Kamis, 17 Juni 2021
Biden lashes out at CNN reporter over Putin comments - BBC News - BBC News
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2021-06-17 09:51:44Z
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Hong Kong police invoke security law to arrest senior journalists - Financial Times
Hong Kong police have arrested senior editors and executives of a newspaper belonging to pro-democracy mogul Jimmy Lai in the first use of the territory’s national security law directly against journalists.
At least 500 officers were involved in the Thursday morning raid on Apple Daily, a popular tabloid known for its willingness to confront and criticise the government. Police instructed reporters to register their identities and prevented them from filming the raid or going to their desks. The journalists were told to gather in a separate part of the building because their workplace was part of a “crime scene”.
The police said they were gathering “evidence for a case of suspected contravention of the National Security Law” and used a warrant to search for and seize journalistic materials.
China introduced the harsh law almost a year ago to quell dissent after Hong Kong’s anti-government protests in 2019.
The law has paved the way for a crackdown on the city’s civic freedoms, with mass arrests of political activists and the targeting of anyone seen as disloyal to Beijing, such as schoolteachers and judges.
The arrests were not the first move against the media under the clampdown, but they were the first time the authorities have cited the security law in an action against journalists.
The law, which punishes crimes such as subversion and collusion with foreign elements, carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Lai has already been jailed in a separate case and his assets have been frozen, including his 71 per cent shareholding in Next Media, the company that owns Apple Daily.
Those arrested included Ryan Law, Apple Daily’s chief editor and Nick Cheung, an online editor, according to the newspaper. Cheung Kim-hung, chief executive of Next Digital, Royston Chow, chief operating officer, and Chan Pui-man, an associate publisher, were also detained.
Police said they had made the arrests for “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security”.
Apple Daily was accused of involvement in a conspiracy to encourage foreign countries to impose sanctions on Hong Kong by publishing articles that encouraged such a move, police added.
The company said the raid left press freedom in Hong Kong “hanging by a thread” but asserted the newspaper would “hold fast to our duties”.
John Lee, Hong Kong’s security secretary, said the actions had nothing to do with normal journalistic practices. “They are different from ordinary journalists, do not engage in any relations with them and keep a distance from them,” he said.
“This action isn’t targeting the media but an organisation that violated the national security law,” added Steve Li, a senior police superintendent.
Critics say the security law has degraded rights such as freedom of expression that Hong Kongers were promised when China took possession of the territory from the UK in 1997.
Hong Kong’s police chief Chris Tang has previously called for “fake news” laws that journalists fear would hand authorities greater powers to police the media.
He singled out Apple Daily as a possible target of further police action. The newspaper was raided last year.
One journalist at Next Media said employees were “mentally prepared” for senior editors to be arrested but were shocked by the scale of the raid. “It’s completely overriding the freedom of the press,” they told the Financial Times.
“I am really worried for Hong Kong people if Apple Daily is lost . . . Other newspapers will be too afraid to report on sensitive topics.”
Next Digital announced a share trading halt on Thursday.
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2021-06-17 04:10:01Z
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Rabu, 16 Juni 2021
When Biden met Putin: Decoding the world leaders' body language - BBC News - BBC News
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2021-06-17 01:01:43Z
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Biden politely reads riot act to Putin - Financial Times
Summitry, contrary to a former British prime minister, is nothing like tennis. The outcome is rarely “game, set and match”. By the wide-eyed standards of Joe Biden’s last four predecessors, all of whom held ill-fated summits with Vladimir Putin, Biden went into this one with low expectations.
There were no illusions about his meeting of minds with the Russian leader, let alone souls. The modesty of Biden’s goal — to stabilise relations with America’s chief military adversary — conveyed a realism that eluded earlier presidents.
All of which is far less exciting for the world media. Biden did not praise Putin’s ability to restore Russian freedom and prosperity, as Bill Clinton did in 2000 shortly after Putin was elected president. Nor did he get a sense of Putin’s soul, as George W Bush claimed in 2001, and trust what he saw. He did not aim for an ambitious “reset” of US-Russia relations, as Barack Obama fatefully did in 2009. Most notoriously Biden’s tone was a million miles from the one-man admiration society Donald Trump brought to Helsinki when he met Putin alone in 2018.
