| Leonardo DiCaprio reacts to Trump's 'insulting' tweet to Greta Thunberg at 2019 Global Citizen Festival Posted: 29 Sep 2019 11:09 AM PDT  Leonardo DiCaprio defended Greta Thunberg in front of 60,000 people during NYC's 2019 Global Citizen's Festival.
|
| Al-Shabaab attacks US base, EU convoy in Somalia Posted: 30 Sep 2019 08:07 AM PDT  The Al-Shabaab militant group claimed responsibility for an attack on a US base in Somalia on Monday, as the European Union confirmed a separate strike against a convoy of Italian advisers. In a statement, Al-Shabaab said: "In the early hours of Monday morning, an elite unit of soldiers... launched a daring raid on the US military base". The Shabaab claimed they had killed dozens in the attack, however the US Mission to Somalia and a Somali military official said there were no casualties.
|
| Halloween prank: Oklahoma dad freaks out daughter with outrageous Area 51 costume Posted: 30 Sep 2019 07:58 AM PDT  An Oklahoma dad is going viral after his daughter shared a video of his outrageous Halloween prank attempt.
|
| Bernie Sanders calls for higher taxes on companies with wide pay gaps Posted: 30 Sep 2019 05:44 AM PDT  Sanders' plan would raise tax rates on companies where the chief executive officer or highest-paid employee earns more than 50 times the median worker salary. The independent U.S. Senator from Vermont is competing for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election. "The American people are sick and tired of corporate CEOs who now make 300 times more than their average employees, while they give themselves huge bonuses and cut back on the healthcare and pension benefits of their employees," Sanders said in a statement.
|
| A 72-year-old Dallas man fatally shot a burglar, then went back to sleep, police say Posted: 30 Sep 2019 07:46 AM PDT ![A 72-year-old Dallas man fatally shot a burglar, then went back to sleep, police say]( "A 72-year-old Dallas man fatally shot a burglar, then went back to sleep, police say") A 72-year-old Dallas man fatally shot a suspected burglar outside his home, authorities said, and went back to sleep before calling police.
|
| Xi Hails Future of China-Hong Kong Relations as Protests Rage Posted: 30 Sep 2019 03:48 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed national unity and said relations between Hong Kong and the mainland would improve, even as pro-democracy protesters planned several rallies to coincide with anniversary of Communist rule."Hong Kong and Macau will be able to develop together with the motherland's interior," Xi said in a brief speech to a banquet in Beijing ahead of Tuesday's holiday marking 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China. "Tomorrow will be even better."Xi said the "one country, two systems" principle under which Hong Kong has been governed since its return from British rule in 1997 must be upheld. The president's remarks -- his most extensive comments on Hong Kong since unrest began in June -- came as the city braced for another wave of protests during the National Day holiday.Demonstrators on Sunday set a subway station entrance ablaze and threw petrol bombs at police as tens of thousands tried to march on Hong Kong's central government offices ahead of the National Day holiday. They were met by officers who deployed rounds of tear gas and a water cannon to disperse them for a second straight day.The unrest disrupted some services in Hong Kong's city center, with rail operator MTR Corp. temporarily closing some downtown stations. Hong Kong police said they arrested 146 people and fired off 328 rounds of tear gas on Sunday. Forty-eight people were sent to the hospital, authorities said.The violence has threatened to mar Xi's Oct. 1 celebrations in Beijing, which will be marked by "mass pageantry" in which at least 100,000 people will take part. The festivities will include a military parade and an evening gala in Tiananmen Square.Xi and other party leaders visited the remains of former leader Mao Zedong and attended a ceremony to pay tribute to deceased national heroes in the square on Monday morning, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.Hong Kong's 'Frontliners' Say They're Ready to Die for MovementChief Executive Carrie Lam will lead a delegation to Beijing to participate in celebrations, meaning she'll be out of the city during the holiday. She will return to Hong Kong in the evening via the border city of Shenzhen, and the city's No. 2 official, Matthew Cheung, will be its acting leader in her absence.Hong Kong's government canceled the city's annual National Day fireworks on the waterfront, citing safety concerns, and banned a planned rally by major pro-democracy organizer, the Civil Human Rights Front. The group's appeal was denied by authorities on Monday, its co-convener Jimmy Sham said.Demonstrations have rocked the Asian financial hub since early June, triggered by proposed legislation allowing extraditions to China and since morphing into a broader push back against Beijing's grip.Lam, who had tried to push the bill through before protests erupted, assumed responsibility for the "entire unrest" as she held her first community dialogue event last week -- a bid to assuage demonstrators ahead of Oct. 1.China Screens Patriotic Movies to Whip Up Nationalistic FervorTuesday's rallies have been planned in six districts that have seen some of the most violent protests of recent months, with most set to start in the afternoon. Spectators for a morning flag-raising ceremony in the city center will be moved indoors.Activist and protest organizer Ventus Lau was arrested Monday morning for alleged offenses including criminal damage and trespassing in the the city's Legislative Council chamber -- which was broken into by protesters on July 1 -- a friend told Lau's media WhatsApp group. Local actor Gregory Wong was also arrested on similar charges, activist Nathan Law wrote on his Facebook page.At one point during scuffles outside a subway station in the Wan Chai area Sunday, an officer fired a warning shot into the sky."Some police officers were surrounded and attacked by a large group of violent protesters," the Hong Kong police said. "With their lives under serious threat, an officer fired one warning shot into the sky to protect their own safety."(Adds details of Xi's speech from first paragraph.)\--With assistance from Iain Marlow and John Liu.To contact the reporters on this story: Natalie Lung in Hong Kong at flung6@bloomberg.net;Peter Martin in Beijing at pmartin138@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Karen LeighFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
|
| China Celebrates an Anniversary of a “People’s Democratic Dictatorship” Posted: 28 Sep 2019 08:30 PM PDT  A terrible regime.
|
| Gut microbes can get you drunk and damage your liver Posted: 30 Sep 2019 04:23 AM PDT ![Gut microbes can get you drunk and damage your liver]( "Gut microbes can get you drunk and damage your liver") In 2016, a woman who had a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit was acquitted of her DUI charge after it was discovered that she had an extremely rare condition called "auto-brewery syndrome." People with this syndrome carry microbes in their intestines that produce abnormally high levels of alcohol, which they produce when they break down sugars and carbohydrates. While auto-brewery syndrome is an extreme example, it makes one wonder: Could intestinal microbes be influencing other health or behavioral traits? Jing Yuan at the Capital Institute of Pediatrics in Beijing published a new study in Cell Metabolism showing that an intestinal microbe may cause fatty liver disease by producing high levels of alcohol.
|
| Soldier at Mar-a-Lago uploaded photos of an underage girl to website Posted: 29 Sep 2019 10:23 AM PDT  U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Richard Ciccarella is said to have uploaded topless pictures of a young female relative. Ciccarella pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to federal investigators about an email address for a Russian website. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller, the photos didn't constitute child pornography.
