Some defendants are given seven years in prison over the storming of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council. Chief Executive John Lee wants the latter to approve by 31 March the legislation to implement Article 23 of Hong Kong’s constitution. The Diocese of Hong Kong issues a statement saying that the secrecy of confession will be upheld under the new law. By allowing police to detain a suspect for up to 16 days without charge, the bill is violating the right to legal counsel, raising concerns about abuses of basic rights.
As Russians go to the polls, the outcome of the presidential election and the turnout have already been decided. The dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is virtually interred in a Siberian concentration camp, described the support for Putin's regime as nothing more than the product of “terror and apathy". The eternal tsar is but the face of a system that excludes the human soul.
The extremist group plans to release Israeli hostages, including female soldiers, in exchange for a truce and the release of a thousand Palestinian prisoners. Smotrich attacks the White House over sanctions against settlers. Gideon Sa'ar leaves Gantz's centrist alliance, weakening the alternative to Netanyahu.
Becoming increasingly popular in recent years due to inflation, they have spread from Asia to every continent in the world, even high-income countries. In the United States, they have even become the new informal currency of prisons. But among health experts warn that high salt content is a cause for concern.
On the ninth anniversary of his death, a Eucharistic celebration marked the end of the local investigation towards the beatification of the young man who died protecting others during a deadly Islamist attack in Youhanabad. “We pray for this grace for all parents to raise peaceful youth strong in their faith,” Archbishop Shaw said.
After the Supreme Court struck down last month the electoral bonds system, which allowed companies and individuals to make anonymous donations to political parties, the Election Commission was forced to publish information on bonds purchased over the past five years, showing that funding went disproportionately to Modi's party.