The clamp down on “illegally published books” also comes as the Vatican and Beijing negotiate a historic agreement on the appointment of bishops in China.

“Bibles and books without publication numbers have all been removed in recent days,” a merchant on Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao told AFP, without giving details on how authorities have enforced the ban.

However, another merchant said she can list Old Testament editions of the Bible while English editions were still available in search results on Amazon China and Dangdang.com.

Online sales of other major religious texts including the Koran and the Taoist Daodejing did not appear to be affected.

All books sold in China technically must go through an official approval process, but Bibles have been readily available in recent years.

The General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) governs the distribution of China’s equivalent of the International Standard Book Number (ISBN), which is needed for books to be legally sold in the country.

China’s State Council and GAPP authorities did not immediately respond to AFP’s requests for clarification.

Jin Mingri, pastor of the Protestant Zion Church in Beijing, which is not registered with the government, said the restrictions were tied to “overall tightening in the overall environment.”

“Maybe (authorities) think that the spread of the Bible on informal channels is not conducive to state ideology,” Jin told AFP.

“This certainly has an impact on believers’ access to the Bible,” he added.

The state-linked China Christian Council estimates the country has around 20 million Christians — excluding Catholics — in official churches supervised by the authorities.

But the true number of worshippers could be higher, at least 40 million to 60 million, according to some estimates, as some pray at “underground” or “house” churches which seek to exist outside government control.

Meanwhile China’s roughly 12 million Catholics are divided between a government-run association, whose clergy are chosen by the atheist Communist Party, and an unofficial underground church loyal to the Vatican.

The Vatican relaunched long-stalled negotiations on the appointment of bishops with Beijing three years ago.

China’s officially atheist government is wary of any organised movements outside its own control, including religious ones, and analysts say controls over such groups have tightened under President Xi Jinping.

The national security law explicitly bans “cult organisations”, which includes Falun Gong, Buddhist-inspired groups and several Christian groups.

A new regulation in Xinjiang bans religious activities in schools and stipulates that parents or guardians who “organise, lure, or force minors into religious activities” may be reported to the police.

The far-western region is the homeland of the Uighurs — a traditionally Muslim group, many of whom complain of cultural and religious repression and discrimination.

Facebook has been battered by allegations that its platform has helped fuel communal bloodshed in Myanmar, a mainly Buddhist country accused of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims.

On Thursday six Myanmar organisations published an open letter criticising an interview Zuckerberg gave with news site Vox this week. In it he cited examples of both Myanmar Buddhists and Muslims spreading “sensational” messages on Facebook Messenger that warned of imminent violence from the other community.

“That’s the kind of thing where I think it is clear that people were trying to use our tools in order to incite real harm. Now, in that case, our systems detect that that’s going on. We stop those messages from going through,” Zuckerberg was quoted as saying.

In their letter the six local tech and human rights organisations said they were “surprised” to hear Zuckerberg “praise the effectiveness” of Facebook’s systems in Myanmar.

“It took over four days from when the messages started circulating for the escalation to reach you,” said the groups, who had flagged the content to Facebook.

“Far from being stopped, they spread in an unprecedented way, reaching country-wide and causing widespread fear and at least three violent incidents in the process.”

When reached for a comment on Friday, a Facebook spokesperson conceded the company was too slow in responding to reports about the incendiary messages.

“We should have been faster and are working hard to improve our technology and tools to detect and prevent abusive, hateful or false content,” the spokesperson told AFP by email.

“We are sorry that Mark did not make clearer that it was the civil society groups in Myanmar who first reported these messages.”

Facebook has also added more Myanmar-language reviewers and is rolling out the ability to report content in the Messenger service, the spokesperson added.

In late January Facebook removed the page of popular anti-Rohingya monk Wirathu. Last year it regulated the use of the word “kalar” which is considered derogatory against Muslims.

– Facebook a ‘beast’ –

In their joint letter the local groups said Facebook’s response to hate speech and vicious rumours in Myanmar has been “inadequate” for years, adding that their offers to help craft broader solutions have gone unanswered.

They urged the social media giant to add reporting mechanisms to the Messenger app, increase transparency, engage more with local stakeholders and draw on data and engineering teams to identify repeat offenders.

Facebook dwarfs all other social media platforms in Myanmar, where it has become the chief channel for communication among both the public and government ministries.

But it has come under fire for allegedly helping broadcast ethnic hatred in a fledgling democracy still emerging from decades of repressive junta rule.

