News : France24

FRANCE 24 spoke to Saad Mohseni, co-founder and CEO of Moby, Afghanistan's largest media group. His new book "Radio Free Afghanistan" chronicles the ups and downs of building a media conglomerate in the country. Mohseni lamented the fact that since the r

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Denmark will not extradite anti-whaling activist Watson to Japan

Pacific Asia • 11:38 AM

1 min

Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson was freed from prison in Denmark on Tuesday, his lawyer told AFP, and he will not be extradited to Japan. Watson was detained on a 2012 Japanese arrest warrant, which accuses him of causing damage to a whaling ship in th

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Powerful earthquake hits Pacific island of Vanuatu, bodies seen in street

Pacific Asia • 5:13 AM

1 min

A devastating 7.3-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday struck off the coast of Vanuatu's main island, Efate, severely damaging Port Vila and crushing the ground floor of a building containing US and French embassies. Casualties and extensive destruction were

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India: Forty years on, Bhopal disaster still plagues local residents

Pacific Asia • 12:44 AM

1 min

Forty years after India's Bhopal disaster, local residents are still suffering from its aftermath. The gas explosion at a chemical plant caused toxic waste to contaminate the water in nearby areas, causing locals to develop numerous health issues. Today,

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South Korea court begins review of Yoon impeachment

Pacific Asia • 1:57 PM

1 min

South Korea's Constitutional Court on Monday (December 16) began reviewing the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his Dec. 3 martial law proclamation, starting a process to decide if he will be removed from office, while investigators plan to qu

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South Korea's impeached president resists questioning over martial law bid

Pacific Asia • 12:23 AM

1 min

South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol defied requests by investigative agencies to appear for questioning over his short-lived martial law decree on Monday as the Constitutional Court began proceedings to determine whether to formally unseat or

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‘Bali Nine’ drug traffickers return to Australia after nearly 20 years in Indonesian prison

Pacific Asia • 7:09 AM

1 min

The remaining members of the so-called "Bali Nine", a group of Australians imprisoned since 2005 for trying to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin off the island of Bali, Indonesia, have returned to Australia. Negotiations over the group's potent

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S. Korean opposition calls for ‘swift’ removal of impeached Yoon as he defies prosecutors’ summons

Pacific Asia • 6:43 AM

1 min

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol refused to comply with a summons to appear before prosecutors for questioning over insurrection allegations stemming from his failed bid to impose martial law, prosecutors said Sunday. Opposition leader Lee

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South Korea's President Yoon impeached over failed martial law bid

Pacific Asia • 5:39 AM

1 min

South Korean lawmakers on Saturday voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol for his failed attempt to rule by martial law last week. Seoul police said at least 200,000 demonstrators had gathered outside parliament in South Korea's capital ahead of the vo

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South Korea Yoon defends martial law decision, vows to fight until 'very last minute'

Pacific Asia • 4:04 AM

1 min

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Thursday to "fight until the very last minute" amid an impeachment vote and martial law probe. Police raided his office over December's turmoil, including deploying troops to parliament. Yoon, banned from foreig

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Taiwan detects 16 Chinese warships, 34 aircraft near island

Pacific Asia • 2:55 AM

1 min

Taiwan said it detected one of the highest number of Chinese warships around the island this year early Thursday morning, along with dozens of aircraft. China has been ratcheting up military activity around Taiwain, holding its biggest maritime drills in

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Police raid South Korean president's office in martial law investigation

Pacific Asia • 5:24 AM

1 min

The investigation into South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's attempt at martial law accelerated on Wednesday, as police conducted a raid on Yoon's office and arrested a slew of officials, including the former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun.

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Taiwan says 'troublemaker' China ramps up military exercises around the island

Pacific Asia • 3:25 AM

1 min

Taiwanese authorities said it’s “troublemaker” neighbour, China, has expanded military drills around the island. A senior national security official said the massive maritime operation was meant to demonstrate that Beijing could choke off Taiwan and also

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Nobel Peace Prize winner Nihon Hidankyo pleads for elimination of nuclear arms

Pacific Asia • 1:36 PM

1 min

Japan's atomic bomb survivors' group Nihon Hidankyo accepted its Nobel Peace Prize, urging countries to abolish the weapons resurging as a threat 80 years after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.

