Protest chants heard in Kwai Fong mall
Protesters sang and chanted at about 1:00 pm today in a luchtime gathering at Metroplaza shopping mall in Kwai Fong as Hong Kong's lawmakers resumed the debate on the controversial National Anthem Bill. The bill is being put through its third reading today and from early morning riot police guarded and blocked off access routes to the Legislative Council from the Admiralty MTR station.
Source:The Standard
June 03, 2020 06:00 UTC
ABS-CBN's Lopez asserts Philippine citizenship at House hearing
MANILA, Philippines — ABS-CBN chairman emeritus Gabby Lopez, by virtue of his recognition from the justice department and its immigration bureau, holds dual citizenship that does not negate his Filipino citizenship from birth, Lopez and his lawyer argued Wednesday. The chairman emeritus' citizenship was among the numerous allegations recycled by Rep. Rodante Marcoleta (Sagip Party-list) at an earlier House hearing, who cast doubt over whether or not his American citizenship allowed him to own mass media entities in the Philippines. Attending the hearing via Zoom, Lopez, who has dual citizen status, also pointed to his company's track record of service to Filipinos. "Without any overt act or choice, Mr. Lopez was automatically a Filipino citizen and an American citizen," he said. All citizens born in the United States are automatically given American citizenship, which led to the chairman emeritus to apply for recognition of his Philippine citizenship in 2001.
Source:Philippine Star
June 03, 2020 04:52 UTC
Maguindanao massacre witness ambushed, sustains injuries
MANILA, Philippines — One of the government witnesses in the Maguindanao massacre case was ambushed Wednesday morning, Atty. Mohamad Sangki, along with a driver and one security personnel from the Witness Protection Program, was ambushed while traveling along Tantangan, South Cotabato on their way to the airport from Tacurong City. ADVERTISEMENTSantos, counsel for Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu, said Sangki sustained injuries due to the vehicle’s impact into two cottages while the driver is in critical condition. Santos said Sangki’s security escort had managed to fire back and hit one of the assassins. Last March, he also survived an ambush while he was in Sharif Aguak in Maguindanao.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
June 03, 2020 04:22 UTC
Call to restrict movement of Sha Tin estate residents to halt virus spread
Health authorities have collected more than 1,000 saliva samples from residents of Luk Chuen House on Lek Yuen Estate. As the tests are voluntary, officials can only appeal to residents to submit samples as soon as possible. The residents continue to go to school and work. “When similar incidents happen in Macau or the mainland, officials will not just fold their arms and wait for people to submit samples. Mandatory tests will be arranged if residents don’t provide samples for tests.”Ho said residents should be put under medical surveillance, banned from dining out and visiting places like gyms and karaokes, and required to wear masks.
Source:The Standard
June 03, 2020 04:18 UTC
Large police presence in Admiralty
There are large police presence in Admiralty today as the Legislative Council will continue considering the controversial National Anthem Bill. The footbridge connecting the Admiralty and Central Government Complex has been closed, and police are guarding the Citic Tower footbridge while water-filled barriers have been set up. People entering the Legislative Council Complex and Citic Tower needs to show relevant identification. Water-filled barriers and metal barriers have been set up at the roundabout outside the Legco Complex and vehicles are not allowed to go in the direction of Wan Chai. There are parked police vehicles outside the Admiralty MTR station and riot police officers are on patrol in the area of the Legco Complex.
Source:The Standard
June 03, 2020 04:16 UTC
Pay freeze not going down well with disciplined services
Bonnie Lo, who chairs the Disciplined Services Consultative Council, says staff morale has been hit hard by the government's decision. A group representing staff in the disciplined forces said today that members are extremely disappointed by the government's move to freeze the pay of civil servants this year, RTHK reports. While the Pay Trend Survey Committee had suggested across the board pay rises for civil servants this year of between 1.15 and 1.98 percent, some unions were hoping for increases of 4 percent. Chief Executive Carrie Lam urged civil servants to help Hong Kong "ride out this difficult time." Li said her association may drop out of the government's Pay Trend Survey Committee, arguing that survey figures aren't objective enough and they cannot reflect the actual situation when there's a "special economic environment."
Source:The Standard
June 03, 2020 03:56 UTC
Toxin-laced Australian fruit juice drink recalled from supermarket chain
A 350-milliliter bottled fruit juice drink imported from Australia by Parknshop (HK) is contaminated with a mycotoxin, patulin, at a level exceeding the action level adopted by the Centre for Food Safety and it has been removed from store shelves. The brand is Presha Fruit and the country of origin is Australia. If contaminated apples are used to make juices, high levels of patulin are likely to be carried through to the final product, the Centre for Food Safety, says. High doses of patulin can induce liver, spleen and kidney damage, as well as toxicity to the immune system. The CFS said it detected patulin at a level of 120 parts per billion in an additional sample of a different kind of bottled fruit juice drink of the same brand taken from the market during follow-up investigations.
