New Year's Eve around the world: How countries are celebrating with widespread COVID restrictions - Sky News

Despite COVID curbs hindering celebrations, street parties and gatherings are still taking place across the globe as each country rings in the New Year.   

New Year's Eve plans have largely been muted or cancelled for the second straight year due to a surge in coronavirus infections - this time driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant.

However, many nations are making the best of it and going ahead with extravagant fireworks displays and celebrations.

Here's a snapshot from around the world.

London

Image: Fireworks and a light display have taken place over St Paul's cathedral

Image: A light display to mark the New Year is seen over St Paul’s Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge

The UK's "spectacular" began with a countdown to midnight on the Shard, before a monologue took place following a scattering of fireworks on the Millennium Bridge.

The speech walked through the UK's achievements this year, including the successes of the Tokyo Olympics and Emma Raducanu's win at the US Open.

Cameras then cut to displays in Greenwich Park, where an impressive drone show took place amid a dazzling display of colourful fireworks.

Fireworks and a light display took place over St Paul's Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge to welcome in the New Year.

Australia

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13:37

Australia counts down to 2022

Sydney erupted at the stroke of midnight as Australia celebrated the start of 2022 with six tonnes of fireworks - making for a breath-taking extravaganza over the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

The event had fewer spectators than usual and most viewing areas were capped by the council and required tickets.

Last year, before mass vaccination, spectators were banned, but this time people were urged to wear masks where they could not properly distance.

New Zealand

Image: New Zealand welcomes in the New Year with a lightshow

In New Zealand, where there hasn't been any community spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, authorities called off several fireworks displays as a precautionary measure, including a popular one from atop Auckland's Sky Tower.

Auckland instead rang in the New Year with a light display projected onto the tower and other city landmarks.

North Korea

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1:30

NYE in Pyongyang and Hong Kong

Hundreds of people have gathered in the North Korean capital Pyongyang to watch a fireworks display to welcome in the New Year.

Footage shows people wearing masks to watch the display near the Taedong River, which cuts through central Pyongyang.

Hong Kong

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4:54

An orchestra played in the vibrant light show and fireworks display at the New Year festivities in Hong Kong

Hong Kong earlier welcomed 2022 with a fireworks bonanza, which was given a dramatic backdrop by a live orchestra.

Around 3,000 revellers attended the New Year's Eve concert starring local celebrities including boy band Mirror.

The concert was the first New Year's Eve event held since 2018, after events were cancelled in 2019 due to political conflict and last year because of the pandemic.

China

Image: Large groups of people gathered to ring in the New Year in Shanghai

In mainland China, the Shanghai government called off events including an annual light show along the Huangpu River in the city centre that usually draws hundreds of thousands of spectators.

But thousands of people gathered in Shanghai to celebrate the New Year, with photographs from near the Bund - a waterfront promenade in the city - show revellers standing together, close to a skyscraper lit up with "2022".

Thailand

Image: Fireworks explode over the Chao Phraya River during the New Year celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand

The Southeast Asian country held an impressive fireworks display this evening as it ushered in 2022, with authorities allowing New Year's Eve parties and fireworks displays to continue, albeit with strict safety measures.

But New Year's Eve prayers, which are usually held in Buddhist temples around the country, have been held online instead.

In Bangkok, fireworks exploded over the Chao Phraya River, while further festivities took place in Phuket, Pattaya and Koh Phangan.

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1:11

Taiwan and Thailand ring in 2022

Japan

Image: People in Tokyo, Japan, celebrate the New Year

Revellers in Tokyo were photographed ringing in the New Year this evening, as several countries around the world celebrated 2022 with impressive fireworks displays.

Thousands of people gathered at the Shibuya crossing at midnight, despite the annual countdown celebration having been cancelled due to COVID.

South Korea

Image: Seoul in South Korea is lit up with NYE decorations

In South Korea's capital, Seoul, the annual New Year's Eve bell-ringing ceremony was cancelled for second year due to rising COVID cases.

