Father, stepmom get life sentence for murdering minor daughter
London, Dec 17: The father and stepmother of a 10-year-old girl whose body was discovered in her bed at Woking in Surrey, south-east England, after the family had fled to Pakistan were on Tuesday sentenced to life imprisonment. Urfan Sharif, 43, and Beinash Batool, 30, had been found guilty of murdering Sara Sharif following what the court heard was a “campaign of abuse” and “torture”. While Sharif was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison before being considered for parole, Batool received a minimum term of 33 years. Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, who was living in the house at the time, was sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment for causing or allowing the death of a child. “The degree of cruelty involved is almost inconceivable,” Justice Patrick Cavanagh said during the sentencing hearing. (PTI)
EU investigates TikTok over Romanian poll safeguards
London, Dec 17: European Union regulators said Tuesday they’re investigating whether TikTok breached the bloc’s digital rulebook by failing to deal with risks to Romania’s presidential election, which has been thrown into turmoil over allegations of electoral violations and Russian meddling. The European Commission is escalating its scrutiny of the popular video-sharing platform after Romania’s top court cancelled results of the first round of voting that resulted in an unknown far-right candidate becoming the front-runner. The court made its unprecedented decision after authorities in the EU and NATO member country declassified documents alleging Moscow organised a sprawling social media campaign to promote a long shot candidate, Calin Georgescu. (AP)
Lawyer accused of being Chinese spy loses case against MI5
London, Dec 17: A lawyer accused of trying to interfere in British politics on behalf of the Chinese government has lost a legal challenge against the UK’s domestic intelligence agency MI5. Britain’s Security Service issued a security alert to all lawmakers in January 2022 warning that London-based lawyer Christine Lee was knowingly engaged in “political interference activities in the UK” in coordination with the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, an organisation known to exert Chinese influence abroad. The House of Commons’ Speaker warned at the time that Lee had “facilitated” covert donations to British political parties and legislators “on behalf of foreign nationals.” (AP)
China executes official involved in corruption
Beijing, Dec 17: China on Tuesday executed Li Jianping, a former official in the north Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, who was convicted in the largest-ever corruption case in the country totalling to over USD 421 million. The death sentence of Li, former secretary of the ruling Communist Party working committee of the Hohhot economic and technological development zone, was initially issued in Sep 2022 and upheld on appeal in Aug 2024. (PTI)