Rabu, 02 Oktober 2019
'I love Europe, but …' Boris Johnson announces his Brexit plan - Guardian News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yHtYR9YlGw
2019-10-02 11:52:33Z
52780396784013
Trump impeachment inquiry latest updates: Impeachment inquiry turns to State Department — live updates - CBS News
Key facts and latest news
- The State Department inspector general will brief congressional committee staff about unspecified documents on Wednesday.
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded to House committees scheduling depositions from State Department officials, calling it an attempt to "bully" diplomats.
- House committee chairs warned Pompeo not to obstruct the impeachment inquiry.
- Pompeo confirmed that he was on a July call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnky where Trump urged Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden.
- Soon after the call, White House officials moved a record of the call to a highly classified computer system, severely restricting who could access it.
Washington -- House Democrats leading the impeachment inquiry into President Trump are maintaining pressure on the State Department, warning Secretary of State Mike Pompeo against obstructing their probe.
On Tuesday, Pompeo accused Democrats of trying to "bully" and "intimidate" State Department officials by scheduling depositions about their involvement with President Trump's call with the Ukrainian president on short notice.
"I am concerned with aspects of your request, described more fully below, that can be understood only as an attempt to intimidate, bully, and treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State, including several career Foreign Service Officers," Pompeo wrote to the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Pompeo was revealed to have been on the call between Mr. Trump and the Ukrainian president, a development first reported by The Wall Street Journal. That development prompted the chairmen of three committees to warn Pompeo he would be considered a "fact witness" and should play no role in dictating investigators' access to witnesses or documents.
"He should immediately cease intimidating Department witnesses in order to protect himself and the President," they said in a statement.
The clash comes ahead of a hastily scheduled mysterious briefing requested by the State Department's inspector general, who requested a meeting to review unspecified documents with staffers of relevant congressional committees on Wednesday afternoon. -- Stefan Becket
Pompeo confirms he was on call between Trump and Zelesnky
7:25 a.m. Addressing reporters in Rome during an overseas visit, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed that he was on the July call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnky.
"I was on the phone call," he told the press. "I know precisely what the American policy has been with respect to Ukraine. It's been remarkably consistent, and we will continue to drive those sets of outcomes," he added.
The secretary neglected to answer questions on whether or not he had heard anything on the call that had raised any red flags, but said the call was about helping Ukraine get corruption of their government and "taking down the threat that Russia poses to Ukraine."
He said that effort will continue "even while all this noise in Washington is going on."
On the outstanding depositions for State Department officials to come before Congress, Pompeo argued that congressional committees had said State wouldn't be able to be present to protect information.
"What we objected to was the demands that were put...deeply violating fundamental principles of separation of powers. They contacted state department employees directly. Told them not to contact legal counsel in the State Department. They said that the State Department wouldn't be able to be present. There are important constitutional prerogatives that the executive branch has to be present so that we can protect important information so our partners, countries like Italy, can have confidence that the information they provide to the state department will continue to be protected," Pompeo explained.
He added of his stern letter to committee chairs: "So the response that I provided to them was one that acknowledged that we will of course do our Constitutional duty to cooperate with this co-equal branch but we are going to do so in a way that is consistent with the fundamental values of the American system."
"We won't tolerate folks on Capitol Hill bullying and intimidating state dept employees, that's unacceptable and its not something that I'm going to permit to happen," Pompeo urged.
Australia's PM downplays call with Trump
6:40 a.m. Prime Minister Scott Morrison downplayed his phone call with President Trump over the Russian interference probe, saying the conversation was not "ladled with pressure."
In an interview with Sky News, Morrison said Mr. Trump contacted him to ask "for a point of contact" for Attorney General William Barr's investigation into what triggered the FBI's Russia probe.
"A couple of weeks ago the president contacted me and asked for a point of contact between the Australian government and the U.S. attorney, which I was happy to do on the basis that was something we'd already committed to do," he said.
"It was a fairly uneventful conversation," Morrison defended, later calling the conversation "brief" and a "fairly polite request."
Barr had asked Mr. Trump to call Morrison to alert him that the attorney general would be reaching out, a department official previously told CBS News. The New York Times first reported the two leaders had spoken. Morrison was just one of several foreign officials Barr had sought out for assistance in the Department of Justice's review of the origins of the Mueller probe.
