Latest news with #Citybus
South China Morning Post
20-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Burst pipe closes major Hong Kong road, cuts off flushing water supply to Tseung Kwan O
A major road in Hong Kong's Tseung Kwan O has been shut after an underground saltwater pipe burst, leading to the diversion of 10 bus routes and the suspension of flushing water supply to thousands of households and businesses. The Transport Department said on Tuesday that all Kowloon-bound lanes of Wan Po Road near private residence Oscar By the Sea were closed to traffic due to the burst water main. The department advised drivers to use routes, including Wan O Road and the Cross-Bay Link, as the closure significantly affected commuters heading towards Tseung Kwan O town or Kowloon from Lohas Park, Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate, Shek Kok Road and Pak Shing Kok Road. Franchised bus firm KMB said that nine of its routes – 49, 290E, 290X, 298, 298E, 298F, 298X, 690S, and N290 – were diverted, temporarily suspending the stop at Oscar By the Sea and adding a stop at Pung Loi Road. Citybus route 790 in both directions was also diverted. Commuters were advised to check the bus companies' websites or mobile applications for the latest service arrangements. Sai Kung district councillor Christine Fong Kwok-shan called on drivers heading towards Kowloon to consider taking the Cross-Bay Link instead.
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
New electric bus fleet prepares to hit Devon and Cornwall streets
The first vehicles that are part of a new fleet of electric buses will soon be rolled out onto the streets of Plymouth and parts of Citybus is replacing some of its current diesel vehicles with 50 zero emission double-decker buses as part of a £32m hope the move will reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality, as well as making journeys smoother for company has funded most of the project at a cost of nearly £20m with the rest of the funding coming from a government grant and contributions from Plymouth City Council and Cornwall Council. Citybus employs 600 drivers who are now being retrained to operate the new electric company's driving instructor, Emma Courtier, said it involves a very different way of said: "It's going to be massively different. There are no gears so when you put your foot on the accelerator it is going to pull away very smoothly and the same for braking. "Hopefully for our passengers and for the driver it's going to be a much smoother and much more comfortable ride." Fifty buses The new buses will be served by 26 charging points that are currently being installed and will top up two vehicles at a time during the said the new vehicles have also been made more accessible than the diesel buses they are replacing, with space for two first of the buses are due to start running in June with all 50 of the fleet set to be out on the roads by the end of the year.
HKFP
08-05-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
Hong Kong man jailed for 1 year over ‘seditious' online posts targeting police, judges, gov't
A Hong Kong man has been jailed for one year after he pleaded guilty to publishing over 100 Facebook posts that the court said incited hatred against police, judges, and the government. Li Chun-kit, 36, was sentenced on Thursday under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts after he entered a guilty plea before Chief Magistrate Victor So. The bus technician was arrested and charged in January with 'knowingly publishing publications that had a seditious intention' in connection with 117 posts he shared on Facebook between March 29 last year and January 21 this year. In handing down his reasons for the sentence, So said the defendant smeared the police force and courts, stirred up hatred, and encouraged violence with his 'radical statements' that were 'not backed by any objective facts.' The chief magistrate adopted 18 months of imprisonment as the starting point for the sentence and reduced Li's jail term to 12 months due to his guilty plea. The offence under the domestic security law, more commonly known as Article 23, is punishable by up to seven years in prison. Jail terms meted out by a magistrates' court are capped at two years. Li was said to have shared news articles and photos on his Facebook account along with his commentary. His posts could be viewed publicly, but received very few responses, the court heard. The former Citybus employee attacked the police in most of his posts, saying that the force had made 'arbitrary arrests' and 'used violence' to crack down on protesters during the 2019 anti-extradition bill unrest. The defendant called the police 'black cops' and said the Independent Police Complaints Council, which cleared the police force of any misconduct during the 2019 protests, had 'condoned' what he described as 'police brutality.' Li criticised court rulings in protest-related cases, calling some judges 'stupid' and accusing them of 'framing' defendants on rioting charges. He said Hong Kong's judicial system was 'fucking broken,' adding that the city's rule of law was 'dead.' Some of the posts Li published were said to have incited hatred against the national security law, with him calling the Beijing-imposed law 'evil' and 'redundant.' He also encouraged violence by praising Leung Kin-fai, who killed himself after stabbing a policeman in July 2021, and asking others to follow Leung's act. According to facts Li agreed to in court, he admitted to the police that he was the owner of the Facebook account. He said that his hatred of the police grew after the 2019 protest and that the posts he shared served as an 'emotional vent.' So did not accept the defence argument that the seriousness of Li's posts was relatively low because of the few responses he received. Setting his posts as viewable by the public meant the coverage was wide, the chief magistrate said. Separate to the 2020 Beijing-enacted security law, the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows for pre-charge detention of up to 16 days, and suspects' access to lawyers may be restricted, with penalties involving up to life in prison. Article 23 was shelved in 2003 amid mass protests, remaining taboo for years. But, on March 23, 2024, it was enacted having been fast-tracked and unanimously approved at the city's opposition-free legislature. The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and 'regressive.' Authorities, however, cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to 'close loopholes' after the 2019 protests and unrest.
