From The Alpha and the Omega - Chapter Eight
by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © 1995, all rights reserved
"KING OF THE EAST 2019 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER"

    This file is attached to http://www.mazzaroth.com/ChapterEight/BeastThatCameOutOfTheSea.htm from “Beast That Came Out Of The Sea” - Chapter Eight by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © 1995, all rights reserved.
    This link will take you back to King Of The East 2019 July-August or continue to King Of The East 2019 November-December

KING OF THE EAST 2019 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER


2019 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER

9/1/2019 U.S., Taliban near Afghanistan deal, fighting intensifies in north by Abdul Qadir Sediqi
FILE PHOTO: U.S. envoy for peace in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad speaks during a debate at
Tolo TV channel in Kabul, Afghanistan April 28, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/File Photo
    KABUL (Reuters) – U.S. and Taliban negotiators are close to a deal that would open the way for peace in Afghanistan, a top U.S. official said on Sunday, as the insurgents followed their weekend assault on the strategic center of Kunduz by attacking a second northern city.
    Zalmay Khalilzad, the Afghan-born U.S. diplomat overseeing negotiations for Washington, said he would travel to the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday for consultations after wrapping up the ninth round of talks with Taliban officials in Qatar.
    “We are at the threshold of an agreement that will reduce violence and open the door for Afghans to sit together to negotiate an honorable and sustainable peace and a unified, sovereign Afghanistan that does not threaten the United States, its allies, or any other country,” he said in a Twitter post.
    The comment came as Taliban fighters attacked Pul-e Khumri, in the northern province of Baghlan, just a day after a major show of strength by hundreds of fighters who overran parts of Kunduz, a strategic city the insurgents have twice come close to taking in recent years.
    The interior ministry said in a statement on Sunday that 20 Afghan security force members and five civilians were killed, and at least 85 civilians were injured in Kunduz city during clashes with the Taliban fighters.
    While Kunduz was calm after clearance operations that had driven out insurgents, interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said, fighters had taken up positions in two areas of Pul-e Khumri and were battling Afghan security forces.
    Afghan forces killed five gunmen and arrested two militants during the clearance operation in Pul-e-Khumri city, Rahimi said.
    Local officials and residents said the city was locked down with Taliban fighters occupying positions around one of the main entry points into the center and cutting the main highway connecting Kabul with the north.
    “Right now, clashes are under way between the Taliban and security forces in the city, close to the governor’s compound and police headquarters,” said Abdul Jamil, a Pul-e Khumri resident reached by telephone.
    “The city is closed and very little movement can be seen.    People are terrified,” he said.
    There was also fighting in the central province of Ghazni and Laghman province, east of Kabul, Taliban and government officials said.
    In a separate incident, a roadside bomb in Chamtaal district in northern Balkh province on Sunday killed at least eight people, including women and children traveling in a car, officials said.
    No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.    Taliban fighters say they use roadside bombs and landmines to attack security forces, but civilians are frequently hurt or killed.
PEACEFUL SOLUTION
    With talks in Doha close to wrapping up, the latest fighting underlined the Taliban’s apparent determination to go into any deal from a position of strength on the battlefield.
    Khalilzad gave no details of the deal, which is expected to see thousands of U.S. troops withdrawn from Afghanistan in exchange for guarantees by the Taliban not to allow the country to be used as a base for militant attacks abroad.
    Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Doha, said both sides were in discussions to finalize technical issues.
    “We are on the verge of ending the invasion and reaching a peaceful solution for Afghanistan,” Shaheen said on Twitter.
    The agreement would not on its own end the fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security forces, but would allow the start of so-called “intra-Afghan” peace talks, which are expected to be held in the Norwegian capital of Oslo.
    However it was not clear whether the Taliban would agree to talk directly with the Western-backed government of President Ashraf Ghani, which they consider an illegitimate foreign-imposed regime.
    Some Taliban officials have said they would only agree to talk to Afghan officials in a private capacity, not as representatives of the state, and they remain opposed to presidential elections scheduled for Sept. 28.
    It was also unclear whether the agreement would cover the full withdrawal of all 14,500 U.S. troops from Afghanistan or how long a pullout would take.
    More than 20,000 foreign troops are in the country, most serving as part of a NATO-led mission to train and assist Afghan forces.    Thousands of U.S. troops are also engaged in a separate counter-terrorism mission fighting militant groups such as Islamic State and Al Qaeda.
    Suicide bombings and combat operations have continued throughout the talks and the fighting in the north underlined the vulnerability of large parts of Afghanistan, where the Taliban control more territory than at any time since being overthrown by a U.S.-led campaign in 2001.
(Additional reporting by James Mackenzie in KABUL, Jibran Ahmad in PESHAWAR, Sardar Razmal in KUNDUZ, Matin Sahak in Balkh, Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Kenneth Maxwell)

9/1/2019 Hong Kong protesters target airport but planes are running by Kai Pfaffenbach and Marius Zaharia
Airport security guards hold the gate to stop the anti-extradition bill protesters from entering
the Hong Kong Airport, in Hong Kong, China September 1, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Thousands of protesters blocked roads and public transport links to Hong Kong airport on Sunday in a bid to draw global attention to their fight for greater democracy for the Chinese-ruled city which is facing its biggest political crisis in decades.
    Passengers entered and left the terminal freely and planes were taking off and landing but trains were suspended and approach roads to the airport impassable as protesters erected barricades and overturned trolleys at the airport and in the nearby new town of Tung Chung.
    The MTR subway station was closed and demonstrators smashed CCTV cameras and lamps with metal poles and dismantled station turnstiles.     Police appeared to be running in all directions and made several arrests outside the station.
    Protesters had urged the public to target access to one of the world’s busiest and most efficient airports, built on reclaimed land around a tiny outlying island and reached by a series of bridges which were packed with traffic.
    “If we disrupt the airport, more foreigners will read the news about Hong Kong,” said one 20-year-old protester, asking not to be named.
    Black-clad demonstrators targeted the airport three weeks ago, jamming the terminal in sometimes violent clashes with police and prompting some flights to be canceled or delayed.
    Police said protesters hurled iron poles, bricks and rocks on to the railway track near the airport station and trespassed on the track.     By early evening protesters in the immediate vicinity of the airport had left, but protesters in Tung Chung remained.
    “We have no idea how to leave.    We’re stuck,” a masked protester said, as others looked for buses and ferries to get back home.
    Sunday’s demonstration comes after police and protesters clashed overnight in some of the most intense violence since unrest erupted more than three months ago over concerns Beijing was planning to erode the autonomy granted to the former British colony when it was handed back to China in 1997.
    China denies the charge of meddling in Hong Kong, which it says is an internal affair.    It has denounced the protests and warned of the damage to the economy.
    Tourist numbers have plummeted in recent weeks and international trade fairs canceled as the territory faces its first recession in a decade.
    China is eager to quell the unrest before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1.    It has accused foreign powers, particularly the United States and Britain, of fomenting the unrest.
    Several hundred demonstrators also gathered outside the British consulate in central Hong Kong, waving Union Jack flags and chanting “God save the Queen.”
SUBWAY VIOLENCE
    Parts of the metro system ground to a halt as skirmishes spread to the subway on Saturday, with television showing images of people being beaten as they cowered on the floor behind umbrellas.
    Police said they arrested 63 people on suspicion of obstructing officers, unlawful assembly and criminal damage.    Three stations stayed shut on Sunday.
    Amnesty International said the metro violence should be investigated.
    “Violence directed at police on Saturday is no excuse for officers to go on the rampage elsewhere,” it said.
    The latest protests came on the fifth anniversary of China’s decision to curtail democratic reforms and rule out universal suffrage in Hong Kong.
    The unrest began in mid-June, fueled by anger over a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed people in the city to be sent to mainland China for trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party.
    But the turmoil has evolved over 13 weeks to become a widespread demand for greater democracy.
    Hong Kong returned to China under a “one country, two systems” formula that allows it freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, such as the right to protest and an independent legal system.
    The unrest poses the gravest challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he took power in 2012, with his government keen to end the protests before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct 1.
    Protesters have called for a general strike on Monday, but it was not immediately clear who would turn up.
(Reporting by Twinnie Siu, Marius Zaharia, Farah Master, Joyce Zhou, Donny Kwok, Yoyo Chow, Kai Pfaffenbach, Danish Siddiqui, Noah Sin and Anne Marie Roantree; Writing by Joe Brock and Nick Macfie; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

9/1/2019 Hong Kong commercial centers paralyzed as protesters, police exchange petrol bombs and tear gas by Simon Gardner and Jessie Pang
A demonstrator throws a tear gas canister during a protest in Hong Kong, China August 31, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police fired tear gas and water cannon on Saturday and pro-democracy protesters threw petrol bombs in the latest in a series of chaotic clashes that have plunged the Chinese-ruled city into its worst political crisis in decades.
    Police fired round after round of tear gas and protesters took cover behind umbrellas between the local headquarters of China’s People’s Liberation Army and the government.    Protesters also threw bricks dug up from pathways at police.
    Many shops and restaurants in protest areas popular with tourists were shuttered, while curious visitors peered out from windows of some luxury hotels overlooking the demonstrations.
    Protest numbers had dwindled by the early hours of Sunday, with just a few hundred demonstrators and some riot police visible.
    The water cannon unleashed blue-dyed water, to make it easier for police to identify protesters.
    Riot police then marched on foot toward the neighboring Admiralty district, followed by 20 police cars, where protesters had thrown fire bombs from flyovers, some landing close to police. Others shone blue and green lasers at police lines.
    There were unconfirmed reports of an off-duty policeman being wounded.
    In the neighboring Wanchai bar and restaurant district, police fought running battles with protesters, some beating them with truncheons, according to Reuters witnesses. There were several arrests.
    “We have to keep protesting, we cannot let China take back Hong Kong now,” said Evelyn, a 25-year-old asset manager, chanting “gangster” at police outside a subway station across the harbor from the central business area in Kowloon district.
    Asked what she would do if authorities did not respond to protesters’ demands, she said: “Maybe I will leave Hong Kong.    I absolutely cannot live under Chinese rule.”
    The protests, which at one point blocked three key roads, came on the fifth anniversary of a decision by China to curtail democratic reforms and rule out universal suffrage in Hong Kong, a former British colony that was returned to China in 1997.
    “The behaviors of the radical protesters gravely breach the public peace and pose a serious threat to the safety of police officers on duty and members of the public at the scene,” the government said in a statement.
    The People’s Liberation Army on Thursday rotated its troops in Hong Kong in what it said was a routine operation.    Their Hong Kong HQ was the former base of the British military garrison.
    Senior Chinese officials have warned that if the turmoil persists, “the central government must intervene.”
    Police were targeting MTR subway trains to make arrests, with TV footage showing people being beaten as they cowered on the floor behind umbrellas.    Some rail lines were closed.
HAND SIGNALS
    Thousands took to the streets of the Asian financial hub for a largely peaceful, meandering rally in the afternoon rain.    Many of them joined a “Christian march” from Wanchai and congregated next to the Legislative Council, which was stormed by activists in an earlier protest.
    Other protesters, many wearing black and face masks, marched in the bustling tourist area of Causeway Bay.    The crowds grew after dusk in Wanchai, where demonstrators built roadblocks and banged iron sticks.    Firemen battled a huge blaze outside a Methodist church in the main Hennessy Road where water cannon moved in.
    It was the same pattern all evening. Police advanced steadily, protesters retreated.    Pedestrians yelled out “black cops,” “gangsters” and “get fucked” as police passed.
    There were also standoffs in North Point and Fortress Hill, to the east of Causeway Bay, and police fired tear gas at fire-bomb throwing protesters over the harbor in Tsim Sha Tsui.
    “I was at home but when I saw them beating and arresting anyone they saw on the train I rushed down,” said Joanna Wong, one of several hundred people shouting abuse at riot police blocking one subway station.    “I will keep protesting even if I go to jail,” she said, her voice shaking with emotion.
    Some people in cars passing through one protest area honked their horns in support of protesters.
    The protests have gone on for three months, sometimes turning violent, and have targeted the airport, the legislature and the Liaison Office, the symbol of Chinese rule.
    Police arrested a number of prominent pro-democracy activists and three lawmakers on Friday, seeking to rein in a movement that began with anger over planned legislation allowing extraditions to mainland China, where courts are controlled by the ruling Communist Party.
    It soon broadened into calls for democracy amid fears China is squeezing Hong Kong’s freedoms.
    But the latest protests have no leaders.    The slogan is “be like water,” meaning be flexible.    Marchers on Saturday were marching here and there, wherever streets took them, communicating with different hand signals and chanting “stand with Hong Kong” and “fight for freedom.”
BANNER VANDALIZED
    China denies the charge of meddling in Hong Kong, which it says is an internal affair.    It has denounced the protests and warned of the damage to the economy.
    China is eager to quell the unrest before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1 but protesters vandalized a long red banner celebrating the event to cheers from the crowd.
    Beijing has also accused foreign powers, particularly the United States and Britain, of fomenting the demonstrations.
    Hong Kong returned to China under a “one country, two systems” formula that allows it to keep freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, like the freedom to protest and an independent legal system.
    “After 20 years of ‘one country, two systems’, we are finding out that it is a lie.    We don’t accept the Chinese dictatorship,” said Noel, 24, an artist and recent philosophy graduate as fellow protesters screamed “Triads” at riot police.
    “We protesters are fighting for values.    I have to say I am not overly optimistic.    But fighting dictatorship is the right thing to do."
    “If China sends troops to shoot us, then Hong Kong is fucked.    Hong Kong will end.”
    There have been frequent clashes between protesters and police, who have fired tear gas and rubber bullets amid accusations of excessive force.
    “A lot of people from the outside think it is the police who escalate (the violence) first,” a police officer told a media briefing.    “This is not true.”
    An off-duty policeman was attacked on Friday night by three unidentified men with a knife, suffering wounds to his limbs and back, police said.    The news was a top-trending topic on China’s Twitter-like Weibo.
    With Hong Kong facing its first recession in a decade, speculation has grown that the city government may impose emergency laws, giving it extra powers over detentions, censorship and curfews.
    Lawmaker Fernando Cheung said the arrests of the three legislators were probably aimed at causing more chaos to justify the use of emergency laws.
(Additional reporting by James Pomfret, Marius Zaharia, Jessie Pang, Joe Brock, Farah Master, Clare Jim, David Lague, Simon Gardner, Twinnie Siu and Anne Marie Roantree; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Stephen Powell)

9/1/2019 Myanmar army says to punish soldiers in Rohingya atrocities probe by Sam Aung Moon
FILE PHOTO: Myanmar's military Commander in Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing salutes as
he attends an event marking the 72nd anniversary of Martyrs' Day at the Martyrs' Mausoleum dedicated
to the fallen independence heroes, in Yangon, Myanmar July 19, 2019. REUTERS/Myo Kyaw Soe
    YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar’s army will court-martial soldiers after a new finding in an inquiry into atrocities in Rakhine state, from which more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled a 2017 army-led campaign the United Nations says was executed with “genocidal intent.”
    On Saturday, the website of Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing said a military court that visited the northern state found soldiers had shown “weakness in following instructions in some incidents” at a village said to have been a Rohingya massacre site.
    In 2018, the Associated Press news agency reported the existence of at least five graves of Rohingya in the village, Gutarpyin, in the township of Buthidaung.
    But government officials at the time said 19 “terrorists” had died and their bodies were “carefully buried.”
    On Sunday, military spokesman Tun Tun Nyi told Reuters the investigation’s findings were secret.
    “We don’t have the right to know about it,” he said by telephone.    “They will release another statement about it when the procedure is finished.”
    The court, comprising a major-general and two colonels, was formed in March to respond to accusations of mass killings, rape and arson by the security forces made by the United Nations and rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
    It visited Rakhine twice in July and August.
    Myanmar forces had launched their offensive in Rakhine in response to a series of attacks by Rohingya insurgents on security posts near the Bangladesh border.
    Last year a U.N. fact-finding mission said the military campaign was orchestrated with “genocidal intent,” and recommended charging Min Aung Hlaing and five other generals with the “gravest crimes under international law.”
    Myanmar has denied the accusations, although Min Aung Hlaing said last month a number of security men may have been involved.
    A previous military investigation in 2017 exonerated the security forces of any crimes.
    Myanmar is facing growing international calls for accountability over the Rakhine campaign.
    The International Criminal Court has opened a preliminary examination into the violence, while a panel formed by Myanmar that includes Philippine diplomat Rosario Manalo and Japan’s former U.N. envoy, Kenzo Oshima, is due to publish its findings.
(Reporting by Poppy Elena McPherson; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

9/1/2019 Myanmar partially lifts internet shutdown in conflict-torn Rakhine, Chin states by Sam Aung Moon
FILE PHOTO: A landscape view of the downtown with ancient pagodas in the background in Mrauk U, Rakhine state, Myanmar June 28, 2019. REUTERS/Ann Wang
    YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar has partially lifted a months-long internet shutdown in two western states where government troops are battling ethnic insurgents, a leading telecoms operator said on Sunday, amid peace talks seeking to end the fighting.
    Norwegian mobile operator Telenor Group said the transport and communications ministry had lifted the block, in place since June 21, in five townships in Rakhine and Chin states at midnight.
    Officials cited a “restoration of peace and stability” in the areas, Telenor said in a statement.
    “Freedom of expression through access to telecoms services should be maintained for humanitarian purposes, especially during times of conflict,” it added.
    Ministry officials did not immediately answer telephone calls to seek comment.
    Rakhine state drew global attention after about 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to neighboring Bangladesh in 2017, following a military crackdown in response to militant attacks.
    U.N. investigators have called for senior military officers to be prosecuted over allegations of mass killings, gang rapes and arson.    The military denies widespread wrongdoing.
    More recently, civilians have been caught in clashes between the military and the Abakan Army, an insurgent group that recruits from the mainly Buddhist ethnic Rakhine population in its fight for greater autonomy for the state.
    Since November, the fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people across a larger part of central and northern Rakhine and part of neighboring Chin, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says.
    Much of the region is off-limits to journalists and most humanitarian agencies.
    Tun Aung Kyaw, a secretary of Rakhine’s biggest political party, the Arakan National Party, said the internet shutdown had been lifted in the four Rakhine townships of Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Rathedaung, and Myebon, and one in Chin state.
    The fighting is the fiercest in the four Rakhine townships where the internet remains blocked, which are Ponnagyun, Mrauk-U, Kyuakdaw and Minbya, he told Reuters by telephone.
    “The internet restoration could be due to peace talks between the military and ethnic armed groups,” he said.    “We hope for the success of the peace talks and immediate restoration of the internet to the rest of the townships.”
    The government has recently been holding peace talks with several armed groups, including the AA, which also participated in a massive assault on a military academy and police outposts in northern Myanmar last month.
(Reporting by Sam Aung Moon; Editing by Poppy McPherson and Clarence Fernandez)

9/2/2019 Hong Kong students rally for democracy after weekend violence by Jessie Pang and Joyce Zhou
A riot police holds his shield at a Mass Transit Railway (MTR) station in Hong Kong, China, September 2, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Thousands of Hong Kong university and school students swapped classes for democracy demonstrations on Monday, the latest act of defiance in an anti-government movement that has plunged the Chinese-ruled city into crisis.
    The boycott follows a weekend marred by some of the worst violence since unrest escalated more than three months ago, with protesters burning barricades and throwing petrol bombs, and police retaliating with water cannon, tear gas and batons.
    Thousands of students gathered on the hilltop campus of Chinese University under leaden skies, taking turns to make speeches from a stage with a black backdrop embossed with “Students in Unity Boycott for our City”
    They are seeking greater democracy for the former British colony which returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees wide-ranging autonomy, including the right to protest and an independent judiciary.
    There fear those freedoms are being slowly eroded by Communist Party rulers in Beijing, a charge China denies.
    “I come here just to tell others that even after summer holidays end we are not back to our normal life, we should continue to fight for Hong Kong,” said one 19-year-old student who asked to be identified as just Chan.
    “These protests awaken me to care more about the society and care for the voiceless.”
    On the first day of the new school year, secondary students were seen singing, chanting and forming human chains, some wearing hard hats and masks.    Many primary schools were closed because of a typhoon warning.
    China accuses Western countries of egging on the protests.    It says Hong Kong is its own internal affair.
    Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang reiterated Beijing’s support for Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam.
    “China’s central government supports chief executive Carrie Lam’s leadership … to administer in accordance with the law and supports Hong Kong’s police tackling the violence and chaos in accordance with the law to restore order,” he told a press briefing.
    Several editorials in Chinese state media condemned the protesters.
    One published by the state news agency Xinhua warned that “the end is coming” for protesters who should “never misjudge the determination" of the central government.
“WE’D LIKE TO KEEP SCHOOLS CALM”
    Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung told reporters that schools were no place for “raising political demands” or trying to pressure the government.
    “We would like to keep schools as calm, peaceful and orderly places for students to study,” he said.
    Students have turned out in significant numbers at recent rallies and were also prominent during the 2014 pro-democracy “Umbrella” movement that foreshadowed the current unrest.
    “It’s very different from what happened back then.    People are more mad now,” said Summer, a 20-year-old student who only gave his first name.
    Thousands of protesters blocked roads and public transport links to Hong Kong airport on Sunday.    Some then targeted the MTR subway station in nearby Tung Chung, ripping out turnstiles and smashing CCTV cameras, windows and lamps with metal poles.    Police moved in and made several arrests.
    Lam, a lightning rod for protesters’ anger, said on her Facebook page on Monday that 10 subway stations had been damaged by “violent offenders” over the weekend.
    John Lee, government secretary for security, told media that nearly 100 petrol bombs were thrown in various locations on Saturday with two found on a 13-year-old boy who was arrested inside an MTR station.
    The unrest began over a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed people in the city to be sent to China for trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party.
    The turmoil has evolved over 13 weeks to become a widespread demand for democracy. China is eager to quell the unrest before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1.
    With Hong Kong facing its first recession in a decade, China has also warned of the damage the protests are causing to the economy.
    Protesters had made calls for a general strike on Monday but they appeared to go unheeded.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang, Joyce Zhou, Farah Master, Donny Kwok, Clare Jim and Twinnie Siu in Hong Kong and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Robert Birsel and Nick Macfie)

9/2/2019 Iran says it closes gaps with France in talks on nuclear deal
FILE PHOTO: A combination of file photos showing French President Emmanuel Macron attending a
meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 23, 2017, and Iran President Hassan Rouhani looking on at the
Campidoglio palace in Rome, Italy, January 25, 2016. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photos
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran and France’s views have become closer over Tehran’s nuclear deal, mainly after phone calls between President Hassan Rouhani and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Iran’s government spokesman said on Monday.
    “Fortunately the points of views have become closer on many issues and now technical discussions are being held on ways to carry out the     Europeans’ commitments (in the nuclear deal),” the spokesman, Ali Rabiei, said in remarks carried by state television, without giving details.
    Since the United States pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal last year, European parties to the pact have been trying to convince Iran to remain compliant by promising to shield its economic interests from U.S. sanctions.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Peter Graff)

9/2/2019 Japan to set up police unit to help defend disputed islets: NHK
FILE PHOTO: Japan Coast Guard vessel PS206 Houou sails in front of Uotsuri island, one of the disputed islands, called
Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea August 18, 2013. REUTERS/Ruairidh Villar/File Photo
    TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan is bolstering its defense of a group of East China Sea islets disputed with China and other far-flung isles, with the establishment of a special police unit armed with automatic weapons, the public broadcaster NHK reported on Monday.
    The police unit will be based on the southern island of Okinawa, which is 420 km (260 miles) east of the disputed outcrops, which are controlled by Japan and known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.
    “Assuming scenarios that include illegal landing by an armed group, highly trained members equipped with sub-machine guns will be deployed,” NHK said on its report.    It did not identify its sources.
    Japan’s military and coastguard have boosted their postures around the disputed islands but this will be the first time the police have set up a unit in the region to help defend them, NHK said.
    No officials were immediately available for comment at the National Police Agency.
    The police agency, in a budget request for the year from next April, is asking for 159 additional officers in Okinawa and Fukuoka, another southern prefecture, to boost its capability to respond to situations on remote islands, it said.
    Japan’s relations with China have long been strained by the island row and the legacy of Japan’s World War Two aggression.
    In 2012, a group of Chinese activists landed on one of the disputed islets and raised a Chinese flag, to the outrage of Japan.
    But the neighbors have sought to improve relations more recently, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visiting Beijing in October last year when both countries pledged to forge closer ties.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Robert Birsel)

9/2/2019 Solomon Islands eyes shift in diplomatic ties to China from Taiwan by Jonathan Barrett
A Solomon Islands flag (2nd right) waves at the top of a flagpole, which at the bottom reads "Sao Tome", in front of a building
housing most of the embassies of Taiwan's official allies, in Taipei, Taiwan, December 23, 2016. REUTERS/J.R. Wu
    SYDNEY (Reuters) – The Solomon Islands, one of Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies, has formed a team of ministers to talk to Beijing ahead of a possible switch in ties that could be unveiled as early as this week, the chief of a parliamentary panel said.
    The Pacific island nation has recognized self-ruled Taiwan since 1983 but would be a prized chip for China in its bid to peel away the allies of what it considers a wayward province with no right to state-to-state ties, taking their number to 16.
    “There’s a certain thinking with the current government and executive to switch,” Peter Kenilorea, an opposition lawmaker who chairs a foreign relations parliamentary committee, told Reuters.
    “The amount of money that has already been spent by the government on this is quite telling.”
    A task force charged with evaluating the Taiwan ties returned from a tour of Pacific nations allied to China just before a mid-August visit to Beijing by eight Solomons ministers and the prime minister’s private secretary.
    “It doesn’t take much imagination to work out what the task force will recommend,” added Kenilorea, whose panel will review the recommendations.
    The task force, set up by new Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare after a general election in April, could present its recommendations as early as this week, parliament schedules show.
    The government has said the ministerial group only visited Beijing.
    Both the task force and panel of ministers were clearly leaning toward Beijing, said a government lawmaker who declined to be named, but did not rule out the possibility of a surprise.
    The Solomons’ task force and government officials did not respond to requests for comment.
    Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Monday, said its understanding was the Solomons would also consider the views of other government departments and politicians and any decision would also need to be discussed by the Cabinet and parliament.
    Mutual interactions recently have been “normal,” the ministry added, including the signing of a visa-waiver agreement last month by Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and Sogavare.
    “These all show cooperation between the two countries is smooth and communication without obstacles.”
    The Solomon Islands-China Friendship Association, which represents China in the island nation, said that while it was not privy to political discussions, it appeared that the government was split over the issue.
    “At this point, it remains unclear whether the Solomon Islands government will agree on a switch to China or remain with the status quo,” it told Reuters in an emailed statement.
    Speaking in Beijing on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang declined to answer specific questions on the Solomons, saying only that China was willing to have relations with all countries on the basis of the “one China” principle.
    That refers to China’s stance that Taiwan and it both belong to one China.
    China, which fears that President Tsai Ing-wen wants to push for Taiwan’s formal independence, has mounted a concerted campaign to lure away its remaining diplomatic allies.
    El Salvador in Central America, along with Burkina Faso in West Africa and the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean, all severed ties with Taiwan last year.
Graphic: Tug of war in the Pacific – https://graphics.reuters.com/PACIFIC-SAMOA-CHINA/0100B0D30T6/PACIFIC1.jpg
LOOMING DECISION
    The Pacific has been a diplomatic stronghold for Taiwan, where formal ties with six island nations make up more than a third of its total alliances.    It pledged $8.5 million to the Solomons in 2019-20, budget documents show.
    That money goes to a controversial health development fund that anti-graft agency Transparency Solomon Islands says has links to vote-buying.
    But Solomons lawmakers say the fund has been used to promote health services, with a government website listing sanitation and health projects among its successes.
    After an aggressive push over the past decade, China has become the largest two-way provider of funding in the Pacific, but only to nations with which it has formal ties.
    The United States has accused it of using “predatory economics.”
    The issue of the switch in ties threatens to divide the small Solomons archipelago of just over 600,000 people.
    Sixteen MPs cited potential “compromised freedoms” as a reason against the switch in an open letter last month.
    The task force recommendation would need to be reviewed and ratified before any switch, and the public can offer its views.
    Many students oppose the change, said Ishmael Aitorea, a student at the University of the South Pacific in the capital, Honiara.
    “Taiwan has been faithful in giving us aid; a lot of us don’t trust China,” Aitorea added.
(Reporting by Jonathan Barrett in SYDNEY; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING and Yimou Lee in TAIPEI; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

9/2/2019 Japan’s Abe says he plans to meet with Putin in Russia this week
FILE PHOTO: Russia's President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a news
conference after the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan June 29, 2019. Yuri Kadobnov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
    TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday he planned to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week when he attends the Eastern Economic Forum to be held in Vladivostok Sept 4-6.
    Abe said he wanted to make progress towards talks over a peace treaty and joint economic activities in the four disputed Russian-held islands off Japan’s northern region of Hokkaido.
(Reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto; Writing by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

9/2/2019 China files WTO complaint over latest round of U.S. Tariffs by OAN Newsroom
    China files a complaint against the U.S. with the World Trade Organization.
In this Aug. 6, 2019, photo, a container ship is docked a port in Qingdao in eastern China’s Shandong province.
U.S. President Donald Trump angrily escalated his trade fight with China on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, raising retaliatory
tariffs and ordering American companies to consider alternatives to doing business there. (Chinatopix via AP)
    The Chinese Commerce Ministry confirmed Beijing filed the complaint over the latest round of tariffs which went into effect over the weekend.
    The Trump administration imposed a 15% tariff on roughly $112 billion worth of Chinese goods on Sunday, and China responded with a 10% tariff on U.S. crude.
    The WTO complaint alleges the U.S. violated agreements made at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan in June.
    Another round of tariffs is set to go into effect between the two countries in December.

9/2/2019 Iran threatens weaker commitment to nuclear deal if Europe doesn’t act by OAN Newsroom
    Iran said it will take a stronger steps to back away from the 2015 nuclear deal, if European signatories don’t offer better terms by the end of this week.
    Earlier Monday, Iran’s government spokesperson Ali Rabiei urged European powers to act before the deadline on Friday.    He said Iran and France’s views regarding the deal have moved closer after the countries’ leaders spoke over the phone.
In this July 7, 2019, photo, Iran’s government spokesman Ali Rabiei speaks in a press briefing in Tehran, Iran. Iran will “take a
strong step” away from its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers if Europe cannot offer the country new terms by a deadline at the
end of this week, Rabiei said Monday as top Iranian diplomats traveled to France and Russia for last-minute talks. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
    However, he warned Tehran will take actions if there is no apparent progress from negotiations.    “If Tehran is not satisfied regarding the implementation of commitments within the deadline, we will take a strong step in reducing our commitments,” said Rabiei during a press briefing.
    His comments come ahead of a meeting between Iranian and French officials in Paris as a part of their efforts to make the agreement work.
    According to reports, Iran continues to exceed uranium enrichment limit set by the Obama-era nuclear pact.

9/2/2019 Special Report: Hong Kong leader says she would ‘quit’ if she could, fears her ability to resolve crisis now ‘very limited’ by Greg Torode, James Pomfret and Anne Marie Roantree
FILE PHOTO: Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam holds a news conference in Hong Kong, China, August 20, 2019. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said she has caused “unforgivable havoc” by igniting the political crisis engulfing the city and would quit if she had a choice, according to an audio recording of remarks she made last week to a group of businesspeople.
    At the closed-door meeting, Lam told the group that she now has “very limited” room to resolve the crisis because the unrest has become a national security and sovereignty issue for China amid rising tensions with the United States.
    “If I have a choice,” she said, speaking in English, “the first thing is to quit, having made a deep apology.”
    Lam’s dramatic and at times anguished remarks offer the clearest view yet into the thinking of the Chinese leadership as it navigates the unrest in Hong Kong, the biggest political crisis to grip the country since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
    Hong Kong has been convulsed by sometimes violent protests and mass demonstrations since June, in response to a proposed law by Lam’s administration that would allow people suspected of crimes on the mainland to be extradited to face trial in Chinese courts.    The law has been shelved, but Lam has been unable to end the upheaval.    Protesters have expanded their demands to include complete withdrawal of the proposal, a concession her administration has so far refused.    Large demonstrations wracked the city again over the weekend.
    Lam suggested that Beijing had not yet reached a turning point.    She said Beijing had not imposed any deadline for ending the crisis ahead of National Day celebrations scheduled for October 1.    And she said China had “absolutely no plan” to deploy People’s Liberation Army troops on Hong Kong streets. World leaders have been closely watching whether China will send in the military to quell the protests, as it did a generation ago in the bloody Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing.
    Lam noted, however, that she had few options once an issue had been elevated “to a national level,” a reference to the leadership in Beijing, “to a sort of sovereignty and security level, let alone in the midst of this sort of unprecedented tension between the two big economies in the world.”
    In such a situation, she added, “the room, the political room for the chief executive who, unfortunately, has to serve two masters by constitution, that is the central people’s government and the people of Hong Kong, that political room for maneuvering is very, very, very limited.”
    Three people who attended the meeting confirmed that Lam had made the comments in a talk that lasted about half an hour.    A 24-minute recording of her remarks was reviewed by Reuters.    The meeting was one of a number of “closed-door sessions” that Lam said she has been doing “with people from all walks of life” in Hong Kong.
    Responding to Reuters, a spokesman for Lam said she attended two events last week that included businesspeople, and that both were effectively private.    “We are therefore not in a position to comment on what the Chief Executive has said at those events,” the spokesman said.
    China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, a high-level agency under China’s cabinet, the State Council, did not respond to questions submitted by Reuters.
    China’s State Council Information Office did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters.
‘THE PRICE WOULD BE TOO HUGE’
    The Hong Kong protests mark the biggest popular challenge to the rule of Chinese President Xi Jinping since he took power in 2012.    Xi is also grappling with an escalating strategic rivalry with the United States and a slowing economy.    Tensions have risen as the world’s two biggest economies are embroiled in a tit-for-tat trade war.    Disagreements over Taiwan and over China’s moves to tighten its control in the South China Sea have further frayed relations between Beijing and Washington.
    Lam’s remarks are consistent with a Reuters report published on Friday that revealed how leaders in Beijing are effectively calling the shots on handling the crisis in Hong Kong.    The Chinese government rejected a recent proposal by Lam to defuse the conflict that included withdrawing the extradition bill altogether, three people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
    Asked about the report, China’s Foreign Ministry said that the central government “supports, respects and understands” Lam’s decision to suspend the bill.    The Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid published by the Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, denounced it as “fake.”
    As protests escalated, Lam suspended the bill on June 15.    Several weeks later, on July 9, she announced that it was “dead.”    That failed to mollify the protesters, who expanded their demands to include an inquiry into police violence and democratic reform.    Many have also called for an end to what they see as meddling by Beijing in the affairs of Hong Kong.
    The tone of Lam’s comments in the recording is at odds with her more steely public visage.    At times, she can be heard choking up as she reveals the personal impact of the three-month crisis.
.     “For a chief executive to have caused this huge havoc to Hong Kong is unforgivable,” she said.
    Lam told the meeting that the leadership in Beijing was aware of the potential damage to China’s reputation that would arise from sending troops into Hong Kong to quell the protests.
    “They know that the price would be too huge to pay,” she said.
    “They care about the country’s international profile,” she said.    “It has taken China a long time to build up to that sort of international profile and to have some say, not only being a big economy but a responsible big economy, so to forsake all those positive developments is clearly not on their agenda.”
    But she said China was “willing to play long” to ride out the unrest, even if it meant economic pain for the city, including a drop in tourism and losing out on capital inflows such as initial public offerings.
‘BIGGEST SADNESS’
    Lam also spoke about the importance of the rule of law in Hong Kong and restoring stability to the city of more than seven million, as well as the need to improve efforts to get the government’s message out.    At the end, applause can be heard on the recording.
.     While Lam said that now was not the time for “self-pity,” she spoke about her profound frustration with not being able “to reduce the pressure on my frontline police officers,” or to provide a political solution to “pacify the large number of peaceful protesters who are so angry with the government, with me in particular.”
    Her inability “to offer a political situation in order to relieve the tension,” she said, was the source of her “biggest sadness.”
    Lam also spoke about the impact the crisis has had on her daily life.
    “Nowadays it is extremely difficult for me to go out,” she said.    “I have not been on the streets, not in shopping malls, can’t go to a hair salon.    I can’t do anything because my whereabouts will be spread around social media.”
    If she were to appear in public, she said, “you could expect a big crowd of black T-shirts and black-masked young people waiting for me.”    Many of the protesters wear black at demonstrations.
    After enjoying relatively high popularity in the initial part of her tenure, Lam is now the least popular of any of the four leaders who have run Hong Kong since its handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997, according to veteran pollster Robert Chung, who runs the Public Opinion Research Institute.
HONG KONG ‘IS NOT DEAD YET’
    Lam was chosen as city leader in March 2017, vowing to “unite society” and heal divisions in Hong Kong, which remains by far the freest city under Chinese rule.    Under the “one country, two systems” formula agreed with Britain, Hong Kong enjoys an array of personal freedoms that don’t exist in mainland China.    One of the most cherished of those freedoms is the city’s British-style system of independent courts and rule of law.    The protesters say the extradition law would erode that bulwark of liberty.
    According to a biography on the Hong Kong government website, Lam, a devout Catholic, attended St Francis’ Canossian College.    Her mother, who took care of seven family members on a daily basis, was her role model and inspiration, the biography said.    An election manifesto said Lam came from a “grassroots” family and did her homework on a bunk-bed.    After studying sociology at the University of Hong Kong, she went on to a distinguished career as a civil servant in Hong Kong.    She was elected city leader in March 2017 by a 1,200-member election committee stacked with Beijing loyalists.
    In her early days as leader, Lam pushed through a series of controversial government policies, drawing public criticism in Hong Kong but winning praise from Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
    On July 1, 2017, the day she was sworn in, Lam donned a white hard hat as she walked with Xi to inspect the new Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, which physically links Hong Kong to mainland China.    Critics say the bridge could further weaken Hong Kong’s autonomy by deepening its physical links with southern China.
    The effective expulsion last year of Financial Times editor Victor Mallet, whose visa wasn’t renewed after he hosted an event at the city’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club with the leader of the pro-independence Hong Kong National Party, also drew condemnation at home and abroad.    Lam and her government later came under fire for banning the party and the disqualification of pro-democracy lawmakers.
    Xi praised Lam’s leadership during a visit to Beijing in December 2018.    “The central government fully endorses the work of Chief Executive Lam” and the Hong Kong government, Xi said, according to a report in the state news agency Xinhua.
    Pollster Robert Chung said Lam’s success in pushing through many controversial proposals bolstered her belief she would be able to ram through the extradition bill.
    “All these things made her feel so confident, and when we had the first demonstration, she still thought, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll get it through in two days and things will be over,'” Chung said.    “But she was totally wrong.”
    At the meeting last week, Lam said the extradition bill was her doing and was meant to “plug legal loopholes in Hong Kong’s system.”
    “This is not something instructed, coerced by the central government,” she said.
    She expressed deep regrets about her push to pass the bill.    “This has proven to be very unwise given the circumstances,” she said.    “And this huge degree of fear and anxiety amongst people of Hong Kong vis-à-vis the mainland of China, which we were not sensitive enough to feel and grasp.”
    She gave her audience a gloomy outlook.    The police, she said, would continue to arrest those responsible for “this escalating violence,” a group that the government initially estimated numbered between one thousand and two thousand.
    It would be “naïve,” she said, to “paint you a rosy picture, that things will be fine.”    She did, however, express hope in the city’s ultimate “resurrection.”
    “Hong Kong is not dead yet.    Maybe she is very, very sick, but she is not dead yet,” she said.
(Editing by Peter Hirschberg and David Lague.)