-- Emily Tillett
Giuliani threatens lawsuit against members of Congress
6:00 a.m. During his most recent appearance on Fox News, President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said he's considering filing a lawsuit against individual congress members for violating his, the president's, and possibly the administration's civil and constitutional rights.
Although Giuliani only specifically cited House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff as a potential target, he says that Congress has "violated" the president's ability to perform Article 2 of the Constitution and violated Giuliani's attorney-client privilege.
In terms of his subpoena, Giuliani says he does not regret revealing on national television the text messages he has with Ukrainian officials and the state department. He admitted that he has "many more," however, Giuliani also said that turning them over was a "complicated" issue because they're all his "work product" as an attorney.
State Department inspector general to brief committee staff on Ukraine docs
Tuesday, 6:03 p.m.: The State Department's internal watchdog invited congressional committee staff to attend a briefing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday "to discuss and provide staff with copies of documents related to the State Department and Ukraine."
Inspector General Steve Linick invited Democratic and Republican staffers from eight House and Senate committees to attend the briefing. A copy of the invitation seen by CBS News was designated "urgent," and said the inspector general "obtained the documents from the Acting Legal Advisor of the Department of State."
Several senior congressional aides from the committees said they don't know what is in the documents and that the invitation came as a surprise to them.
"It could be anything," one aide said. -- Nancy Cordes
House Intel says ex-Ukraine envoy will testify as planned
4:50 p.m.: The special envoy to Ukraine who abruptly resigned his post after his apparent entanglement with Rudy Giuliani came to light will appear as scheduled for a deposition before House lawmakers on Thursday, a House Intelligence Committee official said.
Kurt Volker resigned Friday amid scrutiny over his supposed role in facilitating contacts between Giuliani and various Ukrainian officials. He was scheduled to appear before the House committees leading the impeachment probe on Thursday and will appear behind closed doors as planned, the official said.
The official said former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch will now appear on October 11, under an agreement reached with her counsel. She was previously scheduled to appear on Wednesday.
Both officials are among the five included in Pompeo's earlier letter to the committees protesting the demand for their testimony. -- Olivia Gazis and Stefan Becket
House chairmen accuse Pompeo of witness intimidation
2:32 p.m.: The chairmen of three House committees demanding documents from Pompeo and depositions of State Department officials responded to the secretary's letter Tuesday afternoon, accusing him of obstructing their investigation.
"Secretary Pompeo was reportedly on the call when the President pressed Ukraine to smear his political opponent. If true, Secretary Pompeo is now a fact witness in the House impeachment inquiry," the chairmen wrote. "He should immediately cease intimidating Department witnesses in order to protect himself and the President."
The letter came from the chairmen of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Intelligence Committee and Oversight and Reform Committee -- Eliot Engel, Adam Schiff and Elijah Cummings, respectively.
"Any effort to intimidate witnesses or prevent them from talking with Congress -- including State Department employees -- is illegal and will constitute evidence of obstruction of the impeachment inquiry," the lawmakers continued. "In response, Congress may infer from this obstruction that any withheld documents and testimony would reveal information that corroborates the whistleblower complaint."
The chairmen said they are "committed to protecting witnesses from harassment and intimidation, and we expect their full compliance and that of the Department of State." -- Stefan Becket
Pompeo responds to Democrats' demand for depositions
10:51 a.m.: In a letter to the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Democrats of trying to "intimidate" and "bully" State Department officials with a request for testimony about their involvement in the Ukraine call. Pompeo said the committee's request does not provide enough time for the department and its employees to adequately prepare.
Pompeo, who is traveling in Italy, wrote that the request "can be understood only as an attempt to intimidate, bully, and treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State, including several career Foreign Service Officers."
He added, "Let me be clear: I will not tolerate such tactics, and I will use all means at my disposal to prevent and expose any attempts to intimidate the dedicated professionals whom I am proud to lead and serve alongside at the Department of State."
On Friday, three committee chairs wrote to Pompeo informing him they had scheduled depositions for five officials: former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, former special envoy Kurt Volker, Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent, State Department Counselor T. Ulrich Brechbuhl and U.S. Ambassador to the E.U. Gordon Sondland. All five officials were mentioned in the whistleblower complaint.
Volker resigned abruptly from his post as special envoy for Ukraine on Friday and is scheduled to be deposed on Thursday.
