Former US President Barack Obama has praised protesters who amassed across the country in opposition to President Donald Trump's immigration orders temporarily banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries, breaking his silence on political issues since leaving office. In a statement, read out by a spokesman, Obama wrote, "Citizens exercising their constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake."

Quebec authorities have charged one man, Alexandre Bissonnette, with six counts of first-degree murder for opening fire in a mosque in Quebec City during evening prayers on Monday (local time), an act which left six people dead and several people injured. Bissonnette has also been charged with five counts of attempted murder. Two people were initially arrested although the authorities have only charged Bissonnette. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard have both called the attack a terrorist act.

Malaysian authorities have arrested the owner of the boat that capsized in Malaysia off Kota Kinabalu resulting in the deaths of at least three Chinese tourists. Four Chinese tourists and a Malaysian crew member are still missing. The boat owner, who is described as “ethnic Chinese” by local media, has been charged with “causing death due to negligence.” He is the third person arrested in connection to the incident, after two members of the crew including the skipper. Earlier reports had suggested there were five Chinese tourists missing but it was later revealed that one of the tourists had decided not to board the boat at the last minute.

A research team of Chinese, British and German scientists has discovered fossilized evidence of possibly the earliest known ancestor of humans. It is approximately a millimeter in length, lived 540 million years ago and was discovered in Shaanxi, central China. The microscopic sea creature called “Saccaorhytus” is thought to have been an early step in the evolutionary path that led to early vertebrates, fish and eventually humans. Degan Shu, from Northwest University in Xi'an, told the BBC," Saccaorhytus now gives us remarkable insights into the very first stages of the evolution of a group that led to the fish, and ultimately, to us."

Morocco has rejoined the African Union (AU; formerly the Organization of African Unity) after leaving it in 1984 following the organization recognizing the independence of Western Sahara, which Morocco regarded as part of its own territory. Morocco was the only African country that was not a member of the AU. At the 28th AU summit, which opened on Monday, AU leaders also elected a new head, selecting Chadian Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat to replace outgoing commissioner Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma from South Africa.

Pakistani authorities have placed Hafiz Muhammad Saeed under house arrest in the eastern city of Lahore. In 2012, the US placed a bounty of 10 million US dollars for information leading to his arrest and conviction for coordinating attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008 which killed more than 160 people. Saeed was placed under house arrest in 2008 but released after six months due to lack of evidence. His supporters claim the new developments are due to pressure from the US, and an unnamed senior Pakistan military official told Reuters, "Trump is taking hard decisions against Muslim countries, there is open talk of actions against Pakistan also. So yes, this was a consideration."

China's top auditor, the National Audit Office (NAO), has found that 17.6 billion yuan (about 2.56 billion US dollars) of fiscal funds earmarked in 2016 for pollution control and resource management was “not effectively used.” NAO inspectors also found that 397 water pollution protection projects had failed to achieve their stated aims, and some environment funds were not distributed as planned. In response to the audit, the local authorities that came in for criticism “have improved the distribution and use” of more than 3 billion yuan of environment funds, according to Xinhua.

The movie "Journey to the West: Demon Chapter” has smashed box office records for China’s Spring Festival holiday weekend. The movie raked in 356 million yuan (50.2 million US dollars) on its opening day, a record for a Chinese language film. The previous title holder was "The Mermaid," which made 270 million yuan on its first day in 2016. “Demon Chapter” helped total box office receipts in China to a single-day record high of 802 million yuan (117 million US dollars).