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Taiwan says China is carrying out some of its biggest-ever maritime military exercises

Pacific Asia • 6:03 AM

1 min

Dozens of Chinese warships have been deployed along the island chain linking Taiwan with Okinawa and the Philippines, senior Taiwanese officials said, in what appear to be one of Beijing's largest-ever military exercises. The show of force is believed to

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South Korea: 'The firefighter' explains how he prevented the army from entering the Assembly

Pacific Asia • 11:11 AM

1 min

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, several cabinet ministers, military commanders and police officials face criminal investigations over his botched attempt last week to impose martial law. Before the decision was annulled, the army tried to enter the

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South Korea President Yoon banned from foreign travel as leadership crisis deepens

Pacific Asia • 11:03 AM

1 min

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been banned from leaving the country over a failed attempt at imposing martial law, amid growing calls for him to step down and a deepening leadership crisis. Details with FRANCE 24 correspondent Yena Lee.

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Taiwan's military on high alert as Chinese warships spotted near island

Pacific Asia • 7:59 AM

1 min

Taiwan's military has initiated "combat readiness drills" after Chinese warships were spotted near the island, Taipei said Monday. Observers have been speculating that Beijing would launch fresh military drills in response to Taiwanese President Lai Chin

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South Korea's opposition accuse ruling party of staging 'second coup' by refusing to impeach Yoon

Pacific Asia • 3:56 AM

1 min

South Korea's opposition accused the ruling party of a "second coup" for blocking President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment over his short-lived attempt at imposing martial law. Yoon has been banned from leaving the country as authorities investigate him on

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South Korea president to resign despite surviving impeachment vote, party says

Pacific Asia • 12:43 AM

1 min

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's party said on Sunday it had "effectively obtained" a promise from the leader to step down, despite the fact that he survived an impeachment vote on Saturday hours after making a public apology for briefly imposing m

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Despite surviving impeachment vote, South Korea president still on thin ice over martial law mayhem

Pacific Asia • 12:12 AM

1 min

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's future remained uncertain Sunday even after surviving an impeachment vote over his brief imposition of martial law. Details with FRANCE 24 correspondent, Yena Lee.

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South Korea president escapes impeachment over martial law fiasco

Pacific Asia • 2:52 PM

1 min

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol escaped impeachment Saturday over his brief declaration of martial law, after lawmakers from his ruling party boycotted a vote despite huge protests outside parliament. Story by Emily Boyle.

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Thousands protest as South Korean president set to avoid impeachment

Pacific Asia • 9:56 AM

1 min

Nearly 150,000 people protested outside South Korea's parliament Saturday, Yonhap news agency reported, as President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared set to survive an impeachment vote for imposing martial law.

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South Korean president avoids impeachment vote as tens of thousands join protest

Pacific Asia • 12:53 AM

1 min

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol's survived an impeachment vote on Saturday after lawmakers from his party refused to cast ballots, as tens of thousands of people joined protests outside the parliament building. Calls for Yoon’s ousting have intensi

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South Korea's ruling party head backs suspending Yoon over martial law attempt

Pacific Asia • 2:39 AM

1 min

South Korea’s ruling party chief expressed support Friday for suspending the constitutional powers of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched martial law attempt this week, in a bombshell reversal that makes Yoon’s impeachment more likely.

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New Delhi suffocates from air pollution in winter

Pacific Asia • 11:47 AM

1 min

For almost 6 months every year, residents of New Delhi suffocate under a blanket of pollution. The Indian capital is among the most polluted cities in the world, and new records are set each November. The fine particles in New Delhi’s air are 60 times th

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South Korea's ruling party to fight Yoon impeachment as president clings to power

Pacific Asia • 4:57 AM

1 min

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) said on Thursday it would block the opposition's motion to impeach South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for his short-lived attempt at martial law, though the motion only needs a handful of PPP defectors to pass.

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Iran releases Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi for 21 days on medical grounds

Pacific Asia • 11:59 AM

1 min

Iranian civil rights activist and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has been released from prison for three weeks after undergoing surgery, her lawyer said Wednesday. Both the UN and the Nobel Committee have called for permanent clemency for

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Climate change: Villages in Pakistan under threat of melting glaciers

Pacific Asia • 10:59 AM

1 min

Pakistan is home to thousands of climate refugees. While the country contributes less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas, it is heavily impacted by the warming climate. One of the most affected areas is the autonomous province of Gilgit-Baltistan, l

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Yoon’s martial law debacle a throwback to South Korea’s history of military rule

Pacific Asia • 9:49 AM

1 min

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived proclamation of martial law this week marked the first time a South Korean leader took such a drastic measure since the country became a fully functioning democracy more than 35 years ago.

