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Hong Kong Budget 2021: HK$8 billion earmarked for national security spending despite city facing record deficit
Hong Kong has earmarked HK$8 billion for non-recurrent spending on national security despite facing a projected fiscal deficit of HK$101.6 billion in the coming financial year. There are so far no details of what the money will be spent on and it was not mentioned in Financial Secretary Paul Chan’s address to legislators on Wednesday to present the 2021-22 budget. The expenditure was mentioned in a budget document, as a revised estimate for “non-recurrent appropriation to a special fund to meet the expenditure for safeguarding national security,” earmarked for the year 2020-21. It comes as Cha...
Hong Kong Free Press
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San Diego-area Border Patrol agents find $1 million worth of cocaine in SUV
SAN DIEGO — Border Patrol agents found more than 83 pounds of cocaine worth more than $1 million during a traffic stop last week on Interstate 5 just north of San Diego County, officials said Monday. Earlier that same day, agents found more than 20 pounds of methamphetamine in connection to a separate traffic stop off Interstate 15 near Rainbow, according to Border Patrol spokesman Agent Angel Moreno. Agents found most of the methamphetamine last Thursday afternoon inside a Mitsubishi Galant when the driver "hastily exited the freeway" after noticing Border Patrol agents patrolling the I-15, M...
The San Diego Union-Tribune
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Beijing official signals China-led electoral reforms for Hong Kong to ensure only ‘patriots’ hold power
A Beijing official has signalled that Hong Kong will undergo a set of electoral reforms under the leadership of the Chinese authorities, with an aim to block “anti-China” opposition forces from the city’s governing bodies. The Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) Xia Baolong outlined the criteria for “patriots ruling Hong Kong” in a conference held by the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies in Beijing on Monday. Xia said the power to govern the semi-autonomous region must lie in hands of patriots, as it was the “fundamental principle” of fulfilling One Coun...
Hong Kong Free Press
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The case of pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai shows how the security law has shaken up Hong Kong’s legal system
By Senia Ng The National Security Law is a distinctive legal regime which runs in parallel with, and if necessary over-rides, the existing legal system in Hong Kong. This was the conclusion of the Court of Final Appeal (CFA), which handed down its judgment in respect of Mr. Jimmy Lai’s case concerning bail on February 9, allowing the appeal of the Department of Justice. The CFA held that the courts of Hong Kong have no jurisdiction to review the NSL for compatibility with the Basic Law, since the NSL was enacted in accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law and the procedure in that law’s...
Hong Kong Free Press
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Who are they kidding? You can’t make a cartoon out of Hong Kong’s security law
Hong Kong Education City Limited, fully owned by the government, is “composed of leaders of the education and business sectors as well as government officials.” I have not heard of any of the worthies on its board, but congratulate them on a noble effort to educate the city’s children about the National Security Law. The seven-minute video they have created is here. Much as I applaud their efforts, there are a number of aspects on which I hope they will accept some constructive criticism. The format of the explainer is a cartoon. Japanese anime and manga are very popular, I’m told, amongst the...
Hong Kong Free Press
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Black sailor finds noose on San Diego-based warship, sparking investigation
SAN DIEGO — The Navy is investigating after a Black sailor found a noose on his rack last week aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain. A Navy official with knowledge of the incident said a San Diego-based sailor is under investigation and has been removed from the ship, which left San Diego on Monday. Citing an ongoing investigation, a Naval Surface Force Pacific spokeswoman confirmed in a written statement that the object resembled a noose but declined to comment on details of the case. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service “is investigating an incident aboard USS Lake Champl...
The San Diego Union-Tribune
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Universal Orlando introduces discounted military pass
ORLANDO, Fla. — Universal Orlando is selling theme park passes to members of the military and their families at a discount and introducing vacation packages to them. The resort’s 2021 Military Freedom Pass sells for $239.99 per adult for the three-park option, which includes Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay water park. A pass without Volcano Bay, which is set to reopen on or before March 1, sells for $199.99. The pass has no block-out dates. It expires Dec. 31. Currently, Universal sells two-park annual passes for $509.99. A currently running deal allows Florida resident...
Orlando Sentinel
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Warden of dysfunctional NYC federal jail where Jeffrey Epstein killed himself retires after 1 year
NEW YORK — The warden of the troubled Metropolitan Correctional Center, who took over after the shocking suicide of Jeffrey Epstein, has retired after just a year on the job, sources tell the Daily News. M. Licon-Vitale’s retirement does not officially go into effect until March, but she’s been out of the troubled 750-bed jail since last week, according to a source. Rank and file correction officers did not learn of her exit until a meeting on Tuesday announcing her replacement, acting Warden Eric Williams, sources said. A Manhattan Federal Court filing said Williams, who previously ran FCI Gr...
New York Daily News
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Trudy Rubin: What US can learn from Germany's response to far-right infiltration of their military
There was the Air Force veteran inside the Senate Chamber during the Capitol riot wearing tactical gear, and the New Jersey reservist who works at a naval weapons station. There was the Air Force veteran shot and killed by beleaguered Capitol police as she shoved through a shattered window. The presence of service members and vets at the Capitol riot should have come as no surprise to a Pentagon that has long downplayed the problem of white nationalism and far-right activism in the ranks — despite warnings for decades. The number of service members involved on Jan. 6 is still unclear, but Nati...
The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Guaidó may be drawn into Colombia trial linked to failed incursion to topple Maduro
Juan Guaidó Márquez, the Venezuelan lawmaker recognized by the United States and allies as the legitimate leader of his oil-rich country, may be asked to provide testimony in Colombia about last year’s botched incursion and attempt to overthrow the Maduro regime with the help of ex-U.S. special forces soldiers. A lawyer for Yacsy Alexandra Álvarez Mirabal, the Venezuelan woman with Florida ties accused of helping to organize the failed coup from neighboring Colombia, has asked the office of Colombia’s prosecutor to name as co-conspirators both Guaidó and former Venezuelan Major Gen. Cliver Alc...
Miami Herald
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