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Protest against a land reclamation and waste transfer station project in Hong Kong.
Hard Numbers: HK “protest,” Lebanese time warp, US Veep in Africa, Taiwan’s few friends, straight outta Helsinki
80: That’s how many Hong Kongers joined the first authorized protest in the territory since China passed a sweeping national security law in 2020. Demonstrators were obliged to show numbered tags on lanyards and were not allowed to wear masks during the demonstration against a land reclamation and rubbish processing project, where attendance was restricted to 100 participants.
2: What’s the time in Beirut? Good question. Lebanese are confused following a sectarian spat between authorities over when to begin Daylight Savings Time. PM Najib Mikati, a Sunni Muslim, announced that clocks will go forward at the end of Ramadan in late April so Muslims can end the fast earlier, while the influential Christian Maronite Church wants to do it on the last Sunday of March.
3: US Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday began a week-long tour of three African countries: Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia. Harris, the highest-ranking Biden administration official so far to visit the continent, will focus on economic development, food security, and leveraging Africa’s youth population as the US president continues his efforts to win African hearts and minds amid China’s growing influence.
13: After Honduras established diplomatic ties with China and broke off relations with Taiwan, the self-ruled island’s international recognition has dwindled to only 13 countries. The shift demonstrates Beijing’s rising diplomatic clout in Central America on the heels of a visit to the region by Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen.
2: Two Finnish MPs are spinning rhymes as they battle for votes, releasing rap music videos ahead of the April 2 election. Johan Kvarnstrom, from the ruling center-left Social Democratic Party, and Coel Thomas from the Green Party have been winning rave reviews for their vids, done in collaboration with a local rapper.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a DNC meeting in Philadelphia.
Hard Numbers: Dems done with Joe, Nigerian lawmaker gets kidney beaned, Hong Kong trial begins, child marriage crackdown in India
37: Hey Joe, where you goin’ with that “run” in your hand? Only 37% of registered Democrats think President Joe Biden should seek reelection in 2024, according to a new AP-NORC poll. That’s down from 52% last fall. Biden’s numbers are particularly bad among younger voters — less than a quarter of Dems between 18-44 want more Joe.
7,000: A prominent Nigerian politician and his family are facing criminal charges in the UK over an alleged plot to bring a Lagos street trader to London and pay him 7,000 British pounds for his kidney. The kidney in question was destined for the lawmaker’s daughter, who needs a transplant. Donating organs in the UK isn’t illegal, but offering rewards for them is.
47: A Hong Kong court has begun the trial of 47 people — including prominent democracy activists Joshua Wong and Benny Tai — charged with “subversion.” Their crime? Holding an unofficial primary ballot in July 2020 to select candidates for Hong Kong’s legislative elections. Under the draconian Chinese national security law imposed that summer, this amounted to a “vicious plot” to overthrow the Beijing-backed government.
2,400: Police in India’s Assam state have arrested at least 2,400 people in a controversial crackdown on child marriage. Indian law prohibits marriage before the age of 18, but the government says more than a fifth of Indian girls marry before that, especially in some Muslim communities where religious law permits marriage after reaching puberty.
Jailed HK activist suspected of violating city's new security law
HONG KONG • Joshua Wong, one of Hong Kong's most prominent pro-democracy activists who is serving a 13½-month jail sentence for illegal assembly, is suspected of violating the city's national security law, according to a notice on his Facebook account.
HK activists' arrest draws widespread condemnation
HONG KONG • The Hong Kong authorities awoke to a chorus of international condemnation yesterday following the mass arrest of pro-democracy opposition figures under a draconian national security law that Beijing imposed on the finance hub.
Jailed Hong Kong democracy leader Joshua Wong arrested for 'subversion': police source
Wong is currently serving a sentence of 13 and a half months for his role in organising pro-democracy protests.
Hong Kong teen jailed four months for China flag insult and unlawful assembly
Tony Chung, 19, was convicted for throwing the Chinese flag to the ground during scuffles outside Hong Kong's legislature in May 2019
Media tycoon charged under security law
HONG KONG • Hong Kong democracy activist and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, 73, has been charged under the city's national security law on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces, his Apple Daily newspaper reported yesterday, citing a police source.
Hong Kong activist Agnes Chow denied bail after landmark sentencing
Chow was jailed on Dec 2 along with Joshua Wong for their roles in an unlawful rally near police headquarters in 2019.