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xiao yun

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on Hong Kong Tiananmen activists to receive national security verdict · c/globalnews · 3 pts · 14d

Hong Kong Tiananmen vigil activists found guilty of inciting subversion

Hong Kong (AFP) – A Hong Kong court found on Friday two activists, who organised annual vigils marking China's deadly Tiananmen crackdown in 1989, guilty of "incitement to subversion".

Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, "incited other persons to organise, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting the state power", a press summary handed out to reporters said.

A three-judge panel said they found both defendants had committed acts that constituted "overthrowing or undermining the basic system... established by the Constitution" of China.

They face a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, with sentencing expected at a later date.

Lee and Chow were charged with subversion crimes in 2021 and have been behind bars since, under a Beijing-imposed national security law.

On Friday, they sat silently in the dock as the judges returned their verdict.

Hong Kong and Macau used to be the only places on Chinese soil that permitted public vigils to mourn those who died on June 4, 1989, when Beijing sent troops and tanks to crush protests calling for political reform in and around the capital's Tiananmen Square.

The defendants were leaders of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance, the group that organised annual vigils in the city's Victoria Park.

But public commemoration has been effectively banned since Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, following huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests the year before.

Prosecutors said the two leaders' remarks over the years were not merely expressions of personal opinion, "but were intended to incite others to commit unlawful acts".

They accused Lee and Chow in previous hearings of "endangering national security in the name of human rights", adding that freedom of speech and association are "not absolute rights".

A third defendant, 74-year-old former lawmaker Albert Ho, pleaded guilty in January. A guilty plea typically results in a reduced sentence.

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on Drone enters Bulgaria, explodes near pipeline at Romanian border · c/globalnews · 2 pts · 27d

Kyiv said it was "in close contact with the Bulgarian side to clarify the circumstances" of the incident, the latest case of a drone straying into NATO airspace as Ukraine fights off Russia's invasion.

"We can say with certainty that the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not intentionally direct any assets toward Bulgaria," Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhyi said, blaming Russia's invasion for the incident.

https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20260808-ukraine-denies-targeting-bulgaria-as-drone-explodes-near-pipeline

on Indian police baton charge protesters marching to parliament · c/globalnews · 1 pts · 46d

The protesters, mostly young students, ran for cover as police charged at them and fired tear gas shells near Jantar Mantar in the Indian capital.

They are seeking the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam irregularities, including question paper leaks and technical glitches.

Thousands of protesters started gathering from early Monday, defying a steady monsoon drizzle and police barricades, marking one of the biggest demonstrations in the capital for five years.

"Our country deserves a government that is bothered about what the young people have to say and is willing to correct its mistakes," said Sumit Kumar, 18.

"The future belongs to us and not these politicians."

The protest comes after prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly taken to hospital Saturday, bringing an abrupt end to his 20-day hunger strike in support of youths and the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement.

The CJP has won millions of followers on social media since its launch in May, tapping into widespread anger over the country's education system and unemployment.

"Is this a war zone? Why is the police resorting to tear gas assault on peaceful protesters?" CJP said in a post on X.

"First your govt ignored this protest for a month and now when we are peacefully marching your govt is attacking us. Why?"

The movement is seen as one of the biggest challenges to Hindu-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he won his third term in office in 2024.

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https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20260720-indian-police-baton-charge-protesters-marching-to-parliament-1

on Japan museum under fire for ‘rewriting history’ with Nanking ‘incident’ label · c/globalnews · 4 pts · 88d

“This is all part of the revisionists’ plan to downplay and minimise what Japan inflicted on the rest of Asia during the so-called liberation struggle from European colonial powers,” said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University’s Tokyo branch.

“When they say the Nanking ‘incident’, it’s a euphemistic way of referring to the tens of thousands of Chinese civilians who were rounded up by the Japanese military and simply slaughtered,” he said. “The revisionists want to sanitise that.”

on Dozens killed in blast targeting train in SW Pakistan: official · c/globalnews · 3 pts · 103d

The attack, which was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) militant group, was branded a "cowardly" act of terrorism by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The BLA, the province's most active militant separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to AFP.

The group, which the United States has designated a terrorist organisation, said it had targeted military installations as well as police and civil administration officials in gun attacks and suicide bombings.

The BLA has intensified attacks on Pakistanis from other provinces working in the region in recent years, as well as foreign energy firms.

https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20260524-pakistan-train-blast-kills-at-least-24-in-balochistan