Ukraine-Russia, Colorado, Poland and tax bill
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Russian and Ukrainian officials are due to meet in Istanbul for a second round of direct peace talks, a day after Ukraine launched one of its most ambitious attacks of the war. Eight people have been injured after a man yelled "Free Palestine" and threw incendiary devices into a crowd in Boulder, Colorado. Nationalist opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki has narrowly won Poland's presidential election, delivering a major blow to the centrist government. The Senate returns today with one of its first priorities to tackle U.S. President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill.
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Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
U.S. trans mercenary who fought for Ukraine handed 20-year jail term for 'spreading fake news'
Russia has sentenced a U.S. trans woman who fought for Ukraine to 20 years in prison. Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, 47, was found guilty Tuesday of being a mercenary for Kyiv 's forces and spreading fake news about Russia's forces. The former journalist had been volunteering as a medic for Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces (TDF) and briefly served as its spokesperson. She was found guilty by the Supreme Court of the Donetsk People's Republic in occupied Ukraine. Ashton-Cirillo traveled to Ukraine shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 to cover the conflict as a war correspondent for the U.S. publication LGBTQ Nation. Within a matter of months, she resigned her post and volunteered to join the Ukrainian army, fighting as part of Kharkiv's 113th Territorial Defense Brigade, and was made a junior sergeant. In 2023 she withdrew from the frontline, having suffered injuries amid a Russian artillery attack on her unit's position, and was appointed as an English-language spokesperson for the TDF. In this role, she launched a YouTube show entitled Russia Hates The Truth which she reviewed and debunked Moscow's disinformation campaigns, catching the eye of Russian media controllers. Russian authorities added Ashton-Cirillo to a 'register of extremists and terrorists' and opened a criminal case against her in 2024, months after she said Russian journalists affiliated with state media would be 'hunted down.' She was sentenced in absentia by the court in Donetsk, meaning that she would be liable to face the full jail term if captured by Russian forces. Ashton-Cirillo courted controversy in August 2023 after her work with the Ukrainian TDF was brought to the attention of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who at the time was a Republican senator. Vance penned a letter to then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines in which he accused the junior sergeant of threatening 'physical violence to anyone who circulates Russian propaganda' during a video message she had made while in post. He also wanted to know whether Ashton-Cirillo was being 'compensated using American resources' and questioned whether U.S. officials had 'reason to believe Ukrainian forces or intelligence services are planning to commit acts of violence against those who engage in "Russian propaganda." ' But Ashton-Cirillo went on to release a follow-up video amid Vance's speculation in which she told viewers that 'Russian devils' would 'pay for their crimes,' with Ukrainian TDF branding in the background. The release of the clip coincided with a visit to Washington by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and was not approved by the Ukrainian TDF, leading to her suspension. Speaking to in 2023, Ashton-Cirillo admitted she had not sought approval from her superiors before posting her response to Vance. 'Russia Hates The Truth doesn't require anything to be vetted - I and the TDF team have editorial control over that. 'It's meant to be as over the top as possible. 'It was my response to Senator Vance in uniform in front of the TDF logo without approval which was the reason for my suspension. 'I told my team that I was going to do it, but given that it was something as sensitive as a response to a U.S. Senator in a public setting, it needed to be approved. 'I couldn't believe it that there was a U.S. Senator trying to unmask me. 'It wasn't my message to him that was a problem, it was that President Zelensky was on a trip to the U.S. at the time and I probably should have held back in responding.' She was later cleared of wrongdoing and reinstated, but quickly moved into another unspecified role in Ukraine's Armed Forces. Ashton-Cirillo remains in Ukraine as of May 2025 and is engaged in promoting fundraising and crowdfunding campaigns to help Ukrainian soldiers wounded on the frontlines. The Russian-controlled court took umbrage with Ashton-Cirillo's vow to 'hunt down' Russian state-affiliated journalists and allegations that Russian forces had used biological weapons in operations in Ukraine and Syria. A court statement on the ruling against Ashton-Cirillo was published yesterday. It reads: 'The Supreme Court of the Donetsk People's Republic has issued a verdict in absentia in the criminal case against 47-year-old U.S. citizen Sarah Ashton-Cirillo. 'She was found guilty under paragraph 'd' of Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation), Part 3 of Article 359 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict). 