LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected on Friday (May 24) to announce the date of her departure, triggering a contest that will bring a new leader to power who is likely to push for a more decisive Brexit divorce deal.

After a crisis-riven premiership of almost three years, May is due to meet the chairman of the powerful Conservative 1922 Committee, which can make or break prime ministers, to set out a timetable for her departure.

The treasurer of the 1922 Committee, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, said May would stay on as a caretaker prime minister while a successor is chosen.

"It would be much tidier if she stays on as caretaker while we go through our processes of electing a leader of the Conservative Party who will then eventually take over as prime minister," Clifton-Brown told the BBC.

May, once a reluctant supporter of EU membership who won the top job in the turmoil that followed the 2016 Brexit vote, steps down with her central pledges - to lead the United Kingdom out of the bloc and heal its divisions - unfulfilled.

She endured repeated crises and humiliation in her effort to find a compromise Brexit deal that parliament could ratify but she bequeaths a deeply divided country and a political elite that is deadlocked over how, whether or if to leave the EU.

May will remain in office during a Conservative Party leadership election lasting about six weeks. The contest is likely to start on Jun 10 after US President Donald Trump's state visit to Britain.

The leading contenders to succeed May all want a tougher divorce deal so May's departure raises the chances of a confrontation with the EU - which has said it will not renegotiate the Withdrawal Treaty it sealed in November.

Boris Johnson, the face of the official Brexit campaign, is the favorite to succeed May. Betting markets put a 40 per cent implied probability on Johnson winning the top job.

Others tipped by betting markets are Dominic Raab, a Brexit supporter and former Brexit Secretary. Betting markets put a 14 per cent implied probability on his chances.

Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt each have a 7 per cent probability, according to betting markets. Sajid Javid has a 3 per cent chance, betting markets indicate.

SINGAPORE: A management executive at Bishan Community Club (CC) who pocketed S$6,200 from the club's funds over about a year was fined S$8,000 on Friday (May 24).

Chia Soo Kean, 34, pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal breach of trust by misappropriation of S$6,201 belonging to the club for her own use.

As part of her job, Chia handled bookings for courses and the use of the badminton court in Bishan CC, collecting payments from the public for these.

She was entrusted with safekeeping the cash, which she kept in locked drawers at her desk, and was required to submit the money and receipts to an accounts manager only when asked to do so.

Chia pocketed the money between July 2017 and April 2018 in sums ranging from S$80 to S$1,350. 

The money had been paid by the public for bookings and fees for courses and events like a factory tour, line dancing, cooking demonstrations and badminton court booking fees.

The misappropriation was discovered when a trainer told the deputy director of Bishan CC that she had not received her course fees for April 2018.

The deputy director conducted an internal investigation and realised that Chia had taken the money. When he confronted her, she admitted to taking it and he lodged a police report on May 30 last year.

She has since made full restitution.

CHIA WAS SOLE BREADWINNER: DEFENCE

Chia's defence lawyer, John Koh from Populus Law Corporation, told the court that Chia was the sole breadwinner of the family, paying for her mother's medical bills and household expenses.

Her mother was diagnosed with cardiovascular disease in 2012, with her condition worsening over the years. 

She needed to be hospitalised frequently and Chia was unable to clear her debts with the hospital as the bills accumulated, said the lawyer.

Chia began borrowing from moneylenders to foot her mother's medical bills, but her debts spiralled out of control until she misappropriated the cash from the CC, said the defence.

He added that Chia did what she did "out of love for her mother" and did not spend the money on herself.

"We have been instructed by Chia that despite her transgression, her ex-employers from Bishan Community Club had informed her that they are willing to give her a chance and re-employ her after the matter is concluded," said the lawyer. 

"This clearly shows that Chia is a reliable and diligent worker who acted in a moment of folly."

District Judge Tan Jen Tse allowed her to pay the fine in instalments of S$2,000, with the amount to be fully paid by October.

SINGAPORE: A 23-year-old woman who slashed her mother-in-law and punched her in the face was sentenced to jail for eight months on Friday (May 24).

The altercation occurred after the woman's husband asked his mother to confront his wife over a suspected affair.