|
| Rudy Giuliani: Ukraine sources detail attempt to construct case against Biden Posted: 28 Sep 2019 10:00 PM PDT  * Source: prosecutor may have fed Trump ally altered information * Robert Reich: Trump can do more damage than NixonRudy Giuliani speaks to members of the media at the White House in 2018. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty ImagesIn the explosive whistleblower complaint released this week, in which an intelligence official sounds the alarm over Donald Trump's effort to solicit the help of Ukraine in his bid for re-election, one name is repeated: Rudy Giuliani.The former New York mayor appears in flashing lights at the top of the document. In the second paragraph, the anonymous whistleblower says: "The president's personal lawyer, Mr Rudolph Giuliani, is a central figure in this effort."The author goes on to refer to Giuliani 31 times, painting a picture of a lawyer who in the service of his old friend and now personal client – Trump – set himself up as a virtual state within a state. Giuliani is accused of circumventing national security protocols as he scurried between Washington and Kyiv carrying private orders from the president, many of dubious legality.That the man who was hailed as a national hero, "America's mayor", in the wake of 9/11 should now find himself accused of undermining national security amid a billowing impeachment scandal is extraordinary in itself. Even more astonishing is that so many of the details of the Ukraine connection have been put into the public domain by Giuliani himself.He has been so willing to speak openly on cable TV and social media about his dealings with top Ukrainian officials seeking dirt on the leading Democratic presidential candidate, former vice-president Joe Biden, that he has deepened Trump's legal peril almost on a daily basis.On 25 July, US president Donald Trump called Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy. During the course of the call he reportedly asked the Ukrainian leader eight times to investigate former US vice-president Joe Biden and Biden's son Hunter. It is additionally reported that Trump ordered his staff to withhold nearly $400m in aid to Ukraine days before the call took place. Biden is one of the frontrunners to win the Democratic nomination and take on Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Trump confirmed he discussed the Bidens with Zelenskiy, and accused the pair – without offering any evidence – of corruption.A US intelligence community whistleblower filed a report after becoming alarmed at Trump's behaviour in the matter. The White House refused to release the substance of the whistleblower complaint, setting up a confrontation with Congress over the release of information. Complaints of this nature are usually reported to Congress within seven days.Trump's personal lawyer, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, has admitted asking the Ukrainians to investigate the Bidens. It is illegal for a political campaign to accept a "thing of value" from a foreign government. Democrats say an investigation into a political opponent – for which Trump appears to have been pushing – would amount to a thing of value.On Thursday, Giuliani posted a tweet that extended the crisis from the White House to the state department. In the tweet, he reproduced a July text message from Kurt Volker, then US special representative to Ukraine, introducing Giuliani to a key adviser of the Ukrainian president.The chilling undertone of the tweet was unmistakable: if I'm going down, you're going down with me.Giuliani's overseas consulting work in eastern Europe stretches back to the mid-2000s. But his prominence in Ukraine grew after Trump's 2016 victory, when he parlayed his close relationship with the president into security contracts and speaking appearances.By his own account, Giuliani's fixation with Ukraine began last November when, he told Fox News, he was approached by a "very significant distinguished investigator". He has not named the investigator, though the whistleblower's complaint and other sources have illuminated close ties between the former mayor, Yuriy Lutsenko, who until last month was Ukraine's chief prosecutor, and Lutsenko's predecessor, Viktor Shokin.As the complaint sets out, Giuliani met Lutsenko at least twice: in New York in January and in Warsaw the following month. The timing of those encounters could be important in the rapidly unfolding impeachment inquiry in Washington, as they came at a key moment for Lutsenko.The prosecutor was facing growing criticism in Kyiv over stalled investigations into corruption. In November 2018, when Giuliani says he began to focus on the country, Lutsenko offered to resign after a young anti-corruption activist, Kateryna Handziuk, died from a sulphuric acid attack.Lutsenko stayed in office. But the Guardian has learned that he began seeking a lifeline to the US, in the hope it might save him as difficulties back home intensified.That lifeline was Giuliani."[Lutsenko] strongly needed some political ally, he believed that Giuliani could convey specific messages to Trump, and he created this message to become more interesting to the American establishment," said a law enforcement source familiar with the Giuliani-Lutsenko connection.That Giuliani might have been fed information by Ukraine's then top prosecutor that was adulterated to make it more appealing to Trump is a startling potential twist in the developing scandal.According to the Guardian's source, Lutsenko appeared in conversation with Giuliani to have invented a "don't prosecute" list he claimed was given to him by the then US ambassador to Kyiv, Marie Yovanovitch – news of which apparently made its way up to Trump.Yovanovitch was abruptly removed in May after Giuliani pressed for changes in the embassy. Giuliani has since claimed without evidence that the "don't prosecute" list was part of a liberal anti-Trump conspiracy that included Yovanovitch and was bankrolled by the philanthropist George Soros.The US state department has dismissed the claim as an "outright fabrication". 'Very helpful to my client'Ukraine's main attraction for Giuliani was the hope it might provide valuable damaging intelligence on Biden, who launched his presidential bid in April. Both Giuliani and Trump have grown increasingly excited by a conspiracy theory that in 2016 Biden pressurized Ukraine to fire its then chief prosecutor, Shokin.Under this theory, Biden wanted Shokin out because he was investigating the vice-president's son, Hunter Biden, who sat on the board of a major Ukrainian gas company, Burisma. Several attempts to fact check the story that Biden acted corruptly to protect his son have found it to be false.Here too, there is a suggestion that Lutsenko may have intentionally misrepresented the Burisma investigation to Giuliani, raising doubts about Hunter Biden's activities, as a ruse to catch the attention of Trump."Mr Biden and his son were never the subjects of this investigation," the Guardian was told by the source with knowledge of Lutsenko's ties to the New York lawyer.Lutsenko later changed his tune, and told the Washington Post this week Hunter Biden had done nothing wrong."From the perspective of Ukrainian legislation, he did not violate anything," the former prosecutor said.Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky meet in New York. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty ImagesAs the Ukraine affair has deepened, the extent of Guiliani's efforts to put flesh on the bones of his anti-Biden conspiracy theory has become clear. In addition to his meetings with Lutsenko, he made contact with a further four former Ukrainian prosecutors, including a Skype call to Shokin.Those efforts reached fever pitch in May when Giuliani laid plans to visit the president-elect, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Serhiy Leshchenko, a journalist and former member of parliament who advised Zelenskiy during his campaign, said he believed Giuliani was urgently trying to meet the president-elect before his 20 May inauguration, after which their interaction could be restricted by protocol.We know what Giuliani wanted to talk to Zelenskiy about because Giuliani, true to form, told us. In an interview with the New York Times on 9 May, he said he wanted to encourage the new government to investigate the Bidens, saying "that information will be very, very helpful to my client".The backlash to his announced plan to engage with Ukraine for Trump's political benefit was so intense that he cancelled the May visit. He diverted instead to Spain, where he met Andriy Yermak – he now claims at the instigation of the state department.What did Giuliani say to Yermak, a top adviser to the new Ukrainian government?"Just investigate the darn things," he said, referring to the Bidens and other matters beneficial to Trump's re-election hopes.It is a sign of Giuliani's imperviousness to public condemnation – some would say to reason – that he continues to dig himself and his client deeper into a hole. It could have serious consequences for them both.Leshchenko believes Giuliani is in peril too."He was involved in international politics and trying to blackmail the Ukrainian government," he said. "It should be a cause for an investigation."