A pre-recorded video of this year's bell-ringing ceremony was instead broadcast online and on television, officials said.

The ceremony has been known to attract tens of thousands of people in previous years - and it was cancelled last year for the first time since its first ceremony in 1953.

South Korea is also closing many beaches and other tourist attractions along the east coast, which usually draws crowds of people hoping to catch the year's first sunrise.

India

Image: A balloon seller walks in a deserted shopping area in New Delhi

Muted celebration are underway in India where several states have imposed blanket bans on New Year celebrations.

Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai have banned gatherings.

Celebrations are going ahead with limited numbers in Kolkata, West Bengal, but many clubs have opted to cancel events in the face of the Omicron variant.

United Arab Emirates

Image: A fireworks display took place at the Burj Khalifa skyscraper

People in Dubai are welcoming the New Year with an extravagant fireworks display at the Burj Khalifa skyscraper tonight, while a laser show takes place at the nearby Dubai Fountain.

In Ras al Khaimah, a 12-minute show will feature hundreds of pyrotechnic drones and span almost three miles in length, lighting up the sky over the Arabian Sea.

Russia

Image: Thousands of people have gathered at Manezhnaya Square in Moscow to watch a fireworks display

Russia's 11 time zones will welcome 2022 at different points throughout the night - with the capital Moscow having already ushered in the start of the New Year.

The Red Square in the city, where festivities typically take place, was closed to the general public due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, this did not stop thousands of people from gathering at the nearby Manezhnaya Square to watch a fireworks display.

Greece

Image: A fireworks display has taken placer above Acropolis hill in Athens

Greece introduced new coronavirus restrictions earlier this week, forcing bars, nightclubs and restaurants to close at midnight, with no standing customers and no music.

However, an exception was given for New Year's Eve, when venues were permitted to stay open until 2am.

Images show fireworks exploding in the sky above the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill in Athens as the country welcomes in the New Year.

Spain

Image: People have been welcoming in the New Year in Puerta del Sol square

People have gathered in the Puerta del Sol square in Madrid to welcome in the new year.

The celebrations come as coronavirus cases are surging in the country.

Germany

Image: One of the world's largest open-air events has been taking place in Berlin

In Berlin, one of the world's largest open-air New Year events is taking place at the Brandenburg Gate to celebrate the start of 2022.

Musicians have been performing on stage in front of the landmark, with a light show also having taken place.

France

Image: People welcomed in the New Year on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris.

In Paris, the Eiffel Tower was lit up - as it is at the top of every hour - to mark midnight.

People have also been celebrating the New Year on the Champs Elysees avenue in the French capital.

Kenya

The start of 2022 was celebrated almost three hours ago in Nairobi, but festivities are still underway.

As the country marked midnight, fireworks lit up the sky above the UAP Old Mutual Tower.

Image: A fireworks display has lit up the sky above the UAP Old Mutual Tower.

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2022-01-01 00:21:47Z
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Prince Andrew 'cannot prove' his inability to sweat after request by Virginia Giuffre's lawyers - The Times

The Duke of York can offer no witnesses to support his claim that he was in a Pizza Express in Woking on the night he is accused of having sex with Virginia Giuffre nor any documents that show his “alleged inability to sweat”, his lawyers have acknowledged.

Giuffre’s attorneys asked the duke to name people he might have met in the pizza restaurant who could back up the alibi that he offered during an interview on Newsnight in 2019.

She has alleged that she was introduced to Prince Andrew by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and accompanied him to the Tramp nightclub. “He was a hideous dancer and he was sweating profusely all over me,” she told NBC. “I just remember like ugh, I need

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2021-12-31 18:00:00Z
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Ashraf Ghani: Ex-Afghan president describes moment he fled the Taliban - BBC News

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Afghanistan's former president has defended his decision to flee the country as the Taliban closed in earlier this year, saying he did it to prevent the destruction of Kabul.

The Taliban seized power in August after taking control of the capital.