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South Korean President Yoon faces impeachment as thousands protest his martial law order

Pacific Asia • 1:44 AM

1 min

South Korean opposition parties on Wednesday filed a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol after he declared martial law only to reverse the move hours later. Thousands of protestors marched in Seoul and across the country also demanding Yoon's resig

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Yoon 'created the rhetoric of a national security crisis' in South Korea, analyst says

Pacific Asia • 9:28 PM

1 min

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s government early Wednesday lifted the martial law he imposed during a tense night of political drama in which troops surrounded parliament and lawmakers voted to reject military rule. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney welc

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South Korea's President Yoon rescinds declaration of martial law after parliament votes to block it

Pacific Asia • 1:58 PM

1 min

President Yoon Suk Yeol said he was rescinding his declaration of martial law after South Korea's parliament voted Tuesday to block it as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the building, calling for Yoon's arrest.

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Vietnam court upholds death penalty for tycoon in multibillion-dollar fraud case

Pacific Asia • 5:47 AM

1 min

Vietnamese courts said that property developer Truong My Lan's sentence could be reduced to life imprisonment if she pays back three quarters of the assets she is accused of stealing from Saigon Commercial Bank.

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Researchers analyse DNA from dung to save Laos last elephants

Pacific Asia • 4:16 PM

1 min

Slow and silent, former logging elephant Mae Khoun Nung emerges from a forest in northern Laos and follows her guide to an animal hospital for a check-up. Once abundant in the forests of Laos, Asian elephants like her have been decimated by habitat destr

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Poaching in Indonesia: Government cracks down on wildlife trafficking

Pacific Asia • 11:05 AM

1 min

Indonesia is the Asian capital of wildlife trafficking, a market estimated at $20 billion according to Interpol. The archipelago is one of the world’s biggest reservoirs of biodiversity. Wild animals are already the victims of massive deforestation, but

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From Chinese army dancer to transgender icon: Jin Xing's extraordinary journey

Pacific Asia • 4:34 PM

1 min

In this edition, we meet the Oprah Winfrey of China. Born a man and once crowned the country's best male dancer, Jin Xing has gone on to become China's first transgender icon and a star TV host. Now in Paris for her upcoming show, she shares her life sto

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'My father stayed to defend his people': Son of jailed Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai

Pacific Asia • 4:53 PM

1 min

FRANCE 24 spoke to Sebastien Lai, the son of jailed Hong Kong media tycoon, pro-democracy activist and founder of the now-defunct tabloid Apple Daily newspaper, Jimmy Lai. The elder Lai, in prison since December 2020, is currently on trial in Hong Kong f

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ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Myanmar’s junta leader for crimes against humanity

Pacific Asia • 10:05 AM

1 min

The top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday asked judges to grant an arrest warrant for Myanmar’s junta leader. Min Aung Hlaing is suspected of committing crimes against humanity through the deportation and persecution of th

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Almost 1,000 arrested as Pakistani police crack down on pro-Khan march

Pacific Asia • 5:17 AM

1 min

Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested in Islamabad since Sunday after taking part in a protest march calling for the release of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan, the capital’s police chief said Wednesday.

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Opposed to Putin's war in Ukraine, Russians find exile in Thailand

Pacific Asia • 10:37 AM

1 min

Russians have been flocking to Thailand since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as they can enter the Southeast Asian country without a tourist visa. Last year, more than half a million Russians visited Thailand, some 20 percent more

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Beijing says it monitored US military flight over politically sensitive Taiwan Strait

Pacific Asia • 7:53 AM

1 min

Beijing had “organised naval and air forces to monitor and guard the trajectory of the US aircraft" that flew over the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, said a spokesman for China’s Eastern Theatre Air Force. The US Navy's 7th Fleet said in an earlier statement

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Deadly clashes erupt as Imran Khan supporters breach lockdown in Pakistani capital

Pacific Asia • 3:56 AM

1 min

Four members of the security forces were killed as thousands marched on Islamabad Tuesday demanding the release of ex-prime minister Imran Khan, defying tear gas and roadblocks. Khan, barred from February elections amid rigging allegations, faces multipl

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South Korea hosts treaty talks on curbing 'existential challenge' of plastic pollution

Pacific Asia • 9:01 PM

1 min

A conference on how to end plastic pollution opened on Monday in Busan, South Korea, but there was little consensus between nations on how to deal with the 90 percent of plastic produced globally that is not recycled.