Nurul Natasha Sazali, 23, pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon, with another two charges of criminal intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt taken into consideration.

Natasha lived with her 25-year-old husband and his mother, 68, in a flat in western Singapore, the court heard.

At about 10.30pm on Dec 15 last year, Natasha's husband asked his mother to speak to Natasha as he suspected she was having an affair with another man.

While Natasha was giving her mother-in-law a massage in her room, the older woman confronted her about the matter.

She asked Natasha if her son was not good enough for her, and if "one husband was not enough for her", said Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Chong.

Enraged by her mother-in-law's words, Natasha followed her and punched her a few times in the face, causing the older woman's lip to bleed.

Natasha then went into the kitchen and fetched a 30cm-long chopper. Wielding the weapon, she confronted her mother-in-law in the living room and shouted: "You better die la."

Natasha then slashed her mother-in-law twice in the back with the chopper. The older woman managed to grab the weapon and tossed it aside, before running out of the house with her daughter-in-law on her heels.

Later that night, Natasha's husband called the police, saying: "My wife slashed my mother and throw away the knife."

MOTHER-IN-LAW HOSPITALISED

The victim was hospitalised at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital for three days for injuries to her head, lacerations to her lip, fingers, forearm, back and shoulder.

A medical report stated that while she did not suffer any permanent injuries, she may form scars or keloids and scar tissues may limit hand functions.

After Natasha was arrested, she was referred by the police to the Institute of Mental Health, which stated in a psychiatric report that she had no mental illness and was not suffering from a major depressive disorder at the time of the offence.

However, it explained that Natasha had borderline personality traits which include a fear of abandonment, rapid reactive changes to her mood and a tendency to get angry easily.

District Judge Ong Chin Rhu said the injuries caused by Natasha were "extensive", but noted that it "seems that the victim feels safe enough to resume family life in the same household".

The judge ordered the chopper to be handed to the police for disposal.

For voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon, Natasha could have been jailed for up to seven years or fined.

WASHINGTON: John Walker Lindh, dubbed the "American Taliban" after he was captured fighting for the Islamist insurgents in November 2001, will be freed from prison Thursday amid concerns he has not forsaken the radical ideology that took him to Afghanistan.

Known as "Detainee 001" in the US War on Terror, Lindh's release after 17 years in prison is resurrecting memories of the Sep 11 attacks and underscores the fact that, almost two decades later, the US continues to battle the Taliban with no end in sight.

Images of Lindh - bearded, dirty and disheveled and strapped to stretcher after his capture - came to symbolise the country's enemy.

While Lindh's family and supporters say he never took up arms against his own country, others say he remains a committed jihadist and a danger to society.

In a letter this week to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, two senators asked how his alleged threat would be contained, citing unproven allegations that he "openly" supports extremist violence.

"We must consider the security and safety implications for our citizens and communities who will receive individuals like John Walker Lindh," they said.

And on the eve of his expected release, a Los Angeles television station, KNBC, said it had received letters from Lindh during his incarceration in which he allegedly praised the Islamic State group and called himself a political prisoner.

It was unclear however why the letters, dating back to 2014 and 2015, came to light just now.

But they could complicate any effort to settle back into American society.

EARLY RELEASE

Lindh, 38, is being released from the high-security prison in Terre Haute, Indiana three years early for good behavior in a 20 year sentence.

The quiet son of a middle-class couple who lived north of San Francisco, he converted to Islam at 16 years old and travelled in 1998 to Yemen to study Arabic.

After returning home for several months, Lindh went back to Yemen in 2000, and then on to Pakistan to study further in a madrassa, or religious academy.

In mid-2001, ostensibly drawn by stories of the mistreatment of Afghans, he enlisted in the Taliban's fight against the Northern Alliance.

After the United States intervened in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Lindh was one of hundreds of Taliban fighters captured by Northern Alliance forces on Nov 25.

He revealed his American identity to two CIA officers.

One of them, Johnny Micheal Spann, was killed in a prisoner revolt hours after he interrogated Lindh, making him the first American killed in post-9/11 conflict in Afghanistan.

