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China Converts Hong Kong Hotel into New National Security Office

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China opened its new national security office in Hong Kong on Wednesday, turning a hotel near a city-centre park that has been one of the most popular venues for pro-democracy protests, into its new headquarters.

The office, in the bustling shopping and commercial district of Causeway Bay, near Victoria Park, will oversee the Hong Kong government’s enforcement of the sweeping national security legislation that China imposed on the city last week.

The law empowers the office to take enforcement action beyond existing city laws in the most serious cases.

The legislation allows agents to take suspects across the border for trials in Communist Party-controlled courts and specifies special privileges for its agents, including that Hong Kong authorities cannot inspect their vehicles.

The newly appointed Chief of the Office, Zheng Yanxiong, Hong Kong leader, Carrie Lam and Luo Huining, the head of China’s Liaison Office in the city – Beijing’s top representative office – attended the opening ceremony at the former Metropark Hotel, which was popular with tourists for its harbour views.

Luo said the office was “the gatekeeper of national security’’ and people who loved China and Hong Kong welcomed it.

“Those with ulterior motives and who are anti-China and seek to destabilise Hong Kong have not only stigmatised the office but also smeared the legal system.

“They also smeared the rule of law in the Chinese mainland in an attempt to stir up unnecessary worries and fears among Hong Kong residents,’’ Luo said.

Security was tight around the hotel, with tall barriers raised and numerous police on duty nearby.

The law has pushed China’s freest city onto a more authoritarian path and drawn condemnation from some Western governments, lawyers and rights groups.

It punishes acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.

Police have arrested at least 10 people, including a 15-year-old, under it for suspected threats to China’s national security.

Critics fear it will crush coveted freedoms in the Chinese-ruled city, while supporters say it will bring stability after a year of sometimes violent protests that plunged the former British colony into its biggest crisis in decades.

Zheng said the office would enforce the law strictly “without infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of any individual or organisation’’.

A Communist Party cadre, prominent during a 2011 clampdown on land rights protesters in a south China village, 57-year-old Zheng most recently served as secretary-general of the Communist Party committee of Guangdong province, bordering Hong Kong.

Leaked footage during the 2011 dispute showed him berating villagers and calling foreign media “rotten”.

Zheng has never held a post outside Guangdong and has extensive experience in propaganda, having worked at the Communist Party’s official People’s Daily in its southern regional bureau for four years.

He was vice-minister in charge of propaganda for Guangdong from 2013 to 2018.

But in a reflection of the widespread unease over the legislation, major U.S. internet companies including Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Twitter and Zoom have announced they have suspended the processing of requests for user data from the Hong Kong authorities while they study it.

Chinese-owned social media platform, TikTok, which only operates outside China, said on Tuesday it would exit the Hong Kong market within days.

Its departure means Hong Kong users, like those in mainland China, will be cut off.

The U.S. has begun removing Hong Kong’s special status in U.S. law as Washington no longer deems the global financial hub sufficiently autonomous from mainland China.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s top advisers weighed proposals to undermine the Hong Kong currency’s peg to the U.S. dollar, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter, although the idea did not appear to gain traction. (Reuters/NAN)

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Ally of Cameroon President, 92, Quits ‘Broken’ Government to Challenge Him

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Issa Tchiroma Bakary – a prominent minister and long-time ally of President Paul Biya – has quit Cameroon’s government, in the hope of ending 92-year-old Biya’s four-decade grip on power in upcoming elections.

Just four months before the central African nation went to the polls, Tchiroma said the Biya administration he belonged to had “broken” public trust and he was switching to a rival party.

“A country cannot exist in the service of one man,” he said on Wednesday.

While he was communications minister, Tchiroma notably came under fire for denying – then backtracking on his denial – that Cameroonian soldiers had killed women and children in a viral video.

His other roles during almost two decades in government include being a spokesman for the Biya government, and, until his resignation on Tuesday, he was employment minister.

Paul Biya – the world’s oldest head of state – has yet to confirm if he will attempt an eighth term as president. Last year, the country banned reports on the president’s health following rumours he had died.