|
| Saudi prince says war with Iran would gut world economy Posted: 29 Sep 2019 07:04 PM PDT  Saudi Arabia's crown prince said in an interview aired Sunday that war with Iran would devastate the global economy and he prefers a non-military solution to tensions with his regional rival. "Oil supplies will be disrupted and oil prices will jump to unimaginably high numbers that we haven't seen in our lifetimes," the prince said. The prince said a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran would be catastrophic for the world economy.
|
| Ronan Farrow's book has NBC News 'bracing for bombshells' about Matt Lauer: report Posted: 30 Sep 2019 08:01 AM PDT  Journalist Ronan Farrow is gearing up for the release of his highly-anticipated new book, 'Catch and Kill,' with new claims about Matt Lauer's misconduct.
|
| Motorist was killed after looking at another driver the wrong way, Phoenix police say Posted: 29 Sep 2019 06:00 AM PDT  Police say Nicolas Elliott shot and killed another motorist "for merely looking at him while stopped at a red traffic light."
|
| Singer attacked with paint at pro-Hong Kong democracy rally in Taiwan Posted: 29 Sep 2019 08:26 AM PDT ![Singer attacked with paint at pro-Hong Kong democracy rally in Taiwan]( "Singer attacked with paint at pro-Hong Kong democracy rally in Taiwan") Hong Kong singer and activist Denise Ho was attacked on Sunday by a masked man who threw red paint at her at a rally in Taiwan held in support of anti-government protests in Hong Kong. Ho, who earlier this month urged members of the U.S. Congress to pass legislation to combat human rights abuses in Hong Kong, was talking to reporters at the Taipei rally when the man ran up to her and poured red paint over her head. Two Taiwanese men were arrested immediately after the attack, the island's Crime Investigation Bureau said, adding that the pair were linked to an organized crime group which supports closer ties between self-ruled Taiwan and China.
|
| Pakistan Leader Warns of Kashmir 'Blood Bath' in Emotional U.N. Speech Posted: 29 Sep 2019 09:02 AM PDT  Pakistan's leader castigated India over its Kashmir crackdown from the podium of the United Nations on Friday, warning of a "bloodbath" when and if Indian authorities lift a curfew over the disputed territory.The speech by Prime Minister Imran Khan at the United Nations General Assembly was partly directed at his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, who in his own speech earlier Friday omitted any reference to Kashmir.Last month India revoked the long-standing autonomy of the mountainous border region, the flashpoint of two wars with Pakistan since both achieved independence from Britain more than 70 years ago.Indian authorities arrested thousands of Kashmiris, severed most electronic access and imposed a curfew on the entire populace of about 8 million. While some curbs have been eased, the curfew remains in effect.Modi and his subordinates have described their move as an internal domestic matter aimed at making the region more prosperous.The Indian prime minister's shift on Kashmir was welcomed by his base of Hindu nationalists, who have long wanted to exert power in the Muslim-majority region and have long accused Pakistan of supporting militant separatists there.Khan has repeatedly denounced what he has described as Modi's reckless disregard of Pakistan's historic claims to the region.The Pakistani leader has frequently reminded the world that Pakistan and India are both nuclear powers. He has used terms like genocide to describe India's intentions for the disputed Kashmir region and has complained that Modi has ignored his entreaties for a dialogue.In an interview with The New York Times Editorial Board on Wednesday, Khan said Modi was leading India down an irrational path, a theme he reiterated in his General Assembly speech."Is it arrogance that has blinded him from what is going to happen when the curfew is lifted? Does he think the people of Kashmir will quietly accept the status quo?" Khan said. "What is going to happen when the curfew is lifted will be a bloodbath."The pent-up frustration of Kashmiris living under what Khan described as Indian military occupation would inevitably come back to haunt India, he said."Would I want to live like that?" Khan said. "I would pick up a gun."Khan, who has conspicuously avoided crossing paths with Modi while both are attending the annual gathering in New York, had said that he would be using his General Assembly speech to emphasize Kashmir and implore the United Nations to intervene.Modi, in his speech, sought to portray India as a peace-loving nation that he said had given the world Buddha's philosophy of serenity. His only reference to Pakistan and Kashmir was oblique, saying India had long been a victim of terrorism."Our voice against terrorism, to alert the world about this evil, rings with seriousness and the outrage," Modi said. "It is absolutely imperative that the world unites against terrorism."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
|
| Don't Sleep on India's Nuclear Weapons (They Could Kill Billions) Posted: 29 Sep 2019 07:21 AM PDT  India has 130 to 140 nuclear warheads—and more are coming, according to a new report. Should the world worry?
|
| A passenger filmed the engine cover coming off a United Airlines plane, which was forced to turn back to the airport Posted: 30 Sep 2019 07:08 AM PDT  United Airlines flight 293 had to turn back to Denver International Airport over what United called a "mechanical issue with one of the engines."
|
| Tesla and Elon Musk's Tweet Violated Labor Laws Protecting Unions, Judge Rules Posted: 29 Sep 2019 01:44 PM PDT  Judge Amita Tracy ordered the company to cease and desist a litany of actions
|
| Cash-Strapped Booker Says Could Drop White House Bid by Tuesday Posted: 29 Sep 2019 11:29 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Cory Booker said he could end his presidential campaign by Tuesday unless he is able to reach his goal of $1.7 million in donations within the next 36 hours.Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, the New Jersey senator said that despite an "avalanche of support," his campaign needed "some more help" from contributors. His campaign website shows he's about $150,000 short of the amount he targeted on Sept. 21 to have a viable path to victory.Although he has languished at 2% or 3% in most polls and is struggling in fund raising, Booker has qualified for the October debate of Democratic presidential candidates. In the CNN interview, Booker said he has also met the threshold of 165,000 unique donors required to participate in the November debate.Booker also rose to the defense of the Democratic front-runner Joe Biden, saying the accusations from President Donald Trump that the former vice president acted improperly to benefit his son Hunter's business interests in Ukraine are unfounded."I wouldn't be running if I didn't think I should be president, not him," Booker said of Biden, with whom he has clashed on the campaign trail and at debates.Yet the allegations from Trump "should in no way affect the vice president in his pursuit of the nomination," he said. "This can in no way besmirch his character, his honor and his incredible service to this country over decades."Instead, Booker said the focus should be on the actions of Trump and his family, and said he would tighten the rules if elected president."I'm watching what's going on with the Trump family right now and Trump properties, and I just find that deeply offensive to just any kind of independent sense of what's honorable, ethical, not to mention consistent with the emoluments clause," he said, referring to a clause in the Constitution that forbids accepting payments from foreign governments. "I just don't think children of president and vice presidents during an administration should be out there doing that."To contact the reporter on this story: Hailey Waller in New York at hwaller@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Max Berley, Mark NiquetteFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
|
| Meghan Markle stuns Prince Harry with surprise Skype call: Watch! Posted: 30 Sep 2019 08:32 AM PDT  While visiting with female students in Malawi, Prince Harry received an unexpected video call from his wife.