Ashraf Ghani revealed that when he woke up on 15 August he had "no inkling" it would be his last day in Afghanistan.

It was only when his plane left Kabul that he realised he was going, Mr Ghani said on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He was heavily criticised and accused of abandoning the country at the time. He is now in the United Arab Emirates.

Mr Ghani made the comments in conversation with Gen Sir Nick Carter, the UK's former Chief of the Defence Staff, who was guest-editing the Today programme on Thursday.

• The fall of Kabul to the Taliban
• Who is Ashraf Ghani?
• What's life like since the Taliban took over?

As the day started, Mr Ghani recalled, Taliban fighters had agreed not to enter Kabul - "but two hours later, this was not the case".

"Two different factions of the Taliban were closing in from two different directions," Mr Ghani explained. "And the possibility of a massive conflict between them that would destroy the city of five million and bring havoc to the people was enormous."

He agreed to let a number of those close to him leave Kabul - including his wife, who he said did so very reluctantly. His national security advisor also left, and Mr Ghani waited for a car to take him to the ministry of defence.

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The car never came. Instead, the national security advisor returned, along with the "terrified" chief of presidential security, and told Mr Ghani they would "all be killed" if he took a stand.

"He did not give me more than two minutes," Mr Ghani said. "My instructions had been to prepare for departure for [the city of] Khost. He told me that Khost had fallen and so had Jalalabad.

"I did not know where we will go. Only when we took off, it became clear that we were leaving [Afghanistan]. So this really was sudden."

In the wake of his departure, Mr Ghani was roundly criticised by many in Afghanistan including his vice-president Amrullah Saleh, who called it "disgraceful".

The Taliban takeover wasn't done in a day. But many insist Ashraf Ghani's sudden secret departure on 15 August scuppered a deal, which was all-but done, to secure a more orderly transition.

Either way, the Taliban were certain to dominate. But the vacuum created by the man who'd repeatedly vowed to "fight to the death" deepened the disarray. And even more than what he did on 15 August many blame him for what he didn't do in the years before.

It's true he was dealt a weak hand by the Americans, but he played it badly.

He's now widely seen as a leader more professor than politician, who misread US politics and a situation on the ground unravelling faster than everyone, including the Taliban, expected.

His latest account will be dissected, discussed, and dismissed for a long time to come.

Allegations that Mr Ghani had taken vast amounts of money also emerged - something he emphatically denied, welcoming an international investigation that he said would clear his name.

"I want to categorically state, I did not take any money out of the country," he said, adding: "My style of life is known to everyone. What would I do with money?"

Mr Ghani acknowledged mistakes were made, including "assuming that the patience of the international community would last".

However, he pointed to the agreement made between the Taliban and the US under then-President Donald Trump, which paved the way for the events leading to 15 August.

"Instead of a peace process, we got a withdrawal process," Mr Ghani said. The way the deal was done, Mr Ghani added, "erased us".

Under the terms of the deal, the US agreed to reduce its forces and those of its allies, as well as providing for a prisoner swap - after which the militant group agreed to talks with the Afghan government.

The talks did not work: by summer 2021, with US President Joe Biden promising to withdraw the last troops by 11 September, the Taliban were sweeping across Afghanistan, taking city after city.

What happened in the end, Mr Ghani said, was "a violent coup, not a political agreement, or a political process where the people have been involved".

The same day Mr Ghani left Kabul, the Taliban took control. Since then, the country has been thrown into an humanitarian and economic crisis, made worse by the removal of international support after the group seized power.

Three months on, Mr Ghani says he is willing to take the blame for some things which led to the fall of Kabul - like trusting "in our international partnership".

However, he added: "My life work has been destroyed. My values had been trampled on. And I have been made a scapegoat."

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2021-12-30 13:00:18Z
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Ukraine tensions: Biden and Putin phone call seeks 'diplomatic path' - BBC News

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US President Joe Biden is set to hold talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin for the second time this month, in a bid to de-escalate tensions over Ukraine.

The two leaders will speak by phone on Thursday evening.