The chairmen also issued a subpoena for documents from Pompeo related to the call. -- Emily Tillett
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-news/trump-impeachment-inquiry-latest-updates-today-2019-10-02/
2019-10-02 11:36:00Z
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Anger Grows in Hong Kong Over Shooting of Teenage Protester - The New York Times
HONG KONG — Raw anger was building in Hong Kong on Wednesday over the shooting of a teenage demonstrator a day earlier, the first such incident since antigovernment demonstrations began in the territory nearly four months ago.
The shooting of the teenager came on a day of intense clashes across Hong Kong between protesters and the police, and hours after China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, presided over a carefully choreographed military parade in Beijing to celebrate 70 years of Communist rule.
The question now is whether the shooting will further incite a protest movement that was already seething with grievances, and which has been driven by young people who see the city’s pro-Beijing leaders as illegitimate.
In an early sign of anger over the shooting, a Wednesday morning meeting between administrators at the teenager’s high school and more than 100 of its alumni quickly devolved into a bitter confrontation. Many of the former students cried, shouted questions and asked why the administrators had not condemned the police officer who shot the student.
“Can you see how many people are crying here?” one woman pleaded.
But others suggested the school take action against the student for his conduct in the protests, including Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong’s former chief executive.
The Hong Kong Police Force said on Tuesday evening that the protester was an 18-year-old who had been shot in the left shoulder, and that he was conscious as he was taken to the hospital for surgery.
Image
In a video circulating online that appears to show the shooting, the protester is first seen joining a mob of black-clad people who chase a riot officer and tackle him to the ground. They kick him and beat him with what appear to be pipes.
A few seconds later, the protester approaches a second police officer who is nearby with a handgun drawn. Just after the protester hits the officer with the pole, the officer fires at the man at point-blank range.
Hours after the shooting, the Hong Kong police commissioner, Stephen Lo, said the officer who shot the protester had acted in a “legal and reasonable” manner, having given a verbal warning before opening fire.
The officer had been assaulted at close quarters, Mr. Lo said, and had no other choice but to shoot. “The range was not determined by the police officer, but by the perpetrator,” he said.
But the Hong Kong Public Doctors’ Association, which represents doctors working in public hospitals and medical departments at the University of Hong Kong, condemned the officer on Tuesday for not using a less powerful weapon, such as a rifle that shoots beanbag rounds, to subdue the protester.
In a statement on Wednesday morning, the protester’s high school, Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College, said that faculty members and the student body “all feel very sad and worried” about the shooting. The school’s administration had opened a crisis management unit that includes psychologists and social workers to help students cope, the statement said.
Mr. Lo, the police commissioner, told reporters at an overnight news conference that the police had arrested the protester who was shot, but that the force would decide later whether to press charges. At the meeting with the alumni on Wednesday, the school's principal and vice principal said that the student would not be punished and would keep his place in the school.
The principal, Tse Yun Ming, lowered his gaze as he absorbed an onslaught of criticism from the former students.
“My emotions are also fluctuating,” he told them at one point.
Image
But Mr. Leung, the city’s former chief executive, criticized the student’s conduct. “Could you not directly denounce his wrongdoing,” he asked in a Facebook post, suggesting that before being shot the student “surrounded and beat the police on the streets in full gear along with other rioters.”
Sit-in protests were expected Wednesday afternoon in at least seven Hong Kong districts, including in Tsuen Wan, where the shooting occurred. Tsuen Wan is a working-class district miles from the gleaming skyscrapers of the city’s financial district.
Ezra Cheung and Tiffany May contributed reporting.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/world/asia/hong-kong-shooting-protests.html
2019-10-02 11:39:00Z
52780399491161
Trump impeachment inquiry latest updates: Impeachment inquiry turns to State Department — live updates - CBS News
Key facts and latest news
- The State Department inspector general will brief congressional committee staff about unspecified documents on Wednesday.
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded to House committees scheduling depositions from State Department officials, calling it an attempt to "bully" diplomats.
- House committee chairs warned Pompeo not to obstruct the impeachment inquiry.
- In a July phone call, President Trump urged the president of Ukraine to open an investigation targeting Joe Biden.
- Soon after the call, White House officials moved a record of the call to a highly classified computer system, severely restricting who could access it.
