Prince Harry makes historic UK court testimony

LONDON—Prince Harry will become the first senior British royal to give evidence in court for more than a century when he testifies this week against a tabloid newspaper publisher.

Harry, 38, is expected to take the witness stand at London’s High Court in a trial considering unlawful information-gathering claims against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).

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King Charles III’s younger son and other highprofile figures allege that the publisher engaged in illegal activities, including phone hacking, at its titles and are seeking damages.

The case is one of several that Harry has brought against

British newspaper groups since stepping down from royal duties in early 2020 and relocating to the United States.

The MGN trial, which is expected to last up to seven weeks, kicked off last month, days after Charles’s May 6 coronation which Harry attended.

The California-based prince also made a surprise appearance at the High Court in March for a privacy claim he and others have launched against Associated Newspapers (ANL), publisher of the Daily Mail. Harry, the Duke of Sussex, made written submissions in that case but did not give in-person evidence, sitting near the back of the court during several days of proceedings. AFP

Hong Kong police detain over 20 on Tiananmen event

HONG KONG—Hong Kong police on Sunday detained more than 20 people, including key pro-democracy figures trying to commemorate the anniversary of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown, as hundreds in Taiwan mourned the dead with a vigil.

For years, tens of thousands of Hong Kongers would converge on the city’s Victoria Park and its surrounding neighborhood to commemorate the events of June 4, 1989 -- taking part in candlelight vigils.

But since Beijing’s imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 to quell dissent, the annual vigil has been banned and its organisers charged under the law.

This weekend, scores of police were deployed in the area, stopping people for searches and questioning. Some found with a candle -- regarded as a symbol of the Victoria Park vigil -- were questioned and detained.

More than 700 kilometers (430 miles) away on the self-ruled island of Taiwan, hundreds gathered at Taipei’s Liberty Square to chant “fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong” as night fell.

They lit candles in the shape of “8964” -- numerals forbidden in mainland China because they refer to the events of June 4, 1989.

“We need to cherish the freedom and democracy we have in Taiwan,” Perry Wu, 31, told AFP.

“I feel really sad to see the news of people getting arrested today in Hong Kong.”

Hong Kong police said late Sunday they had detained 23 people between the ages of 20 to 74 who were suspected of “breaching the peace”.

One woman, 53, was arrested for obstructing police officers. AFP