Sudan, Libya, Hong Kong

Today's three stories you should know

Sudan

Children in Sudan are “wasting away as we watch,” according to the U.N. children’s agency, as a grinding civil war continues to heap misery on civilians. UNICEF said more than half the children in parts of the North Darfur region are acutely malnourished. “Extreme hunger and malnutrition come for children first, the youngest, the smallest, the most vulnerable,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires said. “In Sudan, it’s spreading ... These are children between six months and five years old, and they are running out of time.” Referring to new data on the extent of the hunger, Pires said: “That is not a statistic. Those are children with names and a future that are being stolen.”

More from U.N. News here.

Libya

At least 53 people are dead or missing, including two babies, after an inflatable dinghy sank off the coast of Libya, the U.N. migration agency said, the latest tragedy on a treacherous route for people fleeing war and poverty. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the boat was carrying 55 people from African countries. Two Nigerian women survived. One reported that both of her babies had drowned; the other that she had lost her husband. Some 484 people have died or gone missing on the Mediterranean route so far this year, IOM statistics show. Last year, more than 1,300 were counted as dead or missing on the route. Libya is the dominant transit point for people trying to reach Europe by boat despite frequent abuse and extortion from traffickers.

More from AP here.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong leader John Lee said today that pro-democracy activist and media tycoon Jimmy Lai deserved the 20-year jail sentence he was handed on Monday due to his “evil deeds.” The 78-year-old British citizen was found guilty of national security offenses after he was accused of colluding with foreigners and sedition for supporting anti-government protests that swept the city in 2019. Lai, who ran the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper before authorities shuttered it, was convicted under a controversial national security law, which was introduced in response to the demonstrations. Lai’s son Sebastien said the verdict was a “death sentence.” The British and U.S. governments called for his release.

More from Al Jazeera here.