Beijing’s passage of the national security law in Hong Kong on June 30 has drawn international criticism. The European Council said it “deplores” the move. The US has condemned the law, and legislators called for “severe consequences”.

Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong says he expects to be a “prime target” of the national security legislation in Hong Kong. The proposed law will target separatism, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, but it is unclear what activities would constitute such crimes and what the punishments would be.

As anger over police brutality and racism spread worldwide, some are comparing the US protests sparked by George Floyd’s death to anti-government demonstrations in Hong Kong.

Taiwan has drawn up a plan to provide humanitarian support, including a basic living allowance, to Hongkongers seeking asylum on the island. The new Taiwan-Hong Kong Service and Exchange Office would open on July 1. Taiwanese authorities stress that it was not a rescue plan, but a “show of support” for Hongkongers. 

As protests against racism and police brutality continue worldwide, many black officers find themselves in a difficult position. UK officers Karen Geddes and Steven Mason say the police uniform “feels heavier at the moment”.

The death of African-American George Floyd on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, US, by a white police officer, has sparked anti-racism and anti-police brutality protests across the US and the world at large. George Floyd's brother made an emotional plea to the US Congress.

As Singapore begins easing its coronavirus lockdown measures, many migrant workers in the country are worried about keeping their jobs as the economy looks grim amid the pandemic.

A group of university students in Tehran, Iran, held a George Floyd demonstration to show support for the protesters in the US.

As the protests sparked by George Floyd's death spread nationwide in the US, demonstrations have erupted in Paris over Adama Traoré, a 24-year-old black Frenchman who died in police custody four years ago. 

Protests spread across New York City on June 1, 2020, as unrest hit dozens of cities in the United States days after the death of George Floyd. Asian-American communities in the city are among those joining the protests in solidarity. Floyd was killed while he was being arrested by police in the state of Minnesota. Onlookers filmed a white police officer, who has since been dismissed, kneeling on the African-American man’s neck for more than eight minutes before he died on May 25. 

Lady Liberty, a symbolic statue that pro-democracy protesters took to the top of Hong Kong’s Lion Rock mountain in 2019 is on display as the anniversary of the protests approaches and Beijing approved a plan to impose a national security law for the city.

A group of activists protested the new national security law in front of the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office in Taiwan. They urged Taipei to allow Hong Kong students studying in Taiwan to return to the island, despite Covid-19 travel restrictions. They also called on the Taiwanese government to validate its plan to help Hongkongers who want to seek refuge in the island.

The Trump administration informed Congress on May 27 that Hong Kong is “no longer autonomous from China”. 

In Co-Op City, a neighbourhood in New York City’s the Bronx borough, one in every 282 residents has died from the coronavirus. The complex is said to be the worst-hit area of New York during the Covid-19 pandemic. With the largest elderly communities in the US and mostly working class residents, Co-Op city has become an easy target of Covid-19.

The White House said China’s proposed national security law for Hong Kong could lead to US sanctions. The Chinese government introduced the new regulation, which aims to curb activities that “endanger the national security”, at this year’s National People’s Congress. Under the proposal, Beijing would directly apply the law, bypassing the city’s own legislature.

The world passed 5 million reported infections on May 21, 2020 after the World Health Organisation registered a new daily record number of Covid-19 cases.

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen was inaugurated for a second term on May 20, 2020, after she defeated her main opponent Han Kuo-yu of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang party. In a landslide victory in January, Tsai took almost 8.2 million votes, the most any presidential candidate has received since the self-ruled island first held a direct election for the post in 1996. 
 

Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers in India have been left jobless since the South Asian country began its coronavirus lockdown in March. Many workers have been forced to return home, risking being hit by vehicles and being chased by police. About 180 people have died en route, including a two-year-old girl.

Chinese President Xi Jinping defended his government’s coronavirus response at this year’s World Health Assembly meeting, saying that China has “acted with openness, transparency and responsibility” during the Covid-19 fight. He also backed the WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ leadership of the agency’s pandemic strategy.

A new illustration by dissident Chinese cartoonist, Badiucao, was unveiled in Copenhagen on May 15. The artwork shows support for the 15 Hong Kong activists about to stand trial on charges of "organising and taking part in unlawful assembly". They were arrested in one of the biggest crackdowns on the city’s pro-democracy movement this April.

With Covid-19 infection surpassing 4 million, Taiwan is seeking observer status in the annual convention of the World Health Assembly, the World Health Organisation’s decision-making body. 

Dozens of nurses in Karachi, Pakistan boycotted work to protest job conditions during the coronavirus pandemic on May 12, International Nurses Day. 

Third-generation hawker Kristen Choong said her wonton noodle stand’s business has fallen about 90 per cent since early April.

For the first time in this season, Taiwan baseball league is allowing fans back to stadiums, starting with 1,000 fans per game from May 8 on. Taiwan is one of the few places in the world that are hosting live sports now, and the island has begun loosening Covid-19 restrictions.

Since the coronavirus outbreak began in the US, funeral home workers have been grappling with a surge in demand that many describe as “overnight” and “unexpected”. While most people are aware of the frontline battles health care workers are fighting against Covid-19, few understand the grim reality faced by those handling the bodies of victims as the US coronavirus death toll surpasses 74,000. 

New York officials are investigating a funeral home in Brooklyn, New York after dozens of decomposing bodies were found in unrefrigerated trucks outside. Many deathcare facilities in the city are overwhelmed by the surge caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Rideshare drivers in New York are trapped between their fear of contracting the coronavirus and need to earn a living. Most drivers have stopped working to avoid Covid-19 infection, but some cannot afford to lose the income.

Wang Quanzhang, a Chinese human rights lawyer arrested in the “709” crackdown in 2015, has reunited with his wife and son after almost five years in jail for “subverting state power”. He is one of the last lawyers arrested in the roundup to be released from prison.

A week after the US government said it would freeze funding to the World Health Organisation, China announced on April 23 that it will donate another US$30 million to the global health body to help in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Traditional mobile vendors in Thailand are making a comeback as the Covid-19 pandemic forces businesses to close and people to stay home. Grocery truck vendor Wannapa Yarnsarn used to make about US$55 a day, but her profit has increased to more than US$67 a day since the outbreak began.