- Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force
- Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires
- Demand for Japanese content booms post 'Shogun'
- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
- The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'
- El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining
- Five things to know about Panama Canal, in Trump's sights
- Mixed day for global stocks as market hopes for 'Santa Claus rally'
- Trump's TikTok love raises stakes in battle over app's fate
- European, US markets wobble awaiting Santa rally
- NASA solar probe to make its closest ever pass of Sun
- Volkswagen boss hails cost-cutting deal but shares fall
- Sweden says China blocked prosecutors' probe of ship linked to cut cables
- UK economy stagnant in third quarter in fresh setback
- Global stock markets edge higher as US inflation eases rate fears
- US probes China chip industry on 'anticompetitive' concerns
- Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience
- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate fears
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Beyond Work Unveils Next-Generation Memory-Augmented AI Agent (MATRIX) for Enterprise Document Intelligence
- Sweet smell of success for niche perfumes
- 'Finally, we made it!': Ho Chi Minh City celebrates first metro
- Tunisia women herb harvesters struggle with drought and heat
- Trump threatens to take back control of Panama Canal
- Secretive game developer codes hit 'Balatro' in Canadian prairie province
- Stellantis backtracks on plan to lay off 1,100 at US Jeep plant
- Banned Russian skater Valieva stars at Moscow ice gala
- Biden signs funding bill to avert government shutdown
- Sorrow and fury in German town after Christmas market attack
- France's most powerful nuclear reactor finally comes on stream
- Sierra Leone student tackles toxic air pollution
- Amazon says US strike caused 'no disruptions'
- Qualcomm scores key win in licensing dispute with Arm
- Scientists observe 'negative time' in quantum experiments
- US approves first drug treatment for sleep apnea
- Amazon expects no disruptions as US strike goes into 2nd day
- US confirms billions in chips funds to Samsung, Texas Instruments
- Wall Street rebounds despite US inflation ticking higher
UK activist jailed for dyeing fountain outside Buckingham Palace red
A UK animal rights activist who caused thousands of pounds' worth of damage to a fountain in front of Buckingham Palace was on Friday handed an 18-month jail sentence and warned he faced "severe" punishment if he reoffended.
The sentencing of "seasoned protester" Louis McKechnie, 23, follows a toughening of the sentences meted out to direct action protesters.
The UK has seen a string of headline-grabbing stunts over recent years, from massive traffic disruption caused by protesters scaling bridges or motorway gantries, to attacks on art works or historic sites.
McKechnie and four other Animal Rebellion members poured red dye into the fountain near the royal residence in August 2021 to "create the impression of a bloodbath", the hearing at Southwark Crown Court was told.
The activists were seeking to draw attention to the use of crown land for hunting and animal farming.
McKechnie's 18-month sentence will be served at the same time as another, similar sentence he is currently serving.
Warning him he faced a much longer term if he took part in any further such protests, Judge Gregory Perrins said McKechnie had been "extremely fortunate to have been dealt with relatively leniently by the courts in the past".
The dye used in the Buckingham Palace protest stained the fountain's marble and required more than 60 hours' cleaning to prevent permanent damage.
"You were concerned only about promoting your cause and thought nothing of the consequences of your actions," Perrins told the five defendants.
"Each of you displayed a high degree of arrogance that you were completely in the right, that your views were all that mattered and that the consequences of your actions were a price worth paying for the promotion of your cause," he added.
The other four each received an 18-month sentence suspended for two years, meaning they will not serve any time in custody provided they do not reoffend within 24 months.
In 2022, McKechnie glued himself to the frame of a Vincent van Gogh painting at a London gallery and told AFP he was prepared to be "public enemy number one" over his direct actions.
The latest case follows long sentences handed out to five Just Stop Oil activists, including the climate group's founder Roger Hallam, earlier this year.
They were each given between four and five years in jail in July for conspiring to plan protests that blocked a motorway.
UN experts criticised the "severe" sentences handed to climate protesters after two Just Stop Oil activists were jailed in April 2023 for two and three years after scaling the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge over the River Thames at Dartford, east of London.
In a letter last year to the government, UN special rapporteur for climate change Ian Fry warned the sentences could stifle protest and were "significantly more severe than previous sentences imposed for this type of offending in the past".
Ng.A.Adebayo--CPN