Sweden’s party leaders campaigned on Friday in the final stretch of a close election race that could see either the centre left take back power or the far-right enter government for the first time. Outgoing Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was hoping for a renewed mandate to “make Sweden great again”, he told Agence France-Presse on the sidelines of a campaign rally, in a nod to US President Donald Trump’s catchphrase. While Europe is dominated by right-wing governments, opinion polls in Sweden...

In north China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, home to the country’s largest coal reserves, a vast open-pit mine cuts deep into the earth, shrouded in clouds of dust. Winters here are long and brutal, with temperatures plunging to as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit). In older, more traditional days, hundreds of truck drivers, bundled in heavy winter gear, had to brave icy roads and the risk of frostbite as they hauled loads through the pit. When dense fog and...

The creator of a sculpture commemorating those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown will ask Danish authorities to negotiate with Hong Kong for its return, with city officials disputing his claims of owning the confiscated artwork. The fate of the “Pillar of Shame” sculpture has come back under the spotlight after the High Court on Friday handed jail sentences to three former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China at the end of a...

Veteran Hong Kong actor and filmmaker Simon Loui Yu-yeung, better known to fans as the “King of Ghosts” for his prolific work in horror films, has died at the age of 62. Long-time friend and fellow actor Frankie Ng Chi-hung revealed to reporters on Friday that Loui’s wife, TV and radio personality Ma Li, had confirmed the filmmaker had died in a hospital in Guangzhou on Monday after losing his battle with gastric cancer. “The family hoped to stay low profile. There was no big announcement,” Ng...

Relatives of three Tiananmen vigil activists sentenced on Friday for inciting subversion have decried their years-long prison terms as “totally unjust,” and have said that two of the defendants will appeal. Elizabeth Tang (second from left), mother of Chow (middle) and Lau Ka-yee (first from right) met the press after sentences on September 11, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, leaders of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, were handed jail terms of seven years and seven years and three months, respectively. Fellow Alliance leader Albert Ho, the only one of the trio to plead guilty, received a sentence of five years and two months. The Alliance, which was also convicted and fined HK$1.5 million, held annual vigils to remember China’s 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. Elizabeth Tang outside the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on Friday, September 11, 2026, ahead of the sentencing of Tiananmen vigil activists Chow Hang-tung, Albert Ho, and her husband Lee Cheuk-yan. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Lee’s wife, Elizabeth Tang, told reporters outside the West Kowloon Law Courts Building that the sentence, delivered by a panel of designated national security judges, was “unacceptable.” “It’s a sad day for me as his wife,” Tang said in Cantonese. “I cannot imagine that he has to spend another three years in jail.” “People will be shocked and angry,” she added. “Millions of people were there in Victoria Park [for the vigil].” Family members and friends of Tiananmen vigil activists meet the press on September 11, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Tang said Chow and Lee intend to launch an appeal against their convictions and sentences. June 4th memories ‘reopened’ Chow Hang-tung’s mother, who declined to give her name to press, said on Friday that her daughter was proud to represent herself in court. “She once said: ‘It feels great, I can finally take off my barrister’s robe and speak the truth freely on my own behalf’,” Chow’s mother recalled her daughter saying. Mother of Chow Hang-tung meets the press on September 11, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP, “I don’t know whether I should thank those who dragged her to the dock,” Chow’s mother said. “Thanks to them, the memories of June 4th were reopened. Thanks to them, the truth of June 4th and everything that has happened in Hong Kong over these years has been entered into Hong Kong court records.” The Tiananmen crackdown occurred on June 4, 1989, ending months of student-led demonstrations in China. It is estimated that hundreds, perhaps thousands, died when the People’s Liberation Army cracked down on protesters in Beijing. A Correctional Services van outside the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on Friday, September 11, 2026, ahead of the sentencing of Tiananmen vigil activists Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan, and Albert Ho. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Chow’s mother thanked legal professionals for “walking alongside us against the wind,” telling them: “You don’t need to feel too sad or discouraged by today’s verdict, and even less should you feel any guilt… Everyone, please take good care and live your lives well.” ‘Not even for a single day’ “They shouldn’t be in prison at all – not even for a single day,” Lau Ka-yee, an activist and friend of Chow, said in Cantonese. “It wasn’t just the Alliance speaking out: every single person who lit a candle, millions of Hongkongers and friends overseas, have all persisted in speaking out.” Lau also expressed hope that the Correctional Services Department will implement better measures for heat reduction in prison, in light of record-breaking temperatures this summer. Police follow friends and family members of the Tiananmen vigil activists on September 11, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Friday’s ruling said that the present case did not involve violence or the threat of violence, “nor had the defendant put forward any specific means of implementation or timetable” to end one-party rule in mainland China – one of the Alliance’s central tenets. Nevertheless, the court still found that the offence was “of a serious nature.” That placed the defendants within the higher of the two sentencing bands under the Beijing-imposed national security law, with sentences ranging from five to 10 years, it added. ‘Police will be watching closely’ After Friday’s sentencing, which lasted a little more than 10 minutes, Senior Superintendent Steve Li of the police force’s National Security Department spoke to the press. Steve Li met the press on September 11, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. “From the sentences handed down to the three, it can be seen that they are responsible for extremely serious offences,” Li said. “It was to be expected that Chow Hang-tung, who showed no remorse and was obstinate to the end, received the heaviest sentence.” Li also addressed a reporter’s question as to whether commemorating the Tiananmen crackdown violated the law. “We can see from the trial that vigils can be used for the purposes of incitement,” he said. “Organisers must be very wary… If public assemblies or marches are involved, the police will be watching closely.”

An inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup will take place later this month featuring 14 teams with matches played in Indonesia and Hong Kong, organisers said on Thursday. FIFA ASEAN Cup. Photo: FIFA ASEAN Cup. The 11 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and three guest sides — Hong Kong, Pakistan and Bangladesh — will play in two divisions from September 24. Eight teams will contest the top-tier Division 1 — hosts Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Pakistan. They will be split into two sections of four with the winners contesting the first FIFA ASEAN Cup final on October 5. FIFA chief Gianni Infantino. Photo: Kremlin. The second-tier Division 2 will be hosted by Hong Kong and also involve Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Timor-Leste, split into two three-team sections with the winners advancing to a final on October 3. “The FIFA ASEAN Cup was launched to provide national teams with meaningful competitive opportunities,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino. “The tournament will strengthen football ties across Southeast Asia.”

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