|
| Princeton grad who killed dad after his $1k weekly allowance was cut gets 30 years to life Posted: 28 Sep 2019 12:22 PM PDT  Thomas Gilbert Jr. was convicted three months ago of shooting his father, Thomas Gilbert Sr., a wealthy hedge fund manager.
|
| Iran says Saudi attack claimed by Yemen rebels justified Posted: 30 Sep 2019 09:17 AM PDT  Iran said Monday that the missile-and-drone attack on major Saudi oil sites was an act of "legitimate defense" by Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi rebels. The Sept. 14 assault was claimed by the Houthis, though Saudi Arabia says it was "unquestionably sponsored by Iran." The kingdom has been at war with the Houthis in Yemen since March 2015.
|
| Chinese ambassador: We are doing our part to combat the opioid crisis Posted: 30 Sep 2019 08:00 AM PDT  China wants to do what it can to make sure an end to this issue is reached. We must emphasize though, that this problem is not ultimately our own.
|
| Russia has hidden the details of a handful of nuclear accidents since the 1950s — here's what we know about them Posted: 29 Sep 2019 06:23 AM PDT  In addition to Chernobyl, Russia has tried to hide the details of other nuclear incidents, including an explosion that killed seven people in August.
|
| British PM Johnson denies groping allegations as party conference opens Posted: 30 Sep 2019 12:02 AM PDT  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson denied on Monday that he had inappropriately touched a female journalist 20 years ago, and said the public were more interested in hearing about his plans for public services. As Johnson prepares to lead the United Kingdom out of the European Union on Oct. 31, his past relations with several women have come under scrutiny. The allegations overshadowed the Conservative Party's annual conference which opened on Sunday.
|
| Hurricane Lorenzo now a Category 5 Posted: 29 Sep 2019 07:08 AM PDT  Lorenzo is the northernmost and easternmost recorded Category 5 hurricane on record.
|
| Lindsey Graham decries whistleblower complaint as 'all hearsay' Posted: 29 Sep 2019 09:24 AM PDT  "This seems to me like a political setup. You can't get a parking ticket conviction based on hearsay. The whistleblower didn't hear the phone call," the South Carolina Republican said on CBS' "Face the Nation," adding he has "zero problems" with the president's phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
|
| Beijing hopes glitzy new airport will take off as aviation hub Posted: 28 Sep 2019 04:58 PM PDT  Beijing's new futuristic airport that resembles a giant starfish -- opened days before the country celebrates the 70th anniversary of communist rule -- promises to transform the Chinese capital into a major Asian aviation hub. Located 46 kilometres (29 miles) south of Tiananmen Square, Beijing Daxing International Airport will be able to handle 45 million passengers by 2021, with plans for 72 million by 2025 and 100 million by 2040. It was opened by President Xi Jinping Wednesday, but had an immediate hitch when its maiden commercial flight -- an A380 superjumbo heading to the southern city of Guangzhou -- was delayed by nearly 30 minutes.
|
| John Bolton used his first major public appearance since leaving the White House to criticize Trump's North Korea policy Posted: 30 Sep 2019 10:17 AM PDT ![John Bolton used his first major public appearance since leaving the White House to criticize Trump's North Korea policy]( "John Bolton used his first major public appearance since leaving the White House to criticize Trump's North Korea policy") Former National Security Adviser John Bolton is out of the White House, but he's not done talking about the United States' foreign policy.Bolton spoke about the Trump administration's approach toward North Korea in less-than-glowing terms Monday during a talk at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He reportedly said the U.S. should stop trying to organize summits between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and instead opt for a tougher path that could ultimately include regime change or even military force to halt North Korea's nuclear program."I don't think the North Koreans will ever voluntarily give up enough," Bolton said, referring to the negotiation strategy, which remains Washington's preferred option at the moment. "There is no basis to trust any promise that regime makes."Bolton also reportedly added that the White House is not being harsh enough when it comes to North Korea's United Nations Security Council violations.As The Washington Post notes, Bolton's comments are hardly surprising -- he has long held a reputation for favoring forceful foreign policy -- and his opinion, frankly, doesn't carry any actual decision-making weight at the moment. Still, his willingness to coyly, but publicly criticize the White House does raise some questions as to whether Bolton could eventually serve as a witness in the Democrats' impeachment inquiry, the Post reports. Read more at The Washington Post.
|
| USA TODAY's Harrison Hill tells migrant stories through portraits Posted: 30 Sep 2019 08:09 AM PDT  Harrison Hill, a photographer for USA TODAY, documented the migrant crisis outside LA immigration court for USA TODAY's project "The Migrants."
|
| Foreigners Dump $1.2 Billion of Indonesian Stocks After Weak Growth, Protests Posted: 29 Sep 2019 07:21 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Foreign investors pared their holdings of Indonesian stocks as escalating political demonstrations added to worries of a slowdown in Southeast Asia's largest economy.Net foreign selling in the equity market reached $1.2 billion in the third quarter, set for the biggest outflow since the second quarter of 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The selloff trims the year-to-date net inflow to $3.7 billion.Investors have been worried that earnings will slump as growth in gross domestic product slows to 5.05%, the weakest in two years. To make matters worse, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Jakarta last week as part of countrywide protests aimed at forcing the government to reconsider legislation rights that groups say will curtail civil liberties.The trouble signals a tough path ahead for President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, before he starts his second term next month. He managed to lead with a wider margin during the re-election in April and is expected to name his new cabinet after the Oct. 20 inauguration."The economic slowdown has been caused by a wait-and-see attitude among investors in the lead up to the cabinet formation," said Harry Su, head of equity capital markets at Samuel International. "Continued demonstrations and skirmishes on the ground are adding to worries and contributed to the biggest net foreign outflow since June 2018."Su said he would advise clients to maintain their holdings of defensive stocks and wait for Widodo to decide on his new cabinet.Widodo also has to deal with new police and military clashes with separatist forces in the province of Papua in which at least 30 people were killed."The current situation is undoubtedly not conducive to investment," Su said. "I find the degree of flash point emergence to be highly unexpected."To contact the reporters on this story: Harry Suhartono in Jakarta at hsuhartono@bloomberg.net;Tassia Sipahutar in Jakarta at ssipahutar@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lianting Tu at ltu4@bloomberg.net, Naoto Hosoda, Kurt SchusslerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
|
| Employee accused of sexually assaulting 9-year-old student at Brooklyn school Posted: 29 Sep 2019 06:48 AM PDT  A school paraprofessional is accused of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl in the basement of her Brooklyn school.
