Philippines, Somaliland, Hong Kong.

Today's three stories you should know.

Mar 04, 2023

Philippines

Gunmen have assassinated a provincial governor in the Philippines and killed five others in a brazen attack on his home. Roel Degamo, governor of Negros Oriental province, was killed when at least six suspects armed with rifles and wearing uniforms similar to those of the national army stormed his house as he was meeting with constituents. The country’s president, Ferdinand Marcos, an ally of Degamo, vowed to hunt down the killers. Political assassinations are common in the Philippines.

Somaliland

At least 145 people have been killed in two months of conflict in Somaliland since a political dispute erupted, a local doctor told the Associated Press news agency. Somaliland unilaterally declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and, unlike Somalia, has been relatively stable since. In early February, though, the governors of three Somaliland provinces said they wanted to rejoin Somalia, which is when the violence began. Abdimajid Sugulle, who works at a hospital in Las-Anod, also said that about 1,000 people had been wounded and 100,000 families had fled their homes.

Hong Kong

Three political activists in Hong Kong, who were part of a group that organized an annual vigil to commemorate the victims of China’s Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, have been convicted of failing to give authorities information on the group’s members and activities. Chow Hang-tung, Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong were prosecuted under a hugely controversial national security law that government opponents say was introduced to crack down on dissent. China has all but scrapped the freedoms it promised for Hong Kong when it was returned from the UK in 1997.