Washington -- House Democrats leading the impeachment inquiry into President Trump are maintaining pressure on the State Department, warning Secretary of State Mike Pompeo against obstructing their probe.
On Tuesday, Pompeo accused Democrats of trying to "bully" and "intimidate" State Department officials by scheduling depositions about their involvement with President Trump's call with the Ukrainian president on short notice.
"I am concerned with aspects of your request, described more fully below, that can be understood only as an attempt to intimidate, bully, and treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State, including several career Foreign Service Officers," Pompeo wrote to the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Pompeo was revealed to have been on the call between Mr. Trump and the Ukrainian president, a development first reported by The Wall Street Journal. That development prompted the chairmen of three committees to warn Pompeo he would be considered a "fact witness" and should play no role in dictating investigators' access to witnesses or documents.
"He should immediately cease intimidating Department witnesses in order to protect himself and the President," they said in a statement.
The clash comes ahead of a hastily scheduled mysterious briefing requested by the State Department's inspector general, who requested a meeting to review unspecified documents with staffers of relevant congressional committees on Wednesday afternoon. -- Stefan Becket
Giuliani threatens lawsuit against members of Congress
During his most recent appearance on Fox News, President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said he's considering filing a lawsuit against individual congress members for violating his, the president's, and possibly the administration's civil and constitutional rights.
Although Giuliani only specifically cited House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff as a potential target, he says that Congress has "violated" the president's ability to perform Article 2 of the Constitution and violated Giuliani's attorney-client privilege.
In terms of his subpoena, Giuliani says he does not regret revealing on national television the text messages he has with Ukrainian officials and the state department. He admitted that he has "many more," however, Giuliani also said that turning them over was a "complicated" issue because they're all his "work product" as an attorney.
State Department inspector general to brief committee staff on Ukraine docs
Tuesday, 6:03 p.m.: The State Department's internal watchdog invited congressional committee staff to attend a briefing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday "to discuss and provide staff with copies of documents related to the State Department and Ukraine."
Inspector General Steve Linick invited Democratic and Republican staffers from eight House and Senate committees to attend the briefing. A copy of the invitation seen by CBS News was designated "urgent," and said the inspector general "obtained the documents from the Acting Legal Advisor of the Department of State."
Several senior congressional aides from the committees said they don't know what is in the documents and that the invitation came as a surprise to them.
"It could be anything," one aide said. -- Nancy Cordes
House Intel says ex-Ukraine envoy will testify as planned
4:50 p.m.: The special envoy to Ukraine who abruptly resigned his post after his apparent entanglement with Rudy Giuliani came to light will appear as scheduled for a deposition before House lawmakers on Thursday, a House Intelligence Committee official said.
Kurt Volker resigned Friday amid scrutiny over his supposed role in facilitating contacts between Giuliani and various Ukrainian officials. He was scheduled to appear before the House committees leading the impeachment probe on Thursday and will appear behind closed doors as planned, the official said.
The official said former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch will now appear on October 11, under an agreement reached with her counsel. She was previously scheduled to appear on Wednesday.
Both officials are among the five included in Pompeo's earlier letter to the committees protesting the demand for their testimony. -- Olivia Gazis and Stefan Becket
House chairmen accuse Pompeo of witness intimidation
2:32 p.m.: The chairmen of three House committees demanding documents from Pompeo and depositions of State Department officials responded to the secretary's letter Tuesday afternoon, accusing him of obstructing their investigation.
"Secretary Pompeo was reportedly on the call when the President pressed Ukraine to smear his political opponent. If true, Secretary Pompeo is now a fact witness in the House impeachment inquiry," the chairmen wrote. "He should immediately cease intimidating Department witnesses in order to protect himself and the President."
The letter came from the chairmen of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Intelligence Committee and Oversight and Reform Committee -- Eliot Engel, Adam Schiff and Elijah Cummings, respectively.
"Any effort to intimidate witnesses or prevent them from talking with Congress -- including State Department employees -- is illegal and will constitute evidence of obstruction of the impeachment inquiry," the lawmakers continued. "In response, Congress may infer from this obstruction that any withheld documents and testimony would reveal information that corroborates the whistleblower complaint."
