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Hong Kong's economy remained sluggish in the second quarter amid the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute, government figures released Wednesday showed, as weeks of civil unrest threatened further headwinds in the financial hub.

Renewed clashes broke out between pro-democracy protesters and police in Hong Kong on Tuesday night after dozens of demonstrators were charged with rioting -- an offence that carries a jail term of up to ten years.

China's first "cyber-dissident", whose website reported on sensitive topics including human rights, was sentenced to 12 years in prison Monday for leaking state secrets, a court said.

Hong Kongers are becoming more accepting of violent protests because the city's pro-Beijing leaders have ignored years of peaceful demonstrations, a leading democracy activist has told AFP in letters penned from his prison cell.

Thousands of Hong Kongers, including flight attendants, held a rally in the airport's arrival hall on Friday to "educate" visitors about the demonstrations currently gripping the international finance hub as it braces for another weekend of protests.

China issued a stark reminder Wednesday that its army could be deployed in Hong Kong if city authorities requested support in maintaining "public order" after weeks of sometimes violent protests.

U.S. regulators on Wednesday slapped a record $5 billion fine on Facebook for privacy violations in a settlement requiring the world's biggest social network to "submit to new restrictions and a modified corporate structure.

Britain "will be keeping a close eye" on Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam's investigation into a vicious assault on pro-democracy protesters, a junior foreign minister said Monday.

Tens of thousands of people rallied in support of Hong Kong's police and pro-Beijing leadership on Saturday, a vivid illustration of the polarisation coursing through the city after weeks of anti-government demonstrations.

A suspected arson attack at an animation production company in Japan killed 33 people and injured dozens more on Thursday, after a man reportedly doused the building with flammable liquid and shouted "drop dead.