06/08/2025

WEDNESDAY | AUG 6, 2025

7

Storm shuts HK schools, courts and hospitals

Hong Guangdong Province and Macau – which issued a Red rain warning – form the backbone of President Xi Jinping’s flagship Greater Bay Area initiative, aimed at fusing Hong Kong’s financial firepower with Guangdong’s manufacturing and technological strength. Airports across the region reported cancellation rates of around 20% yesterday, according to data from Flightmaster, while speed limits on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai Macau Bridge – a flagship GBA infrastructure project – were lowered due to poor visibility. Hong Kong’s airport has maintained normal operations throughout but said some flights had been delayed and passengers were advised to head to the airport only after their flight time was confirmed. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange remains open, having changed its policy to continue trading whatever the weather late last year, but the judiciary announced that courts, tribunals and register offices would remain shut until at least two hours after the ‘black’ rainstorm alert was cancelled. “Persistent rainstorm will cause serious road flooding and traffic congestion. Members of the public are advised to take shelter in a safe place,” the Hong Kong Observatory said in a bulletin on its website. Hong Kong typically receives an annual average of 2,200mm of rainfall, more than half of which usually falls from June through August. But it is not all doom and gloom. Hong Kong Disneyland announced it remains open, and its daily “Friendtastic! Parade” is still scheduled to take place later today, according to the park’s website. – Reuters Kong, shooting” at the W15 hotel. A local police unit had opened fire on a team sent by Tennakoon to intimidate the hotel’s owner. A state prosecutor told the committee that the police chief was running a “criminal network” and was unfit to serve, even at the lowest rank in the police force. There has been no reaction from Tennakoon since the impeachment process was initiated last month. – AFP Reuters was unable to contact Gibran yesterday. In an interview with Bloomberg published in April, Gibran admitted to manipulating eFishery’s financial statements, but denied stealing any money. eFishery’s investors include Japan’s SoftBank and Singapore’s Temasek. – Reuters questionable, illegal act of

Extreme rainfall and catastrophic flooding pose mounting challenges for officials in mainland China, sweeping people to their deaths, displacing thousands, and threatening billions of dollars in economic losses. The storms follow deadly flash floods in southern China over the weekend, which left five dead in Guangdong province and prompted a large-scale search operation involving over 1,300 rescuers. As of yesterday morning, four rivers in the province had risen to such a height that were at risk of bursting their banks, CCTV reported.

per hour continued to drench the city and neighbouring Guangdong province. Videos showed torrents of water cascading down steep hillsides in the former British colony, breaking into white-water streams as they rushed down staircases linking Hong Kong’s multi-tiered cityscape. The deluge prompted the weather bureau to extend its highest “black” rainstorm warning until 3pm. The water had risen to ankle height outside Hong Kong’s largest hospital, as medical authorities announced they would be closing clinics across the city due to the downpour.

o Airport stays open

HONG KONG: Blackened skies unleashed torrential rains on Hong Kong and the high-tech cities surrounding south China’s Pearl River Delta yesterday, shutting hospitals, schools and law courts, and turning the Asian financial centre’s many staircases into waterfalls. Around 10,000 lightning flashes lit up Hong Kong’s skies between 6am (6am in Malaysia) and 6.59am, according to the city’s weather authorities, as up to 90mm of rain

Heatwave blasts northern Vietnam HANOI: Northern Motorcyclists cover up to avoid the heat in Hanoi. – AFPPIC Vietnam sweltering blistering heatwave, with 17 places across seven provinces reporting record highs for the month of August and electricity demand spiking as people try to stay cool, authorities said yesterday. Temperatures peaked on Sunday and Monday across the densely populated Red River Delta region, a hugely important industrial and agricultural area, with the capital Hanoi experiencing its first-ever August day above 40ºC. Vietnam experiences hot weather every year. The normally bustling streets of Hanoi were quieter yesterday as locals took shelter from the burning heat. Flower seller Ngo Thu Thuy said she was exhausted riding her flower bike in the heat. “I earn less as no one bothers to buy flowers in this heat. I still have to try my best to earn my living,” said Thuy, 38, covered from head to toe to protect herself from the sun. A construction worker who identified himself as Nam said “too many buildings and vehicles” has turned Hanoi into “a pan on fire” over the past two days. Records set in past heatwaves in 2021 and last year were broken at 17 weather stations around the north, though rain forecast for yesterday evening is expected to bring cooler temperatures. One weather station in Hanoi recorded a high of 40.3ºC, beating the city’s previous August record of 39.8ºC set in 2021. Outside Hanoi, stations in the provinces of Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang, Lang Son, Bac Ninh, Haiphong and Ninh Binh all reported record August highs. “The air humidity in Hanoi and the delta area on Monday was only up to 52%, causing a distinct feeling of dryness and heat,” Vietnam’s top weather forecaster Nguyen Van Huong said in a statement released by the Agriculture and Environment Ministry. Vietnam’s electricity company EVN said consumption in Hanoi hit an all time record at 1.28pm on Monday as residents sought to cool off with fans and air-conditioning. “I cannot imagine spending the night without air conditioning over the past few days,” said office worker Dang Xuan Huong. – AFP under a is

An overflowing hillside drain spilling water onto a street in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong yesterday. – AFPPIC

Sri Lanka debates impeachment of disgraced police chief COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s parliament debated a resolution yesterday to sack police chief Deshabandu Tennakoon for misconduct and criminal behaviour, the first time a police inspector-general is facing impeachment. the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Deshabandu Tennakoon, based on the findings of guilt recorded by the Committee of Inquiry ... be removed from the office of the IGP,” read a motion listed yesterday’s agenda. Officials said a vote would be taken later following a debate in the 225-member house, where the ruling party commands a chief in November 2023, despite Sri Lanka’s highest court having earlier ruled that he tortured a suspect in custody by rubbing menthol balm on his genitals.

He also stands accused of authorising a botched raid in December 2023 that triggered a gun battle between rival police units in the coastal resort town of Weligama, leading to the death of an officer. The committee that investigated the allegations against Tennakoon found that he had “spearheaded the

Tennakoon, 54, would become the first head of police in the island’s history to be dismissed, after a disciplinary hearing found him unfit to lead its 85,000-strong law enforcement force. “This parliament resolves ... that

comfortable two-thirds majority. The opposition has also supported the impeachment. Tennakoon was appointed police

Former eFishery CEO held in graft raid JAKARTA: Indonesian police have detained the co-founder and former chief executive of agritech company eFishery, Gibran Huzaifah, in connection with a case involving the embezzlement of funds, the police run website Tribratanews reported late on Monday. since July 31, the report cited Helfi Assegaf, director of special economic crime with the national police, as saying. Police have been investigating the case since last year, when a complaint was brought against Gibran and another individual identified only by his initial, C, for misconduct at eFishery. Gibran has been named a suspect and has been in detention

The parties that filed the report to police were identified as victims. eFishery’s board suspended Gibran from his position as chief executive late last year amid reports of fraud by certain members of the company’s management. Earlier this year, the startup appointed business advisory firm FTI Consulting as its new management.