9/2/2019 U.S. to withdraw 5,000 troops from Afghanistan, close bases: U.S. negotiator by Hamid Shalizi and Abdul Qadir Sediqi
FILE PHOTO: U.S. envoy for peace in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad speaks during a debate at
Tolo TV channel in Kabul, Afghanistan April 28, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/File Photo
    KABUL (Reuters) – The United States would withdraw almost 5,000 troops from Afghanistan and close five bases within 135 days under a draft peace accord agreed with the Taliban, the chief U.S. negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, said on Monday.
    The deal, reached after months of negotiations with representatives from the insurgent movement, must still be approved by U.S. President Donald Trump before it can be signed, Khalilzad said in an interview with Tolo News television.
    “In principle, we have got there,” he said.    “The document is closed.”
    In exchange for the phased withdrawal, the Taliban would commit not to allow Afghanistan to be used by militant groups such as al Qaeda or Islamic State as a base for attacks on the United States and its allies.
    The distance that must still be covered before peace is achieved was underlined, however, by a large explosion that rocked the Afghan capital, Kabul, even as Khalilzad’s interview was being aired, shaking buildings several kilometers away.
    Khalilzad, a veteran Afghan-American diplomat, said the aim of the deal was to end the war and that it would lead to a reduction in violence, but there was no formal ceasefire agreement.    It would be up to negotiations among Afghans themselves to agree a settlement, he said.
    He declined to say how long the rest of the roughly 14,000 U.S. troops would remain in Afghanistan after the first stage of the withdrawal, although Taliban officials previously insisted that all foreign forces must leave.
    Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has been briefed on a draft of the accord and will look at details of the deal before giving an opinion, his spokesman said on Monday.
    Khalilzad said “intra-Afghan” talks, which might be held in Norway, would aim to reach a broader political settlement and end the fighting between the Taliban and the Western-backed government in Kabul.
    Details of any future negotiations remain unclear, with the Taliban so far refusing to deal directly with the government, which it considers an illegitimate “puppet” regime.
DIRECT NEGOTIATION
    Ghani met Khalilzad and will “study and assess” details of the draft, spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told reporters earlier on Monday.    “But for us, a meaningful peace or a path to a meaningful peace is the end of violence and direct negotiation with the Taliban,” he said.
    Many Afghan government officials have resented the exclusion of the government from the U.S.-Taliban talks, an issue that was underlined when Ghani was not allowed to keep a text of the draft agreement after it was shown to him.
    Several details of the agreement remain to be clarified, including the status to be accorded to the Taliban, which the draft recognizes under their preferred title as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.    Some Afghan officials object to that as they see it according the insurgents an equivalent status to the country’s internationally recognized government.
    At the same time, presidential elections, scheduled for Sept. 28 in which Ghani is seeking re-election to a second five-year term, were not covered in the agreement, Khalilzad said.    The Taliban have consistently rejected the elections.
    Khalilzad, who has completed nine rounds of talks with Taliban representatives, is scheduled to hold meetings with a number of Afghan leaders in Kabul this week to build a consensus before the deal is signed.
    The peace talks have taken place against a backdrop of relentless violence, even before Monday’s blast in Kabul, with the Taliban mounting two large-scale attacks on the major northern cities of Kunduz and Pul-e Khumri at the weekend.
    Afghan security forces pushed back Taliban fighters from both cities, but a suicide bomber detonated his explosives on Monday in Kunduz, killing at least six policemen and wounding 15, officials and the Taliban said.
    Trump has made little secret of his desire to bring the 14,000 U.S. troops home from Afghanistan, where American troops have been deployed since a U.S.-led campaign overthrew the Taliban in 2001.
    But there are concerns among Afghan officials and U.S. national security aides about a U.S. withdrawal, with fears Afghanistan could be plunged into a new civil war that could herald a return of Taliban rule and allow international militants, including Islamic State, to find a refuge.
(Reporting by Hamid Shalizi and Abdul Qadir Sediqi; Additional reporting by Rupam Jain and James Mackenzie in Kabul, Ahmad Sultan in Nangarhar and Mustafa Andalib in Ghazni: Editing by Robert Birsel, Alison Williams and Peter Cooney)

9/2/2019 Iran warns EU over nuclear commitments as deadline for further steps looms
FILE PHOTO: The Iranian flag flutters in front the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
headquarters in Vienna, Austria July 10, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran said on Monday it would further reduce its commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal if European parties failed to shield Tehran’s economy from sanctions reimposed by the United States after Washington quit the accord last year.
    “It is meaningless to continue unilateral commitments to the deal if we don’t enjoy its benefits as promised by the deal’s European parties,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart in Moscow.
    Iran has said it will breach the deal’s limits on its nuclear activities one by one, ratcheting up pressure on the countries who still hope to save it.
    Tehran has threatened to take further steps by Sept. 6, such as enriching uranium to 20% or restarting mothballed centrifuges, machines that purify uranium for use as fuel in power plants or, if very highly enriched, in weapons.
    Tehran is prepared to take a “stronger step” in reducing its commitments under the deal with world powers if European countries don’t take action to save the pact, its foreign ministry’s spokesman said on Monday.
    “The third step has been designed and will be stronger than the first and second steps to create balance between Iran’s rights and commitments to the JCPOA,” state news agency IRNA quoted the foreign ministry’s spokesman Abbas Mousavi as saying on Monday.
    However, Iran had earlier stressed that these steps are “reversible” if the European signatories of the pact fulfilled their obligations.
    President Donald Trump last year exited the accord between Iran and six world powers aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear program, which the West suspected sought to make a nuclear weapon, in exchange for the lifting of many international sanctions on Tehran.    Washington has also reimposed sanctions on exports of Iranian oil.
    Iran denies ever having sought a nuclear weapon.
    Also, Iran’s government spokesman said on Monday that Iran and France’s views on the deal have moved closer, mainly after phone calls between President Hassan Rouhani and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
    “Fortunately the points of views have become closer on many issues and now technical discussions are being held on ways to carry out the Europeans’ commitments (in the nuclear deal),” the spokesman, Ali Rabiei, said in remarks carried by state television.    He did not go into details.
    Two Iranian officials and one diplomat told Reuters on Aug. 25 that Iran wants to export a minimum of 700,000 barrels per day of its oil and ideally up to 1.5 million bpd if the West wants to negotiate with Tehran to save the nuclear deal.
    “Iran’s oil should be purchased and its money accessible,” Rabiei said on Monday.
    Iran’s oil exports have plummeted because of the U.S. sanctions, which also make it difficult for the country to receive payments through banks.
(Reporting by Tuqa Khalid; Additional reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Peter Graff and Hugh Lawson, William Maclean)

9/2/2019 Hong Kong students rally peacefully before brief night skirmishes by Jessie Pang and Joyce Zhou
A riot police holds his shield at a Mass Transit Railway (MTR) station in Hong Kong, China, September 2, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Thousands of Hong Kong university and school students boycotted class and rallied peacefully for democracy on Monday, the latest acts of defiance in an anti-government movement that has plunged the Chinese-ruled city into crisis.
    The boycott followed a weekend marred by some of the worst violence since unrest escalated more than three months ago, with protesters burning barricades and throwing petrol bombs, and police retaliating with water cannon, tear gas and batons.
    Tension remained high, with several brief skirmishes around the territory after night fell.    Police fired tear gas to clear protesters in the densely populated Mongkok region of the Kowloon peninsula.
    Thousands of students gathered earlier on the hilltop campus of Chinese University under leaden skies, taking turns to make speeches from a stage with a black backdrop embossed with “Students in Unity Boycott for our City.”
    They are seeking greater democracy for the former British colony which returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees wide-ranging autonomy, including the right to protest and an independent judiciary.
    They fear those freedoms are being slowly eroded by Communist Party rulers in Beijing, a charge China denies.
    “I come here just to tell others that even after summer holidays end we are not back to our normal life, we should continue to fight for Hong Kong,” said one 19-year-old student who asked to be identified as just Chan.
    On the first day of the new school year, secondary students were seen singing, chanting and forming human chains, some wearing hard hats and masks.
    China accuses Western countries of egging on the protests. It says Hong Kong is its own internal affair.
    Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang reiterated Beijing’s support for Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam.
    “China’s central government supports chief executive Carrie Lam’s leadership … to administer in accordance with the law and supports Hong Kong’s police tackling the violence and chaos in accordance with the law to restore order,” he told a press briefing.
    As for Lam, she said last week she had caused “unforgivable havoc” by igniting the crisis and would quit if she had a choice.
    Students have turned out in significant numbers at recent rallies and were also prominent during the 2014 pro-democracy “Umbrella” movement that foreshadowed the current unrest.
    “It’s very different from what happened back then.    People are more mad now,” said Summer, a 20-year-old student who gave only his first name.
    The vice-chairman of the Demosisto pro-democracy movement, Isaac Cheng, was assaulted by three unidentified men on Monday and taken to hospital, the group said in a statement.    The group’s leader, Joshua Wong, was one of the prominent leaders of the 2014 struggle.
    Thousands of protesters blocked roads and public transport links to Hong Kong airport on Sunday.    Some then targeted the MTR subway station in nearby Tung Chung, ripping out turnstiles and smashing CCTV cameras, glass panels and lamps with metal poles.    Police made several arrests.
    Lam, a lightning rod for protesters’ anger, said on her Facebook page on Monday that 10 subway stations had been damaged by “violent offenders” over the weekend.
    John Lee, government secretary for security, told media that nearly 100 petrol bombs were thrown in various locations on Saturday with two found on a 13-year-old boy who was arrested inside an MTR station.
    The unrest began over a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed people in the city to be sent to China for trial in courts controlled by the party.
    The turmoil has evolved into calls for democracy.    China is eager to quell the unrest before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1.
    With Hong Kong facing its first recession in a decade, China has also warned of the damage the protests are causing to the economy.
(Reporting by Aleksander Solum, Kai Pfaffenbach, Jessie Pang, Joyce Zhou, Farah Master, Donny Kwok, Clare Jim and Twinnie Siu in Hong Kong and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Writing by Joe Brock and Nick Macfie, Editing by William Maclean)

9/3/2019 Hong Kong leader says she never discussed resigning with Beijing by Jessie Pang and Clare Jim
Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam holds a news conference in Hong Kong, China, September 3, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday she had never asked the Chinese government to let her resign to end the Chinese-ruled city’s political crisis, responding to a Reuters report about a recording of her saying she would step down if she could.
    Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of the former British colony since mid-June in sometimes violent protests against now-suspended draft legislation that could have seen people sent to mainland China for trial in Communist Party controlled courts.
    Lam told business leaders last week that she had caused “unforgivable havoc” by introducing the bill and that if she had a choice she would apologize and resign, according to a leaked audio recording.
    Lam told a televised news conference that she had never considered asking to resign and that Beijing believed her government could solve the three-month-long crisis without China’s intervention.
    “I have not even contemplated discussing a resignation with the central people’s government.    The choice of resigning, it’s my own choice,” Lam said.
    “I told myself repeatedly in the last three months that I and my team should stay on to help Hong Kong … That’s why I said that I have not given myself the choice to take an easier path and that is to leave.”
    Lam added that she was disappointed that comments made in a private meeting, where she had been sharing the “journey of my heart”, had been leaked.
    China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said it was confident that Hong Kong’s government had the will and ability to end the violence.    Activists have attacked the legislature, the airport, government offices and the Liaison Office, the symbol of Chinese rule.
    It also said some Western politicians had been bending over backwards to support separatists in Hong Kong and that its status as a Chinese territory was not up for discussion.
    The growing unrest has evolved into a broader call for Hong Kong to be granted greater autonomy by Beijing, which has often accused foreign powers, particularly the United States and Britain, of fomenting the unrest.
    Comments on the Reuters story about Lam appeared to be censored on mainland Chinese social media, although state media covered Lam’s news conference.
    In the audio recording, Lam said that her ability to resolve the crisis was “very, very limited” as she had to serve “two masters” and the issue had been elevated “to a national level,” a reference to the leadership in Beijing.
    But Lam said on Tuesday that her government had the confidence of Beijing and could bring an end to unrest itself.
    “I think I can lead my team to help Hong Kong to walk out from this dilemma.    I still have the confidence to do this,” she said.    “Up till now, the central government still thinks (the Hong Kong) government has the ability to handle this.”
DEMANDS
    Hong Kong school and university students boycotted classes and held rallies for a second straight day, calling for what protesters call their “five demands”
    Other than the formal withdrawal of the extradition bill, protesters want the retraction of the word “riot” to describe rallies, the release of all arrested demonstrators, an independent inquiry into the police and the right for Hongkongers to democratically choose their own leaders.
    Under Hong Kong law, rioting can carry a 10-year prison sentence.
    Lam has said she is open to dialogue with protesters but has made no concessions on these demands.
    “I think Carrie Lam doesn’t have much power,” said Poon, a 21-year-old engineering student at Hong Kong University.
    “No matter she can step down or not, it doesn’t matter.    Chief executive is still chosen by the central government.    What matters is she refuses to response to the five demands.    She’s an irresponsible leader.”
    The weekend was marred by some of the worst violence since the unrest escalated more than three months ago, with protesters burning barricades and throwing petrol bombs, and police retaliating with water cannon, tear gas and batons.
    Thousands of protesters blocked roads and public transport links to Hong Kong airport on Sunday. Some then targeted the MTR subway station in nearby Tung Chung, ripping out turnstiles and smashing CCTV cameras, glass panels and lamps with metal poles.
    Police have arrested more than 1,140 people since the protests began, including high-profile activists like Joshua Wong, one of the leaders of the pro-democracy “Umbrella” movement five years ago that foreshadowed the current unrest.
    Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees wide-ranging autonomy, including the right to protest and an independent judiciary.
    The protesters fear those freedoms are being slowly eroded by Beijing, a charge China vehemently denies, saying China is its business and no one else’s.
    With protesters and authorities locked in an impasse and Hong Kong facing its first recession in a decade, speculation has grown that the city government may impose emergency laws, giving it extra powers over detentions, censorship and curfews.
    Lam said on Tuesday that her government was considering all legal avenues to solve the crisis.
(Reporting by Clare Jim, Donny Kwok, Jessie Pang, Farah Master, Felix Tam, Noah Sin, Twinnie Siu and Beijing newsroom; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Nick Macfie)

9/3/2019 Iran’s Rouhani rules out bilateral talks with U.S. by Tuqa Khalid
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a session of parliament in Tehran, Iran
September 3, 2019. Official Presidential website/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran will never hold bilateral talks with the United States but if it lifts all the sanctions it reimposed on Iran it can join multilateral talks between Iran and other parties to a 2015 nuclear deal, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday.
    “No decision has ever been taken to hold talks with the U.S. and there has been a lot of offers for talks but our answer will always be negative,” Rouhani told an open session of parliament broadcast live on state radio.
    “If America lifts all the sanctions then like before it can join multilateral talks between Tehran and parties to the 2015 deal,” he added.
    U.S. President Donald Trump, although applying “maximum pressure” on Iran, has offered to meet its leaders and hold bilateral talks with no pre-conditions to end the confrontation between their countries.
    Last month, Rouhani said Iran would not talk to its longtime foe until the United States lifted all of the sanctions it reimposed after it exited the 2015 nuclear deal last year.
    European parties to the deal have struggled to calm the deepening confrontation between Iran and the United States and save the deal by shielding Iran’s economy from the sanctions.
    But the European powers have warned that their support for the deal is dependent on Iran’s full commitment to it.
    Iran has called on the Europeans to accelerate their efforts and Rouhani stressed on Tuesday that Iran would take a third step in scaling back its nuclear commitments by Thursday unless the Europeans kept their promises to salvage the deal.
    “If Europeans can purchase our oil or pre-purchase it and we can have access to our money, that will ease the situation and we can fully implement the deal… otherwise we will take our third step,” he said.
    The 2015 deal between Iran and six other countries, reached under former U.S. President Barack Obama, curbed Iran’s nuclear work in exchange for the lifting of most international sanctions in 2016.
    Iran has started to scale back its nuclear commitments since May and it will take further steps on Sept. 5, aimed at ratcheting up pressure on the European parties of the pact to protect its economic interests despite the U.S. sanctions.
    Iranian authorities have said the next step would be “stronger” and might include enriching uranium to 20% or restarting mothballed centrifuges, machines that purify uranium for use as fuel in power plants or, if very highly enriched, in weapons.
    Iran has increased its stockpile of heavy water and has increased the level of its enrichment of uranium beyond the limits allowed under the agreement.
    Enriching uranium up to 20% purity is considered an important intermediate stage on the path to obtaining the 90% pure fissile uranium needed for a bomb.
(Reporting by Tuqa Khalid; Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Robert Birsel)

9/3/2019 Iranian tanker Adrian Darya 1 goes dark off Syria
FILE PHOTO: A crew member takes pictures with a mobile phone on Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1,
as it sits anchored after the Supreme Court of the British territory lifted its detention order,
in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain, August 18, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1 at the center of a dispute between Tehran and Western powers appears to have turned off its transponder in the Mediterranean west of Syria, Refinitiv ship-tracking data showed on Tuesday.
    The tanker which is loaded with Iranian crude oil, sent its last signal giving its position between Cyprus and Syria sailing north at 15:53 GMT on Monday, the data showed.
    The vessel, formerly named Grace 1, was detained by British Royal Marine commandos off Gibraltar on July 4 as it was suspected to be en route to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions.
    Two weeks later, Iran in retaliation seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz leading into the Gulf.
    Gibraltar released the Iranian vessel on August 15 after receiving formal written assurances from Tehran that the ship would not discharge its 2.1 million barrels of oil in Syria.
    However, shipping sources say the tanker is likely to try to conduct a ship-to-ship transfer with another vessel for part of its cargo after Iran said a sale had been concluded.
    Washington has warned any state against assisting the ship, saying it would consider that support for a terrorist organization, namely, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
    The U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted the tanker on Friday.
(Reporting by Jonathan Saul and Lisa Barrington; editing by Jason Neely)

9/3/2019 Taliban claim blast in Afghan capital as draft peace deal agreed
Afghan policemen inspect the site of a blast in Kabul, Afghanistan, September 3, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
    KABUL (Reuters) – The Taliban claimed responsibility for a car bomb explosion that rocked the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday, killing at least five people and wounding dozens more and shaking windows and doors in houses several kilometers away from the blast.
    The explosion came as a senior U.S. diplomat was visiting Kabul to brief Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on a draft peace accord reached with the insurgents that could see thousands of U.S. troops withdrawn from Afghanistan.
    The blast hit close to Green Village, a large compound used by staff of international organizations, sending a column of smoke and flame into the sky.
    It was followed by a second, smaller explosion that occurred as generators inside the compound blew up.
    The Taliban’s main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the attack had targeted foreign forces.    He said a car bomber had blown himself up and multiple attackers had stormed the compound.
    Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said five civilians were killed in the blast and 50 wounded.
    The blast took place as Zalmay Khalilzad, the special U.S. envoy for peace in Afghanistan, was conducting a television interview, giving the outlines of an accord which would see almost 5,000 American troops withdrawn from Afghanistan in the coming months.
    In exchange, the Taliban would agree not to allow Afghanistan to be used as a base for attacks on the United States and its allies by militant groups including Al Qaeda and Islamic State.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie, Hamid Shalizi, Abdul Qadir Sediqi, Orooj Hakimi; Editing by Alison Williams and Catherine Evans)

9/4/2019 Hong Kong leader announces withdrawal of controversial extradition bill by Farah Master and James Pomfret
Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam holds a news conference in Hong Kong, China, September 3, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Wednesday announced the withdrawal of an extradition bill that triggered months of unrest and threw the Chinese-ruled city into its worst crisis in decades, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
    The announcement, in an internal meeting with pro- establishment lawmakers and Hong Kong delegates of China’s National People’s Congress, came just two days after Reuters revealed that Lam told business leaders last week she had caused “unforgivable havoc” by introducing the bill.    If she had a choice she would apologize and resign, according to a leaked audio recording.
    The protests against the bill in the former British colony began in March but snowballed in June and have since evolved into a push for greater democracy.
    The bill would have allowed extraditions to mainland China where courts are controlled by the Communist Party.
    It was not immediately clear if the bill’s withdrawal would help end the unrest.    The immediate reaction appeared skeptical and the real test will be how many people take to the streets.
    Many are furious at perceived police brutality and the number of arrests – 1,183 at the latest count – and want an independent inquiry.
    “This won’t appease the protesters,” said Boris Chen, 37 who works in financial services.    “In any kind of time, people will find something they can get angry about.”
    Pearl, 69, said the protests were no longer about the bill.
    “Some of those guys may change their minds, maybe, but just a minority,” she said of the protesters.    “Some of them just want to create trouble and they will continue to do so.”
    “Too little, too late,” said Joshua Wong, a leader of the 2014 pro-democracy protests which were the precursor to the current unrest, on his Facebook page.
    At the closed-door meeting of business leaders last week, Lam said she now had “very limited” room to resolve the crisis because the unrest had become a national security and sovereignty issue for China amid rising tensions with the United States.
    Lam’s remarks are consistent with a Reuters report published on Friday that revealed how leaders in Beijing were effectively calling the shots on handling the crisis.
    The chief executive’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the bill’s withdrawal.    Nor did China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.
    Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index <.HSI> jumped after the report of the bill’s imminent withdrawal, trading up about 4%. The property index also jumped.
    The withdrawal was one of the protesters’ key demands.    Lam has said before that the bill was “dead” but she did not withdraw it.
    The other demands are: the retraction of the word “riot” to describe rallies, the release of all arrested demonstrators, an independent inquiry into the police perceived brutality and the right for Hong Kong people to democratically choose their own leaders.
    Michael Tien, a member of Hong Kong’s legislature and a deputy to China’s national parliament, said the government should withdraw the bill and that he would support an inquiry commission.
    “If the government mentioned (a withdrawal) in June it would have stopped already,” he told reporters, referring to the protests.
CHINA’S WARNINGS
    Hong Kong returned to China under a “one country, two systems” formula that allows it to keep freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, like the freedom to protest and an independent legal system, hence the anger at the extradition bill and perceived creeping influence by Beijing.
    The Chinese government rejected a recent proposal by Lam to defuse the conflict that included withdrawing the bill altogether, three people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
    Asked about that report, China’s foreign ministry said the central government “supports, respects and understands” Lam’s decision to suspend the bill.    The Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid published by the Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, denounced it as “fake.”
    China has regularly denounced the protests and warned about the impact on Hong Kong’s economy.
    China denies it is meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs but warned again on Tuesday that it would not sit idly by if the unrest threatened Chinese security and sovereignty.
    It has also expressed concern about the damage to the city’s economy, which is on the verge of a recession.
    Cathay Pacific Airways <0293.HK> has been one of the biggest corporate casualties.
    China’s aviation regulator demanded it suspend staff from flying over its airspace if they were involved in, or supported, the demonstrations.    The airline has laid off at least 20 including pilots and cabin crew.
    The airline on Wednesday announced the resignation of chairman John Slosar, following the departure of CEO Rupert Hogg last month.
    The unrest has shown no sign of easing.
    Riot police fired beanbag guns and used pepper spray – both anti-riot weapons – to clear demonstrators from outside the Mong Kok police station and in Prince Edward metro station, with one man taken out on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over his face, television footage showed.
    Videos showing the man being apprehended by the police in the station have been widely shared on social media with protest groups and activists saying it is evidence of the police brutality they say is widespread and needs to be investigated.
    The police, who have repeatedly denied using excessive force, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.    Hong Kong police are due to hold a news conference at 4 p.m. (0800 GMT).
    Three men, aged between 21 and 42, were taken to Kwong Wa Hospital late on Tuesday, a hospital authority spokeswoman said.
    Two, including the man stretchered out of Prince Edward station, were in a stable condition and one had been discharged, she said.
(Reporting by Twinnie Siu, Jessie Pang, Lukas Job, Noah Sin and Farah Master; Writing by Joe Brock and Nick Macfie; Editing by Robert Birsel)

9/4/2019 Iran gives Europe two more months to save nuclear deal by Parisa Hafezi
FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attends the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures
in Asia (CICA) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan June 15, 2019. REUTERS/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov/File Photo
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani gave European powers another two months to save a 2015 nuclear deal on Wednesday, but warned that Tehran was still preparing for further significant breaches of the pact that would have “extraordinary effects.”
    His statement came as Iranian officials gave mixed signals in response to a French proposal to save the agreement by offering Iran about $15 billion in credit lines until year-end if Tehran comes fully back into compliance.
    Once senior Iranian official said it would comply if it got that amount in credit lines or oil sales, while state-run Press TV said Iran had rejected a proposal for an EU loan of that amount.
    Iran emerged from years of economic isolation after agreeing a deal with world powers in 2015 to curb its nuclear development program in exchange for sanctions relief.    However, U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the deal last year and reimposed sanctions.
    Tehran responded with two separate moves that breached some of the terms of the deal, although it says it still aims to save the pact.
    Rouhani had threatened to take further measures by Sept. 5 unless France and the other European signatories of the pact did more to protect Iran from the impact of the U.S. penalties.
    “I think it is unlikely that we will reach a result with Europe by today or tomorrow … Europe will have another two-months to fulfil its commitments,” Rouhani said, according to state TV.
    Iran would continue with plans to breach the pact further and accelerate its nuclear activity, he added.
    “The third step (in reducing Iran’s commitments) will be the most important one and it will have extraordinary effects,” state TV reported him as saying.
    Iranian officials initially said they were considering the French plan when news of it emerged on Tuesday.    On Wednesday Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi appeared to back its main terms.
    “Our return to the full implementation of the nuclear accord is subject to the receipt of $15 billion over a four-month period, otherwise the process of reducing Iran’s commitments will continue,” the semi-official news agency Fars quoted Araqchi as saying.
    “Either Europe has to buy oil from Iran or provide Iran with the equivalent of selling oil as a credit line guaranteed by Iran’s oil revenues, which in some sense means a pre-sale of oil,” Araqchi added.
    Soon after, Iran’s English-language Press TV issued a short report stating: “Iran has rejected a $15 billion loan offered by EU,” without giving further details.    Western and Iranian sources had described the French plan as the offer of a credit line, not a loan, although the precise details have not been made public.
    Iran’s vital crude oil sales have plummeted by more than 80% under the U.S. sanctions.
    The remaining signatories of the deal have been working to save an agreement that they say will bring Iran back into the international fold and prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb.
    Iran has repeatedly said its nuclear program is for electricity generation and other peaceful purposes.
(This story has been refiled to add dropped word in lead)
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Clarence Fernandez and Andrew Heavens)
[Well at least the E.U. did not offer them 150 billion like Obama and Kerry did which they used to pay for terrorist to attack Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen.].

9/4/2019 Rouhani says Iran to develop nuclear centrifuges
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during the cabinet meeting in Tehran, Iran,
September 4, 2019. Official President website/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s next step in its nuclear program involves the development of centrifuges, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech on Wednesday.
    “We will take all necessary steps to protect the Iranian nation’s rights and interests … Our third step (to scale back Iran’s commitment to a 2015 nuclear deal) involves the development of centrifuges.    We will take this step on Friday,” he said, without elaborating.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; editing by John Stonestreet)

9/5/2019 Hong Kong leader says China ‘respects and supports’ withdrawal of extradition bill by Farah Master
Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam addresses a news conference in Hong Kong, China September 5, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Thursday that China “understands, respects and supports” her government’s move to formally withdraw an extradition bill, part of measures she hoped would help the city “move forward” from months of unrest.
    In a press conference, Lam was repeatedly questioned on why it took her so long to withdraw the bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China despite increasingly violent protests, but she skirted the questions.
    “It is not exactly correct to describe this as a change of mind,” she said.
    She added that full withdrawal of the bill was a decision made by her government with Beijing’s backing.
    “Throughout the whole process, the Central People’s Government took the position that they understood why we have to do it.    They respect my view, and they support me all the way,” said Lam, dressed in a cream suit and looking less tense than a televised appearance the day before.
    She withdrew the bill, which has plunged the Chinese territory into its worst political crisis in decades, on Wednesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index <.HSI> surged more than 4% to a one-month high ahead of the announcement. On Thursday, the market was up 0.4% by midday.
    Lam also announced other measures including opening a platform for dialogue with society to try to address other deep-rooted economic, social and political problems, including housing and mobility for young people, that she said were contributing to the current impasse.
    “We must find ways to address the discontent in society and look for solutions,” she said.
    The withdrawal of the bill was one of the pro-democracy protesters’ five demands, although many demonstrators and lawmakers said the move was too little, too late.
    The four other demands are: retraction of the word “riot” to describe rallies, release of all demonstrators, an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality and the right for Hong Kong people to choose their own leaders.
    Demonstrators were still calling for all demands to be met, with many placing emphasis on the independent inquiry.    Lam said on Thursday that the independent police complaints council was credible enough to address the probe.
    “We have all suffered from a humanitarian disaster caused by the government and police force,” said Wong, one of around 100 medical students protesting at Hong Kong University.    Clad in gas masks, they formed a human chain shouting “Five demands, indispensable.”    “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time.”
TEST AHEAD
    Further protests are planned including on Saturday another “stress test” at the airport, which was targeted by protesters on Sunday leading to clashes with police on approach roads and in the nearby new town of Tung Chung.
    The official China Daily said the withdrawal of the bill was an olive branch that leaves demonstrators with no excuse to continue the violence.
    The announcement came after Reuters reports on Friday and Monday revealed that Beijing had thwarted Lam’s earlier proposals to withdraw the bill and that she had said privately that she would resign if she could, according to an audio recording obtained by Reuters.
    Lam leaves for China’s Guangxi province on Thursday afternoon.
    Skirmishes broke out in some districts including the working class Po Lam late on Wednesday after Lam’s announcement, which came after a weekend of some of the most violent protests the city has seen in the past three months.
    Police said a suspected petrol bomb was hurled at a luxury property in Kowloon district in the early hours of Thursday and the suspects fled on a motorbike.    Local newspaper Apple Daily said the house belonged to Jimmy Lai, the newspaper’s owner, who was in the property at the time.    Pro-democracy publishing tycoon Lai is an outspoken critic of Beijing.
    The bill was seen as the latest example of what many residents see as ever-tighter control by Beijing, despite the promise of autonomy.
    The former British colony was handed back to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” administration which gave the city of more than 7 million people more freedoms than mainland cities, such as an independent judiciary – prompting the anger over the extradition bill.
    The protests are the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s rule since he took power in 2012.    China denies meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs and accuses Western countries of fueling the unrest.
    Images of some of the fiercest clashes have been beamed live on television screens across the world, sending jitters across the international business community and leading to a large drop in tourism.
    The Hong Kong government took out a full-page advertisement in the Australian Financial Review on Thursday saying it is “determined to achieve a peaceful, rational and reasonable resolution” and is resolutely committed to “one country, two systems.”
    It ends the ad by saying: “We will no doubt bounce back.    We always do.”
    More than 1,100 people have been arrested since the violence escalated in June and Hong Kong is facing its first recession in a decade.
    China has strongly denounced the violence and warned it could use force to restore order.
(Reporting by Farah Master, Donny Kwok, James Pomfret, Clare Jim and Felix Tam; Additional reporting by Jonathan Barrett in Sydney, Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by James Pomfret and Nick Macfie)

9/5/2019 Extradition from HK to mainland China would help fight money laundering: FATF by Alun John
A general view of Hong Kong, China, September 4, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – The lack of a mechanism in Hong Kong to extradite suspects to mainland China is an obstacle to tackling money laundering and terrorism financing, a watchdog said on Wednesday as Hong Kong withdrew an extradition bill that sparked mass protests.
    The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body that assesses money-laundering standards, said in a report that Hong Kong should “look at ways to improve its ability to cooperate with other parts of China through formal means”
    While there were legal impediments to such cooperation, informal co-operation was robust and “partially mitigates the legal shortcomings,” it added.
    In February the Hong Kong government proposed a law that would allow people to be extradited from the city to mainland China, citing among other reasons a previous FATF report noting the absence of such a mechanism.
    Mass protests against the bill have pushed Hong Kong to the edge of anarchy and left the city of seven million people deeply divided.
    Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Wednesday that the bill would be withdrawn.
    The potential for money laundering is a concern in Hong Kong, an international hub for finance, trade and transport with strong links to mainland China.
    The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Hong Kong’s central bank, has made anti-money laundering and measures to counter terrorism financing priorities for each year since 2016.
    Overall, FATF found that Hong Kong had a “sound regime to fight money laundering and terrorist financing that is delivering good results.”
    Etelka Bogardi, a partner at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright in Hong Kong, said that while the report was generally positive about large financial institutions in Hong Kong it raised concerns about supervision of smaller players like money lenders, money service operators and trust and company service providers.
    “I think we might see more scrutiny of them in the future,” she said.
    Hong Kong amended its anti-money laundering legislation in March 2018 to require trust and company service providers – the 6,000 of which in Hong Kong help with the formation of companies – to meet higher anti-money laundering requirements ahead of the FATF review.
    The FATF report said Hong Kong should continue to prioritize implementation of the new regime, noting concerns that such providers could be used to form companies that take part in sanction evasion particularly with respect to North Korea.
    The report also said Hong Kong did not “appear to be making enough proactive efforts to pursue proceeds of crime outside the jurisdiction.”
    HKMA Deputy Chief Executive Arthur Yuen said the report was a “positive assessment.”
(Reporting by Alun John; Editing by Stephen Coates)