Scrutiny has intensified in the wake of a bloody military campaign against the Rohingya that erupted last August, expelling some 700,000 of the minority to Bangladesh.

In March the UN’s special rapporteur to Myanmar Yanghee Lee said Facebook had morphed into a “beast” and had incited “a lot of violence and a lot of hatred against the Rohingya or other ethnic minorities”.

The sentence followed a trial lasting more than 10 months which ended with Park being found guilty on multiple criminal charges, including bribery and abuse of power.

“The amount of bribery the accused received or demanded in collaboration with Choi amounts to more than 23 billion won ($21.7 million),” Judge Kim Se-Yoon said, referring to Park’s secret confidante and long-time friend Choi Soon-sil.

“I sentence the accused to 24 years in prison and 18 billion won in fines.”

Park, 66, had boycotted most of the trial in protest at being held in custody. She was not present in court for Friday’s judgement which, in a rare move, was broadcast live on television.

The daughter of assassinated dictator Park Chung-hee, Park took office in 2013 as a conservative icon who cast herself in the role of daughter of the nation — incorruptible and beholden to none.

Less than four years later, she was impeached, stripped of all her powers and ousted from office on the back of months-long mass protests that brought millions onto the streets of Seoul and other cities.

The trigger was a snowballing graft scandal involving Park and Choi and accusations of graft, influence-peddling and taking bribes from corporate bigwigs in exchange for policy favours.

Much of the public anger was focused on Park’s relationship with Choi and accusations that she let her childhood friend — who held no formal position or security clearance — meddle in state affairs, including high-level appointments and editing official speeches.

A Korean ‘Rasputin’?

Choi is the daughter of a shadowy religious figure who had served as a mentor to Park for decades until his death in 1994. She was tried separately and sentenced in February to 20 years in prison.

Condemned in the media for her “Rasputin-like” influence over Park, Choi was convicted of using her presidential ties to squeeze tens of millions of dollars out of major South Korean businesses, including Samsung — the world’s top smartphone maker — and retail giant Lotte.

The scandal reignited public criticism in South Korea of the cosy and often corrupt ties between top officials and the powerful, family-run conglomerates — called “chaebol” — that dominate the world’s 11th-largest economy.

Park becomes the third former South Korean leader to be convicted on criminal charges after leaving office, joining Chun Doo-whan and Roh Tae-woo, who were both found guilty of treason and corruption in the 1990s.

Park’s presidential predecessor Lee Myung-bak is currently in custody as prosecutors investigate multiple corruption charges involving him and his relatives.

Chun and Roh received presidential pardons after each spent around two years in jail — a privilege that may elude Park for many years, said Jeong Han-wool, an analyst at the Seoul Hankook Research think-tank.

‘No remorse’

“Park has denied all charges against her and expressed no remorse or atonement — legally as well as politically — for what’s probably the most shocking political scandal in our modern history,” Jeong told AFP.

“Given her attitude and public anger over her scandal that remains raw, it will be difficult to create a political environment in favour of her release anytime soon.”

Park’s left-leaning successor, Moon Jae-in, came to power largely because of the public backlash against her and her conservative party, dimming hopes for a pardon under the current administration, he added.

There is some residual sympathy for Park among her core supporters, who have always seen her as a heroically tragic figure who lost both her parents to assassins and devoted her life to the service of her country.

The fact that she never married or had children was part of her appeal, given the nepotistic tendencies of many senior officials.

“I’m married to the Republic of Korea. I have no children. South Koreans are my family,” she once declared.

But for the vast majority of Koreans, she has now been permanently disowned, and will go down in history not as the country’s first woman president but the first democratically-elected leader to be forced from office.

News of the rescue comes several days after the arrival in Malaysia of another boat carrying dozens of members of the persecuted Muslim minority from Myanmar.

The group of two men, aged 28 and 33, a 20-year-old woman, a 15-year-old girl and an eight-year old boy were spotted Monday in a small boat in waters off southern Thailand and Myanmar, 325 kilometres (176 miles) from Aceh province in Muslim-majority Indonesia.

The fishermen took them back to Aceh on Sumatra island and the group arrived early Friday.

“They were immediately brought to a local hospital for treatment as they were weak,” Abdul Musafir, head of the East Aceh search and rescue team, told AFP.

“But I’m sure they will be fit again after a couple of days in hospital.”

