Day: February 14, 2026

Andrew aide advised Epstein to omit conviction on China visa form, files suggest

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An aide to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor advised Jeffrey Epstein to illegally hide his child sexual abuse conviction to obtain a visa to China, according to the latest Epstein files release. David Stern, who was a close associate of both Epstein and the then prince, was asked for his help after the disgraced financier’s initial application for a visa was rejected. Stern advised Epstein’s assistant to make the application at the Chinese embassy in Paris and “in addition it will be better not to tick the boxes re being denied previously or…

Taiwan defence budget delays may push island down US priority list, William Lai warns

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Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te has appealed for public support amid a dispute about a special military budget, warning that the deadlock could delay key weapons deliveries and risks the island slipping down the US arms supply priority list. The NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) special budget has been repeatedly blocked by opposition parties, even as Taipei comes under increasing US pressure to prove its commitment to its own defence. Advertisement Lai said this week that strengthening defence spending was “not an act of provocation” but a “necessary step to safeguard…

The British Museum’s Samurai show proves the brush is mightier than the sword

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As you enter the suitably frightening half-light of the British Museum’s new Samurai exhibition, you are confronted by exactly the sort of image you might expect. There, in splendid isolation, is a suit of armour in all its mesmerising menace. But if the display matches every expectation of a war-ready samurai, it immediately subverts the visitor’s probable preconceptions. First, what you are looking at is not a single piece of armour, but rather a collection of parts cobbled together over centuries. The dragon-topped helmet is from 1519, the cuirass breast…