After more than two decades in power, this Russian bear was unlikely to change its habits. Biden’s aim is to coax and cajole Putin into a moderately less dangerous stance. That goal is more difficult than it sounds. At home, Biden faces derision from Republican and some foreign policy specialists for even meeting Putin. The act of sharing a stage with America’s president is seen as an unearned reward for an adversary who sponsors regular cyber attacks on the US, not to mention waging information warfare on western democracy.
“Our adversaries can smell the fear on Biden,” Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, told Fox News prior to the summit. The fact that many such critics had strenuously defended Trump’s Helsinki performance, and his treacly love letters to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, was no inhibition. Consistency is presumably the hobgoblin of lesser minds.
Biden must also manage the politics of impatience in the age of social media. Should his “constant gardening” approach to diplomacy work, it could take years to bear fruit. There would be few mission accomplished moments when it comes to making a fissile US-Russia relationship less toxic.
Time also challenges Biden’s ability to ensure America’s European allies stick to the script. Biden’s counterparts agreed on tough communiqués at the G7 and Nato summits last week. But their willingness to uphold western unity towards Russia is qualified by fears that Biden may only be a one-term president. The age of US foreign policy continuity is over. Will Biden still be in office three and a half years from now? Putin almost certainly will.
The biggest challenge, though, lies in Putin’s actions, which are unpredictable by design. Biden’s overriding foreign policy goal is to rebuff an increasingly assertive China. A key element of Biden’s strategy is to frame the global stakes between the US and China (and Russia, as China’s autocratic lieutenant) in terms of democracy versus autocracy. That is all very well. But America’s friends are watching the direction of US politics with genuine trepidation. Far from banishing the forces of Trumpism, Biden’s victory has hastened their full takeover of the Republican party. To European observers, the world’s most consequential democracy vs autocracy battle may in fact be taking place within the United States.
So how do we measure whether Biden is making progress with Putin? Mostly by things that do not happen, such as further Russian incursions into eastern Ukraine, support for international piracy, including last month’s Ryanair flight diversion to Minsk, and the longevity of Alexei Navalny, the imprisoned Russian opposition leader, whose name Putin still refuses to utter. The absence of big cyber attacks on the US, such as the SolarWinds incursion earlier this year, would be another benchmark.
A more ambitious one would be the weakening of Russia-China ties. The late Zbigniew Brzezinski, a former US national security adviser, described it as the “alliance of the aggrieved”. Less adversarial US relations with Russia could loosen the Moscow-Beijing embrace, though that would be a very long shot. For the time being, Biden must make do with modest contrasts. Compared to Putin’s 2018 press conference with Trump, when the Russian leader could not contain his smirk, Putin’s solo press event in Geneva seemed notably subdued.
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2021-06-16 20:50:49Z
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Biden and Putin praise Geneva summit talks but discord remains - BBC News
The presidents of the US and Russia have praised their talks in Geneva but have made little concrete progress at the first such meeting since 2018.
Disagreements were stated, said US President Joe Biden, but not in a hyperbolic way, and he said Russia did not want a new Cold War.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Mr Biden was an experienced statesman and the two "spoke the same language".
The talks lasted four hours, less time than was scheduled.
Mr Biden said they did not need to spend more time talking and there was now a genuine prospect to improve relations with Russia.
The two sides agreed to begin a dialogue on nuclear arms control. They also said they would return ambassadors to each other's capitals - the envoys were mutually withdrawn for consultations in March, after the US accused Russia of meddling in the 2020 presidential election.
However, there was little sign of agreement on other issues, including cyber-security, Ukraine and the fate of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is currently serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence in a penal colony.
Mr Biden said there would be "devastating consequences" for Russia if Navalny died in prison.
What did the leaders discuss?
Before the summit, both sides said relations were at rock bottom.