The chairmen said they are "committed to protecting witnesses from harassment and intimidation, and we expect their full compliance and that of the Department of State." -- Stefan Becket
Pompeo responds to Democrats' demand for depositions
10:51 a.m.: In a letter to the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Democrats of trying to "intimidate" and "bully" State Department officials with a request for testimony about their involvement in the Ukraine call. Pompeo said the committee's request does not provide enough time for the department and its employees to adequately prepare.
Pompeo, who is traveling in Italy, wrote that the request "can be understood only as an attempt to intimidate, bully, and treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State, including several career Foreign Service Officers."
He added, "Let me be clear: I will not tolerate such tactics, and I will use all means at my disposal to prevent and expose any attempts to intimidate the dedicated professionals whom I am proud to lead and serve alongside at the Department of State."
On Friday, three committee chairs wrote to Pompeo informing him they had scheduled depositions for five officials: former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, former special envoy Kurt Volker, Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent, State Department Counselor T. Ulrich Brechbuhl and U.S. Ambassador to the E.U. Gordon Sondland. All five officials were mentioned in the whistleblower complaint.
Volker resigned abruptly from his post as special envoy for Ukraine on Friday and is scheduled to be deposed on Thursday.
The chairmen also issued a subpoena for documents from Pompeo related to the call. -- Emily Tillett
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-news/trump-impeachment-inquiry-latest-updates-today-2019-10-02/
2019-10-02 10:15:00Z
52780396614693
Anger Grows in Hong Kong Over Shooting of Teenage Protester - The New York Times
HONG KONG — Raw anger was building in Hong Kong on Wednesday over the shooting of a teenage demonstrator a day earlier, the first such incident since antigovernment demonstrations began in the territory nearly four months ago.
The shooting of the teenager came on a day of intense clashes across Hong Kong between protesters and the police, and hours after China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, presided over a carefully choreographed military parade in Beijing to celebrate 70 years of Communist rule.
The question now is whether the shooting will further incite a protest movement that was already seething with grievances, and which has been driven by young people who see the city’s pro-Beijing leaders as illegitimate.
In an early sign of anger over the shooting, a Wednesday morning meeting between administrators at the teenager’s high school and more than 100 of its alumni quickly devolved into a bitter confrontation. Many of the former students cried, shouted questions and asked why the administrators had not condemned the police officer who shot the student.
“Can you see how many people are crying here?” one woman pleaded.
But others suggested the school take action against the student for his conduct in the protests, including Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong’s former chief executive.
The Hong Kong Police Force said on Tuesday evening that the protester was an 18-year-old who had been shot in the left shoulder, and that he was conscious as he was taken to the hospital for surgery.
Image
In a video circulating online that appears to show the shooting, the protester is first seen joining a mob of black-clad people who chase a riot officer and tackle him to the ground. They kick him and beat him with what appear to be pipes.
A few seconds later, the protester approaches a second police officer who is nearby with a handgun drawn. Just after the protester hits the officer with the pole, the officer fires at the man at point-blank range.
Hours after the shooting, the Hong Kong police commissioner, Stephen Lo, said the officer who shot the protester had acted in a “legal and reasonable” manner, having given a verbal warning before opening fire.
The officer had been assaulted at close quarters, Mr. Lo said, and had no other choice but to shoot. “The range was not determined by the police officer, but by the perpetrator,” he said.
But the Hong Kong Public Doctors’ Association, which represents doctors working in public hospitals and medical departments at the University of Hong Kong, condemned the officer on Tuesday for not using a less powerful weapon, such as a rifle that shoots beanbag rounds, to subdue the protester.
In a statement on Wednesday morning, the protester’s high school, Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College, said that faculty members and the student body “all feel very sad and worried” about the shooting. The school’s administration had opened a crisis management unit that includes psychologists and social workers to help students cope, the statement said.
Mr. Lo, the police commissioner, told reporters at an overnight news conference that the police had arrested the protester who was shot, but that the force would decide later whether to press charges. At the meeting with the alumni on Wednesday, the school's principal and vice principal said that the student would not be punished and would keep his place in the school.
The principal, Tse Yun Ming, lowered his gaze as he absorbed an onslaught of criticism from the former students.
“My emotions are also fluctuating,” he told them at one point.
Image
But Mr. Leung, the city’s former chief executive, criticized the student’s conduct. “Could you not directly denounce his wrongdoing,” he asked in a Facebook post, suggesting that before being shot the student “surrounded and beat the police on the streets in full gear along with other rioters.”
