HONG KONG: Prosecutors said today that media tycoon Jimmy Lai had incited the city’s residents to rise up against China and urged the United States to take action against Beijing.

The charges were levelled during Mr Lai’s trial on charges of endangering national security.

The newspaper baron, known as “Asia’s Rupert Murdoch” for the scale of his media empire and his neoconservative views, has pleaded not guilty to charges of colluding with foreign governments and inciting hatred.

JAPAN: Rescuers were still sifting rubble today in the search for survivors from Monday’s earthquake, as aftershocks rumbled through Ishikawa prefecture.

The official death toll from the magnitude 7.6 quake has now reached 73. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said reports suggested people were still awaiting rescue under collapsed buildings.

EUROPEAN UNION: Brussels slapped sanctions on the world’s biggest diamond-mining company today.

Alrosa, which accounts for 90 per cent of diamond production in Russia, will see its assets in the EU frozen, while EU citizens and companies will be barred from making funds available to it. Chief executive Pavel Marinychev will face a travel ban.

The EU said the sanctions reflected its “unwavering commitment” to supporting Ukraine and that the diamond trade was a “substantial” source of revenue for the Kremlin.

MYANMAR: The Kachin Independence Army said it had shot down an army helicopter today.

The insurgent group is fighting for independence in the northern state of Kachin and has formed loose alliances with pro-democracy insurgencies operating in the army-ruled country.