Donald Trump has admitted he may rethink his deepening trade war with China after criticism from fellow world leaders at the G7 summit in Biarritz. Asked at a working breakfast with Boris Johnson if he had had second thoughts about the standoff, the president replied: 'Yeah, sure. Why not? … I have second thoughts about everything'
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Massive pumice ‘raft’ spotted in the Pacific could help replenish Great Barrier Reef
The 150 sq km field of floating rock was created by an underwater volcanic eruption near Tonga
A giant raft of pumice, which was spotted in the Pacific and is expected to make its way towards Australia, could help the recovery of the Great Barrier Reef from its bleaching episode by restocking millions of tiny marine organisms, including coral.
The pumice raft, which is about 150 sq km, was produced by an underwater volcano near Tonga. It was first reported by Australian couple Michael Hoult and Larissa Brill, who were sailing a catamaran to Fiji, on 16 August.
Continue reading...Nauru election: President Baron Waqa reportedly loses his seat
Preliminary results show that leader has been beaten by two rivals in his Boe electorate
Nauru’s president, Baron Waqa, has reportedly lost his seat in parliament.
Preliminary election results from his electorate of Boe show that Waqa, who has been president since 2013, lost out to Asterio Appi and Martin Hunt.
Continue reading...Teargas and traffic cones fly as Hong Kong police clash with protesters – video
Riot police have deployed teargas and batons against thousands of protesters rallying against government surveillance, includin lamp posts equipped with sensors. Hundreds of officers charged at protesters, beating them as they fled.
Continue reading...Hong Kong riot police beat protesters at anti-surveillance rally
Teargas thrown at masked demonstrators angry over lamp posts equipped with CCTV
Hong Kong riot police have fired rounds of teargas, rubber bullets, pepper balls and sponge rounds, and beaten people, as protesters led them on a game of cat-and-mouse across the city. The actions took place after a peaceful afternoon march into a confrontation and split into several impromptu marches in different locations.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators took part in an anti-government rally in the Kwun Tong district in Kowloon on Saturday, marking the city’s 12th week of protests. The peaceful march, sanctioned by police, turned into a tense standoff between riot police and protesters by mid-afternoon after demonstrators built barricades with bamboo rods and plastic traffic barriers outside a police station.
Continue reading...Russia Today puts Japan on the map, where New Zealand should be
New channel apologises to New Zealanders for map mix-up that also labelled Papua New Guinea as South Korea
Russian news channel RT has apologised for apparently accidentally labelling New Zealand as “Japan”, and Papua New Guinea as “South Korea” in an embarrassing southern hemisphere mix-up.
The mistake came in a segment produced by their US bureau about potential new missile bases in “Japan, South Korea and Australia”. But in a large, erroneous graphic only Australia was correctly labelled.
Continue reading...North Korea fires two suspected missiles after branding Pompeo a ‘toxin’
Launch comes day after regime called US secretary of state ‘impudent’ and questioned his ability in nuclear talks
North Korea fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Saturday in the seventh weapons launch in a month, South Korea’s military said, a day after it threatened to remain America’s biggest threat in protest against US-led sanctions on the country.
The North had been expected to halt weapons tests because 10-day joint US-South Korean military exercises ended earlier this week. Pyongyang regards these drills as an invasion rehearsal.
Continue reading...Iran sanctions scandal: Australian company offloads $15m cargo it says it was duped into carrying
Quantum Fertiliser, part of ASX-listed Incitec Pivot, says it is reviewing its operations to avoid a recurrence
The Australian multinational at the centre of an Iran sanctions scandal has offloaded a $15m shipment of Iranian cargo it says it was duped into taking, and is reviewing its operations to avoid a repeat.
A subsidiary of ASX-listed company Incitec Pivot took hold of a cargo shipment of fertiliser from Iran late last month, potentially risking a contravention of strict United States sanctions.
Continue reading...Here are the reasons for Trump’s economic war with China
On Friday the US president ‘hereby ordered’ companies to halt business with China, among other attacks – how did we get here?
Even by Donald Trump’s standards his Twitter rant attacking China on Friday was extraordinary. In a series of outbursts Trump “hereby ordered” US companies to stop doing business with China, accused the country of killing 100,000 Americans a year with imported fentanyl and stealing hundred of billions in intellectual property.
The attack marked a new low in Sino-US relations and looks certain to escalate a trade war already worrying investors, manufacturers and economists who are concerned that the dispute between the two economic superpowers could trigger a recession.
Continue reading...China puts $75bn of retaliatory tariffs on US goods
Move puts additional 5% and 10% on imports in latest tit-for-tat between top two economies
China has unveiled retaliatory tariffs against about $75bn (£60bn) worth of US goods, putting up to 10% on top of existing rates in the latest tit-for-tat in the dispute between the world’s top two economies.