Sit-in protests were expected Wednesday afternoon in at least seven Hong Kong districts, including in Tsuen Wan, where the shooting occurred. Tsuen Wan is a working-class district miles from the gleaming skyscrapers of the city’s financial district.
Ezra Cheung and Tiffany May contributed reporting.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/world/asia/hong-kong-shooting-protests.html
2019-10-02 10:10:00Z
52780396822607
Hong Kong office workers, schoolmates denounce police shooting of teen - Reuters
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong office workers and high-school students turned out in their hundreds under a sweltering midday sun on Wednesday to denounce a policeman for shooting and wounding a teenager during the most violent clashes in nearly four months of unrest.
People hold up signs and a mobile phone as they gather at West Kowloon Law Courts Building to show their support to 96 anti-government protesters who were arrested days ago in Hong Kong, China, October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
The office workers gathered in Chater Garden in the Central business district as the students, some in the same class as the wounded 18-year-old, demonstrated outside his New Territories school.
More than 100 people were wounded during Tuesday’s turmoil, the Hospital Authority said, as anti-China demonstrators took to the streets across the Chinese-ruled territory, throwing petrol bombs and attacking police who responded with tear gas and water cannon. Police made more than 180 arrests.
One officer responded by shooting the 18-year-old school student in the chest with a live round after he came under attack with a metal bar, video footage shows. The teen was in stable condition in hospital on Wednesday.
Protesters outside the wounded student’s school, the Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College, chanted “Free Hong Kong”, condemned the police and urged a thorough investigation.
“(It’s) ridiculous, it can’t happen, and it should not be happening in Hong Kong,” said one 17-year-old who goes to the same school.
“It really disappointed me and let me down about the policeman. I don’t know why they took this action to deal with a Form Five student. Why do you need to shoot? It’s a real gun.”
Protesters have previously been hit with anti-riot bean-bags rounds and rubber bullets and officers have fired live rounds in the air, but this was the first time a demonstrator had been shot with a live round.
Police said the officer involved was under serious threat and acted in self-defense in accordance with official guidelines.
Tuesday’s protests, on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, were aimed at propelling the activists’ fight for greater democracy onto the international stage and embarrassing the city’s political leaders in Beijing.
The former British colony has been rocked by months of protests over a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial but have evolved into calls for democracy, among other demands.
The outpouring of opposition to the Beijing-backed government has plunged the city into its biggest political crisis in decades and poses the gravest popular challenge to President Xi Jinping since he came to power.
The pro-establishment Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong condemned Tuesday’s violence and urged the government to impose emergency laws to resolve the crisis.
‘CHILLING DISREGARD’
Many shops and business closed on Tuesday in anticipation of the violence, which is taking a growing toll on the city’s economy as it faces its first recession in a decade and the central government grapples with a U.S.-China trade war and a global slowdown.
Standard & Poor’s cut its Hong Kong economic growth forecast on Tuesday to 0.2 percent for this year, down from its forecast of 2.2 percent in July, blaming tension in the city for plunging retail sales and a sharp dip in tourism.
The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce condemned the violence.
“Extremists’ chilling disregard for the rule of law is not only affecting Hong Kong’s reputation as an international financial and business center, but also crippling many small businesses and threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens,” it said in a statement.
The protesters come from wide-ranging backgrounds. Of 96 charged after violence on Sunday, eight were under 18, some were students, others had jobs ranging from waiter, teacher and surveyor to sales manager, construction worker and a hotel employee.
Protesters are angry about what they see as creeping interference by Beijing in their city’s affairs despite a promise of autonomy in the “one country, two systems” formula under which Hong Kong returned to China in 1997.
China dismisses accusations it is meddling and has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of stirring up anti-China sentiment.
The protesters are increasingly focusing their anger on mainland Chinese businesses and those with pro-Beijing links, daubing graffiti on store fronts and vandalizing outlets in the heart of the financial center.
The Bank of China (Hong Kong) said two of its branches came under attack on Tuesday.
“The bank expresses its deepest anger and strongly condemns this illegal, violent behavior,” it said in a statement.