9/5/2019 Singapore leader in waiting seen as ‘cut from same cloth’ as Lee family by Aradhana Aravindan and Fathin Ungku
FILE PHOTO: Singapore's Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat speaks at a UBS client conference
in Singapore, January 14, 2019. REUTERS/Feline Lim/File Photo
    SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Mild-mannered, studious and seen as “cut from the same cloth” as his predecessors, Singapore Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat will face the daunting task of reshaping a struggling economy if, as expected, he becomes the wealthy city-state’s next leader.
    Singapore started its countdown to the next general election on Wednesday, after the government said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had formed a panel to review electoral boundaries, an initial step toward calling a vote.
    Lee, 67, is the son of modern Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew, and is widely expected to step down after the next election, which must take place by early 2021.
    Analysts expect a vote within the next six months, possibly after Heng announces a generous budget in February.
    Heng, a 57-year-old former central bank governor and policeman, would be a break from the past, in the sense that he is not a member of the Lee family, one of whom has ruled Singapore in 40 of the 54 years since independence in 1965.
    It is unclear whether Lee will withdraw from politics completely or retain influence as a senior statesman.
    Commentators say Heng will continue the style of leadership Singaporeans are used to; cautious, publicly impartial on global issues such as the U.S.-China trade war, and with a sharp focus on the economy and investment.
    “He is cut from the same cloth and provides change amid continuity,” said Eugene Tan, a law professor at the Singapore Management University.
    “Voters are likely to find Mr Heng amiable.”
CHALLENGES
    Heng will probably take over as Singapore faces a series of challenges, such as rising protectionism and a rapidly aging population, and a need to reshape its economy to focus on technology rather than trade.
    “A key challenge is to studiously ensure that (leaders) don’t fall into the seductive trap of group-think, and that they are always ready to go beyond tried-and-tested methods,” Tan said.
    Heng was promoted in April to deputy prime minister, putting him first in line to take over as leader from Lee, who has been in power since 2004.
    Lee’s People’s Action Party (PAP) has dominated politics over the five decades since independence, winning every election with significant majorities.
    As head of the central bank from 2005 to 2011, Heng has often been credited with helping guide the small and open economy through the global financial crisis.
    Heng suffered a stroke and collapsed during a cabinet meeting in 2016.    Political analysts say Heng’s speedy recovery and the PAP’s fastidiousness about the health of its top echelon have dispelled concerns about his fitness to lead.
    Heng has a master’s degree in economics from Cambridge University, which was also attended by both Lees.    He holds a masters in public administration from Harvard University.
    After leaving university, Heng joined the Singapore police force, rising through the ranks to assistant commissioner.    He then held various public service positions, such as chief executive officer of Singapore’s Trade Development Board.
    Heng has been finance minister since 2015.
    “Heng has sought to promote consultative authoritarianism as an alternative to oppositional politics to resolve conflicts,” said Garry Rodan, a professor at Australia’s Murdoch University who has written about Singapore politics.
    “Clearly the PAP hopes he can calm the waters in challenging times.”
(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan and Fathin Ungku; Editing by Joe Brock and Darren Schuettler)

9/5/2019 Solomon Islands to sever ties with Taiwan, shift alliance to Beijing by Jonathan Barrett
Houses are seen in Honiara in the Solomon Islands, June 3, 2019. Picture taken June 3, 2019. AAP Image/Darren England/via REUTERS
    SYDNEY (Reuters) – The Solomon Islands intends to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan and align itself with Beijing, the leader of a high-level government team representing the South Pacific archipelago has said.
    The switch, which still needs to be formalized, would be a prize for China in its bid to peel away allies from what it considers a wayward province with no right to state-to-state ties. Only 17 countries now recognize Taiwan.
    Solomons lawmaker Peter Shanel Agovaka told a parliamentary committee that after four decades of independence and a long-term alliance with Taiwan, it was time to make a change.
    “We cannot sit for the next 40 years with our friends Taiwan.    It is time that we make new friends – it’s time that we should move on with our life,” Agovaka said on Wednesday, according to a recording of the meeting in the capital Honiara.
    “Our new relationship will deal with a One China policy; a One China policy that recognizes only Beijing as the official government administration,” he said in the recording, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
    The meeting was open to the public, but the recording has not been broadcast.
    Agovaka is a senior minister and leader of a government team convened recently to speak directly with Beijing.
    The government is waiting for a task force report on the issue before it formally decides on a switch to Beijing.
    The task force is dominated by lawmakers who support a diplomatic change, two political sources with direct knowledge of the issue told Reuters.
    China and Taiwan have fought a tug-of-war for diplomatic recognition in the South Pacific for decades, with some island nations switching allegiances for financial gain.
    The South Pacific has been a diplomatic stronghold for Taiwan, where formal ties with six of the 16 island nations make up more than a third of its total alliances.
    Commenting during a regular daily news conference in Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang would only say that China was willing to have relations with all countries on the basis of the “one China” principle.    That refers to China’s stance that Taiwan and it both belong to one China.
    Taiwan said it is watching developments in the Solomons.
    “Relationship with Solomon Islands currently is stable, but we are closely monitoring the situation and development,” said Joanne Ou, spokeswoman for Taiwan’s foreign ministry.
    Solomon Islands has been assessing its Taiwan alliance since new Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare took control after a general election in April and started looking for ways to improve the country’s economic prospects.
    The former British protectorate, an archipelago of just over 600,000 people, relies on timber exports to generate income.
    The Solomons have recognized Taiwan since 1983.    It is the largest of the Taiwan-aligned Pacific countries, with access to the airfields and deepwater ports dating back to World War Two.
TAIWAN SUPPORT
    A diplomatic shift threatens to divide the island nation.
    Sixteen MPs have cited potential “compromised freedoms” as a reason against the switch in an open letter last month, while the country’s university student population is largely backing Taiwan.
    An observer at the committee hearings told Reuters there would be push-back against a switch, though it was not clear if there were options to block the government’s desire for change.
    “The government is trying to make a relationship with China now, but to formalize it we need to wait for the report,” the observer said.
    Anti-graft agency Transparency Solomon Islands has urged caution in changing ties over concerns that the Solomons will not be able to hold firm against Beijing’s interests.
    China is offering to bankroll a development fund for the Solomons to help with a transition away from Taiwan, which currently provides an annual $8.5 million contribution to the island nation.
    John Moffat Fugui, a Solomons’ parliamentarian and head of the task force evaluating diplomatic ties, said on Wednesday that Beijing would pay into a fund even though it usually preferred “grants, concessionary loans and sometimes gifts.”
    “But for you, we will give you a [Rural Constituency Development Fund] for a certain period,” Fugui said, referring to recent negotiations with Beijing officials.
    The Lowy Institute said in a report last month that Canberra and Washington are concerned about the Solomons switching recognition to Beijing.
    “A switch by any one (of the states that recognize Taiwan) may stimulate others” to abandon Taipei, the Australia-based think-tank said.
    The number of nations recognizing Taiwan has been dwindling, with El Salvador in Central America, Burkina Faso in West Africa and the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean, all switching to China last year.
GRAPHIC: Tug of war in the Pacific JPG – https://graphics.reuters.com/PACIFIC-SAMOA-CHINA/0100B0D30T6/PACIFIC1.jpg
(Reporting by Jonathan Barrett in SYDNEY; additional reporting by Yimou Lee in TAIPEI and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Michael Perry and Darren Schuettler)

9/5/2019 Taliban suicide bomber kills at least 10 in Kabul, 42 wounded
A wounded man receives treatment at a hospital after a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan September 5, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
    KABUL (Reuters) – A Taliban suicide blast in the center of Kabul killed at least 10 people and wounded more than 40 on Thursday, destroying cars and shops in an area near the headquarters of Afghanistan’s NATO force and the U.S. embassy, officials said.
    The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack even as the insurgents and U.S. officials have been negotiating a deal on a U.S. troop withdrawal in exchange for Taliban security guarantees.
    “At least 10 civilians have been killed and 42 injured were taken to hospitals,” said Nasrat Rahimi, a spokesman for the interior ministry in Kabul.
    Video footage and photographs posted on social media showed several cars and small shops torn apart by the blast at a checkpoint on a road near the NATO office and U.S. embassy.    Police cordoned off the
    Witnesses said the suicide bomber blew himself up as hundreds of people were standing or crossing the road.
    Besmellah Ahmadi said he suffered minor wounds in the blast and sought shelter in a shop.
    “My car windows were shattered.    People rushed to get me out of the car,” he told Reuters.
    On Monday, a Taliban suicide truck bomber attacked a compound used by international organizations in Kabul, killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 100.
    The U.S. top negotiator for peace in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad said this week the two sides had drawn up a draft framework agreement under which U.S. troops would leave five military bases in Afghanistan within 135 days of the signing of the pact.
    There are some 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, deployed at various bases across the country.
    Khalilzad is expected to meet Afghan and NATO officials to explain the draft agreement, which must still be approved by U.S. President Donald Trump before it can be signed.
    Khalilzad, a veteran Afghan-American diplomat, has shared details of the draft with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, and sought his opinion before firming up an agreement that could bring an end to America’s longest military intervention overseas.
    But Ghani’s government is seeking clarification from the United States on the draft agreement.
(Reporting by Hamid Shalizi, Abdul Qadir Sediqi, Rupam Jain; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Darren Schuettler)

9/5/2019 Iran’s Zarif tweets: U.S. Treasury is nothing more than a ‘jail warden’
Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif attends a news conference with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
(not pictured) after their meeting in Moscow, Russia, September 2, 2019. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
    DUBAI (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury is nothing more than a “jail warden,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Thursday, a day after Washington imposed fresh sanctions designed to choke off the smuggling of Iranian oil.
    The United States on Wednesday blacklisted an “oil for terror” network of firms, ships and individuals allegedly directed by Iran’s     Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for supplying Syria with oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars in breach of U.S. sanctions.
    “OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control of U.S. Treasury) is nothing more than a JAIL WARDEN: Ask for reprieve (waiver), get thrown in solitary for the audacity.    Ask again and you might end up in the gallows,” Zarif wrote on his Twitter account.
    Since last year, when President Donald Trump pulled out the United States from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and Six powers and reimposed sanctions on Tehran, Washington has intensified a U.S. “maximum pressure” campaign aimed at eliminating Iran’s oil exports, its main source of income.
    “The only way to mitigate US #EconomicTerrorism (sanctions) is to decide to finally free yourself from the hangman’s noose,” Zarif said in his tweet.
    Since May, Iran has started reducing its compliance with the agreement aimed at pressuring European parties to the pact to shield its ailing economy from the U.S. sanctions.    Tehran said on Wednesday it would further breach the deal on Friday.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Toby Chopra and Alison Williams)

9/6/2019 Hong Kong leader says bill withdrawal a first step as city braces for weekend protests by Noah Sin and Donny Kwok
Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam addresses a news conference in Hong Kong, China September 5, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Friday said measures announced this week to help restore order in the Chinese-ruled city are a first step, and disagreed with a credit downgrade by rating agency Fitch after months of sometimes violent protests.
    The Asian financial hub is bracing for more demonstrations this weekend, with protesters threatening to disrupt transport links to the airport, after Lam’s withdrawal of a controversial extradition bill failed to appease some activists.
    “The four actions are aimed at putting one step forward in helping Hong Kong to get out of the dilemma,” Lam told reporters during a trip to China’s southern region of Guangxi.    “We can’t stop the violence immediately.”
    Lam on Wednesday withdrew a controversial extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial in courts controlled by its ruling Communist Party and announced three other measures to help ease the crisis.
    The Beijing-backed leader said she disagreed with the Fitch downgrade, adding that said some of the activists’ demands, such as dropping charges against protesters who used violence, violated the law.
    Demonstrations have gripped Hong Kong for three months, at times paralyzing parts of the city amid running street battles between protesters and police whose violence has drawn international attention.
    Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the issue of Hong Kong with Chinese premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, saying a peaceful solution is needed.
    “I stressed that the rights and freedoms for (Hong Kong) citizens have to be granted,” Merkel said during a visit to China.
    “In the current situation violence must be prevented. Only dialogue helps.    There are signs that Hong Kong’s chief executive will invite such a dialogue.    I hope that materializes and that demonstrators have the chance to participate within the frame of citizens’ rights.”
    Li told a news conference with Merkel, “The Chinese government unswervingly safeguards ‘one country, two systems’ and ‘Hong Kong people govern Hong Kong people'.”
    Beijing supported the territory’s government “to end the violence and chaos in accordance with the law, to return to order, which is to safeguard Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability,” he added.
FRESH PROTESTS
    Protesters plan to block traffic to the city’s international airport on Saturday, a week after thousands of demonstrators disrupted transport links, sparking some of the worst violence since the unrest escalated three months ago.
    Many protesters have pledged to fight on despite the withdrawal of the extradition bill, saying the concession is too little, too late.
    Several activist and pro-democracy groups say they will not give up on their other key demands, with rallies planned on Friday evening at sites across the city such as subway stations and near government headquarters.
    The extradition bill triggered mass protests that have since widened into a backlash against the Hong Kong government and its political masters in Beijing.
    The massive, and sometimes violent, protests present Chinese President Xi Jinping with his greatest popular challenge since he came to power in 2012.
    Authorities also say the turmoil has weighed on Hong Kong’s economy, which faces its first recession in a decade. There is evidence some funds are being moved to rival financial centers, such as Singapore.
    Many protesters in the densely populated city of 7.4 million remain angry over Lam’s refusal of an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality against them.
    Police have fired tear gas, rubber bullets, bean bag rounds and water cannons at protesters, who have retaliated with petrol bombs and bricks.
    The protesters’ three other demands are: retraction of the word “riot” to describe rallies, release of all demonstrators arrested and the right for Hong Kong people to vote for their own leaders.
    Many residents fear Beijing is eroding the autonomy granted to Hong Kong when it was handed back to China in 1997.
    China denies the charge of meddling and says Hong Kong is an internal affair.    It has denounced the protests, warning of the damage to the economy and the possible use of force to quell the unrest.
    Legislation regarding China’s actions in Hong Kong will be among the top priorities pushed by U.S. Senate Democrats when Congress returns to work after a recess next week, their leader said on Thursday.
(Additional reporting by Felix Tam, Jessie Pang, Twinnie Siu and Joe Brock; Andreas Rinke in Beijing; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Michael Perry)

9/6/2019 As election nears, Singapore may raise spending to ease economic pain by Fathin Ungku and Aradhana Aravindan
FILE PHOTO: A view of the central business district in Singapore May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar Su
    SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore is expected to roll out a generous budget ahead of an election as the ruling party seeks to appease voters who are feeling the pinch from a sharp economic downturn, analysts say.
    Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has formed a panel to review electoral boundaries, the government said on Wednesday, the traditional precursor to an election being called within months.
    Lee’s People’s Action Party (PAP) is all but certain of a healthy victory with even the main opposition downbeat on its chances. But the PAP, which has comfortably won every election since Singapore’s independence in 1965, will want to ensure its large majority isn’t eroded.
    Analysts say the PAP may hold the vote shortly after delivering a budget in February that would likely boost spending to help the public as the city state’s trade-dependent economy teeters on the edge of recession.
    If the economy worsens further then the vote could come sooner, they said.
    “The Singapore economy is one of the weakest now in the Asia Pacific region and it makes sense because it is a small, open economy, highly exposed to trade,” said Moody’s Analytics economist Steve Cochrane.
    “It’s an obvious time that the government would be instituting some expansionary spending, something to boost the economy, get it through this weak point,” Cochrane added.
    Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, who is widely expected to takeover from Lee as prime minister after the election, could raise his profile by delivering a bumper budget.
    Heng may offer help on education, housing, jobs and the elderly, all important issues for voters, analysts said.
    Gillian Koh, deputy director of research at the Institute of Public Policy Studies, said the next budget would likely include more subsidies for childcare, pre-school education and for training and re-skilling workers.
    “And anything to do with dealing with costs for the senior segment of society,” she said.
LACK OF OPPOSITION
    While a looming recession would cause many governments to steer away from calling an election, the PAP could actually benefit from the downturn as it is viewed by some members of the public as the only party able to properly manage the economy.
    “So long as the PAP government is not regarded as having mismanaged the economy, a slowing economy is likely to be advantageous,” law professor and a former nominated member of parliament, Eugene Tan, told Reuters.
    “The current reserves can give a significant boost to government spending in next year’s budget and that can be politically advantageous and strategic for the PAP.”
    For many voters, some extra support to bring down costs in a struggling economy would be welcome.
    “It’s been more and more difficult for many young people to get housing, and many middle incomers like myself find ourselves in a hard situation,” said 29-year-old banker Alicia Tang.
    In the last election, in 2015, the PAP won about 69.9 percent of the vote, an improvement on its worst ever showing of 60.1 percent in 2011.
    Opponents say the political structure heavily favors the PAP and makes it difficult to pose a credible challenge.    The PAP denies the voting system is biased and says it promotes contestable elections.
    The Workers Party, the only opposition party in parliament, with six of 89 elected seats, is close to “wipe out,” its leader Pritam Singh has said.
    Some voters want to see a credible opposition.
    “Next elections, I hope the opposition will have some representation,” Tang said.
    “But right now, we don’t have quality opposition.”
(Reporting by Fathin Ungku and Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Joe Brock, Robert Birsel)

9/6/2019 Taiwan warns Solomon Islands of China ‘debt trap’ in diplomatic switch by Yimou Lee
Houses are seen in Honiara in the Solomon Islands, June 3, 2019. AAP Image/Darren England/via REUTERS
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan on Friday warned the Solomon Islands could fall into a debt trap if the Pacific nation switched diplomatic ties to China and accepted its development aid.
    A senior Solomons lawmaker said this week the government intends to sever diplomatic ties with Taipei and align with Beijing, which is offering $8.5 million in development funds to replace support from Taiwan.
    Taiwan’s foreign ministry said such a move had left some Pacific nations saddled with debt.
    “China’s expansion in the Pacific has made many countries fall into the trap of debt,” spokeswoman Joanne Ou told Reuters.
    “The flashy infrastructure that China promised has caused serious damage to the local ecosystem and infringed their sovereignty,” she added.
    A government-appointed task force studying the pros and cons of a change is dominated by lawmakers who support a switch to Beijing, according to two political sources with direct knowledge of the issue.
    A switch would be a prize for China in its campaign to secure allies from self-ruled and democratic Taiwan, which Beijing considers a wayward Chinese province with no right to state-to-state ties.
    Only 17 countries now recognize Taiwan, almost all small and impoverished nations in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
    It would also deal a fresh blow to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen who is seeking re-election in January amid criticism over her handling of Beijing, as tensions rise across the strait.    Tsai has lost five diplomatic allies to Beijing since she came to office in 2016.
    China and Taiwan have fought a tug-of-war for diplomatic recognition in the South Pacific for decades, with some island nations switching allegiances for financial gain and in return give support in international forums like the United Nations.
    The South Pacific has been a diplomatic stronghold for Taiwan, where formal ties with six of the 16 island nations make up more than a third of its total alliances.
    The Solomons have recognized Taiwan since 1983 and is the largest of the Taiwan-aligned Pacific countries, with access to the airfields and deepwater ports dating back to World War Two.
    Taiwan said it believed ties with the Solomons were stable.
    “Representatives from the civil society mostly support maintaining the official relations with Taiwan and are doubtful toward the so-called ‘switching of ties,'” Ou said.
    “We believe the Solomons government and people are alerted by China’s usual deceptive tricks, overbearing behaviors and untrustworthiness in the international society.”
    China’s Foreign Ministry reiterated previous comments on the issue, saying that China is willing to have relations with all countries based on the “one China” principle, which refers to China’s stance that Taiwan and it both belong to one China.
    Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, speaking at a daily news conference in Beijing, did not elaborate or refer directly to the Solomon Islands issue.
    Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported earlier this week that Solomon Islands foreign minister Jeremiah Manele was planning to visit Taipei over the weekend in a move it called an indicator of “stable relations” between the two sides.
    Taiwan’s foreign ministry declined to comment on the report.
GRAPHIC: Tug of war in the Pacific – https://graphics.reuters.com/PACIFIC-SAMOA-CHINA/0100B0D30T6/PACIFIC1.jpg
(Reporting by Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina in BEIJING; Editing by Michael Perry and Darren Schuettler)

9/6/2019 Pakistan vows ‘fullest possible response’ to India over Kashmir
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan gestures as he addresses the Azad Kashmir parliament on Pakistan's 72nd
Independence Day in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, August 14, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer
    ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan will make the fullest possible response to India’s actions in disputed Kashmir and the global community would be responsible for any “catastrophic” aftermath, Imran Khan, the prime minister of the Muslim-majority nation, said on Friday.
    The rhetoric on the annual Defence Day remembrance of Pakistan’s fighters in a 1965 war with India underscores rising tension between the nuclear-armed foes after New Delhi last month revoked the autonomy of its part of disputed Kashmir.
    “I have informed the world that Pakistan does not want war, but at the same time, Pakistan cannot remain oblivious to the challenges posed to its security and integrity,” Khan said in a statement on the website of state-run Radio Pakistan.
    “We are prepared to give the enemy the fullest possible response. Failing, the world community will be responsible for the catastrophic aftermath,” he added.
    This week Khan had said war between the South Asian neighbors was a risk, but Pakistan would not act first.
    Khan has led a vigorous international diplomatic campaign seeking the support of the United States, former colonial power Britain and others to press India over the Himalayan region, but his Hindu-majority neighbor has ruled out outside involvement.
    Pakistan will never abandon Kashmir, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa told a defense function in the city of Rawalpindi.
    “We are ready to give sacrifice for our Kashmiri brothers, will fulfill our duty till last bullet, last soldiers and last breath,” he said in a televised speech.    “And we are prepared to go till any extent.”
    India flooded the Kashmir valley with troops, restricted movements and cut off communication as Prime Minister Narendra Modi withdrew special rights for Kashmir on Aug. 5.
    Indian-controlled Kashmir lost its right to frame its own laws and non-residents were allowed to buy property there in changes the government said would drive development and pull the region into line with the rest of the nation.
    The neighbors have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir.
(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and Syed Raza Hasan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

9/6/2019 Iran takes further step to scale back nuclear commitments
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks at "Common Security in the Islamic World"
forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia August 29, 2019. REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran said on Friday it had taken a step to further downgrade its commitments to a 2015 nuclear deal with the world’s most powerful nations, according to Iranian media, in retaliation to U.S. sanctions reimposed on Tehran.
    Iran said on Wednesday it would begin developing centrifuges to speed up the enrichment of uranium, which can produce fuel for power plants or for atomic bombs. Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons.
    “Foreign Minister (Mohammad Javad) Zarif, in a letter to EU (European Union) policy chief (Federica Mogherini) announced that Iran has lifted all limitations on its (nuclear) Research and Development (R&D) activities,” Iran’s Students News Agency ISNA quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi as saying.
    Under the deal, Iran is allowed limited research and development on advanced centrifuges, which accelerate the production of fissile material that can be used to make a nuclear bomb.    Iran also agreed to limitations on specific research and development activities for eight years.
    President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal last year, arguing it did not go far enough, and reimposed sanctions that has slashed Iran’s crude oil sales by more than 80%.
    Iran has responded by scaling back its nuclear commitments since May and has threatened to continue removing restraints on its nuclear program unless European parties to the pact did more to shield Iran’s economy from the U.S. penalties.
    Britain and France, both parties to the pact, have called on Iran to refrain from any concrete action that does not comply with the agreement.
    State TV said Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation would unveil on Saturday details of Tehran’s new step, which President Hassan Rouhani will accelerate Iran’s nuclear program.
    Iran has said that it still aims to save the agreement and on Wednesday gave Europe a new 60-day deadline to salvage the pact, reached under former U.S. President Barack Obama, which curbed Iran’s nuclear work in exchange for the lifting of most sanctions in 2016.
    Iran’s new measures will be “peaceful, under surveillance of the U.N. nuclear watchdog and reversible” if European powers keep their promises, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi and Alaa Swilam; Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Chris Reese, Rosalba O’Brien and Richard Chang)

9/6/2019 Hong Kong police break up protests as summer of discontent shows no sign of let-up by Marius Zaharia and Jessie Pang
Protestors stand behind a burning barricade during a demonstration in Mong Kok district
in Hong Kong, China September 6, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police fired rubber bullets and tear gas on Friday to clear renewed protests outside a subway station on the densely populated Kowloon peninsula, the latest clashes in 14 weeks of sometimes violent anti-government unrest.
    Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced concessions this week to try to end the protests, including formally scrapping a hugely unpopular extradition bill, but many said they were too little, too late.
    Hundreds of demonstrators, many of them masked and dressed in black, took cover from the tear gas behind umbrellas and barricades made from street fencing. Some had broken through a metal grill to enter the station where they pulled down signs, broke turnstiles and daubed graffiti on the walls.
    “We’re angry at the police and angry at the government,” said Justin, 23, dressed in black and wearing a hoodie.    “Police was very brutal with us at this station on Aug. 31.    We cannot let them get away with it.”
    Protesters gathered outside Prince Edward station in Mong Kok, one of the world’s most densely populated regions, 3 km (two miles) from the harbourside hotel and shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui.    On the night of Aug. 31, police stormed trains at the station, using batons against passengers cowering on the floor, to make arrests.
    On Friday, the protesters withdrew when police fired rubber bullets, but regrouped in smaller pockets to light fires in the street from wooden pallets, cardboard boxes and other debris.    Firemen doused the flames as onlookers casually milled around, taking pictures.
    Some protesters smashed up an elevator and entrance at the nearby Yau Ma Tei MTR station and traffic lights outside.
    There was no immediate official word on arrests or injuries, though some people were being treated at roadsides for minor wounds. Cable News said one person had been attacked with a knife.
    Mong Kok, Prince Edward and Yau Ma Tei stations were closed.
    Lam’s measures to try to restore order in the Chinese-ruled city included the formal withdrawal of the bill that triggered the demonstrations.    The law would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, despite the city having an independent judiciary dating back to British colonial rule.
    But the demonstrations, which began in June, had long since broadened into calls for more democracy and many protesters have pledged to fight on, calling Lam’s concessions too little, too late.
    “No China” was daubed over walls along the key north-south artery of Nathan Road.
    “The four actions are aimed at putting one step forward in helping Hong Kong to get out of the dilemma,” Lam told reporters during a trip to China’s southern region of Guangxi.    “We can’t stop the violence immediately.”
    Apart from withdrawing the bill, she announced three other measures to help ease the crisis, including a dialogue with the people.
WEEKEND PLANS FOR THE AIRPORT
    Demonstrations have at times paralyzed parts of the city, a major Asian financial hub, amid running street battles between protesters and police who have responded with tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons.    Violent arrests of protesters, many in metro stations, have drawn international attention.
    The crowds were expected to swell into the night, as the city braces for weekend demonstrations aiming to disrupt transport links to the airport.
    The airport announced that only passengers with tickets would be allowed to use the Airport Express train service on Saturday, boarding in downtown Hong Kong.    The train would not stop en route, on the Kowloon peninsula. Bus services could also be hit, it said.
    The measures are aimed at avoiding the chaos of last weekend, when protesters blocked airport approach roads, threw debris on the train track and trashed the MTR subway station in the nearby new town of Tung Chung in running clashes with police.
    Global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings downgraded Hong Kong’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating on Friday to “AA” from “AA+.”
    Fitch said it expects public discontent will likely persist despite the concessions to certain protester demands.
    German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the issue of Hong Kong with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, saying a peaceful solution was needed.
    “I stressed that the rights and freedoms for (Hong Kong) citizens have to be granted,” Merkel said.
‘RETURN TO ORDER’
    Li told a news conference with Merkel “the Chinese government unswervingly safeguards ‘one country, two systems’ and ‘Hong Kong people govern Hong Kong people'”
    Beijing supported the territory’s government “to end the violence and chaos in accordance with the law, to return to order, which is to safeguard Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability”, Li added.
    Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under the “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland.    Many Hong Kong residents fear Beijing is eroding that autonomy.
    China denies the accusation of meddling and says Hong Kong is its internal affair.    It has denounced the protests, warning of the damage to the economy and the possible use of force to quell the unrest.
    In addition to calling for a withdrawal of the extradition bill and the release of those arrested for violence, protesters want an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality, retraction of the word “riot” to describe rallies and the right for Hong Kong people to choose their own leaders.
    The protests have presented Chinese President Xi Jinping with his greatest popular challenge since he came to power in 2012.
(Additional reporting by Felix Tam, Jessie Pang, Twinnie Siu, Donny Kwok, Noah Sin, Kai Pfaffenbach, Aleksander Solum and Joe Brock; Andreas Rinke in Beijing; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree and Nick Macfie; Editing by Robert Birsel and Frances Kerry)

9/7/2019 Hong Kong police stave off airport protest after night of violence by Joe Brock and Julie Zhu
Police patrol at a MTR station as they keep a lookout for protesters in Hong Kong, China, September 7, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police checked people traveling to the airport for passports and air tickets on Saturday, preventing protesters gathering for another “stress test” of road and rail links in the Chinese-ruled city.
    The increased scrutiny was aimed at avoiding the chaos of last weekend, when protesters blocked airport approach roads, threw debris onto train tracks and trashed the MTR subway station in the nearby new town of Tung Chung.
    Protesters also occupied the arrivals hall last month, halting and delaying flights, amid a series of clashes with police.
    Three months of protests have at times paralyzed parts of the city, a major Asian financial hub, amid running street battles between protesters and police who have responded with tear gas, pepper spray and water cannon.    Violent arrests of protesters have drawn international attention.
    Police on Saturday searched bags of people on buses and trains headed to the airport where police and press outnumbered passengers.    They told about 100 youngsters congregating around the airport bus terminal to leave.
    There were shouting matches outside the airport between police and people who wanted to pick up arriving family members but were told to go away.
    “It’s absolutely ridiculous.    We have our 80-year-old relative coming off the flight.    How will she get home without our help?” said Donny, only giving his first name.    “These police don’t listen to anything we have to say.    We are normal people.”
METRO STATIONS ATTACKED
    Chek Lap Kok airport was built in the dying days of British rule on reclaimed land around a tiny island and is reached by a series of bridges.
    Hundreds of demonstrators, many masked and dressed in black, attacked MTR metro stations on the Kowloon peninsula on Friday night, targeted because of televised scenes of police beating protesters on a metro train on Aug. 31 as they cowered on the floor.
    Activists, angry that the MTR closed stations to stop protesters from gathering and demanding CCTV footage of the beatings, tore down signs, broke turnstiles, set fires on the street and daubed graffiti on the walls.
    The protests have presented Chinese President Xi Jinping with his greatest popular challenge since he came to power in 2012.
    Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced concessions this week to try to end the protests, including formally scrapping a hugely unpopular extradition bill, but many said they were too little, too late.    She said Beijing backed her “all the way.”
    The bill would have allowed extraditions of people to mainland China to stand trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party.    In contrast, Hong Kong has an independent judiciary dating back to British rule.
    But the demonstrations, which began in June, have long since broadened into calls for more democracy and many protesters have pledged to fight on.
    Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland. Many Hong Kong residents fear Beijing is eroding that autonomy.
    China denies the accusation of meddling and says Hong Kong is its internal affair.    It has denounced the protests, accusing the United States and Britain of fomenting unrest, and warned of the damage to the economy.
    Hong Kong is facing its first recession in a decade.    Global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings on Friday downgraded Hong Kong’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to “AA” from “AA+.”
    The U.S. State Department updated its travel advisory for Hong Kong, warning that U.S. citizens and consular employees had been the targets of a recent propaganda campaign by China “falsely accusing the United States of fomenting unrest.”
    The overall risk level remains at the second lowest of a four-level gauge, after it was raised on Aug. 7 to reflect the escalating violence.
(Additional reporting by Anne Marie Roantree, Julie Zhu, Twinnie Siu, Tyrone Siu, Joseph Campbell, Chantha Lach and Anushree Fadnavis; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Michael Perry)

9/7/2019 More than 200 fighters trying to cross into Kashmir from Pakistan: India by Sanjeev Miglani
FILE PHOTO: India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval speaks during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia May 10, 2018. Maxim Shipenkov/Pool via REUTERS
    NEW DELHI (Reuters) – More than 200 suspected militants are trying to cross into Indian Kashmir from Pakistan, India’s national security adviser said on Saturday, accusing Islamabad of trying to stoke violence in the region.
    Pakistan condemned India’s decision last month to revoke the constitutional autonomy of Kashmir and Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday vowed the fullest possible response to India’s actions in the disputed territory.
    “There are about 230 persons ready to infiltrate from different parts of Kashmir,” Ajit Kumar Doval, national security adviser to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, told reporters.
    The number is based on radio intercepts and intelligence from the ground, military officials said, adding that some militants had already been caught by Indian security forces.
    “A large number of weapons are being smuggled and people in Kashmir are being told to create trouble,” said Doval, who is considered one of the architects of the policy to withdraw Kashmir’s special status and integrate it fully into India.
    India imposed a clampdown in India Kashmir in early August to prevent large scale violent protests.    Some curbs have been eased, but mobile phone and internet services are still curtailed because they may be used to spark unrest, Doval said.
    “We would like to see all restrictions go, but it depends on how Pakistan behaves.    It’s a stimulant and response situation,” Doval said.
    “If Pakistan starts behaving, terrorists don’t intimidate and infiltrate,” he added.    “Pakistan stops sending signals through its towers to operatives, then we can lift restrictions.”
    India has long accused Pakistan of training, arming and sending militants to Muslim majority Kashmir where it is fighting a nearly 30-year revolt.
    Pakistan denies direct support but says it gives moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for self-determination.
BUSINESSES TARGETED
    Doval cited an attack on a major apple merchant in Indian Kashmir as an example of Pakistan encouraging violence against people who are carrying on their businesses.
    The merchant operated from Sopore, the fruit basket of the region and about 45 kms from Srinagar, and from where 700 truck deliveries of produce had been made in recent days.
    Doval said Pakistan and groups based there have frowned upon such signs of normalcy and rebuked militants inside Kashmir for failing to stop the trucks.
    “After the trucks moved, there were repeated messages from Pakistan asking for this to stop,” Doval said.
    On Friday, two suspected militants attacked the merchant’s home near Sopore, wounding his 25-year-old son and two-year-old granddaughter.
    The assailants spoke the Punjabi language, suggesting they had come from Pakistan, and were on the run, Doval said.
    Last month, suspected militants killed a 65-year-old grocer for keeping his shop open on the outskirts of Kashmir’s main city Srinagar, police said.
    Indian officials have vowed a strong response if a major militant attack is traced back to any Pakistan-based militant group.
    In February, the countries engaged in an aerial clash after Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on an Indian paramilitary convoy in Kashmir.
(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Darren Schuettler)

9/7/2019 Iran further breaches nuclear deal, says it can exceed 20% enrichment by Parisa Hafezi
Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran speaks during news conference
in Tehran, Iran September 7, 2019. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran said on Saturday it was now capable of raising uranium enrichment past the 20% level and had launched advanced centrifuge machines in further breaches of commitments to limit its nuclear activity under a 2015 deal with world powers.
    “We have started lifting limitations on our Research and Development imposed by the deal … It will include development of more rapid and advanced centrifuges,” Iranian nuclear agency spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told a televised news conference.
    The 2015 pact curbed Iran’s disputed nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions, but has unraveled since the United States pulled out of it last year and acted to strangle Iran’s oil trade to push it into wider security concessions.
    Since May, Iran has begun to exceed limits on its nuclear capacity set by the pact in retaliation for U.S. pressure on Iran to negotiate restrictions on its ballistic missile program and support for proxy forces around the Middle East.
    Iran says its measures are reversible if European signatories to the accord manage to restore its access to foreign trade promised under the nuclear deal but blocked by the reimposition of U.S. sanctions.
    The deal capped the level of purity to which Iran can enrich uranium at 3.67 percent – suitable for civilian power generation and far below the 90% threshold of nuclear weapons grade.
    U.N. nuclear inspectors reported in July that Iran had cranked up enrichment to 4.5% purity.    Kamalvandi said Tehran could now exceed the 20% level, a significant leap toward the critical 90%, “but right now there is no need for that.”
    He added, however: “European parties to the deal should know that there is not much time left, and if there is some action to be taken (to rescue the pact), it should be done quickly.”
CRANKING UP ADVANCED CENTRIFUGES
    The deal capped the number of machines that enrich uranium installed in Iran at some 6,000, down from around 19,000 before 2015.    It allowed Iran to refine uranium only with slow, first-generation IR-1 centrifuges and to use small numbers of more advanced centrifuges solely for research, but without stockpiling enriched uranium, for a period of 10 years.
    But Kamalvandi said the Islamic Republic had started using an array of more advanced centrifuges as part of its gradual steps to downgrade its nuclear commitments.
    “This includes IR-6 machines which have now been fed (uranium) gas.    A chain of 20 IR-4 centrifuges has also been started.    The IR-6 has also started as a chain of 20 since yesterday,” he said.    “We will soon test our IR-8 centrifuge cascade by injecting gas into 3 IR-8 machines.”
    So far, Iran’s breaches of the deal’s limits on the pace and purity of enrichment have made little difference to the time it would need to accumulate enough fissile material for a nuclear bomb, if it sought one.    By limiting Iran’s enrichment capacity, the deal extended that time to roughly a year from a few months.
    But advanced centrifuges can enrich at a much faster pace.
    “Machines developed by our own research and development will help accumulate reserves.    This was done yesterday and announced to the IAEA today,” Kamalvandi said, referring to the U.N. nuclear watchdog.    “Our stockpile is quickly increasing….”
    Kamalvandi stressed that IAEA inspectors retained full and regular access to Iran’s nuclear installations and again denied that Tehran seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
    Acting IAEA chief Cornel Feruta was due in Tehran to meet Iranian officials on Sunday.
    France, Germany and Britain have struggled to save the deal by setting up a barter trade mechanism with Iran but it has yet to get off the ground and Tehran on Wednesday set another 60-day deadline for the Europeans. [L5N25V0DR]
    French Defense Minister Florence Parly said on Saturday that Paris would continue its efforts to bring Iran back into full compliance of the deal.
(Additional reporting by Dominique Vidalon in Paris; Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

