
Myanmar junta ends state of emergency in election run-up

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South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Groups seek 30% pay rise for Hong Kong domestic helpers to HK$6,500 a month
A coalition of domestic worker unions has demanded an immediate 30 per cent pay rise for Hong Kong's 370,000 helpers to HK$6,500 (US$833) a month and for their food subsidy to be doubled. Advertisement The Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions on Sunday blamed current government policy for having left many helpers in a 'hungry and malnourished' condition. Federation representatives raised the demands at a meeting with Labour Department officials. 'The value of our work and our contribution to the economy has to be reflected in our wages,' federation chairwoman Phobsuk Gasing said. 'So many women in Hong Kong are able to pursue their careers because we take responsibility for household duties and care work. Inflation affects our families too, and token adjustments to the [minimum wage] are insulting. 'It is basically like almsgiving.' Advertisement The minimum wage for foreign domestic helpers was raised to HK$4,990 a month last year, up from HK$4,870. Employers must provide their helpers with free food or they can choose to pay an allowance of not less than HK$1,236 a month instead.


South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Bangladesh protest victim, witness gives evidence in ex-PM Hasina trial
The first witness in the trial of Bangladesh's fugitive ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina gave evidence on Sunday, a man shot in the face during protests that toppled her last year. Hasina, 77, who has defied court orders to return from India to attend her trial on charges amounting to crimes against humanity, is accused of ordering a deadly crackdown in a failed bid to crush the student-led uprising. Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024, according to the United Nations. The first witness, among the 11 cases that the prosecution is expected to present to the court, was Khokon Chandra Barman, whose story reflects the violence of the protests. The 23-year-old wears a mask to conceal his face, which was ripped apart by gunshot during the culmination of the protests on August 5, 2024, the same day that Hasina fled Dhaka by helicopter. 'I want justice for the ordeal I've been going through, and for my fellow protesters who sacrificed their lives,' he told the court.


RTHK
3 hours ago
- RTHK
Pope's 'Jubilee of Youth' ends with mass for 1 million
Pope's 'Jubilee of Youth' ends with mass for 1 million Pope Leo delivers his homily to a sea of people in Tor Vergata, Rome. Photo: Reuters Pope Leo XIV presided over a final mass in Rome for over one million young people on Sunday, the culmination of a youth pilgrimage that has drawn Catholics from across the world. "Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less," Pope Leo told the young people during his homily. The week-long pilgrimage ending on Sunday, a highlight of the Jubilee holy year, was an enormous undertaking for the Vatican, with half a million young pilgrims in Rome for most of the week. On Saturday night, before a twilight vigil led by the pope, organisers had confirmed the attendance of 800,000 people in the vast, open-air space on Rome's eastern outskirts, and on Sunday the Vatican said that number had grown to one million people. Most of those attending slept on the ground overnight in tents, in sleeping bags or on mats in anticipation of Sunday's mass. In his homily, the first American pope and former missionary encouraged the gathered youth to "spread your enthusiasm and the witness of your faith to everyone you meet". The Vatican has sought to highlight pilgrims who managed to travel to Rome from war-torn regions, with Leo saying on Sunday the Church and the world's youth were with them in solidarity. "We are closer than ever to young people who suffer the most serious evils, which are caused by other human beings," he said in his Angelus, speaking in English. "We are with the young people of Gaza. We are with the young people of Ukraine, with those of every land bloodied by war," said the pontiff, 69. "My young brothers and sisters, you are the sign that a different world is possible, a world of fraternity and friendship, where conflicts are not resolved with weapons, but with dialogue." (AFP)