HONG KONG – Record numbers of Hong Kong people voted yesterday in district elections viewed as a barometer of support for city leader Carrie Lam, a turnout apparently triggered by six months of often violent pro-democracy protests.
Brutal attacks on election candidates in recent weeks have thrust the lowest tier of government in the Chinese-ruled city into the world spotlight as Lam struggles to quash angry demands for universal suffrage. Government data showed more than 2,1 million people had voted by 16h00, or a turnout rate of 52%, with six hours left until polling stations closed, way above the 1,47 million who voted in the last district elections four years ago. Police presence was thin. First results should start trickling in before midnight. Ming Lee (26) said she hoped the higher turnout would benefit the pro-democracy camp that is battling some seats.
Pope urges abolition of
nuclear weapons at ground zero
NAGASAKI – Pope Francis, speaking in one of only two cities hit by atomic bombs in history, yesterday appealed for the abolition of nuclear weapons, saying their mere possession was perverse and indefensible. He restated his support for a 2017 treaty to ban nuclear weapons agreed by nearly two-thirds of UN members, but opposed by big nuclear powers who say it could undermine nuclear deterrence, which they credit with averting conventional war. “The possession of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction is not the answer (to longings for peace),” Francis said, after having closed his eyes in prayer and lighting a candle in memory of the victims. “Our world is marked by a perverse dichotomy that tries to defend and ensure stability and peace through a false sense of security sustained by a mentality of fear and mistrust,” he said in a sombre voice.
23 dead as Chile unrest enters fifth week
SANTIAGO — The death toll from violent unrest in Chile rose to 23 on Friday as the country entered its fifth week of social unrest. Looting and demonstrations took place in cities across the South American nation, and an agreement on a political roadmap that will see Chile draft a new constitution has halted neither the anger, nor the bloodshed. Furious Chileans have since 18 October been protesting social and economic inequality, and against an entrenched political elite that comes from a small number of the wealthiest families in the country, among other issues. The crisis is the worst in three decades of Chilean democracy and has led to around 2 000 injuries, including some 280 people who suffered eye damage from shotgun pellets. The latest death was a 13-year-old boy who an interior ministry official said was run over by a van during protests in Arica.
Iran warns regional states
against stoking unrest
DUBAI – Iranian vice president Eshaq Jahangiri on Saturday warned regional countries of consequences if it is proven that they meddled to stoke recent unrest in Iran. “Some countries in the region should know that they will not have an easy life if clues are found that show they intervened to create unrest in Iran,” said Jahangiri, quoted by the semi-official news agency Fars. Iran has blamed “thugs” linked to exiles and foreign foes – the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia – for stirring up unrest following hikes in gasoline prices which led to some of the worst violence in a decade. Iran’s regional rival Saudi Arabia and its arch-foe Israel have backed US moves to reimpose sanctions that have crippled Tehran’s economy, after Washington withdrew from the Islamic Republic’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. – Nampa-AFP-Reuters
