The embattled leader of Hong Kong, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, has formally withdrawn a divisive bill that sparked the worst political crisis the Chinese enclave has seen in decades.

The move satisfies one the protesters’ key demands. But critics say the concession is unlikely to bring an end to intensifying unrest, which has rocked the city for more than 13 consecutive weeks and is now driven by a host of other objections.

Source: Hong Kong Leader Withdraws Extradition Bill | Time

Pastor Joseph Kabuleta’s case is not unique in Uganda, where Museveni has held onto power for decades by almost any means necessary. The pastor’s arrest was another example of how Ugandans are using the internet to protest Museveni’s 33-year-long regime, and the growing risks they face in doing so.

In August, the Uganda Communications Commission announced that social media “influencers” must pay a fee and register to be monitored by the state regulator. The declaration came just a week after Stella Nyanzi, a prominent opposition critic who once called the president “a pair of buttocks,” was sentenced to 18 months in prison for “cyber harassment.” Nyanzi had posted a poem to Facebook describing Museveni as a “dirty, delinquent dictator.”

The commission claims that increased regulation will prevent immoral content and hate speech, but critics see it as another blow to freedom of expression. They argue that the internet is the last remaining place for free assembly in Uganda. Now it is being censored as well.

Source: Uganda Expands Its Internet Clampdown, Stifling the Last Space for Free Speech