HONG KONG
Democracy advocate bailed
The High Court yesterday granted bail to a fifth democracy advocate and former lawmaker, but revoked bail for another. They are part of a group of 47 advocates and former lawmakers who were arrested over their involvement in an unofficial primary election last year. The court granted bail to former Legislative Council member Helena Wong (黃碧雲), who was one of the candidates in the primaries. Her bail conditions include surrendering all travel documents and observing a curfew. The court revoked bail granted to district councilor Ng Kin-wai (伍健偉). Ng is to be remanded in custody.
INDONESIA
Sinabung spouts hot ash
A volcano on Sumatra unleashed an avalanche of searing clouds of gas and ash flowing down its slopes during an eruption yesterday. No casualties were reported. Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra was shooting smoke and ash as high as 1,000m and hot ash clouds traveled up to 3km southeast, the Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center said. The eruption caused no casualties, Sinabung monitoring post official Armen Putra said, adding that villagers were advised to stay 5km from the crater and watch out for lava.
MYANMAR
Leader’s kids sanctioned
The US sanctioned the adult children of coup leader Burmese Army Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and their business holdings, saying that they “have directly benefited from their father’s position and malign influence.” The US Department of the Treasury put the children — Aung Pyae Sone, 36, and Khin Thiri Thet Mon, 39 — on a list that prohibits US citizens from doing business with them or their six businesses. Their operations include a restaurant, gyms, a gallery and a media production business. “Treasury took these actions in response to the Burmese military’s coup against the democratically elected civilian government,” the department said.
HONG KONG
Facebook halts cable plan
Facebook has decided to halt its efforts to build a trans-Pacific undersea cable that would have connected California and Hong Kong, due to tensions between the US and China. “Due to ongoing concerns from the US government about direct communication links between the United States and Hong Kong, we have decided to withdraw our FCC [US Federal Communications Commission] application,” a Facebook spokesperson said on Wednesday. The social media platform and several telecoms filed their first construction permit in 2018 to connect two sites in California to Hong Kong and Taiwan. The FCC in April last year gave Google permission to operate the link between North America and Taiwan.
IVORY COAST
Prime minister dies at 56
Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko has died, less than a year after being appointed to the position following the death of his predecessor. Bakayoko was 56. he succumbed to cancer on Wednesday in Germany, where he was receiving treatment, President Alassane Ouattara wrote on Twitter. Bakayoko had been evacuated from Ivory Coast to Paris on Feb. 18, before being moved for further treatment. “I pay tribute to the prime minister, Hamed Bakayoko, my son and close collaborator, taken too soon,” Ouattara said. “Bakayoko served Ivory Coast with devotion and selflessness.”
Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Sosoaca, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll. Earlier this month, Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau barred Calin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40 percent ahead of the rerun election. Georgescu, a fierce EU and NATO critic, shot to prominence in November last year when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting. However, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a “massive” social media promotion in his favor. On Saturday, an electoral commission statement
Chinese authorities increased pressure on CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd over its plan to sell its Panama ports stake by sharing a second newspaper commentary attacking the deal. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Saturday reposted a commentary originally published in Ta Kung Pao, saying the planned sale of the ports by the Hong Kong company had triggered deep concerns among Chinese people and questioned whether the deal was harming China and aiding evil. “Why were so many important ports transferred to ill-intentioned US forces so easily? What kind of political calculations are hidden in the so-called commercial behavior on the
MINERAL DEPOSITS: The Pacific nation is looking for new foreign partners after its agreement with Canada’s Metals Co was terminated ‘mutually’ at the end of last year Pacific nation Kiribati says it is exploring a deep-sea mining partnership with China, dangling access to a vast patch of Pacific Ocean harboring coveted metals and minerals. Beijing has been ramping up efforts to court Pacific nations sitting on lucrative seafloor deposits of cobalt, nickel and copper — recently inking a cooperation deal with Cook Islands. Kiribati opened discussions with Chinese Ambassador Zhou Limin (周立民) after a longstanding agreement with leading deep-sea mining outfit The Metals Co fell through. “The talk provides an exciting opportunity to explore potential collaboration for the sustainable exploration of the deep-ocean resources in Kiribati,” the government said
The head of Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, was sacked yesterday, days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he no longer trusts him, and fallout from a report on the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. “The Government unanimously approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to end ISA Director Ronen Bar’s term of office,” a statement said. He is to leave his post when his successor is appointed by April 10 at the latest, the statement said. Netanyahu on Sunday cited an “ongoing lack of trust” as the reason for moving to dismiss Bar, who joined the agency in 1993. Bar, meant to
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