They will discuss forthcoming security talks between the countries and the situation in Europe, a White House official said.

Russia, which has built up forces on the border with Ukraine, denies planning to invade the country.

It says its troops are there for exercises, and that it is entitled to move its troops freely on its own soil.

Hours before the call, Mr Putin told Mr Biden in a holiday message he was "convinced" the pair could work together based on "mutual respect and consideration of each other's national interests".

His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Moscow was "in the mood for a conversation".

The US consulted European leaders ahead of the call to co-ordinate a common response to the Ukraine issue, a White House statement said.

Ukrainian security officials say more than 100,000 Russian troops have been sent close to their shared border, and the US has threatened Mr Putin with sanctions "like none he's ever seen" if Ukraine comes under attack.

Mr Biden will offer his Russian counterpart a "diplomatic path" but remains "gravely" concerned by the Russian troop build-up on the border, a US official told AFP news agency.

Mr Biden is expected to tell Mr Putin that the US is prepared to respond if Russia advances with "a further invasion of Ukraine".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday.

The US state department said Mr Blinken had "reiterated the United States' unwavering support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity in the face of Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's borders".

• No time for war: Russians see no chance of conflict
• US and Russia to talk as Putin hits out on Ukraine

Earlier this month, the two presidents held a virtual summit in which Mr Biden reiterated his support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

While Ukraine is not a Nato member, it has close ties with the bloc.

Russia has said it wants legally binding guarantees that Nato will not move eastwards and that weapons will not be sent to Ukraine or any neighbouring countries.

Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has been adamant that Ukraine's membership of the alliance is a matter for Nato and Kyiv. "Any dialogue with Russia has of course to respect the core principles which European security has been based on," he previously said.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has described the current situation as probably "the most dangerous it's been in 30 years".

Russian officials are due to meet US counterparts in Geneva on 10 January. Asked earlier this week if he would meet Mr Putin on that date, Mr Biden replied "We'll see", but he is not expected to attend the talks in Geneva.

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2021-12-30 12:26:25Z
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WHO warns of a ‘tsunami of cases’ from Omicron and Delta variants - Financial Times

The World Health Organization has warned of a “tsunami of cases” of Covid-19 around the world as some countries, including France and the US, reported record-breaking infection tallies.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general, used the tidal wave analogy to describe how the higher transmissibility of the Omicron coronavirus variant was adding to the existing circulation of the Delta strain.

“This is and will continue to put immense pressure on exhausted health workers and health systems on the brink of collapse and again disrupting lives and livelihoods,” Tedros told reporters as the health body marked the two-year anniversary of the emergence of Covid-19.

WHO officials have noted that preliminary studies from several countries have shown that the Omicron variant driving the surge produced less severe outcomes than previous variants, but Tedros said the world’s healthcare systems still faced a stiff test.

“There is this narrative going on which is ‘it’s milder or less severe’,” Tedros said. “But we’re undermining the other side, at the same time it could be dangerous, because the high transmissibility could increase hospitalisations and deaths.”

His comments came after the US Covid cases rose past 265,000 on average on Tuesday, its highest daily tally since the start of the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said: “In a few short weeks, Omicron has rapidly increased across the country and we expect will continue to circulate in the coming weeks.”

In France, health minister Olivier Véran used similar language as the WHO, saying the country was facing a two-pronged “tidal wave” with Omicron and Delta.

France was set to register 208,000 positive cases on Wednesday, Véran said, a daily record since the start of the pandemic. Testing has increased, he said, but the rate at which cases were spreading was unprecedented.

Meanwhile, Germany recorded 13,129 cases of infection with the Omicron variant on Wednesday, a 26 per cent increase on the previous day, according to official figures released by the Robert Koch Institute, the country’s main public health agency.

Karl Lauterbach, health minister, said the current situation was much worse than the official data suggest, estimating that the actual incidence of coronavirus in Germany is twice or three times as high as the official statistics showed. He said there is also a “clear increase” in cases of Omicron, calling it “concerning”.

