Image credit : Getty images

Hong Kong police can now demand phone or computer passwords from those who are suspected of breaching the wide-ranging National Security Law (NSL).

Those who refuse could face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to HK$100,000 ($12,700; £9,600), and individuals who provide “false or misleading information” could face up to three years in jail.

It comes as part of new amendments to a bylaw under the NSL that the government gazetted on Monday.

The NSL was introduced in Hong Kong in 2020, in wake of massive pro-democracy protests the year before.

Authorities say the laws, which target acts like terrorism and secession, are necessary for stability – but critics say they are tools to quash dissent.

The new amendments also give customs officials the power to seize items that they deem to “have seditious intention”.

Monday’s amendments ensure that “activities endangering national security can be effectively prevented, suppressed and punished, and at the same time the lawful rights and interests of individuals and organisations are adequately protected”, Hong Kong authorities said on Monday.

Changes to the bylaw was announced by the city’s leader, John Lee, bypassing the city’s legislative council

(BBC)

UN issues new climate warning as El Niño looms5 hours agoMark PoyntingClimate researcherShareSaveGetty Images A man cools himself at a water fountain. He is wearing a red T-shirt and blue shorts and has both hands over his face, from which water is dripping towards the ground.Getty ImagesThe Earth’s climate is further out of balance than at any time in recorded history, the UN’s weather agency has warned.

The World Meteorological Organization says that our planet is gaining much more heat energy than it can release, driven by emissions of warming gases such as carbon dioxide.

This record “energy imbalance” heated the ocean to new heights last year and continued to melt our planet’s ice caps.

And scientists fear that a natural warming phase called El Niño – expected to begin later this year – could soon bring further heat records.

In response to the report, UN Secretary General António Guterres reiterated his call for countries to move away from fossil fuels to renewable energy to “deliver climate security, energy security and national security.”

“Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits. Every key climate indicator is flashing red,” he warned, in a typically punchy video address.

The last 11 years were the Earth’s 11 warmest years in records stretching back to 1850, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says.

In 2025, global average air temperatures were about 1.43C above those of “pre-industrial” times – before humans started burning large amounts of fossil fuels.

A temporary cooling from the natural La Niña weather pattern meant that 2025 was not quite as hot as 2024, which was boosted by the opposite El Niño phase.

President Donald Trump on Friday said he believed that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is helping Iran in its war against the United States and Israel.

According to CNBC, Trump’s comment came in a radio interview with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, and a week after the president lashed out at Fox News reporter Peter Doocy for asking him at the White House about reports that Russia was aiding Iran.

Kilmeade asked Trump on Friday: “You think Putin is helping them?”

Trump replied, “I think he might be helping them a bit, yeah.”“I guess, and he probably thinks we’re helping Ukraine, right?” Trump continued.

“Yeah, we’re helping them also,” Trump said, referring to Ukraine, which has been at war against Russia since being invaded in early 2022.

“So he [Putin] says that, and China would say the same thing, you know,” Trump told Kilmeade.

“It’s like, ‘Hey, they do it, and we do it, in all fairness,’ ” Trump said. “They do it, and we do it.”