Law

Published: 21 January 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. American democracy has faced unprecedented challenges since Donald Trump assumed office last year, with experts warning that the country teeters on the edge of authoritarianism. Scholars and political analysts note that democratic norms have been undermined rapidly, signaling alarming declines in institutional checks and public trust. The focus on democracy highlights how the United States’ political system has...

Published: 21 January 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Australia’s new hate speech laws have sparked warnings from the Greens, claiming that criticism of Israel or its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, could be classified as an offence under these sweeping reforms. The Greens justice spokesperson, David Shoebridge, said the legislation, passed quickly after the Bondi terror attacks, dramatically expands the government’s ability to target groups and individuals....

Published: 19 January 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has firmly rejected retaliatory trade measures, placing the Starmer tariffs stance at the centre of Britain’s response to mounting pressure from Washington. Speaking from Downing Street, Starmer argued that matching United States tariffs would harm the British economy and deepen unnecessary confrontation. His comments followed threats from President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on...

Published: 18 January 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online As political debate intensifies over China’s proposed new embassy complex near the Tower of London, warnings of espionage, surveillance and national security threats have dominated public discourse. Yet behind the scenes, within Britain’s intelligence and security community, a notably calmer and more pragmatic assessment prevails. For many seasoned officials, the so-called Chinese “mega embassy” is far less alarming...

Published: 18 January 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online A South Korean court has sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison, marking the first judicial verdict arising from the dramatic and unprecedented events surrounding his failed declaration of martial law in December 2024. The ruling, delivered by the Seoul central district court, found Yoon guilty of mobilising presidential security forces to obstruct his...

Published: 18 January 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online On Monday morning, courtroom 76 of the High Court in London will become the stage for one of the most consequential media trials in modern British history. Prince Harry’s long-running legal battle against the Daily Mail, one of the most powerful and influential newspapers in the UK, is finally set to be heard. The outcome could reverberate far...

Published: 17 January 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online When Tiina Parikka opened an email on a quiet Saturday morning in October 2020, she had no idea that her life—and the lives of tens of thousands of others—had already been irrevocably altered. Fresh from a sauna in her Vantaa apartment, just outside Helsinki, the 62-year-old headteacher glanced at her phone absent-mindedly. What she read made her heart...

Published: 17 January 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online United Nations secretary general António Guterres has issued one of the starkest warnings of his tenure, cautioning that “powerful forces” are actively working to undermine global cooperation at a moment when humanity faces interconnected crises of unprecedented scale. Speaking in London to mark the 80th anniversary of the United Nations’ first major meeting, Guterres delivered an impassioned defence...

Published: 17 January 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Hundreds of taxpayers across the UK are facing prolonged financial strain as HM Revenue and Customs takes more than a year in some cases to repay overpaid tax and national insurance contributions, raising serious questions about fairness, accountability and administrative efficiency within the tax authority. An investigation has found that refunds which once took a matter of weeks...

Published: 17 January 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Pressure is mounting on Betfair to hand over tens of thousands of pounds to the victim of a long-running fraud, after court proceedings exposed how a gambling addict was repeatedly allowed to wager vast sums of stolen money on the platform despite multiple warning signs. The case has reignited debate in the UK over the responsibility of gambling...