While Lindh had no role in Spann's death, his case became politically and emotionally entwined with it.

Once back in the United States, he was branded a traitor and accused of murdering Spann.

Lindh was charged with multiple counts of terrorism and conspiracy to kill Americans, with politicians and generals demanding he be given the death penalty.

But in July 2002, Lindh pleaded guilty to much-reduced charges of illegally aiding the Taliban and carrying weapons and explosives in the commission of that crime.

His 20-year sentence was declared a "victory for the American people in the battle against terrorism", but raised early questions over how US officials were physically and legally treating War on Terror detainees.

REMAINS A DEVOUT MUSLIM

By most accounts, Lindh has clung firmly to Islam throughout his imprisonment.

He spent years with a few dozen other Muslim prisoners in the Communications Management Unit of the Terre Haute prison, where their contacts with outsiders, media and information were tightly controlled.

An internal 2017 report from the US National Counterterrorism Center, obtained by the Foreign Policy website, said that Lindh "continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts".

The claim was not supported by any public evidence. But Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, a researcher at the George Washington University Center for Extremism, says that while in prison Lindh became close Ahmad Musa Jibril, an Arab-American who since his 2012 release has preached an extremely conservative version of Islam popular among jihadists.

DESTINATION UNKNOWN

Lindh's family and attorney remained silent ahead of his release, giving no hint of where he will go and what he will do.

But he will face extremely tough conditions in his three-year probation.

Lindh, who gained Irish citizenship while in prison, cannot obtain a passport or travel abroad.

He can only possess or use an internet-capable computer or phone with official permission, and the device has to be monitored continuously by authorities.

The reports about his still embracing jihadism will increase the pressure on authorities to maintain a full-time eye on him.

"Lindh served his time," said Karen Greenberg, head of the Fordham Law School Center on National Security, who has studied Lindh's case.

"It would be important for him to go on record declaring his intentions to live a peaceful/constructive life and to renounce terrorism/violence," she wrote on Twitter.

SINGAPORE: Two Singapore contractors were given "big fines" for not having adequate measures in place to deal with silty water discharge from their construction sites, PUB said in a media release on Thursday (May 23).

Chye Joo Construction and The Builders (Hup Huat) were fined S$30,300 and S$14,400 respectively for flouting earth control measures (ECM) regulations, said the national water agency. 

The companies were fined for not complying with the conditions of their PUB-issued clearance certificates before starting construction works.

The contractors' offences were uncovered between October and December last year during PUB’s regular inspections of construction sites as well as investigations stemming from public feedback, said the agency.

Among its offences, Chye Joo Construction was found to have discharged silty water which had levels of suspended particles far higher than allowable limits.

Silty water containing total suspended solids in a concentration of almost 400 times more than allowable limits was discharged into the public drainage system at its Jalan Gali Batu work site.

The company failed to maintain proper measures, said PUB, causing the water to overflow onto a footpath and subsequently into the roadside drain.

Silty water treatment plants and holding ponds at the company's Jalan Gali Batu and Jurong Road work sites were also found to be too small, causing it to enter roadside drains and waterways.

Chye Joo also failed to install a perimeter drain to channel surface run-off to a holding pond, not putting up a complete silt fence along its earth drain, and not covering large bare areas with erosion control blankets, said PUB.

At another work site at North Buona Vista Drive, the contractor had allowed silt to build up within its treatment plant, causing it to overload and discharge silty water into a public drain.

THE BUILDERS (HUP HUAT)

Separately, The Builders (Hup Huat) were fined for failing to implement adequate earth control measures at Tampines Avenue 5 and Fernvale Street worksites.

"The Builders had failed to implement ECM in accordance to the approved plans, which should have included an adequate silty water treatment plant and the construction of cut-off drains to contain silty water within the site," said PUB. 

There was also no CCTV system in place to monitor the water quality of discharged water before it entered the public drainage system, it added.

Silty water is generated when rainwater run-off mixes with exposed earth materials and soil at construction sites. 

If such water is not properly treated before being discharged into public drains, silt can build up in waterways and make them less effective in channeling stormwater flow, according to PUB.

