Kenyan airport strike averted: Jomo Kenyatta International Airport employees ended a strike yesterday after the government assured them that any plan to lease the airport to an Indian company would only move forward with the union's consent, Reuters reports, citing a union official. The union had vowed to take action on Wednesday over a proposed agreement that would see India’s Adani Group leasing the airport for 30 years, leading to job cuts and increased employment for non-Kenyan workers.

They’re not alone: Kenya’s High Court temporarily blocked the Adani proposal — which would see the Indian firm build a new runway and upgrade the passenger terminal — to give time for a judicial review challenging the lease. Kenya’s government indicated that although the airport is operating above capacity and needs an upgrade, it is not for sale and no decision has been made regarding what it called a public-private partnership to make upgrades to the site, the newswire adds.

US comes for Hong Kong trade offices: The Republican-led US House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday that could lead to the closure of Hong Kong’s economic and trade offices in the country, Reuters reports. The bipartisan Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) Certification Act would allow the US president to withdraw privileges and immunities of the trade offices across Washington DC, New York, and San Francisco.

The rationale: The legislation is "a necessary next step in tangibly demonstrating our solidarity with the persecuted citizens of Hong Kong," including imprisoned media tycoon Jimmy Lai, activist Joshua Wong, and human rights lawyer Tonyee Chow, Republican Representative Chris Smith stated at a congressional hearing.

Hong Kong is refuting the claims: “The US House of Representatives' fact-twisting attack on Hong Kong is politically driven, violates international law and the basic norms governing international relations, and grossly interferes in the affairs of Hong Kong,” the Hong Kong government said in a statement.

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