|
| China's Guangzhou rides economic change but keeps traditions Posted: 30 Sep 2019 04:07 AM PDT  China's southern city of Guangzhou is at the heart of plans to link a cluster of cities in the Pearl River Delta, including Hong Kong and Macau, into a Greater Bay Area rivaling Silicon Valley and Greater Tokyo as an economic hub by 2035. Sprawling over 56,000 sq km (21,600 sq miles) with a population of more than 70 million, the Greater Bay Area is the centerpiece of a drive by China's ruling Communist Party to establish a hub of advanced manufacturing and technology.
|
| Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez celebrate engagement party with their kids: Pics! Posted: 30 Sep 2019 07:13 AM PDT  Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, their children and a slew of their famous friends got together in Los Angeles on Friday night.
|
| ‘We’ve been taken hostage’: African migrants stranded in Mexico after Trump's crackdown Posted: 30 Sep 2019 12:00 AM PDT  Hundreds of migrants from Africa are stuck in Tapachula because of Mexico's willingness to bow to Trump and stem the flow of migrants African migrants protest outside the Siglo XXI migrants detention center, demanding Mexican authorities to speed up visas that would enable them to cross Mexico to the US. Photograph: Isaac Guzman/AFP/Getty ImagesNeh knew she was taking a risk when she got involved with English-language activists in mostly-Francophone Cameroon.She had no way of know that her decision would eventually force her to flee her country, fly halfway across the world and then set out on a 4,000-mile trek through dense jungle and across seven borders – only to leave her stranded in southern Mexico, where her hopes of finding safety in the US were blocked by the Mexican government's efforts to placate Donald Trump's anti-migrant rage."It is just too much," sobbed Neh,at a protest camp set up by migrants from across Africa outside the main immigration offices in the sweltering southern city of Tapachula. "We thought our suffering was almost over. And now we're stuck here, treated like the lowest citizens on earth."Not that long ago, Neh worked as a microfinance officer and lived with her husband and three children in a small town in the West of Cameroon. Earlier this year, she joined a group campaigning for anglophone independence. She insists her activism was peaceful and that she never supported rebel groups, but amid spiralling violence, she was arrested, beaten, and raped by soldiers. One night, an officer took her from her cell and told her to start running. She imagined she was about to die – but instead she ran into the arms of her husband who had paid a bribe for her freedom.Hustled into hiding, Neh was then put on a plane to Quito where she joined the growing number of migrants from around the world using Ecuador as the jumping off point for the passage north. mapThe harrowing journey requires crossing the the lawless jungles of Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama, where migrants risk wild animals, raging rivers and predatory robbers .For seven days, the 37-year-old hauled herself up and down mountain slopes, hanging on tree roots. Crossing a river, she was almost swept away by the current; an insect bite paralyzed her arm. And each day, her group passed the bloated and half-eaten corpses of others who had died on the same trail.The next stage of her odyssey was more straightforward. With the help of bribes and official paperwork, Neh travelled by bus across Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. She began to dream of a new life in the US, reunited with the three children she had left behind.And then, in Mexico, everything ground to an halt. She joined hundreds of migrants from Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Eritrea, Mauritania, and a smattering of other African countries who are stuck in Tapachula because of Mexico's willingness to bow to Trump and stem the flow of migrants.Until recently, African migrants were waved through Mexico by immigration officials who had no interest in stopping them. Photograph: Isaac Guzman/AFP/Getty ImagesTrump's main target has always Central Americans who account for most of the migrant flow through Mexico. But the crackdown has caught up travelers from all around the world.Their situation has only been exacerbated by US policies. Earlier this month the US supreme court ruled that the US authorities could deny asylum to anybody who passed through another country to get there.Meanwhile, US officials have pressured Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to accept asylum seekers from third countries, even though they are among the most dangerous countries in the world. "We have been taken hostage. We want our freedom," said José Pelé Messa, a TV presenter who fled the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2010 – first for Angola, and then Brazil, which he had left earlier this year when the security situation there made life untenable.Around him, the inhabitants of the protest camp were gearing up for another day of boredom, under the watchful eye of a group of National Guard officers in riot gear.Railings were draped with blankets and clothes sodden in the previous night's downpour. Migrants – grouped by nationality or language – pored over documents in Spanish that they couldn't read or scanned their phones for news from home. A pregnant woman prepared soup on a small wooden burner outside her tent. A couple of toddlers were using discarded plastic bottles as drums.Pelé gestured at the desultory scene: "I took my children through the jungle for this? I'm a corpse. I just haven't started rotting yet."Until recently, African migrants were waved through Mexico by immigration officials who had no interest in stopping them.But after Trump's threat of trade tariffs in May, Mexico's government scrambled to clamp down: flooding the south of the country with law enforcement, and stepping up cooperation with the US policy of sending asylum seekers back into northern Mexico while their cases are processed.For migrants from countries in Africa, who are much harder to repatriate, it has meant being kept in limbo. Photograph: Isaac Guzman/AFP/Getty ImagesFor Central Americans trying to get through southern Mexico the crackdown has brought more raids, record numbers of deportations, and greater vulnerability to criminal attacks as they are pushed into less visible routes.For migrants from countries in Africa, who are much harder to repatriate, it has meant being kept in limbo.Previously, Mexican immigration authorities had typically issued African migrants with documents ordering them to sort out their status or leave the country within 21 days. Now these documents, which had previously served as de facto transit visas, order them to leave by the southern border. "Mexico is using us as an instrument of politics to please Donald Trump," said Serge, 21, who also fled the conflict in Cameroon. "This is creating a lot of anger among us."Frustration in the camp has bubbled over several times, leading to some scuffles with the authorities. This weekend a small group of desperate Africa temporarily blocked a car carrying Filippo Grandi, the head of UNHCR who was visiting Tapachula. One pregnant woman threw herself in front of the car's wheels crying and pleading for help.Migrants are particularly angered by the perception that they are being coerced into applying for asylum in Mexico – where few feel safe and almost none want to stay."Mexico is playing games with us," said a 36-year-old engineer from Eritrea who identified himself as Mr Testahiwet. "This is the way to get to America and we want to go to America. Mexico is the wrong place to ask for asylum."Some are so desperate they have begun looking for ways to get through Mexico undetected – though their skin colour and their lack of Spanish makes this hard to do.One recent dawn, at a major crossing point on the Suchiate river, not far from Tapachula, around 10 Cameroonians clambered onto a raft made of huge inner tubes and headed towards the Guatemalan side. The migrants sat in a glum and nervous silence as they were punted across, and then piled into cars with blackened windows, presumably driven by people smugglers who had promised to get them through Mexico by another route.Back at the camp, Kelly, another English-speaking refugee from Cameroon, said she hadn't been able to speak to her children for weeks. Back home, she had been a physics teacher, but she fled her job and her home when the rebels enforced a school boycott on pain of death."You leave when you can't take it anymore. You start running, and you keep running until you can stop," she said. "We are not looking for greener pastures – we are looking for safety."