9/7/2019 Spike in Taliban attacks ‘unhelpful’ to Afghan peace push: U.S. general by Phil Stewart
FILE PHOTO: Angry Afghan protesters burn tires and shout slogans at the site of a
blast in Kabul, Afghanistan September 3, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/File Photo
    ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – A spike in attacks by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan has been “particularly unhelpful” to peace efforts there, a senior U.S. military commander cautioned on Saturday as he visited neighboring Pakistan, where many Taliban militants are based.
    U.S. Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, who oversees American troops in the region, declined to comment on the diplomatic negotiations themselves.
    But the remarks represent the latest sign of how a wave of Taliban violence has cast a long shadow over a draft peace deal struck between U.S. and Taliban negotiators this week that could lead to a drawdown in U.S. troops from America’s longest war.
    “It is particularly unhelpful at this moment in Afghanistan’s history for the Taliban to ramp up violence,” McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, told reporters traveling with him.
    Taliban fighters, who now control more territory than at any time since 2001, launched fresh assaults on the northern cities of Kunduz and Pul-e Khumri over the past week and carried out two major suicide bombings in the capital Kabul.
    One of the blasts took the life of U.S. Army Sergeant 1st Class Elis A. Barreto Ortiz, 34, from Puerto Rico, bringing the number of American troops killed in Afghanistan this year to 16.
    McKenzie said that, for the peace process to move forward, “all parties should be committed to an eventual political settlement” which, in turn, should result in reduced violence, he added.
    “If we can’t get that going in, then it is difficult to see the parties are going to be able to carry out the terms of the agreement, whatever they might or might not be,” McKenzie said.
    Under the draft accord, thousands of U.S. troops would be withdrawn over the coming months in exchange for guarantees that Afghanistan would not be used as a base for militant attacks on the United States and its allies.
    However, a full peace agreement to end more than 18 years of war would depend on subsequent “intra Afghan” talks.    The Taliban have rejected calls for a ceasefire and instead stepped up operations across the country.
NEW CIVIL WAR?
    For Afghans, the Taliban’s recent escalation of attacks has underscored fears that it may be impossible to reach a stable settlement following any complete U.S. withdrawal.
    Many have worried about a fracture along ethnic and regional lines, with Persian-speaking Tajiks and Hazaras from the north and west against southern and eastern Pashtuns, the group that have supplied most of Afghanistan’s rulers and where the Taliban draw most support.    Memories of the 1990s civil war are vivid.
    Some Taliban are based in neighboring Pakistan, where McKenzie held talks on Saturday with a top Pakistani general.    More talks are scheduled for Sunday.
    McKenzie said he did not know whether any of the planning for the recent wave of attacks in Afghanistan came from Pakistan-based militants.
But McKenzie commended Pakistan for supporting the peace efforts in Afghanistan, in the latest sign of an improvement in long-fraught relations between Washington and Islamabad.
    “A lot of Pakistanis have been killed by militant attacks inside Pakistan.    I think Pakistan sees the benefits of a stable Afghanistan,” McKenzie said.
    “So I think they are committed to helping us get to a political solution in Afghanistan.”
    For years, the United States accused Pakistan of failing to do enough to combat militants based on its territory.    Pakistan denies accusations that it supports the Taliban but many members live there.
    McKenzie acknowledged there were militant safe havens in Pakistan but said: “I believe Pakistan operates against those safe havens.”
    “I believe that work is incomplete but it is continuing,” he added.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

9/8/2019 Hong Kong protesters sing Star Spangled Banner in appeal to Trump for help by Jessie Pang and Sumeet Chatterjee
A protester holds a sign during a protest in Central, Hong Kong, China September 8, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Thousands of Hong Kong protesters on Sunday sang the Star Spangled Banner and called on U.S. President Donald Trump to “liberate” the Chinese-ruled city, the latest in a series of sometimes violent protests to rock the territory.
    The protest was peaceful but fell into a now familiar pattern of barricades, window smashing and street fires, this time in the smartest banking and shopping district of the former British colony, as evening fell.
    Police stood by as protesters, under a sea of umbrellas against the sub-tropical sun, waved the Stars and Stripes and placards demanding democracy.
    “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong,” they shouted before handing over petitions at the U.S. Consulate.    “Resist Beijing, liberate Hong Kong.”
    U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Saturday urged China to exercise restraint in Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
    Esper made his call in Paris as police in Hong Kong prevented protesters from blocking access to the airport but fired tear gas for a second night running in the densely populated district of Mong Kok.
    Last month Trump suggested China should “humanely” settle the problem in Hong Kong before a trade deal is reached with Washington.    Earlier Trump called the protests “riots” that were a matter for China to deal with.
    The vandalism started in the evening. Police have responded to violence over 14 weeks with water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas.
    Riot police cleared the Central MTR metro station, near Sunday’s march, where activists smashed a long glass panel at a station entrance and other windows and daubed graffiti on the walls outside. Several arrests were made.
    Activists dug up bricks from pathways to break windows and set fires from cardboard boxes on the streets, building barricades with metal fencing.
    Hundreds of others milled about surrounding streets lined with banks, jewellery shops and top-brand shopping arcades.
    MTR stations have been attacked recently because of televised scenes of police beating protesters on a train on Aug. 31 as they cowered on the floor.    Protesters are demanding the MTR hands over CCTV footage of the beatings.
    “With the U.S. locked in a trade war with China at this point in time, it’s a good opportunity for us to show (the United States) how the pro-China groups are also violating human rights in Hong Kong and allowing police brutality,” said Cherry, 26, who works in the financial industry, as protesters marched towards the nearby U.S. Consulate.
    “We want the U.S. administration to help protect human rights in Hong Kong.”
    Hong Kong returned to China under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland. Many Hong Kong residents fear Beijing is eroding that autonomy.
“FOMENTING UNREST”
    China denies the accusation of meddling and says Hong Kong is an internal affair.    It has denounced the protests, accusing the United States and Britain of fomenting unrest, and warned of the damage to the economy.
    Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced concessions this week aimed at ending the protests, including formally scrapping a hugely unpopular extradition bill, which ignited the unrest in June.    Many protesters said it was too little, too late.
    The bill would have allowed the extradition of people to mainland China to stand trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party.    Hong Kong has an independent judiciary dating back to British rule.
    But the demonstrations have long since broadened into calls for democracy.
    U.S. legislation addressing China’s actions in Hong Kong will be among the top priorities pushed by Senate Democrats when Congress returns to work after a recess next week, their leader, Senator Chuck Schumer, said on Thursday.
    Schumer urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican who sets the floor agenda, to bring up a bipartisan bill that would require an annual justification of the special treatment afforded by Washington to Hong Kong, including special trade and business privileges, under the U.S. Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992.
    The legislation, called the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, would also mandate that officials in China and Hong Kong who have undermined the city’s autonomy are vulnerable to sanctions.
    Protesters, in their petition, urged that it be passed in full.
    Trump alternates between praising Chinese President Xi Jinping as a great leader and casting him as an enemy, while excoriating China for taking advantage of U.S. businesses.
    Beijing announced that top officials would head to Washington in early October to hold talks aimed at ending the tit-for-tat trade war, now in its second year, which has roiled markets and hammered global growth.
    Joshua Wong, one of the leaders of the pro-democracy “Umbrella” movement five years ago, was re-arrested at the airport on Sunday on return from Germany and the United States for breaching bail conditions, he said.
    He had been charged with inciting and participating in an unauthorized assembly outside police headquarters on June 21 and released on bail.
    “Preliminary legal advice suggested that the court had acknowledged and approved my trips to Germany and the U.S. when it granted bail on Aug. 30,” he said in a statement.    “Therefore, it is believed that there are some mistakes have been made on the bail certificate.”
    He said he thought he would be freed on Monday.
(Additional reporting by Joe Brock, Twinnie Siu, Jessie Pang, Sumeet Chatterjee and Tyrone Siu; Writing by Nick Macfie; /Editing by Michael Perry)
[President Trump is not a miracle worker for every country who is oppressed and at today’s time he is fighting his own evil the Leftist Progressive Socialist Liberal Democrats who are attacking him daily with their antichristian beliefs and if Trump is re-elected and the Republicans win the House and Senate the Democrats will be stifled for 4 years, and maybe then he can help you in some way depending on how trade negotiations go with the Chinese.].

9/8/2019 Iran’s nuclear chief: EU has failed to fulfill 2015 deal commitments
FILE PHOTO: Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi speaks to Reuters during an
interview in Brussels, Belgium November 27, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s nuclear chief said on Sunday the European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal have failed to fulfill their commitments under the pact, a day after Tehran announced further breaches of limits on its nuclear activity set by the pact.
    The deal curbed Iran’s disputed nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions, but has unraveled since the United States withdrew last year and acted to strangle Iran’s oil trade to push it into wider security concessions.
    France, Germany and Britain have tried to launch a barter trade mechanism with Iran protecting it from U.S. sanctions but have struggled to get it off the ground, and Tehran on Wednesday set a 60-day deadline for effective European action.
    “Unfortunately the European parties have failed to fulfill their commitments… The deal is not a one-way street and Iran will act accordingly as we have done so far by gradually downgrading our commitments,” said Ali Akbar Salehi, director of Iran’s nuclear energy agency.
    “Iran will continue to reduce its nuclear commitments as long as the other parties fail to carry out their commitments,” Salehi said, speaking after meeting the acting head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog (IAEA), Cornel Feruta, in Tehran on Sunday.
    Feruta, whose non-proliferation inspectors monitor Iran’s nuclear program, also planned to see Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and other senior Iranian officials.
    The IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors will discuss Iran at a quarterly meeting that begins on Monday.
    Since May, Iran has begun to breach caps on its nuclear capacity set by the deal in retaliation for U.S. pressure on Iran to negotiate restrictions on its ballistic missile program and support for proxy forces around the Middle East.
    Iran says its retreat from terms of the deal is reversible if European signatories manage to restore its access to foreign trade promised under the nuclear deal but blocked by the reimposition of U.S. sanctions.
    “The actions they have taken are negative but not definitive.    They can come back (to full compliance) and the path of dialogue is still open,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian said on Sunday.
    Upping the ante in its stand-off with Washington, Tehran said on Saturday it was now capable of raising uranium enrichment past the 20% level of fissile purity and had launched advanced centrifuge machines in further breaches of the deal.
    IAEA inspectors reported in July that Iran had cranked up enrichment to 4.5% purity, above the 3.7% cap suitable for civilian energy generation set by the 2015 accord.
    Under the deal, Iran is allowed limited research and development on advanced centrifuges, which accelerate the production of fissile material that could, if enriched to the 90% threshold, be used to develop a nuclear bomb.
(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Dubai with additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Writing by Tuqa Khalid; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

9/8/2019 Afghan government urges Taliban to stop violence, hold direct talks by Hamid Shalizi and Abdul Qadir Sediqi
FILE PHOTO: Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani speaks during the first day of the presidential
election campaign in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 28, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
    KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani urged the Taliban on Sunday to end violence and talk directly to his government after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he had canceled a planned meeting with the insurgent group over a draft peace accord.
    “Real peace will come when Taliban agree to a ceasefire,” Ghani’s officials said in statement in response to Trump’s cancellation of the secret peace talks.
    Trump unexpectedly announced on Saturday that he had canceled peace talks with the Taliban’s “major leaders” at a presidential compound in Camp David, Maryland after the group claimed responsibility for an attack in Kabul last week that killed an American soldier and 11 other people.
    U.S. diplomats have been talking with Taliban representatives for months seeking to agree to a plan to withdraw thousands of American troops in exchange for security guarantees by the Taliban.
    A source close to the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan said the group will hold a meeting to discuss all aspects of ongoing negotiations before issuing a statement.
    “Trump’s tweets do not clarify if the deal has been canceled, he has just called-off the talks at this stage,” the source said.
    The Taliban have rejected calls for a ceasefire and stepped up assaults in recent weeks.
    As negotiators reached a draft accord last week, Taliban fighters, who now control more territory than at any time since the war started in 2001, were launching assaults on the northern cities of Kunduz and Pul-e Khumri.    They claimed responsibility for two major suicide bombings in the capital Kabul.
    Trump’s surprise announcement left in doubt the future of a draft peace accord worked out last week by Zalmay Khalilzad, the special U.S. envoy for peace in Afghanistan.
    Under the accord some 5,000 U.S. troops would be withdrawn over the coming months in exchange for guarantees Afghanistan would not be used as a base for militant attacks on the United States and its allies.
    A full peace agreement to end more than 18 years of war would depend on “intra Afghan” talks involving officials and civil society leaders as well as further agreement on issues including the remainder of the roughly 14,000-strong U.S. forces as well as thousands of other NATO troops.
    But nine former U.S. ambassadors last week had warned that Afghanistan could collapse in a “total civil war” if Trump withdraws all U.S. forces before the Kabul government and the Taliban conclude a peace settlement.
    A close aide to Ghani said Trump’s decision to cancel talks at a time when the Taliban continue to mount attacks proved the concerns expressed by the Afghan government about the deal were acknowledged.
    “We stand with President Trump’s decision…the outcome of the draft deal did not guarantee a lasting peace in Afghanistan,” the aide said on conditions of anonymity.
    Trump said on Saturday that he had also planned to meet with Afghanistan’s president, who has been sidelined from the talks by the Taliban’s refusal to talk to what they consider an illegitimate “puppet” regime.
    Ghani’s office said in a statement it was committed to working together with the United States and allies for a “dignified and long-lasting peace,” and emphasized the holding of the presidential election this month.
    Ghani is seeking a second tenure in elections scheduled for Sept. 28, but the Taliban want the elections to be canceled as a precondition to signing a peace accord with the Americans.
    The statement said a lasting peace required “a strong, legitimate and a legal government through the upcoming elections to take the ongoing peace process forward with complete accuracy and prudence.”
    The Taliban’s strategy of fresh assaults appears to be based on the assumption that battlefield success would strengthen their hand in future negotiations with U.S and Afghan officials.
    Some of their field commanders have also said they are determined not to surrender gains when they are close to victory, suggesting the leadership is under internal pressure not to concede a ceasefire.
    The warring sides have held nine rounds of peace talks in Qatar’s capital city Doha aimed at ending America’s longest war, which began with a U.S. invasion triggered by the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York, that al Qaeda launched from then Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
(Writing by Rupam Jain, James Mackenzie in Kabul, Editing by Michael Perry)

9/8/2019 Exclusive: IAEA found uranium traces at Iran ‘atomic warehouse’ – diplomats by Francois Murphy
FILE PHOTO: The Iranian flag flutters in front the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
headquarters in Vienna, Austria July 10, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
    VIENNA (Reuters) – Samples taken by the U.N. nuclear watchdog at what Israel’s prime minister called a “secret atomic warehouse” in Tehran showed traces of uranium that Iran has yet to explain, two diplomats who follow the agency’s inspections work closely say.
    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is investigating the particles’ origin and has asked Iran to explain the traces. But Tehran has not done so, according to the diplomats, stoking tensions between Washington and Tehran.    U.S. sanctions have slashed Iranian oil sales and Iran has responded by breaching its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
    In a speech a year ago Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vehemently opposed the deal, called on the IAEA to visit the site immediately, saying it had housed 15 kg (33 lb) of unspecified radioactive material that had since been removed.
    Reuters first reported in April that the IAEA, which is policing the nuclear deal, had inspected the site – a step it had said it takes “only when necessary” – and environmental samples taken there were sent off for analysis.
    Israeli and U.S. media have since reported that the samples turned up traces of radioactive material or matter – the same vague language used by Netanyahu.
    Those traces were, however, of uranium, the diplomats said – the same element Iran is enriching and one of only two fissile elements with which one can make the core of a nuclear bomb.    One diplomat said the uranium was not highly enriched, meaning it was not purified to a level anywhere close to that needed for weapons.
    “There are lots of possible explanations,” that diplomat said.    But since Iran has not yet given any to the IAEA it is hard to verify the particles’ origin, and it is also not clear whether the traces are remnants of material or activities that predate the landmark 2015 deal or more recent, diplomats say.
    The IAEA did not respond to a request for comment.    Iranian officials were not available to comment.
NETANYAHU: “I’M NOT RELENTING”
    In a live video chat on Facebook, ahead of an election next week, Netanyahu was asked about the Reuters report.
    “I know the issue is being handled by the IAEA.    I do not intend to discuss this today.    It’s very possible that I will have something to say about it tomorrow,” Netanyahu said.
    “But it is certainly an important issue – let me tell you, it’s the most important issue as far as our future is concerned.    And I am not relenting for a moment.”
    The 2015 deal, which Netanyahu opposed, imposed tight restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, and was based on drawing a line under Iran’s past activities.    Both the IAEA and U.S. intelligence services https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Reports%20and%20Pubs/20071203_release.pdf believe Iran had a nuclear weapons program that it ended more than a decade before the deal.
    Iran says its nuclear ambitions have always been peaceful.
    Hawks such as Netanyahu, who has repeatedly accused Iran of seeking Israel’s destruction, point to Tehran’s past to argue that it can never be trusted.    The Islamic Republic’s previous secrecy might explain why uranium traces were found at a location that was never declared to the IAEA.
    The IAEA takes environmental samples because they can pick up telltale particles even long after material has been removed from a site.    Uranium traces could indicate, for example, the former presence of equipment or material somehow connected to those particles.
    Cornel Feruta, the IAEA’s acting director-general, met Iranian officials on Sunday.    An IAEA statement said afterwards: “Feruta stressed that these interactions (on its nuclear commitments) require full and timely cooperation by Iran.”
    The United States, pulled out of the nuclear deal last year by President Donald Trump, is trying to force Iran to negotiate a more sweeping agreement, covering Tehran’s ballistic missiles and regional behavior, than the current accord.
    Iran says it will not negotiate until it is granted relief from U.S. sanctions, which France is trying to broker.    In the meantime, Iran is breaching the deal’s restrictions on its nuclear activities step-by-step in response to what it calls U.S. “economic warfare.”
    A quarterly IAEA report issued a week ago did not mention the sample results because inspection-related matters are highly confidential.    But it did say Iran’s cooperation could be better.
    “Ongoing interactions between the Agency and Iran…require full and timely cooperation by Iran.    The Agency continues to pursue this objective with Iran,” the report said.
U.S. RAISING PRESSURE
    It is far from the first time Iran has dragged its feet in its interactions with the IAEA over the agency’s non-proliferation mandate.    The IAEA has made similar calls in previous reports, in relation to promptly granting access for inspections.
    The IAEA has likened its work to nuclear accounting, patiently combing through countries’ statements on their nuclear activities and materials, checking them and when necessary seeking further explanations before reaching a conclusion, which can take a long time.
    The process of seeking an explanation from Iran has lasted two months, the IAEA’s safeguards division chief told member states in a briefing on Thursday, diplomats present said.    But he described what it was seeking an answer to far more generally as questions about Iran’s declaration of nuclear material and activities, since the details are confidential.
    “It is not something that is so unique to Iran.    The agency has these cases in many other situations,” a senior diplomat said when asked about the current standoff with Iran.    “Depending on the engagement it can take two months, six months.”
    That does not mean all member states will be happy to wait.
    “IAEA Acting Director General going to Iran just as IAEA informs its Board that #Iran may be concealing nuclear material and/or activities,” U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Twitter on Saturday.    “We join with other @iaeaorg Board member states eager to get a full report as soon as possible.”
    The IAEA’s policy-making, 35-nation Board of Governors holds a week-long quarterly meeting starting on Monday.
(Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Dubai; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

9/8/2019 Iranian tanker reaches destination, oil sold: ministry tells TV
What appears to be the Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1 off the coast of Tartus, Syria, is pictured in this September 6, 2019
satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies. Satellite image ©2019 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman on Sunday said an Iranian oil tanker at the center of a dispute between Tehran and Western powers had reached its destination and sold its oil, state television reported.
    “The tanker has gone to its destination, the oil has been sold,” spokesman Abbas Mousavi told the television station without disclosing whether the crude oil had been delivered.
    The tanker Adrian Darya 1, which went dark off Syria last week, has been photographed by satellite off the Syrian port of Tartus.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by David Goodman)

9/8/2019 Hong Kong police fire tear gas as clashes erupt after thousands appeal to Trump by Joe Brock and Jessie Pang
A protester holds a U.S. flag in Central, Hong Kong, China September 8, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the upmarket Causeway Bay shopping district on Sunday, after demonstrators had rallied at the U.S. Consulate calling for help in bringing democracy to the Chinese-ruled city.
    Police moved on protesters from the Central business district who dispersed to nearby Admiralty, the bar district of Wan Chai and on to Causeway Bay in a now familiar pattern of cat-and-mouse clashes over three months of unrest.
    Activists set barricades, smashed windows, started street fires and vandalized the MTR metro station in Central, the smartest district of the former British colony.
    Central district, home to banks, jewelry shops and top-brand shopping arcades, was awash in graffiti, broken glass and bricks torn up from pathways.    Protesters set fires from cardboard boxes, building barricades with metal fencing.
    “We can’t leave because there are riot police,” said protesters Oscar, 20, in Causeway Bay.    “They fired tear gas from the station.    We are heading to North Point.”
    North Point is east of Causeway Bay.
    Thousands of protesters earlier sang the Star Spangled Banner and called on U.S. President Donald Trump to “liberate” the city.    They waved the Stars and Stripes and placards demanding democracy.
    “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong,” they shouted before handing over petitions at the U.S. Consulate.    “Resist Beijing, liberate Hong Kong.”
    U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Saturday urged China to exercise restraint in Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
    Esper made his call in Paris as police in Hong Kong prevented protesters from blocking access to the airport but fired tear gas for a second night running in the densely populated district of Mong Kok.
    Pockets of protest broke out in Kowloon over the harbor from the main island of Hong Kong on Sunday night, including in Prince Edward, close to Mong Kok.
    Last month Trump suggested China should “humanely” settle the problem in Hong Kong before a trade deal is reached with Washington.     Earlier Trump called the protests “riots” that were a matter for China to deal with.
    The vandalism started in the evening. Police have responded to violence over 14 weeks with water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas.
    Several arrests were made.
    Hong Kong returned to China under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland.    Many Hong Kong residents fear Beijing is eroding that autonomy.
“FOMENTING UNREST”
    China denies the accusation of meddling and says Hong Kong is an internal affair.    It has denounced the protests, accusing the United States and Britain of fomenting unrest, and warned of the damage to the economy.
    Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced concessions this week aimed at ending the protests, including formally scrapping a hugely unpopular extradition bill, which ignited the unrest in June.    Many protesters said it was too little, too late.
    The bill would have allowed the extradition of people to mainland China to stand trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party.    Hong Kong has an independent judiciary dating back to British rule.
    But the demonstrations have long since broadened into calls for democracy.
    U.S. legislation addressing China’s actions in Hong Kong will be among the top priorities pushed by Senate Democrats when Congress returns to work after a recess next week, their leader, Senator Chuck Schumer, said on Thursday.
    Schumer urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican who sets the floor agenda, to bring up a bipartisan bill that would require an annual justification of the special treatment afforded by Washington to Hong Kong, including special trade and business privileges, under the U.S. Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992.
    The legislation, called the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, would also mandate that officials in China and Hong Kong who have undermined the city’s autonomy are vulnerable to sanctions.
    Protesters, in a petition handed to the U.S. Consulate, urged that it be passed in full.
    Joshua Wong, one of the leaders of the pro-democracy “Umbrella” movement five years ago, was re-arrested at the airport on Sunday on return from Germany and the United States for breaching bail conditions, he said.
    He had been charged with inciting and participating in an unauthorized assembly outside police headquarters on June 21 and released on bail.
    “Preliminary legal advice suggested that the court had acknowledged and approved my trips to Germany and the U.S. when it granted bail on Aug. 30,” he said in a statement.    “Therefore, it is believed that there are some mistakes have been made on the bail certificate.”
    He said he thought he would be freed on Monday.
(Additional reporting by Joe Brock, Twinnie Siu, Jessie Pang, Sumeet Chatterjee and Tyrone Siu; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Ros Russell)

9/9/2019 Hong Kong children form chains of protest as economic worries grow by Jessie Pang
Secondary school students hold hands as they form a human chain as they demonstrate against what they say is police brutality
against protesters, after clashes at Wan Chai district, in Hong Kong, China September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hundreds of uniformed school students, many wearing masks, formed human chains in districts across Hong Kong on Monday in support of anti-government protesters after another weekend of clashes in the Chinese-ruled city.
    Metro stations reopened after some were closed on Sunday amid sometimes violent confrontations, although the mood in the Asian financial hub remained tense.
    Early on Monday, before school started, rows of students and alumni joined hands chanting “Hong Kong people, add oil,” a phrase that has become a rallying cry for the protest movement.
    “The school-based human chain is the strongest showcase of how this protest is deep rooted in society, so deep rooted that it enters through the school students,” said Alan Leong, an alumnus of Wah Yan College in the city’s Kowloon district.
    Three months of protests over a now withdrawn extradition bill have evolved into a broader backlash against the government and greater calls for democracy.
    Police said they had arrested 157 people over the previous three days, including 125 males and 32 females aged 14 to 63, bringing the total number of arrests to more than 1,300.
    The former British colony is facing its first recession in a decade as the protests scare off tourists and bite into retail sales in one of the world’s most popular shopping destinations.
    Tourist arrivals plunged 40% in August year on year, said Paul Chan, the city’s finance secretary, with sustained clashes blocking roads and paralyzing parts of the city.    Disruptions at the city’s international had also hit the tourism industry.
    “The most worrying thing is that the road ahead is not easily going to turn any better,” Chan said in his blog on Sunday, noting that some hotels had seen room rates plunge up to 70%.
    Activists started fires in the street and vandalized a Mass Transit Railway (MTR) station in the main business district of Central on Sunday after thousands rallied peacefully at the U.S. consulate, calling for help in bringing democracy to the special administrative region.
    The students, brandishing posters with the protesters’ five demands for the government, called on authorities to respond to the promises of freedom, human rights and rule of law, promised when Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997.    One of the five demands – to formally withdraw the extradition bill – was announced last week by embattled leader Carrie Lam, but protesters are angry about her failure to call an independent inquiry into accusations of police brutality against demonstrators.
    U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet urged people to protest peacefully and called on authorities to respond to any acts of violence with restraint.
    The protesters’ other demands include the retraction of the word “riot” to describe demonstrations, the release of all those arrested and the right for Hong Kong people to choose their own leaders.
    A journalist wearing a hard hat and protective goggles at a police briefing condemned the use by police of pepper spray against media over the weekend.
‘CRUSHED’
    In a rare public appearance, Lam walked around the central business district with the city’s Transport and Housing Secretary Frank Chan and MTR officials to inspect the damaged station, where she chatted with staff and commuters.
    Dressed in a black suit, she examined electronic ticketing machines and boarded up windows smashed the previous day, according to footage by public broadcaster RTHK.
    Following the demonstration at the U.S. consulate on Sunday, Hong Kong’s government warned foreign lawmakers not to interfere in the city’s internal affairs after thousands of protesters called on U.S. President Donald Trump to “liberate” the city.
    Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland.    Many Hong Kong residents fear Beijing is eroding that autonomy.
    China denies the accusation of meddling in the city and says Hong Kong is an internal affair.    It has denounced the protests, accusing the United States and Britain of fomenting unrest, and warned of the damage to the economy.
    Chinese state media on Monday said Hong Kong was an inseparable part of China and any form of secessionism “will be crushed.”
    The China Daily newspaper said Sunday’s rally was proof foreign forces were behind the protests and warned demonstrators should “stop trying the patience of the central government.”
    Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was released from police custody after breaching bail conditions following his arrest in August when he was charged along with a number of other prominent activists for inciting and participating in an unauthorized assembly.
    A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was monitoring events.
    “The freedoms of expression and assembly are core values that we share with the people of Hong Kong, and those freedoms must be vigorously protected.    As the president has said, ‘They’re looking for democracy and I think most people want democracy’,” the official said.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang, Anne Marie Roantree, Donny Kwok and Twinnie Siu; Additional reporting by Joseph Campbell in Hong Kong, Roberta Rampton in Washington and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Robert Birsel)

9/9/2019 More Americans will die after Trump abruptly ends Afghan talks, Taliban say by Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Doina Chiacu
Foreign troops with NATO-led Resolute Support Mission investigate at the site of a
suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan September 5, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
    KABUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel Afghan peace talks will cost more American lives, the Taliban said on Sunday while the United States promised to keep up military pressure on the militants, in a stunning reversal of efforts to forge a deal ending nearly 20 years of war in Afghanistan.
    The Islamist group issued a statement after Trump unexpectedly canceled secret talks planned for Sunday with the Taliban’s major leaders at the presidential compound in Camp David, Maryland.    He broke off the talks on Saturday after the Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack in Kabul last week that killed an American soldier and 11 others.
    Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, criticized Trump for calling off the dialogue and said U.S. forces have been pounding Afghanistan with attacks at the same time.
    “This will lead to more losses to the U.S.,” he said.    “Its credibility will be affected, its anti-peace stance will be exposed to the world, losses to lives and assets will increase.”
    In Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Afghan peace talks were on hold and Washington would not reduce U.S. military support for Afghan troops until it was convinced the Taliban could follow through on significant commitments.
    The United States has recalled U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad to chart the path forward, Pompeo said in appearances on Sunday TV news shows.    Asked on “Fox News Sunday” whether Afghan talks were dead, Pompeo said, “For the time being they are.”
    Trump has long wanted to end U.S. involvement in Afghanistan – since his days as a candidate – and American diplomats have been talking with Taliban representatives for months about a plan to withdraw thousands of U.S. troops in exchange for security guarantees by the Taliban.
    U.S. and Taliban negotiators struck a draft peace deal last week that could have led to a drawdown of troops from America’s longest war.    There are currently 14,000 U.S. forces as well as thousands of other NATO troops in the country, 18 years after its invasion by a U.S.-led coalition following the Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacks on the United States.
    Fighting in Afghanistan has continued amid the talks and recent assaults by the Taliban cast doubts over the draft deal.    As violence has escalated, Afghan leaders including President Ashraf Ghani have been increasingly critical of the deal and encouraged the Taliban to enter direct talks.
    Asked whether the collapse of talks put a U.S. troop pullout on hold as well, Pompeo said the issue would be discussed.    “The president hasn’t yet made a decision on that,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”
CAMP DAVID SURPRISE
    Trump decided to get personally involved to get the agreement to the finish line at Camp David after “real progress” had been made in talks, Pompeo said.
    “President Trump ultimately made the decision,” Pompeo told Fox.    “He said, ‘I want to talk to (President) Ashraf Ghani.    I want to talk to these Taliban negotiators.    I want to look them in the eye.    I want to see if we can get to the final outcome we needed.'”
    The U.S. president has touted his skills as a negotiator and personal rapport with world leaders including Kim Jong Un of North Korea, but such one-on-one diplomacy has not led to any breakthrough deals so far.     Trump was criticized, even by some fellow Republicans, for having offered to host on U.S. soil a militant group that has killed American troops and had sheltered al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.     “Camp David is where America’s leaders met to plan our response after al Qaeda, supported by the Taliban, killed 3000 Americans on 9/11,” U.S. Representative Liz Cheney, a Republican whose father, Dick Cheney, was U.S. vice president at the time of the attacks, wrote on Twitter on Sunday.    “No member of the Taliban should set foot there.    Ever.”
    Americans will on Wednesday mark the 18th anniversary of the al Qaeda attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
    Taliban fighters, who now control more territory than at any time since 2001, launched assaults over the past week that included a suicide attack in Kabul on Thursday that killed U.S. Army Sergeant Elis Barreto Ortiz, 34, from Puerto Rico.
    Earlier this month, senior security officials in Kabul said joint air raids by U.S. and Afghan forces against the Taliban have not subsided.    Pompeo said more than 1,000 Taliban fighters have been killed in Afghanistan in the last 10 days.
    Nine former U.S. ambassadors warned on Tuesday that Afghanistan could collapse in a “total civil war” if Trump withdraws all U.S. forces before the Kabul government and the Taliban conclude a peace settlement.
    Pompeo downplayed chances of a premature withdrawal.
    “President Trump made clear we’re not just going to withdraw because there’s a timeline.    We’re only going to reduce our forces when certain conditions are met,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
(Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi in Kabul and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi in Kabul; Valerie Volcovici and Steve Holland in Washington; Editing by Mary Milliken, Howard Goller and Lisa Shumaker)

9/9/2019 China will not tolerate attempts to separate Hong Kong from China: state media
An anti-extradition bill protester throws eggs as protesters clash with riot police during a rally to demand
democracy and political reforms, at Tsuen Wan, in Hong Kong, China August 25, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Hong Kong is an inseparable part of China and any form of secessionism “will be crushed,” state media said on Monday, a day after demonstrators rallied at the U.S. consulate to ask for help in bringing democracy to city.
    The China Daily newspaper said Sunday’s rally in Hong Kong was proof that foreign forces were behind the protests, which began in mid-June, and warned that demonstrators should “stop trying the patience of the central government.”
    Chinese officials have accused foreign forces of trying to hurt Beijing by creating chaos in Hong Kong over a hugely unpopular extradition bill that would have allowed suspects to be tried in Communist Party-controlled courts.
    Anger over the bill grew into sometimes violent protests calling for more freedoms for Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula.
    Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam formally scrapped the bill last week as part of concessions aimed at ending the protests.
    “Hong Kong is an inseparable part of China — and that is the bottom line no one should challenge, not the demonstrators, not the foreign forces playing their dirty games,” the China Daily said in an editorial.
    “The demonstrations in Hong Kong are not about rights or democracy.    They are a result of foreign interference.    Lest the central government’s restraint be misconstrued as weakness, let it be clear secessionism in any form will be crushed,” it said.
    State news agency Xinhua said in a separate commentary that the rule of law needed to be manifested and that Hong Kong could pay a larger and heavier penalty should the current situation continue.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Paul Tait)

9/9/2019 U.S. Military officials in Thailand for the Indo-Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference by OAN Newsroom
    Top U.S. military officials are in Thailand to take part in the 11th annual Indo-Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference.    Officials from both nations held an opening ceremony in Bangkok Monday.
    “I also urge us to recognize although we have differences in language, history, culture and traditions, we all stand shoulder to shoulder united in preserving peace and stability in the region,” stated U.S. Army Chief of Staff James McConville.
    The two day conference is considered to be the region’s largest biannual meeting of military chief of staffs.    Participants say it’s meant to encourage mutual cooperation and address security threats from around the world, including human-trafficking and cyber warfare.
Thailand Army Chief Gen. Apirat Kongsompong, left, shakes hand with U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville after
the joint press conference 11th Indo-Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference and 43rd Indo-Pacific Armies Management Seminar
in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Sept. 9, 2019. The events aim to promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region through
mutual understanding and dialogue on pressing security challenges in one of the globe’s most volatile regions. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
    “I think the exercises are very important because we share mutual interest, they built our relationships between our militaries, and I think that having strong relationships leads to a secure and stable environment,” stated McConville.    “I think we should continue those exercises because they lead to sustainable security in the region, and allow for economic growth for those who share the same interests as us.”
    According to Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, the conference will also address issues surrounding North Korea and efforts to disrupt ship-to ship oil transfers.    Almost 40 nations are participating in the event, which is set to take place through September 11th.

9/9/2019 Iran Nuclear Chief: EU failed to commit to 2015 deal, uranium enrichment to continue by OAN Newsroom
    The director the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, is blaming the European Union for the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal.
    During a meeting with officials from the United Nations nuclear watchdog Sunday, Salehi said Iran’s plans to boost uranium enrichment are fully justified.    He said the EU should have maintained business ties with Iran to prevent Tehran from advancing its nuclear program.
    Last week, the Ayatollah regime said it would continue to reduce its commitments under the failed 2015 accord.    UN officials say they will continue to monitor Iran’s nuclear activities.
FILE – Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi speaks in an interview with The Associated Press
at the headquarters of Iran’s atomic energy agency, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
    “On the one hand, we monitor and verify the implementation of your commitments under the agreement, and on the other hand we have an active interaction on the implementation of the agreement and the additional protocol,” said Cornel Feruta, Acting Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency
    Iranian officials also accused the EU of repeatedly violating the nuclear deal.

9/9/2019 Hong Kong protest leader released from custody after being arrested at international airport by OAN Newsroom
    Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong is released from police custody after being arrested for allegedly breaching conditions of his bail.    According to reports Monday, Wong was arrested on Sunday just before his planned trip to Germany and the U.S. to give interviews and speeches.
    After a court appearance Monday, the 22-year-old activist told reporters he believes his detention was a result of the chaos of the massive rallies on Sunday.
Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong, center, talks to the press with Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia, right, after meeting DPP political leaders in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019.
Joshua Wong visits pro-democracy political leaders and joint forum during a two-days trip from Tuesday in Taiwan. (AP Photo/ Chiang Ying-ying)
    “So, unfortunately with the political prosecution, no one would (believe) it would happen, but with the chaos that happened yesterday…    I’ve been detained for 24 hours, and I urge international communities to realize the political prosecution just results in white terror and becomes a common norm,” said Wong.
    This comes after Wong was arrested last month on charges of inciting and participating in an unlawful assembly.    The Hong Kong activist also stated he had previously been cleared to travel oversees as part of his bail terms, and he thinks he was detained as a result of a processing issue.

