Apple Daily: Hong Kong pro-democracy paper announces closure - BBC News

Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy paper Apple Daily has announced its closure, in a blow to media freedom in the city.

The tabloid's offices were raided last week over allegations that several reports had breached a controversial national security law.

Police detained the chief editor and five other executives, and company-linked assets were frozen.

The publication had become a leading critic of the Hong Kong and Chinese leadership.

The Apple Daily management said that "in view of staff members' safety", it had decided "to cease operation immediately after midnight" - making Thursday's publication the final printed edition.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the paper's closure was a "chilling blow to freedom of expression in Hong Kong".

• The Hong Kong paper that pushed the boundary
• China's new law: Why is Hong Kong worried?
• WATCH: Why China is bent on crushing Hong Kong dissent
• Hong Kong's rebel mogul and pro-democracy voice

The digital version of the 26-year old paper will no longer be updated after midnight.

A separate announcement by publisher Next Digital thanked the readers for their "loyal support" as well as its journalists, staff and advertisers.

The tabloid has long been a beacon of media freedom in the Chinese-speaking world, and is a widely read and supported by political dissents in Hong Kong.

Chinese officials have repeatedly said media freedoms in Hong Kong are respected, but are not absolute.

Ronny Tong, a member of Hong Kong's government, accused the paper of orchestrating a political stunt in its decision to shut down.

"People around the world probably will accuse the Hong Kong government of forcing Apple Daily to close down. But the fact of the matter is, they don't need to," he told the BBC.

'A knife over your head'

The closure comes after sustained pressure on the paper from the authorities.

Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai, who has long been a critic of the Chinese Communist Party, is already in jail on a string of charges.

Last Thursday, some 500 police officers raided the publication's newsroom, saying its reports had breached the city's new national security law, which makes undermining the government a criminal offence.

AFP

The arrests struck fear in employees at the paper and a number quit the publication soon after.

An editorial staff member at the paper described the feeling of unease as "having a knife over your head". "If you don't leave by yourself, you may be held criminally responsible," she told BBC Chinese.

A current affairs reporter for Apple Daily said after last week's raid: "I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I was angry at the ruthlessness of the regime. I was also sad that Hong Kong might not have Apple Daily but I also felt fear."

From sensationalist tabloid to voice of dissent

Analysis by Yvette Tan, BBC News

It started off as a successful local tabloid, best known for its sensationalist articles and bold catchy headlines - promising sex, drugs and scandal. But over the past 26 years, it evolved into one of the city's loudest pro-democracy voices - one of few that dared to challenge China.

Its founder Jimmy Lai was labelled by Beijing as an "anti-China troublemaker", the paper accused of causing chaos. Advertisers were told to stay away from Apple Daily but Lai and his team did not back down. In fact, the paper doubled down on its critical coverage.,

"They were really a strong and loud critical voice to the government," one professor told me. "It's a terrible blow for press freedom in Hong Kong. I think everyone is in shock right now."

As for what lies ahead - Hong Kong's government is set to introduce a fake news legislation - raising fears that this could be used as a new tool to stifle dissent.

Police had accused the newspaper of publishing more than 30 articles calling on countries to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and mainland China since 2019.

They also arrested the editor-in-chief and four other executives at their homes and froze HK$18m ($2.3m; £1.64m) of assets owned by three companies linked to Apple Daily - Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited and AD internet Limited.

The paper then said it only had enough cash to continue normal operations for "several weeks".

On Wednesday, a 55-year-old man, identified as an Apple Daily columnist, was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to collude with a foreign country or foreign forces, local media reports said.

What is the national security law?

China introduced the national security law in Hong Kong last year in response to massive pro-democracy protests that swept through the administrative region.

The law essentially reduced Hong Kong's judicial autonomy and made it easier to punish demonstrators and activists. It criminalises secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces with the maximum sentence life in prison.

Since the law was enacted in June, more than 100 people have been arrested under its provisions.

