HONG KONG
Government halts jab order
The government yesterday confirmed that it has asked AstraZeneca to suspend delivery of its COVID-19 vaccine amid fears of severe side effects and concerns over its efficacy against new variants of the virus. Europe’s medicines regulator this week said the vaccine could cause rare blood clots in some recipients, prompting a cascade of countries to pull the plug on giving it to people under a certain age. Hong Kong Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan (陳肇始) said the territory has asked AstraZeneca not to deliver as planned later this year, saying it was not necessary and that Hong Kong wanted “to avoid any waste.”
CHINA
Mine explosion kills 9
Nine workers have been killed during an operation to destroy expired mining explosives, officials said yesterday. The blast in Hebei Province that borders Beijing left another three workers injured on Wednesday, the Chicheng County government said in a notice online. The workers had been part of a crew tasked with destroying the explosives, which can become unstable over time and unsafe to use. They had been stored by a Beijing-based coal mining company, according to media reports. The accident occurred amid a push to improve safety in the industry, one of the world’s deadliest due in part to the mishandling of materials.
SOUTH AFRICA
Gangster baboon killed
A notorious baboon that went on a vicious crime spree was on Thursday euthanized after forming a gang, Cape Town officials said. The alpha-male monkey found himself high on the unwanted list last year after he moved into the scenic suburb of Smitswinkel Bay following a stint along a tourist-magnet road. He reportedly terrorized residents with more than 40 raids for food, sometimes entering homes while people were inside. In the past few weeks, a splinter group of females and juveniles had started following the baboon, placing themselves in danger, and the boss had to be “humanely” euthanized, the city said. The conservation group CapeNature “supported the removal of this baboon [and] issued the permit,” it said in a statement.
BRAZIL
Bolsonaro faces probe
The Senate is to open an inquiry into the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, as President Jair Bolsonaro continues to resist lockdown measures even with deaths at new records. A judge from the Supreme Federal Court on Thursday ordered the Senate to create a commission for the inquiry, after requests from 32 of 81 senators. Bolsonaro has defied expert advice even as cases and deaths soar, criticizing face masks and vaccines, while opposition to lockdown measures.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday vowed that those behind bogus flood control projects would be arrested before Christmas, days after deadly back-to-back typhoons left swathes of the country underwater. Scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers — including Marcos’ cousin congressman — have been accused of pocketing funds for substandard or so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects. The Philippine Department of Finance has estimated the nation’s economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos (US$2 billion) since 2023 due to corruption in flood control projects. Criminal cases against most of the people implicated are nearly complete, Marcos told reporters. “We don’t file cases for
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
‘ATTACK ON CIVILIZATION’: The culture ministry released drawings of six missing statues representing the Roman goddess of Venus, the tallest of which was 40cm Investigators believe that the theft of several ancient statues dating back to the Roman era from Syria’s national museum was likely the work of an individual, not an organized gang, officials said on Wednesday. The National Museum of Damascus was closed after the heist was discovered early on Monday. The museum had reopened in January as the country recovers from a 14-year civil war and the fall of the 54-year al-Assad dynasty last year. On Wednesday, a security vehicle was parked outside the main gate of the museum in central Damascus while security guards stood nearby. People were not allowed in because
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
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