Mr Putin hinted at a possible deal on exchanging prisoners, saying he believed compromises could be found.
On cyber-attacks, Mr Putin brushed away accusations of Russian responsibility, saying that most cyber-attacks in Russia originated from the US.
Mr Biden said he told Mr Putin that critical infrastructure, such as water or energy, must be "off-limits" to hacking or other attacks.
The two sides differed sharply on human rights, including the right to protest.
Mr Putin dismissed US concerns about Alexei Navalny, who recently undertook a 24-day hunger strike.
He said Navalny ignored the law and knew that he would face imprisonment when he returned to Russia after having sought medical treatment in Germany. Navalny says he was poisoned with a nerve agent on Mr Putin's orders - an accusation Mr Putin denies.
He said Russia did not want disturbances on its territory comparable to the Capitol riots or the Black Lives Matter movement.
Mr Biden dismissed Mr Putin's comments about Black Lives Matter as "ridiculous", and said human rights would "always be on the table".
Asked why Russia would want to co-operate with the US, Mr Biden said it was "in a very, very difficult spot right now".
"They are being squeezed by China. They want desperately to remain a major power," he told reporters, shortly before leaving Geneva.
BBC Moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford says Mr Putin was keen to underline several times that Russia was a nuclear power - an important country, with an economy smaller than that of the US, but one that still mattered and that was why Mr Biden had come to talk to him.
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2021-06-16 19:53:15Z
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Biden and Putin praise Geneva summit talks but discord remains - BBC News
The presidents of the US and Russia have praised their talks in Geneva but have made little concrete progress at the first such meeting since 2018.
Disagreements were stated, said US President Joe Biden, but not in a hyperbolic way, and he said Russia did not want a new Cold War.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Mr Biden was an experienced statesman and the two "spoke the same language".
The talks lasted four hours, less time than was scheduled.
Mr Biden said they did not need to spend more time talking and there was now a genuine prospect to improve relations with Russia.
The two sides agreed to begin a dialogue on nuclear arms control. They also said they would return ambassadors to each other's capitals - the envoys were mutually withdrawn for consultations in March, after the US accused Russia of meddling in the 2020 presidential election.
However, there was little sign of agreement on other issues, including cyber-security, Ukraine and the fate of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is currently serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence in a penal colony.
Mr Biden said there would be "devastating consequences" for Russia if Navalny died in prison.
What did the leaders discuss?
Before the summit, both sides said relations were at rock bottom.
Mr Putin hinted at a possible deal on exchanging prisoners, saying he believed compromises could be found.
On cyber-attacks, Mr Putin brushed away accusations of Russian responsibility, saying that most cyber-attacks in Russia originated from the US.
Mr Biden said he told Mr Putin that critical infrastructure, such as water or energy, must be "off-limits" to hacking or other attacks.
The two sides differed sharply on human rights, including the right to protest.
Mr Putin dismissed US concerns about Alexei Navalny, who recently undertook a 24-day hunger strike.
He said Navalny ignored the law and knew that he would face imprisonment when he returned to Russia after having sought medical treatment in Germany. Navalny says he was poisoned with a nerve agent on Mr Putin's orders - an accusation Mr Putin denies.
He said Russia did not want disturbances on its territory comparable to the Capitol riots or the Black Lives Matter movement.
Mr Biden dismissed Mr Putin's comments about Black Lives Matter as "ridiculous", and said human rights would "always be on the table".
Asked why Russia would want to co-operate with the US, Mr Biden said it was "in a very, very difficult spot right now".
"They are being squeezed by China. They want desperately to remain a major power," he told reporters, shortly before leaving Geneva.
BBC Moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford says Mr Putin was keen to underline several times that Russia was a nuclear power - an important country, with an economy smaller than that of the US, but one that still mattered and that was why Mr Biden had come to talk to him.
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2021-06-16 19:03:51Z
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Joe Biden-Vladimir Putin summit: US president says 'genuine prospect to significantly improve relations' with Russia after talks - Sky News
US President Joe Biden says he thinks there is a "genuine prospect to significantly improve relations" with Russia following a summit with Vladimir Putin.
