Eurotopics.net

Hong Kong democracy activist and media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. The guilty verdict for "collusion with foreign forces" and "sedition" was already handed down in December. Now the court in the Chinese special administrative region has issued the sentence. Lai has already served two years, and will have to serve 18 more, the judges ruled.

Top skier Lindsey Vonn has crashed and suffered a serious injury in the women's downhill event at the Winter Olympics. The 41-year-old American decided to compete in Cortina d'Ampezzo despite a torn cruciate ligament and a partial prosthesis in her knee. Commentators discuss whether the criticism this decision triggered was justified.

Negotiators from the US and Iran held indirect talks in Oman on Friday. Both sides lauded the start of negotiations, but at the same time upped the pressure: US President Donald Trump threatened to impose additional punitive tariffs on countries that do trade with Iran, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that attacks on his country would be met with attacks on US bases in the region.

Japan's national conservative ruling party has secured a resounding election victory: under the leadership of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who has only been in office since October, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has won more than two-thirds of the seats in the parliamentary election - the first time a single party has achieved such a majority in Japan. Takaichi has promised to upgrade Japan's military to create a counterweight to China in the region.