The salvo from China on Friday comes after the US unveiled tariffs on an additional $300bn of Chinese goods, including consumer electronics, scheduled to go into effect in two stages on 1 September and 15 December.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protests: YouTube takes down 200 channels spreading disinformation
Google-owned service says it discovered channels ‘behaved in a coordinated manner’ against pro-democracy protests
YouTube has disabled 210 channels that appeared to be part of a coordinated influence campaign against pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
The action by the Google-owned service came as Twitter and Facebook accused the Chinese government of backing a social media campaign to discredit Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and sow political discord in the city.
Continue reading...China’s state media accuses worker at UK consulate ‘of visiting prostitutes’
Allegation directed at employee of consulate in Hong Kong is often used by Bejing authorities to smear critics
Chinese state media has accused a worker at the British consulate in Hong Kong who is detained in mainland China of visiting prostitutes – an accusation often used by the authorities to smear the reputation of government critics.
Simon Cheng, 28, a trade and investment officer for Scottish Development International, travelled to Shenzhen, a city that borders Hong Kong, on 8 August. He sent messages to his girlfriend as he was about to cross back over the border at about 10pm and has not been heard from since.
Continue reading...West Papua protests: Indonesia deploys 1,000 soldiers to quell unrest, cuts internet
Jakarta cuts online access to Papua ‘and surrounding areas’ until the atmosphere ‘returns to being conducive and normal’
Indonesia has deployed more than 1,000 security personnel to West Papua and cut internet access, amid days of violent demonstrations in what activists say are the largest protests to occur in the region in years.
On Wednesday, violent unrest occurred in Fakfak, where a market was set ablaze and street battles erupted between police and protesters.
Continue reading...Hundreds of protesters march on Jacinda Ardern’s office over Māori land dispute
Petition with more than 25,000 signatures delivered, calling on New Zealand PM to visit sacred Ihumātao site
Several hundred protesters have marched on Jacinda Ardern’s Auckland office, demanding she visit Ihumātao, the site of a major indigenous land dispute that has broadened into wider anger at government inaction in tackling Māori disadvantage.
The protesters delivered a petition, signed by more than 26,000 people, to the prime minister’s office urging her to travel to the site that has been occupied for the past month as part of a housing dispute.
Continue reading...Protesters in West Papua clash with Indonesian security forces – in pictures
Large demonstrations and violent protests have taken place across the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua. On Wednesday, Jakarta said it was sending a further 1,000 security personnel to tackle the unrest, sparked by the arrest of Papuan students in the Indonesian city of Surabaya. Indonesia’s communications ministry cut the internet to its most eastern province on Wednesday ‘until the atmosphere of Papua returns to being conducive and normal’. Jakarta has battled an independence insurgency in the region since it was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a widely discredited UN-sponsored ballot
Continue reading...‘We feel helpless’: Hong Kong family’s fears for detained UK consulate worker
China says it detained Simon Cheng after he made business trip two weeks ago
The family of a UK consulate worker who was detained in mainland China during a trip from Hong Kong nearly two weeks ago have voiced their fears for his safety and said they feel helpless.
China said later that Simon Cheng, 28, had been made to serve 15 days of administrative detention in Shenzhen.
Continue reading...North Korea now able to miniaturise nuclear warheads – Japan defence report
Upcoming review out of Tokyo will reportedly say missile programme poses ‘serious and imminent threat’
Japan’s government will reportedly state that North Korea is capable of miniaturising nuclear warheads in a forthcoming defence report, it has emerged.
Tokyo will upgrade its estimate of the regime’s nuclear capability, having said last year only that the technical feat was a possibility, the conservative Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said on Wednesday, without citing sources.
Continue reading...Instagram censors Melbourne artist’s anti-Beijing post but ignores trolls
Badiucao accuses the social media firm of violating the free speech of people who speak up against China’s bullying
A Melbourne artist who posted anti-Chinese government work has had it pulled offline by Instagram, while death threats against him have remained uncensored.
The censorship of Badiucao – and later restoration – by Instagram came as Twitter and Facebook suspended more than 200,000 accounts deemed to be part of a “co-ordinated state-backed operation” of misinformation from the People’s Republic of China.
Continue reading...Alan Jones says advertisers who leave his program will be replaced by others
Total of 19 big advertisers have dropped his breakfast program after comments he made about Jacinda Ardern
Broadcaster Alan Jones says advertisers who chose to abandon his program because of his slurs against women will be replaced by others.
“I’ve got no comment about the advertisers, they can make their own judgement if they go,” a defiant Jones told Nine News. “There will be others that take their place.”
Continue reading...Employee at UK’s consulate in Hong Kong detained in China
Detention comes amid more than two months of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong
An employee at the UK’s consulate in Hong Kong has been detained by mainland Chinese authorities on his way back to the city, his girlfriend has said.
Simon Cheng, 28, was returning from a trip in Shenzhen to his native Hong Kong on 8 August when his girlfriend, Li, stopped receiving communications from him.
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