The two leaders talked face to face for around four hours in Switzerland - shorter than Mr Biden's advisers had said they expected - but he later admitted the pair did not need to spend more time talking.
Speaking at a solo news conference, Mr Biden said he told President Putin he will always raise issues of "fundamental human rights", including imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, and two jailed Americans in Russia.
He insisted "human rights are always going to be on the table".
And in perhaps his strongest remark, Mr Biden, 78, said the consequences would be "devastating for Russia" if Mr Navalny, who has recovered from a hunger strike in protest against his detention conditions, died.
Mr Biden told reporters "I did what I came here to do", adding the "last thing he (Putin) wants now is a Cold War".
But he claimed the Russian leader "is not ready to lay down his arms" as he is "concerned about being encircled and that the US wants to take him down".
He said a new Cold War is in "nobody's interest", adding the US-Russia relationship must be stable and predictable and he and Mr Putin share a unique responsibility.
Mr Biden also said he thought there was a "genuine prospect to significantly improve relations between the countries without us giving up a single thing based on principle and values".
He said there were no threats at the summit, just simple assertions made.
And he said there was "no substitute for face-to-face dialogue", and he had told Mr Putin his agenda was "not against Russia" but "for the American people".
The US president added the two leaders spent a great deal of time on cyber security and he told Mr Putin that critical infrastructure should be off-limits for attacks.
And he said both men agreed to work to ensure Iran does not get nuclear weapons.
Mr Putin, 68, earlier told his news briefing that there was no hostility during his meeting with Mr Biden and the summit was constructive.
Mr Putin said he saw a "glimpse of hope" for mutual trust with the US, describing the discussions also as pragmatic and fruitful.
In a joint statement after the summit, the two men reaffirmed their commitment to arms control.
"The recent extension of the New START Treaty exemplifies our commitment to nuclear arms control. Today, we reaffirm the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought," the statement said.
In one of the main developments, Mr Putin said he and Mr Biden have agreed to return their ambassadors to their respective posts in each other's capitals in an attempt to lower tensions.
• Mr Putin also accused US of cyberattacks against Russia
• Russian leader said Mr Navalny got what he deserved and defended jail sentence
• Mr Putin acknowledged Mr Biden raised human rights issues with him
• Russian leader deflected questions about mistreatment of Russian opposition leaders by highlighting US domestic turmoil, including Black Lives Matter protests and 6 January Capitol insurrection
• Mr Putin accused Ukraine of breaking terms of ceasefire agreement
• He said Moscow and Washington will resume arms control talks
The conversation was constructive, he went on, describing his counterpart as a "very experienced partner".
But he cautioned there was "no friendship" as both leaders were defending the interests of their countries, adding: "I have no illusions about the US."
Prior to the summit, Mr Biden, who instigated the talks, has repeatedly called out Mr Putin for malicious cyberattacks allegedly by Russian-based hackers on US interests.
But Mr Putin hit back, saying at the news conference that cyberattacks on Russia are coming from the US.
He said he and Mr Biden have agreed to start consultations on cybersecurity, while he continued to deny US allegations the Russian government was behind a spate of recent high-profile hacks against American agencies.
Mr Biden has also criticised Mr Putin for a disregard for democracy with the jailing of Mr Navalny and alleged interference in American elections.
On the Navalny issue, Mr Putin said the opposition leader knew he would be detained when he returned to Russia from Germany but came anyway. And he said he got what he deserved when he was handed a prison sentence.
The novichok poisoning of Mr Navalny was blamed on the Kremlin, which it denies.
At the news conference, Mr Putin batted away a question about his crackdown on political rivals by changing the subject to what he said was disorder in America around the storming of the US Capitol and Black Lives Matter.
Mr Putin said he did not want to see riots in Russia or a movement akin to BLM.
Mr Biden later called the comparison "ridiculous".
The two men, appearing together for the first time since 2011, have had face-to-face discussions at a villa on the shores of Lake Geneva.
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2021-06-16 18:56:15Z
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