1 Hong Kong protests: Police arrested at least 14 veteran pro-democracy lawmakers and activists Saturday on charges of joining unlawful protests last year calling for reforms. Among those arrested were advocates Albert Ho, Lee Cheuk-yan and Au Nok-hin. Police also arrested media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who founded the local newspaper Apple Daily. The protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory against proposed extradition legislation exposed deep divisions between democracy-minded Hong Kongers and the Communist Party-ruled central government in Beijing. The bill has been withdrawn, but the protests continued for more than seven months, centered around demands for voting rights and an independent inquiry into police conduct.
2 Venezuela tensions: The top U.S. military commander for Latin America says the Trump administration isn’t looking to use military force to remove Nicolas Maduro even as it expands counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean. Adm. Craig Faller, head of U.S. Southern Command, said the recent decision to double anti-narcotics assets in Latin America was months in the making and not directly tied to Maduro’s indictment in New York on charges of leading a narcoterrorist conspiracy that sent 250 metric tons of cocaine a year to the U.S. Faller said economic and diplomatic pressure — not the use of military force — remain the preferred tools of the U.S. for removing Maduro from power.
3 Earthquake: A strong, 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook a Japanese island chain in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo on Saturday, but there was no danger of a tsunami and there were no reports of major damage or injuries. The magnitude quake Saturday evening struck west of the Ogasawara island chain, about 620 miles south of Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency...