|
| Iran's iconic anti-US murals make way for a new generation of artwork Posted: 29 Sep 2019 12:16 PM PDT  Famous murals celebrating Iran's Islamic revolution daubed on walls of the former US embassy in Tehran have been erased to make way for new paintings to be unveiled on the fortieth anniversary of the hostage crisis. Three workers were on Sunday afternoon seen removing the original artwork with a sandblaster against the wall of Taleqani avenue, bordering the south side of what was once dubbed a US "spy nest" in central Tehran. On November 4, 1979, less than nine months after Iran's last shah was toppled, pro-revolution students took Americans hostage at the embassy to protest the ex-shah's admission to hospital in the US.
|
| Houston Shaken by ‘Cold-Blooded’ Killing of Pioneer Sikh Sheriff’s Deputy Posted: 28 Sep 2019 02:43 PM PDT  Harris County Sheriff's Office/TwitterSheriff''s Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal gained national attention in 2015 when the Harris County Sheriff's Office allowed him to become one of first Sikhs in the country to wear a traditional turban and keep his beard long in accordance with his faith. His death on Friday, at the hands of a wanted fugitive who allegedly shot him in cold blood in the back of the head following a routine traffic stop, has shaken the Houston area.Residents staged an impromptu, candle-lit vigil on Friday night, and flooded the sheriff's office with fond memories and videos of the fallen deputy. In one video, which the sheriff's department shared to Twitter, Dhaliwal can be seen letting a young boy lock him in handcuffs. In another, he can be seen collecting supplies for victims of Hurricane Harvey."He was there all day every day, loading trucks, handing out food—he went above and beyond," said Gurwin Ahuja of We Are Sikhs, an organization that worked with Dhaliwal on the Harvey relief effort. "He was doing this difficult job, but he had this joyousness about him that uplifted people during a difficult time."Dhaliwal was also seen as an inspiration for other Sikhs in law enforcement. He joined the force in 2009, at a tense time for the department and the Sikh community, former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia told The Daily Beast. The year before, a different deputy had responded to reports of a robbery at a Sikh family's home and wound up putting the entire family in handcuffs. The incident became a "lightning rod" in the community, Garcia said. He decided to visit a Sikh temple and ask members of the community to join the force. Dhaliwal was the only one in the crowd to answer his call.Years later, when Garcia began allowing practicing Sikhs to wear their articles of faith on the job, Dhaliwal was the first officer to don a turban and full beard—outward symbols of spiritual devotion in the Sikh tradition. "[Dhaliwal] looked beyond himself and he said, 'Can you imagine what this will say to the Sikh community, to the Indian community, what it will say to the diversity of the county that you welcome anyone who wants to serve and allow us to be who we are?'" said Garcia, now the county police commissioner. The department currently employs one other Sikh deputy and several more community members in civilian roles. Other departments around the country have followed. For example, in late 2016 the NYPD began allowing Sikh officers to wear a navy blue turban fastened with police brass in what the police commissioner hailed as a "major change in our uniform policy."But Manpreet Kaur Singh, a local attorney who helped lobby the sheriff's department form the policy change, said he never imagine Dhaliwal would die this way. "When you're celebrating an accommodation you never anticipate that the results of that accommodation could be that you lose your life," he told The Daily Beast.At this point, authorities say they do not believe the killing was a hate crime. "We don't have any evidence right now to indicate that's the case," said Harris County Sheriff's spokesman Jason Spencer. "Our indications are this is an individual who had an active parole violation and his motivation was not to go back to prison." The suspect, Robert Solis, has been a wanted fugitive since 2017, when he violated parole on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, authorities said. He has previously been charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery and driving under the influence, according to Harris County court records.Authorities say dashboard camera footage from Dhaliwal's police vehicle shows the sheriff's deputy talking with Solis, 47, after pulling him over for running a stop sign. The conversation appeared routine, authorities said. But when Dhaliwal turned to walk back to his patrol car, Solis got out and ran toward the deputy with a gun and shot the officer twice in the back of head. The suspect "basically just shot him in a very ruthless, cold-blooded way," Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a press conference. Colleagues responded after a passerby called 911 to report a police officer had been shot. Dhaliwal was airlifted to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.Police also questioned a woman who was in the passenger seat during the traffic stop, authorities said in a Saturday court hearing. The woman said Solis warned her they were about to be pulled over and that he had tickets, investigators said. She said Dhaliwal allowed her to leave before the shooting occurred.The woman told investigators she was with a friend when Solis allegedly called and said he had just shot a police officer and to come pick him up, investigators said. She told police that she didn't believe him at first, but that he called the friend and told him the same thing.Approximately an hour after the shooting, deputies found a man matching images taken from the dash cam in a nearby Kroger lot. When stopped by police, the suspect, who was later identified as Solis, became "irate and refused to identify himself," investigators said. Police later recovered surveillance video showing him dumping the Glock .45 caliber semi automatic handgun in a trash can.Investigators said Solis allegedly confirmed during questioning that he had been pulled over for a traffic stop. It was not clear if he had been asked about the shooting and if so what he said. Solis is being held without bail in Harris County jail and could not immediately be reached for comment. The murder happened almost four years to the day after the shooting death of Harris County Deputy Darren Goforth, according to Gonzalez. The sheriff said in a tweet that the two slain officers were "close friends," and that Dhaliwal was the first deputy on the scene to Goforth's murder, which took place roughly a mile away from where Dhaliwal was shot.A GoFundMe for Dhaliwal's family had raised more than $68,000 by Saturday afternoon, approximately 15 hours after it was first established. Singh said he and fellow community leaders organized the fundraiser on behalf of Dhaliwal's widow and three children, who were overwhelmed by the flood of support after the officer's death."It's just [come] from all avenues—people who you would never even think," said Singh, who noted that his opposing counsel had donated to the fund. "It's just been overwhelming. I wish there was a better adjective to describe it."Dhaliwal had recently returned from a volunteer trip to Puerto Rico to help victims of the hurricane there, according to Gonzalez. He was still remembered in the Houston community for helping rebuild homes, delivering food, and find aid money for first responders who were affected by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Ahuja said. Becoming the first person in the sheriff's department to wear the articles of faith while serving was just another embodiment of those values, he added. "That's what the turban represented," Ahuja said. "It represented a commitment to stand up for the equality of all people. He wanted to wear the turban on his head and live out those values as a police officer."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
|
| Is This Netanyahu's Last Chance at Political Redemption? Posted: 29 Sep 2019 12:14 PM PDT  The longest-serving prime minister in Israeli history has the odds stacked against him. But he still has a fighting chance of staying in power.
|
| Meet the Memphis teen who wore a gold gown when he was crowned Homecoming Royalty Posted: 29 Sep 2019 05:55 PM PDT  Being crowned White Station High Homecoming Royalty was years in the making for 17-year-old Brandon Allen.
