Sentences

• A South Korean court sentenced ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol to two years in prison on Monday for illegally receiving manipulated opinion polls. • The court found that Yoon received these polls for free from a political broker in exchange for political favors to help secure his party's 2022 presidential nomination. • This ruling highlights the legal consequences of electoral manipulation and the misuse of political influence during the 2022 campaign cycle.

• South Korean courts have finalized sentences for three individuals charged with providing bribes to former first lady Kim Keon Hee. • The defendants received suspended prison terms and fines, according to legal sources reporting on Monday. • This case highlights ongoing legal scrutiny regarding corruption and bribery allegations surrounding the former first lady's influence.

Updated document also commits party to cracking down on inducements for online gambling, putting pressure on Albanese government to toughen reformsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor will water down its opposition to mandatory jail sentences but has abandoned an earlier draft of its policy platform that would have seen the party scrap its longheld stance entirely.The draft platform obtained by Guardian Australia also commits Labor to cracking down on inducements for online wagering, putting pressure on the Albanese government to toughen up its proposed reforms to gambling advertising. Continue reading...

Twenty people were killed and 120 injured in the attack at the Erawan Shrine, a popular tourist destinationA Thai court has handed out death sentences to two Uyghur men from the north-western Chinese region of Xinjiang for a 2015 bombing in the centre of Bangkok that killed 20 people.The explosion occurred at the Erawan Shrine in the centre of Bangkok, an area popular with foreign tourists. As well as the 20 people killed, another 120 were injured. Five of the dead were from mainland China and two from Hong Kong. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer announces review after three boys were given youth rehabilitation orders for rape of two girlsThe court of appeal will review the non-custodial sentences given to three teenage boys for the rape of two girls, Keir Starmer has announced.The boys, two of whom were 15 and one aged 14 at the time of sentencing, were given youth rehabilitation orders after the judge in the case said he wanted to “avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily” and support their reintegration into society. Continue reading...

More people are being jailed in England and Wales as a result of acting to prevent climate breakdown and the war in Gaza, research revealsBritain has created a new breed of political prisoners through the systematic incarceration of people acting to prevent climate breakdown and the annihilation of Gaza, a report claims.The research by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and the protest group Defend Our Juries says that custodial sentences for acts of direct action or civil disobedience were once rare but are now being imposed with increasing length and frequency. Continue reading...

Boys physically overpowered and then filmed attacks on teenage victims in separate incidents in HampshireThree teenage boys convicted of knife-point rape and other serious sexual offences against two teenage girls in Hampshire have not been given custodial sentences because the judge said he “should avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily”.The boys, who were aged between 13 and 14 at the time of their offences, physically overpowered and sexually assaulted the girls, who were aged 14 and 15, in separate incidents two months apart. Continue reading...

• A court in Pakistan sentenced a man to death over the murder of a teenage social media influencer, a case that has sparked outrage nationwide. • The ruling follows public anger over violence against women and the role of online fame in drawing attention to the killing. • The verdict matters because it shows the courts responding to a high-profile crime that became a broader debate about justice and social media culture.