HK man jailed nearly five years for rioting

HONG KONG • A Hong Kong technician was jailed for four years and nine months yesterday for rioting and arson during anti-China protests last year, in the harshest punishment yet over the unrest.

The case is the latest in a slew of legal action against demonstrators and comes soon after new pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam was selected as leader of the semi-autonomous city.

Yeung Ka-lun, 32, was pictured in news footage torching a taxi during the unrest in February last year.

Last month, three activists were jailed for three years on "riot" charges for their roles in the same protests.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Pakistan sentences Indian spy to death

ISLAMABAD • Pakistan will execute an Indian who allegedly confessed to spying for Indian intelligence, the powerful military said yesterday, in a move that quickly raised tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals.

The man - named by the army as Kulbushan Sudhir Jadhav, who also goes by the alias Hussein Mubarak Patel - was found guilty by a military court, which was closed to the public, and was sentenced to death.

New Delhi slammed the decision, warning that it would be "premeditated murder".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

China Go champ to face Google's AlphaGo

BEIJING • The world's top Go player, Mr Ke Jie from China, will face Google's upgraded computer programme, AlphaGo, in a highly anticipated showdown next month.

The match will be held in Wuzhen, a town in East China's Zhejiang province, from May 23 to 27.

Mr Ke, 19, is the youngest champion in Go history to win three world titles within the space of one year. Last year, AlphaGo scored a 4-1 victory over South Korean Go master Lee Se Dol in a historic five-round match.

XINHUA

Thai insurgents reject junta's peace plan

BANGKOK • The most prominent insurgent group in Thailand's south rejected the military's peace plan in a rare statement yesterday.

The country's southern-most border provinces have been plagued by violence for more than a decade as ethnic Malay rebels battle Thai troops for more autonomy from the Buddhist-majority state.

The shadowy Barisan Revolusi Nasional is believed to be behind much of the violence, although it never claims attacks.

Yesterday, it said the peace plan "must include the participation of third parties (international community) as witnesses and observers" and that an "impartial" mediator should lead the talks, not the Thai army.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE