A Hong Kong court jailed pro democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai for 20 years on Monday after he was found guilty of national security offences last December

This is the harshest sentence under the controversial national security law, which China says is necessary for the city’s stability

Lai, who is a British citizen, was one of the loudest critics of Beijing, often wielding his pro-democracy paper, Apple Daily, as a tool of protest

Six former executives of the paper were also jailed on Monday – from six years and nine months to 10 years

Hailed a hero by the pro-democracy movement, Lai is seen as a traitor by Beijing. He has always denied the charges against him

The UK calls for the Chinese government to release Lai,  saying it will “rapidly engage further” with Beijing. But Hong Kong’s chief executive welcomes the sentence, saying Lai used “used Apple Daily to poison the minds of citizens”.

Lai’s son, Sebastien, tells the BBC his father’s punishment is “basically a death sentence”.

(BBC)

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza decided to field first against Oman  in the men’s T20 World Cup match at the SSC in Colombo. Both teams were pleased to arrive in Sri Lanka early to get themselves attuned to the conditions.

Zimbabwe have Blessing Muzarabani  back in the squad after he missed the tri-series in Pakistan in November.

Oman, meanwhile, include 44-year-old Aaamir Kaleem  the oldest player in the tournament – after he came into the side in place of Hasnain Shah, who was injured after the squad was named.

Zimbabwe return to the tournament after missing out on the previous edition in West Indies and the United States of America. They had made it to the Super 12s of the 2022 T20 World Cup but failed to progress through the qualifiers for the 2024 tournament. They completed qualification alongside Namibia; Brian Bennett was the tournament’s top run-scorer, while Brad Evans and Richard Ngarava were among the leading wicket-takers.

Zimbabwe are bolstered by the return of Graeme Cremer, whose November 2025 comeback marked the longest gap between T20I appearances.

Oman are one of three qualifiers from the Asia-Pacific region, alongside Nepal and the UAE. They have previously appeared in the 2016, 2021, and 2024 editions of the T20 World Cup.

Oman: Jatinder Singh (capt), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza,  Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale,  Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan,  Shah Faisal,  Shakeel Ahmad

Zimbabwe:  Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani,  Dion Myers,  Brendan Taylor (wk),  Sikandar Raza (capt),  Ryan Burl,  Tashinga Musekiwa,  Brad Evans,  Wellington Masakadza,  Richard Ngarava,  Blessing Muzarabani

Scotland may have suffered a blip the last time they faced Italy  in a T20I but ensured they picked up the first points of their 2026 T20 World  Cup campaign after a dominant performance at Eden Gardens. George Munsey’s 54-ball 84, supported by cameos from Brandon McMullen and Michael Leask, followed by Leask’s four-wicket haul helped Scotland spoil Italy’s debut  in the tournament. The 73-run win gave Scotland two points after their defeat to West Indies in Kolkata two days ago.

Brief scores:

Scotland 207 for 4 in 20 overs (George Munsey 84, Michael Jones 37, Brandon  McMullen 41, Richie Berrington 15, Michael Leask 22*; Ali Hasan 1-21, Grant  Stewart  1-44, Thomas Draca 1-37, JJ Smuts 1-38) beat Italy 134 in 16.4 overs (Anthony Mosca 13, JJ Smutts 22,  Harry Manenti 52; Michael Leask 4-17, Brad Currie 1-12, Brad Wheal 1-29, Mark Watt 2-24, Oliver Davidson 1-33 ) by 73 runs

(Cricinfo)