Musafir added that the group said they had been travelling with some two dozen other Rohingya but got separated. He did not provide further details.

East Aceh police said the rescued five were stranded at sea for about 20 days while five others had starved to death and their bodies were thrown overboard.

It has been rare for Rohingya migrants to attempt the sea routes south since Thai authorities clamped down on regional trafficking networks in 2015, sparking a crisis across Southeast Asia as large numbers were abandoned at sea.

But there have been concerns desperate migrants might start taking to the high seas again after mainly Buddhist Myanmar launched a new crackdown last year that forced about 700,000 members of the stateless Muslim minority to flee to Bangladesh.

In 2015 hundreds of Rohingya came ashore in Aceh, where they were welcomed in the staunchly conservative Islamic province.

After laying out the Barisan Nasional coalition’s recent achievements in a 25-minute speech on state television, Najib announced that parliament would be dissolved Saturday to pave the way for the hotly-anticipated poll.

“We have delivered and we will continue to deliver,” he said. “I seek your mandate for Barisan Nasional to rule for another five years.”

Following the dissolution, the election commission will announce the date for the polls in the coming days.

The coalition has been in power since independence from Britain in 1957 but its support has been dropping in recent years. A scandal surrounding sovereign wealth fund 1MDB that captured global headlines has added to its problems.

Billions of dollars were allegedly looted from the fund in an audacious campaign of fraud and money-laundering which is being investigated in several countries, and it is claimed that large sums ended up the personal bank accounts of Najib.

The leader and the fund deny any wrongdoing.

Najib’s United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the main coalition party, has clung on to power by pushing policies that favour the Muslim Malay majority. It was already struggling after losing the popular vote in the 2013 election for the first time in history.

Voters had become increasingly disillusioned over recurring graft scandals, divisive racial politics in the country which is home to substantial ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities, and the rising cost of living.

Despite the problems, the 64-year-leader is tipped to win another five-year term at the head of the coalition after weathering the 1MDB scandal, sacking critics inside government and launching a crackdown that has seen opponents arrested.

Najib has also been helped by an improving economic picture in recent times, and has been seeking to ensure victory by announcing generous handouts to low-income groups, civil servants and farmers.

His government stoked further criticism last week by pushing a controversial redrawing of the electoral map through parliament which critics say will tilt the poll in Najib’s favour. MPs also passed a law banning “fake news” that could see offenders jailed, which some fear could be used to crack down on dissent.

– Mahathir upends race –

Victory is however less certain due to the comeback of Mahathir, 92, who has turned on his former protege Najib over the 1MDB scandal.

In a stunning political volte-face, he was named the prime ministerial candidate in the opposition coalition Pact of Hope, which is filled with parties he crushed during his 22 years in power.

Mahathir has long championed the Malay cause and the opposition hopes he can win over Muslim voters disillusioned with BN, to add to their support base of urban voters and ethnic minorities, particularly the Chinese.

The ex-leader’s political rebirth has raised eyebrows, however, particularly his reconciliation with former nemesis Anwar, a key leader in the opposition.

Anwar was heir apparent to Mahathir until the premier sacked him in 1998 over political differences, and he was then jailed on charges of sodomy and abuse of power. He was jailed again in 2015 on charges his supporters say are trumped up.

While 1MDB has captured global headlines, key issues in the Malay heartland in the country of 32 million people are rising living costs and the economy.

The government lost a vital two-thirds parliamentary majority, needed to amend the constitution, in the 222-seat parliament at the 2008 election and is hoping to win it back. Some 14.9 million people are registered to vote.

Flight TR634, which left Changi Airport at 1.20pm on Thursday (April 5), was escorted back by two Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) F-15SG jets. This is protocol for such incidents, The Straits Times understands.

The flight landed without incident at 3.23pm. A Scoot spokesman said the aircraft was carrying 173 passengers and six crew members.

The police said preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect claimed he had a bomb in his carry-on baggage to a member of the flight crew. The pilot then decided to turn the plane back to Singapore.

A thorough security search was carried out on board the plane and the baggage of the suspect and his two travelling companions was examined. But no suspicious articles were found.

The Straits Times understands that the suspect is Singaporean.

He was arrested under Regulation 8(1) of the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Regulations, which states that it is an offence for a person to make false claims that a terrorist act has been, is being or will be carried out.

Those found guilty can be punished with a fine not exceeding $500,000 or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or both.