|
| Robert Mugabe buried in a steel coffin encased in concrete as family claims people are 'after his body' Posted: 29 Sep 2019 05:36 PM PDT  The bizarre burial of Robert Mugabe saw the former Zimbabwean leader interred in a steel-lined coffin under a layer of concrete on Saturday, following a bitter dispute over his resting place between government officials, traditional leaders and family members. Twenty-two days after he died, the body of the strongman was finally buried next to his home with second wife Grace Mugabe in Kutama, Zvimba, the village of his birth, 55 miles north west of Harare. His eldest nephew, Leo Mugabe, who played a central role in the prolonged burial drama, said the coffin which brought his embalmed body to Harare from Singapore had to be changed for security reasons. "People really are after his body or his body parts, so we wanted something that is tamper-proof. That is why the casket was changed," he told a local radio station. After the coffin was lowered into the ground in a private ceremony close to the home which Grace Mugabe had built after their marriage, concrete was laid down around it. Mugabe's family claimed that this was the burial place he had ultimately wanted and had spoken of in the last six months of his life in Singapore, angry that he had been ousted from power two years ago by his long-time ally, President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Mrs Mugabe, 54, draped in heavy black lace for more than three weeks, had made it clear to all who would listen that Mr Mnangagwa and his loyalists were not welcome at the burial. Had he been buried at Heroes Acre, the burial ground commissioned by her late husband and the resting place preferred by the government, she would not have been able to prevent their attendance. Crucially, it would also have meant him being buried next to his first wife, Sally Mugabe, still regarded by many as the "mother" of the Zimbabwean nation. Grace Mugabe had claimed that her late husband did not want to be interred at Heroes Acre, the burial ground and national monument which also holds the grave of his first wife, Sally Credit: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP Amid various conflicting claims over his wishes, Mugabe, who died of cancer aged 95, had reportedly also said that he wanted to be buried next to his mother elsewhere in Zvimba. Leo Mugabe asserted that this was not possible due to a lack of space - although The Telegraph ascertained that there was in fact plenty of available ground within a few yards of his mother's ornate grave. Last week, Mrs Mugabe had come up with another proposal, saying she wanted her late husband buried in the grounds of their Harare mansion, informally known by locals as the Blue Roof. But the Harare City Council said that was not possible as the land was not a cemetery. Mrs Mugabe then also discovered that the title deeds of the multi-million pound home, with massive landscaped grounds, lake and wildlife, was in the name of a company owned by the ruling Zanu PF party. In a late twist in the saga, the Mugabe family had finally agreed, after negotiations with traditional leaders and the government, that the former president could after all be buried at Heroes Acre. But this was on the condition that a mausoleum would be built for him on the crest of the hill overlooking hundreds of graves of his former colleagues, mainly from the war against Rhodesian minority white rule. Mugabe's sons, Robert Jnr and Chatunga, agreed the site of the mausoleum, and building began - only for the plan to be changed again. The costs of the abandoned preparations are not known. The official funeral service for Mugabe, attended by 11 African heads of state, was held two weeks ago in a half empty stadium in Harare.
|
| Clashes Intensify With Petrol Bombs and Fires: Hong Kong Update Posted: 29 Sep 2019 05:00 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong police used a water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas on protesters who set a train station entrance on fire and hurled petrol bombs as they tried to march on the government offices in the city center.Demonstrators marched without permission on Sunday after an approved rally the day before. Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Thursday took responsibility for the "entire unrest" that has rocked the city since June in a bid to calm tensions. Even largely peaceful gatherings have descended into chaos in recent weeks as smaller groups of hard-core protesters battled with police.Key Developments:Protesters and police clashed in one of the most violent days in about 17 weeks of unrestTens of thousands gathered for a rally to mark the fifth anniversary of the pro-democracy Occupy movementThe government said it will "take forward constitutional development" in response to demands for political reform and implementing universal suffrageJoshua Wong, a prominent leader of the Occupy Movement, announced that he'll run in the city's district council elections in NovemberHere's the latest (all times local):Stations closed (6:30 p.m.)MTR Corp., operator of the city's rail network, said Wan Chai, Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Tin Hau stations were closed because of public activities. Train services in Tsuen Wan, Island and South Island lines have also been adjusted, it said.Fires started (6 p.m.)An entrance to Wan Chai train station was ablaze and fires were started in other areas as the main march was dispersed by police who fired repeated rounds of rubber bullets and tear gas. Emergency workers were treating a number of injured people in the streets, with at least one laying unconscious.Water cannon, arrests (5 p.m.)Police used a water cannon to spray a blue-dyed liquid at protesters and made numerous arrests, as activists set up barricades across Gloucester Road, a major traffic artery through the city.March goes on (4:30 p.m.)Protesters pushed ahead with their march as police blocked roads and fired repeated rounds of tear gas. The Wan Chai train station, closed because of the demonstrations, was vandalized by a small group. Fire alarms rang out and explosions could be heard after activists set objects alight and smashed glass panes.Police fire tear gas (2:20 p.m.)Riot police fired multiple rounds of tear gas at demonstrators in Causeway Bay after standoffs and clashes, as a helicopter hovered overhead. The protesters were due to march to the government offices in Admiralty, without applying for permission.At least two people were arrested. The weekend's protests come as China prepares to celebrate 70 years of Communist Party rule on Oct. 1.Pro-China rally (11:15 a.m.)Hundreds of demonstrators waved China flags and shouted pro-Beijing slogans as they rallied on the waterfront in the shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui.Across the harbor on Hong Kong island, some businesses and malls shut and others said they would close early in anticipation of a march planned for later in the day.Sogo said its store in Causeway Bay wouldn't open Sunday out of concern for the safety of customers and staff. In the same district, the World Trade Centre was closed and Hysan Place posted a notice saying it would shut down at 1 p.m.'Rubbish rhetoric' (Sunday 11 a.m.)Claudia Mo, a lawmaker who has been active in the protest movement, dismissed the government's statement that it wants to move toward introducing universal suffrage."This is just one of the many, many propaganda tricks by the government of Carrie Lam. They pretend that they're taking a step towards universal suffrage but they aren't," she said. "It's just rubbish rhetoric."There can't be real freedom in Hong Kong politics because Beijing has the right to screen out any candidates it dislikes, Mo said.Stop and search operations (10:30 p.m.)Police conducted stop-and-search operations at various places across the city, challenging people on foot and on public transportation. Police stopped buses entering the Cross Harbour Tunnel and also carried out searches in Causeway Bay and Wan Chai, where passengers were forced off buses to be checked.Government responds (9 p.m.)The government said that universal suffrage for "selection of the chief executive and electing all members of the Legislative Council is enshrined as an ultimate aim in the Basic Law." In response to demands for political reform, the government will move forward in line with the Basic law and China's interpretation of it, it said in a statement."To achieve this aim, the community needs to engage in dialogues, premised on the legal basis and under a peaceful atmosphere with mutual trust, with a view to narrowing differences and attaining a consensus agreeable to all sides," it said.Water cannon deployed (8:45 p.m.)Police deployed a water cannon, shooting blue dye, and fired tear gas after clashes with protesters. A group of people hurled bricks at officers and blocked off roads, police said in a statement.Protesters praised (8 p.m.)Organizers of the rally and speakers at the event praised the protest movement and the people's solidarity in opposing Lam's extradition bill.Joshua Wong, a