Plus: New year, new job? Ranger sought for uninhabited island ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. The latest tranche of documents relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein contain an email by "A" from "Balmoral", and another that suggests US President "Donald Trump traveled on Epstein's private jet many more times than previously has been reported". From Hong Kong, the BBC's Danny Vincent reports on authorities' increasing clampdown. And if you're looking for a change of scenery or a new job in the new year, take a look at the role below, which seeks a ranger for a remote, uninhabited Scottish island. | |
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TOP OF THE AGENDA | Email by 'A' from 'Balmoral' asked Maxwell for 'inappropriate friends', Epstein files show |
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|  | Epstein died in prison in 2019. His associate Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. Credit: Reuters | An email by "A" from "Balmoral" asked Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell for "inappropriate friends", new documents released by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) show. It was sent from an address using the alias "The Invisible Man" – a pen name also used alongside a separate email address listed in Epstein's phone book as "Duke of York". Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lost the title following scrutiny over his links with Epstein. He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Elsewhere, Donald Trump was listed as a passenger on Epstein's jet eight times between 1993 and 1996. Trump has not been accused of any involvement in Epstein's child sex trafficking scandal and his alleged presence on the flights does not indicate wrongdoing. Some files "contain untrue and sensationalist claims" against him, the DoJ said. |
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| Trump says US will keep or sell seized Venezuela oil | The US president also said America intends to keep the tankers it has intercepted off the coast of Venezuela. | Read more > |
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| Ukraine loses embattled eastern town | The capture of Siversk brings Russia closer to the last remaining "fortress belt" cities still in Ukrainian hands in the Donetsk region. | What this means > |
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| Suspected N Korean agents applying for Amazon jobs | A top executive at the company said it has blocked more than 1,800 job applications from suspected North Korean agents. | More on this > |
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| Jimmy Lai conviction and fire response show authorities' tightening clampdown |  | Lai took part in the 2019 pro-democracy demonstrations that rocked Hong Kong. Credit: Getty Images | After being found guilty of colluding with foreign forces under Hong Kong's controversial national security law, which he denies, pro-democracy campaigner and media tycoon Jimmy Lai could face the rest of his life in prison. The 78-year-old's case is one of the most high-profile in the authorities' ever-tightening clampdown, visible even in their response to the deadly fire which killed more than 150 last month. |
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| | Danny Vincent, senior journalist |
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| | From Our Own Correspondent: Lai's trial has been seen by critics as a test of Hong Kong’s judicial independence. The government said it followed due process.
The verdict comes at a time when the city is still reeling from the deadliest fire it has seen in decades. The authorities acted quickly to make arrests relating to the fire, but there were also arrests by national security police - of a student who publicly demanded an independent inquiry and a former district councillor was detained and questioned when he tried to set up a press conference to discuss the case. Volunteers worked in secret to deliver supplies, I was told, fearful they could become targets of the police. |
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