Czech election pits general, billionaire
PRAGUE — Czechs started voting Friday for a new president, choosing between a retired army general and a populist billionaire in a two-day runoff election to succeed Milos Zeman in the largely ceremonial post.
Gen. Petr Pavel and former Prime Minister Andrej Babis advanced to a second round of voting because none of the eight initial candidates received an absolute majority in the first round two weeks ago.
Pavel, 61, a former chairman of NATO’s military committee, is a political newcomer. He fully endorsed the country’s military and humanitarian support for Ukraine and sees the Czech Republic’s future linked to membership in the European Union and NATO.
Babis, 68, whose centrist YES movement ended up in opposition after losing the 2021 general election, is supported by Zeman, with whom he shares euroskeptic views and the habit of using anti-migrant rhetoric.
Polls close at 7 a.m. today and the results will be known later.
Hong Kong decries U.S. deportation halt
HONG KONG — Hong Kong has protested President Joe Biden’s two-year extension of a program that protects residents of the semi-autonomous Chinese city living in the U.S. from deportation, accusing Washington of “hegemonic bullying.” Biden first authorized the program, the Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Hong Kong Citizens, in August 2021 and it was set to expire Feb. 5. It has been extended until January 2025.
“The US Government clearly stated that its latest actions are in its ‘foreign policy interest’ without any attempt to disguise its motives,” a Hong Kong spokesperson was quoted as saying in a statement posted on the government’s official website. “The US has many laws on national security, but chooses to continue to wantonly smear” the National Security Law.
Since the law’s enactment by the Chinese legislature, at least 150 opposition politicians, activists and protesters have been taken into custody, while an unknown number of others have fled overseas.
The decision to provide a temporary safe haven was in response to the law and other measures that reinforced Beijing’s absolute control and undercut rights promised when the former British colony was handed back to China in 1997.
“With this action, we are demonstrating again President Biden’s strong support for the people of Hong Kong in the face of increasing repression by the [People’s Republic of China],” the White House National Security Council said in a statement Thursday.
The Hong Kong spokesperson denied any political bias in its pursuit of those wanted under the law.
New Zealand flooding leaves 3 dead
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Authorities said Friday three people died and at least one was missing after record levels of rainfall pounded New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland.
Authorities declared a state of emergency for the Auckland region.
In Twitter posts, Auckland Airport said people were able to leave the airport late Friday for their homes or accommodation after hundreds spent the night in the terminal.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said three people had been confirmed dead. Police said one person remained unaccounted for after a landslide brought down a house in Remuera. He said about 3,500 homes remained without electricity.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said it had taken over 2,000 calls for help.
District manager Brad Mosby said crews had rescued 126 people who were trapped in houses or cars, or involved in vehicle crashes.
Spanish church attack suspect queried
MADRID — A counterterrorism intelligence unit Friday questioned a suspect accused of killing a Catholic church officer with a machete and wounding four more people, including a priest, in the southern city of Algeciras, Spain’s national police agency said.
The Spanish National Police asked for two more days to interrogate the 25-year-old Moroccan suspect in Madrid before he has to face a judge, as is permitted under terrorism legislation. The extension request was granted until Monday evening, Spain’s National Court confirmed.
The suspect, identified by authorities as Yassine Kanjaa, was transferred to the capital and handed over to the General Commissariat of Information, an intelligence unit within the Spanish police which oversees domestic terrorism cases.
Sacristan Diego Valencia’s family and local politicians attended his funeral in the multicultural southern city Friday.
A high-ranking police official with direct knowledge of the case confirmed to The Associated Press that an initial investigation showed evidence of the suspect’s “psychological instability” and “recent radicalization.” In a separate case Friday, Spanish police said in a joint operation with the FBI they had arrested a Spanish national of Moroccan origin in connection with suspected terrorism offenses in the northeastern city of Girona.
The suspect was “in an advanced process of jihadi radicalization,” a police statement said, and showed support for the Islamic State group via online profiles.
A funeral mass takes place on Friday for the church sacristan who was attacked and killed Wednesday in Algeciras, Spain. (AP/Juan Carlos Toro)