9/9/2019 U.S. military likely to ramp up operations against Taliban: U.S. general by Phil Stewart
An advisor from the 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade stands at the fortification of a base during
deployment to Afghanistan June 13, 2019. Courtesy Maj. Jonathan Camire/U.S. Army/Handout via REUTERS
    BAGRAM AIRFIELD (Reuters) – The U.S. military is likely to accelerate the pace of its operations in Afghanistan to counter an increase in Taliban attacks, a senior U.S. general said on Monday following Washington’s suspension of peace talks with the insurgents.
U.S. Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, said during a visit to Afghanistan that the Taliban overplayed its hand in peace negotiations by carrying out a spate of high profile attacks, including one that killed a U.S. soldier last week.
    The Taliban, which controls more territory than at any time since 2001 when it governed the country, said on Sunday that more American lives https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan/more-americans-will-die-after-trump-abruptly-ends-afghan-talks-taliban-say-idUSKCN1VT05L would be lost.
    McKenzie declined to comment on the Taliban statement.    But he noted that U.S. troops in Afghanistan were hardly “defenseless.”
    “We’re certainly not going to sit still and let them carry out some self-described race to victory.    That’s not going to happen,” McKenzie told a group of reporters traveling with him during a stop at Bagram Airfield in northeastern Afghanistan.
    Asked whether increasing operations against the Taliban could include airstrikes and raids by U.S. and Afghan commandos, McKenzie responded: “I think we’re talking a total spectrum.”
    “And, again, whatever targets are available, whatever targets can be lawfully and ethically struck, I think we’re going to pursue those targets,” he said.
    The insurgents’ determination to step up both attacks on provincial centers and suicide bombings even as peace talks were taking place was a major factor in pushing U.S. President Donald Trump to announce on Saturday that he was canceling https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-pompeo/afghan-peace-talks-dead-u-s-to-keep-pressure-on-taliban-pompeo-idUSKCN1VT0GU the talks aimed at ending America’s longest war of 18 years.
    The halt to the negotiations has fueled fears of even more violence across Afghanistan, with heightened security warnings in the capital Kabul and other centers ahead of a presidential election scheduled for Sept. 28.
TALIBAN MISCALCULATION
    Trump, a longtime critic of the Afghan war, and the billions of dollars it costs, had been preparing an unprecedented meeting with the insurgency’s leaders at the presidential compound in Camp David, Maryland.
    But he called off the event after the latest violence.
    Reuters has reported on growing misgivings that had been building within Trump’s administration about the peace deal negotiated by a special U.S. envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad.
    McKenzie said he believed the Taliban underestimated the delicate nature of the talks with Washington, even in their later stages.
    “I think they overplayed their hand,” McKenzie said.    “They misjudged the character of the American people.    I think they misjudged the character of the president of the United States.”
    The growing tension on the ground in Afghanistan adds to the uncertainty about the future course for American forces, many of whom must now simultaneously brace for an increase in fighting while also awaiting potential orders to withdraw.
    The United States has about 14,000 troops in Afghanistan, a figure that Trump has said he would like to reduce to about 8,600.
    McKenzie declined to speculate on next steps even as he visited American troops at bases in Afghanistan, flying in from neighboring Pakistan over rugged, mountainous terrain.
    Asked what his message was in his talks on Monday with U.S. special operations forces, medical teams and other personnel, McKenzie told reporters that they would need to keep fighting the “hard fight” for now.
    “We just have to hold the line right now,” McKenzie said.
    “We’re going to make some decisions, I think, back in our nation’s capital over the next few days and that will give us increased guidance going ahead,” he added, without elaborating.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; editing by Grant McCool)

9/9/2019 ‘Time is of the essence,’ IAEA tells Iran, pressing for answers by Francois Murphy
FILE PHOTO: The Iranian flag flutters in front the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
headquarters in Vienna, Austria July 10, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
    VIENNA (Reuters) – The U.N. nuclear watchdog told Iran on Monday there is no time to waste in answering its questions, which diplomats say include how traces of uranium were found at a site that was not declared to the agency.
    It also said Iran was starting to follow through on its pledge last week to further breach its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, this time installing more advanced centrifuges and moving toward enriching uranium with them, which the deal bans.
    Diplomats say Iran has yet to explain to the International Atomic Energy Agency how the uranium particles ended up at what Tehran has said was a carpet-cleaning facility.
    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vehemently opposes Iran’s nuclear deal with major powers, first pointed to the site last year, calling it a “secret atomic warehouse” and saying it had housed unspecified radioactive material that had since been removed.
    Details of IAEA inspections are confidential and the agency generally does not comment on them.    But the IAEA’s acting chief made clear that in meetings in Tehran on Sunday he pushed Iran to improve cooperation with the U.N. non-proliferation watchdog.
    “Time is of the essence,” Cornel Feruta, who took over as IAEA chief in an acting capacity after the death of his boss Yukiya Amano in July, told a news conference during a quarterly IAEA Board of Governors meeting.
    “I think that was a message very well understood,” he said of his meetings with officials including Iran’s foreign minister and its nuclear energy chief.
    The IAEA has told member states that Iran has had two months to answer its questions, though it has only given a very general description of the issue because it is confidential, diplomats who attended a briefing by its inspections chief last week said.
    At the same time, the Vienna-based IAEA has not yet sounded the alarm because such questions are part of a painstaking process that can often take many months.
    “We are very, let’s say rigorous, meticulous and we are faithful to our mandate,” Feruta said, without going into specifics.
NEW BREACH
    The 2015 nuclear deal only lets Iran enrich uranium with just over 5,000 of its first-generation IR-1 centrifuge machines.    It can use far fewer more advanced centrifuges for research but without accumulating enriched uranium.
    But in response to U.S. sanctions imposed since Washington withdrew from the deal in May last year, Iran has been breaching the limits it imposed on its atomic activities step by step.
    Last week the Islamic Republic said it would exceed the deal’s limits on research and development, the term applied to Iran’s use of technologically advanced centrifuges.
    An IAEA spokesman said Iran had informed it that it was making modifications to accommodate cascades – or interconnected clusters – of 164 of the IR-2m and IR-4 centrifuge. Cascades of the same size and type were scrapped under the deal.
    IAEA inspectors have verified that smaller numbers of various advanced centrifuges had been or were being installed, the spokesman added.
    “All of the installed centrifuges had been prepared for testing with UF6,” though none of them were being tested with UF6 on Sept. 7 and 8, he said, referring to the uranium hexafluoride feedstock for centrifuges.
    He added that Iran had also informed the agency it would modify lines of research centrifuges so that enriched uranium was produced, which is not allowed under the deal.
    In a confidential report to member states, the IAEA also said Iran had made those modifications on some lines.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

9/10/2019 Hong Kong leader warns against interference, escalation of violence by Clare Jim and Farah Master
FILE PHOTO: Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam addresses a news conference
in Hong Kong, China September 5, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Interference by foreign parliaments in Hong Kong’s affairs is deeply regrettable, the leader of the Chinese-ruled city said on Tuesday, adding that an escalation of violence cannot solve social issues in the city.
    The city’s Beijing-backed leader, Carrie Lam, was speaking after another weekend of sometimes violent clashes in the former British colony, with police firing tear gas in cat-and-mouse skirmishes with protesters who at times smashed windows and started fires in the streets.
    “It’s extremely inappropriate for foreign parliaments to interfere in HKSAR internal affairs in any way, and (we) will not allow (the United States) to become a stakeholder in HKSAR matters,” Lam said, referring to Hong Kong by its status as a special administrative region of China.
    During a rally at the U.S. consulate on Sunday, thousands of demonstrators, some waving the American flag, called for help in bringing democracy to Hong Kong.
    The protesters called for the U.S. Congress to pass legislation that would require Washington to make an annual assessment of whether Hong Kong was sufficiently autonomous from mainland China to retain special U.S. trade and economic benefits.
    Hong Kong returned to Beijing in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland.
    But many Hong Kong residents fear Beijing is steadily eroding that autonomy.    China denies meddling in the city.
    The initially peaceful protests have degenerated into encounters between baton-wielding riot police and activists, leading to scores of injuries and about 1,300 arrests.
    The demonstrations have taken a toll on Hong Kong’s economy, which is on the verge of its first recession in a decade.    Hong Kong visitor arrivals plunged nearly 40% in August from a year earlier as tourists steered clear of the city.
    Stephen Schwarz, head of sovereign ratings for the Asia-Pacific region at Fitch Ratings, said the agency’s downgrade of Hong Kong last week reflected damage to the city’s reputation as a place to do business.
    “The downgrade reflects months of ongoing conflict environment which are testing the ‘one country, two systems’ framework and which have inflicted damage to the international perception of the quality and effectiveness of Hong Kong’s governance and rule of law as well as the stability of its business environment,” Schwarz said.
FOREIGN FORCES
    Chinese officials have accused foreign forces of trying to hurt Beijing by creating chaos in Hong Kong, and they have warned outsiders to keep out of what they call an internal affair.
    On Monday, former U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the anti-government protests were not an internal Chinese matter and the United States should offer at least moral support to the demonstrators.
    After three months of unrest, Lam last week withdrew a controversial extradition bill that had triggered the unrest, but the gesture failed to appease many demonstrators.
    Anger over the now-shelved extradition bill has triggered opposition to Beijing that had waned after 2014, when authorities faced down 79 days of pro-democracy protests in the central business district.
    Now, three months of protests have evolved into a broader backlash against the government with demands for democracy re-emerging as a rallying cry.
Lam called for dialogue
    “Escalation and continuation of violence cannot solve the issues faced by our society now,” she told a news conference.
    “It will only deepen the conflict, contradiction, splits, and even hatred in society.”
    The protests, beamed live to the world since June, have prompted some of the city’s powerful tycoons to appeal for calm.
    In his first speech mentioning the unrest, billionaire Li Ka-shing urged political leaders to offer young people an olive branch, calling them “masters of our future,” according to an online video of remarks to a small crowd during a monastery visit on Sunday.
    Lam said her administration’s actions, including the bill’s formal withdrawal, were “not directly to stop these protests and violence.”
    “It is really to express my sincerity to start a dialogue with the people,” she said.
(Reporting By Clare Jim, Felix Tam, Farah Master, Lukas Jobs, Donny Kwok, Noah, Sin, James Pomfret, Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robert Birsel)

9/11/2019 Fighting picks up in Afghanistan after talks collapse
FILE PHOTO - An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier stands guard at a check point
in Kabul, Afghanistan September 10, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
    KABUL (Reuters) – Fighting has picked up in several areas of northern Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday, days after the collapse of talks between the United States and the Taliban aimed at agreeing the withdrawal of thousands of U.S. troops.
    Officials said there was fighting in at least 10 provinces, with the heaviest clashes in the northern regions of Takhar, Baghlan, Kunduz and Badakhshan, where the Taliban have been pressing security forces for weeks.
    On Wednesday, security forces retook the district of Koran-Wa-Monjan in Badakhshan, the defense ministry said in a statement.    The district, which fell to the Taliban in July, had offered the insurgents valuable mining revenues from its rich reserves of the famous blue lapis lazuli stone.
    It was the third district security forces have secured during a push in the province over recent days after Yamgan and Warduj, which the Taliban had held for the past four years.
    In the neighboring province of Takhar, however, local officials said this week government forces had pulled out of Yangi Qala and Darqad districts, while fighting was going on in Khawja Ghar and Ishkamesh district.
    “It is a tactical retreat to avoid civilian casualties in the area.    We have fresh forces in the area and soon the districts will be recaptured,” said Jawad Hejri, a spokesman for the Takhar provincial governor.
    The latest fighting underscored expectations of an escalation in violence following U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt cancellation of talks with the Taliban aimed at withdrawing U.S. troops and opening the way to an end to 18 years of war in Afghanistan.
    The Taliban said this week the decision, which Trump said was caused by the insurgents’ refusal to agree a ceasefire and continued attacks that killed a U.S. serviceman last week, would lead to further American deaths.
    In response, a senior U.S. general said that the U.S. military was likely to accelerate the pace of its operations in Afghanistan to counter an increase in Taliban attacks.
    Security officials said the scale of the fighting in northern Afghanistan reflected both the expected intensification of combat following the collapse of peace efforts as well as a last push before winter weather restricts fighting in the mountains.
    Earlier this week, at least seven civilians died in an airstrike conducted by American and Afghan commandos on Monday in Sayed Abad district in central Maidan Wardak province, senior Afghan security officials said.
    The Taliban in a statement condemned the attack and said nine civilians who were on the way to a wedding party were killed in the drone strike.
    There was no confirmation from American and NATO officials on the air strike.
    In Baghlan province, whose capital Pul-e Khumri has been under pressure for days, security forces partially cleared the main highway connecting the north to the capital Kabul.
(Reporting by Ahmad Sultan in Jalalabad, Storai Karimi in Herat, Sardar Razmal in Kunduz, Abdul Qadir Sediqi, Orooj Hakimi in Kabul; Editing by Giles Elgood)

9/11/2019 Iran says sacking of Bolton won’t lead to talks with U.S.
FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during the cabinet meeting in
Tehran, Iran, September 4, 2019. Official President website/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – The resignation of White House National Security Adviser John Bolton, a hawk on Iran, will not lead to talks between Washington and Tehran, Iran said on Wednesday.
    President Hassan Rouhani urged the United States to end its policy of “maximum pressure” on his country, and said Tehran would cut its commitments to a 2015 nuclear deal further if necessary, state TV reported.
    Last year, the United States pulled out of the nuclear deal, under which Iran agreed to curbs on its atomic program in return for access to world trade.    Washington has since imposed what the administration calls a policy of “maximum pressure,” including sanctions aimed at halting all Iranian oil exports.
    Iran has responded with a series of steps to reduce its compliance with the nuclear deal, although it says it still aims to keep it in place.
    Trump has suggested he would be willing to hold talks with Iran to reach a new deal.    Iran has long said talks are impossible unless Washington lifts its sanctions first.
    Bolton, a hardliner who held senior positions in the George W. Bush administration, left his position on Tuesday.    Trump tweeted that he had fired him after rejecting some of his advice.
    “The departure of U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton from President Donald Trump’s administration will not push Iran to reconsider talking with the U.S.,” state news agency IRNA quoted Tehran’s United Nations envoy Majid Takhteravanchi as saying.
    He added there was no room for talks with the United States while sanctions against Iran remain in place, IRNA said.
    Rouhani, a pragmatist who won two landslide elections in Iran on promises to open it up to the world, repeated previous Iranian demands that Washington relax its policies.
    “The United States should understand that militancy has no profit, and must abandon its policy of maximum pressure on Iran,” he was quoted as saying.    “Iran’s commitments to the nuclear deal are proportional to other parties and we will take further steps if necessary.”
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Peter Graff)

9/11/2019 China envoy raps Germany over meeting with Hong Kong activist
Hong Kong's pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong speaks to students at the Humboldt University
in Berlin, Germany, September 11, 2019. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
    BERLIN (Reuters) – A meeting between Germany’s foreign minister and Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong will damage its relations with China, Beijing’s ambassador to Berlin said on Wednesday, in an unusually direct verbal attack on an important trade partner.
    The ambassador added that the Foreign Ministry in Beijing had summoned the German envoy in protest at the meeting – a statement later confirmed by Germany’s foreign ministry.
    At a time when Hong Kong is being rocked by protests, pro-democracy activist Wong arrived in Berlin on Monday night and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas received him.
    “What happened now, I unfortunately have to say, will have negative consequences on bilateral relations and the Chinese side has to react,” Ambassador Ken Wu told reporters, according to an official German translation.
    Hong Kong, a former British colony, was returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the Communist mainland, including an independent legal system.
    The unrest, at times violent, in Hong Kong over the last few months was prompted by anger over planned legislation to allow extraditions to China, but has widened into calls for democracy and for Communist rulers in Beijing to leave the city alone.
    After his arrival in Berlin, Wong said Hong Kong was a bulwark between the free world and the “dictatorship of China”
    “After his arrival we took note that unfortunately certain politicians – and I will say very openly that it is Foreign Minister Maas himself – as well as some members of parliament met with Joshua Wong,” said the Chinese ambassador.
    “We don’t know what goal these politicians have.    Are they actually seriously concerned about Hong Kong’s freedom, democracy and rule of law or they want to add fuel to the fire and thereby make political capital out of it?”
“REALISTIC NEEDS”
    The dispute between Germany and China comes days after Chancellor Angela Merkel returned from a trip there. She said earlier she had told Chinese leaders that upholding human rights was indispensable.
    The ambassador said the countries were important partners.
    “We have a very good and long tradition of cooperation.    We also have realistic needs to approach each other,” he said.     Germany, whose firms have been caught up in the crossfire of the U.S.-China trade conflict, traded almost 100 billion euros ($109.87 billion) in goods with China in the first half of 2019.
    China has accused the United States, Britain and other Western countries of fomenting the Hong Kong unrest.
    “China’s sovereignty and security must be respected.    I therefore advise politicians against covering up violent crimes and meddling with Hong Kong’s and China’s internal affairs,” said the ambassador.
($1 = 0.9102 euros)
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Reuters Television; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Paul Carrel and Gareth Jones)

9/11/2019 At Afghan base, al Qaeda memories fresh 18 years after September 11 attacks by Phil Stewart
Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade Maryanna Swanson registers runners for a memorial race at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan on
the 18th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, September 11, 2019. REUTERS/Phil Stewart
    KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (Reuters) – It’s shortly before sunrise, and Maryanna Swanson, a Navy nurse from Long Island, thinks she may run out of T-shirts for all of the runners showing up for a Sept. 11 memorial race that she’s helping organize at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan.
    News of the race spread by word of mouth and soon maybe more than 200 people – from bearded commandos to medics and base firefighters – were running hard around this dusty base, just miles from what was once a major al Qaeda training camp.
    Swanson’s family saw al Qaeda’s devastation first-hand 18 years ago, the day when al Qaeda hijackers slammed airplanes into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon, killing almost 3,000 people.
    “My uncle was a fireman in New York City on 9/11 … He was at Ground Zero,” said Swanson, a Navy Lieutenant junior grade, who was only 8 when the attacks took place.
    Even after 18 years, memories of the attacks that triggered the war in Afghanistan are still fresh for U.S. troops here, many of whom were only in elementary school at the time.
    Those service members who spoke to Reuters in the past several days at bases throughout the country say Sept. 11 inspired them to enlist in the U.S. military.
    The attacks are also front-and-center in the minds of policymakers in President Donald Trump’s administration, who are weighing the risks of narrowing or even ending America’s longest war, which is locked in a grinding stalemate with the Taliban.
    The U.S.-led coalition launched by President George W. Bush after the Sept. 11 attacks ousted the Taliban from power for harboring al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and drove al Qaeda’s leaders, including Osama bin Laden, to Pakistan.
    Al Qaeda has been decimated over the years. But U.S. officials estimate there are still small numbers of al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan, some with deep ties to the Taliban insurgency.    More are across the border in Pakistan.
    Many U.S. officials doubt the Taliban could be relied upon to prevent al Qaeda from again plotting attacks against the United States from Afghan soil.    That was one of the U.S. demands during peace negotiations with the Taliban that Trump declared “dead” this week.
    “If there’s some type of deal for Afghanistan, etc, we do assess that al Qaeda would try to move back into Afghanistan to set up operations,” one U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
    Ryan Crocker, a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, said it was folly to think Washington could ever rely on assurances from the Taliban about al Qaeda.
    “The Taliban gave up the country rather than give up al Qaeda in 2001,” Crocker told Reuters.    “They will say anything we want to hear, knowing that once we go, we won’t be coming back.”
AL QAEDA VS ISLAMIC STATE
    For the United States, al Qaeda is not the top near-term threat in Afghanistan, where the U.S. military is mainly occupied with a Taliban insurgency that now controls more territory that at any time since the war began.
    Second-ranking for U.S. analysts is Islamic State, which has thousands of fighters and facilitators in Afghanistan, and appears able to recruit educated Afghans from universities.
    Al Qaeda ranks third. U.S. officials told Reuters they estimate al Qaeda’s core group has only dozens of fighters in Afghanistan.    But there are more in the group’s regional branch, al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent.    Those number a couple of hundred, U.S. officials say.
    Whenever al Qaeda operatives appear, however, they become a priority for U.S. counter-terrorism forces.
    Roya Rahmani, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United States, said the Taliban’s links to al Qaeda are not just ideological.
    “There are deep ties between the groups … starting with intermarriages,” Rahmani said in an interview. U.S. WITHDRAWAL?
    Trump, a longtime critic of the Afghan war and the billions of dollars it costs, has said he would like to reduce the number of U.S. forces to about 8,600 from around 14,000 currently. That is down from a peak of more than 100,000 U.S. troops in 2011.
    One of the main concerns for the United States in any drawdown would be preserving enough troops to ensure the United States can strike militants that could otherwise threaten the U.S. homeland, including Islamic State and al Qaeda.
    Both groups could benefit from an eventual peace agreement with the Taliban.    The first U.S. official estimated that as many as 4% of Taliban insurgents could try to join Islamic State.
    U.S. Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command that is in charge of the region that includes Afghanistan, declined to speculate on what an 8,600-strong counter-terrorism-focused force might look like.
    But he has stressed the importance of keeping pressure on militant groups like Islamic State and al Qaeda.
    Speaking to Marines in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, McKenzie said U.S. forces had been successful in preventing another Sept. 11-style attack emanating from Afghanistan.
    “The cost has been high.    There’s nobody here who hasn’t lost a friend or somebody that you know as a result of operations,” he said at Forward Operating Base Shorab in Helmand Province.
    Critics say the war has failed to sufficiently pressure the Taliban to end the conflict on America’s terms.
    McKenzie was working at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, when the plane hit the building.    He later served two tours in Afghanistan, as did his son, who is also a Marine.
    “We are here because of that day.    That’s what brought all of us here,” he said.
A PRAYER FOR THOSE LOST
    Just before the race began at Kandahar Airfield, an Army chaplain, Major Jason Webster, led a prayer that honored the sacrifices of American forces over the past 18 years.    About 2,400 U.S. service members have been killed in the course of the Afghan conflict and many thousands more wounded.
    Webster’s own brigade lost one of its soldiers, Sergeant 1st Class Elis A. Barreto Ortiz, 34, in a suicide bombing last week – a case cited by Trump when he called off plans to meet Taliban leaders at Camp David.
    “I acknowledge the pain and suffering of so many over the past 18 years.    With the loss of life on 9/11, to the subsequent sacrifice of those who gave their lives in defense of liberty and our freedom,” Webster said.
    “Hurting children without (a) father or mother … An empty chair among teammates.    A picture hanging on a wall.”
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Frances Kerry)

9/11/2019 Hong Kong protesters pause to mark Sept. 11 by Jessie Pang
A general view of the financial Central district in Hong Kong, China July 25, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong activists called off protests on Wednesday in remembrance of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and denounced a Chinese state newspaper report that they were planning “massive terror” in the Chinese-ruled city.
    Hong Kong has been rocked by months of sometimes violent unrest, prompted by anger over planned legislation to allow extraditions to China, but broadening into calls for democracy and for Communist rulers in Beijing to leave the city alone.
    “Anti-government fanatics are planning massive terror attacks, including blowing up gas pipes, in Hong Kong on September 11,” the Hong Kong edition of the China Daily said on its Facebook page, alongside a picture of the hijacked airliner attacks on the twin towers in New York.
    “The 9/11 terror plot also encourages indiscriminate attacks on non-native speakers of Cantonese and starting mountain fires.”
    The post said “leaked information was part of the strategy being schemed by radical protesters in their online chat rooms.”
    The former British colony of Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including an independent legal system, triggering the anger over the extradition bill.
    Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has said she will withdraw the bill but many Hong Kong residents fear Beijing is steadily eroding the autonomy of the Asian financial hub.
    China denies meddling and has accused the United States, Britain and others of fomenting the unrest.
    “We don’t even need to do a fact check to know that this is fake news,” said one protester, Michael, 24, referring to the China Daily post.    “The state media doesn’t care about its credibility.    Whenever something they claimed to have heard on WhatsApp or friends’ friends, they will spread it right away.”
    The protesters called off action on Wednesday.
    “In solidarity against terrorism, all forms of protest in Hong Kong will be suspended on Sept. 11, apart from potential singing and chanting,” they said in a statement.
    The China Daily report was worrying, said another protester, Karen, 23.    “When they try to frame the whole protest with those words, it alarms me,” she said.    “They are predicting rather than reporting.    I think people calling it off today is a nice move.”
FAMILY FRICTIONS
    The chairwoman of the Hong Kong Federation of Women, Pansy Ho, a prominent businesswoman and daughter of Macau casino operator Stanley Ho, said she was worried about violent extremism.
    “Children of all ages are indoctrinated with police hatred and anti-establishment beliefs at school and online mobilized to conduct massive school strikes,” she told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.
    Lam said in a speech on Wednesday that Hong Kong was grappling with significant challenges.
    “My fervent hope is that we can bridge our divide by upholding the one country, two systems principle, and the Basic Law, and through the concerted efforts of the government and the people of Hong Kong,” she told business leaders.
    The Basic Law is Hong Kong’s mini-constitution.
    Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd has become the biggest corporate casualty of the unrest after China demanded it suspend staff involved in, or who support, the protests.
    Cathay Pacific said on Wednesday inbound traffic to Hong Kong in August fell 38% and outbound traffic 12% compared with a year earlier, and that it did not anticipate September to be any less difficult.
    Joshua Wong, one of the prominent leaders of the 2014 “Umbrella” pro-democracy movement which brought key streets in Hong Kong to a standstill for 79 days, said in Berlin that the fight for democracy was an uphill battle.
    “I hope one day not only Hong Kong people, but also people in mainland China, can enjoy freedom and democracy,” he said.
    The protests spread to the sports field on Tuesday, as many football fans defied Chinese law to boo the national anthem ahead of a soccer World Cup qualifier against Iran.
    Several peaceful protests are planned for the next few days, combining with celebrations marking the Mid-Autumn Festival.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang, Farah Master, Jamie Freed, Cecile Mantovani in Geneva and Michelle Martin in Berlin; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Mark Heinrich & Simon Cameron-Moore)

9/12/2019 Exclusive: The Chief Executive ‘has to serve two masters’, says Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam – full transcript
FILE PHOTO: Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam addresses a news conference in Hong Kong, China September 5, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – This is a transcript of a talk given in late August by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam to a group of businesspeople in the city. The transcript is taken from an audio recording of Lam’s remarks that was obtained by Reuters.    Last week, Reuters published most of Lam’s remarks and is now able to publish them in full.
    People who attended the talk say she spoke for about a half hour.    The recording, which runs 24 minutes, captures the bulk of the event.    Reuters has redacted the transcript in a few spots to remove names mentioned by Lam and questions asked by the audience.
CARRIE LAM:
    In the last two years, one of the policy areas that I have spent most time in is innovation and technology.    Now, I actually personally chair the steering committee.
    In less than three months’ time, Hong Kong has been turned upside down, and my life has been turned upside down.    But this is not the moment for self-pitifulness, although I shared with [name redacted] that nowadays it’s extremely difficult for me to go out.    I have not been on the streets, not in the shopping malls, can’t go to a hair salon, can’t do anything because my whereabouts will be spread around the social media, the Telegram, the LIHKG, and you could expect a big crowd of black T-shirts and black-masked young people waiting for me.
    I’m still brave enough to go and this afternoon, I’m still planning to go if my security guards tell me later on that I can still go.    But it’s really, I don’t want to cause disruption, inconvenience to the organisers.    But as I said, this is not the time for me to self-pity myself.    This is a time I come here, and I do other closed-door sessions from time to time with people from all walks of life, and the two things I said is, it’s not about self-pityness, it’s about making a plea for forgiveness and then appeal for love.
    I don’t want to spend your time, or waste your time, for you to ask me what went wrong, and why it went wrong.    But for a chief executive to have caused this huge havoc to Hong Kong is unforgivable.    It’s just unforgivable.    If I have a choice, the first thing is to quit, having made a deep apology, is to step down.    So I make a plea to you for your forgiveness.
    This is something that no matter how well intended, I just want to put this message across.    This is not something malicious.    This is not something instructed, coerced by the central government.    This is out of a good intention, myself and some of my key colleagues to try to plug legal loopholes in Hong Kong’s system, very much prompted by our compassion for a single case, and this has proven to be very unwise given the circumstances.    And this huge degree of fear and anxiety amongst people of Hong Kong vis-a-vis the mainland of China, which we were not sensitive enough to feel and grasp.    And, of course, it has been exaggerated and misrepresented through very effective propaganda, if I may say so.     Now I want to make an appeal for love.    It’s not to pity me, or to sympathise with me, but love for Hong Kong.    And I’m sure [name redacted] have that strong passion and love for Hong Kong.
    Then the question we need to ask, each one of us, is how to fix it, how to fix it?    I have to say that I have no sort of ready solutions, because the scene changes so quickly.    A week ago, we thought – ‘we’ means the core group within the government with some of our advisers – we thought that we have a relatively peaceful weekend, perhaps that’s the time to start a dialogue with sincerity, with humility, and trying to get some of Hong Kong’s fundamental issues resolved.    But, unfortunately, the last two days have again totally thrown that away and we are seeing escalated violence to the degree of being insane.    If you look at some of these TV footage and videos of how policemen have been attacked and so on.
    But, of course, I’m sure in your hearts you will feel, and I’m sure a large number of people feel that I do have a solution, that is a political one.    But I have to tell you that this is where the crux of the matter lies.    Once an issue has been elevated to the situation – I’m sure [name redacted] has a better feel of that – to a national level, to a sort of sovereignty and security level, let alone in the midst of this sort of unprecedented tension between the two big economies in the world.    The room, the political room for the chief executive who, unfortunately, has to serve two masters by constitution, that is the central people’s government and the people of Hong Kong, that political room for maneuvering is very, very, very limited.    Because we were not trained to have that sort of national perspectives, and I could only keep on putting in what I feel is the Hong Kong situation and the Hong Kong sentiments.    But whether those Hong Kong sentiments could override the national perspective and the national sentiments? I’m sure you know that now 1.4 billion mainland people already have formed a view about what is happening in Hong Kong.    So, without going into a lot more details, I can only share with you discreetly that the room for me to offer a political situation in order to relieve the tension, nor to reduce the pressure on my frontline police officers in order to at least respond, or pacify the large number of peaceful protesters who are so angry with the government, with me in particular, of absolutely dead silence despite repeated participation in the protests, is what causes me the biggest sadness.
    So without that, what other means we have is Hong Kong’s core value, that is the rule of law.    The rule of law takes several forms, of course law enforcement, our police officers who have been suffering tremendously this time, especially on an occasion when they are supposed to celebrate 175 years of police establishment, and especially at a time when they were so proud of the crime figures which are still coming down.    In fact, the first half year we still saw a drop of four percent in total crimes in Hong Kong, and that was the best seen in Hong Kong since 1972.    And also they have commissioned a survey to commemorate this occasion done not by a pro-establishment group but by [name redacted], which indicated that confidence in the police after Occupy Central has rebounced to a historic high.    That was the sort of background to how much the police have suffered.
    So the rule of law requires law enforcement, so we have to tackle this escalating violence by arresting those offenders and then put them through the justice system, whether it’s prosecution by the Department of Justice in an impartial manner without any interference from myself or from the Central People’s government, and then finally in the courts.
    With a little bit of hope that may help because we are seeing the numbers reducing. We started off by an estimate of about one to two thousand protesters who are very violent. Or put it that way, they are very willing to resort to violence.    They may not be violent by nature but they are very willing to resort to violence, so, as described by one expert, this is the, sort of, early signs of anarchism, that they don’t trust the establishment, they don’t mind destroying things even if they don’t know what destruction will bring.
    And if you look at yesterday’s various protests, it’s not only in the Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung area, but then it spread to Tsim Sha Tsui, Sham Shui Po, Wong Tai Sin.    Every spot of confrontations, we’re talking about 50 to 300 at least, and they, actually because they were flowing so there could be some duplicates, so we might be seeing a smaller number.    Whether it’s because of the 700-plus arrests that we have made has a bit of deterrent effect, or removed some of these factions, we have not had a full analysis, but we hope that with those efforts we may be able, as I said, I’ll be very honest with you, it would be naïve for me to paint you a rosy picture, that things will be fine or I have a deadline.    But I can assure you that Beijing does not have a deadline.    They know this will ripple on. So we have made special arrangements and there will be a 1st of October National Day celebrations but still having a lot of disruptions.    So we are going for a modest, but solemn type of celebrations on the 1st of October, which means that they and ourselves have no expectations that we could clear up this thing before the 1st of October.
    Another thing I want to assure you, that is my own feeling the pulse and through discussions, CPG (Central People’s Government) has absolutely no plan to send in the PLA.    They are now doing, sort of, acts which I’m sure you’re quite aware of amongst the Communist Party, they’re just quite scared now.    Because they know that the price would be too huge to pay.    Maybe they don’t care about Hong Kong, but they care about ‘one country, two systems.’    They care about the country’s international profile.    It has taken China a long time to build up to that sort of international profile and to have some say, not only being a big economy but a responsible big economy, so to forsake all those positive developments is clearly not on their agenda.    But they’re willing to play long, they are willing to play long, so you have no short-term solution, Hong Kong suffers, you lose tourism, economy, you lose your IPOs and so, but you can’t do much about it.    But after everything has been settled the country will be there to help with maybe positive measures especially in the Greater Bay Area.    So our work on the Greater Bay Area has actually not stopped.    We are still putting in proposals to the Greater Bay Area, especially something markets would love to hear, is a major ecological conservation plan which was drawn up by [name redacted].    She has left the government, I have brought her in on a part-time basis to draw up this ecological conservation plan for the entire Greater Bay Area in terms of biodiversity, air standards, water and so on.
    So what could [name redacted] help us. Of course, every one of you has your own circle, you have your own friends, you have your own connections, you have your business contacts, so try to impress upon them that we really need to put an end to the violence, this is totally alien to Hong Kong and try to, as I said, appeal for understanding and love.    We love this place, we love the people here. People used to be very peaceful and inclusive and so on.    Instead of taking a position on every issue, either your friend or your foe, and so on.
    When the time comes, now Hong Kong has survived the death pronounced by some people before 1997.    At this point in time, although I’m actually pessimistic, but Hong Kong is not dead yet.    Maybe she is very, very sick but she is not dead yet.    We still have fundamentals here, we still have the nation behind us.    So Hong Kong will have to go through several stages.    The first is stamping out the violence, maybe doing other things in time to come which at the moment are not very available.    Having gone through this stage, the next stage will be, in accordance with the bible, would be resurrection.    We will need to come back to life, some life.    So thereafter we want a reborn Hong Kong and a relaunching of this Hong Kong brand. [name redacted]
    After her talk, Lam answered questions.
    In answer to a question about the impact of the protests on schools and universities, Lam said:
Well, thank you very much [name redacted]. We will continue to help the schools.    I am meeting a group of school principals within this week together with the secretary for education.    Let me just answer your question in a very general way.    I know certain factions in society have the feeling that we are not firm and strong enough vis-a-vis these protesters.    But the difficulty is, of course, is always coming up with an argument that in the light of the majority of the public views and the people’s sentiments, this anger and this fear and so on, too strong a position of the government could be counterproductive.    Although our research into overseas experiences in combating riots did require that sort of forcefulness.    For example, in 2011, in Tottenham riots 15,000 rioters involved, 2,000 were arrested, 1,000 put to prison following a very quick process.    From start to finish is 5-6 weeks, through special courts, night courts, 24 hours.    What would you imagine to be the Chief Justice’s reaction if I were to tell him, ‘could you have special courts, night courts, in order to clear all these cases?’ We have arrested 700-plus now.    So there are solutions that will be readily deployed in other countries that cannot be used in Hong Kong.
    The second factor is apart from the 30,000 men and women in the force we have nothing.    Really.    We have nothing.    I have nothing.    That’s something, is something we avoid.    So that means that whatever we do we have to take into full account the police assessment and reactions, so to give them some powers which they could not enforce because they’re outnumbered.    They’re outnumbered not necessarily just by the violent protesters, they’re outnumbered just by people, which makes enforcement extremely difficult in terms of crowd management and crowd dispersal.    So I’m not saying that we are not thinking about some of those firmer measures but just to explain to you that in the Hong Kong situation it’s very difficult, especially with the media. And this is perhaps one of Hong Kong’s weakest links, or the government’s weakest links, that we don’t have a strong enough, sort of, I wouldn’t say propaganda, I dare not say government carries out propaganda, but at least in terms of dissemination of factual information we are very, very weak.    If we survive this crisis, well there will be a large number of revamping that I need to do in order to leave behind a better situation for my successor because there are so many weak parts in the government, which we have not fully realized.    We did realize a bit, but we did not fully realize that it could be that bad, when we are going into, or right into, a crisis.
    In answer to a suggestion from the audience related to the government’s public relations efforts:
    I’m not aware of that 120-page document [name redacted].    But what I have asked for, but that is a little bit overtaken by events, that was almost a month ago, when we optimistically thought that we would have some sort of peaceful moments, that we could start to think about relaunching Hong Kong.    So we sent out something by the information services department and invited eight such global PR companies, but unfortunately four immediately declined because that would be a detriment to their reputation to support the Hong Kong SAR government now, and two subsequently also turned away a request for meetings. So we’re left with two.    I’m happy to meet with these two remaining personally, to see what advice they have, but their advice will only be more relevant after we have gone through this period.
    This is also a very difficult moment for us because people take sides, and people are very worried about what they call this ‘white terror,’ this harassment on them.    The revealing of details [in Cantonese].    And so it’s not even very difficult for us to get a production house, a design studio to do things for us, so things have to be done in-house or in the mainland.    In the mainland then this causes problems.    The smart lamp posts, somebody discovered that the raw parts came from a Shanghai factory and then they made a big story out of it again.    But when the time comes, I certainly take up your advice that we should remove some of this bureaucracy and start talking to the people who could help, if they are willing to help.
(Transcript by James Pomfret and Greg Torode in Hong Kong. Edited by Peter Hirschberg.)

