World

Three Hong Kong democracy activists found guilty over June 4 assembly

A Hong Kong court found three prominent pro-democracy activists guilty on Thursday of unauthorized assembly over a June 4 vigil last year to mark Beijing's 1989 crackdown on protesters in and around Tiananmen Square.

Hong Kong has traditionally held the world's largest annual June 4 vigils, as part of wide-ranging freedoms promised when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, but the last two were banned by police, citing coronavirus curbs.

The ruling against media tycoon Jimmy Lai, barrister Chow Hang-Tung and former opposition politician Gwyneth Ho is the latest blow to the democracy movement, in which scores of activists have been arrested, jailed or fled since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law.

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Lai, Chow and Ho had pleaded not guilty to the charges linked to the gathering on June 4, 2020.

Prosecutors had been “able to prove beyond reasonable doubt” that Lai and Chow had incited others to attend the vigil, District Court Judge Amanda Woodcock wrote in her judgment.

These efforts included an appeal by Chow for people to “light candles” all over Hong Kong, including the usual vigil site of Victoria Park.

Lai was held guilty despite appearing in the park for just 15 minutes in what Woodcock called a "deliberate act to rally support for and publicly spotlight the unauthorized assembly that followed", even if he did not speak.

Ho was found guilty of participating in an unauthorized assembly.

During the trial, Chow, a former leader of the now disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, had argued the annual vigil was “their right, their freedom.”

Ho earlier told the court that "remembrance is resistance", adding that she only went to the site to test the difference between Hong Kong and mainland China, where any commemoration of June 4 is taboo and can lead to imprisonment.

Sixteen other activists are already serving sentences of between four and 10 months for the same incident.

After mass pro-democracy protests in 2019, China imposed a sweeping national security law that punishes offences such as subversion and secession with jail terms of up to life.

Critics, including the US government, say the law has been used as a tool to erode the city's freedoms and quash dissent, but Beijing says it has brought stability and order to the financial hub.

Chow and several former leaders of the now disbanded

Alliance, which had long sought to "end one-party rule", have also been charged with inciting subversion under the new law.
China has never given a full account of the 1989 crackdown. Days later officials put the death toll at about 300, most of them soldiers, but rights groups and witnesses say thousands may have been killed.

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World

North Korea defends close ties with Russia against South Korean criticism at UN

North Korea on Monday slammed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for criticising its cooperation with Moscow following leader Kim Jong Un’s Russia visit, saying it is “natural” and “normal” for neighbors to keep close relations.

Yoon, speaking at the UN General Assembly last week, said that if Russia helped North Korea enhance its weapons programs in return for assistance for its war in Ukraine, it would be “a direct provocation.”

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In a piece carried by KCNA news agency, the North denounced Yoon for “malignantly” slandering its friendly cooperation with Russia, and said Yoon was serving as a “loudspeaker” for the United States.

“It is quite natural and normal for neighboring countries to keep close relations with each other, and there is no reason to call such practice to account,” it said.

Kim returned home last week from a week-long trip to Russia in which he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to boost military and economic cooperation.

US and South Korean officials have expressed concern that Russia could be trying to acquire ammunition from the North to supplement its dwindling stocks for the war in Ukraine while Pyongyang seeks technological help for its nuclear and missile programs.

Any activities assisting North Korea’s weapons programs are banned under UN Security Council resolutions.

“The foreign policy of the DPRK … will not be tied to anything, and its friendly and cooperative relations with the close neighbors will continue to grow stronger,” the commentary said. DPRK is the initials of the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

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World

Niger military leaders welcome news of French army withdrawal

Niger’s military rulers on Sunday welcomed the announcement that France will pull its troops out of the country by the end of the year as “a new step towards sovereignty.”

The statement came hours after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris would soon withdraw its ambassador from Niger, followed by its military contingent in the coming months.

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“This Sunday, we celebrate a new step towards the sovereignty of Niger,” said a statement from the country’s military rulers, who seized power in late July by overthrowing President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.

“The French troops and the ambassador of France will leave Nigerien soil by the end of the year.”

The statement, read out on national television, added: “This is a historic moment, which speaks to the determination and will of the Nigerien people.”

Earlier Sunday, before Macron’s announcement, the body regulating aviation safety in Africa (ASECNA), announced that Niger’s military rulers had banned “French aircraft” from flying over the country’s airspace.

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World

Russian air defense thwarts drone attack near Moscow’s Tula region

Russia’s air defense systems were engaged in repelling a drone attack over the Tula region that borders Moscow’s region to its north, Russia’s RIA news agency reported early Monday.

Citing the ministry of regional security, the agency reported that according to preliminary information, there was no damage or injuries as a result of the attack.

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Two of Moscow’s major airports, however, the Vnukovo and Domedovo, limited air traffic, directing flights to other airports, the TASS state news agency reported.

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