Hong Kong one year on: protests muted but anger palpable


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Hong Kong on Tuesday marked a year since pro-democracy protests erupted, as mass arrests, coronavirus bans on gatherings and a looming national security law kept a lid on any return to city-wide unrest.

Seven months of massive and often violent rallies kicked off on June 9 last year when as many as a million people took to the streets to oppose a bill allowing extraditions to mainland China.

As city leaders dug in, battles between police and protesters became routine, leaving the financial hub's reputation for stability in tatters and swathes of the population in revolt against Beijing's rule.

On Tuesday, organisers of last year's huge rallies called on the government to lift anti-virus restrictions on public gatherings and allow Hong Kongers to march once more.

"After Hong Kongers spared no effort to resist, the Chinese Communist Party's persecution went to every length to force us to give in," Jimmy Sham, from the Civil Human Rights Front, a group that espouses non-violence, told reporters on Tuesday.

"This movement has not finished yet."

Flash-mob protests were held during the lunchtime break in multiple malls but crowds were just a few hundred strong. Messaging groups also called for gatherings in the evening.

City leader Carrie Lam, an unpopular pro-Beijing appointee, was peppered with questions from reporters on Tuesday about the unrest during her tenure.

"Hong Kong cannot afford such chaos," she said, adding residents needed "to prove that Hong Kong people are reasonable and sensible citizens of the People's Republic of China" if they want their freedoms and autonomy to continue.

The city has largely stopped local coronavirus transmissions and avoided lockdowns but Ms Lam has denied keeping restrictions in place to stop protests.

Under a deal signed with Britain ahead of the 1997 handover, China agreed to let Hong Kong keep certain freedoms and autonomy for 50 years.

Protests over the last decade have been fuelled by fears those freedoms are being prematurely curtailed, something Beijing denies.

Analysts say the space for dissent has rapidly diminished in the last year.

"I don't think the passion has subsided much, but the problem is that many actions are now not allowed in the current circumstances," Leung Kai-chi, an analyst at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), told AFP.

Beyond a withdrawal of the extradition bill, the protest movement's core demands, such as universal suffrage and an inquiry into police tactics, have been rejected by the city's leadership and Beijing.

Instead, China has unveiled plans to impose a more sweeping law, one that will bypass the city's legislature entirely, banning subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign interference.

China says an anti-subversion law will only target "a small minority" and will restore business confidence.

Opponents fear the law will bring mainland-style political oppression to the business hub. Anti-subversion laws are routinely used on the mainland to stamp out dissent.

"First (Beijing) loses the hearts and minds of Hong Kong's people and then it seeks to force them to be loyal," said Kong Tsung-gan, an activist who has published three books on the protest movement.

Over the last year, around 9,000 people have been arrested and more than 500 people have been charged with rioting, which would face up to 10 years in jail if convicted.

Two prominent activists had their charges upgraded to rioting on Tuesday for entering the city's legislature when it was broken into by protesters last July.

The protest movement was already on the back foot before emergency coronavirus laws banned gatherings of more than eight people.

Still, demonstrations have bubbled up again since the security law plans were announced -- including tens of thousands defying a ban on a June 4 gathering to mark the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.

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Best Actress Maha Alemi, Sofia

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Best Screenplay Meryem Benm’Barek, Sofia  

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Best Director Nadine Labaki, Capernaum
 

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Brighton and Hove Albion v Southampton (5.30pm)
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MONDAY 
Burnley v Newcastle United (midnight)

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Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

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Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday

Second leg

Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm

Game is on BeIN Sports

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Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

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Name: JustClean

Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries

Launch year: 2016

Number of employees: 130

Sector: online laundry service

Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding

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Director: Manuel Calvo
Stars: Yassir Al Saggaf and Fatima Al Banawi
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Date started: January, 2014

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Sector: Education technology

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Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
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4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

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C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

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Founder: Smeetha Ghosh, one co-founder (anonymous)

Launch year: 2020

Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021

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Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23

UAE fixtures:
Men

Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final

Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final

SERIE A FIXTURES

Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)

Lecce v SPAL (6pm)

Bologna v Genoa (9pm)

Atlanta v Roma (11.45pm)

Sunday

Udinese v Hellas Verona (3.30pm)

Juventus v Brescia (6pm)

Sampdoria v Fiorentina (6pm)

Sassuolo v Parma (6pm)

Cagliari v Napoli (9pm)

Lazio v Inter Milan (11.45pm)

Monday

AC Milan v Torino (11.45pm)

 

Scores

Day 2

New Zealand 153 & 56-1
Pakistan 227

New Zealand trail by 18 runs with nine wickets remaining

How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers

Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.

It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.

The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.

Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.

Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.

He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.

AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”

A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.

Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.

Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.

Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.

By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.

Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.

In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”

Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.

She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.

Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.

Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas

Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa

Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong

Rating: 3/5