being scrapped in favour of a more market-oriented approach. Le Thuy Hang, the ex-CEO of Saigon Jewelry Company, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for embezzlement and the abuse of power for taking advantage of government policies related to precious metals on Monday, VnExpress reported. SJC, as the firm is known, was the...

Economics

3 w. ago Opinion | Jailing of journalist shows China still fears the covid truth

Opinion | Jailing of journalist shows China still fears the covid truth  The Washington Post

Events

4 w. ago China: Journalist Zhang Zhan sentenced to prison again on baseless charges

China: Journalist Zhang Zhan sentenced to prison again on baseless charges  Amnesty International

Events

4 w. ago China jails COVID whistleblower journalist Zhang Zhan for 4 more years

China jails COVID whistleblower journalist Zhang Zhan for 4 more years  Nation Thailand

Events