9/12/2019 Hong Kong protesters plan busy lantern festival, again targeting metro by Jessie Pang and Felix Tam
FILE PHOTO: Residents light candles and play with glow sticks as they celebrate Mid-Autumn
or Lantern Festival at a park in Hong Kong, China October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong activists will combine pro-democracy protests with lantern celebrations marking the Mid-Autumn Festival this weekend after a brief lull in sometimes violent demonstrations which have rocked the Chinese-ruled city since June.
    The protests include another in a series of “stress tests” of the airport, which in recent weeks have seen approach roads blocked, street fires started and the trashing of a nearby MTR subway station.
    Protesters also jammed the airport arrivals hall last month, leading to canceled or delayed flights and clashes with police.
    Activists are also planning a protest outside Prince Edward Mass Transit Railway (MTR) station on the Kowloon peninsula later on Thursday to mark the night of Aug. 31 when police were caught on CCTV beating protesters on a metro train as they cowered on the floor.
    The MTR has since become a prime target of vandalism. Activists are angry that the MTR closes stations to stop protesters from gathering and has demanded the company release CCTV footage of the beatings.
    Police have responded to violence in recent weeks with tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, several live shots in the air, water cannon and baton charges, prompting complaints of excessive force.
    And there were running battles with police in the same area, around Prince Edward MTR, on Friday and Saturday last week.
    Protesters also plan to gather outside the British consulate on Sunday to make sure China honors the Sino-British Joint Declaration which was signed in 1984, laying out the former British colony’s future after its handover to China in 1997.     China says Hong Kong is now its internal affair.    Britain says it has a legal responsibility to ensure China abides by its obligations under the Joint Declaration.
HARVEST FESTIVAL
    Hong Kong returned to China under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including an independent legal system.
    The current unrest was originally prompted by anger over planned legislation to allow extraditions to China, but has broadened into calls for democracy and for Communist rulers in Beijing to leave the city alone.
    China denies meddling and has accused the United States, Britain and others of fomenting the unrest.
    The Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Friday this year, is a harvest celebration throughout the Chinese-speaking world and in East and Southeast Asia.    It is celebrated with mooncakes, gazing at the full moon and colorful lantern displays.
    Protesters plan a series of lantern-carrying human chains and sit-ins at MTR shopping malls and on the city’s scenic Victoria Peak, popular with mainland tour groups, and on Lion Rock, separating the New Territories from the Kowloon peninsula.
    There were some lunchtime scuffles between pro-Beijing and anti-Hong Kong government supporters in the mall of the IFC, a prominent skyscraper on the newly reclaimed Central waterfront. Some top-brand stores were briefly closed.
    Police denied the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) permission for a mass downtown march on Sunday.
    “In previous marches applied for by CHRF, participants, reporters and police suffered serious injuries,” police said in their refusal letter to the group.
    The group has appealed.
(Additional reporting by Twinnie Siu; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

9/12/2019 China, Malaysia to set up South China Sea dialogue mechanism
Member of the Politburo of the Communist party of China Yang Jiechi speaks with Malaysian Foreign Minister
Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah during a meeting in Beijing, China September 12, 2019. Andrea Verdelli/Pool via REUTERS
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China and Malaysia have agreed to set up a joint dialogue mechanism for the disputed South China Sea, the Chinese government’s top diplomat said on Thursday after meeting Malaysia’s foreign minister.
    Recent Chinese naval deployments in the strategic waterway, through which more than $3.4 trillion worth of goods are transported annually, have reignited tension with Vietnam and the Philippines.    Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have competing claims in the South China Sea.
    Malaysia had been critical of China’s South China Sea position, but has not been excessively outspoken recently, especially after China pumped in billions of dollars into infrastructure projects under its Belt and Road Initiative.
    Malaysia regularly tracked Chinese naval and coastguard vessels entering Malaysia’s territorial waters, but China respects Malaysia and had “not done anything that caused us trouble, so far,” Defense Minister Mohamad Sabu told Reuters last month.
    Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi told a news conference with Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah that this year, tensions in the South China Sea had dropped.
    Littoral states and China were committed to continue appropriately handling the South China Sea issue and jointly safeguard peace and stability there, said Wang, who is the Chinese government’s top diplomat.
    “To this end, our two sides have agreed to set up a bilateral consultation mechanism for maritime issues, a new platform for dialogue and cooperation for both sides,” he said.
    Abdullah, who referred to Wang as “my brother,” said the mechanism would be led by the two countries’ foreign ministries.
    “Our officers will be discussing the details, but I think this is one important outcome of the meeting today and also the 45 years of our diplomatic relations,” he said.
    China is debt-heavy Malaysia’s biggest trade partner and the countries have close cultural ties too.
    In July, China and Malaysia resumed construction on a train project in northern Malaysia, which is part of China’s Belt and Road plan, after a year-long suspension and following a rare agreement to cut its cost by nearly a third, to about $11 billion.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)

9/13/2019 Hong Kong leader focuses on housing as protesters head for the hills by Jessie Pang and Clare Jim
FILE PHOTO: Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam attends a news conference in Hong Kong, China September 10, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam promised to focus on housing and jobs to try to end three months of sometimes violent unrest, as pro-democracy demonstrators headed for the hills on Friday for a series of lantern-carrying Mid-Autumn Festival human chains.
    Lam, who said she caused “unforgivable havoc” by igniting the crisis and would quit if she had the choice, said in a Facebook post her government would increase the supply of housing in the Chinese-ruled city.
    “Housing and people’s livelihoods are the main priorities,” Lam said.    “The government will add to housing supply measures which will be continuously put in place and not missed.”
    The spark for the protests was a now-withdrawn extradition bill and concern that Beijing is eroding civil liberties, but many young protesters are also angry at sky-high living costs and a lack of job prospects.
    Hong Kong has some of the world’s most expensive real estate and many young people say the city’s housing policy is unfair, benefiting the rich while forcing them to live with their parents or rent “shoe box” apartments at exorbitant prices.
    Lam’s comments came as activists plan the latest in a series of protests in the former British colony, which is grappling with its biggest political crisis in decades.
    The demonstrations started in June in response to a bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts, but have broadened into calls for democracy.
    Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland – including a much-cherished independent legal system.
    At lunch on Friday, hundreds of pro-Beijing supporters packed into a shopping mall waving China flags and singing the Chinese national anthem.
    Later on Friday, Mid-Autumn Festival, demonstrators were to carry lanterns and form human chains on the scenic Victoria Peak, popular with mainland tour groups, and on Lion Rock, separating the New Territories from the Kowloon peninsula.
    Protesters were also to gather with lanterns on the top of Tai Tung Shan on the offshore island of Lantau.
“INTERNAL AFFAIR”
    Sit-ins at shopping malls are also planned over the weekend.
    Activists also plan to gather outside the British consulate on Sunday to demand that China honors the Sino-British Joint Declaration that was signed in 1984, laying out the former British colony’s post-1997 future.
    China says Hong Kong is now its internal affair.    It denies meddling in Hong Kong and has accused the United States, Britain and others of fomenting the unrest.
    Britain says it has a legal responsibility to ensure China abides by its obligations under the Joint Declaration.
    Police have responded to violence with tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, water cannon and baton charges, as well as firing several live shots in the air, prompting complaints of excessive force.
    Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing said on Friday he deeply regretted that his recent comments about the protests were misrepresented and reiterated that any actions that violate the rule of law cannot be tolerated.
    Li’s statement came after China’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission published an article on social media accusing the tycoon of “harboring criminality” after he called on the authorities to offer young people an olive branch amid the protests.
    Li said through his spokesperson in a statement he would always accept criticism, but most importantly “lenience is not the same as indulgence, (and) is not the same as disregarding legal procedures.”
    Hong Kong is facing its first recession in a decade as a result of the protests.    A surge in migration applications suggests more locals are making plans to leave.
    China has called on its biggest state firms to take a more active role in Hong Kong, including stepping up investment and asserting more control over companies.
    More than 80% of the 120 businesses surveyed by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore said the protests had affected their decision in investing in Hong Kong in the future. Only 1% had relocated business functions out of Hong Kong, while 23% said any such relocation plans were still under consideration.
    Multiple Hong Kong events and conferences have been canceled and the number of visitors plunged 40 percent in August. The city’s premier women’s tennis event scheduled for October has been postponed.
    Organizers also called off the Royal Shakespeare Company’s “Matilda the Musical,” due to run from Sept. 20 to Oct. 20.
    The Fraser Institute, an independent Canadian public policy research organization, said Hong Kong was one of the most economically free jurisdictions in the world but “interference from China including the violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests – severely threatens Hong Kong’s rule of law.”
    Hong Kong’s government said the comments were “entirely ungrounded and not borne out by objective facts,” with human rights and freedom fully protected.
(Additional reporting by Twinnie Siu, Noah Sin and Marius Zaharia; Writing by Farah Master and Nick Macfie; Editing by Giles Elgood)

9/13/2019 China to exempt U.S. pork, soybeans from additional tariffs: Xinhua
FILE PHOTO: Young pigs in a pen at a hog farm in Ryan, Iowa, U.S., May 18, 2019. REUTERS/Ben Brewer/File Photo
    SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China will exempt some agricultural products from additional tariffs on U.S. goods, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said Friday, in the latest sign of easing Sino-U.S. tensions before a new rounds of talks aimed at curbing a bruising trade war.
    The United States and China have both made conciliatory gestures, with China renewing purchases of U.S. farm goods and U.S. President Donald Trump delaying a tariff increase on certain Chinese goods.
    China had imposed additional tariffs of 25% on U.S. agricultural products including soybeans and pork in July 2018.    It raised tariffs on soybeans by a further 5% and on pork by a further 10% on Sept. 1.
    “China supports relevant enterprises buying certain amounts of soybeans, pork and other agricultural products from today in accordance with market principles and WTO rules,” Xinhua said, adding that the Customs Tariff Commission of China’s State Council would exclude additional tariffs on those items.
    China has “broad prospects” for importing high-quality U.S. agricultural goods, Xinhua reported, citing unnamed authorities.
    “It is hoped that the U.S. will be true to its words and fulfill its promise to create favorable conditions for cooperation in agricultural areas between the two countries,” the report said.
    Before the announcement of additional tariff exemptions, Chinese firms bought at least 10 boatloads of U.S. soybeans on Thursday, the country’s most significant purchases since at least June.
    Lower-level U.S. and Chinese officials are expected to meet next week in Washington before talks between senior trade negotiators in early October.
    President Donald Trump said on Thursday he preferred a comprehensive trade deal with China but did not rule out the possibility of an interim pact.
(Reporting by Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Catherine Evans and Edmund Blair)

9/13/2019 European powers urge Iran to return to nuclear accord compliance
FILE PHOTO: Iran's national flags are seen on a square in Tehran February 10, 2012, a day
before the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl/File Photo
    PARIS (Reuters) – France, Britain and Germany, the European parties to Iran’s nuclear accord, on Friday expressed deep concern at Tehran’s violations of the 2015 deal and urged it to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
    “The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed in its report of Sept. 8 that advanced centrifuges had been installed or were being installed in Natanz. We are deeply concerned by these activities,” the European powers said in their first joint statement since an IAEA briefing earlier this week.
    “We continue to support the JCPoA (nuclear accord) and urge Iran to reverse its activities that violate its JCPoA commitments, and to refrain from all further action.”
    “We call on Iran to cooperate with the IAEA on all relevant matters.”
(Reporting by John Irish; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Laurence Frost)

9/13/2019 U.S. destroyer sails in disputed South China Sea amid trade talks
The USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer sits docked in
San Diego, California, April 12, 2015. REUTERS/Louis Nastro - TM3EB4M1B1L01
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Friday, the U.S. military said, a move likely to anger Beijing.
    The busy waterway is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-Chinese relationship, which include an escalating trade war, American sanctions on China’s military and U.S. relations with Taiwan.
    Commander Reann Mommsen, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet, told Reuters that the destroyer Wayne E. Meyer challenged territorial claims in the operation, including what she described as excessive Chinese claims around the Paracel Islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.
    “…China has attempted to claim more internal waters, territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, and continental shelf than it is entitled under international law,” Mommsen said.
    China’s defense and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    The United States on Thursday welcomed China’s renewed purchases of U.S. farm goods while maintaining the threat of U.S. tariff hikes as the world’s two largest economies prepared the ground for talks aimed at breaking the logjam in their trade war.
    China and the United States have traded barbs in the past over what Washington has said is Beijing’s militarisation of the South China Sea by building military installations on artificial islands and reefs in disputed waters.
    China’s claims in the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
    Beijing says its construction is necessary for self-defense and that the United States is responsible for increasing tensions by sending warships and military planes close to islands that Beijing claims.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali. Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Peter Graff)

9/14/2019 Afghan Taliban send team to Russia after U.S. talks collapse by Jibran Ahmad
FILE PHOTO: Afghan children look out from a broken window at the site of a blast in
Kabul, Afghanistan September 3, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/File Photo
    PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – The Taliban have sent a delegation to Russia to discuss prospects for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan following the collapse of talks with the United States this month, officials from the insurgent group said.
    The move, days after U.S. President Donald Trump canceled a planned meeting with Taliban leaders at his Camp David retreat, came as the movement looks to bolster regional support, with visits also planned for China, Iran and Central Asian states.
    “The purpose of these visits is to inform leaders of these countries about the peace talks and President Trump’s decision to call off the peace process at a time when both sides had resolved all outstanding issues and were about to sign a peace agreement,” said a senior Taliban leader in Qatar.
    Russia, which has hosted meetings between the Taliban and Afghan political and civil society representatives, said this week it hoped that the process could be put back on track and urged both sides to resume talks.
    “We are convinced that the complete end to foreign military presence is an inalienable condition of durable peace in Afghanistan,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
    However, it is unclear whether the talks can be resumed.
    The Taliban leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the purpose of the visits was not to try to revive negotiations with the United States but to assess regional support for forcing it to leave Afghanistan.
    U.S. and Taliban officials held months of talks in the Qatari capital of Doha and agreed a draft accord that would have seen some 5,000 U.S. troops withdrawn from Afghanistan in exchange for security guarantees from the Taliban.
    However, the deal, intended as a preliminary step to a wider peace agreement, faced heavy criticism from the Afghan government, which was shut out of the talks.    Many former senior U.S. officials who had worked in the region also warned a hasty withdrawal risked destabilizing the country and even plunging it back into a new round of civil war.
    The draft accord did not include a ceasefire agreement and with violence continuing, Trump announced the cancellation of the Camp David meeting via Twitter after a suicide bomb attack in Kabul killed at least 12 people including a U.S. soldier.
    He subsequently described the talks as dead and said U.S. forces would step up operations against the Taliban, who control more territory than at any time since they were ousted from power by a U.S.-led campaign in 2001.
(Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Robert Birsel)

9/14/2019 Hong Kong police break up scattered clashes between rival protesters by Clare Jim and Poppy McPherson
Anti-government protesters gather at Lion Rock, in Hong Kong, China September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Baton-wielding Hong Kong police moved in to break up scuffles on Saturday between pro-China protesters and those denouncing perceived Chinese meddling in the Asian financial hub, the latest in months of sometimes violent clashes.
    The pro-China demonstrators chanted “Support the police” and “China, add oil” at a shopping mall, adapting a line used by anti-Hong Kong government protesters and loosely meaning: “China, keep your strength up.”
    “Hong Kong is China,” one woman shouted at passersby who shouted obscenities in return in an angry pushing and pulling standoff, marked more by the shouting than violence.
    The clashes in the Kowloon Bay area of the Hong Kong “special administrative zone” of China spilled out onto the streets, with each confrontation captured by dozens of media and onlookers on their smart phones.    Police detained several people.
    But the unrest was minor compared with previous weeks when anti-government protesters have attacked the legislature and Liaison Office, the symbol of Chinese rule, trashed metro stations and set street fires.    Police have responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon.
    Protesters complaining about perceived Chinese interference in the former British colony came out in their hundreds across the territory on Friday, singing and chanting on the Mid-Autumn Festival.
    They have also gathered in malls, with occasional scuffles with flag-carrying China supporters, often denouncing police for perceived brutality.
SCUFFLES ELSEWHERE
    On Saturday, anti-government protesters also gathered in the northwestern New Territories district of Tin Shui Wai, with a brief standoff with police.    There were scattered scuffles between rival protesters elsewhere, including in the Fortress Hill area of Hong Kong island.
    “We need to keep coming out to tell the government to respond to our five demands, otherwise it will think we accept the withdrawal (of an extradition bill),” said protester Mandy, 26, in Tin Shui Wai, where crowds, a few waving the U.S. Stars and Stripes, shouted: “Liberate Hong Kong.”
    The spark for the anti-government protests was the now-withdrawn bill and concerns that Beijing is eroding civil liberties, but many young protesters are also angry about sky-high living costs and a lack of job prospects.
    Their four other demands are: retraction of the word “riot” to describe rallies, release of all detained demonstrators, an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality and the right for Hong Kong people to choose their own leaders.
    The extradition bill would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts, despite Hong Kong having its own much-cherished legal system.
    Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland.
    China says Hong Kong is now its internal affair.    It says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” arrangement and denies meddling.
    China is eager to quell the unrest before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1.    It has accused foreign powers, particularly the United States and Britain, of fomenting the unrest.
(Reporting by Twinnie Siu, Martin Pollard, Poppy McPherson, Amr Abdallah, Clare Jim and Jorge Silva; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Robert Birsel and Richard Borsuk)

9/14/2019 Afghan government says peace deal only possible after national elections by OAN Newsroom
    Afghanistan’s government said it will consider making a peace deal with insurgents only after the national elections, which are expected to take place this month.
    On Saturday, Afghan presidential spokesman Sediq Seddiqi said the legitimacy of peace in the country is not possible until the elections are held.
Presidential spokesman Sediq Seddiqi speaks during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. A U.S. envoy showed
the draft of a U.S.-Taliban agreement to Afghan leaders on Monday after declaring they were “at the threshold” of a deal to end
America’s longest war, officials said. Seddiqi told reporters the Afghan government likely would take a “couple of days” to study the deal
to make sure it addresses the government’s main goals of a lasting cease-fire and direct talks with the Taliban in the near future. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
    This comes after President Trump last week cancelled peace negotiations with the Taliban following the death of a U.S. soldier in a terrorist attack in Kabul.
    Despite this, Seddiqi said the new government will prioritize the negotiations.
    “After the elections, one of the main priorities of the government of Afghanistan, or the newly elected Afghan government by the people, would be to move forward with the peace process,” said Seddiqi.
    Seddiqi added the government plans to strengthen security across the country ahead of elections as the Taliban has previously threatened to target polling stations.

9/14/2019 Germany warns against early troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer attends a budget session at the lower house of
parliament (Bundestag) in Berlin, Germany, September 10, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
    BERLIN (Reuters) – A withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan could see the country falling back under the strict Islamic rule of the Taliban, German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said on Saturday.
    Kramp-Karrenbauer, who also heads Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and is seen as the chancellor’s most likely successor, said a pullout of foreign troops would be particularly tough for Afghan women.
    “I am worried that if we were to ditch our responsibility (in Afghanistan) we will face horrifying images of women being stoned and hanged and of girls not able to attend school and married off,” Kramp-Karrenbauer told a gathering of CDU women.
    U.S. President Donald Trump this month canceled a planned meeting with Taliban leaders at his Camp David retreat, dealing a blow to talks between his administration and the group aimed at ending the almost 18-year conflict.
    The United States had said it would withdraw almost 5,000 troops from Afghanistan and close five military bases under a draft agreement with the Taliban.
    Trump canceled the peace talks with Taliban leaders after the insurgents said they were behind an attack in Kabul that killed an American soldier and 11 other people.
    Germany has some 1,300 soldiers in Afghanistan.    Their parliament-approved mandate ends in March 2020.
    The United States has some 14,000 troops in the country, where the U.S. military has fought its longest ever war which started with a campaign to toppled the Taliban in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks on American soil.
    Trump has been putting pressure on Germany to meet a NATO-mandated military spending budget of 2% of economic output.
    Merkel said last month she was taking her government’s commitment to meet that goal seriously.
    Under current budget plans, Germany would spend just more than 1.4% of output on defense.
(Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Stephen Powell)

9/15/2019 Iran dismisses U.S. claim it was behind Saudi oil attacks, says ready for war by Rania El Gamal and Parisa Hafezi
Smoke is seen following a fire at Aramco facility in the eastern city of Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia, September 14, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran dismissed accusations by the United States that it was behind attacks on Saudi oil plants that disrupted world oil production and warned on Sunday that U.S. bases and aircraft carriers in the region were in range of its missiles.
    Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attacks that knocked out more than half of Saudi oil output.    But U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was no evidence the attacks came from Yemen and accused Iran of “an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.”
    Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi, speaking on state TV, dismissed the U.S. claim as “pointless.”    A senior Revolutionary Guards commander warned that the Islamic Republic was ready for “full-fledged” war and that U.S. military assets were within range of Iranian missiles.
    “Everybody should know that all American bases and their aircraft carriers in a distance of up to 2,000 kilometers around Iran are within the range of our missiles,” the head of the Revolutionary Guards Corps Aerospace Force Amirali Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
    State-run oil company Saudi Aramco said the strikes would cut output by 5.7 million barrels per day, or more than 5% of global crude supply, at a time when Aramco is gearing up for a stock market listing.
    Aramco gave no timeline for when output would resume but said early Sunday it would give a progress update in around 48 hours. A source close to the matter told Reuters the return to full oil capacity could take “weeks, not days.”
    The kingdom, the world’s top oil exporter, ships more than 7 million barrels of oil to global destinations every day, and for years has served as the supplier of last resort to markets.
    The United States said it was ready to tap its emergency oil reserves if needed after the attack on two oil plants, including the world’s biggest petroleum processing facility in Abqaiq.
    Saudi Arabia’s stock market opened down 2.3% on Sunday.    Saudi petrochemical companies, including Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC), announced a significant reduction in feedstock supplies.
    “Abqaiq is the nerve center of the Saudi energy system.    Even if exports resume in the next 24-48 hours, the image of invulnerability has been altered,” Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told Reuters.
    Saudi authorities have yet to directly blame any party for Saturday’s pre-dawn strikes, which they said involved drones, but the energy minister linked it to a series of attacks on Saudi oil assets and crude tankers in Gulf waters.
SAUDI READY TO ACT
    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was no evidence the attacks came from Yemen, where a Saudi-led military coalition has been battling the Houthis for over four years in a conflict widely seen as a proxy war between regional rivals Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran.
    Riyadh has accused Iran and its proxies of being behind previous attacks claimed by the Houthis on oil pumping stations and Shaybah oilfield, charges Tehran denies.
    Some Iraqi media outlets said the attack originated from Iraq, where Iran-backed paramilitary groups have wielded increasing power but Iraq denied this on Sunday and vowed to punish anyone who intended to use Iraq as a launchpad for attacks in the region.
    Regional tensions have escalated after Washington quit an international nuclear deal and extended sanctions on Iran to choke off its vital oil exports, a move supported by U.S. Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
    The attack comes after U.S. President Donald Trump said a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was possible at the United Nations General Assembly in New York later in September.    Tehran ruled out talks until sanctions are lifted.
    “Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply,” Pompeo said in a Twitter post on Saturday.
    Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Trump by telephone on Saturday that Riyadh was willing and able to deal with the “terrorist aggression.”
    Turkey, an ally of Iran, condemned the attack but called for avoiding “all sorts of provocative steps” that could damage regional security and stability, the foreign ministry said.
    A senior Emirati official said the UAE, Riyadh’s main partner in the Western-backed military coalition in Yemen, would fully support Saudi Arabia as the assault “targets us all.”
    The UAE, concerned about rising tensions with Iran and Western criticism of the Yemen war, in June scaled down its military presence, leaving Riyadh to try to neutralize the Houthis to prevent Iran from gaining influence along its border.
    The conflict has been in military stalemate for years. The alliance has air supremacy but has come under international scrutiny over civilian deaths and a humanitarian crisis that has seen Yemen pushed to the brink of famine.
    The Houthis, who have proved better at guerrilla warfare, have stepped up missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities, complicating U.N. peace efforts to end the war. Riyadh accuses Iran of arming Houthis, a charge both of them deny.
(Reporting by Rania El Gamal and Parisa Hafezi; Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar in Dubai; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

9/15/2019 Hong Kong police fire tear gas, water cannon at petrol-bomb throwing protesters by Jessie Pang and Alun John
Anti-government protesters set up a roadblock during a demonstration in Tin Shui Wai in
Hong Kong, China, September 14, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police fired water cannon and volleys of tear gas to break up protesters throwing petrol bombs near the Legislative Council building and inside the Central Government Offices on Sunday, the latest in weeks of sometimes violent unrest.
    Some protesters threw bricks at police outside the nearby Chinese People’s Liberation Army base in the Admiralty district of the city and tore down and set fire to a red banner proclaiming the 70th anniversary on Oct. 1 of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
    One water cannon caught fire after being hit by a petrol bomb.    The water cannon fired blue jets of water, used elsewhere in the world to help identify protesters later.
    “Radical protesters are currently occupying Harcourt Road in Admiralty, vandalizing Central Government Offices and repeatedly throwing petrol bombs inside,” police said in a statement.
    The Chinese-ruled territory has been rocked by more than three months of clashes, with demonstrators angry about what they see as creeping interference by Beijing in their city’s affairs despite a promise of autonomy.
    On July 1, the anniversary of the city’s 1997 return from Britain to China, protesters wearing hard hats, masks and black shirts laid siege to the Legislative Council building and swarmed inside.
    Violence has broken out on previous weekends with protesters trashing metro stations and setting fires in the streets.    The police have responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon.
    The spark for the protests was planned legislation, now withdrawn, that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial.
    The protests have since broadened into calls for universal suffrage.
    Earlier on Sunday, protesters gathered peacefully outside the British Consulate, calling on Britain to rein in China and ensure it respects the city’s freedoms.
    The Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed in 1984, lays out Hong Kong’s future after its return to China in 1997, a “one country, two systems” formula that ensures freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland.
    “Sino-British Joint Declaration is VOID,” one placard read in the protest outside the British Consulate.
    “SOS Hong Kong,” read another.
    “One country, two systems is dead,” protesters shouted in English under umbrellas shielding them from the sub-tropical sun, some carrying the colonial flag also bearing the Union Jack.    “Free Hong Kong.”
    China says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” arrangement, denies meddling and says the city is an internal Chinese issue.    It has accused foreign powers, particularly the United States and Britain, of fomenting the unrest and told them to mind their own business.
    Britain says it has a legal responsibility to ensure China abides by the 1984 declaration.
    Hong Kong island was granted to Britain “in perpetuity” in 1842 at the end of the First Opium War.    Kowloon, a peninsula on the mainland opposite Hong Kong island, joined later, after the Second Opium War.
    The colony was expanded to include the New Territories, to the north of Kowloon, on a 99-year lease, in 1898.
    Britain returned all of the territory to China, which never recognized the “unequal treaties,” in 1997.
    “The Joint Declaration is a legally binding treaty between the UK and China that remains as valid today as it was when it was signed and ratified over 30 years ago,” a British Foreign Office spokeswoman said in June.
    “As a co-signatory, the UK government will continue to defend our position.”
    But it was not immediately clear what Britain could or would want to do to defend that position.    It is pinning its hopes on closer trade and investment cooperation with China, which since 1997 has risen to become the world’s second-largest economy, after it leaves the European Union at the end of next month.
(Additional reporting by Twinnie Siu, Alun John, Jessie Pang, Jorge Silva and Farah Master; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Robert Birsel and Himani Sarkar)

9/15/2019 Hong Kong activist seeks U.S. support for pro-democracy protests by Gabriella Borter
Hong Kong's pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong poses during an interview at the Reuters New York
office in New York City, U.S., September 14, 2019. REUTERS/JEENAH MOON
(This September 14 story has been refiled to correct reference to “city-state” in paragraph four.)
    NEW YORK (Reuters) – Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong said on Saturday he was seeking the support of U.S. lawmakers for the demands of his fellow protesters who have led months of streets demonstrations, including a call for free elections.
    Wong, who spoke to Reuters in New York ahead of a planned visit to Washington, led Hong Kong’s pro-democracy “Umbrella Movement” in 2014.    The latest protests, which began over a now-withdrawn extradition bill but grew into demands for greater democracy and independence from mainland China, are mostly leaderless.
    “We hope … for bipartisan support,” Wong said of his trip to Washington, adding that U.S. lawmakers should demand the inclusion of a human rights clause in ongoing U.S.-China trade negotiations.
    He said he also hoped to convince members of Congress to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which would require an annual justification of the special treatment that for decades has been afforded to the Chinese-ruled city by Washington, including trade and business privileges.
    The bill would also mean that officials in China and Hong Kong who undermined the city’s autonomy could face sanctions.    Democratic U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer said earlier this month that it would be a priority for U.S. Senate Democrats in their new session, which started on Monday.
    Hong Kong returned to China from British rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland.
    China has accused foreign powers, especially the United States and Britain, of fueling the unrest.
    The latest protests, often involving violent clashes with police, have roiled Hong Kong for more than three months.    Millions of people have taken to the city’s streets, even shutting down its airport for two days.    Demonstrators’ demands include an independent inquiry into what they describe as police brutality and universal suffrage.
    There were clashes in the Kowloon Bay area on Saturday.    But the unrest was minor compared with previous weeks when protesters attacked the legislature and Liaison Office, the symbol of Chinese rule, trashed metro stations and set street fires.    Police have responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon.
    China is eager to quell the protests before the 70th anniversary on Oct. 1 of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The nation has not involved its military in efforts to quash the protests.
    Wong said the Hong Kong people would keep fighting for their cause through the anniversary.
    “We will continue our protest with our course on free elections,” he said.    “I see no reason for us to give up and it’s time for the world to stand with Hong Kong.”
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel Wallis)

9/15/2019 Exclusive: Australia concluded China was behind hack on parliament, political parties – sources? by Colin Packham
FILE PHOTO: A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this
illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo
    SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian intelligence determined China was responsible for a cyber-attack on its national parliament and three largest political parties before the general election in May, five people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
    Australia’s cyber intelligence agency – the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) – concluded in March that China’s Ministry of State Security was responsible for the attack, the five people with direct knowledge of the findings of the investigation told Reuters.
    The five sources declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.    Reuters has not reviewed the classified report.
    The report, which also included input from the Department of Foreign Affairs, recommended keeping the findings secret in order to avoid disrupting trade relations with Beijing, two of the people said.    The Australian government has not disclosed who it believes was behind the attack or any details of the report.
    In response to questions posed by Reuters, Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s office declined to comment on the attack, the report’s findings or whether Australia had privately raised the hack with China. The ASD also declined to comment.
    China’s Foreign Ministry denied involvement in any sort of hacking attacks and said the internet was full of theories that were hard to trace.
    “When investigating and determining the nature of online incidents there must be full proof of the facts, otherwise it’s just creating rumors and smearing others, pinning labels on people indiscriminately.    We would like to stress that China is also a victim of internet attacks,” the Ministry said in a statement sent to Reuters.
    “China hopes that Australia can meet China halfway, and do more to benefit mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries.”
    China is Australia’s largest trading partner, dominating the purchase of Australian iron ore, coal and agricultural goods, buying more than one-third of the country’s total exports and sending more than a million tourists and students there each year.
    Australian authorities felt there was a “very real prospect of damaging the economy” if it were to publicly accuse China over the attack, one of the people said.
UNHINDERED ACCESS
    Australia in February revealed hackers had breached the network of the Australian national parliament.    Morrison said at the time that the attack was “sophisticated” and probably carried out by a foreign government. He did not name any government suspected of being involved.
    When the hack was discovered, Australian lawmakers and their staff were told by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate to urgently change their passwords, according to a parliamentary statement at the time.
    The ASD investigation quickly established that the hackers had also accessed the networks of the ruling Liberal party, its coalition partner the rural-based Nationals, and the opposition Labor party, two of the sources said.
    The Labor Party did not respond to a request for comment. One person close to the party said it was informed of the findings, without providing details.
    The timing of the attack, three months ahead of Australia’s election, and coming after the cyber-attack on the U.S. Democratic Party ahead of the 2016 U.S. election, had raised concerns of election interference, but there was no indication that information gathered by the hackers was used in any way, one of the sources said.
    Morrison and his Liberal-National coalition defied polls to narrowly win the May election, a result Morrison described as a “miracle.”
    The attack on the political parties gave the perpetrators access to policy papers on topics such as tax and foreign policy, and private email correspondence between lawmakers, their staff and other citizens, two sources said.
    Independent members of parliament and other political parties were not affected, one of those sources said.
    Australian investigators found the attacker used code and techniques known to have been used by China in the past, according to the two sources.
    Australian intelligence also determined that the country’s political parties were a target of Beijing spying, they added, without specifying any other incidents.
    The people declined to specify how the attackers breached network security and said it was unclear when the attack had begun or how long the hackers had access to the networks.
    The attackers used sophisticated techniques to try to conceal their access and their identity, one of the people said, without providing details.
    The findings were also shared with at least two allies, the United States and the United Kingdom, said four people familiar with the investigation.
    The UK sent a small team of cyber experts to Canberra to help investigate the attack, three of those people said.
    The United States and the United Kingdom both declined to comment.
CHINA TIES
    Australia has in recent years intensified efforts to address China’s growing influence in Australia, policies that have seen trade with China suffer.
    For instance, in 2017, Canberra banned political donations from overseas and required lobbyists to register any links to foreign governments.    A year later, the ASD led Australia’s risk assessment of new 5G technology, which prompted Canberra to effectively ban Chinese telecoms firm Huawei from its nascent 5G network.
    While some U.S. officials and diplomats have welcomed such steps by Australia and praise the countries’ strong intelligence relationship, others have been frustrated by Australia’s reluctance to more publicly confront China, according to two U.S. diplomatic sources.
    On a visit to Sydney last month, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered thinly veiled criticism of Australia’s approach after Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Canberra would make decisions toward China in based on “our national interest.”
    Pompeo said countries could not separate trade and economic issues from national security.
    “You can sell your soul for a pile of soybeans, or you can protect your people,” he told reporters at a joint appearance with Payne in Sydney.
    Morrison’s office declined to comment on whether the United States had expressed any frustration at Australia for not publicly challenging China over the attack.    The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Colin Packham in SYDNEY; Additional reporting by Jack Stubbs and Guy Faulconbridge in LONDON, Christopher Bing in WASHINGTON and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Lincoln Feast and John Mair.)

