Britain

June 25, 2024 5:18 PM

Landmark trial for 47 Hong Kong democrats enters final stretch before sentencing

Mitigation pleas for Hong Kong's biggest ever national security trial against the city's democratic opposition kicked off on Tuesday, in what is expected to be the final stage before sentencing that could see some defendants jailed for life. The 47 democrats were among those arrested in early 2021 for taking part in an unofficial, non-binding poll to select candidates for a legislative election. They were charged with "conspiracy to commit subversion" under a China-imposed national security law...

June 14, 2024 10:53 AM

Chinese #MeToo activist sentenced to five years in prison, supporters say

A Chinese court sentenced leading #MeToo activist Huang Xueqin to five years' imprisonment on subversion charges on Friday, supporters told Reuters. The co-accused labour activist Wang Jianbing was sentenced to three years and six months in prison, supporters said. Huang, a 35-year-old independent journalist, has been imprisoned since 2021. She was put on trial with labour activist Wang Jianbing, 40, last year, accused of "inciting subversion of state power", her supporters said, citing people...

June 10, 2024 12:31 PM

US military confirms Houthi missile strikes on two ships in Gulf of Aden

Yemen's Houthi damaged two commercial vessels in missile attacks in the Gulf of Aden in the last 24 hours as part of the militia group's ongoing campaign against international ocean shipping, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday. The Iran-backed Houthis hit the Tavvishi, a Liberian-flagged and Swiss-owned container ship with an anti-ship ballistic missile, CENTCOM said. The vessel was damaged, but no crew were injured, according to CENTCOM. Two missiles fired by the Houthis struck the...

SALFORD, ENGLAND - JUNE 4: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) In this handout provided by ITV, Julie Etchingham hosts Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (R) and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer (C) during first head-to-head debate of the General Election on June 4, 2024 in Salford, England. The first televised debate of the 2024 General Election between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer will take place on ITV. (Photo by Jonathan Hordle - ITV via Getty Images)

June 5, 2024 12:52 PM

In heated debate, Britain’s Sunak, Starmer go head-to-head on the economy

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour challenger Keir Starmer went head-to-head on Tuesday over how to boost Britain's economy, with the PM accusing the opposition party of wanting to increase taxes if it wins power at a July 4 election. Both Sunak, a Conservative, and Starmer stuck to their campaign lines in their first debate just weeks before a general election opinion polls suggest Labour is set to win, with Sunak saying only he had a plan to spur Britain's paltry economic growth and Starme...

May 20, 2024 10:32 PM

WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange wins right to appeal extradition from Britain to US

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was given permission on Monday to appeal against extradition to the United States after arguing at London's High Court that he might not be able to rely on his right to free speech in a U.S. court. The Australian-born Assange, 52, is wanted in the U.S. on 18 charges, nearly all under the Espionage Act, relating to WikiLeaks' mass release of secret U.S. documents - the largest security breaches of their kind in U.S. military history. The High Court had in March ...

May 20, 2024 7:19 PM

UK’s infected blood scandal could and should have been avoided, inquiry finds

Britain's infected blood scandal that has killed 3,000 people and left thousands more suffering with hepatitis or HIV was no accident, a public inquiry found on Monday, blaming a catalogue of failures by government and doctors. Inquiry chair Brian Langstaff said more than 30,000 people received infected blood and blood products in the 1970s and 1980s from Britain's state-funded National Health Service, destroying lives, dreams and families. The use of infected blood, despite the known risks, h...

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - 2024/02/27: Trees are decorated with Taegeukgi, South Korea's national flags at the entrance to Hyochang Park in the center of Seoul to commemorate Korean Independence Movement Day. The Korean Independence Movement Day, also known as the March 1st Movement, was an important protest movement of Koreans in early 1919 demanding independence from Japan and an end to forced assimilation into Japanese culture. (Photo by KIM Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

May 1, 2024 11:24 AM

South Korea discusses joining part of AUKUS pact with US, UK and Australia

South Korea has held talks about joining part of the AUKUS defence deal between the U.S., Britain and Australia, Defence Minister Shin Won-sik said on Wednesday, only weeks after the pact said it would consider including Japan. Formed in 2021, AUKUS is a two-stage security pact to counteract China's growing power in the Asia Pacific region. While a first stage to give Australia nuclear submarine technology is limited to the core trio, they have raised the possibility of other countries j...

April 23, 2024 4:52 PM

Migrants drown in Channel, Sunak says nothing will stop Rwanda policy

At least five people, including a child, died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France, hours after Britain passed a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda to try to deter the dangerous crossings. The deaths of one child, a woman and three men occurred on an overcrowded small boat carrying around 110 people attempting to cross one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The French coastguard was still searching for survivors. "After becoming initially stranded on the shore, ...