Source:The Standard
June 03, 2020 03:45 UTC
Beach remains shut, but woman drowns
A woman is suspcted to have drowned in the seas off Golden Beach in Tuen Mun in the early hours today. The police said they were alerted at 6:43 am, that a woman in her 50s was drowning. The police have found some personal belongings on the beach. Yesterday, the beach was declared off limits following sightings of a large fish. The beach will remain closed.
Source:The Standard
June 03, 2020 03:33 UTC
Strong recovery in May for China's services, private index shows
“Supply and demand both recovered quickly in the services sector,” said Wang Zhe, a senior economist at Caixin Insight Group. The measure for new business in the services sector reached its highest point in almost 10 years, returning to positive territory. “Employment in the services sector remained worrisome,” said Wang. The sharp rise in the Caixin services PMI for May followed a rise in the Caixin manufacturing PMI, whose reading that month climbed to 50.7 from 49.4 in April. Caixin’s composite manufacturing and services PMI, also released on Wednesday, picked up to 54.5 in May from 47.6 in April.
Source:The Standard
June 03, 2020 03:22 UTC
US$11b debt moratorium not enough, says UN body
The president of the U.N. Economic and Social Council is calling for urgent action to help the growing number of countries already facing or at risk of "debt distress'' because of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Norway's U.N. Ambassador Mona Juul, head of the 54-nation U.N. body, told a meeting Tuesday on financing for the coronavirus crisis and recovery that the decision by the world's 20 major economic powers to freeze debt service payments for the world's poorest countries through the end of the year isn't enough. She said the Group of 20's suspension will free about US$11 billion until the end of the year, but it's estimated that eligible countries have an additional US$20 billion in multilateral and commercial debt combined coming due this year. Juul said that means even if the moratorium is extended to 2021, "many countries will have to make difficult choices between servicing their debt, fighting the pandemic, and investing in recovery.
Source:The Standard
June 03, 2020 03:11 UTC
UK to allow a year's visa for British National (Overseas) passport holders
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the UK will 'honor our obligations and provide an alternative.' Many people in Hong Kong fear it could end their unique freedoms, which the rest of China does not have. Around 350,000 people in Hong Kong currently already have a BNO passport, but 2.6 million others are also eligible. The prime minister added that the immigration changes "would amount to one of the biggest changes in our visa system in British history". "Many people in Hong Kong fear their way of life, which China pledged to uphold, is under threat.
Source:The Standard
June 03, 2020 03:00 UTC
Crews continue disinfecting Lek Yuen Estate
Your Name:Sha Tin public housing estate residents line up to hand over biological samples. Previous NextMore cleaning crews arrived at Sha Tin's Lek Yuen Estate, a public housing estate this morning, to continue dsinfection of public areas. Also, health officials continued to collect residents' deep throat saliva samples for coronavirus testing. Work crews were seen disinfecting door handles, mail boxes, railings at the entrance of the building, and elevator doors. Some residents queued up to return their biological sample containers to health workers.
Source:The Standard
June 03, 2020 03:00 UTC
Business deeply concerned over national security law
An overwhelming majority of U.S. firms in Hong Kong responding to a survey by the American Chamber of Commerce, said they are concerned about Beijing's move to impose national security legislation on the global financial hub. The Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is in Beijing today to share views with Beijing on the national security law. Lan said yesterday theUnited States is viewing the national security law, "through tinted glasses." The business survey, to which 180 or 15 percent of AmCham members responded on June 1-2, showed 30 percent of respondents were "moderately" concerned and 53.3 percent were "very concerned" about the legislation, which aims to prevent and punish secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in Hong Kong. Some 30 percent of the respondents were considering moving capital, assets or business operations from Hong Kong.-Reuters/The Standard
Source:The Standard
June 03, 2020 02:26 UTC
Sha Tin Lek Yuen estate virus spread alarm eased
The Secretary for Health, Sophia Chan Siu-chee urged residents of a Sha Tin estate not to move out of their homes, despite a cluster of coronavirus patients among their neighbors, RTHK reports. Some residents of Lek Yuen Estate have been seen packing their bags and leaving the area after six people there were diagnosed with the virus in recent days. On an RTHK radio program, Chan was asked what she made of calls for residents of the estate to be put under medical surveillance over fears the cluster will spread further. Chan also said that she had not been notified by education officials of any need to close schools in the area. The cluster of cases at Lek Yuen emerged at the weekend, after a 34-year-old woman and her husband came down with Covid-19.
Source:The Standard
June 03, 2020 02:15 UTC
Demos continue beyond curfew in New York
Police look for people who did not get off the street after the start of curfew Tuesday, June 2, 2020, in New York, during a protest over the death of George Floyd. Mayor Bill de Blasio had doubled down on a citywide curfew, moving it up from 11:00 p.m. a night earlier, but rejected urging from President Donald Trump and an offer from governor Andrew Cuomo to bring in the National Guard. People marched in groups of thousands in parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, as merchants boarded up their businesses. As the the curfew time arrived, many were still in the streets and continued marching, with officers initially standing by and allowing them. Demonstrators who had been on the West Side Highway in lower Manhattan were herded off, with parts of the roadway blocked off behind them.
Source:The Standard
June 03, 2020 02:03 UTC