Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

Egyptians see the life-giving Nile River as a gift from God, their birthright. Problem

is so do the Ethiopians upriver. As an enormous new dam takes shape in Ethiopia,

negotiations on how to manage water flow are proving damn hard to resolve. And for

many adventurers, all that back-to-nature stuff is passe. Our correspondent heads out

with the urban explorers of England's abandoned buildings. New planning law

proposals mean that these derelict sites and an obsessive hobby are at great risk.

First up, though. On Monday, police in Hong Kong marched through the offices of a

local tabloid called Apple Daily and arrested its influential owner, Jimmy Lai.

He was charged with colluding with foreign forces, a crime that carries a

potential life sentence. Agnes Chao, a prominent youth activist, and eight

others were also arrested under the same law. All were released on bail yesterday.

The arrests confirm the fears of pro-democracy campaigners that Hong Kong's freedoms

are disappearing. On July 1st, the Territories Chief Executive,

Kerry Lam, unveiled a new national security law imposed by Beijing. Activists

worried about a broader clamp down on a city that has recently seen so much feverish

activism, protests, and riots. But Mrs. Lam promised Hong Kongers would still be

free to express themselves. It has clearly stated an article four that people

are Hong Kong, they should be able to continue to enjoy the freedom of speech, freedom of press,

publications, protests, assembly, and so on and so on.

Increasingly, that promise rings hollow. Jimmy Lai was arrested with some high drama.

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