He appealed to people to celebrate New Year’s Eve in a way that did not lead to new chains of infection. “Please celebrate in small groups,” he said.

In the US, Anthony Fauci, Biden’s chief medical adviser, acknowledged increasingly strong evidence of “lesser severity” of Omicron, either because of greater immunity to the coronavirus or milder intrinsic virulence, but said it was no reason for complacency.

He told CNBC later on Wednesday that he expected the Omicron wave in the US to peak “probably by the end of January”.

Still, US health officials at the CDC have issued new guidelines shortening the quarantine timeline for people infected with the coronavirus to five days if they show no symptoms.

“We know that after five days people are much less likely to transmit the virus,” Walensky said.

At the WHO, Tedros lamented the slow progress in distributing vaccinations around the world.

More than 90 countries globally have missed the target of vaccinating 40 per cent of their populations by year’s end because of a combination of limited supply and vaccines arriving close to expiration date or without key components, such as syringes, Tedros said.

“Forty per cent was do-able,” he added, warning aggressive booster programmes in richer countries could again cause shortages in poorer countries despite increasing supply early next year. “It’s not only a moral shame, it cost lives and provided the virus with opportunities to circulate unchecked and mutate.”

A Financial Times analysis published this month shows Covid boosters in rich countries outnumber all vaccines among poor nations. Scientists have long warned that uneven access to vaccines, coupled with high transmission, could lead to more troublesome variants.

The WHO is calling for all countries to vaccinate at least 70 per cent of their populations by mid-2022.

Reporting by Donato Paolo Mancini in London, James Politi in Bolzano, Sarah White in Paris and Guy Chazan in Berlin

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2021-12-29 22:33:02Z
1191888452

COVID-19: More than 90% of community coronavirus cases in England are now Omicron variant, UKHSA says - Sky News

More than 90% of community COVID cases in England are now Omicron, according to latest data.

As it is now by far the dominant variant, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said it would stop providing Omicron-specific daily updates from 31 December.

Today, another 39,923 Omicron cases have been detected across the UK - the second-highest daily figure so far.

It takes the total number of Omicron cases identified in the UK to 210,122.

Live updates as number of COVID patients in England hits 10,000

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The last daily #OmicronVariant overview will be reported on Friday 31 December. As data has shown that Omicron cases now constitute more than 90% of all community COVID-19 cases in England, our daily dashboard will provide the most updated info on COVID-19 case figures.

— UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) December 29, 2021

The highest daily figure was on 27 December - when there were 45,307. Yesterday, 17,269 were detected.

Scotland has already stopped reporting Omicron cases separately from other COVID cases in daily reports.

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Omicron is more transmissible than the Delta variant, but analysis by the UKHSA indicates people with Omicron are significantly less likely to develop severe symptoms.

Early results suggest people are 30 to 45% less likely to go to A&E if they are infected with Omicron rather than Delta.

They are also 50 to 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital.

But the prime minister, on a visit to a vaccination clinic in Milton Keynes, warned: "The Omicron variant continues to cause real problems. You are seeing cases rising in hospitals."

However, he added that Omicron was "obviously milder than the Delta variant" and it meant "we are able to proceed in the way that we are".

Boris Johnson said the jabs campaign had allowed England to maintain its current level of coronavirus controls, and no new restrictions will be brought in for the remainder of this year.

NHS England said 10,462 people were in hospital in England with COVID as of 8am on 29 December. This is up 48% from a week earlier and is the highest figure since 1 March.

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ICU patients 'overwhelmingly' not boosted

In London, 3,310 people were in hospital with COVID on 29 December, up 63% week-on-week and the highest number since 16 February.

During the second wave of coronavirus, the number in England peaked at 34,336 on 18 January.

Data from 21 December showed 71% of COVID patients were primarily being treated for the virus, while 29% were there "with COVID", suggesting they tested positive on arrival for another ailment or tested positive during their stay. Some medics call the latter group incidental COVID patients.

