DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Hong Kong prodemocracy activists walk free after court upholds appeal Hong Kongʼs highest court has reversed a ruling to jail a trio of prodemocracy activists. The activists, known for their role in 2014 protests, had warned of a "critical juncture" in Hong Kongʼs fight for democracy. The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal on Tuesday struck down controversial prison sentences for prodemocracy activists Joshua Wong (left), Nathan Law (center) and Alex Chow (right), effectively allowing them to walk free. In 2016, Wong and Law were convicted of unlawful assembly, while Chow was found guilty of inciting Hong Kong citizens to protest, during Hong Kongʼs 2014 pro-democracy demonstrations. Wong and Law were sentenced to community service while Chow was given a three-week suspended sentence. However, last year, a court overturned their sentences after prosecutors argued they were too light for the alleged gravity of the crimes committed by the activists.
Netherlands recalls ambassador from Turkey The spat between the Netherlands and Ankara stems from the Dutch refusal to allow Turkish ministers to campaign for a 2017 referendum. The Dutch foreign ministry said repeated efforts to normalize relations have failed. The Netherlands has officially withdrawn its ambassador from Turkey, the Dutch foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday. The ministry added that it will not allow a new Turkish ambassador in Amsterdam as long as there is no Dutch ambassador in Ankara. Despite recent talks between the two countries, Foreign Minister Halbe Zijlstra said "we could not reach anagreement on how to normalize relations." The Dutch foreign ministry has "paused" talks with Turkey on resolving the matter, it said.
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Iranʼs Hassan Rouhani calls for unity on revolution anniversary The celebrations come just weeks after protests calling for changes in government policy
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for a "year of unity" as Iran marks the 39th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
Prominent ivory trade investigator killed in Nairobi home World-renowned ivory investigator Esmond Bradley-Martin has been found dead in his home with a stab wound to the neck. Martin had spent decades tracing the trade of ivory and rhino horns from Africa to Asian markets. Kenyan police said on Monday that ivory trade investigator Esmond Bradley-Martin had been found dead in his home by a family member. The relative had gone to check on Martin at his home in the Nairobi suburb of Langat on Sunday afternoon after he did not respond to phone calls. "He was found dead in his house and had
stab wounds," said a police officer. "An investigation has been launched." The head of the United Nationʼs Environment Program, Erik Solheim, said he was shocked by Martinʼs murder and described the late investigator as a "global authority" on ivory and rhino horn trafficking. Martin, an American citizen who had lived in Kenya for decades, was a key figure in the global crackdown on illegal ivory supply chains. Much of his research quantified and analyzed the Asian ivory markets in China, Hong Kong,Vietnam and elsewhere.
German university hospital defends auto firmsʼ nitrogen dioxide test ethics No experiments on animals or humans can take place in Germany without a go from an authorized ethics committee. Dr. Thomas Kraus from Aachen University Hospital says this was the case in the most recent NO2 scandal. The European Research Group on Environment and Health in the Transport Sector (EUGT) "did not impinge in any way on the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) research it commissioned Aachen University Hospital to do," Professor Thomas Kraus from the
hospital told the German press agency DPA on Monday. The EUGT is a now defunct organization that was funded by German carmakers Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW plus partsmaker Bosch, thus raising questions of possible conflicts of interest. In 2013, 25 healthy volunteers were exposed to NO2 pollution for three hours, Kraus said. "None of them had any negative health effects," he went on, adding that the tests were meant to measure the impact of pollutants in the workplace.
Iranian women defiant against compulsory hijab A new wave of protests against the compulsory wearing of hijab has spread across Iran, resulting in the arrests of tens of women. The government has accused the protesters of being under the influence of drugs. For almost four decades since the start of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iranian women have tried to push the boundaries of the compulsory hijab rule imposed upon them. Their struggle gained momentum late last year after a 31-year-old woman nicknamed the "Girl of Enghelab Street," stood bareheaded on an utility box on Enghelab (or Revolution) Street in Tehran, waving her white headscarf on a stick. The woman, later identified as Vida Movahed, a mother of a 19-month-old child, is being hailed as a hero among Iranian women fighting against the compulsory hijab. Movahedʼs defiant protest and her subsequent arrest drew attention worldwide. She was detained for several weeks before being released from custody on January 26.
Israeli security forces kill Palestinian suspect in rabbi murder Israel security forces say they have killed a Palestinian man who helped kill Rabbi Raziel Shevah in January. More than 19 Palestinians have been killed amid violence following US President Trumpʼs Jerusalem decision. Israeli security forces on Tuesday killed Ahmad Jarrar, a Palestinian man who they say was the head of a militant cell that killed a West Bank settler, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. Rabbi Raziel Shevah, 35, waskilled in a drive-by shootingnear his home in the unauthorized settlement outpost Havat Gilad near the West Bank city of Nablus in January.
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