Last year, more than 100 contractors were prosecuted and fined for flouting drainage regulations. 

Their offences included unauthorised alterations and interference to the public drainage system and flouting earth control measure regulations.

​SINGAPORE: Australian paedophile Boris Kunsevitsky sexually abused five children in Singapore on three occasions, according to court documents seen by reporters.

Kunsevitsky, 53, pleaded guilty in a Melbourne court on Tuesday (May 21) to abusing dozens of children for more than a decade and producing child pornography material where he induced a child to have sex with another child.

He is facing 59 charges relating to child sexual abuse, including having sex with a child, making child pornography material, inducing a child to have sex with another child, persistent sexual abuse of a child, and importing child pornography material.

The court documents showed the offences involved 44 child victims, including five victims who resided in Singapore, where he was previously based.

The court was told on Monday and Tuesday that Kunsevitsky grew up in Russia before migrating to Australia with his family when he was 12. He moved to Singapore in the 2000s.

He was employed by Singapore beauty firm Esthemedica, where he was a director. The company told reporters on Wednesday it had not known about his crimes and they were speaking to him as recently as last Friday about business plans.

Of his 44 victims, 36 were aged between 10 years old and 15 years old at the time of the offences, and eight were aged between 16 years old and 17 years old.

The majority of the offences occurred when Kunsevitsky travelled to the Philippines and on three occasions when he travelled to Singapore. One victim was in Indonesia, the court documents showed.

Details of the children and others affected by this case have been redacted by court order to protect the victims.

On May 26, 2017, charges against him were first issued in Australia while he was overseas. When he returned to Australia on Sep 4, 2017, he was arrested by police and was subsequently diagnosed with paedophiliac disorder.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it was in touch with Australian authorities regarding the matter.

"When required, SPF will act and render the necessary assistance within the ambit of our laws and international obligations," the force said in a statement.

PERSISTENT SEXUAL ABUSE

The prosecution said there were three main categories of offending, including maintaining a sexual relationship with a child in Melbourne, child sex offending outside Australia and creating films of the sexual abuse.

Court documents showed that Kunsevitsky maintained a sexual relationship with a child in Melbourne between Jan 1, 2004 and Oct 31, 2005. The child was aged between 13 and 15 years old at the time.

He also engaged in sexual intercourse or sexual conduct with children outside of Australia. In some cases, he induced or caused other children to engage in sex with each other in his presence.

Between Jun 11, 2010 and Jun 16, 2011, and again between Feb 20, 2013 and Jun 11, 2013, Kunsevitsky engaged in “persistent sexual abuse” of five children outside of Australia.

Each charge of persistent sexual abuse involved at least three separate instances of abuse. In some occasions, it included up to 10 separate instances of sexual abuse against the same child.

He also produced 55 images depicting his sexual abuse of the Melbourne child.

Internationally, between May 18, 2010 and Apr 28, 2015, he created more than 1,000 photographs and videos depicting children engaged in sexual activity with each other, under his direction, or pictures and films of him sexually abusing the children.

When he was arrested in September 2017, he was in possession of five electronic devices, the court documents show.

More than 35,000 images and 4,800 videos, depicting child exploitation material, were found in those devices.

Kunsevitsky has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a later date.

UNITED NATIONS: Britain is bracing for a crushing defeat at the United Nations on Wednesday (May 22) when the General Assembly is expected to adopt a measure demanding that London cede the British-ruled Chagos islands, home to an important military base.

The Indian Ocean archipelago has been at the center of a decades-long dispute over Britain's decision to separate it from Mauritius in 1965 and set up a joint military base with the US on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.

The International Court of Justice in February handed Mauritius a victory when it said in a legal opinion that Britain had illegally split the islands and should give up control of the Chagos.

After Britain rejected that ruling, Mauritius turned to the General Assembly to press for action.

On Wednesday, the 193 countries of the assembly will vote on a draft resolution that welcomes the ICJ's position and demands that Britain withdraw from the Chagos in six months.

Diplomats expect the assembly to overwhelmingly back Mauritius in the vote, which is seen as a strong statement on decolonisation.