South China Morning Post
08-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Middle East's shift to sustainable energy opens doors for Hong Kong companies
Hong Kong businesses are keenly observing the burgeoning new energy opportunities in the Middle East, as Gulf nations seek to diversify their oil-dependent economies and pave the way for a sustainable future. Advertisement Cliff Zhang Kun, chairman of Templewater and Bravo Transport, which owns bus operator Citybus, said that the company was in discussions with Qatar and Kuwait to supply hydrogen buses, following a successful pilot project in Abu Dhabi. Zhang, who will be part of the official delegation accompanying Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to Qatar and Kuwait later this week, said that the company supplied three hydrogen buses to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates in November 2023 as part of a focus on energy transition. He indicated that the country might make bulk purchases after the end of the pilot project in the second half of this year. 'New energy vehicles may not have the strongest cost advantage because petroleum prices are cheap in the Middle East, but the local governments look beyond the cost and focus on the ultimate goal of driving the development of a new industry,' he said. Advertisement 'Despite a traditional reliance on oil and natural gas, Middle Eastern countries indeed possess strong potential in solar and wind energy, which are renewable resources and can also be used to generate hydrogen for export.'
Sunday World
30-04-2025
- Sunday World
Deadly explosive device found in Belfast ‘could have killed local family'
'This device is made for one reason and one reason only – death.' The explosive device – found in the garden of a property in Cluanbeg Drive on the loyalist Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey – was discovered around lunchtime when the family living there returned from a Saturday morning shopping trip. Police sources said the family have absolutely no connection to any of the paramilitary-linked organisations still operating in the staunchly loyalist district. But following the discovery of the blast bomb – which was slight larger than a can of Coke – the area around the house was sealed off immediately by police before an army bomb disposal team was sent for. Locals living in the area watched the bomb being defused from behind police security tape. And the Citybus service by Translink was forced to do a detour through another part of the sprawling estate, around five miles from Belfast city centre. But after examining Sunday World photographs snapped with a long-range lens – a retired member of the security forces told us: 'This is what an Army Technical Officer would call a blast bomb. Read more 'It is smaller than a pipe bomb, but it's just as deadly. It is made up of a 2in socket joint and capped with two beaded plugs. It has been most likely packed with explosives sourced from cartridges or fireworks. 'The igniter, commonly called the fuse, is of a type commonly found in over-the-counter fireworks. In reality, this type of blast bomb is a home-made hand grenade. Army bomb disposal teams were called to the Loyalist Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey. 'The photograph shows that the fuse has been ignited, but it was most likely extinguished on impact with the ground. 'While such devices are seen as crude, they are every bit as deadly as commercial or military ordinance. 'The detonation velocity of such a device can range from 1,100fps (feet per second) to 1,800fps. It has the power to send shrapnel from the fractured metal casing in a wide trajectory,' said the source. He added: 'This device is made for one reason and one reason only – death.' Rathcoole residents were enjoying afternoon sunshine when two army bomb disposal vehicles pulled into Cluanbeg Drive. They had been summonsed to the scene by two PSNI CID officers wearing white forensic suits. As uniformed police made sure members of the public were well out of danger, the bomb disposal team made ready their equipment, including a robot capable of examining an explosive device at close range . Using a computer screen fixed on the tailgate of one of the lorries, the technician propelled the robot towards the suspect device, which it carried on to the road. The entire operation moved at a snail's pace. And on two occasions, bomb disposal officers complained to the police that members of the public were still far too near the device. Local residents watch on as the Army disposal team and police block off part of the estate. A crowd of largely male residents wearing Rangers tops stood chatting with PSNI officers from either side of the security tape. And when they were asked to move further back, they did as the police requested. A bomb disposal officer wearing full protective clothing again walked over to the suspect device, before returning to speak to the CID officers. One female resident who spoke to us said: 'We got the shock of our lives when the police and army began arriving in the estate around lunchtime. The police told us is was a suspected bomb and we were told not to go beyond the cordon.' She added: 'We all thought this was a thing of the past.' The PSNI said it was a viable device and that it had been taken away by army technical officers for further forensic examination. Rathmore Drive was closed during the operation but has since reopened, said Chief Inspector Tate. The bomb alert came just 48 hours after a cache of pipe bombs was found near Belfast Castle in north Belfast. Controlled explosions were carried out on the bombs, which sources said belonged to a crime gang with links to the UVF.