As this election approaches, high unemployment and soaring living costs are of concern to many Cameroonians, as are corruption and security. A separatist insurgency in the English-speaking provinces as well as jihadists operating in the northernmost region have forced many thousands of Cameroonians from their homes in the past decade.

Cracks in Tchiroma’s relationship with President Biya were blown open earlier this month, when he told crowds in his home city of Garoua that Biya’s time in power had not benefited them in any way.

Tchiroma, widely reported to be 75, continued this criticism in a 24-page manifesto released a day after his resignation – promising to dismantle “the old system” so that Cameroon could move beyond “abuse, contempt, and the confiscation of power”.

One of his proposed solutions is federalism – he is offering to hold a referendum on devolving more power to Cameroon’s 10 provinces. This has long been mooted by many as a solution to the country’s so-called Anglophone crisis.

Specifically addressing English-speaking Cameroonians, who have long complained of marginalisation and discrimination in Francophone-dominated public institutions, he said “you do not need people to speak for you – you need to be listened to” and that “centralisation has failed”.

Tchiroma also used his manifesto to say Cameroon “has been ruled for decades by the same vision, the same system. This model, long presented as a safeguard of stability, has gradually stifled progress, paralysed our institutions, and broken the bond of trust between the state and its citizens”.

As the October presidential election approaches, rights groups have condemned the government’s crackdown on dissent.

Shortly after Tchiroma announced his plans to run for the presidency, the government reportedly announced a ban on all political activities by his Cameroon National Salvation Front (CNSF) party in a sub-district of the Far North region – a part of the country where he is said to be an influential power-broker.

Weeks earlier, fellow presidential hopeful Maurice Kamto had his movements curtailed during a two-day police stakeout in Douala, after promising supporters at a rally in Paris that he would protect Biya and his family if he wins in October.

Parliamentary elections that were also supposed to take place earlier this year have been delayed until 2026.

Reaction to Tchiroma’s presidential bid has been mixed – some think he is canny.

“By positioning himself as the elder statesman who ‘saw the fire coming’, Tchiroma is hedging that his break with Biya will be seen as bold – not opportunistic,” Cameroonian analyst and broadcaster Jules Domshe said.

“From economic fallout to youth unemployment, insecurity, and growing unrest in the North-West, South-West, and Far North [regions], Cameroon is ripe for change.”

Opposition voices are divided – some want Tchiroma to support Kamto, who was the runner-up in 2018 with 14% of votes. But others say he is tainted by his long association with Biya.

“He cannot embody change… He was part of the system for too long. The youth do not trust him,” says Abdoulaye Harissou, a legal notary and prominent critic once detained by the government.

Another member of the opposition – Jean Michel Nintcheu of the APC coalition – simply said: “We don’t see Tchiroma as a potential winner.”

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Crash Kills 29 Pupils Taking Exams after Blast in Central Africa

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Torough David, Abuja

Twenty-nine children who were taking their school exams in the Central African Republic have been killed in a crash after a nearby explosion caused panic, a hospital director disclosed.

The blast, on the second day of the high-school finals on Wednesday, occurred at an electricity transformer, said Abel Assaye from the Bangui community hospital.

“The noise of the explosion, combined with smoke” caused alarm among the almost 6,000 students sitting the baccalaureate at a school in the capital, Bangui, local radio station Ndeke Luka reported.

President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has declared a period of national mourning.

He also ordered that the more than 280 who were wounded in the crash get free treatment in hospital.

Students from five different schools in the capital had gone to the Lycée Barthélémy Boganda to sit the baccalaureate exam.

The education ministry said the explosion happened after power was restored at the electricity transformer, located on the ground floor of the main building that had been undergoing repairs.

“I also offer our sincere condolences to the parents of the affected candidates and wish a speedy recovery to the injured candidates,” Education Minister Aurelien-Simplice Kongbelet-Zimgas said in a statement.

He also announced the suspension of further exams.

A female survivor said.

“I don’t even remember what happened. We were in the exam room and when I heard a noise, I immediately fell into a daze,” she said. “Since then, I have had a pain in my pelvis that is causing me a lot of problems.”