Mr Johnson said 90% of patients ending up in intensive care had not received booster vaccines.

He also said 2.4 million eligible double-jabbed people are yet to take up the offer of a booster, adding: "I'm sorry to say this, but the overwhelming majority of people who are currently ending up in intensive care in our hospitals are people who are not boosted.

"I've talked to doctors who say the numbers are running up to 90% of people in intensive care who are not boosted."

Nightclubs in Scotland and Wales are currently not allowed to open, and the rule of six is in place for pubs and restaurants in Wales.

In Scottish pubs, a one-metre distance must be maintained between tables, groups of people meeting will be limited to three households, and alcohol must only be served at the table.

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2021-12-29 15:54:08Z
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Valentina Orellana-Peralta: US teen shot dead by police 'died in mother's arms' - BBC News

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A mother whose 14-year-old girl was accidentally killed by a stray police bullet in Los Angeles says her daughter "died in my arms".

Valentina Orellana-Peralta was with her mother in a clothes shop on 23 December when an officer opened fire on a suspect.

The bullet pierced a wall and hit her.

Soledad Peralta wept as she described begging officers to help her daughter, but that they "just left her laying there".

In a statement read by a lawyer, Mrs Peralta recounted how she and her daughter heard a commotion and screaming outside the changing room while trying on dresses for a birthday party at the North Hollywood department store.

They sat down together, hugged each other and prayed.

Mrs Peralta said she felt something hit her daughter, throwing them both to the ground.

She said Valentina's body "went limp" and she "tried to wake her up by shaking her, but she didn't wake up".

Valentina died in her arms, Mrs Peralta said.

She screamed for help, but no one came.

"When the police finally came, they took me out of the dressing room and left my daughter laying there. I wanted them to help her, but they just left her laying there alone."

Mrs Peralta said seeing a son or daughter die in your arms is one of the "most profound pains any human being can imagine".

LA Police Chief Michel Moore has promised a "thorough, complete and transparent investigation" into what he called a "chaotic incident".

• Police training in US v other countries
• Former officers explain killings by police

Police had been responding to reports that a man was acting erratically inside the store and attacking customers with a heavy bike lock. He was also shot dead.

Emergency calls included reports that the suspect had a gun, but no firearm was found.

Police bodycam footage shows officers closing in on the man with their guns drawn as he bludgeons a woman.

Valentina's father, Juan Pablo Orellana, said the actions of the police officers involved were negligent.

"I will not rest until the last day, until all these criminals are in jail," he said.

Her family said the 14-year-old, a Chilean immigrant, loved skateboarding and hoped to one day become a US citizen.

Mr Orellana showed reporters a skateboard bought for her as a Christmas present. He said he would now "have to take it to the grave, so she can skate with the angels".

"It is like my whole heart has been ripped out of my body," he added.

"The pain of opening the Christmas presents for her that have been delivered for Christmas Day cannot be articulated."

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2021-12-29 10:25:52Z
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Hong Kong pro-democracy news outlet shuts down after police raid and arrests - Sky News

A vocal pro-democracy website in Hong Kong has been shut down after police raided its office, froze its assets and arrested senior staff.

Stand News said in a statement that its website and social media were no longer being updated and would be taken down.

It said all employees have been dismissed.

The outlet was the most prominent pro-democracy publication in Hong Kong and one of its last remaining critical voices - after the closure of the Apple Daily tabloid and the arrest of its publisher, billionaire Jimmy Lai.

Lai, 73, a fierce critic of Beijing, was sentenced in April to 14 months in prison.

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In the latest crackdown, police raided Stand News' office after arresting six people on charges of conspiracy to publish a seditious publication.

Police did not identify those who had been detained.

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Local media said those arrested were four former members of the Stand News board - included pop singer Denise Ho - as well as a former chief editor and the acting chief editor.

Analysis: Western nations express 'grave concern' over erosion of freedoms

More than 200 officers were involved in the search. They had a warrant to seize relevant journalistic materials under a national security law enacted last year.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise that a wide range of individual rights would be protected.