The bogus bomb threat caused delays to passengers both in Singapore and Hat Yai.

Passengers on Flight TR634 bound for Hat Yai were finally able to depart again at about 6.30pm after the aircraft was declared safe after investigations and associated procedures were concluded.

Student Daryl Koh, 18, was in Hat Yai waiting to board the return Scoot flight back to Singapore.

Passengers were initially told that the delay was due to technical issues. He said: “We didn’t expect a flight delay, and certainly not a bomb threat.”

In a Facebook post, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said that the two RSAF fighter jets took off within minutes after they were scrambled.

Dr Ng added that RSAF pilots are on standby round the clock, and that “every threat is considered real until proven otherwise”.

This is the second such threat against a Singapore carrier in recent weeks.

Last month, a Singapore Airlines flight from Taipei to Singapore was delayed after a woman called the Taipei police hotline from a payphone, claiming there was a bomb on Flight SQ879.

The plane took off 25 minutes late after the threat was confirmed as a hoax.

SOME SIMILAR SCARES AROUND THE WORLD

Feb 3, 2018

A Singapore Airlines flight from Taipei to Singapore was delayed after a woman called the Taipei police hotline from a payphone claiming there was a bomb on Flight SQ879. The plane took off 25 minutes late after the threat was confirmed as a hoax.

Sept 14, 2017

A Turkish Airlines plane made an emergency stop while taxiing on the tarmac and evacuated 111 passengers at the Cologne Bonn Airport in Germany after a bomb threat. Officers with sniffer dogs searched the plane, but no explosives were found.

May 31, 2017

A Kuala Lumpur-bound Malaysia Airlines flight was forced to return to Melbourne after a male passenger screamed he had a bomb. The Sri Lankan national was subdued with the help of passengers and later pleaded guilty to attempting to take control of an aircraft.

May 20, 2017

A Turkish man caused a bomb scare aboard an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu after he tried to access the cockpit and was seen moving his laptop around. Crew members initiated bomb-threat procedures on the laptop, and the US dispatched two F-22 warplanes to escort the airliner. The laptop turned out to be harmless. The man’s temporary visa was revoked.

Jan 15, 2017

A Eurowings flight from Oman to Germany made an emergency landing in Kuwait after a bomb threat. About 300 people were evacuated, but no explosives were found.

“Amo”, which premieres April 9, is about a high school student who starts selling crystal meth and ends up tangled in a nightmarish world populated by violent kingpins and corrupt officials.

It is the latest up-close examination of the dark side of Philippine life from Cannes-honoured Mendoza, who is a Duterte supporter and has filmed two government advertisements promoting the president’s anti-drug campaign.

“Yes, it (the drug war) is necessary for the Philippines — not only for the Philippines but also other countries afflicted with the drug problem,” the 57-year-old Filipino told AFP in a telephone interview.

“The reason why I did this is so people can see the other side of the coin,” he said — from the point of view of the “victims” as well as the “victimisers”.

Philippine police say they have killed roughly 4,000 drug suspects who fought back during arrest since Duterte launched the war nearly two years ago, promising to rid his nation of narcotics.

But rights groups allege the actual number is three times higher and accuse authorities of slaying unarmed slum-dwellers in a nation where a quarter of the population lives in poverty.

“Amo”, Filipino slang for “master”, explores the drug problem as experienced by different characters, including a student and his policeman uncle.

Mendoza said he would not like the series “to look like propaganda for the government… It is not.”

Nonetheless, the filmmaker stressed he remained an “advocate” against illegal drugs.

Netflix did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment.

– ‘Based on real events’ –

In a Filipino film industry dominated by syrupy, star-driven productions, Mendoza runs an independent production outfit that stands out for its choice of controversial topics.

He crafts stories of ordinary people in situations ranging from prostitution to corruption.

His “Kinatay” (Butchered), a gritty film that graphically depicts the rape, murder and dismemberment of a sex worker, won him the Cannes best director award in 2009.

His films have been well received in Europe and in 2014, Mendoza became the first Filipino director to receive one of France’s highest honours, the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters).

Mendoza earlier told AFP he learned about the full extent of the nation’s drug problem while doing research for the 2016 film “Ma’ Rosa”, which won the Cannes best actress award.

The director said he did not want to comment on the current state of Duterte’s drug war, or the preliminary examination announced by the International Criminal Court over the crackdown that critics say amounts to war crimes.

