21/02/2026

SATURDAY | FEB 21, 2026 9 Venezuela approves amnesty law CARACAS: Venezuela’s National Assembly on Thursday unanimously approved a long-awaited amnesty law that could free hundreds of political prisoners jailed for being government detractors. However, the law excludes those who have been prosecuted or convicted of promoting military action against the country, which could include opposition leaders such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who has been accused by the ruling party of calling for international intervention such as the one that ousted former president Nicolas Maduro. The Bill was signed by interim president Delcy Rodriguez, who pushed for the legislation under pressure from Washington, after she rose to power following Maduro’s capture during a US military raid on Jan 3. “One must know how to ask for forgiveness and one must also know how to receive forgiveness,“ Rodriguez said at the Miraflores presidential palace in the capital Caracas, after signing the Bill into law. In one of the first releases after the Bill passed, Machado ally and former National Assembly vice-president Juan Pablo Guanipa announced his release from detention after about nine months in prison and under house arrest. “After 10 months in hiding and almost nine months of unjust imprisonment, I confirm that I am now completely free.“ He called for all other political prisoners to be freed and exiles allowed to return, criticising the law as not an amnesty but a “flawed document” that excludes some Venezuelans who remain behind bars. The law is meant to apply retroactively to 1999, including the coup against previous leader Hugo Chavez, the 2002 oil strike and the 2024 riots against Maduro’s disputed re-election, giving hope to families that loved ones will finally come home. Many Venezuelans have been jailed in recent years over plots, real or imagined, to overthrow the government of Rodriguez’s predecessor and former boss Maduro. Family members have reported torture, mistreatment and neglect among inmates. – AFP Poland seeks more EU defence spending WARSAW: Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz on Thursday told AFP that European allies – especially Italy, France and Spain – need to invest more in their common security. “I would like Spain to heed this call, I would like Italy and France to hear it even more strongly, this call to increase defence spending, as Poland, Germany and the Scandinavian countries have done. “The more Europe invests, the more seriously and respectfully America will treat us in these areas.“ The Nato and EU member, which borders Russia and its close ally Belarus, has heavily ramped up its defence spending since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It is Nato’s largest spender in percentage terms, allocating 4.8% of its GDP to defence in its 2026 budget. At a summit last year, Nato members agreed to increase defence spending from 2% to 5% by 2035. France spent 2.05% of its GDP on defence in 2025, just over Nato’s old target, while Italy spent 2.0%, and Spain 2%. “It is still far too little, we need to do more, faster and more forcefully,“ the Polish minister said in the interview with AFP, which was conducted together with the German agency DPA and the Polish agency PAP. Nevertheless, Kosiniak-Kamysz emphasised the close cooperation he and the Polish government shared with its European allies. On Friday, he will host his French, Italian, German and British counterparts, as well as head of European diplomacy Kaja Kallas, in Krakow. – AFP

Police release former prince Andrew from custody

o Law must take its course, says King Charles

“Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all.” “Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office,” Thames Valle assistant chief constable Oliver Wright said in a statement. In 2022, Mountbatten-Windsor settled a civil lawsuit brought in the United States by the late Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager at properties owned by Epstein or his associates. The current police investigation is not related to this or any other allegation of sexual impropriety. “Today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty,” the family of Giuffre, who died by suicide last year, said in a statement. – Reuters

“I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office,” King Charles said in a statement. A Reuters witness saw the former prince leaving a police station in Aylsham, eastern England, where he was met by a small group of photographers and television crews. A Reuters photograph taken after his release shows him seated inside a car, appearing visibly shaken. Thames Valley police said later that “the arrested man” had been “released under investigation”. Although Buckingham Palace was not informed in advance about the arrest, the King said the authorities had the family’s “full and wholehearted support and cooperation”. “Let me state clearly, the law must take its course.

AYLSHAM: King Charles’ younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was released from police custody on Thursday after being arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over allegations he sent confidential government documents to Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor, who turned 66 on the day of his arrest, had been questioned all day by detectives from Thames Valley police. Earlier this month, the police force said it was looking into allegations that he had passed documents to the late convicted sex offender while working as a trade envoy. The arrest of the royal, eighth in line to the throne, is unprecedented in modern times.

Mountbatten Windsor seen leaving Aylsham police station in a vehicle. – REUTERSPIC

Epstein estate to settle victim claims for up to US$35m WASHINGTON: The estate of convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has agreed to pay up to US$35 million (RM137 million) to settle the outstanding legal claims of potentially dozens of victims, according to a proposed court judgment filed on Thursday. Darren Indyke, Epstein’s former lawyer, and Richard Kahn, the financier’s former accountant. Both have denied any wrongdoing through their association with the convicted sex offender and have not been accused of any crimes. of the lawsuit. Bloomberg News on Thursday reported that the firm was confident they had at least 40 victims who had not yet settled with Epstein’s estate. Daniel H. Weiner, the lawyer representing the co-executors, did not immediately reply to a comment request.

The settlement is related to victims who said they were “sexually assaulted or abused or trafficked by Epstein between Jan 1, 1995, and through August 10, 2019,” the date of the disgraced financier’s death in prison, the judgment said. Epstein’s estate would pay US$35 million if there are 40 or more individuals eligible in the class and US$25 million (RM98 million) if there are fewer than 40. The co-executors of the settlement are

The judgment said the agreement does not mean the co-executors admit fault or are liable to further legal action from victims. The agreement must be approved by a federal judge in New York before it could become final. The law firm representing the class of victims, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how many individuals were part

The settlement comes after the release by the US Justice Department of millions of documents, photographs and videos related to the investigation into Epstein. Epstein cultivated a global network of powerful politicians, business executives, academics and celebrities, many of whom have been tainted by their association with him. – AFP

Nasa rehearses lunar launch WASHINGTON: Nasa on Thursday said it successfully rehearsed the launch of its SLS rocket, which would send astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

technical checks, at Cape Canaveral in Florida, with engineers practising the maneuvers needed to carry out an actual launch. The setback in February, which included a liquid hydrogen leak, dashed hopes of a lift-off this month, pushing the earliest possible launch date to March 6. – AFP

of the launch of the Artemis 2 mission. However, the US space agency reported on Thursday that things proceeded as planned. Nasa is now expected to set a firm date for the mission. The wet dress rehearsal is conducted under real conditions, with full rocket tanks and

Technical problems in early February cut short an earlier so-called wet dress rehearsal