HONG KONG: Hong Kong will expand the size of public gatherings to four people and re-open more sports venues from Friday as the Asian financial hub relaxes strict curbs against a third wave of the coronavirus.
The measures come as new daily cases have dropped into the single digits from three figures. Last week gyms and massage parlors re-opened and night-time dining hours were extended.
Restaurants will be allowed to seat four people, up from two now, while indoor and outdoor recreation spaces will re-open, said Sophia Chan, the city’s health secretary, but swimming pools are to stay shut.
“We must strike a balance. The third wave is entering two months already and we have yet to see an end to it,” Chan told a news briefing, adding that new infections were being reported each day, some of unknown origin.
A mass testing scheme initiated by China for Hong Kong has picked up 16 new cases from more than 800,000 people tested, the government said on Tuesday.
About 1.2 million people in the city have sought tests from a population of 7 million.
Theme parks and convention centers could re-open on Sept. 18 in the former British colony, if conditions allow, authorities said, adding that Hong Kong was discussing travel bubbles with nations such as Singapore and Thailand.
Hong Kong Disneyland, majority-owned by the government with Walt Disney holding a minority stake, closed temporarily on July 15 for a second time this year due to the virus, after having reopened in June.
Hong Kong aims to re-open from Sept. 23 for face-to-face classes, as it eases curbs that have kept about 900,000 students working at home for more than four months.
Hong Kong eases some coronavirus curbs, allows gatherings of four
https://arab.news/4ehz9
Hong Kong eases some coronavirus curbs, allows gatherings of four
- Measures come as new daily cases have dropped into the single digits from three figures
- Hong Kong aims to re-open from Sept. 23 for face-to-face classes
Bangladesh’s Tarique Rahman poised to be PM as Jamaat-e-Islami concedes election
- Election Commission figures showed Bangladesh Nationalist Party won a landslide victory in Thursday’s polls
- Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman says ‘we recognize the overall outcome, and we respect the rule of law’
Dhaka: Bangladesh’s largest religious party conceded defeat in elections on Saturday, despite earlier alleging problems with the vote count, clearing the way for nationalist leader Tarique Rahman to become prime minister.
Election Commission figures showed Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) had won a landslide victory in the elections on Thursday, the first since a deadly 2024 uprising ousted the iron-fisted rule of Sheikh Hasina.
The success of BNP chief Rahman, 60, marks a remarkable turnaround for a man who only returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile in Britain, far from Dhaka’s political storms.
Rahman, the scion of one of Bangladesh’s most powerful political dynasties, is expected to make a victory speech later on Saturday.
His father, president Ziaur Rahman, was assassinated in 1981, while his mother, Khaleda Zia, served three terms as prime minister and dominated national politics for decades.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who has led the country of 170 million as interim leader since the uprising, said Rahman “would help guide the country toward stability, inclusiveness, and development.”
The BNP alliance won 212 seats compared with 77 for the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, according to the Electoral Commission.
‘VERDICT OF THE PEOPLE’
Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman, 67, had said on Friday he would “seek redress” from the commission, with his party alleging “inconsistencies and fabrications.”
But a day later, he conceded defeat.
“In any genuine democratic journey, the true test of leadership is not only how we campaign, but how we respond to the verdict of the people,” the Jamaat leader said in a statement.
“We recognize the overall outcome, and we respect the rule of law.”
Hasina’s Awami League party was barred from taking part. Hasina, 78, who was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity, issued a statement from hiding in India decrying an “illegal and unconstitutional election.”
The US embassy congratulated Rahman and the BNP for a “historic victory,” while neighboring India praised Rahman’s “decisive win,” a notable shift after deeply strained ties.
China and Pakistan, which both grew closer to Bangladesh since the 2024 uprising and the souring of ties with India, where Hasina has sheltered since her ouster, also congratulated the BNP.
International election observers said the polls had been a success, with the European Union saying Saturday they had been “credible.”
The International Republican Institute noted that while “election administration was technically sound, the broader political environment remains fragile.”
‘SUCCESSFUL’
Jamaat’s Rahman said his party “will serve as a vigilant, principled, and peaceful opposition, holding the government to account.”
Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarker told AFP that the vote had been a success.
“It was by far the best election,” he said, noting that voting was canceled at only one of the more than 42,000 polling centers.
“People had doubts about whether a successful election could be held under these circumstances, but we have done it,” he said Saturday. “If anyone still has any issues, they can go to court.”
The Election Commission said turnout was 59 percent across 299 constituencies out of 300 in which voting took place.
Only seven women were elected, although a further 50 seats in parliament reserved for women will be named from party lists.
Shafiqur Rahman stressed the significant gains his Islamist party had made compared with past elections, after years of being crushed under Hasina.
“With 77 seats, we have nearly quadrupled our parliamentary presence and become one of the strongest opposition blocs in modern Bangladeshi politics,” he said. “That is not a setback. That is a foundation.”
Voters on Thursday also endorsed proposals in a referendum for a sweeping democratic reform charter backed by Yunus, to overhaul what he called a “completely broken” system of government and to prevent a return to one-party rule.
Those include prime ministerial term limits, a new upper house of parliament, stronger presidential powers and greater judicial independence.
Crisis Group analyst Thomas Kean warned that the incoming government now faced “daunting challenges,” including “boosting the economy, ensuring security and continuing the reform process.”
