World

A court in Hong Kong has sentenced democracy advocate and media tycoon Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison.  The sentencing on Monday follows Lai's conviction on charges of foreign collusion and seditious publication in December 2025. "After considering the serious and grave criminal conduct of Lai ... the Court was satisfied that the total sentence for Lai in the present case should be 20 years' imprisonment," a summary document from the judges said. Two of those years will overlap with Lai's existing prison term, meaning that he will serve an additional 18 years, the judges wrote. He has been in prison since 2020.Jimmy Lai: A life that rose and fell with Hong KongTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Lai smiled and ...

The United States and India on Friday released the framework for an interim trade agreement following President Donald Trump's announcement of a trade deal with India. The framework "reaffirms the countries' commitment to the broader US-India Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations," according to a joint statement released by the White House. Under the agreement, India will "eliminate or reduce tariffs" on all US industrial products and a wide range of US food and agricultural goods. New Delhi also plans to buy about $500 billion (€423 billion) worth ‌of US energy goods and aircraft, among other purchases, over the next five years.  Trump cuts India's Russia-related tariffs The interim trade agreement comes after Trump announced a trade deal with India on Monday. The US agreed to...

The Cuban government on Friday announced a series of emergency measures as the island prepares for severe fuel shortages due to increased pressure from the United States. In a televised address, Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga blamed Washington for the energy crisis. He said the government would "implement a series of decisions, first and foremost to guarantee the vitality of our country and essential services, without giving up on development." What are Cuba's emergency measures to reduce energy consumption? Among the measures that will take effect on Monday are restrictions on fuel sales. "With insufficient fuel, we cannot maintain the sales levels we had in previous weeks," said Perez-Oliva Fraga. The deputy prime minister also said that "essential administrative act...

Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela's interim president, on Thursday said the first parliamentary vote on an amnesty bill marked an important step towards "peace and national reconciliation." "A very important event has occurred for Venezuela: the unanimous adoption by all the political forces present in the Assembly, in its first reading, of the amnesty law, which is a law for peace and national reconciliation," Rodriguez, who succeeded deposed leader Nicolas Maduro, said. Venezuela's amnesty bill could lead to the release of hundreds of opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists who have been detained for political reasons.  Breaking years of repression in Venezuela In announcing the bill late last month, Rodríguez said in a pre-taped televised event: "May this law serve to he...

Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela's interim president, on Thursday said the first parliamentary vote on an amnesty bill marked an important step towards "peace and national reconciliation." "A very important event has occurred for Venezuela: the unanimous adoption by all the political forces present in the Assembly, in its first reading, of the amnesty law, which is a law for peace and national reconciliation," Rodriguez, who succeeded deposed leader Nicolas Maduro, said. Venezuela's amnesty bill could lead to the release of hundreds of opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists who have been detained for political reasons.  Breaking years of repression in Venezuela In announcing the bill late last month, Rodríguez said in a pre-taped televised event: "May this law serve to he...

Former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland is under police investigation on "suspicion of aggravated corruption" over his alleged links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, police said on Thursday. "We consider there are reasonable grounds for investigation, given that he held ⁠the positions of chair of the Nobel Committee and Secretary General of the Council of ‌Europe during the period covered by the released documents," Paal Loeseth, director of Norway's ‍economic crime police unit, Oekokrim, ⁠said in a statement. "Among other things, Okokrim will investigate whether gifts, travel and loans were received in connection with his position," the statement added.  Anders Brosveet, a lawyer for Jagland, said his client welcomed the police opening an investigation and ​would ful...

The US military on Thursday said it killed two people in a strike on a boat suspected of carrying illegal drugs in the eastern Pacific. "Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations," the US Southern Command posted on X. It added that "no US military forces were harmed" in the operation. The statement did not offer any evidence that the boat pictured was actually carrying narcotics before it was blown up in the attack.  The strike is the second since the US kidnapped the then-Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a military operation on January 3 and brought him to the United States on charges that include narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy. Deadly st...

Iranian and US officials confirmed on Wednesday that a meeting between their countries would be held in Muscat, the capital of Oman, on Friday. Earlier Wednesday, a report surfaced that negotiations between the sides were falling apart over disagreements about the format and venue, raising doubts about the talks' fate. However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that the nuclear talks are now scheduled for Friday in Muscat. "I'm grateful to our Omani brothers for making all the necessary arrangements," he wrote on X. White House officials confirmed to news agencies that the meeting would take place in Oman on Friday. Earlier this week, officials said the meeting would likely happen in Turkey.  Disagreements about the agenda for the talks Despite the confirmation of the ...

The 2026 Winter Olympics sports program opened with the first curling matches scheduled in Italy's Cortina on Wednesday night, two days before the official opening ceremony. Several hundred spectators watched as eight teams unpacked their equipment in the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. The matches had barely begun when a brief power outage blacked out the scoreboards for the matchups between Sweden and South Korea, Great Britain and Norway, Canada and the Czech Republic, and Estonia and Switzerland.Curling players slide granite stones toward a circular target called the 'house' in an attempt to get closer to the center, or 'button,' than their opponentsImage: Jennifer Lorenzini/REUTERS The officials paused the matches when the lights dimmed and flickered, and when the main lights and ...