Britain cut off the Chagos islands from Mauritius before granting it independence in 1968 and evicted the entire population of islanders. Chagossians have been campaigning for their return for decades.

It will be the second time in two years that Britain has to defend its ownership of the Chagos islands at the United Nations.

In 2017, only 15 countries including Britain and the US voted to oppose a request for the ICJ ruling.

Diplomats expect fewer countries to support the British stance in Wednesday's vote.

EMBARRASSING MOMENT

Britain has the support of the United States and is hoping that many countries - including European partners - will abstain to soften the blow.

In 2017, 65 countries abstained including Germany, France, Spain and Canada, while 94 voted in favor of Mauritius' push to seek a legal opinion.

"The UK is going to lose," said Richard Gowan, UN director for the International Crisis Group, who described the vote as "an embarrassing moment for the UK" as it seeks to show that it remains an influential global player post-Brexit.

Ahead of the vote, Britain and the United States have written to all UN missions to urge them to oppose the draft resolution, arguing that the fate of the Chagos is a bilateral issue.

"This is not a matter of decolonisation for the General Assembly," wrote British Ambassador Karen Pierce. "It is a bilateral sovereignty dispute between the United Kingdom and Mauritius."

US Acting Ambassador Jonathan Cohen argued that the court opinion was non-binding and was in no way a legal ruling that decided on the dispute.

Britain and the United States argued that the Diego Garcia base contributes to world peace.

The United States has sent fighter jets from Diego Garcia base to bomb Iraq and Afghanistan and the facility was used as a CIA interrogation centre after the Sep 11, 2001 attacks.

The draft resolution decides that the United Nations and its agencies shall recognise Mauritius' sovereignty over the Chagos islands.

The non-binding measure would call on all countries "not to recognise, support or abet the unlawful colonial administration" in the Chagos.

In 2016, Britain renewed a lease agreement with the United States for the use of Diego Garcia until 2036.

SINGAPORE: Quicker enforcement action could be taken against some companies that breach the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), Singapore’s data privacy watchdog announced on Wednesday (May 22).

The Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) said in a press release it is introducing a new expedited decision process to bring investigations on clear-cut data breaches to conclusion quickly. This process was based on feedback from stakeholders and data breach cases in the last four years, it said.

Those eligible for the new fast-track system must meet certain conditions:

• The nature of the data breach is similar to cases with precedent and with similar categories of facts
• There is an upfront admission of liability for breaching the PDPA by the organisation

A PDPC spokesperson told reporters that it is difficult to estimate how fast these decisions will now take, as it varies from case to case, but it could possibly take half the time of what it currently is. It takes about a year or longer for a case to be decided on today.

The press release said the organisation’s admission of its role in the breach would be a “strong mitigating factor” in cases where financial penalties are involved.

It added that examples of cases eligible for the process include common forms of data breaches such as URL manipulation, poor password management or printing errors resulting in incorrect recipients.

That said, the PDPC said that it is aware that even companies that are prepared may not eliminate all risk of data breaches.

So, for organisations that can show they have proper accountability practices, monitoring and remediation plans in place, such as those with the Data Protection Trustmark certification, they can request for an undertaking option should a data breach happen to them.

The undertaking is a written promise by the organisation that it is ready to execute a fully developed and prepared contingency plan to resolve a data breach when it has occurred, the PDPC said.

It could also be granted if the privacy watchdog assesses that an undertaking would achieve a similar or better enforcement outcome as opposed to a full investigation, it added.

UPDATES TO BREACH NOTIFICATION

The PDPC also updated the existing guide to help organisations manage data breaches effectively, including that related to breach notification.

It said that the thresholds for notifying the PDPC and individuals of a data breach have been expanded to consider large numbers to be where 500 or more individuals are affected, or where significant harm or impact to the individuals is likely due to the breach.

The agency also recommended that organisations conducting internal investigations and assessments of a potential data breach take no more than 30 days from when they are aware of a potential breach. If data breach notification thresholds are met, they should notify PDPC no later than 72 hours from the time they complete their assessments, it added.

