Hong Kong police arrest editor-in-chief of Apple Daily newspaper in raids
Ryan Law among five directors detained under national security legislation imposed by Beijing
Hong Kong’s national security police have arrested the editor-in-chief and four other directors of the Apple Daily newspaper in early morning raids involving hundreds of officers, over their role in the publication of dozens of articles alleged to be part of a conspiracy to collude with foreign forces.
The city’s security chief, John Lee, accused those arrested of using “journalistic work as a tool to endanger national security”, and issued a chilling warning to residents and other media.
“Normal journalists are different from these people,” Lee said. “Please keep a distance from them.”
Father of Russian woman taken from Ryanair plane appeals to Lukashenko for her release
Ms Sapega’s father said she was in the ‘wrong place with the wrong person’
The father of a woman who was arrested along with a dissident journalist in Belarus after the grounding of a Ryanair flight has appealed to Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko to meet him in person and to pardon his daughter.
Sofia Sapega, a 23-year-old student, was arrested on 23 May with her boyfriend, blogger Roman Protasevich, when their plane was forced to land in Belarus. The incident prompted international outrage.
Belarus has released videos of Mr Protasevich, who rose to prominence during mass protests last summer, confessing to staging riots to try to topple Lukashenko. The opposition says the confessions were clearly obtained under duress.
It’s the economy, stupid, says Iran’s shrinking middle class ahead of vote
Battered by a double whammy of the Covid-19 pandemic and crushing sanctions after the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran's economy is the top concern as voters head to the polls in the June 18 presidential election.
Shortly after the first Covid-19 wave struck Iran last year, Mahsa* became a victim of the double casualties that hit her country. The 40-year-old Iranian mother lost her job at a Tehran travel agency that was forced to downsize amid the combined onslaught of a fiscal freefall triggered by crushing US sanctions, and a pandemic that exacerbated the country’s economic misery.
As Iran heads to the polls in the June 18 presidential election, the economy is a major concern for citizens, including members of the middle class such as Mahsa.
Coronavirus: Germany's CureVac vaccine only 47% effective
The German pharma company cited "the unprecedented context of at least 13 variants" in explaining why its vaccine fell short of expectations in an interim analysis.
A coronavirus vaccine produced by Germany's CureVac is just 47% effective, the pharmaceutical firm said Wednesday.
After an interim analysis of the vaccine, the Tübingen-based company released a statement saying: "CVnCoV demonstrated an interim vaccine efficacy of 47% against COVID-19 disease of any severity and did not meet prespecified statistical success criteria."
Zambia’s founding President Kenneth Kaunda dies aged 97
Kaunda, who ruled Zambia from 1964 to 1991, died at a hospital in Lusaka where he was being treated for pneumonia.
Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia’s founding president and liberation hero, has died at a military hospital in Lusaka where he was being treated for pneumonia, his son, Kambarage, said on Thursday. He was 97.
Kaunda ruled Zambia from 1964, when the southern African nation won its independence from Britain, until 1991, and afterwards become one of Africa’s most committed activists against HIV/AIDS.
“I am sad to inform (members) we have lost Mzee. Let’s pray for him,” Kambarage said on the late president’s Facebook page.
Kim Jong Un admits North Korea is facing 'tense food situation'
Updated 1006 GMT (1806 HKT) June 17, 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has admitted his country is facing food shortages that he blamed on last year's typhoon and floods, just months after he warned North Koreans about a looming potential crisis.
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