A United Nations judge has been sentenced to six years and four months in prison for enslaving a young Ugandan woman in the United Kingdom.

Lydia Mugambe, 50, was convicted at Oxford Crown Court of multiple offences, including conspiring to facilitate a breach of UK immigration law, facilitating travel with a view to exploitation, forcing someone to work, and conspiracy to intimidate a witness.

During the trial, the court heard that Mugambe exploited her victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, by forcing her to work as a maid and provide unpaid childcare while preventing her from securing paid employment.

The prosecution said Mugambe tricked the woman into coming to the UK under false pretenses, taking “advantage of her status” in what was described as the “most egregious way”.

Mugambe, a High Court judge in Uganda and a recent addition to the UN’s judicial roster as of May 2023, was pursuing a PhD in law at the University of Oxford at the time of the offences.

Her arrest by Thames Valley Police occurred three months prior to her UN appointment. When confronted by officers, Mugambe claimed diplomatic immunity and insisted she was not a criminal, stating the victim had volunteered to come with her.

Sentencing her on Friday, May 2, Judge David Foxton described the case as “very sad” and noted her extensive background in human rights law. However, he emphasized that Mugambe showed no remorse and instead sought to shift blame onto the victim.

In a statement read in court, the victim spoke of living in “almost constant fear” due to Mugambe’s influence in Uganda. She expressed fears for her safety if she were to return home and said she may never see her mother again.

Prosecutor Caroline Haughey KC told the court that Mugambe deliberately deceived the woman to serve her own interests.

“She exploited and abused [the woman], taking advantage of her lack of understanding of her rights to properly paid employment,” Haughey said.

A senior Russian military officer, Major General Yaroslav Moskalik, was killed on Friday in a car bomb explosion in the town of Balashikha, just east of Moscow, Russia’s Investigative Committee has confirmed. The powerful blast, which also claimed the life of a second unidentified individual, is being treated as a criminal case.

Moskalik was the deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces—a key position in Russia’s military leadership. The Investigative Committee revealed that the explosion resulted from a homemade explosive device filled with destructive elements. While the perpetrators remain unknown, authorities are yet to name suspects in the attack.

The blast, reportedly detonated remotely, occurred as Moskalik walked past a parked car near his residence. Russian news outlet Baza, citing law enforcement sources, said the device had been planted in the vehicle and triggered as Moskalik approached. Video footage published by Izvestia showed the explosion hurling car parts metres into the air, underscoring the severity of the blast.

Moskalik had participated in several major diplomatic and military negotiations, including the 2015 Normandy Format talks, where representatives from Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine convened in a bid to resolve the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine. He was part of the security subgroup in the Minsk peace talks, working alongside Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and top Kremlin advisers.

The targeted killing of high-ranking military figures has become increasingly common since the outbreak of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Moscow has blamed several of these incidents on Ukrainian intelligence operations. In a notable parallel, Ukrainian authorities were accused of orchestrating the December assassination of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov using a bomb concealed in an electric scooter.

As of Friday evening, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has not commented on Moskalik’s death. The Kremlin, too, has remained silent, though analysts expect the incident to heighten security measures and intensify Russia’s internal investigations amid growing fears of infiltration and targeted attacks within its borders.

A cardinal convicted of financial crimes by the Vatican is claiming he can take part in the forthcoming conclave despite being listed as a “non-elector.”

Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, once one of the most powerful figures in the Vatican, was ordered by Pope Francis in 2020 to resign the “rights and privileges” of a cardinal after he became embroiled in a Vatican financial scandal.

The Sardinian cardinal previously held the position of “sostituto” (“substitute”) in the Holy See’s Secretariat of State – a papal chief of staff equivalent.

The role offered Becciu walk-in privileges to see the pope and he commanded huge authority across the church’s central government. He was later moved to a position running the Vatican’s saint-making department.

Becciu was convicted of embezzlement and fraud in 2023 and handed a five-and-a-half-year jail sentence. He is the first cardinal to be convicted by the Vatican’s criminal court.

But the cardinal, who has always maintained his innocence, launched an appeal that’s currently still under consideration. He’s allowed to continue to live in a Vatican apartment while this process is underway.

While the Holy See press office has listed him as a “non-elector,” Becciu told a Sardinian newspaper on Tuesday that “there was no explicit will to exclude me from the conclave nor a request for my explicit renunciation in writing.”

The decision of his participation will likely be decided by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who will oversee the conclave proceedings inside the Sistine Chapel.

The investigation into Becciu centered on the Holy See’s disastrous investment in a London property that saw the church lose tens of millions of dollars.

During his papacy, Francis sought to clean up Vatican finances and changed the law to ensure that Becciu, as a cardinal, could be judged by a Vatican tribunal of judges.

Although Becciu lost his rights and privileges as a cardinal, he was never technically removed from the College of Cardinals. He is allowed to take part in the pre-conclave discussions.

Only cardinals under the age of 80 are allowed to vote in a papal election. As it currently stands, there are 135 eligible cardinals who will participate in conclave. Becciu is 76 and still eligible when it comes to his age. (CNN)