PDPC has urged businesses to consider taking up this approach ahead of the agency’s planned introduction of a mandatory breach notification in its upcoming PDPA amendments.

Additionally, PDPC on Wednesday launched its third public consultation under the ongoing review of Singapore’s data privacy laws as it seeks views on the proposed introduction of data portability and data innovation provisions.

Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran had presented the discussion paper looking at data portability during February’s Mobile World Congress. 

SINGAPORE: A reporter who wrote an article four years ago about a woman who allegedly cheated a petrol station pump attendant of his savings took the stand on Wednesday (May 22) and was accused of never interviewing the woman. 

Former The New Paper (TNP) reporter Godwin Ng had written a report published on Feb 10, 2015, telling the story from the perspective of the accused, Tan Hwee Ngo, after interviewing her at her flat at Indus Road.

The article was written a day after his TNP colleague Judith Tan broke the news about the alleged scam. 

Tan, 69, is facing 169 charges of allegedly cheating her friend, 74-year-old Tan Soy Kiang, of at least S$130,000 between 1999 and 2013.

She is accused of telling him that the money was "needed for Lee Kuan Yew" or "old Lee", and asking him to withdraw all S$53,000 he had in his CPF Savings account for her.

Tan allegedly asked the victim to give her a part of his salary monthly, and the payments were purportedly facilitated by the victim's good friend of many years, Madam Boo Sok Hiang. Mdm Boo died of heart disease a few months after giving a police statement in 2016.

TAN QUOTED IN ARTICLE ADMITTING TO CHEATING

The trial on Wednesday centered on whether former TNP reporter Mr Ng had interviewed the accused for his article. 

He told the court that he had been assigned the story as a follow-up to his colleague's original story.

"On Feb 9 in 2015, TNP was the first media outlet to break this story," said Mr Ng. "It was written by my colleague Judith, I believe she was a friend of Pamela (the victim's niece)."

Tan was arrested after Ms Pamela Lim and her husband suspected something was wrong. The victim had been borrowing money from the couple despite working two jobs. 

In Mr Ng's article, Tan allegedly admitted that she cheated the petrol station employee, but said she took only S$30,000 from him, adding that she had been driven by her mahjong gambling debt.

Tan's defence lawyer TM Sinnadurai showed Mr Ng copies of his reporter's notebook and questioned Mr Ng on how he came up with the questions to ask Tan, as well as whether he had referred to his colleague's previous story.

Explaining what he did on the day he interviewed her, Mr Ng said: "I went down to the address, knocked on the door and rang the doorbell. It was after lunch and just as I was about to walk away, I crossed paths with Tan who was returning back to her flat. I identified myself as a journalist from TNP and said I wanted to talk to her about this case."

FORMER REPORTER SAYS HE SPOKE TO ACCUSED AT THE DOOR

According to Mr Ng, Tan entered her flat and shut her gate. She then spoke to him through the metal gate for more than hour. A photographer who took many photos of Tan was also with him, Mr Ng said.

"My instructions are that she did not offer you an interview," said Mr Sinnadurai. "And she did not talk to you."

"You said you spoke to her for over an hour," he added. "My client's instructions are that she never spoke to any reporters for more than an hour. And she only spoke to two reporters (who were) from a Chinese newspaper."

He questioned Mr Ng, who was an intern at TNP at the time, on whether he could have mistaken Tan for Mdm Boo.

Mr Ng had told the court that another colleague had been tasked with interviewing Mdm Boo.

"Even her husband who was at home ... says that Tan did not give an interview to TNP, but only to two Chinese newspapers," added Mr Sinnadurai.

"I put it to you that since my instructions are that the accused did not give you an interview, the answers that you prepared ... were based on Judith's report," he asserted. "I put it to you that Tan didn't give you the information."

Mr Ng answered: "The information was what was conveyed to me by Tan during our conversation."

Other than Mr Ng, two reporters from Lianhe Wanbao will be called to the stand as the prosecution's witnesses.

If found guilty of cheating, Tan could be sentenced to a maximum of three years' jail per charge and fined.