“I think my work, including the series I’m doing, speaks volumes about what I want to say. I’d rather have my work do the talking,” he said.

Mendoza said “Amo” was originally shot for a Philippine television station that contracted him to make a series of films.

But he convinced the network boss to “explore… platforms other than free TV” for the series, and sent two of the episodes to Netflix.

“I think one of the reasons why they were interested in the material, in the story, is the way it was shot. It looks very realistic, like a documentary-style shoot and unlike your typical TV series,” Mendoza said.

“This is something based on research, and the police had their input too. Our story was based on real events.”

Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s two-day official visit, which starts Monday, comes after a weeks-long tour of the United States, Britain and Egypt, where the self-styled moderniser courted business leaders and signed a host of multimillion dollar deals.

French President Emmanuel Macron treads a delicate line as he hosts the king-in-waiting in a visit expected to focus on cultural ties and investments, as well as the long-running war in Yemen, dubbed the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

“This is not a traditional state visit,” a source close to the crown prince’s delegation told AFP.

“It is about forging a new partnership with France, not just shopping for deals.”

More than a dozen memorandums of understanding in tourism, energy and transportation are set to be signed between French and Saudi organisations, another source close to the delegation told AFP.

A Franco-Saudi cooperation deal to develop Al Ula, a Saudi city richly endowed with archeological remnants, is also expected to be a central highlight of the visit, he added.

‘Enduring scepticism’

Prince Mohammed’s first visit to France as the heir to the Saudi throne comes after a tumultuous period at home that saw a major military shake-up and a royal purge as he consolidates power to a level unseen by previous rulers.

His global tour is meant to “garner recognition and acceptance as the de facto leader and next king of Saudi Arabia,” Bernard Haykel, a professor at Princeton University, told AFP.

“This is a signal both to domestic as well as international observers that he is in charge and can leave the country for several weeks without any challenge to his authority,” he added.

The 32-year-old prince, well-known as MBS, has used his global tour to project his dazzling reforms including the historic lifting of a ban on women driving, cinemas and mixed-gender concerts, following his public vow to return the kingdom to moderate Islam.

“There is little genuine affection for Saudi Arabia across the West,” Kristin Diwan, of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told AFP.

“MBS’s clear break with Saudi taboos on women and religious tolerance have been welcomed, but with a fair amount of enduring scepticism.”

Underlying tensions

Saudi officials project strong ties between Prince Mohammed and Macron, both young leaders undertaking the difficult task of reforming their countries, but the trip follows a period of underlying tensions.

Macron waded into a regional crisis last November when Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri tendered his resignation on live television from Riyadh, apparently under pressure from the crown prince.

Macron invited Hariri to Paris for talks and he has since rescinded his resignation.

“There were tensions when MBS reportedly attempted to challenge Macron in his role in the Hariri episode, but later MBS had to back down,” said Abdullah Alaoudh, a Saudi scholar at Yale Law School.

“It’s never easy for an authoritarian like him to accept that.”

In another embarrassment, a French arrest warrant was issued in December against the crown prince’s sister for allegedly ordering her bodyguard to beat up a worker at her Paris apartment in 2016.

Macron also faces the challenge of bolstering ties with the world’s top crude exporter while managing other regional relationships in the Middle East.

The crown prince has emphasised closer ties with US President Donald Trump just as Macron has sought to improve relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s arch-nemesis.

Trump has threatened to abandon the 2015 nuclear cooperation deal with Iran unless improvements are proposed by May 12.

The challenge for Macron is to convince the crown prince that “it is better to have the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran than no deal at all,” Denis Bauchard, of the French Institute of International Relations, told AFP.

Macron also faces seething criticism from over the export of arms to Saudi Arabia, including Caesar artillery guns, sniper rifles and armoured vehicles despite the kingdom’s role in the Yemen crisis.

Three out of four French people believe it is “unacceptable” to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, according to a poll last month by independent research group YouGov.

And this week, 10 international rights groups implored Macron to pressure Prince Mohammed over the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen.

But there are several areas of convergence, including anti-terrorism cooperation as France mourns the latest jihadist rampage in the towns of Carcassonne and Trebes last month where a 25-year-old Islamist killed four people.

The incident triggered a new debate in France over radical Salafist interpretations of Islam which originated in Saudi Arabia.

Macron’s office said the trip would also focus on investment in the digital economy as well as renewable energy, as the oil-rich kingdom invests billions of dollars in the sector in a bid to diversify.