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Hong Kong police have arrested four people aged 16-21 for suspected offenses under the city’s new national security law, the first such detentions outside of street protests since the legislation took effect a month ago. A police spokesman said the three men and a woman, all students, were suspected of being involved in an online group that pledged to use every means to fight for an independent Hong Kong.
The US’s top tech bosses were told they have “too much power”, are censoring political speech, spreading fake news and “killing” the engines of the American economy, at a combative congressional hearing on Wednesday. The historic hearing in Washington saw Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Tim Cook of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sundar Pichai of Google’s parent Alphabet appear before members of the House judiciary’s antitrust subcommittee.
The Perseverance rover is finally ready to launch on its journey to Mars. So far, reports from the US Air Force 45th Weather Squadron predict an 80% chance of favorable conditions for the Thursday morning launch. The biggest concern is thick clouds. After traveling through space for about seven months, Perseverance is scheduled to land at Jezero Crater on Mars on February 18, 2021.
The Trump administration announced plans Wednesday to withdraw almost 12,000 troops from Germany, a sweeping continentwide reorganization that has provoked bipartisan congressional opposition and widespread dismay in Europe. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told a Pentagon briefing that the move would benefit Washington’s strategic interests abroad, strengthening NATO and deterring Russia, and equipping the military for “a new era of great power competition.”
Israel’s prime minister has hit out at an art exhibition of him in Tel Aviv, branding it a “shameful threat of crucifixion”. It features a life-size statue of Benjamin Netanyahu enjoying a lavish meal by himself in a mock re-enactment of The Last Supper. Artist Itay Zalait said the exhibit in the city’s Rabin Square was meant to symbolize the “last supper of Israeli democracy”.