Chaos erupted on the streets of Hong Kong on Monday as the city entered its ninth consecutive week of anti-government protests. In North Point, protesters clashed with a group of men carrying sticks, while riot police deployed teargas in various parts of the city to disperse demonstrators
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Hong Kong protesters use flashmob tactics to evade police
Mass demonstrations continue ahead of city-wide strike and protests in seven districts
Protesters have taken to the streets of Hong Kong for another round of mass anti-government demonstrations as political unrest continues to roil the city.
Ahead of a city-wide strike and simultaneous protests in seven districts, on Sunday night protesters evaded and frustrated the police by holding flashmob demonstrations. Groups of protesters scattered, switching locations at the last minute and disappearing before riot police were able to arrive en masse.
Continue reading...Mike Pompeo urges Australia to stand up for itself over trade with China
US secretary of state dismisses warning by top security analyst, arguing ‘you can sell your soul for a pile of soy beans or you can protect your people’
The US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has declared “you can sell your soul for a pile of soy beans, or you can protect your people”, dismissing a warning from prominent Australian security analyst Hugh White that Australia should avoid following Donald Trump into a confrontation with Beijing that America probably can’t win.
Pompeo issued the provocative declaration during a question-and-answer session at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney on Sunday.
Continue reading...Australia giving ‘serious consideration’ to US request to help it confront Iran
Mike Pompeo hails ‘unbreakable’ relationship between Washington and Canberra as he urges Australia to join coalition to protect shipping in the Gulf
Australia’s defence minister Linda Reynolds says the Morrison government is giving “very serious consideration” to a formal request from the Trump administration to join a US-led coalition to protect shipping in the Gulf from Iranian military forces.
Reynolds told journalists on Sunday after annual security talks between the Australian and American foreign affairs and defence ministers that the Morrison government was deeply concerned by the heightened tensions in the region, and strongly condemned the attacks on shipping in the Gulf.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protests: police arrest more than 20 after violent clashes
Tense standoffs follow peaceful march with police resorting to teargas and pepper spray on third consecutive day of mass protest
Demonstrators in Hong Kong have clashed with riot police as the city entered its third consecutive day of mass protests.
On Sunday, the police said they had arrested 20 people during Saturday’s clashes for offences including unlawful assembly and assault.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protesters risk arrest as Beijing steps up warnings
Thousands gather in Kowloon as tension mounts in former British colony
Thousands of demonstrators marched in Hong Kong on Saturday, facing the threat of arrest and increasingly severe warnings from Beijing.
Protesters clad head to toe in black, carrying umbrellas and orange helmets, deviated from the route approved by police and took over a major road of the normally busy shopping district of Mongkok. One group held a black banner with the words: “The police have overstepped”, while others chanted for the release of protesters who have been arrested over the last two months of demonstrations.
Continue reading...Activists scramble to prevent Uighur man’s deportation to China
Ablikim Yusuf, who had been living in Pakistan, faces detention and torture if he is sent to China, say supporters
Human rights activists are scrambling to prevent the imminent deportation of a Uighur man to China, where they say he faces torture.
Ablikim Yusuf, 53, who has been living in Pakistan, posted a desperate video on Facebook asking for help from the overseas Uighur community. He says in the video, translated and circulated by activists on Saturday: “I am currently being held in Doha airport, about to be deported to Beijing, China. I need the world’s help. I am originally from Hotan.”
Continue reading...First human-monkey chimera raises concern among scientists
Researchers reprogrammed human cells before injecting them in the monkey embryo
Efforts to create human-animal chimeras have rebooted an ethical debate after reports emerged that scientists have produced monkey embryos containing human cells.
A chimera is an organism whose cells come from two or more “individuals”, with recent work looking at combinations from different species. The word comes from a beast from Greek mythology which was said to be part lion, part goat and part snake.
Continue reading...Trump rattles markets as US economy adds 164,000 jobs in July – as it happened
Markets fell sharply as Trump threatens fresh tariffs; US non-farm payrolls matched economists’ expectations in July, while June figures were revised down
- Global markets take fright as Trump ramps up US-China trade war
- Trump’s threat of new China tariffs sparks backlash from US retailers
- US extends record-breaking growth streak by adding 164,000 jobs in July
The Bank of Finland governor Olli Rehn has confirmed that he has withdrawn from the race to become the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
EU is about to vote on Europe’s candidate for IMF managing director. It is an exceptionally meaningful and motivating job. However, at this stage I withdraw my name from the ballot, so that we can achieve a broad-based consensus for the European candidate, and world-wide support.
Continue reading...Hong Kong civil servants protest in defiance of loyalty order
Mass walkout from government offices at start of four days of mass demonstrations
Thousands of civil servants in Hong Kong have protested against the government in a rare display of defiance as the city braces for four consecutive days of mass demonstrations.
The public servants, who are normally politically neutral, defied a government order to remain “totally loyal” to Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, and crowded into a public park near government offices.