But authorities have cracked down on dissent, raising concerns about press freedoms and human rights.

Image: Police officers stand guard outside the offices of Stand News. Pic: Ap

Police previously raided the offices of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, seizing boxes of materials and computer hard drives to assist in their investigation.

Lai, who is already jailed, was charged with sedition on Tuesday.

Officials defended the crackdown.

Li Kwai-wah, senior superintendent of the police National Security Department, said: "We are not targeting reporters, we are not targeting the media, we just targeted national security offenses.

"If you only report, I don't think this is a problem."

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2021-12-29 12:08:25Z
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Hong Kong pro-democracy news site Stand News closes hours after police raid office - Financial Times

Stand News, Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy news outlet, said it would close after national security police officers raided its headquarters, marking the latest step in a government crackdown on independent media and opposition activists.

More than 200 officers descended on Wednesday morning on Stand News, a news site known for its critical coverage of government policies. Police said they had arrested seven people, including current and former senior executives, for alleged “conspiracy to publish seditious publication” under British colonial-era laws.

Police added they used a search warrant to seize journalistic materials and that the government had frozen about HK$61m (US$8m) of Stand News’s assets under the sweeping national security law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in response to pro-democracy protests in 2019.

The arrested journalists included Chung Pui-kuen, the outlet’s former top editor who resigned last month, and acting editor Patrick Lam, according to a person familiar with the matter and local media.

Denise Ho, a well-known Hong Kong singer and opposition activist, and Margaret Ng, a former lawmaker, both former members of the news site’s board, were also arrested.

Ronson Chan, a senior editor at Stand News and chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, was taken from his home by police for questioning.

Steve Li, senior superintendent of the police national security unit, accused the outlet of publishing articles that “incited hatred” against the city’s government and “stirred up dissatisfaction among residents”. Police also cited opinion articles authored by pro-democracy activists as part of the grounds for the arrests.

Police said they seized journalistic materials from Stand News and froze about $8m of its assets © Vincent Yu/AP

The raid was launched six months after Apple Daily was forced to close when authorities froze its assets and arrested a number of senior journalists. The popular tabloid was previously a leading pro-democracy news outlet and a frequent government critic.

Jimmy Lai, the company’s founder who is in prison in relation to separate allegations, and six former senior employees of Apple Daily were also charged with seditious publication on Tuesday.

John Lee, Hong Kong’s second-highest ranking official, warned reporters that the government would retaliate against anyone who “makes use of media work as a tool to pursue their political purpose . . . [that] contravenes the law and endangers national security”.

Critics said the strike against Stand News was another indication of the growing threat to freedoms in the city, despite pledges by Beijing to protect the media and speech following Hong Kong’s handover from British to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

Dozens of opposition activists have fled the city or been arrested after the security law came into effect, and foreign reporters have been denied visas to work in the territory.

“The arrests, happening just before the new year, have sent a strong signal,” said Grace Leung, a lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who specialises in media regulation and policies.

“It further [extends the] chilling effect . . . with many [journalists] already feeling unease,” she added. “Other media outlets may still be continuing to do their jobs, but no one knows when they will be targeted next and there seems to be no way to prevent that from happening.”

A survey published by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong last month found that more than 70 per cent of correspondents in the city were concerned about being arrested or prosecuted because of their reporting.

Chris Tang, the city’s security secretary, publicly criticised Stand News this month, saying its coverage of the government was “biased, misleading and demonising”.

The FCC urged authorities to respect press freedom following the raid on Stand News, saying it was “vital to Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre”.

The HKJA expressed “deep concern” about the raid and arrests.

Stand News was nominated this year for a press freedom award given by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the media rights group announced last month.

RSF warned in its latest report that Hong Kong was in “free fall” under the security law, while officials have been considering proposals for a “fake news” regulation that many worry will further curb tolerance of critical reporting.

Video: How the national security law is changing Hong Kong

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2021-12-29 09:18:11Z
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