Radio France Internationale spoke to another student whose face was covered in blood after he had climbed out of a window.

Magloire explained that the blast happened during the history and geography exam.

“The students wanted to save their lives, and as they fled, they saw death because there were so many people and the door was really small. Not everyone could get out,” he told RFI.

The CAR continues to face political instability and security challenges.

Government forces, backed by Russian mercenaries, are battling armed groups threatening to overthrow Touadéra’s administration.

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Zambia Raises Concern over Declining Donor Funding for Refugee Programme

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By Torough David, Abuja

The Zambian government has expressed concern over the continued decline in donor funding for the refugee programme in the country, saying the government is grappling with increasing dwindling of financial support from international donors.

Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, Jack Mwiimbu, while acknowledging the progress made in improving the welfare of refugees, said the trend is adversely affecting the scope and effectiveness of refugee support initiatives.

“This constrains critical areas such as service delivery, infrastructure development, and livelihood opportunities for both refugees and host communities,’’ Mwiimbu told an event marking the World Refugee Day, which falls each year on June 20.

The minister emphasised the urgent need for increased, predictable, and sustainable funding to scale up Zambia’s inclusive refugee response and to maintain and expand existing services.

Despite the funding challenges, Mwiimbu said, the government remains committed to protection and support for individuals forced to flee their countries due to conflict, persecution, or other crises.

This commitment has been strengthened through the adoption of the National Refugee Policy in 2023, which outlines Zambia’s vision for refugee protection, inclusion, and resilience, the minister said.

In addition, he said, the government is undertaking key legal reforms to harmonise laws affecting refugees, intending to create a more enabling and rights-based legal environment.

She said the reforms are intended to address legal gaps and enhance accountability and the rights of refugees.

Preeta Law, the country representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), commended Zambia for its inclusive policies that have benefited over 110,000 asylum-seekers, refugees, and former refugees.

She noted a positive shift in Zambia’s approach from short-term humanitarian assistance to long-term development strategies that promote inclusion, resilience, and self-reliance among refugee populations.

However, Law said, refugees in Zambia still face “invisible barriers” that limit their full potential, including restrictions on movement and access to opportunities.

“If we are serious, we must dismantle these invisible barriers so that refugees can access tertiary education, compete for jobs, move freely and fully contribute to Zambia,’’ she said.

Crash Kills 29 Pupils Taking Exams after Blast in Central Africa

Twenty-nine children who were taking their school exams in the Central African Republic have been killed in a crash after a nearby explosion caused panic, a hospital director disclosed.

The blast, on the second day of the high-school finals on Wednesday, occurred at an electricity transformer, said Abel Assaye from the Bangui community hospital.

“The noise of the explosion, combined with smoke” caused alarm among the almost 6,000 students sitting the baccalaureate at a school in the capital, Bangui, local radio station Ndeke Luka reported.

President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has declared a period of national mourning.

He also ordered that the more than 280 who were wounded in the crash get free treatment in hospital.

Students from five different schools in the capital had gone to the Lycée Barthélémy Boganda to sit the baccalaureate exam.

The education ministry said the explosion happened after power was restored at the electricity transformer, located on the ground floor of the main building that had been undergoing repairs.

“I also offer our sincere condolences to the parents of the affected candidates and wish a speedy recovery to the injured candidates,” Education Minister Aurelien-Simplice Kongbelet-Zimgas said in a statement.

He also announced the suspension of further exams.

A female survivor said.

“I don’t even remember what happened. We were in the exam room and when I heard a noise, I immediately fell into a daze,” she said. “Since then, I have had a pain in my pelvis that is causing me a lot of problems.”

Radio France Internationale spoke to another student whose face was covered in blood after he had climbed out of a window.

Magloire explained that the blast happened during the history and geography exam.

“The students wanted to save their lives, and as they fled, they saw death because there were so many people and the door was really small. Not everyone could get out,” he told RFI.

The CAR continues to face political instability and security challenges.

Government forces, backed by Russian mercenaries, are battling armed groups threatening to overthrow Touadéra’s administration.

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