Continue reading...‘This isn’t true’: Uighur families angered by China claim relatives freed
China’s claim it has freed 90% of people in Xinjiang detention camps has been met with anger and scepticism
When news broke that senior officials in China were saying 90% of Uighurs detained in Xinjiang’s notorious detention centres had been released, Nurgul Sawut’s phone started going crazy.
“My Whatsapp, my Signal, my Facebook, everyone was tagging me in their posts,” said Sawut, a Uighur community leader based in Canberra. “Everyone started reacting. They were saying: ‘If 90%, where are my relatives, where are my family and friends?’ We’re not seeing any of those people in the community, who are you releasing?”
Continue reading...Trump’s threat of new China tariffs sparks backlash from US retailers
Industry warns of job losses and higher consumer prices after president targets another $300bn in imports
US retailers were lining up on Thursday night against Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on a fresh $300bn of Chinese imports in September, if a US-China trade deal can’t be struck.
Financial experts warned of an “economic drag” in the further escalation of trade tensions with China – after the president said that China had not stuck to various promises over trade that he had previously touted as signs of progress.
Continue reading...Uighurs challenge China to prove missing relatives are free
Diaspora sceptical over claim most inmates released from Xinjiang detainment centres
China’s claim that most inmates have been released from mass detention centres in Xinjiang region has been met with scepticism by the Uighur diaspora, which has launched a social media campaign challenging Beijing to prove it.
Rights groups and experts say more than 1 million mostly Muslim ethnic minorities have been detained in internment camps in the tightly controlled north-west region, home to China’s ethnic Uighur population.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protests: China releases dramatic army propaganda video
Chinese military garrison chief in Hong Kong says army is determined to protect China’s sovereignty, stoking fears of intervention
China has released a dramatic video showing off its army’s capabilities as the head of the armed forces in Hong Kong said the unrest in the province had seriously threatened the life and safety” of the people and should not be tolerated.
The commander of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) garrison in Hong Kong warned it was “determined to protect national sovereignty, security, stability and the prosperity of Hong Kong”.
Continue reading...Hong Kong police officer threatens protesters with shotgun – video
Police have clashed with protesters outside Kwai Chung police station where dozens of demonstrators are being held. Protesters gathered outside the police station after authorities announced that 44 arrested protesters would appear in court. One officer was seen brandishing a shotgun at the protesters. On the other side of Hong Kong, at least 10 people were injured after a vehicle launched fireworks at pro-democracy protesters in Tin Shui Wai. The crowd at Tin Shui Wai police station were also calling for the release of three protesters. A black Toyota reportedly shot fireworks at the crowd in the early hours of the morning
Hong Kong protesters charged with rioting as violence flares
Supporters gather outside court where accused appeared, chanting ‘liberate Hong Kong’
More than 20 people have appeared in court in Hong Kong charged with rioting, as hundreds of supporters gathered outside the building chanting “revolution of our time” and “liberate Hong Kong”.
The hearings marked the first time authorities have resorted to the serious charges of rioting since the beginning of a wave of unrest that has plunged the former British colony into its biggest political crisis since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
Continue reading...China’s first ‘cyber-dissident’ jailed for 12 years
Huang Qi, who ran a website reporting on sensitive topics, is accused of leaking state secrets
China’s first “cyber-dissident”, whose website reported on sensitive topics including human rights, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for leaking state secrets.
Huang Qi ran a website called 64 Tianwang – named after the bloody 4 June 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protesters.
Continue reading...China calls for Hong Kong to swiftly punish ‘radical’ protesters
Beijing offers full support to region’s leader in rare remarks from government office
China has offered its full support to Hong Kong’s embattled leader and its police force, and said violent protesters must be swiftly punished, in rare remarks by the government office that oversees policy towards the territory.
Hong Kong has been rocked by two months of escalating pro-democracy protests that have posed the most significant challenge to Beijing’s authority since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Continue reading...Hong Kong police fire teargas at protesters in third day of unrest – video
Police fired several rounds of teargas at protesters in resdiential areas of Hong Kong in the third day of mass protests as political unrest deepens. Riot police advanced through thick clouds of tear gas as they fired rounds towards protesters, with protesters arming themselves with umbrellas, scrambling to douse the gas canisters with water and throwing them back towards police lines in the city's Sai Wan district. Police were seen arresting a handful of protesters who were led away in handcuffs.
Continue reading...Hong Kong police fire teargas as protests enter third day
Demonstrators defy ban on marching and set up barricades as unrest deepens
Police fired several rounds of teargas at protesters in residential areas of Hong Kong in the third day of mass protests as political unrest in Hong Kong deepens.
Groups of protesters attending an anti-government rally on Sunday defied police orders and fanned out from the sanctioned area in central Hong Kong, streaming west and east, occupying roads and setting up barricades, prompting major roads and shops to close.
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