KAKAMMPI News

Japan’s government expressed grave concern over the arrests of Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow and media tycoon Jimmy Lai and raised questions over state of freedom of speech and the press in the territory. Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Thursday that “Japan’s grave concerns regarding the situation in Hong Kong are getting stronger.” Motegi was speaking from Singapore to reporters via video conference. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government, seeking to keep ties with Beijing on an even keel, has been somewhat circumspect in its comments on Hong Kong. Chow, who was released on bail after her arrest under the new National Security Law, have earlier thanked the Japanese people for their outpouring of support and urged them not to forget Hong Kong. Monday’s arrest of 23-year-old Chow, a fluent Japanese speaker who often tweeted in Japanese and has been dubbed the “goddess of democracy” by Japan’s media, was top news this week in the country, where the ...

As part of what some observers believe is a campaign aimed at breaking the spirit of Uyghur Muslims, Chinese authorities have erected a public toilet on the site of a demolished mosque in Xinjiang. According to a local official, the construction of the restroom on the former site of the Tokul mosque in Atush City, in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) is part of Beijing’s “Mosque Rectification” campaign. The Mosque Rectification drive, part of a series of hard-line policies under President Xi Jinping, predates the mass incarceration of as many as 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a vast network of internment camps in the XUAR that began in April 2017. The committee chief, who spoke on condition of anonymity citing fear of reprisal, told RFA that Tokul mosque was torn down in 2018 and that a lavatory had been built in its place by “Han [Chinese] comrades.” “It’s a public toilet … they haven’t opened it yet, but it’s built,” he said. “People...

More than three dozen independent rights experts issued a call for justice and accountability on behalf of the Lebanese people, for the catastrophic blast in Beirut, which led to the deaths of more than 200, thousands wounded, and at least 300,000 rendered homeless. Dozens remain missing. According to the UN experts, Lebanon is suffering a devastating political, economic and financial crisis against the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic, and there has been a sharp deterioration of human rights protection and much suffering across the city. “The scale and impact of the lethal explosion are unprecedented,” the UN human rights experts said in a joint statement issued on Thursday. “We are deeply concerned about the level of irresponsibility and impunity surrounding human and environmental devastation on this scale.” The experts called for “urgent assistance, support and reparation to victim without discrimination”, as Beirut Port and the country’s main grain storage silos almost completely...

Two cities in China claim to have found traces of the coronavirus in imported frozen chicken wings from Brazil (Photo: Brazil-buy-foods.com) The World Health Organization said there is no evidence of coronavirus being spread by food or packaging and urged people not to be afraid of the virus entering the food chain. Authorities in two cities in China claimed they have found traces of the coronavirus in imported frozen chicken wings from Brazil and on outer packaging of frozen Ecuadorian shrimp, raising fears that contaminated food shipments might cause a new outbreak. But the World Health Organization’s head of emergencies programme Mike Ryan told a briefing that “people should not fear food, food packaging or delivery of food”. “There is no evidence that food or the food chain is participating in transmission of this virus. And people should feel comfortable and safe.” WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said China had tested hundreds of thousands of packages and “found very, ...

While Thailand experiences near-daily anti-government demonstrations by student-led groups, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said majority of the kingdom finds the pro-democracy protests “unacceptable”. The youth-led movement grows bolder in targeting Thai power as they demand an overhaul of Prayut’s administration and a rewrite of a 2017 military-scripted constitution. Prayut on Thursday told reporters that much of the country does not believe in their pro-democracy cause. “The government hopes that they don’t take a chance to create chaos,” he said after a Cabinet meeting. “It’s a very risky issue and it is unacceptable to the majority of Thais.” A massive protest on Monday saw organisers read out demands for the unassailable monarchy, and activists called for frank discussion about its role in Thailand. Thailand’s super-rich royal family, which commands a fortune of up to US$60 billion, sits at the apex of Thai power, supported by a powerful military and the elite billionaire...

Agence France-Presse Posted at Aug 11 2020 10:22 AM | Updated as of Aug 11 2020 12:05 PM ATHENS, Greece - Greece on Monday announced a night curfew for restaurants and bars in some of its top tourist destinations after coronavirus infections hit a new high. A government spokeswoman also announced new entry restrictions for Balkan arrivals and passengers flying in from several EU countries. Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias earlier Monday said the infection curve was "rising dangerously." Areas in which eateries and bars will be closed from midnight to 07:00 am include the popular islands of Mykonos, Santorini, Corfu, Crete, Rhodes, Zakynthos and Kos, spokeswoman Aristotelia Peloni said in a televised address. Some of these destinations are known for late-night clubbing. The cities of Thessaloniki, Larissa, Volos and Katerini were also affected, as was the Halkidiki peninsula which is popular with Balkan visitors. The restrictions will be in place from Tuesday to Augus...

Agence France-Presse Posted at Aug 11 2020 01:27 AM | Updated as of Aug 11 2020 01:42 AM (UPDATED) Lebanon's prime minister Hassan Diab announced his government's resignation Monday amid popular outrage over the deadly Beirut port explosion that has reignited angry street protests. The collapse of his government had looked inevitable after a string of resignations and a cabinet meeting during which several cabinet members made it clear they would also quit. Diab's announcement came even as security forces in central Beirut clashed again with protesters demanding an end to an entrenched political system widely seen as inept, corrupt and dominated by sectarian interests and family dynasties. "I announce the resignation of the government," he said at the end of a speech in which he strove to cast himself as an external victim of a corrupt and selfish political leadership. According to the health ministry, at least 160 people were killed in Lebanon's worst ...