Headline

Legal Chaos In Poland As President, New Govt Clash

Published

2 years ago

January 15, 2024

A standoff between Poland’s new pro-European government and its nationalist president, who is allied with the previous populist ruling party, is creating legal chaos and political instability.

During eight years of rule by the Law and Justice (PiS) party, Warsaw was at odds with Brussels over judicial reforms which the government said were needed to combat corruption.

The EU said the reforms undermined democratic freedoms and the rule of law in Poland and had blocked billions of euros in recovery funds.

“The institutions of the rule of law have been violated in Poland with the help of the president and the new government is now trying to re-establish them,” Marcin Zaborowski, an expert from the Globsec think tank, told AFP.

The new pro-European coalition headed up by former EU chief Donald Tusk, which came to power in December, has promised to restore rule of law.

Tusk has accused Duda, whose mandate only runs out in 2025, of being the “author of this constitutional and legal confusion”.

While the head of state’s responsibilities are relatively limited in Poland, Duda still has veto power on legislation which the new government is not in a position to overrule.

– ‘Legal dualism’ –

Duda is supported by Law and Justice, which is still a powerful force despite its electoral defeat in October as it has influence over institutions such as the Constitutional Court.

Tensions have been rising ever since the new coalition took power and embarked on major reforms of the judiciary and public media.

The refusal of the previous ruling party to accept a series of new nominations to key institutions has created a confusing situation.

“There is a de facto legal dualism,” Zaborowski said.

Wagner mercenaries train Belarus special forces near Polish border
“Within the Supreme Court, there is one chamber that says the president is right and another that says he is wrong,” he added.

The latest confrontation has been over two former Law and Justice MPs who have been jailed for a case dating back to 2007.

Mariusz Kaminski, a former interior minister, and his colleague Maciej Wasik were arrested last week in the presidential palace where they had been invited by the president.

“This is an unprecedented situation for a democratic country when the president gives refuge to two people who have been convicted by a court,” said Stanislaw Mocek, head of the Collegium Civitas university in Warsaw.

In 2015, the two men were sentenced to prison terms for making false accusations against a leading political figure when they were in charge of the anti-corruption agency.

They then both received a presidential pardon, which was questioned by the Supreme Court.

The Constitutional Court has since rejected the verdict of the Supreme Court, authorising the president to say his pardon was still in force.

– ‘Fuel to the fire’ –

The two were elected to parliament in October but have since had their convictions confirmed on appeal and their parliamentary mandates cancelled.

Now under arrest, they have begun hunger strikes and Duda has launched another pardon procedure.

“The president is adding fuel to the fire, while claiming that he wants to find a compromise. Only one compromise is possible — the rule of law,” Mocek said.

In the furore that ensued, Duda has spoken out against the “terror of the so-called rule of law” while Tusk has called it “a basic principle” that needs to be followed.

The stage is set for a prolonged confrontation that observers say could well last until the end of Duda’s mandate.

“The new government has already shown that it will not pull back from reforms while the president has shown that he will not hesitate to veto them,” Zaborowski said.

Headline

Trump Warns Of More Strikes In Nigeria If Attacks On Christians Continue

Published

2 days ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

US President Donald Trump has warned that he could authorise additional military strikes in Nigeria if attacks against Christians continue, citing the security situation in the West African nation as a key concern.

In an interview with the New York Times on Thursday, Trump was asked whether the Christmas Day strikes in Sokoto State, which targeted Islamist militants, were intended as part of a broader campaign. “I’d love to make it a one-time strike. But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike,” he said.

Trump’s comments follow his 2025 designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” due to what he described as an “existential threat” to its Christian population. The remarks have drawn criticism from Nigerian officials, who insist that jihadist groups target people regardless of religion. “Muslims, Christians and those of no faith alike” are affected, a government spokesperson said, rejecting claims that Christians are being singled out.

When pressed about reports that most victims of jihadist groups in Nigeria are Muslims, Trump responded, “I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians.” Nigeria, with a population exceeding 230 million, is roughly evenly divided between Christians in the south and Muslims in the north.

The December strikes targeted camps run by a jihadist group known as Lakurawa in Sokoto, a largely Muslim region near the border with Niger. Both the US and Nigerian authorities have linked the militants to Islamic State-affiliated groups in the Sahel, although the IS has not formally claimed any association with Lakurawa. Details of casualties from the strikes remain unclear, as neither government has provided official figures.

Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar said the operation was a “joint effort” and emphasised that it was not motivated by religion. He confirmed that the strikes had the approval of President Bola Tinubu and included
participation by Nigerian armed forces. Addressing the timing of the strikes, Tuggar added that they were unrelated to Christmas, though Trump described them as a “Christmas present”.

Headline

Science Discovers Why Hungry, Broke Men Prefer Bigger Breasts

Published

2 days ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

A scientific study has found that men who feel financially insecure or hungry are more likely to find larger female breasts attractive.

The research was published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE and was conducted by psychologists Viren Swami and Martin J. Tovée.

The study examined whether breast size acts as a signal of fat reserves and access to resources, and whether men facing resource insecurity rate larger breast sizes as more attractive than men who feel economically secure.

Researchers carried out two separate studies across Malaysia and the United Kingdom.

In the first study, 266 men from three areas in Malaysia were assessed. The locations represented low, medium and high socioeconomic backgrounds. Participants were shown rotating computer-generated images of women with different breast sizes and asked to rate which they found most attractive.

The findings showed a clear socioeconomic pattern.

Men from low-income rural areas preferred larger breasts.

Men from middle-income towns preferred medium to large breasts.

Men from high-income urban areas preferred smaller to medium breasts.

PLOS ONE study showing how hunger and financial insecurity affect men’s breast size preferences
Cover page of a PLOS ONE study examining how resource insecurity influences men’s breast size preferences. Source: PLOS ONE

As stated in the study, “Men from relatively low socioeconomic sites rated larger breast sizes as more physically attractive than did participants in moderate socioeconomic sites, who in turn rated larger breast sizes as more attractive than individuals in a high socioeconomic site.”

The researchers noted that the lower a man’s financial security, the stronger his preference for larger breast size.

The second study focused on hunger rather than income.

In Britain, 124 male university students were divided into two groups. Sixty-six participants were classified as hungry, while 58 had recently eaten. Both groups viewed the same breast size images under identical conditions.

Hungry men consistently rated larger breasts as more attractive than men who were full.

According to the researchers, “Hungry men rated a significantly larger breast size as more physically attractive than did the satiated group. Taken together, these studies provide evidence that resource security impacts upon men’s attractiveness ratings based on women’s breast size.”

The researchers explained that these shifts suggest attraction is not fixed but responsive to immediate conditions.

They noted that men experiencing hunger or financial pressure may place greater value on physical traits that signal access to resources or stability.

The study added that temporary states such as hunger can shape attraction in the same way long-term economic conditions do, reinforcing the idea that social and environmental factors play a key role in how physical attractiveness is judged.

Headline

Man With Lengthy Criminal Record Shoots Nigerian To Death Inside Bus In Canada

Published

2 days ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

A 40-year-old man with an extensive criminal history has been charged with first-degree murder after a Nigerian national was shot dead on a GO bus at the Yorkdale GO Bus Terminal in Toronto, marking the city’s first homicide of 2026.

Toronto Police, in a statement on their website, said officers were called to the terminal, near Yorkdale Road and Allen Road, at about 7 p.m. on Sunday, January 4, following reports of a shooting. Investigators allege that both the suspect and the victim boarded a GO bus at the terminal, where the suspect shot the victim before fleeing the scene on foot.

According to the statement, officers arrived to find a man suffering from a gunshot wound, but despite carrying out life-saving measures, the Nigerian was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim was later identified as Osemwengie Irorere, a 46-year-old man from Nigeria, the Toronto police said in a later statement.

Local media reports noted that an eyewitness who was seated just behind the victim said the bus had been dark and crowded as passengers waited to depart when a single gunshot rang out.

“I assumed it was a popped tyre or something, but immediately after, a guy sitting in front of me got up, shoved his hands in his pocket and ran off the bus,” the witness said, requesting anonymity for safety reasons.

“Right after, I stood up and I looked at the seat in front of me and I saw a guy, bleeding,” he added, saying he could smell smoke in the air after the shot was fired.

Police said the suspect was located and arrested a short time later near the Yorkdale subway station, and a firearm was recovered.

The accused has been identified as Tyrel Gibson, 40, of Toronto. He appeared at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre on Monday, January 5.

Court documents show that Gibson has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2000, with nearly two dozen charges. He has previously been convicted of offences including attempted murder and firearm-related crimes. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, using a firearm, possession of a firearm with ammunition and possession of an unauthorised firearm and was handed a lifetime weapons prohibition. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2017, although it remains unclear how much of that term he served.