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Article 23: Hong Kong passes tough security law

Article 23: Hong Kong passes tough security law

Hong Kong has passed a tough security law which authorities say is necessary for stability, but which critics fear will further erode civil liberties.Article 23 targets new offences like external interference and insurrection, and penalties include life imprisonment.It expands on a controversial national security law earlier imposed by China.Article 23 was fast-tracked through its final phase by the city's pro-Beijing…
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Lionel Messi: Fans to get 50% refund for no-show match in Hong Kong

Lionel Messi: Fans to get 50% refund for no-show match in Hong Kong

Getty ImagesBy Kelly NgBBC NewsLionel Messi's Hong Kong fans who bought tickets to a friendly that he skipped at the last minute will get a 50% refund, the match organiser said.Messi's absence from the game in February, which he blamed on an injury, sent Chinse fans seething for weeks.Ticketholders applying for refunds must agree not to pursue legal action, Tatler…
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Uganda on alert as IS-linked ADF militants cross border from DR Congo

Uganda on alert as IS-linked ADF militants cross border from DR Congo

Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces/XBy Wycliffe MuiaBBC News Ugandan security forces are on high alert after they said fighters from an Islamic State-linked group entered the country at the weekend. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants are planning attacks in urban areas, places of worship, schools and public events, according to the army. It urged the public to remain vigilant "to…
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Singapore opposition leader charged with lying to parliament

Singapore opposition leader charged with lying to parliament

Getty ImagesBy Kelly NgBBC NewsSingapore's opposition leader Pritam Singh has been charged with lying under oath over a case involving a former lawmaker in his party.He is accused of lying under oath before a parliamentary committee.Raeesah Khan was fined confessing she had lied about an incident where she accused police of mishandling a matter involving a sexual assault victim. She…
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Blinken in Manila as South China Sea tensions rise

Blinken in Manila as South China Sea tensions rise

ReutersBy Tom BatemanTravelling with Antony BlinkenUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in the Philippines, a key ally of Washington, amid heightened regional tensions with China. Mr Blinken will discuss trade and will reiterate America's "ironclad" security commitments to the country, a senior State Department official said.Friction has grown between Manila and Beijing in recent months over competing claims…
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The US just announced an asbestos ban. What took so long?

The US just announced an asbestos ban. What took so long?

Getty ImagesBy Max MatzaBBC NewsThe US has announced a ban on the only form of asbestos currently used or imported into the US, decades after most developed nations began phasing out the cancer-causing raw material. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) move comes after it failed to ban asbestos over three decades ago.The carcinogen has already been banned by more than…
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Muhammad Syed convicted of ambush-style shooting in New Mexico

Muhammad Syed convicted of ambush-style shooting in New Mexico

Police handoutBy Brandon DrenonBBC NewsAn Afghan refugee has been convicted of murder in one of three fatal ambush-style shootings of Muslim men in the US state of New Mexico two years ago.Muhammad Syed faces life in prison for killing 41-year-old Aftab Hussein on 26 July 2022. He still faces trial for the other two killings.The three victims were each found…
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‘Only God can change this place’: Haitians see no end to spiralling violence

‘Only God can change this place’: Haitians see no end to spiralling violence

ReutersBy Will Grant, Central America correspondentBBC News"Port-au-Prince is in panic mode," a friend in the Haitian capital texted me.Residents of Petionville, a wealthier area of of the city, are shaken after their most violent day so far in the country's spiralling security crisis.More than a dozen bullet-ridden bodies lay in the street - the victims of the latest gang rampage.As…
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Putin hails illegal annexation of Crimea after claiming election win

Putin hails illegal annexation of Crimea after claiming election win

ReutersBy Vicky WongBBC NewsRussia's President Vladimir Putin has hailed the "return" of Crimea to Russia at a concert marking the 10th anniversary of the illegal annexation of the territory from Ukraine.He said Crimea had "returned to its home harbour" and that it would move forwards with Russia "hand in hand". Mr Putin was addressing thousands in Moscow's Red Square a…
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