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2021-06-23 13:01:23Z
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Apple Daily: Hong Kong pro-democracy paper announces closure - BBC News

Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy paper Apple Daily has announced its closure, in a blow to media freedom in the city.

The tabloid's offices were raided last week over allegations that several reports had breached a controversial national security law.

Police detained the chief editor and five other executives, and company-linked assets were frozen.

The publication had become a leading critic of the Hong Kong and Chinese leadership.

The Apple Daily management said that "in view of staff members' safety", it had decided "to cease operation immediately after midnight" - making Thursday's publication the final printed edition.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the paper's closure was a "chilling blow to freedom of expression in Hong Kong".

• The Hong Kong paper that pushed the boundary
• China's new law: Why is Hong Kong worried?
• WATCH: Why China is bent on crushing Hong Kong dissent
• Hong Kong's rebel mogul and pro-democracy voice

The digital version of the 26-year old paper will no longer be updated after midnight.

A separate announcement by publisher Next Digital thanked the readers for their "loyal support" as well as its journalists, staff and advertisers.

'A knife over your head'

The closure comes after sustained pressure on the paper from the authorities.

Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai, who has long been a critic of the Chinese Communist Party, is already in jail on a string of charges.

Last Thursday, some 500 police officers raided the publication's newsroom, saying its reports had breached the city's new national security law, which makes undermining the government a criminal offence.

AFP

The arrests struck fear in employees at the paper and a number quit the publication soon after.

An editorial staff member at the paper described the feeling of unease as "having a knife over your head". "If you don't leave by yourself, you may be held criminally responsible," she told BBC Chinese.

A current affairs reporter for Apple Daily said after last week's raid: "I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I was angry at the ruthlessness of the regime. I was also sad that Hong Kong might not have Apple Daily but I also felt fear."

From sensationalist tabloid to voice of dissent

Analysis by Yvette Tan, BBC News

It started off as a local rag, best known for its sensationalist articles and bold catchy headlines - promising sex, drugs and scandal. But over the past 26 years, it evolved into one of the city's loudest pro-democracy voices - one of few that dared to challenge China.

Its founder Jimmy Lai was labelled by Beijing as an "anti-China troublemaker", the paper accused of causing chaos. Advertisers were told to stay away from Apple Daily but Lai and his team did not back down. In fact, the paper doubled down on its critical coverage.,

"They were really a strong and loud critical voice to the government," one professor told me. "It's a terrible blow for press freedom in Hong Kong. I think everyone is in shock right now."

As for what lies ahead - Hong Kong's government is set to introduce a fake news legislation - raising fears that this could be used as a new tool to stifle dissent.

Police had accused the newspaper of publishing more than 30 articles calling on countries to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and mainland China since 2019.

They also arrested the editor-in-chief and four other executives at their homes and froze HK$18m ($2.3m; £1.64m) of assets owned by three companies linked to Apple Daily - Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited and AD internet Limited.

The paper then said it only had enough cash to continue normal operations for "several weeks".

On Wednesday, a 55-year-old man, identified as an Apple Daily columnist, was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to collude with a foreign country or foreign forces, local media reports said.

What is the national security law?

China introduced the national security law in Hong Kong last year in response to massive pro-democracy protests that swept through the administrative region.

The law essentially reduced Hong Kong's judicial autonomy and made it easier to punish demonstrators and activists. It criminalises secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces with the maximum sentence life in prison.

Since the law was enacted in June, more than 100 people have been arrested under its provisions.

