The Epoch Times UK

08/02/2025

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 7 freezing aid to South Africa, alleging discrimination against the nation’s white minority.

“The government of South Africa blatantly discriminates against ethnic minority Afrikaners,” the White House wrote in a summary of the order.

The president will also work to resettle white South African farmers and their families, labeling them as refugees, the White House added.

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07/02/2025

New York is being sued by a coalition of 22 states who contend that a new law forcing a small group of major energy producers to retroactively pay for the costs of alleged climate change damage is unconstitutional. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York Albany Division on Feb. 6. It lists state Attorney General Letitia James, Interim Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Sean Mahar, and Acting Tax Commissioner Amanda Hiller as defendants.

The legislation requires energy producers to retroactively pay for the costs of alleged climate change damage in the state.

07/02/2025

Two people died and six others were injured when a small plane crashed into a bus on a busy Sao Paulo avenue in Brazil on Friday morning, the local fire department said.
The two bodies were found charred in the fuselage of the Beech F90 King Air aircraft that took off from Sao Paulo bound for the city of Porto Alegre in southern Brazil, according to local authorities. ?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=uk_post The plane crashed on the Marques de Sao Vicente Avenue and then hit the bus, they said.

SAO PAULO—Two people died and six others were injured when a small plane crashed into a bus on a busy Sao Paulo avenue in Brazil on Friday morning, the local fire department said.

07/02/2025

Greece has declared a state of emergency on the island of Santorini after a series of earthquakes this week led to the evacuation of more than 10,000 residents and workers.
Hundreds of tremors have been recorded in the Aegean Sea between Santorini and the island of Amorgos this week, with the strongest measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale on Wednesday night.
On Friday during a visit to Santorini, Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged the public to remain calm, and follow the advice of the civil protection service.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, ‘We hope this phenomenon ends quickly and the island fully returns to its normal pace.’

07/02/2025

A Victorian man who says he was asked to remove a Donald Trump “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) hat at a Melbourne venue, claims he was later asked to leave a second establishment—despite not wearing the cap this time. The MAGA hat-wearing Ange Notta initially visited the Captain Baxter venue in the seaside suburb of St. Kilda on Australia Day, but was told to remove the well-known red cap to avoid inciting “political violence.”
However, Notta has now reported being asked to leave a second venue called Republica on Feb. 2, located in the same suburb.

This time, Ange Notta says he wasn’t wearing the hat, but was recognised from media coverage.

07/02/2025

A coalition of 14 state attorneys general said on Thursday that they will file a lawsuit to stop the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive federal payment systems. The coalition said that DOGE, an advisory committee led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, has no authority to access federal government systems—which they said contain Americans’ personal data, state bank account data, and “some of our country’s most sensitive data.” “This level of access for unauthorized individuals is unlawful, unprecedented, and unacceptable,” the coalition said in a statement released by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin.

The state attorneys general said the level of access given to DOGE is ‘unlawful’ and ‘unacceptable.’

07/02/2025

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been at the centre of controversy this week, with thousands of employees now being placed on leave.

Once seen as a crucial tool for U.S. foreign policy this little know agency is being questioned for wasting tax payers money

07/02/2025

The UK government’s ambitious plan to shift power from Whitehall to local councils, promising full devolution and a major overhaul of local government, is moving forward despite challenges and political pushback.

Whitehall is set to extend devolution to all parts of England and grant additional powers and funding flexibility for mayors.

07/02/2025

Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison, including three years supervised release, for defrauding the Los Angeles Dodgers player of almost $17 million. The sentencing, which took place on Thursday in a federal court in Santa Ana, California, marks the finale for a case that has caught the attention of international media and sent shockwaves throughout the baseball community. “The magnitude of the theft—$17 million—in my view, is shockingly high,” U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb, who is presiding over the case, said after issuing the sentence. He added that it’s “more than what most people make in their lifetime or many, many lifetimes.”

Ippei Mizuhara’s attorney described his client as a gambling addict who made a ’terrible mistake.’

07/02/2025

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced on Feb. 6 new legislation to limit the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk from accessing the U.S. Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service payment data. “Why do Elon Musk and his minions need access to the names, Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates and bank account information of millions of Americans?” Jeffries asked at a press conference.
“What are they doing with it, and why aren’t House Republicans stopping them?”

The bill will stand as a companion to Senate legislation announced by Sen. Chuck Schumer earlier this week.

07/02/2025

America in Brief: Trump suggests U.S. should control Gaza; Pam Bondi confirmed as attorney general; U.S. pulls out of U.N. Human Rights Council; Border crossings down 93 percent.

Trump suggests U.S. should control Gaza; Pam Bondi confirmed as attorney general; U.S. pulls out of U.N. Human Rights Council; Border crossings down 93 percent.

07/02/2025

India—A U.S. military plane carrying 104 deported Indian illegal immigrants landed in India on Wednesday, authorities said, part of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda a week before he is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington.
Migration has been among the key issues discussed by India and the United States since Trump assumed office last month, and is also expected to come up during Trump’s talks with Modi. Although illegal Indian immigrants have been deported by previous U.S. administrations, it is the first time Washington has used a military aircraft for the purpose. It is also the farthest destination so far for such flights using a military aircraft.

AMRITSAR, India—A U.S. military plane carrying 104 deported Indian illegal immigrants landed in India on Wednesday, authorities said, part of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda a week before…

07/02/2025

Nearly half of people receiving some form of disability benefits say they believe they will never be able to work again, according to a survey conducted for the Department for Work and Pensions.

The DWP said the benefits bill is ’spiralling' and being largely driven by an increase in people claiming incapacity benefits for mental health conditions.

07/02/2025

On Feb. 3, the Zénith de Dijon theater in France received an alarming email. “I placed multiple bombs in the theater,” the sender claimed. The email demanded that an upcoming show by the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts be canceled or else the theater would be “blown into rubble.” Some 80 minutes before the show was scheduled to start, the theater was evacuated and inspected by police. No bombs were found. The performance proceeded, albeit with a delay. Incidents of this kind have become a recurring nightmare for the performing arts company. Over the past year, it has faced dozens of such threats—all of which have proven to be false.

After more than a decade of using diplomatic intimidation, Beijing is now primarily sending bomb and mass shooting threats to scare theaters and lawmakers.

07/02/2025

Pro-life advocates have raised concerns over attempts to expand the eligibility criteria of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

CARE called the move to broaden the eligibility criteria even before Parliament has decided on the original parameters ‘both troubling and instructive.’

07/02/2025

Israel on Feb. 5 withdrew from the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC), citing “ongoing and unrelenting institutional bias” against the Jewish state. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, in a social media post announcing the withdrawal, cited President Donald Trump’s decision announced the previous day to pull the United States out of the council. “Israel joins the United States and will not participate in the UNHRC,” Sa'ar wrote.

Israel accuses the UNHRC of longstanding bias against the Jewish state and says it joins the United States in the decision to withdraw.