Arrests over ‘wet’ president footage
China will begin to gradually reopen cross-border passenger transport via road starting yesterday, according to a plan released by the Ministry of Transport, state media reported.
■ Separately, the National Health Commission said that passenger entry and exit at sea and land ports would gradually resume, while outbound travel of Chinese nationals will be restored “in an orderly manner”.
■ For international cruise ships, pilot programs will be carried out, followed by a phased resumption of full services.
■ All COVID testing for imported food at ports will be cancelled starting yesterday.
■
■
■
■
■
■
SIX journalists in South Sudan have been detained over the circulation of footage that appears to show President Salva Kiir wetting himself at an official event.
The footage from December showed a dark stain spreading down the 71-year-old president’s left leg as he stood for the national anthem at a road commissioning event. The video did not air on television, but circulated on social media – where it went viral.
The journalists, who work with the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation, were arrested on Tuesday by agents from the National Security Service, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Patrick Oyet, president of the South Sudan Union of Journalists, told Reuters they are “suspected of having knowledge on how the video of the president urinating himself came out.”
Mr Kiir has been president since South Sudan gained independence, when it broke from Sudan in July 2011. The world’s youngest country has been embroiled in crisis for much of that time, enduring brutal conflict, political turmoil, natural disasters and hunger.
Government officials have repeatedly denied rumours circulating on social media that Kiir is unwell.
Media rights groups have called for the urgent release of the six journalists, who are camera operators Joseph Oliver and Mustafa Osman, video editor Victor Lado, contributor Jacob Benjamin, and Cherbek Ruben and Joval Toombe from the control room. Mr Oyet told Reuters he was concerned as they had been detained for longer than is legally allowed. Under South Sudanese law, authorities may only detain suspects for 24 hours before bringing them before a judge.