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2021-06-23 11:56:10Z
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Caroline Crouch murder: Photo reveals inside the flat where she was killed - Daily Mail

Inside flat where Caroline Crouch was killed: 'Murder' scene revealed after husband told court British mother's death 'ruined’ HIS life and blamed her miscarriage for 'change in behaviour' that led him to kill her

• New photos have revealed inside the house where Caroline Crouch was killed by husband Babis Anagnostopoulos who then staged a burglary to cover it up 
• Photo shows patio doors he said burglars came through, CCTV camera he said they disabled, and Monopoly box where he said  money they stole was hidden 
• In fact, he had staged the scene himself including disabling the camera  - a fact which prosecutors now say proves he is guilty of premeditated murder
• Pleading for a reduced sentence in court yesterday, Anagnostopoulos gave a self-pitying apology for ruining his own life 

By Chris Pleasance for MailOnline

Published: 08:40 BST, 23 June 2021 | Updated: 12:13 BST, 23 June 2021

Busted patio doors, a disabled security camera, and an empty Monopoly box: New photos have revealed the 'crime scene' that Babis Anagnostopoulos staged after killing wife Caroline Crouch as he tried to convince cops they were robbed. 

The 33-year-old told police that a gang of masked raiders had broken the doors and disabled the camera before making their way upstairs to where the couple were sleeping before demanding cash that was kept in the Monopoly box.

But Anagnostopoulos now admits this was all a fiction, cooked up after he smothered Caroline to death himself in a desperate attempt to hide his guilt so he could keep raising their infant daughter - who witnessed the murder.

The scene was revealed as Anagnostopoulos appeared in court Tuesday for his first hearing since being charged with Caroline's murder - giving a self-pitying apology in which he talked about ruining his own life while asking to be allowed out on bail so he can go back to his child.

In an attempt to explain the killing, he also revealed that Caroline had suffered a miscarriage before their daughter was born - something he blamed for a 'change in her behaviour' which made her 'aggressive' and ultimately led him to kill her.

'I really regret this act, I ruined my life and my family,' he told the judge. 'I wish I could go back in time, but unfortunately I cannot.'

The living room of the house where Caroline Crouch was killed, including 'clues' planted by husband Babis Anagnostopoulos as he tried to convince police they had been burgled

A CCTV camera which Babis said masked raiders had disabled is seen on the floor, with police now saying he disabled it himself in evidence he planned Caroline's killing

A Monopoly box where Babis claimed to have been hiding a large amount of cash which the burglars wanted, but which police now say never existed

Anagnostopoulos is currently facing life in jail for Caroline's murder along with three lesser charges including the death of the couple's Husky puppy Roxy, which he drowned as part of his elaborate cover-up. 

He does not dispute that he is responsible for Caroline's death, but says she was killed in the heat of an argument and that he should be given a reduced sentence.

Prosecutors say the killing was premeditated - pointing to a CCTV camera which they say Anagnostopoulos disabled hours before the killing and smartwatch data that suggests Caroline was asleep when she was smothered as evidence.

Speaking about the moment he smothered Caroline in court yesterday, Anagnostopoulos described it as a 'hug' - saying she was trying move away from him as they lay in bed so he held her tight. 

'At one point, as her face was shaking on the pillow, I mean her mouth and her nose were resting on the pillow, I kept holding her in my arms until she stopped rocking,' he said, according to Greek news site Protothema.

'It all lasted about five minutes from the time I hugged her until the moment she stopped rocking. I tried to wake her, rocked her, but it was in vain. Then I realized what had happened.'

He also recounted the story of his relationship with Caroline, saying he met her on the island of Alonissos where she had lived since childhood and where his parents owned a holiday home and which he visited as a young man.

The pair began dating, fell in love, and in September 2018 they decided to get married - a celebration which took place the following year.

By that point they had already been living for a month in the house in Glyka Nera, a suburb of Athens, where the killing would later take place.

Babis Anagnostopoulos pictured arriving at court on Tuesday where he recounted a confession he gave to police last week that he smothered wife Caroline Crouch to death

Prosecutors argue Caroline's murder was premeditated and Babis should go to jail for the rest of his life, while his lawyers are fighting for a reduced sentence

A few weeks after the wedding, Anagnostopoulos said Caroline found out that she was pregnant - something he said would 'complete our family and happiness'.

But after three months, Caroline miscarried and Anagnostopoulos claims this is when their relationship started going downhill. 

According to his interpretation of events, Caroline became aggressive and argumentative so he suggested they both go into therapy to save their marriage.

