- Sinner reaches Shanghai final, will end year number one
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Sabalenka downs Gauff in three sets to reach Wuhan final
- Israel warns south Lebanon residents to 'not return'
- Sinner tames Machac to reach Shanghai Masters final
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- Hezbollah fires at Israel as wars rage on Yom Kippur
- Analysts warn more detail needed on new China economic measures
- China tees up fresh spending to boost ailing economy
- China says will issue special bonds to boost ailing economy
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Dodgers drop Padres 2-0 to advance in MLB playoffs
- Alexei Navalny wrote he knew he would die in prison in new memoir
- Last-minute legal ruling allows betting on US election
- Despite hurricanes, Floridians refuse to leave 'paradise'
- Israel observes Yom Kippur amid firestorm over Lebanon strikes
- Trump demonizes migrants in dark, misleading speech
- X says 'alert' to manipulation efforts after pro-Russia bots report
- US, European markets rise before Boeing unveils sweeping job cuts
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Comoros shock Tunisia, Salah, Mbeumo strike in AFCON qualifiers
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Germany win in Nations League as 10-man Dutch rescue point
- Undav brace sends Germany to victory against Bosnia
- Israel says fired at 'threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- Ecuador's last mountain iceman dies at 80
- Milton leaves at least 16 dead, millions without power in Florida
- Senegal set to announce breakaway development agenda: PM
- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
Cardinal's arrest deepens alarm over Hong Kong crackdown
The arrest of a 90-year-old Catholic cardinal under Hong Kong's national security law has triggered international outrage and deepened concerns over China's crackdown on freedoms in the financial hub.
Retired cardinal Joseph Zen, one of the most senior Catholic clerics in Asia, was among a group of veteran democracy advocates arrested Wednesday on a charge of "colluding with foreign forces".
Cantonese pop singer Denise Ho, veteran barrister Margaret Ng and prominent cultural studies scholar Hui Po-keung were also arrested, the latter at the airport as he attempted to travel to Europe to take up an academic post.
The four were detained for their involvement in a now-disbanded defence fund that helped pay legal and medical costs for those arrested in the huge and sometimes violent democracy protests that convulsed Hong Kong three years ago.
China responded to the protests with a broad campaign to crush the democracy movement and transform the once outspoken city into something more closely resembling the authoritarian mainland.
Zen and his colleagues, who were released on bail late Wednesday, join more than 180 Hong Kongers arrested under the national security law to date.
Those charged are typically denied bail and can face up to life in prison if convicted.
- 'Deeply troubling' -
Criticism came from Western nations who have accused China of eviscerating freedoms it once promised Hong Kong could maintain.
The United States, which has previously sanctioned key Chinese officials over the ongoing crackdown, called on Beijing to "cease targeting Hong Kong's advocates".
"Freedom of expression (is) critical to prosperous and secure societies," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
The Vatican said it was concerned by Zen's arrest and "following the development of the situation very closely".
Canada, meanwhile, said consular officials were trying to access Ho, a popular singer and LGTBQ campaigner who is a dual Hong Kong-Canadian national.
Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly called the arrests "deeply troubling".
"The ongoing targeting of civil society groups erodes the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents guaranteed under Hong Kong’s Basic Law," she wrote on Twitter.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was following the arrests with "great concern".
Human Rights Watch called it a "shocking new low for Hong Kong".
"Even by Hong Kong’s recent standards of worsening repression, these arrests represent a shocking escalation," added Amnesty International.
- 'Six crimes' -
Cardinal Zen fled Shanghai for Hong Kong after the communists took power in China in 1949 and rose to become bishop of Hong Kong.
He has been critical of the Vatican's decision to reach a compromise with China over the appointment of bishops on the mainland and a long-term advocate of Hong Kong's democracy movement.
Those arrested Wednesday were suspected of endangering national security because they allegedly asked foreign nations or overseas organisations to impose sanctions on Hong Kong, police said.
Ta Kung Pao, a nationalist newspaper that answers to Beijing's Liaison Office in Hong Kong, published an article Thursday detailing "six crimes" allegedly committed by the group and their defence fund.
The alleged crimes included funding lobbying trips and activist meetings with British lawmakers, providing financial aid to Hong Kong "rioters" who had fled to Canada and Taiwan, and accepting donations from overseas.
It also listed a HK$1.3 million ($165,000) donation from Apple Daily, a popular pro-democracy tabloid that collapsed last year after its assets were frozen by the security law.
But most of the alleged actions cited by Ta Kung Pao took place before the enactment of the national security law, which is not supposed to be retroactive.
Reporting in the paper and its sister publication Wen Wei Po often heralds action by Hong Kong's national security police, and the defence fund has previously been a target of coverage.
The fund disbanded last year after national security police demanded it hand over operational details including information about its donors and beneficiaries.
S.F.Warren--AMWN