Reporting by Clare Jim, Twinnie Siu and Bill Rigby; Additional reporting by Donny Kwok, Sumeet Chatterjee and Jessie Pang; Writing by Farah Master, Anne Marie Roantree and Nick Macfie; Editing by Robert Birsel
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-protests/hong-kong-mops-up-after-180-arrested-in-violent-national-day-protests-idUSKBN1WH019
2019-10-02 07:49:00Z
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Meghan Markle's Recent Instagram Post Has Women Confused About the Duchess's Feminist Status - Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The Sussex Instagram account has been the subject of controversy before. But recently, they shared a quote from a figure that’s been problematic to the feminist community. Meghan Markle has always been a staunch supporter of feminism, but now the public is confused about her stance. How could she quote a person with such antiquated ideas about women? The public figure Prince Harry and Markle choose to quote and the problems it’s caused might surprise you.
The Sussexes quoted the Dalai Lama on their Instagram
Earlier this month, the Sussexes shared a Dalai Lama quote on their official Instagram account. The quote read: “I believe that at every level of society — familial, tribal, national and international — the key to a happier and most successful world is the growth of compassion.”
This isn’t the only time Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan have shown support for the Buddhist leader. At their wedding in 2018, the couple wanted the Dalai Lama to deliver the sermon. However, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who married them, denied their request because the Dalai Lama isn’t Christian. Instead, they settled on American Bishop Michael Curry.
According to the Daily Mail, Markle, who is a known yoga devotee, is fond of a Dalai Lama quote: “Don’t let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” And since marrying Markle, Prince Harry revealed that he’s fond of meditation, one of the key components of the Buddhist religion.
The Dalai Lama is often held up as a hero to those who advocate for social justice. This is similar to Markle’s reputation: She is sometimes referred to by critics as the “Woke Duchess” because of her fondness for social justice issues.
For example, when Markle acted as the guest editor for the September issue of Vogue, she toed the line royal tradition by pushing issues like feminism and global warming. Markle was accused of “wading into politics by promoting Trump-hating celebs” in her “left-wing” edition of Vogue. But that’s not the only reason the Dalai Lama has become a problem for the Duchess of Sussex.
The Dalai Lama thinks a female successor would need to be ‘attractive’
In 2015, the Dalai Lama made comments that surprised and angered feminists. He stated that if he was to have a female successor, she would need to be “very attractive” or she would be of “not much use.”
Recently, a BBC reporter challenged him on that comment, but the Dalai Lama stuck to his original statement. “If a female Dalai Lama comes, she should be more attractive,” he said while laughing.
According to the Dalai Lama, in Buddhist literature, both inner and outer beauty matter. But he stressed that equality is still important, and stated that he supports both women’s right and equal pay in the workforce.
Markle has long considered herself a feminist. As a child, she fought against sexist advertising by Procter & Gamble. A TV commercial for Ivory soap caught her attention at the age of 11 when she thought it implied that only women should do the dishes. She wrote letters expressing her concern, and a few months later, the advertisements were changed to be more gender-inclusive.
She continues to promote feminism today with charities like Smart Works, which provides clothing to women for job interviews. Considering that the duchess is such a stout feminist, how can she continue to support the Dalai Lama after his comments implying that a woman is not valuable unless she’s beautiful?
Is Meghan Markle still a feminist after supporting the Dalai Lama?
Markle hasn’t responded to the Dalai Lama’s comments about women, so we’re not sure of her thoughts on the matter, or if she’s even aware of the issue. But others have found even more reasons to criticize Markle usage of the quote.
Piers Morgan, a long-time critic of Markle, called her a hypocrite for choosing the quote which focused on compassion. According to Morgan, Markle needs to focus on her own house first before lecturing others on compassion. Meaning, she should reach out to her estranged family and friends to offer them compassion before telling the rest of the world what to do.
Others have found reasons to criticize Markle’s support of feminism altogether. Pushing the idea of feminism on the public, while in a role she obtained purely by marriage to a man who earned his position from birth, could be considered hypocritical. Markle considers herself a feminist, but many disagree with this categorization because of her role.
Unfortunately, as hard as Markle tries, almost everything she does is taken badly by the public. Although, her main problem seems to be her need to lecture and push political agendas in the first place. When the public pays for your lifestyle, it’s never a good idea to try to force ideas or lecture the people.
https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/meghan-markles-recent-instagram-post-has-women-confused-about-the-duchesss-feminist-status.html/
2019-10-02 08:03:37Z
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