'The court established that... the mercenary arrived in Ukraine, voluntarily joined the International Legion, and was then assigned to the 113th Territorial Defense Brigade of Ukraine. 'She underwent military training at training bases and was provided with firearms, ammunition, uniforms, and special equipment. Ashton-Cirillo took part in combat operations on the side of the Ukrainian security forces against servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. 'In August 2023, she prepared a video story, which she posted on the Internet, about the alleged stockpiles of biological weapons created in Russia and the use of chemical weapons by the Russian Armed Forces in the Syrian Arab Republic, as well as on the territory of Ukraine during a special military operation. 'The mercenary has been placed on an international wanted list, and the court has chosen a preventive measure in the form of detention in absentia against her. 'Taking into account the position of the state prosecutor, the court sentenced Ashton-Cirillo in absentia to 20 years of imprisonment to be served in a general regime penal colony.'
Scottish Sun
26 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Now Pornhub ban spreads to EUROPE in row over under-18 access – and it includes two other major X-rated sites
The website is blocked in France as the company that owns it objects to a new age verification rule BLEU MOVIES Now Pornhub ban spreads to EUROPE in row over under-18 access – and it includes two other major X-rated sites PORNHUB has pulled out of France as a stringent clampdown on adult sites makes its way to Europe. A furious backlash over the country's new age verification rules has prompted the site to block access. Advertisement 6 French minister Aurore Berge said the decision meant there would be "less violent, degrading and humiliating content accessible to minors in France" Credit: Getty 6 Pornhub is the world's most visited porn site, with France being one of its biggest markets Credit: Getty 6 Aurore Berge added: "Pornhub, Youporn, and RedTube refuse to comply with our legal framework and decide to leave. Good!" Credit: Getty It comes over objections to a new law requiring porn sites to verify the age of users. Aylo, the adult entertainment company that owns Pornhub, has announced it will block access to the site in France as a result. The company claims the French law poses a privacy risk to users. The law could see users required to enter credit card details or other forms of official ID to verify their age. Advertisement Aylo also runs other popular porn sites such as Youporn and RedTube - which will also now be unavailable in France. The company argues that device-based age verification is a better solution than requiring porn sites to police the age of users. Aylo's VP for Brand and Community Alex Kekesi said: "All it requires is that the government enforce regulations on three companies – Apple, Google and Microsoft – the three operating system manufacturers requiring age verification at the device level prior to accessing adult content. "The French government refuses to take this simple step and instead are focused on futile and entirely symbolic regulatory actions which are unenforceable, do not protect children and expose your private data." Advertisement Pornhub is the world's most visited porn site, with France being one of its biggest markets. The website claims that France was its second biggest audience in 2024 after the United States. Kekesi added: "We've made the difficult decision to suspend access to our sites in France and instead use our platforms to speak directly to the French people. "French citizens deserve a government and a regulator who are serious about preventing children from accessing adult content. Advertisement "They also deserve laws which protect their privacy and safeguard their sensitive data." Greenpeace activists swipe Emmanuel Macron waxwork from Paris's Grevin Museum before using it in anti-Russia protest- 6 The company argues that device-based age verification is a better solution Credit: Alamy French Gender Equality Minister Aurore Bergé posted on X that Aylo's decision meant there would be "less violent, degrading and humiliating content accessible to minors in France". She added: "Pornhub, Youporn, and RedTube refuse to comply with our legal framework and decide to leave. Good!" Advertisement It comes after Aylo made similar moves to block access to its porn sites in several US states over age verification laws. So far, 19 US states have passed laws requiring porn sites to verify users's age. 6 The European Commission has also launched an investigation into several adult websites Credit: AFP The bans cover around one third of the US population. Advertisement Methods of checking under these laws can include providing a government-issued ID or even scanning a user's face. It has seen many porn sites opt to block access to their pages rather than implement such verification systems. States that have implemented these laws include Texas, Florida, Arizona and Virginia. The European Commission has also launched an investigation into several adult websites - including Pornhub - over accusations they had not complied with regulations aimed at stopping minors accessing porn. Advertisement The UK also has a law requiring platforms to have "robust" age checks in place by July. It is currently unclear whether the same porn platforms will also block access to their sites in Britain when this comes into force.