Greek police had previously revealed the couple had been seeing a psychologist, but said they attended the sessions separately.

Meanwhile entries from Caroline's diary collected by police and leaked to the press also paint the picture of an unhappy union and violent mood swings.

In the pages, she confesses to hitting Anagnostopoulos, says she is 'not well' and recounts having emotional 'meltdowns' which she blamed on hormones.

It is thought that some diary entries were even written in code to hide their contents from Anagnostopoulos and which police have yet to decipher.

Judges are thought to be keeping the pages secret out of fear that they could harm the ongoing trial. 

Anagnostopoulos says Caroline then fell pregnant again and gave birth to their daughter who they were both infatuated with.

'The love I feel for her is impossible for me to describe in words,' he said.

But Caroline continued 'to show aggressive outbursts and outbursts towards me', Anagnostopoulos claims, saying her 'psychology was constantly changing'.

She began to find reasons to skip therapy sessions and in the end stopped going altogether, he claims, leading their marriage to deteriorate.

Referring to the alleged murder, he added: 'Other events triggered the situation, and nothing had been pre-decided. 

'Again, I apologize and I would like to point out that my only thought and guide to what happened next was my only daughter.' 

Babis argued in court that he should be freed on bail so he can continue looking after his daughter with Caroline, an argument the judge rejected 

Throughout the hearing, Anagnostopoulos made no reference to the elaborate hoax he staged in order to hide his involvement in Caroline's death - nor did he mention drowning the couple's dog as part of the plot.

In fact, he tried to make a virtue of the fact that he regularly sat down with police for interviews 'without creating the slightest problem or obstructing the criminal process', despite using those interviews to spin an elaborate web of lies. 

Following the hearing, judges refused Anagnostopoulos's request for bail and remanded him in Korydallos prison where he arrived shortly after 8pm local time, Greek site Ta Nea reports.

He was taken to a VIP ward of the prison where he will be kept out of reach of violent inmates for his safety, and was instead placed with three low-level offenders - one of them a prison officer serving time on drug charges.

Another of his new cellmates is serving time for smuggling, while the third is also convicted of drug offences.

He is reported to be 'very happy' with the jail conditions and has requested to go straight to work in the hopes he will be released early for good behavior. 

Anagnostopoulos took and passed a Covid test as he was taken to jail, meaning he will not have to undergo mandatory isolation.

Reacting to his court testimony, the lawyer for Caroline's family rejected the claim that he had acted in the heat of the moment and without planning.

'The heat of the moment is to see your child being killed and you shooting his killer, that is, the sudden arousal of an emotion,' he said. 'There was also no erotic passion.

'People who kill in the heat of the moment surrender. They do not hide or deceive the authorities for 37 days. 

'They call the police and say "I surrender", they do not hug the mother of the child who they killed and add to their hypocrisy.' 

Read more:

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2021-06-23 07:40:25Z
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US government blocks Iran-affiliated news websites - BBC News

The US has taken down dozens of Iranian and Iran-linked news sites, which it accused of spreading disinformation.

Many sites were offline on Tuesday, with notices explaining they have been "seized" by the US - alongside seals of the FBI and Department of Commerce.

They include Iran's state-owned Press TV and al-Masirah TV, run by Yemen's Iran-aligned rebel Houthi movement.

It comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran over reinitialising a nuclear deal.

The US Department of Justice said the US had seized 33 websites run by the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union (IRTVU) and another three run by the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia in Iraq, Reuters news agency reported.

The Justice Department said the domains used by IRTVU were owned by a US company and IRTVU had not obtained a license from the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control prior to using them. Kataib Hezbollah - which has been designated a terrorist organisation by the US - also did not obtain a license.

• US-Iran relations: A brief history
• Profile: Iran's Revolutionary Guards

The websites were not accessible on Tuesday afternoon, with the statement on Al-Alam's website reading: "The domain alalamtv.net has been seized by the United States Government in accordance with a seizure warrant... as part of a law enforcement action by the Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement and Federal Bureau of Investigation."