9/16/2019 Hong Kong reopens after weekend of clashes, protests by Jessie Pang
FILE PHOTO: A general view of Victoria Harbour and downtown skyline is seen from the
Peak in Hong Kong, China August 4, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s businesses and metro stations reopened as usual on Monday after a chaotic Sunday when police fired water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who blocked roads and threw petrol bombs outside government headquarters.
    On Sunday what began as a mostly peaceful protest earlier in the day spiraled into violence in some of the Chinese territory’s busiest shopping and tourist districts.
    Thousands of anti-government protesters, many clad in black masks, caps and shades to obscure their identity, raced through the streets, engaging in cat-and-mouse tactics with police, setting street fires and blocking roads in the heart of Hong Kong where many key business districts are located.
    The demonstrations are the latest in nearly four months of sometimes violent protests. Protesters are furious over what they see as creeping interference by Beijing in Hong Kong’s affairs despite promises by Beijing to grant the city wide-ranging autonomy and freedoms denied in mainland China.
    Dozens of university students rallied peacefully on Monday afternoon urging authorities to listen to public demands.    Dressed in black, some of them donning face masks, students sang “Glory to Hong Kong” a song that has become a rallying cry for more democratic freedoms in the semi-autonomous Chinese hub.
    At Baptist University hundreds of students also marched to demand the university’s management offer support to a student reporter arrested on Sunday.
    The initial trigger for the protests was a contentious extradition bill, now withdrawn, that would have allowed people to be sent from Hong Kong to mainland China for trial.
    The protests have since broadened into other demands including universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into allegations of excessive force by the police.
    Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland – including a much-cherished independent legal system.
89 ARRESTS IN WEEKEND VIOLENCE
    Kung Lui, a third-year university student majoring in sociology, said the protests would continue until all five demands were met.    “The protests have revealed lots of social problems and proved that democracy and freedom are the core values of Hong Kong people.”
    Police on Monday said 89 people were arrested over the weekend after “radical protesters” attacked two police officers on Sunday evening, hurling petrol bombs, bricks, and threatening the safety of the officers.
    Nearly 1,500 people have been arrested since the protests started in June.
    Authorities moved quickly to douse the fires and police fired volleys of tear gas to disperse them, including in the bustling shopping and tourist district of Causeway Bay.
    At least 18 people were injured, three of them seriously, during Sunday’s violence, according to the Hospital Authority.
    The protests have weighed on the city’s economy as it faces its first recession in a decade, with tourist arrivals plunging 40 percent in August amid some disruptions at the city’s international airport.
    By Sunday evening, the running battles between anti-government protesters and police had evolved into street brawls between rival groups in the districts of Fortress Hill and North Point further east on Hong Kong island.    There, men in white T-shirts – believed to be pro-Beijing supporters and some wielding hammers, rods and knives – clashed with anti-government activists.
    On a street close to North Point, home to a large pro-Beijing community, a Reuters witness saw one man in a white T-shirt sprawled on the ground with head wounds.
    Hong Kong media reported that groups of pro-Beijing supporters had attacked journalists.
    Police eventually intervened and sealed off some roads to try to restore order, and they were seen taking away several men and women from an office run by a pro-Beijing association.
    Democratic lawmaker Ted Hui was arrested for allegedly obstructing police, according to his Democratic Party’s Facebook page, as he tried to mediate on the streets in North Point.
(Additional reporting by Twinnie Siu; Writing by Farah Master; and James Pomfret; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Mark Heinrich)

9/16/2019 Cambodia arrests more opposition activists over alleged plots
FILE PHOTO: Sam Rainsy, exiled former president of the dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP)
Sam Rainsy, poses on his terrace in Paris, France, July 19, 2018. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo
    PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Cambodian authorities arrested six political activists over the weekend for alleged plots to rally in support of former opposition politician Sam Rainsy if he returns from exile as planned in November, police said on Monday.
    The latest arrests bring to 26 the number of activists for the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) who have been detained this year.
    Critics have called Cambodia essentially a one-party state since the Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP in late 2017, months before elections last year in which longtime Prime Minister Hun Sen’s party won all of the seats in parliament.
    The European Union then warned that it may strip Cambodia of its “Everything but Arms” duty-free trading access.
    The CNRP leader, Kem Sokha, has been detained for two years, the past year under house arrest, while awaiting trial on charges of plotting to overthrow the government.
    CNRP founder Sam Rainsy has said he will return to Cambodia on Nov. 9, four years after fleeing to France following a conviction for criminal defamation in which he was ordered to pay $1 million in compensation.    He also faces a five-year prison sentence in a separate case.
    Cambodian police spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun said 26 CNRP activists had been arrested so far this year for alleged plans to hold demonstrations and prevent authorities arresting Rainsy.
    “From before to now, they all have plans to cause incitement against the royal government.    They polluted the situation, causing fears in society,” Kim Khoeun told Reuters.
    He said the detained suspects had also tried to pay people to oppose authorities if they attempt to arrest Rainsy.
    “As the latest, they also organised forces to go against court warrants and authorities, including recruiting people with payment,” Kim Khoeun said.    “There is enough evidence.”
    In a weekend statement, the CNRP said six of its activists had been arrested within the last two days without arrest warrants, calling these “unjust” and demanding immediate releases.
    “As the date of the return of CNRP leaders has been fixed, they intensify their actions,” said CNRP deputy president Mu Sochua. “The use of the judiciary to arbitrarily arrest and dig up old cases against the opposition has become a daily event.”
(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

9/16/2019 China’s slowdown deepens; industrial output growth falls to 17-1/2 year low by Kevin Yao and Stella Qiu
A worker welds a bicycle steel rim at a factory manufacturing sports equipment in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China September 2, 2019.
Picture taken September 2, 2019. China Daily via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. CHINA OUT. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
    BEIJING (Reuters) – The slowdown in China’s economy deepened in August, with growth in industrial production at its weakest 17-1/2 years amid spreading pain from a trade war with the United States and softening domestic demand.
    Retail sales and investment gauges worsened too, data released on Monday showed, reinforcing views that China is likely to cut some key interest rates this week for the first time in over three years to prevent a sharper slump in activity.
    Despite a slew of growth-boosting measures since last year, the world’s second-largest economy has yet to stabilize, and analysts say Beijing needs to roll out more stimulus to ward off a sharper slowdown.
    Industrial output growth unexpectedly weakened to 4.4% in August from the same period a year earlier, the slowest pace since February 2002 and receding from 4.8% in July. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a pick-up to 5.2%.
    In particular, the value of delivered industrial exports fell 4.3% on-year, the first monthly decline since at least two years, Reuters records showed, reflecting the toll that the escalating Sino-U.S. trade war is taking on Chinese manufacturers.
    The protracted trade war escalated dramatically last month, with President Donald Trump announcing new tariffs on Chinese goods from Sept. 1, and China letting its yuan currency sharply weaken days later.
    After Beijing hit back with retaliatory tariffs, Trump said existing levies would also be raised in coming months, in October and December.
    While the two sides are set to resume face-to-face negotiations in early October, most analysts do not expect a durable trade deal, or even a significant de-escalation, any time soon.
    Premier Li Keqiang said in an interview published ahead of the data on Monday that it was “very difficult” for the economy to grow at 6% or more and that it faced “downward pressure.”
    Traders expect a cut in the central bank’s medium-term loan facility rate (MLF) as early as Tuesday, which would open the way for a reduction in the new loan prime benchmark rate (LPR) later in the week.
    Several analysts said in recent weeks that China’s economic growth was already testing the lower end of Beijing’s full-year target of around 6-6.5%, which is likely to spur more policy easing.    Second-quarter growth cooled to 6.2%, the weakest in nearly 30 years.
    “The key downside risk is the authorities not stepping up policy support sufficiently,” said Louis Kuijs, Head of Asia Economics at Oxford Economics.
    Room for stimulus is believed to be limited by worries about rising debt risks, with policy easing by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) expected to be more restrained than the U.S. Federal Reserve or European Central Bank.
    Ting Lu, Chief China Economist at Nomura wrote in a note after the data release that a cut in the MLF rate by around 10 basis points on Tuesday had become more likely.
OTHER DATA ALSO MISSES EXPECTATIONS
    Nomura’s Lu expected September’s industrial output to be further hampered by an anti-pollution campaign ahead of and during a key anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1.
    The gloomy August activity data added to signs of broad-based economic weakness, following soft trade and credit reports last week.
    Retail sales missed expectations, with growth easing to 7.5%, from 7.6% in July. Analysts had forecast a slight rebound to 7.9%.
    Auto sales have slumped all year, prompting the statistics bureau to recently start reporting a new reading on consumption. Stripping out vehicles, retail sales rose 9.3% on-year.
    Fixed-asset investment also disappointed.    It rose 5.5% for the first eight months of the year from the same period in 2018, down from Jan-July’s 5.7%.    Analysts had expected 5.6%.
    Industrial investment appeared to be the main drag as investment growth in the mining and the manufacturing sectors eased off in the first eight months.    But infrastructure investment – a key driver of growth – picked up to 4.2% in the first eight months this year, from 3.8% in January-July period.
    The real estate sector also held up in August to remain one of the few bright spots, with property investment growing at its fastest pace in four months as sales accelerated to the highest in over a year.
    Analysts have been puzzled by slow construction growth earlier in the year, with some citing deteriorating local government finances.    China’s state planner last month announced it will ease capital requirements for infrastructure projects in the second half this year.
    Data out last week showed producer prices falling at their fastest pace in three years.
    That followed a factory survey that showed activity shrank for the fourth straight month as the trade war wore on.
    Earlier this month, the PBOC cut the amount of cash banks are required to hold in reserve for the seventh time since early last year in order to increase funds available for lending.
    “The PBOC’s RRR cuts alone are insufficient to secure growth above 6.0% this year,” said analysts at ANZ.    “In order to guide financing costs lower, the People’s Bank of China will need to cut the open market operation (OMO) rate or medium term lending facility (MLF) rate in the fourth quarter, in our view.”
(Reporting by Huizhong Wu, Kevin Yao and Stella Qiu, Cheng Leng, Editing by Sam Holmes, Kim Coghill & Simon Cameron-Moore)

9/16/2019 China signals veto in stand-off with U.S. over Afghanistan U.N. mission: diplomats by Michelle Nichols
FILE PHOTO: Chinese and U.S. flags flutter near The Bund, before U.S. trade delegation meet their Chinese
counterparts for talks in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo/File Photo
    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – China and the United States are deadlocked over a U.N. Security Council resolution to extend the world body’s political mission in Afghanistan, with Beijing signaling it will cast a veto because there is no reference to its global Belt and Road infrastructure project, diplomats said on Monday.     The 15-member Security Council is due to vote later on Monday to renew the mandate for the mission, known as UNAMA, which expires on Tuesday.    To pass, a resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, China, France, Russia and Britain. Some diplomats said China was expected to veto a resolution – drafted by Germany and Indonesia – that does not reference the Belt and Road project.    China’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.     China is then planning to propose a vote on a short draft resolution, known as a technical roll over, to allow the mission to continue operating, diplomats said, but added that it could fail to get the nine votes needed to pass because several council members were considering abstaining.
    The U.N. mission, which was established in 2002, is helping Afghanistan prepare for Sept. 28 elections and is pushing for peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
    Talks between the United States and the Taliban on a U.S. troop withdrawal fell apart earlier this month.    There are currently 14,000 U.S. forces and thousands of other NATO troops in the country, 18 years after a U.S.-led coalition invaded following the Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacks on the U.S.
    The UNAMA mandate is renewed annually by the U.N. Security Council.    The resolutions in 2016, 2017 and 2018 all included a reference welcoming and urging efforts like China’s Belt and Road initiative to facilitate trade and transit.
    But when it came time to extend the mandate again in March the United States and other western council members wanted the language removed, sparking a stand-off with China. The council ended up adopting a six-month technical roll over to allow the mission to keep operating.
    At the time, acting U.S. Ambassador Jonathan Cohen slammed China for holding “the resolution hostage” by insisting “on making it about Chinese national political priorities rather than the people of Afghanistan.”
    He criticized Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative – to link China by sea and land through an infrastructure network with southeast and central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa – for “known problems with corruption, debt distress, environmental damage, and lack of transparency.”
    At a Security Council meeting on Afghanistan last week, Cohen referenced the continuing impasse with China.
    “We strongly believe this mandate is too important at this moment to have one Security Council member deny consensus for reasons having nothing to do with UNAMA,” Cohen said.
    Chinese U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun did not specifically mention the negotiations on the UNAMA resolution, but said Beijing was working with Afghanistan to advance “the Belt and Road construction to actively support the Afghan rebuilding and its reintegration into the regional economic development.”
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

9/16/2019 Taiwan says China meddling with elections after Solomon Islands cuts ties by Yimou Lee
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during her visit in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 13, 2019. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan accused China on Monday of trying to influence its presidential and legislative elections after the Solomon Islands cut off ties with Taipei.
    The Solomon Islands was the sixth country to switch allegiance to China since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in Taiwan in 2016.    Its decision on Monday dealt her a new blow in her struggle to secure re-election in January amid criticism of her handling of Beijing and rising tension with China.
    Self-ruled Taiwan now has formal relations with only 16 countries, many of them small, less developed nations in Central America and the Pacific, including Belize and Nauru.
    China claims Taiwan as its territory and says it has no right to formal ties with any nation.
    Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Tsai said Taiwan would not bow to Chinese pressure, describing the Solomon Islands’ decision as new evidence that Beijing is trying to meddle in the January elections.
    “Over the past few years, China has continually used financial and political pressure to suppress Taiwan’s international space,” Tsai said, calling the Chinese move “a brazen challenge and detriment to the international order.”
    “I want to emphasize that Taiwan will not engage in dollar diplomacy with China in order to satisfy unreasonable demands,” she said.
    China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    Taiwan’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu, said Taipei would immediately close its embassy in the Solomon Islands and recall all its diplomats.
    “The Chinese government attacked Taiwan purposely before our presidential and legislative elections, obviously aiming to meddle with the voting.    The government strongly condemns this and urges people to hold on to its sovereignty and the value of freedom and democracy,” said Wu, whose resignation was rejected by Tsai.
    “Taiwan has never bowed to pressure from one single setback, and it won’t be defeated by this blow,” Wu said, urging support from allies in the region to defend Taiwan’s freedom and democracy.
“AT ANY COST”
    China has been trying to secure allies from Taiwan, and Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic, Sao Tome and Principe, Panama and El Salvador had already cut off ties with Taipei.
    Beijing has stepped up pressure to squeeze the island, which have included regular Chinese bomber patrols around Taiwan, since Tsai took office.    China suspects Tsai of pushing for Taiwan’s formal independence, a red line for Beijing.
    Tsai said the Chinese move could be an “attempt to divert attention” from months of protests in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, and that China was forcing Taiwan to accept a formula similar to Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” arrangement, which guarantees certain freedoms.
    “I am confident that the 23 million people of Taiwan have this to say in response: not a chance.”
    A senior official familiar with Taiwan’s security planning told Reuters Beijing had issued an “urgent order” to secure the Solomon Islands’ allegiance “at any cost” on Sunday night, and called it a move to distract domestic attention from the Hong Kong issue before the 70th anniversary of the founding of Communist China on Oct. 1.
    The protests in Hong Kong pose the biggest challenge for Communist Party rulers in Beijing since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012.
    The source said the rupture in ties had prompted expressions of concern from countries including the United States, Australia and New Zealand, who had been involved in efforts to help Taiwan secure ties with the Solomon Islands.
    The Solomon Islands’ decision followed a months-long review of the pros and cons of a switch to Beijing, which was offering $8.5 million in development funds to replace support from Taiwan.
    In a cabinet vote on Monday, there were 27 votes to shift ties and six abstentions, creating an “overwhelming” majority, a Solomon Islands member of parliament told Reuters.    The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to questions.
(Reporting By Yimou Lee; additional reporting by Ben Blencher in BEIJING and Jonathan Barrett in SYDNEY; Editing by Timothy Heritage)

9/16/2019 Opening of Sri Lanka’s tallest tower marred by corruption allegation by Shihar Aneez
The Lotus Tower, the tallest tower in South Asia in shape of a 356-meter lotus and built with Chinese funding, is seen during
its launching ceremony in Colombo, Sri Lanka September 16, 2019. Picture taken through a window. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte
    COLOMBO (Reuters) – The grand opening of Sri Lanka’s tallest tower was mired in controversy on Monday when President Maithripala Sirisena said one of the Chinese firms contracted to work on the project had disappeared with $11 million of state funds.
    Sirisena made the allegation at the launch ceremony of the China-financed Lotus Tower, a 356.3-metre (1,169 ft) construction in the shape of a lotus bud featuring a revolving restaurant, conference hall and observation area.
    The Chinese embassy in Colombo did not respond to requests for comment.
    The tower, overlooking Beira Lake in central Colombo, is expected to become a major tourism attraction.
    Sirisena said that in 2012, under his predecessor former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the state-run Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) had deposited 2 billion rupees ($11.09 million) with Aerospace Long-March International Trade Co. Ltd (ALIT), a Chinese firm chosen as one of the main contractors.
    “In 2016, we found ALIT had disappeared.    We investigated into this and the Sri Lankan ambassador in Beijing went to the address of ALIT personally on my instruction to find there was no such company,” Sirisena said in a speech.
    “This is the money we could have spent for development of this country, for education, and medicines of patients.”
    Sirisena’s audience at the opening ceremony included Chinese envoy to Colombo Cheng Xueyuan.    It was not possible to approach the Cheng at the ceremony for comment and officials at China’s embassy in the Sri Lankan capital did not respond to text and WhatsApp messages.
    It was not immediately possible to contact ALIT via phone or email.
    Sirisena had suspended most of the Chinese-backed infrastructure projects started under Rajapaksa when he came to power in 2015 over allegations of corruption, overpricing and flouting government procedures.
    But more than a year later, the Sirisena government allowed Chinese projects to resume after a few changes in some of them.
    China’s Exim Bank in 2012 agreed to lend 80% of the total investment of $104.3 million in the Lotus Tower, with the rest to be met by TRC.
    TRC in a statement said Chinese firms China National Electronics Import & Export Corporation (CEIEC) and Aerospace Long-March International Trade Co. Ltd (ALIT) were chosen as the main contractors.
    Sirisena said the government had started repayment of the loans made, but more funds were needed to complete the project.
    Chinese investment has become controversial in Sri Lanka, which is struggling with expensive external debt and where growth is expected to slump to its worst level since a contraction in 2001.    Tourism, the country’s third largest foreign currency earner and fastest growing sector, was also hit hard by Islamist militants attack in April.
    Sirisena’s Lotus Tower allegation also comes ahead of a presidential election later this year.
    Political sources close to Sirisena and Rajapaksa have said talks between the president’s center-left Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) for a coalition deal have broken down.
(Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Euan Rocha and Alex Richardson)

9/16/2019 Indian pilgrim corridor to Pakistan Sikh temple planned for November opening by Mubasher Bukhari
A view shows the supplies of marble slabs for flooring at the construction site of the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, which will
be open this year for Indian Sikh pilgrims, in Kartarpur, Pakistan September 16, 2019. REUTERS/Mohsin Raza
    KARTARPUR, Pakistan (Reuters) – A corridor for Indian Sikh pilgrims traveling to a holy temple in Pakistan will open in November, in time for one of the religion’s most sacred festivals.
    The visa-free border crossing from India to Kartarpur, Pakistan will be inaugurated on Nov. 9, just ahead of the 550th birthday of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak on Nov. 12, Pakistani project director Atif Majeed said on Monday.
    The project is a rare recent example of cooperation between the nuclear powers, who came close to war in February following a militant attack on police in Indian-controlled Kashmir.    India revoked the special status of its portion of the disputed territory last month, inflaming relations once again.
    The Sikh minority community in India’s northern state of Punjab and elsewhere has long sought easier access to the temple in Kartarpur, a village just over the border in Muslim-majority Pakistan.    The temple marks the site where the guru died.
    To get there, travelers currently must first secure hard-to-get visas, travel to Lahore or another major Pakistani city and then drive to the village, which is just 4 km (2-1/2 miles) from the Indian border.
    Indian pilgrims will pay Pakistan $20 to use the corridor, which includes roadways, an 800-metre bridge over the Ravi River and an immigration office.
    Up to 5,000 Indians will be allowed access daily, with plans to eventually double capacity, Majeed said.
    Costs of the corridor were not released.
    Many Sikhs see Pakistan as the place where their religion began.    Its founder, Guru Nanak, was born in 1469 in a small village near the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore.
(Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Kartarpur, Pakistan; Writing by Rod Nickel in Islamabad; Editing by Alex Richardson)

9/16/2019 Moody’s downgrades Hong Kong outlook to ‘negative’ as protests continue
FILE PHOTO: Anti-government protesters attend a demonstration near Central Government
Complex in Hong Kong, China, September 15, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Credit rating agency Moody’s changed its outlook on Hong Kong’s rating to negative from stable on Monday, reflecting what it called the rising risk of “an erosion in the strength of Hong Kong’s institutions” amid the city’s ongoing protests.
    The move follows Fitch Ratings’ downgrade earlier this month on Hong Kong’s long-term foreign-currency-issuer default rating to “AA” from “AA+.”
    “Moody’s has previously noted that a downgrade could be triggered by a shift in the current equilibrium between the SAR’s (Special Administrative Region’s) economic proximity to and legal and regulatory distance from China,” Moody’s said in a statement.
    “The decision to change Hong Kong’s outlook to negative signals rising concern that this shift is happening, notwithstanding recent moves by Hong Kong’s government to accommodate some of the demonstrators’ demands.”
    Hong Kong’s financial secretary Paul Chan said the city’s government disagrees with Moody’s assessment and that the inference is “not founded on facts.”
    “In spite of the concern over the recent social incidents, Hong Kong’s financial markets and its banking system have been functioning normally in the past few months.    The Linked Exchange Rate System has been operating smoothly.    Banks remain well capitalized with ample liquidity,” he said in a statement.
    The institutional features that grant Hong Kong greater political and economic autonomy — together with the city’s intrinsic credit strengths — accounted for Hong Kong’s higher rating than China, the agency said.
    On Sunday, what began as a mostly peaceful protest descended into violence in some of the Chinese territory’s busiest shopping and tourist districts.    The demonstrations were the latest in over three months of sometimes violent protests.
    Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, told a group of businessmen in late August that her “political room for maneuvering is very, very, very limited," because the unrest has become a national security and sovereignty issue for China.
    The longer the standoff continues, the greater the risk that Hong Kong’s attractiveness as a global economic and financial center would be diminished, Moody’s said.    Dwindling capacity for the government to implement certain policies could “undermine key drivers of its competitiveness and macroeconomic stability.”
    Moody’s affirmed HK’s Aa2 rating, however, citing “strong fiscal and external buffers, with a minimal government debt burden, large fiscal reserves and ample foreign exchange reserves.”
    It said it would “likely downgrade Hong Kong’s rating” if it concluded the protests, or measures taken by the Hong Kong government to resolve them, were likely to damage Hong Kong’s medium-term economic prospects, or “signify an erosion in the predictability and effectiveness of its governing, judicial and policymaking institutions.”
    Gary Ng, an economist at Natixis in Hong Kong, said the rating action by the rating agencies was an early indicator and warning signal.
    “I don’t think there will be aggressive markets in the short run.    The impact will come in the medium term.    Some quasi-government agencies may need to pay higher funding costs should the third credit rating agency (S&P) downgrade Hong Kong.”
    The Hong Kong dollar was little changed at 7.8201 per U.S. dollar.    The currency is pegged to the dollar at a tight range of 7.75-7.85.
(Reporting by Clare Jim and Noah Sin; editing by Larry King and Chris Reese)

9/16/2019 Tehran rejects meeting with U.S. on sidelines of UN General Assembly by OAN Newsroom
    Iran has rejected a potential meeting with President Trump ahead of the UN General Assembly this week.    On Monday, the country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Seyyed Abbas Mousavi, announced that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will not meet with President Trump in New York on the sidelines of the conference.
    The official said “such a meeting is not on the agenda nor will it happen.”    Tehran has long-rejected holding talks with Washington, while the country remains subject to U.S. sanctions.
In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani
heads a cabinet meeting in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
    “We have declared before that if the U.S. abandons its economic terrorism, if they reduce their pressure on the nation of Iran, and if they return to the nuclear deal there will be the possibility for them to take their place at a summit where the JCPOA-country parties attend,” stated Mousavi.
    This comes just one day after the White House reportedly left open the possibility of negotiations with the Iranian regime.    However, President Trump took to Twitter to clear up confusion about the conditions surrounding possible talks.
    Trump tweet: “The Fake News is saying that I am willing to meet with Iran, “No Conditions.”    That is an incorrect statement (as usual!).”

9/17/2019 Iran’s Khamenei rejects talks with United States by Parisa Hafezi
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gives a speech to a group of scholars and seminary students
of religious sciences in Tehran, Iran September 17, 2019. Official Khamenei website/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran will never hold one-on-one talks with the United States but could engage in multilateral discussions if it returns to the 2015 deal on Iran’s nuclear program, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday, according to state television.
    U.S. President Donald Trump has said he could meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, possibly at the U.N. General Assembly in New York later this month.     “Iranian officials, at any level, will never talk to American officials … this is part of their policy to put pressure on Iran … their policy of maximum pressure will fail,” state television quoted Khamenei as saying.
    Khamenei said Iran’s clerical rulers were in agreement on this: “All officials in Iran unanimously believe it."
    “If America changes its behavior and returns to (Iran’s 2015) nuclear deal, then it can join multilateral talks between Iran and other parties to the deal,” Khamenei said.
    Trump has stepped up sanctions against Iran since last year when he withdrew from the nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers and reimposed sanctions that were lifted under the deal in return for Iran curbing its nuclear program.
    In retaliation for the U.S. “maximum pressure” policy, Iran has gradually scaled backed its commitments to the pact and plans to further breach it if the European parties fail to keep their promises to shield Iran’s economy from U.S. penalties.
    “If we yield to their pressure and hold talks with Americans … This will show that their maximum pressure on Iran has succeeded.    They should know that this policy has no value for us,” said Khamenei, who has the last say on all state matters.
    Tensions between Tehran and Washington have spiked following a weekend attack on major oil sites in Saudi Arabia that sent oil prices soaring and raised fears of a new Middle East conflict.
    Trump said on Monday it looked like Iran was behind the attacks but stressed he did not want to go to war. Iran has denied any involvement.
    Iran’s regional rival, Saudi Arabia, said the attacks were carried out with Iranian weapons and it was capable of responding forcefully.
    Saudi Arabia urged U.N. experts to help investigate the raid.
(Additional reporting by Asma Alsharif; Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Robert Birsel)

9/17/2019 Hong Kong leader to hold dialogue aimed at easing tensions by Clare Jim
Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam attends a news conference in Hong Kong, China September 17, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, said on Tuesday she and her team would begin dialogue sessions with the community next week, while reiterating that violence that has roiled the city over three months of protests must end.
    Lam, who is under pressure from Beijing to defuse the public anger stirring the protests, said the dialogue sessions would be as open as possible, with members of the public able to sign up to attend.
    “Hong Kong society has really accumulated a lot of deep rooted economic, social and even political issues, I hope these different forms of dialogue can provide a platform for us to discuss,” Lam told reporters at a weekly briefing.
    She said the issues included housing and land shortages in one of the world’s most densely populated cities of 7.4 million.    Young people are particularly frustrated by the high cost of finding a place of their own to live.
    “But I have to stress here, dialogue platform doesn’t mean we don’t have to take resolute enforcement actions.    Suppressing the violence in front of us is still the priority,” she said.
    The former British colony has been roiled by nearly four months of sometimes violent protests.
    The trigger for the unrest was an extradition bill, now withdrawn, that would have allowed people to be sent from Hong Kong to mainland China for trial.
    But the demonstrators’ demands have broadened to include universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into their complaints of excessive force by the police.
    Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland – including a much-cherished independent legal system.
    But many residents complain about what they see as creeping interference by Beijing in Hong Kong’s affairs despite the promise of autonomy.
    Lam, who has been a focus of protesters’ anger, capitulated to one of their main demands on Sept. 4, announcing the full withdrawal of the extradition bill.
    But some said that was too little, too late, and the protests have continued.
‘EROSION’
    Police on Monday said 89 people were arrested over the weekend after “radical protesters” attacked two police officers on Sunday evening, hurling petrol bombs and bricks.
    Brawls also broke out between anti-government protesters and others who support Beijing.
    Nearly 1,500 people have been arrested since the protests intensified in June.
    The turmoil is beginning to hit the economy of the financial hub.
    Credit rating agency Moody’s changed its outlook on Hong Kong’s rating to negative from stable on Monday, reflecting what it called the rising risk of “an erosion in the strength of Hong Kong’s institutions.”
    The institutional features that grant Hong Kong greater political and economic autonomy — together with the city’s intrinsic credit strengths — accounted for its higher rating than China, the agency said.
    Lam said the Moody’s decision disappointing.
    “We do not concur, especially if the justification for that sort of change in outlook is premised on whether we’re still upholding ‘one country two systems’,” she said.
    China also says it is committed to “one country two systems” and it denies meddling in Hong Kong while stressing it is an internal Chinese issue.
    China has accused foreign powers, particularly the United States and Britain, of fomenting the unrest and told them to mind their own business.
(Reporting by Donny Kwok and Farah Master; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Robert Birsel)

9/17/2019 Taliban attacks kill 48, Afghan leader unhurt as bomber targets rally
Security personnel is seen at the site of a blast near an election rally by President Ashraf Ghani in
Parwan province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan September 17, 2019. Reuters TV via REUTERS
    KABUL (Reuters) – Taliban suicide bombers killed 48 people in two separate attacks in Afghanistan on Tuesday, the deadliest taking place near an election rally by President Ashraf Ghani, though he was unhurt.
    The attacks happened 11 days before Afghanistan’s presidential election, which Taliban commanders have vowed to violently disrupt, and follow collapsed peace talks between the United States and the insurgent group.
    Ghani, who is seeking a second five-year term in voting on Sept. 28, was due to address a rally in Charikar, the capital of central Parwan province, when a suicide bomber attacked the gathering.
    The blast killed 26 people and wounded 42, said Nasrat Rahimi, spokesman for the interior ministry.
    “When the people were entering the police camp, an old man riding a motorcycle arrived on the highway and detonated his explosives, causing casualties,” said Parwan province’s police chief Mohammad Mahfooz Walizada.
    In the wake of the attack, bodies littered the dusty ground as smoke rose from the site of the explosion, a giant blue billboard bearing the face of Ghani’s running mate Amrullah Saleh looming over the scene.
    With sirens wailing, rescuers rushed to lift the wounded into the backs of pick-up trucks for evacuation.
    “Women and children are among them and most of the victims seem to be the civilians,” said Abdul Qasim Sangin, head of Parwan’s provincial hospital.
    The president was nearby but unharmed, and later took to Twitter to condemn the bombing at the rally.
    “Taliban tried to break this unity by targeting innocent civilians,” he wrote.    “They shamelessly accepted responsibility at a time when they’re cloaking acts of terror as efforts for peace.”
“PEOPLE WERE GIVEN WARNING”
    In a separate incident, a man on foot blew himself up in the center of the capital Kabul, sending ambulances and Afghan forces rushing to the blast site.
    “I was waiting at the entrance of the recruitment center,” said Mustafa Ghiasi, lying on a hospital bed after being wounded in the explosion.    “I was behind two men in line when suddenly the blast struck.”
    Twenty-two people were killed, and 38 were wounded, said Rahimi, the interior ministry spokesman.    Most of the dead were civilians, including women and children, though six were security force members.
    The Taliban said it carried out the two attacks, and a statement issued by a spokesman for the insurgents said they were aimed at security forces.
    “People were given warning,” the statement said.
    “Do not take part in the puppet administration’s election rallies, because all such gatherings are our military target,” said the statement.    “If, despite the warning, someone get hurt, they themselves are to blame.”
    Addressing the Kabul attack, Afghanistan’s president lashed out at the Taliban as the “coward enemy” for targeting civilians.
    “I offer my heartfelt condolences to victims of today’s tragedies in Kabul and Parwan and pray for speedy recovery of those who were wounded,” Ghani wrote on his official Twitter account.    “We stand united in this hour of grief.”
    Pakistan, which denies accusations that it shelters the Taliban, also condemned the attack.
    “We offer our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families,” it said in a statement.
    Security at rallies across the country has been tight following threats by the Taliban to attack meetings and polling stations.    The group has vowed to intensify clashes with Afghan and foreign forces to dissuade people from voting in the upcoming elections.
    Last week, peace talks between the United States and the Taliban collapsed.    The two sides had been seeking to reach an accord on the withdrawal of thousands of American troops from Afghanistan in exchange for security guarantees from the insurgents.
    The negotiations, which did not include the Afghan government, were intended as a prelude to wider peace negotiations to end more than more 40 years of war in Afghanistan.
(Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi, Hameed Farzad, Hamid Shalizi; Writing by Paul Carsten; Editing by William Maclean and Alex Richardson)

9/17/2019 Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to hold talks with public by OAN Newsroom
    Hong Kong’s chief executive said the government will begin holding talks with the public in an effort to ease tensions in the     At a press conference Tuesday, Carrie Lam said her team will be launching open dialogue discussions with members of the public as soon as next week.
    The meetings will be held several times, will reportedly include up to 200 participants, and will touch on multiple subjects.    This comes as the city has been plagued by political unrest for nearly three months.
    The chief executive went on to condemn vandalism and violence, and called on the protesters to express their views in a peaceful manner.
An anti-government protester throws a Molotov cocktail during a demonstration near Central Government Complex in Hong Kong, Sunday, Sept.
15, 2019. Police fired a water cannon and tear gas at protesters who lobbed Molotov cocktails outside the Hong Kong government office complex
Sunday, as violence flared anew after thousands of pro-democracy supporters marched through downtown in defiance of a police ban. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
    “We are holding the first session next week and this is an open dialogue platform, which we will invite people from all walks of life to come to express their views to us,” stated Lam.    “This is because of our conviction that communication is far better than confrontation.”
    More than 1,400 people have been arrested since the demonstrations first erupted in June over a controversial extradition bill.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks to reporters during a press conference at the government building
in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019. Lam said the government asked international public relations firms to help
restore the city’s reputation, battered by months of pro-democracy protests, but was rejected. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

9/18/2019 Afghanistan’s Taliban tells teachers, students to block presidential elections or risk death by Abdul Qadir Sediqi
FILE PHOTO: Members of a Taliban delegation, led by chief negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (C, front), leave after
peace talks with Afghan senior politicians in Moscow, Russia May 30, 2019. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo
    KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgent group on Wednesday warned teachers, students and other education workers to avoid the upcoming presidential vote or risk dying in attacks on election centers.
    “Do not allow election organizers to turn your schools and institutions into electoral centers, and teachers and students should not work as electoral staff,” said the Taliban statement.
    “We do not want to cause the loss of lives and financial losses for civilians, teachers and students,” it said.
    In 10 days, Afghanistan will hold its fourth presidential election since United States-led forces toppled the hardline Islamist Taliban from power in 2001.    The insurgents have sworn to violently disrupt the vote, which comes in the aftermath of collapsed peace talks between the militants and the United States.
    Schools and universities make up between seven and eight out of every ten polling centers across the country, and though no students, teachers or education officials are being hired as election workers, they can volunteer, said Abdul Aziz Ibrahimi, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s election commission.
    “We are committed to holding elections on the announced date, and such threats from the Taliban cannot prevent us from holding them,” the spokesman said.
    The Ministry of Education was not immediately available for comment, but the United Nations and international donors have asked it to help with elections because of its relatively developed infrastructure.
    On Tuesday, Taliban attackers killed nearly 50 people in separate suicide bombings, one targeting an election rally for incumbent President Ashraf Ghani, who is seeking a second five-year term.
    Security across the country has been tight in the run-up to the vote, after threats by the Taliban to attack meetings and polling stations.    The group has vowed to intensify clashes with Afghan and foreign forces to dissuade people from voting in the upcoming elections.
    Last week, peace talks between the United States and the Taliban collapsed. The two sides had been seeking to reach an accord on the withdrawal of thousands of American troops from Afghanistan in exchange for security guarantees from the insurgents.
    The negotiations, which did not include the Afghan government, were intended as a prelude to wider peace negotiations to end more than more 40 years of war in Afghanistan.
(Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Orooj Hakimi; Writing by Paul Carsten; Editing by Toby Chopra)