Daily Mirror
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Donald Trump's travel ban and what it means for Brits' holiday plans
The US President Donald Trump has issued travel bans to 19 countries, with the majority of them linked to African or Muslim-majority countries including Afghanistan, Iran and Libya Donald Trump has introduced one of the most sweeping travel bans in history. The US President announced new travel restrictions to 19 countries - roughly a tenth of all nations in the world. Nationals of Afghanistan, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will be barred from entering the United States under the new rules, which go into effect on June 9. Citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will face partial restrictions, removing access to all immigrant visas and several non-immigrant travel options. Only a limited number on special visas, such as diplomats, will be able to travel to the US from those countries. Trump has argued that these countries should face the bans for a number of reasons, including inadequate traveller screening, "a significant terrorist presence" within their borders, governments reluctant to accept deported nationals, or citizens prone to overstaying visas in the US. The bans are the latest in a series of anti-immigration moves introduced by Trump, which also include a block on people coming over the southern border to claim asylum and instructing heavily armed ICE immigration officers to make raids across the country. Why is the ban happening now? The announcement was made in the days after an Egyptian man in Colorado was arrested and charged with carrying out an attack on a group honouring hostages held in Gaza. The US President directly linked the travel bans to the "recent terror attack", claiming that it "underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted". Trump added: "We don't want them." In reality, the incident provides a convenient political reason to resurrect and expand policies that featured in Trump's first presidency, and comes after several months of build-up. In his first term, Trump was explicit about his desire to ban citizens from countries where Islam is the primary religion. At that time, he ordered a travel ban against people from seven Muslim-majority countries from coming to the US. This set of restrictions has clear echoes of the first. Made louder on Wednesday evening when Trump alluded to migration from Middle Eastern countries to Europe. "We will not let what happened in Europe happen to America," he said. Are there exemptions? Yes. If you are a national from one of the 19 "banned" countries, but have an existing visa to the US, you will be exempt from the ban, the New York Times reports. Green card holders, athletes travelling to the US for the coming World Cup and Olympics, and Afghans eligible for the Special Immigrant Visa program that was introduced following the US's invasion of the country, are also exempt. Those from the "banned" countries seeking visas through connections to US family members can continue to do so. That means those who have trips planned to the US, but already have their paperwork in order, will be able to travel. Whether they want to is a different question. There have been many reports of tourists to the US facing lengthy scrutiny at the US border since Trump's second term began, having their phones combed through and even being placed in detention for days at a time. The cooling effect is already being felt. The United States is on track to lose $12.5bn (£9.4bn) in international travel spending this year, according to a study published on Tuesday by the World Travel and Tourism Council. What if I'm a dual citizen? This is a situation a lot of Brits may find themselves in. If, for example, if you've got dual Somalian and British citizenship, you are exempt from the order. The same goes for all of the 19 countries included on the list. What if I've been to one of the banned countries? This is a little complicated, and the full answer is not yet clear. As things are now, UK passport holders can apply for an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA), instead of getting a full visa. If, however, you're British but were in the following countries on or after March 2011, then you can't get an ESTA. The countries include: Iraq Libya North Korea Somalia Sudan Syria Yemen You cannot apply for an ESTA visa waiver if you travelled to or were in Cuba on or after 12 January 2021. However, if you fall into that camp, you can still apply for a visa. That is a lengthier process and the chances of getting rejected are higher.
