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China’s new Hong Kong chief a hardliner known for crusade against Christian churches A hardliner notorious for the demolition of thousands of Christian crosses on churches has been appointed the new head of China’s office in Hong Kong, a sign that Beijing aims to further tighten control over the semi-autonomous city, analysts say. Xia Baolong, an ally of President Xi Jinping, has been appointed director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office under the State Council, replacing Zhang Xiaoming, State media reported on Thursday. His appointment came amid a purge of officials in Hubei, the province wracked by the coronavirus outbreak....

World’s oldest living man shares secret to longevity at 112 Tokyo: A Japanese man was officially confirmed as the oldest living (male) at 112 years and 344 days as of February 12 by the Guinness World Records. Chitetsu Watanabe was born on March 5, 1907, in Niigata. He was the first child of his parents Haruzo and mother Miya. Watanabe graduated from agricultural school and then moved to Taiwan as a staff member of Dai Nippon Meiji Sugar to work on sugar cane plantation contracts there. He lived in Taiwan for 18 years and married Mitsue. The couple had five children...

Government Has Zero Tolerance Towards Narcotics, Says Home Minister Amit Shah New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday asserted that the government has “zero tolerance” policy towards narcotics. Shah also added that the country’s narcotics control measures will be overhauled so that smuggling and trade of drugs be stopped immediately. Inaugurating a two-day conference on ‘Combating Drug Trafficking’ for Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) partner nations, Shah said, “We will ensure that no drug can go out of India nor any drug can come to India”. Source: News18

Businessman Andrew Yang announces withdrawal from Democratic presidential race Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur whose unlikely White House bid evolved into a serious campaign, pulled out of the Democratic presidential race on Tuesday after New Hampshire delivered him a second straight poor showing. Yang, 45, who ran for president despite having no political background, surprised many observers by qualifying for debates and remaining in the contest longer than some veteran politicians. Source: The Hindu

Iran’s Hassan Rouhani Says 1979 Islamic Revolution ‘Unbearable’ for US Tehran: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani charged Tuesday that the United States finds it “unbearable” that the Islamic Revolution remains in place 41 years after bringing down US ally the shah. “It is unbearable for the United States to accept the victory of a great nation and that a superpower has been driven out of this land,” Rouhani told a rally in Tehran marking the anniversary of the ouster of the shah and establishment of the Islamic republic in 1979. Source: News18

Duterte sticks to his disapproval of US, terminates troop agreement Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has told his foreign minister to give formal notice to the United States of his termination of a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between their militaries, his spokesman said on Tuesday. Duterte, who has openly disapproved of the two countries’ military alliance, made the decision after a close ally said his visa for the United States had been rescinded, in an issue related to the president’s war on drugs. “It’s about time we rely on ourselves, we will strengthen our own defences and not rely on any...

Erdogan: Turkey will hit Syrian government forces ‘anywhere’ Turkey will strike Syrian government forces “anywhere” if one more Turkish soldier is hurt and could use airpower if need be, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said. Addressing the country’s parliament in Ankara on Wednesday, Erdogan said Turkey is determined to push Syrian government forces beyond Turkish observation posts in the northwestern Idlib region by the end of February. Source: Aljazeera

‘We have to struggle and we will’: Priyanka Gandhi after Delhi poll loss Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday acknowledged that it is a time of struggle for the grand old party after the humiliating loss in the Delhi assembly elections. “What the public does is right. For us it is the time for a struggle. We have to struggle a lot. And we will,” she told reporters in Bilariaganj in Azamgarh while reacting to the Delhi assembly election results. Source: Hindustan Times

Antonio Guterres to visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib during trip to Pakistan UN Chief Antonio Guterres will visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, in Kartarpur during his visit to Pakistan next week. The UN Secretary-General will arrive in Islamabad on Sunday and will hold bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on that day and speak at an event on sustainable development and climate change. Mr. Guterres will travel to Kartarpur to visit a holy site, Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, Deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters here on Monday....

Mike Hopkins Named Amazon Video Entertainment Chief, Exits Sony Post Sony Pictures Television Chairman Mike Hopkins is departing his post at the industry’s largest independent TV studio to oversee Amazon’s video entertainment operations, including Amazon Studios and Prime Video, effective Feb. 24. Current Amazon Studios head Jen Salke will report to Hopkins, who will report directly to Amazon chairman and CEO Jeff Bezos. Amazon’s senior vice president of business development and digital entertainment Jeff Blackburn, whom Salke currently reports to and who oversees the e-commerce giant’s streaming platform, is on sabbatical. Salke, who joined Amazon in 2018, is expected to remain fully engaged with the creative...