Notices also appeared on some of Iran's Press TV websites, the Iranian government's main English-language satellite television channel, and Al Alam, its Arabic-language equivalent. Lualua TV, an Arabic-language Bahraini independent channel that broadcasts from the UK, was also taken down.

Yemen's Houthi movement confirmed that its domain at almasirah.net had been blocked. Iran supports the Houthis, who control much of western Yemen, but it denies providing them with weapons.

Most of the domain names seized were .com, .net and .tv addresses. The .com and .net addresses are generic domains and are not specific to a particular country. The .tv domain is owned by the Pacific nation of Tuvalu but is run by the US firm Verisign. The seizure of another country's top-level domain - such as Iran's .ir - could potentially be seen as a violation of sovereignty.

Several of the sites were back online within hours with new domain addresses.

In what seems to be a coordinated action, a similar message appears on the websites of Iranian and regional television networks that claims the domains of the websites have been “seized by the United States Government.” pic.twitter.com/JloU56LvpL

— Press TV (@PressTV) June 22, 2021

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

The latest move comes days after hard-line anti-Western cleric Ebrahim Raisi was elected president of the Islamic Republic.

The US and Iran have long been foes, but relations have deteriorated since 2018, when then-US President Donald Trump abandoned a nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers and reinstated crippling economic sanctions. Iran retaliated by gradually breaching the agreed limits on its nuclear activities.

• Iran nuclear crisis in 300 words

Even though current US President Joe Biden wants to rejoin the deal, both sides say the other must return to compliance first.

On Sunday, a sixth round of talks aimed at reviving the deal were held in Vienna between envoys for Iran and the five remaining signatories - China, France, Germany, Russia and the UK. US representatives have been participating indirectly.

All of Iran's news stations are government run, with no private television or radio stations. Satellite dishes are also illegal - although they are commonly seen. In the past, Iranian police have resorted to using cherry pickers to scour balconies for them, and crushing confiscated satellite dishes with tanks as a show of force.

In October, the US seized 92 websites it said were being used by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) to spread political disinformation.

The Iranian government has made no official comment in response to the move, but media outlets in the country have accused the US of censorship.

"Is this another example of US freedom of the press where if DC doesn't like what u say, ur domain is seized? (sic)," tweeted American-born Press TV host Marzieh Hashemi.

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2021-06-23 06:49:07Z
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White House concedes US will miss Biden’s July 4 Covid vaccination goal - Financial Times

The Biden administration admitted that it would miss the US president’s target of vaccinating 70 per cent of American adults by July 4, calling it an “aspirational goal”.

Jeffrey Zients, White House Covid-19 response co-ordinator, said 70 per cent of Americans aged over 30 had received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. However, he said it would take “a few extra weeks” to reach Joe Biden’s target of distributing at least one jab to 70 per cent of all adults by July 4.

Biden set the goal early last month, but the country’s vaccine rollout has slowed after a blistering start as health officials struggle against vaccine hesitancy.

“We have succeeded beyond our highest expectations,” Zients said at a press briefing on Tuesday. “Instead of just small backyard gatherings, America is getting ready for a truly historic Fourth of July with large celebrations planned across the country.”

Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have already hit the president’s goal. Among US adults aged 18 and older, 65 per cent have received at least one vaccine dose, according to figures from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 150m Americans are fully vaccinated. 

After targeting older people and essential workers in the first wave of vaccinations, the focus has turned to vaccinating young adults, which Zients said “have felt like Covid-19 is not something that impacts them”. He said “the country has more work to do” to encourage vaccine uptake among those aged 18 to 26.

The Biden administration now expects that 70 per cent of Americans aged 27 and older will be immunised by the end of the July 4 weekend, Zients said, adding that Biden’s second target of reaching 160m fully vaccinated adults would be met “no later than mid-July”.

State officials across the country have created innovative campaigns to encourage vaccine uptake such as offering free beer and guns, as well as million-dollar raffles, but the speed of the immunisation programme has faltered in the past few weeks.

