“A former prosecutor at the international criminal court has called for an EU-wide statute blocking what she describes as ‘thuggish’ and ‘bullying’ US sanctions imposed on members of the court that are designed to send the court into oblivion. In February 2025, the US imposed sanctions on 11 ICC officials, including nine judges and the chief prosecutor as well three Palestinian organisations, in response to the ICC decision in 2024 to issue arrest warrants for members of the Israeli cabinet, including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The US sanctions – which include travel bans and asset freezes – have locked judges out of the European financial system, making it impossible for them or their families to live normal lives.” (05/24/26)
“As its sports car rivals tap the brakes on a shift to EVs, Ferrari will take a leap into an uncertain era on Monday with the launch of its first fully-electric car, betting it can connect with drivers even without a throaty engine roar. With a top speed of 310 kph (193 mph), Ferrari’s four-door Luce — meaning ‘light’ in Italian — will carry a price tag of more than €500,000 ($586,000). … Monday’s unveiling in Rome of the hotly awaited Luce caps years of preparation, from early hybrid Formula One systems more than a decade ago and road models since 2019. First deliveries to clients will start in October, the company said last year.” (05/25/26)
“Three Chinese astronauts arrived at Tiangong space station Sunday, with one crewmember expected to become China’s first to stay in orbit for an entire year. The Long March 2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft lifted off at 11:08 a.m. Eastern (1508 UTC; 11:08 p.m. Beijing time) May 24 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. The trio aboard were commander Zhu Yangzhu and astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying. Lai, a payload specialist formerly of the Hong Kong police force, is the first astronaut from Hong Kong to reach orbit. … One of Zhu or Zhang is expected to complete a continuous year in orbit, marking a first for Chinese human spaceflight.” (05/24/26)
“A New York lawsuit filed by Noah Doe and two Wyoming-based LLCs, ABC Company and XYZ Company, seeks a court order declaring ownership of 39,069 dormant Bitcoin addresses, raising important questions about the legal treatment of inactive Bitcoin under property laws. Filed on May 1, the suit claims that the coins tied to the listed addresses represent legally abandoned property they found and reported to the New York Police Department and claimed under New York lost-property law. The plaintiffs claim that the dormant Bitcoin wallets were legally ‘abandoned’ property that they found, including wallets belonging to early Bitcoin miners and addresses attributed to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, among other lost coins and unidentified entities. They claim that these constitute seizable property, akin to traditional bank accounts.” (05/25/26)
“Police stormed the offices of Turkey’s main opposition CHP party on Sunday, firing tear gas and rubber bullets at party supporters and officials who had been holed up inside for three days. It was a violent end to a standoff between members of the Republican Peoples’ Party, or CHP, and a leadership team appointed by an appeals court, escalating tensions between the opposition and the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.” (05/25/26)
“Police in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo fired shots in the air after angry crowds attempted to reclaim the bodies of loved ones who had died at an Ebola treatment centre in Mongwalu, two local journalists told the BBC. Sunday’s unrest continued throughout the day, the reporters said. The treatment centre, in a hospital compound, was the same place that was targeted overnight on Friday into Saturday, when an isolation tent was set ablaze. The body of a dead Ebola victim is highly infectious and can lead to the virus spreading further when prepared for burial. There have been more than 900 suspected Ebola cases in the current outbreak and 220 suspected deaths, officials say. According to Mongwalu General Hospital’s medical director Dr Richard Lokudu, Sunday’s attackers demanded the bodies of two people be given to their families.” (05/25/26)
“The estranged husband of former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon pleaded guilty Monday to embezzling more than 400,000 pounds ($540,000) from the Scottish National Party when he was its chief executive. Peter Murrell, 62, was remanded into custody after pleading guilty in the High Court in Edinburgh. Authorities say he used the money to buy a motorhome and two cars. … Sturgeon, who dominated Scottish politics for almost a decade, unexpectedly resigned in 2023 after eight years as first minister of Scotland’s semi-autonomous government. She was later cleared of wrongdoing over the finances.” (05/25/26)
“Anger is growing over alleged safety violations in the wake of China’s worst mining disaster in more than 15 years. At least 82 people were killed and more than 120 injured after an explosion on Friday at the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi province, the heart of China’s huge mining industry. For many in China, the tragedy harks back to the 2000s, a period of regular, deadly coal mining disasters, which is widely thought to have been left in the past. Those concerns are now reignited and playing out on China’s tightly-controlled internet, with people calling for justice and questioning how this happened: ‘It’s so heartbreaking, so many precious lives lost. When will we truly put safety first?’ Authorities say the cause of the disaster is still under investigation, but initial findings show Tongzhou Group, the company operating the privately-owned coal mine had committed ‘serious illegal violations’.” (05/25/26)
“Pope Leo called for the ‘disarming’ of artificial intelligence in his long-awaited manifesto on the rapidly developing technology on Monday, and warned of “new forms of slavery” behind its rise. The ‘just war’ theory – espoused recently by the Trump administration – was ‘outdated,’ Pope Leo XIV wrote in his first encyclical, which he presented in person at the Vatican, alongside AI experts including the co-founder of US giant Anthropic. The first US pope, who has clashed with the White House over the Iran war and its use of religion to justify conflict, sounded the alarm over AI-directed weaponry, saying it was ‘not permissible to entrust lethal’ decisions to tech.” (05/25/26)
“The deal being discussed between the U.S. and Iran fails to achieve any of Israel’s goals for the war, Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Monday, as he accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to influence a better agreement. Lapid, who is part of an alliance attempting to unseat Netanyahu in elections this year, said details of the emerging deal are ‘disturbing’. ‘The deal is bad for Israel, bad for the region, bad for the citizens of Iran,’ Lapid told reporters in Jerusalem. Israel and the U.S. launched the war on Feb. 28 vowing to destroy Iran’s ballistic missile program, end its support for proxy militant groups across the region and end Iran’s ability to pursue a nuclear bomb. Both Netanyahu and President Donald Trump also said they hoped to create conditions to topple Iran’s government..” (05/25/26)
