News of the day from across the globe, Dec. 15

Chronicle News Services

Updated
8:10 pm PST, Sunday, December 14, 2014

1Congo drownings: At least 129 people died after a boat sank on a lake in a remote corner of southeastern Congo, authorities said Sunday. Laurent Kahozi Sumba, the transport minister for Katanga province, said the true toll of the disaster is not known — 129 bodies have been recovered, and there are 232 known survivors. Many boats in Congo carry far more people and cargo than are listed. The sinking of the MV Mutambala is believed to have happened early Friday. The private boat connected towns in Katanga and South Kivu provinces. An investigation is under way.

2Cuba conference: The left-leaning Alba regional economic and diplomatic bloc is marking its 10th anniversary in Havana, where it was founded. Presidents Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, and Evo Morales of Bolivia joined President Raul Castro of Cuba for festivities Sunday. Foreign ministers from other bloc-member countries are also attending. The meeting comes amid tumbling oil prices that are pressuring cash-hungry petroleum exporters such as Venezuela. The Boliviarian Alliance, known as ALB, tries to counter U.S. influence in the region and was created in 2004 by the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

3Bond script: The producers of James Bond films have acknowledged that an early version of the screenplay for the new movie “Spectre” was among the material stolen in a major online attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. The producers said in a statement that they are concerned that third parties who received the screenplay might seek to publish it — and warned the material is subject to copyright protection around the world. The warning was issued by Eon Productions, the British affiliate of Danjaq LLC, the U.S. company that co-owns, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, the copyright to the Bond films and their merchandising. There’s been speculation that North Korea is behind the online attack.

4Democracy rallies: Hong Kong police pulled down barricades Monday and folded up tents at the third and final pro-democracy demonstration camp, putting an end to rallies that have blocked traffic in the city’s streets for 2½ months. A small group of rally leaders chanted “We will be back” and called on Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong’s chief executive, to step down. The protesters rejected Beijing’s plan to screen all candidates in elections for Hong Kong’s top leader but failed to win significant concessions from the government.

5Norway spying: Police say they have warned politicians about possible eavesdropping of cell phone calls after several listening devices were reportedly found in central Oslo, including near government buildings and Parliament. Siv Alsén from the security police said the National Security Authority has begun an investigation. Her comments Sunday came after media reports that illegal listening and tracking devices were found in fake mobile base stations, which could be used to monitor calls and data.