prominent leader of the Occupy Movement, said the demonstrations had put Hong Kong in the international spotlight and was the reason the U.S. is considering passing a human rights act to monitor the level of autonomy in the city. He said there was no turning back for the movement.Civil Human Rights Front, the organizer of the rally, said in a statement that five years after the Umbrella Movement fought for universal suffrage, nothing has been achieved and protest leaders have been jailed. This year, a new generation of activists inspired almost one third of the city's population to take to the streets and force Lam into withdrawing the bill. Still, the protesters must continue to fight for their five demands, it said.Rally starts (7 p.m.)Thousands of people packed Tamar Park in Admiralty to mark the fifth year since the Occupy protests that were centered in the area. The protesters sang, waved their mobile phones and shone lasers as they waited for the guest speakers.Protesters took over roads leading to the venue and police said they used "minimum force" to disperse some who had charged at officers' cordons.Red alert at government building (6:40 p.m.)The Legislative Council Secretariat issued a red alert, requiring everybody at the lawmakers' building in Admiralty to evacuate for safety reasons.Riot police guard stations (6:30 p.m.)Some access points into train stations near the site of Saturday's rally were shut, and rail operator MTR Corp. said service could be disrupted, as riot police stood guard outside exits to the facilities.Thousands of people poured into the area for the rally to commemorate the Occupy protest and massed at Tamar Park in Admiralty.Lennon Wall link (4 p.m.)Protesters created so-called Lennon Walls in Victoria Park in attempt to link them through the district of Wan Chai to Admiralty, where the Occupy protest was staged in 2014.In Admiralty, people plastered walls with posters of Mao Zedong, saying "Revolution is no crime, to rebel is justified" -- a popular slogan used by Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. China's President Xi Jinping's image covered the floor in some areas.Wong to stand in elections (Saturday 11:30 a.m.)Joshua Wong announced that he'll run in the city's district council elections in November. He told a press conference in Hong Kong on Saturday that if the government disqualifies him from taking part, it will face more protests and international pressure.Xi approved bill withdrawal: SCMP (7 a.m.)Hong Kong's Lam asked Chinese President Xi Jinping for approval before withdrawing her controversial extradition bill, the South China Morning Post reported, citing unidentified people.Lam said at the time that it was her decision to withdraw the proposed law to try to break the political deadlock and enter into some form of dialogue with the public, and that China respected her reasons for doing so, the Post reported. The plan was sent to Xi's office for approval before it was announced on Sept. 4, the newspaper cited a person close to the government as saying.Restore rule of law: lawyers (Saturday 7 a.m.)A group of 339 local lawyers called on the government and the people of Hong Kong to uphold and protect the rule of law in a full-page advertisement published in Sing Tao newspaper on Saturday.The lawyers, who didn't provide names but listing their identity numbers, condemned all violence and called for respect for people's safety, rights and freedoms, and for public property. They said Hong Kong must restore its place as a "shining beacon in the region for safety, personal freedoms and economic opportunity for persons of all backgrounds."They said the statement was issued in their personal capacities.\--With assistance from Melissa Cheok and Shawna Kwan.To contact the reporters on this story: Natalie Lung in Hong Kong at flung6@bloomberg.net;Aaron Mc Nicholas in Hong Kong at amcnicholas2@bloomberg.net;Manuel Baigorri in Hong Kong at mbaigorri@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Stanley JamesFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
|
| U.S. Marines Say a Moment's Confusion Caused the Fatal 2018 Air Collision Posted: 29 Sep 2019 02:09 PM PDT  The report also described the squadron as having "a command climate of general unprofessionalism and misconduct."
|
| Snapback to higher bond yields? At least five years, strategists say Posted: 29 Sep 2019 05:09 PM PDT  A return to significantly higher yields will take longer than previously thought, according to a Reuters poll of fixed-income strategists who slashed their year-ahead major government bond yield forecasts to the lowest since polling began 17 years ago. With no resolution in sight to the U.S.-China trade war, the current modest global economic expansion cycle has taken a hit, prompting major central banks to shift to policy easing this year from a tightening view at the turn of last year. About 70% of strategists who answered an additional question said the era of low interest rates and sovereign bond yields will last at least another five years, compared to two years predicted just three months ago.
|
| GOP’s Rep. Collins Resigns, to Plead Guilty in Insider Case Posted: 30 Sep 2019 11:26 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Representative Christopher Collins, a Republican from New York who was an early supporter of Donald Trump's presidential run, is resigning from Congress and pleading guilty in an insider-trading case.Collins was charged last year with passing non-public information about Innate Immunotherapeutics Ltd., an Australian biotechnology company, to his son. The lawmaker was arrested in August 2018 along with the son, Cameron Collins, and Stephen Zarsky, the father of Cameron's fiancee. Prosecutors said the case was the first in which insider-trading charges were brought against a sitting member of Congress.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's spokesman Drew Hammill said on Monday that her office had received a letter from Collins and that his resignation would take effect Tuesday.Collins's resignation could help the Democrats by staining the GOP as the 2020 elections approach and the House leadership conducts its impeachment inquiry. More narrowly, it could help the Republicans hold the district by removing Collins as a campaign issue. He won re-election in 2018, while under indictment, by only 1,000 votes in a heavily Republican district made up of areas surrounding Buffalo and Rochester in western New York.There are no constitutional provisions or House rules that require a member to forfeit his or her seat after a felony conviction. But the lawmaker, who had already been stripped of his committee assignments, would no longer have been able to vote in Congress.Collins, who'd claimed that seizures of evidence from his staff by law-enforcement authorities had violated his constitutional rights, is scheduled to change his plea to guilty in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday, according to court documents. His son and Zarsky are scheduled to plead guilty on Thursday.James Margolin, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey Berman, declined to comment on the planned guilty pleas. Lawyers for the three defendants didn't immediately return calls seeking comment. Collins's office declined to comment and referred calls to his attorney.Collins was the first member of Congress to endorse Trump in the 2016 election. Last week, he took to Twitter to criticize the announcement by House Democrats that they're pursuing an impeachment investigation of the president, calling it a "witch hunt."A judge ruled this month against a request by Collins to review materials he said would show that investigators breached a constitutional provision limiting official inquiries into legislative matters. He'd moved to appeal the ruling, claiming that the evidence seizures violated the Speech or Debate Clause, which protects members of Congress from arrest and prosecution based on their political views.The three defendants were scheduled to go to trial Feb. 3.Prosecutors claimed Collins tipped off his son about negative results in a clinical trial for a drug being developed by Innate Immunotherapeutics to treat a form of multiple sclerosis. Collins, one of the company's largest shareholders, served on the board and had access to non-public information.His son then passed the news to his girlfriend, his girlfriend's mother, Zarsky and a friend, prosecutors said. In the four days before the negative drug news was announced, they and others sold more than 1.78 million Innate shares, avoiding losses of about $768,000, according to prosecutors.The case is U.S. v. Collins, 18-cr-567, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).(Updates with Collins's resignation.)\--With assistance from Daniel Flatley and Erik Wasson.To contact the reporters on this story: Bob Van Voris in federal court in Manhattan at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net;Chris Dolmetsch in Federal Court in Manhattan at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Peter JeffreyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
|