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More than 80 killed, dozens injured amid Pakistan sectarian violence

Pacific Asia • 3:46 PM

1 min

At least 82 people were killed and dozens were injured after days of clashes that began Thursday after gunmen attacked convoys of Shiite Muslims traveling under police escort. The incident sparked retaliatory attacks against Sunni residents and gunfights

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COP29 final draft proposes 'at least' $300 billion for developing countries

Pacific Asia • 7:11 PM

1 min

A final draft deal released Sunday at the UN COP29 summit proposes that developed nations commit at least $300 billion per year by 2035 to help poorer countries confront climate change. A number of developing countries have already responded that they ne

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Sixth young tourist dies in suspected mass alcohol-poisoning case in Laos

Pacific Asia • 11:01 AM

1 min

Another young tourist on Friday died in hospital after being subject to suspected alcohol poisoning during a night out in Laos, bringing the total death toll to six. The Laotian government has expressed its “sincere sympathy and deepest condolences” to t

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Dozens killed in sectarian clashes between Shiite, Sunni Muslims in northwestern Pakistan

Pacific Asia • 9:47 AM

1 min

More than 30 people have been killed and dozens more wounded after Shiite Muslims on Friday attacked a Sunni-dominated market and set it on fire in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in northwestern Pakistan. Sporadic fighting has regularly bro

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Indian billionaire Gautam Adani indicted by US officials

Pacific Asia • 1:56 PM

1 min

On Access Asia this week, we bring you the latest on the fallout after US officials announced they had charged Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and others with bribery and fraud. Billions have been wiped off the group's market value on the Indian stock ma

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India banks on renewables to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Pacific Asia • 1:40 PM

1 min

At the COP29 summit draws to a close, this report takes us to a renewable energy farm in India, partly owned by billionaire Gautam Adani. He has just been charged in the US for allegedly bribing Indian authorities over contracts for solar plants in the s

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Real carbon, false credits? Investigating mass deforestation in Cambodia

Pacific Asia • 1:29 PM

1 min

With around 40 percent of its territory covered by forests, Cambodia has become Asia's champion of carbon credits. This system is supposed to finance the protection of the country's forests, thanks to money injected by multinationals from around the worl

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Tehran to launch ‘new and advanced’ centrifuges in response to IAEA censure

Pacific Asia • 3:15 AM

1 min

One day after commending Iran's agreement to cap its uranium stockpiles, the UN's nuclear watchdog passed a censure motion Thursday denouncing Iran's lack of transparency on its nuclear activities. Early Friday, Tehran responded to the measure by announc

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Iran activist sews lips together in political protest after fellow campaigner's suicide

Pacific Asia • 3:11 PM

1 min

Iranian free speech activist Hossein Ronaghi has sewn his lips together in protest following the reported suicide of fellow activist Kianoosh Sanjari, according to posts on his social media account.

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EU raises cash offer to poor nations to $300 billion in bid to salvage climate talks

Pacific Asia • 5:57 AM

1 min

The European Union announced on Saturday that it was, in tandem with other rich nations including the United States and Japan, increasing its offer to help poorer countries fight climate change to $300 billion a year. Its previous offer, of $250 billion

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Gautam Adani charged with defrauding investors in alleged bribery scheme

Pacific Asia • 4:02 AM

1 min

US prosecutors on Wednesday charged Indian magnate and billionaire Gautam Adani over a bribery scheme that saw him allegedly pay hundreds of millions in bribes to Indian officials for solar energy supply contracts and hide payments from investors.

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IAEA chief welcomes Iran's 'concrete step' on capping enriched uranium stockpile

Pacific Asia • 1:57 PM

1 min

Iran has taken steps to halt the expansion of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said, welcoming this "concrete step in the right direction" on Wednesday. Grossi's comments came after

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Grief and anger after killing of blasphemy suspect in Pakistan

Pacific Asia • 11:15 AM

1 min

In Pakistan, a blasphemy-related case turned tragic in September. A doctor accused of blaspheming the Prophet Mohammed was allegedly shot dead by police officers and his body set on fire by a mob of fundamentalists. In a historic first, members of civil

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Tens of thousands march in New Zealand Maori rights protest

Pacific Asia • 10:07 AM

1 min

Booming Indigenous Maori "haka" chants rang out across New Zealand's capital on Tuesday, as tens of thousands rallied against a conservative push to redefine the nation's founding treaty. Story by Morgan Ayre.

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Hong Kong court jails 45 democracy campaigners on subversion charges

Pacific Asia • 10:05 AM

1 min

A Hong Kong court on Tuesday jailed all 45 defendants convicted of subversion in the city's largest national security trial, with "mastermind" Benny Tai receiving the longest term of 10 years. Story by Liza Kaminov and Bilal Tarabey.

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Hong Kong court jails 45 democracy campaigners in landmark trial

Pacific Asia • 7:39 AM

1 min

45 ex-lawmakers and activists were sentenced to four to 10 years in prison Tuesday in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case under a Beijing-imposed law that crushed a once-thriving pro-democracy movement. Legal scholar Benny Tai, whom the judges cal

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