SINGAPORE: Google is blocking Huawei from some updates to the Android operating system, in a blow to the world’s second-biggest smartphone maker.

The move comes after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring US companies from using foreign telecoms equipment deemed a security risk.

Google on Monday (May 20) said: “We are complying with the order and reviewing the implications.”

HOW WILL THIS AFFECT HUAWEI USERS?

Users of existing Huawei devices will not be affected for now - they will still be able to update apps and access the Google Play Store.

"Google Play and the security protections from Google Play Protect will continue to function on existing Huawei devices," a Google spokesperson said, without providing further details.

However, when Google launches the next version of Android, it may not be available on Huawei devices.

It is also unclear what this means for future Huawei phones.

Due to the business ban, Google will have to stop activities with Huawei that involve direct transfer of hardware, software and technical services that are not publicly available.

This means Huawei will only be able to use the version of Android that’s available through the open source licence, known as Android Open Source Project (AOSP).

Popular Google apps such as Gmail, YouTube and the Chrome browser that are available through Google's Play Store will disappear from future Huawei handsets as those services are not covered by the open source licence and require a commercial agreement with Google.

WHAT’S THE IMPACT ON HUAWEI’S BUSINESS?

The impact is expected to be minimal in the Chinese market. Most Google mobile apps are banned in China, where alternatives are offered by domestic competitors such as Tencent and Baidu.

But the move will hugely damage the brand's appeal to consumers outside China.

Almost half of the 208 million phones Huawei shipped in 2018 went to outside mainland China, and Europe is the most important overseas market where its devices currently have 29 per cent market share, according to technology research firm IDC.

"Having those apps is critical for smartphone makers to stay competitive in regions like Europe," said Geoff Blaber, vice president of research, CCS Insight.

The business ban may also affect Huawei’s 5G plans.

“(It) may cause China to delay its 5G network build until the ban is lifted, having an impact on many global component suppliers," said Ryan Koontz, a Rosenblatt Securities analyst.

WHAT CAN HUAWEI DO?

To get around the Google ban, Huawei would ultimately have to build its own operating system, as Apple has for its iPhones. That cannot be done in a hurry.

Software developers might feel compelled to offer a Huawei-specific version of their apps. Or the Chinese manufacturer could start a new branch of the Android family based on the open source version available now.

But that will all take time.

ARE THERE RISKS FOR GOOGLE?

The widespread mobile usage of Maps, Gmail and Google's other services has helped the US company build a market-leading position with Android alongside its crushing dominance in desktop browsing.

But in cutting off Huawei, Google risks being deprived of the revenue-generating data of all those phone owners around the world.

And other Chinese smartphone makers, such as Xiaomi, Oppo and OnePlus, will be watching closely.

Should Huawei build its own system, it's conceivable that those companies might join it, in a bid to end their own vulnerability to future actions by the US government or companies.

HOW DID THE BAN COME ABOUT?

Huawei has been the target of an intense campaign by Washington, which has been trying to persuade allies not to allow China a role in building next-generation 5G mobile networks.

Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei’s army background and his company’s opaque culture have fueled suspicions in some countries that the firm has links with the Chinese military and intelligence services.

The United States believes Huawei’s smartphones and network equipment could be used by China to spy on Americans, allegations the company has repeatedly denied.

"Chinese telecom companies like Huawei effectively serve as an intelligence-gathering arm of the Chinese Communist Party," Senator Tom Cotton from the US Republican party had said after Trump's emergency declaration last week.

WHAT’S BEEN HUAWEI’S RESPONSE?

Huawei said on Monday it would continue to provide security updates and services for its smartphones and tablets.

"We have made substantial contributions to the development and growth of Android around the world," a spokesman said.

"Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products, covering those that have been sold and that are still in stock globally," he added, without touching on what would happen with phones it would sell in the future.

Huawei previously said that the company has already been preparing a contingency plan by developing its own technology in case it is blocked from using Android. Some of this technology is already being used in products sold in China, the company said.

"We have not done anything which violates the law," founder and CEO Ren told Japanese media on Saturday, adding the US measures would have a limited impact. 

"It is expected that Huawei's growth may slow, but only slightly.”