The need to inoculate holdouts has taken on fresh urgency as the Delta variant, which first emerged in India, spreads across the US. It has swept across the UK and been blamed for rising cases in other parts of the world.

Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned about the threat of Delta to the US recovery and unvaccinated people, saying “its transmissibility is unquestionably greater” than the original strain of Covid-19 and the Alpha variant that was first detected in the UK.

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2021-06-22 17:30:31Z
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Bear eats boy, 16, at national park before tourist stabs its neck with penknife - Metro.co.uk

Two men were locked in a nine hour confrontation with the bear (Picture: RenTV/Ergaki Park)

A brown bear mauled a 16-year-old boy to death at a national park before a tourist stabbed it in the neck with a penknife.

The animal floored the tourist and lunged at another when they went in search of the missing teenager, who was working as a sherpa for a holiday group.

After leaving their tents to check for him, the two men were locked in a nine hour confrontation with the bear.

One them stabbed the creature repeatedly in the neck before playing dead, having suffered scratches, cuts and bruises from the fight.

The other one fled back to camp where tourists raised the alarm, and inspectors went in search of the bear.

Park staff at Russia’s Ergaki National Park, in the Sayan Mountains, rushed to the scene, some 500 yards from the camp.

The teenager was said to have taken a dangerous shortcut when he was attacked (Picture: Ergaki Park)

The half eaten body of the 16-year-old boy being carried off on a stretcher (Picture: RenTV)

The bear was shot by park staff and fled, but the team tracked it down the following morning and killed it (Picture: Ergaki Park)

There they the found the bear lying on the teenager’s devoured remains and shout and wounded the animal.

It survived and fled the scene, but early the following morning staff managed to track it down and kill it as it attacked them.

Igor Gryazin, director of the national park, said the 16-year-old boy had taken a shortcut which exposed him to additional danger.

Prolonged cold weather this year had led to thick snow cover, preventing the bears from feeding properly.

Ergaki is known as Russia’s Yosemite for its similarity to the Californian national park.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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2021-06-22 10:46:00Z
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Brown bear eats boy, 16, & savages tourists who stabbed beast several times before he is shot dead near... - The Sun

A GIANT brown bear has been shot dead after it mauled a teen to death and attacked a tourist group in a Russian national park.

The bear devoured half of the boy's body before tackling one male tourist to the ground and lunging at another.

The bear played dead after being stabbed in the neck multiple timesCredit: Ergaki Park

Ergaki National Park staff found the animal on top of the young boy's remains before shooting itCredit: Ergaki Park

A picture of Ergaki National ParkCredit: Konstantin Khilko

The men had been out searching for the missing teen when they were attacked.

One of them managed to stab the animal several times in the neck and fled to get help from Ergaki National Park staff.

By the time they came back the bear they thought had died was lying on the devoured remains of the teen some 500 years from the tourist camp in the Sayan Mountains, on Russia's Siberian border with Mongolia.

They shot and wounded the wild bear, which then fled.

Early next morning they tracked and killed the “aggressive” animal which tried to attack them.

“After hours of tracking, the man-eating bear was killed by the park staff,” said a statement from the national park.

The male tourist suffered scratches, cuts and bruises from his fight with the bear.

The boy, from Abakan, was working as a sherpa for the holiday group when he was attacked and killed at around 11am.

The two men were confronted by the bear nine hours later when they left their tents to check for him.

Body of the 16-year-old teenager killed by the bear being transported out of the parkCredit: RenTV

The beast devoured half of the boy's bodyCredit: RenTV

Ergaki is known as Russia’s Yosemite for its similarity to the Californian national parkCredit: Siberian Spirits

Igor Gryazin, director of the national park, said the boy had taken a short cut, exposing him to more danger.

Prolonged cold weather this year had led to thick snow cover, preventing the bears from feeding properly.

Ergaki is known as Russia’s Yosemite for its similarity to the Californian national park.

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2021-06-22 10:33:00Z
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