Hong Kong, Ethiopia, North Korea.
Today's three stories you should know.
Hong Kong
The police raid on the offices of Hong Kong’s most popular newspaper, Apple Daily, and the arrests of its executives was covered in a recent newsletter. Now, the worst has happened: the paper has been forced to close in what can only be seen as yet another blow to freedom of expression in the territory. The Daily’s management said they had made the decision to cease operations in order to protect the safety of their staff. Supporters gathered outside the pro-democracy paper’s office after the announcement was made and one million copies of the farewell edition will be printed.
More from BBC here.
Ethiopia
I hope you don’t have Ethiopia fatigue because it has featured in so many recent newsletters - that’s because it’s one of the most important and under-covered stories in the world right now. It was confirmed today that an air raid on a busy market in Tigray, the war-torn northern region, killed an estimated 50 - 80 people, according to multiple reports. Ethiopians voted in a parliamentary election on Monday that is expected to cement the power of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Tigray’s six million people could not participate due to the ongoing conflict, the government said.
More from Al Jazeera here.
North Korea
North Korea’s foreign minister Ri Son Gwon today threw cold water on the prospect of renewed talks with the U.S. “We are not considering even the possibility of any contact with the U.S., let alone having it, which would get us nowhere, only taking up precious time,” Ri said, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The comments appeared to contradict a statement from President Kim Jong-un last week in which he said he was ready for either confrontation or dialogue with the Biden administration.
More from the Associated Press here.