9/18/2019 Afghan president sees his chance after collapse of U.S.-Taliban talks by Hamid Shalizi
FILE PHOTO: Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani gestures during his election campaign
rally in Kabul, Afghanistan September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/File Photo
    KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had no more than 20 minutes to study a draft accord between the United States and the Taliban on pulling thousands of U.S. troops out of his country, but upcoming elections could put him back at the heart of talks to end decades of war.
    What he read in the draft outlining the now collapsed deal left Ghani and his officials – who were shut out of the talks by the Taliban refusal to negotiate with what they considered an illegitimate “puppet” regime – badly shaken and resentful, said a senior Kabul official close to the Afghan leader.
    “Doesn’t this look like surrender to the Taliban?” Ghani asked Zalmay Khalilzad, the veteran Afghan-born diplomat who led negotiations for Washington, at a meeting the two held immediately afterwards, according to the source who was present.
    The Islamist militant group that ruled Afghanistan for five years has killed thousands of Afghan soldiers and civilians since it was toppled by U.S.-led forces in 2001, and the attacks have continued throughout its negotiations with Washington.
    In response to Ghani’s doubts, the Afghan official said Khalilzad replied: “This is the best deal we will ever have.”
    The U.S. State Department declined to comment on the meeting. Khalilzad was unavailable for comment.
    It was not the Afghan government’s misgivings that sank the deal – U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly canceled secret talks with the Taliban at his Camp David retreat that were planned for Sept. 8 and has since said the talks are “dead.”
    But for the Afghan government, that may be an opportunity get back in the game and shape the future direction of the peace process.
    A presidential election, which the Taliban and even many Western officials had wanted to cancel to focus on sealing the peace accord, is now expected to go ahead on Sept. 28.    Ghani is favorite to win, leaving him well-placed to claim a popular mandate to set the terms of any new agreement with the Taliban.
    “Now, the management of the peace process, its planning and implementation is the sole duty of the government of Afghanistan,” Ghani told an election rally last week.    “I will implement that.”
    The Taliban has vowed to violently disrupt the election and on Tuesday killed nearly 50 people in twin suicide bombings, one targeting a Ghani election rally.
FUTURE TALKS?
    Afghan officials say the view in Kabul was that the U.S. deal offered too many concessions to the Taliban while getting nothing in return, and left the Afghan government, supposedly America’s ally, swinging in the wind.
    The disagreement illustrates the deep split that developed between the United States and the government over any peace deal and underlines how hard it has been for them to present a united front in dealing with Taliban negotiators.
    The deal’s collapse has also damaged the credibility of Khalilzad, say Afghan officials and Western diplomats in Kabul who have been following the talks closely.    His future is now in doubt and it is still unclear whether talks can be revived.
    The State Department declined to respond to requests for comment on Reuters’ questions concerning the future of the talks and the criticisms of the draft deal.
    The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan has said the Taliban “overplayed their hand” in the negotiations and that the pace of U.S. military operations was likely to pick up.
    Trump’s decision to fire his hawkish National Security Adviser John Bolton has added a further complication, and some in Washington fear the election will make it harder for talks to be revived before next year’s U.S. presidential election.
    If talks are resumed, Ghani’s officials say Khalilzad’s format of holding separate negotiations with the Taliban as a preliminary step to later talks between Afghan participants in the conflict cannot be repeated.
    Instead, the government will press for a sequence that would see a ceasefire followed by direct talks with the Taliban, leading to credible security guarantees.    Only then would U.S. troops be withdrawn.
    “The government needs to be on board if there is a deal in the future,” the Afghan official said.
“MAJOR FAILURE”
    Under the draft accord, some 5,000 American troops would be withdrawn in exchange for assurances that Afghanistan would not be used as a base for militant attacks against the United States and its allies.    That would leave roughly 9,000 stationed there.
    But the senior Afghan official said many of the details of what would happen once the withdrawal took place were unclear.
    “There was no concrete discussion, nothing, no discussion at all,” the senior Afghan official said.
    From Ghani’s point of view, Taliban assurances that they would not allow militant groups such as Al Qaeda to operate in Afghanistan were worthless, given the formal oaths of loyalty that bound them.
    Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri pledged allegiance to Taliban leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada in 2016.
    At the same time, intelligence reports showed Taliban field commanders confident of victory and eager to fight on.
    While Khalilzad spoke with clarity about plans to withdraw thousands of U.S. troops, the senior Afghan official said the fate of future “intra-Afghan” talks that would decide a final peace settlement with the Taliban was less clear.
    “It was a major failure of the deal that Khalilzad could not convince the Taliban to enter into direct negotiation with the Afghan government,” the Afghan official said.
(Additional reporting by Jonathan Landay in WASHINGTON; Editing by Alex Richardson)

9/18/2019 Iran’s Rouhani may cancel U.N. visit if U.S. visa not issued soon: state media
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during the cabinet meeting in
Tehran, Iran, September 18, 2019. Official President website/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani may cancel his trip to New York next week for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations if the United States fails to issue visas for him and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in the next few hours, state media said on Wednesday.
    Longtime U.S.-Iran strains have worsened since U.S. President Donald Trump last year quit a 2015 international agreement for Iran to curb its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
    Tensions have escalated in recent months after attacks on tankers in the Gulf and Saudi oil facilities that the United States blames on Iran.
    The United States blacklisted Zarif at the end of July, imposing sanctions that would block any property or interests he has in the United States, though the foreign minister says he has none.
    Iranian state news agency IRNA reported that Rouhani’s and Zarif’s visit to the United Nations in New York for the high-level meeting of the 193-member General Assembly “will likely be canceled if their visas are not issued in the next few hours.”
    Under the 1947 U.N. “headquarters agreement,” the United States is generally required to allow access to the United Nations for foreign diplomats.    But Washington says it can deny visas for “security, terrorism, and foreign policy” reasons.
    United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world body had been in contact with the United States “in order to solve all outstanding visa problems in relation to delegations” and hoped the problem could be solved.
    In July, the United States imposed tight travel restrictions on Iranian diplomats and their families in New York, only allowing movement between the United Nations, the Iranian U.N. mission, the Iranian U.N. ambassador’s residence, John F. Kennedy airport and a small area in the borough of Queens.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)

9/18/2019 Millions may risk jail as Indonesia to outlaw sex outside marriage by Tom Allard and Agustinus Bea Da Costa
FILE PHOTO: Indonesian Muslims pray on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at
Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia is poised to pass a new penal code that criminalizes consensual sex outside marriage and introduces stiff penalties for insulting the president’s dignity – a move rights groups criticized as an intrusive assault on basic freedoms.
    Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim majority country and has substantial Christian, Hindu and Buddhist minorities, but has seen a recent trend towards deeper religious piety and conservative Islamic activism.
    The new criminal code is due to be adopted in the next week after parliament and the government agreed a final draft on Wednesday, four parliamentarians told Reuters.
    Lawmakers told Reuters that the new penal code, which would replace a Dutch colonial-era set of laws, was a long overdue expression of Indonesian independence and religiosity.
    “The state must protect citizens from behavior that is contrary to the supreme precepts of God,” said Nasir Djamil, a politician from the Prosperous Justice Party.    He said leaders of all religions had been consulted on the changes given that Indonesia’s founding ideology was based on belief in God.
    Under the proposed laws, unmarried couples who “live together as a husband and wife” could be jailed for six months or face a maximum fine of 10 million rupiah ($710), which is three months’ salary for many Indonesians.
    A prosecution can proceed if a village chief, who heads the lowest tier of government, files a complaint with police, and parents or children of the accused do not object. Parents, children and spouses can also lodge a complaint.
    The inclusion of the new power for village chiefs was warranted because “the victim of adultery is also society,” another lawmaker, Teuku Taufiqulhadi, said.
CRITICISM
    The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, an NGO, said millions of Indonesians could be ensnared by the new laws.    It noted a study indicating that 40 per cent of Indonesian adolescents engaged in pre-marital sexual activity.
    “Across the board, this is a ratcheting up of conservatism.    It’s extremely regressive,” said Tim Lindsey, director of the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society.
    A maximum one-year prison term also can be applied to a person who has sex with someone who is not their spouse and a close family member lodges a complaint.    The law also impacts homosexuals as gay marriage is not recognized in Indonesia.
    The code also establishes prison terms for those found to commit “obscene acts,” defined as violating norms of decency and politeness through “lust or sexuality,” whether by heterosexuals or gay people.
    The new laws will also apply to foreigners. However, asked whether tourists in Indonesia could face jail for extramarital sex, Taufiqulhadi said: “No problem, as long as people don’t know.”
    There would also be a maximum four-year prison term for women who have an abortion, applicable if there was no medical emergency or rape involved.    The code further introduces fines for some people who promote contraception, and a six-month prison term for unauthorized discussion of “tools of abortion.”
    In addition, local authorities would get greater freedom to introduce punishments for breaches of customary laws not covered in the penal code.    There are more than 400 local regulations that activists say impinge civil rights, such as the mandatory wearing of a hijab, an Islamic headscarf for women.
    Meanwhile, parliament has reintroduced the offence of “attacking the honor or dignity” of Indonesia’s president and vice president.    A similar law was struck down by the Constitutional Court in 2006, and the new version is likely to be challenged by rights activists as well.
    Insulting the government and state institutions also carries a prison term.
(Additional reporting by Jessica Damiana; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

9/19/2019 No loudhailers, umbrellas allowed at talks with Hong Kong leader by Twinnie Siu
Anti-government protesters hold hands to prepare a human chain in Sha Tin at the banks
of the Shing Mun River in Hong Kong, China September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – The Hong Kong government on Thursday set the rules for an open dialogue between leader Carrie Lam and the public next week, telling those taking part to be “orderly” and not bring along loudhailers, bunting or umbrellas.
    Next Thursday’s talks in the Chinese-ruled city, the scene of more than three months of sometimes violent anti-government protests, will be open to 150 people who must apply online.
    “The session will be an open-dialogue platform aimed at reaching out to the public to invite people from all walks of life to express their views to the government, so as to fathom the discontent in society and to look for solutions,” the government said in a statement.
    Lam promised to hold the talks to try to end the disruptions in the Asian financial hub.
    “To ensure the safety of others, participants should behave in an orderly manner,” the government said.
    “…Participants should not bring any materials which the organizer considers possible to disrupt the event or cause nuisance, inconvenience or danger to other parties.”
    Such items included “loudhailers/sound amplifiers, umbrellas, defensive equipment (such as mask respirators and helmets), flags, banners, buntings, any plastic, glass, metal bottles or containers, bottled or canned drinks, etc.,” it said.
    Protesters, many of them masked and using umbrellas to hide behind and defend themselves again water cannon, have caused havoc around the city in recent weeks, throwing petrol bombs at police, storming the Legislative Council, trashing metro stations and lighting fires on the streets.
    Police have responded with tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets.
    Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that ensures freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including right of assembly and an independent judiciary.
    Demonstrators are angry about what they see as creeping interference by Beijing, despite the promise of autonomy and the protests have broadened into calls for universal suffrage.
    China says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” arrangement and denies interfering.    It has accused foreign powers, particularly the United States and Britain, of fomenting the unrest and told them to mind their own business.
    Hong Kong’s Jockey Club canceled Wednesday’s races after protesters said they would target the Happy Valley racecourse where a horse part-owned by a pro-China lawmaker was due to run.
    The lawmaker, Junius Ho, who once described the protesters as “black-shirted thugs,” on Thursday pulled the horse, “Hong Kong Bet,” from all races until the protests are over.
    Ho said the horse should not be “deprived of its right to race”
    “We speak of human rights every day and animals have their basic rights too,” he said.
(Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

9/19/2019 Afghanistan braces for deadly attacks as Taliban vow to disrupt presidential election by Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Rupam Jain
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from the site of of a blast near an election rally held by President Ashraf Ghani
in Parwan province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan September 17, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer
    KABUL (Reuters) – A deadly suicide bombing this week near an election rally in central Afghanistan where President Ashraf Ghani was due to speak came as a sharp reminder of the risks to a ballot set for the end of next week in the shadow of failed peace talks.
    Tuesday’s blast, in which at least 26 died, was just another grim moment in a deadly week for Afghanistan: A Taliban truck bomb on Thursday killed at least 20 people and wounded 95 when it exploded near a hospital in southern Afghanistan, bringing the death toll in a wave of attacks this week to close to 100, with hundreds more injured.
    Despite the rise in bombings, presidential candidates – including Ghani – addressed large public gatherings on Wednesday and Thursday, urging people to cast their vote to defeat the Taliban agenda of circumventing the democratic process.
    But the Taliban have made no secret of their aim of disrupting the election, when Ghani will be bidding for a second five-year term.
    “We have conveyed it to all the Afghans to stay away from the polling stations otherwise they would be responsible for their losses,” said a Taliban commander in southern Helmand province, speaking on condition of anonymity.
    After months of uncertainty while U.S. diplomats sought to hammer out an agreement with the Taliban over withdrawing thousands of troops from Afghanistan, the twice-delayed election is now expected to go ahead on Sept. 28.
    Senior officials in Kabul said over 140,000 Afghan soldiers and police will be deployed to protect 28,000 polling stations and to facilitate the process that will cost $90 million to the state exchequer and almost $60 million to foreign donors.
OVERSHADOWED
    While they lasted, the talks overshadowed the election.    Many Western diplomats believed they could disrupt efforts to reach an accord with the Taliban, who had always opposed holding the vote.
    But U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to cancel a planned meeting with Taliban leaders at his Camp David retreat changed all that.
    “The U.S. ability to focus on Afghan presidential elections has been minimal as they were obsessed with holding talks with the Taliban,” said a Western diplomat, who has been closely tracking political developments in Afghanistan.
    “But now that the peace talks have been derailed, elections are back on the agenda,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
    As well as Ghani, a crowded field of 18 candidates includes long-term rival Abdullah Abdullah, now serving as the country’s Chief Executive as a legacy of the bitterly disputed 2014 election.
    Marred by accusations of massive fraud on both sides, the 2014 vote left no clear winner, obliging the United States to step in and broker a deal that saw Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah form an unwieldy national unity government.
    Also on the ballot this time around is Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former warlord whose fighters are accused of killing thousands in Kabul during the 1990s civil war.
LEGITIMACY, TURNOUT CONCERNS
    Some 9.6 million voters have registered, in a country with a population of about 32 million.
    Though election officials say preparations are well in hand, security worries could lead many to stay at home, potentially undermining the legitimacy of the eventual winner if turnout is too low.
    A pre-poll survey by the Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan, an electoral watchdog, pointed toward a potential victory for Ghani with Abdullah coming second in the race.
    But the reliability of polling in Afghanistan remains highly uncertain, and the survey itself found nearly 56% of respondents said they were not likely to vote.
    Chaotic parliamentary elections last year added to disillusionment with a political system already tarnished by the 2014 presidential election.
(Additional reporting by James Mackenzie, Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)

9/19/2019 Iran oil minister Zangeneh says U.S. using oil as a ‘weapon’: Shana
FILE PHOTO: Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh talks to journalists during a meeting of
OPEC oil ministers in Vienna, Austria, December 4, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh on Thursday accused the United States of using oil as a “weapon” and said that balance in the oil market would be restored “soon.”
    “The United States is now using oil as a weapon; oil is not a weapon,” Zangeneh was quoted as saying by the Iranian oil ministry’s SHANA news agency.
    He also said OPEC members must “get along with each other” under the current circumstances.
(Reporting by Rania El Gamal; writing by Tuqa Khalid; ; editing by Jason Neely)

9/19/2019 Iran: We are prepared for ‘all-out war’ by OAN Newsroom
    The foreign minister of Iran waters the seeds of war amid reports Tehran was behind the Saudi oil facility attacks.    During an interview Thursday, Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran is prepared for a “all-out war” if any nation were to strike.
    Zarif also doubled down on Iran’s position that it had no involvement in the strike on the Aramco site.    When asked, however, Zarif couldn’t provide any evidence otherwise.    The minister went on to say Iran has nothing to gain from attacking Saudi Arabia and wants stability in the region.
    “An all-out war…I make a very serious statement about defending our country.    I’m making a very serious statement that we don’t want war, we don’t want to engage in a military confrontation.    We believe a military confrontation based on deception is awful…it would have a lot of casualties.” — Mohammad Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister – Iran
    Moving forward, Zarif said Iran would only consider talks with the U.S. if they are given full sanctions relief.
FILE – In this Aug. 29, 2019 file photo, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a forum
titled “Common Security in the Islamic World” in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)
    Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says it is “abundantly clear” that Iran was behind the Aramco attacks.    He made the remarks while speaking from Abu Dhabi.    Pompeo landed in the UAE early Thursday morning for talks with the Crown Prince, who is also the deputy supreme commander of UAE armed forces.    The stop was the second in the secretary’s Middle Eastern tour after Saudi Arabia.     Following the meeting, Pompeo called the discussions “productive’.”
    “I was sent here to work to make sure that I understood how our friends and allies here in the region were viewing the challenge and the threats posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he stated.    “I think it’s abundantly clear and there is an enormous consensus in the region that we know precisely who conducted these attacks was Iran…I didn’t hear anybody in the region who doubted that for a single moment.”
    Pompeo is now expected to head back to Washington, where he says he will give President Trump important information about how the U.S. should think about proceeding.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the media before departing from al-Bateen Air Base in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates,
Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019, as U.S. special representative on Iran Brian Hook, left, listens. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP)

9/19/2019 U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan by Ahmad Sultan and Abdul Qadir Sediqi
Men carry a coffin of one of the victims after a drone strike, in Khogyani district
of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan September 19, 2019.REUTERS/Parwiz
    JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) – A U.S. drone strike intended to hit an Islamic State (IS) hideout in Afghanistan killed at least 30 civilians resting after a day’s labor in the fields, officials said on Thursday.
    The attack on Wednesday night also injured 40 people after accidentally targeting farmers and laborers who had just finished collecting pine nuts at mountainous Wazir Tangi in eastern Nangarhar province, three Afghan officials told Reuters.
Graphic on Afghan civilian casualties – https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-AFGHANISTAN/0100B28R18Q/afg-civilian-casualties.jpg
    “The workers had lit a bonfire and were sitting together when a drone targeted them,” tribal elder Malik Rahat Gul told Reuters by telephone from Wazir Tangi.
    Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry and a senior U.S official in Kabul confirmed the drone strike, but did not share details of civilian casualties.
    “U.S. forces conducted a drone strike against Da’esh (IS) terrorists in Nangarhar,” said Colonel Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan.    “We are aware of allegations of the death of non-combatants and are working with local officials to determine the facts.”
    About 14,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan, training and advising Afghan security forces and conducting counter-insurgency operations against IS and the Taliban movement.
    Haidar Khan, who owns the pine nut fields, said about 150 workers were there for harvesting, with some still missing as well as the confirmed dead and injured.
    A survivor of the drone strike said about 200 laborers were sleeping in five tents pitched near the farm when the attack happened.
    “Some of us managed to escape, some were injured but many were killed,” said Juma Gul, a resident of northeastern Kunar province who had traveled along with laborers to harvest and shell pine nuts this week.
    Angered by the attack, some residents of Nangarhar province demanded an apology and monetary compensation from the U.S. government.
    “Such mistakes cannot be justified.    American forces must realize (they) will never win the war by killing innocent civilians,” said Javed Mansur, a resident of Jalalabad city.     Scores of local men joined a protest against the attack on Thursday morning as they helped carry the victims’ bodies to Jalalabad city and then to the burial site.
    Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor said the aerial attack was meant to target IS militants who often use farmlands for training and recruitment purposes, but had hit innocent civilians.
    Jihadist IS fighters first appeared in Afghanistan in 2014 and have since made inroads in the east and north where they are battling the government, U.S. forces and the Taliban.
    The exact number of IS fighters is difficult to calculate because they frequently switch allegiances, but the U.S. military estimates there are about 2,000.
    There was no word from IS on the attack.
    There has been no let-up in assaults by Taliban and IS as Afghanistan prepares for a presidential election this month.
    In a separate incident, at least 20 people died in a suicide truck bomb attack on Thursday carried out by the Taliban in the southern province of Zabul.
    Hundreds of civilians have been killed in fighting across Afghanistan after the collapse of U.S.-Taliban peace talks this month.    The Taliban has warned U.S. President Donald Trump will regret his decision to abruptly call off talks that could have led to a political settlement to end the 18-year-old war.
    The United Nations says nearly 4,000 civilians were killed or wounded in the first half of the year.    That included a big increase in casualties inflicted by government and U.S.-led foreign forces.
(Additional reporting and writing by Rupam Jain in Kabul; Editing by Toby Chopra, Andrew Cawthorne, William Maclean)

9/19/2019 U.S. to withdraw and withhold funds from Afghanistan, blames corruption
U.S. special representative on Iran Brian Hook listens as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to reporters before
departing from al-Bateen Air Base in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates September 19, 2019. Mandel Ngan/Pool via REUTERS
    WASHINGTON/KABUL (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday the United States would withdraw about $100 million earmarked for an energy infrastructure project in Afghanistan and withhold a further $60 million in planned assistance, blaming corruption and a lack of transparency in the country.
    Pompeo said in a statement the United States would complete the infrastructure project, but would do so using an “‘off-budget’ mechanism”, faulting Afghanistan for an “inability to transparently manage U.S. government resources.”
    “Due to identified Afghan government corruption and financial mismanagement, the U.S. Government is returning approximately $100 million to the U.S. Treasury that was intended for a large energy infrastructure project,” he added.
    The decision comes a day after the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, John Bass, in a tweet called out the country’s National Procurement Authority (NPA) for not approving the purchase of fuel for thermal electricity.
    Residents of Kabul have accused the NPA of ignoring people’s need for energy, as large parts of the city have been without power for more than seven hours every day this month.
    Electricity outages have also inflicted losses for manufacturing companies and emergency health services.
    “Hearing reports the National Procurement Authority won’t authorize fuel purchases for the power plant providing the only electricity in Kabul – even while the U.S. & Resolute Support help Afghan security forces enable repairs to power transmission lines.    Could this be true?” Bass said in a tweet on Wednesday.
    The power crisis intensified further this week after insurgents attack pylons in northern provinces.    About a third of the country has been hit by blackouts.
(Reporting by Makini Brice in Washington DC, Rupam Jain in Kabul; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Alex Richardson)

9/19/2019 U.S. issues visas for Iran’s Rouhani, Zarif to travel to U.N. meeting
FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attend a meeting
with Muslim leaders and scholars in Hyderabad, India, February 15, 2018. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United States has issued visas allowing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to travel to New York for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations next week, Iran’s U.N. mission said on Thursday.
    Iranian U.N. mission spokesman Alireza Miryousefi confirmed to Reuters that the U.S. visas had been issued.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols)

9/19/2019 Iran’s Zarif leaving on Friday for U.N. meeting: spokesman
FILE PHOTO: Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif attends a news conference with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
(not pictured) after their meeting in Moscow, Russia, September 2, 2019. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is to leave for New York on Friday to attend the U.N. General Assembly, the ministry spokesman tweeted on Thursday, after earlier reports of a U.S. delay in issuing a visa for the visit.
    “Foreign Minister @JZarif is leaving for New York early on Friday morning to attend the 74th session of the UNGA,” spokesman Abbas Mousavi tweeted.
    Zarif said earlier on Thursday that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was trying to delay issuing visas for the Iranian delegation to the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

9/19/2019 Amnesty accuses Hong Kong police of arbitrary arrests, torture
FILE PHOTO - Police officers stand guard near an entrance of Causeway Bay station in
Hong Kong, China, September 15, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Amnesty International accused Hong Kong police on Friday of torture and other abuses in their handling of more than three months of pro-democracy protests, but the police say they have shown restraint on the street in the face of increased violence.
    Anti-government protesters, many masked and wearing black, have thrown petrol bombs at police and central government offices, stormed the Legislative Council, blocked roads to the airport, trashed metro stations and lit fires on the streets of the Chinese-ruled city.
    Police have responded with tear gas, water cannon, rubber bullets, bean bag rounds and several live rounds fired in the air, warning the crowds beforehand with a series of different colored banners.
    They have also been seen beating protesters on the ground with batons, with footage of one such attack on cowering passengers on an MTR subway train going viral online and prompting widespread anger.
    Amnesty said a field investigation had documented “an alarming pattern of the Hong Kong Police Force deploying reckless and indiscriminate tactics, including while arresting people at protests, as well as exclusive evidence of torture and other ill-treatment in detention.”
    “The Hong Kong police’s heavy-handed crowd-control response on the streets has been livestreamed for the world to see.    Much less visible is the plethora of police abuses against protesters that take place out of sight,” said Nicholas Bequelin, East Asia director at Amnesty International, in a report.
    “The evidence leaves little room for doubt – in an apparent thirst for retaliation, Hong Kong’s security forces have engaged in a disturbing pattern of reckless and unlawful tactics against people during the protests.    This has included arbitrary arrests and retaliatory violence against arrested persons in custody, some of which has amounted to torture.”
    One such act of retaliation was to shine green lasers into the eyes of detainees, Amnesty said, employing a tactic used by many protesters against police.
    Released just after midnight in Hong Kong (1601 GMT on Thursday), the Amnesty report did not give the chance for police to respond immediately.    But police have said they have been restrained in their use of force on the streets.
    “Since June, the protests in Hong Kong have been increasingly tense with an escalation of violence,” they said on their Facebook page earlier.
    “In various districts, protesters committed extensive destructive acts such as hurling petrol bombs, setting fires and paralyzing traffic.    In face of the lawless and illegal acts of the protesters, police always exercise a high level of restraint and endeavor to restore public order and to protect the safety of the general public.”
    They said nearly 240 police had been wounded in the protests.
    In a direct challenge to Communist Party rulers in Beijing, some protesters on Sunday threw bricks at police outside the Chinese People’s Liberation Army base and set fire to a red banner proclaiming the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
    The police subsequently issued a statement saying they would “continue to take resolute enforcement actions so as to safeguard the city’s public safety and bring all lawbreakers to justice.”
    Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that ensures freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including right of assembly and an independent judiciary.
    Demonstrators are angry about what they see as creeping interference by Beijing despite the promise of autonomy.
    The spark for the latest protests in June was planned legislation, now withdrawn, that would have allowed people accused of breaking Chinese laws to be sent to the mainland for trial.
    But they have since broadened into calls for universal suffrage, including an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality.
    China says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” arrangement and denies interfering.    It has accused foreign powers, particularly the United States and Britain, of fomenting the unrest and told them to mind their own business.
(Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

9/20/2019 Letter detailing civilian presence failed to prevent deadly Afghan drone strike by Ahmad Sultan and Abdul Qadir Sediqi
FILE PHOTO: Afghans work on a pine nuts field in Jalalabad province October 10, 2012. REUTERS/Parwiz/File Photo
    JALALABAD, Afghanistan/KABUL (Reuters) – Twelve days ahead of the pine-nut harvest season, the governor of Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province received a letter from village elders in the Wazir Tangi area about their plans to recruit 200 laborers and children to pluck the dry fruit.
    The letter, seen by Reuters and dated Sept. 7, was sent in an effort to help protect laborers from getting caught in clashes between U.S.-backed Afghan forces and Islamic State fighters in the mountainous terrain largely controlled by the jihadists.
    Taliban insurgents and Islamic State fighters have been battling each other for control of the province’s natural resources.    U.S. and Afghan forces routinely launch air strikes to regain control over territory lost to militant groups.
    On Wednesday, just hours after farmers, laborers and children finished their day’s work of plucking pine nuts in the heavily forested area and lit bonfires near their tents, a U.S. drone hit the site, killing 30 civilians and injuring 40 others, according to three Afghan provincial officials.
    Local residents expressed shock and anger that the attack occurred despite the letter and subsequent assurances of safety for the workers.
    “We had huddled together around small bonfires and we were discussing the security situation in our villages, but suddenly everything changed. There was destruction everywhere,” said Akram Sultan, one of the survivors who hid behind a tree before running into the forest along with some children.
    Sultan was among 200 Afghan farm laborers hired to harvest and shell pine nuts on land belonging to several village elders in the Wazir Tangi area.    Up to 23,000 tons of pine nuts are produced each year in Afghanistan and the country has begun exporting up to $800 million worth of the crop to China annually through an air corridor.
    Before recruitments started for the harvesting, village elders had sought clearances from the provincial governor and local leaders of the Islamic State fighters to ensure the activity could be carried out in the heavily contested area.
    “The warring sides had given their consent and contractors were hired to bring in laborers from neighboring provinces … no illegal activity was being pursued, but even then, the U.S. drone killed innocent people,” Sohrab Qadri, a member of the Nangarhar provincial council, told Reuters.
    A spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan confirmed on Thursday that the drone strike was conducted by the United States with the intention of destroying the hideouts of Islamic State fighters.
    Asked about the letter sent to the governor by the village elders, Colonel Sonny Leggett said that would be part of the investigation.
    “Initial indications are members of Daesh (IS) were among those targeted in the strike,” Leggett said, using a term for Islamic State.    “However, we are working with local officials to determine whether there was collateral damage.”
    The governor of Nangarhar, Shah Mahmood Miakhel, was not available for comment.
    There has been no comment from Islamic State or information about casualties it sustained in the drone strike.    The U.S. official did not comment on casualty figures.
‘HOW COULD THEY DO THIS TO US?’
    Malak Khaiyali Khan, chief of Jaora village in the Wazir Tangi area, had sent his teenage son along with three friends to shell pine nuts.
    On Thursday evening, four bodies were handed over to Khan, including that of his son.
    “My son and his friends were killed by the Americans. How could they do this to us?” said Khan, who was leading a protest against the strike before the burial rites.
    Angry residents took bodies to the provincial capital, Jalalabad, on Thursday morning to protest the attack.
    The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in its latest report that ground raids and clashes have caused the most civilian casualties in the country, followed by bomb attacks and air strikes.
    Air strikes by U.S. and Afghan forces killed 363 civilians and injured 156 others in Afghanistan in the first half of this year, the U.N. report said.    Among the dead and wounded were 150 children, it added.
    Nangarhar province suffered the highest number of civilian casualties last year.    A U.N. report said at least 681 civilians died in the province in suicide attacks, landmine blasts and air strikes.
    The province has large deposits of minerals and sits on major smuggling routes into Pakistan.
(Reporting by Ahmad Sultan and Mohammad Rafiq in Jalalabad and Abdul Qadir Sediqi in Kabul; Additional reporting and writing by Rupam Jain in Kabul; Editing by Peter Cooney)

9/20/2019 Pro-China groups to tear down pro-democracy graffiti in Hong Kong by Felix Tam and Twinnie Siu
FILE PHOTO: Pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho argues with a pro-democracy lawmaker before demonstration of a water cannon
equipped vehicle at the compound of the Police Tactical Unit in Hong Kong, China August 12, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – A pro-Beijing Hong Kong lawmaker urged supporters to pull down “Lennon Walls” on Saturday across the Chinese-ruled city, where the displays of anti-government graffiti have sometimes been flashpoints during more than three months of unrest.
    Legislator Junius Ho, who has taken a tough stand against the protests, called for cleanups of 77 Lennon Walls from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on “Clean Hong Kong Day,” by 100 people at each site.
    “We will do this to celebrate the 70th anniversary of our motherland,” he said on his Facebook page, referring to the founding of the Chinese People’s Republic on Oct. 1, 1949.
    The Lennon Walls are large mosaics of Post-it notes calling for democracy and denouncing perceived Chinese meddling in the former British colony that have cropped up in underpasses, under footbridges, outside shopping centers and elsewhere.
    Anti-government protesters have said they will avoid confrontation but will rebuild the walls, named after the John Lennon Wall in communist-controlled Prague in the 1980s that was covered with Beatles lyrics and messages of political grievance.
    Lennon’s 1980 “Double Fantasy” album includes a track called “Cleanup Time.”
    The walls have occasionally been the scene of clashes in recent weeks.    Three people were wounded in a knife attack by an unidentified assailant near a Lennon Wall in the Tseung Kwan O district of the New Territories in August.
    “We hope citizens will understand areas around Lennon Wall are relatively high-risk,” police official Fang Chi-kin told reporters.    “There have been fights and scuffles between people from different backgrounds near these areas.”
    Hong Kong’s Jockey Club canceled all races on Wednesday after protesters said they would target the Happy Valley racecourse where a horse part-owned by Ho was due to run.
WARNING AGAINST DRONES
    Ho, who once described the protesters as “black-shirted thugs,” on Thursday pulled the horse, “Hong Kong Bet,” from all races until the protests are over.    Ho said the horse should not be “deprived of its right to race.”
    Anti-government protesters, many masked and wearing black, have caused havoc in recent weeks, throwing petrol bombs at police, storming the Legislative Council, trashing metro stations, blocking airport roads and lighting street fires.
    The Civil Aviation Department said on Friday it had heard of online posts about possible plans to fly drones or transmit radio waves near the offshore airport to disrupt air traffic.
    “Regardless of the intentions of the operators, flying drones illegally in the area of the airport and its vicinity may cause aircraft incidents and put passengers as well as the public at risk,” a spokesman said.
    London’s Gatwick Airport, the second-busiest in Britain, suspended flights in December while it investigated reports of two drones flying the airfield.
    Hong Kong police have responded to the street violence with tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets.    A total 1,474 people have been arrested, aged between 12 and 84, police said on Friday.    So far 207 have been charged, including 79 for rioting.
    On Friday, rights group Amnesty International accused police of torture and other abuses in their handling of detained protesters.    Police said they had respected the “privacy, dignity and rights” of those in custody.
    “It was not a fair report,” a senior police officer told reporters.    “Anyone could have come out with a report like that quoting anonymous sources … I could have written another 400 like that.”
    Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that ensures freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including right of assembly and an independent judiciary.
    Demonstrators are angry about what they see as creeping interference by Beijing in Hong Kong’s affairs and the protests have broadened into calls for universal suffrage.
    China says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” arrangement and denies interfering.    It has accused foreign powers, particularly the United States and Britain, of fomenting the unrest and told them to mind their own business.
(Reporting by Felix Tam and Twinnie Siu; Additional reporting by Marius Zaharia; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Catherine Evans)

9/20/2019 Amnesty accuses Hong Kong police of abuses, torture of protesters
FILE PHOTO - Police officers stand guard near an entrance of Causeway Bay station in Hong Kong, China, September 15, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Amnesty International accused Hong Kong police on Friday of torture and other abuses in their handling of more than three months of pro-democracy protests, but the police say they have shown restraint on the street in the face of increased violence.
    Anti-government protesters, many masked and wearing black, have thrown petrol bombs at police and central government offices, stormed the Legislative Council, blocked roads to the airport, trashed metro stations and lit fires on the streets of the Chinese-ruled city.
    Police have responded with tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, bean bag rounds and several live rounds fired in the air, warning the crowds beforehand with a series of different colored banners.
    They have also been seen beating protesters on the ground with batons, with footage of one such attack on cowering passengers on an MTR subway train going viral online and prompting widespread anger.
    “The evidence leaves little room for doubt – in an apparent thirst for retaliation, Hong Kong’s security forces have engaged in a disturbing pattern of reckless and unlawful tactics against people during the protests,” Nicholas Bequelin, East Asia director at Amnesty International, said in a report following a field investigation.    “This has included arbitrary arrests and retaliatory violence against arrested persons in custody, some of which has amounted to torture.”
    In one instance, police shone green lasers into the eyes of detainees, Amnesty said, employing a tactic previously used by many protesters against police.
    Responding to the Amnesty report, police said they have respected the “privacy, dignity and rights” of those in custody according to regulations, allowing detainees transport to hospitals and communication with lawyers and their families.
    “The force to be used by police shall be the minimum force necessary for achieving a lawful purpose,” police said in an emailed statement.
    The official police Facebook page earlier noted that almost 240 police had been wounded in the violent protests as they exercised “a high level of restraint … to restore public order.”
    The recent round of protests in Hong Kong, a former British colony that was returned to China under a “one country, two systems” arrangement in 1997, was sparked by planned legislation that would have allowed people accused of breaking Chinese laws to be sent to the mainland for trial.
    The legislation was withdrawn but the protests have broadened into calls for universal suffrage, including an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality, with demonstrators angry about what they see as creeping interference by Beijing.
    China has said it is committed to the “one country, two systems” arrangement that ensures freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including right of assembly and an independent judiciary, and denies interfering.    It has accused foreign powers, particularly the United States and Britain, of fomenting the unrest and told them to mind their own business.
    In a direct challenge to Communist Party rulers in Beijing, some protesters on Sunday threw bricks at police outside the Chinese People’s Liberation Army base and set fire to a red banner proclaiming the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
(Writing by Nick Macfie and Poppy McPherson; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Jane Wardell)

9/20/2019 North Korea faces lowest crop harvest in five years, widespread food shortages: U.N. by Hyonhee Shin
FILE PHOTO: North Korean people work on a rice field at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the
truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 11, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo
    SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea’s crop production this year is expected to drop to its lowest level in five years, bringing serious shortages for 40% of the population, as a dry spell and poor irrigation hit an economy already reeling from sanctions over its weapons programs, the United Nations said on Thursday.
    In its latest quarterly Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said the poor harvest of the country’s main crops, rice and maize, means 10.1 million people are in urgent need of assistance.
    “Below-average rains and low irrigation availability between mid-April and mid-July, a critical period for crop development, mainly affected the main season rice and maize crops,” the FAO said.    The report, which covers cereal supply and demand around the world and identifies countries that need external food aid, didn’t disclose detailed estimates of production by volume. (http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1208508/icode/)
    North Korea has long struggled with food shortages and a dysfunctional state rationing system, and state media has in recent months warned of drought and other “persisting abnormal phenomena.”
.     The crops shortfall comes as the country bids to contain the spread of African swine fever in its pig herd, following confirmation of a first case in May.
    The disease, fatal to pigs though not harmful to humans, has spread into Asia – including South Korea – since first being detected in     China last year, resulting in large-scale culls and reduced production of pork, a staple meat across the region including in North Korea.
    The FAO report followed earlier U.N. assessments this year that the isolated country’s food production last year fell to its lowest level in more than a decade amid a prolonged heatwave, typhoon and floods.
    South Korea has pledged to provide 50,000 tonnes of rice aid to its northern neighbor through the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP).    But its delivery has been delayed by Pyongyang’s lukewarm response amid stalled inter-Korean dialogue and denuclearisation talks with the United States, Seoul officials said.
    In July, the North’s official KCNA news agency said a campaign to mitigate the effects of drought was under way by digging canals and wells, installing pumps, and using people and vehicles to transport water.
    But North Korea has told the United Nations to cut the number of its staff it deploys in the country for aid programs citing the “politicization of U.N. assistance by hostile forces.”
    Sporadic famines are common in North Korea, but observers said a severe nationwide famine in the 1990s killed as many as a million people.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)

9/20/2019 North Korea praises President Trump for suggesting ‘new method’ in talks by OAN Newsroom
    North Korea’s top diplomat to the U.S. recently praised President Trump for what appeared to be a shift in policy toward the country.    This comes after the president was critical of former National Security Adviser John Bolton, and suggested a “new method” in denuclearization talks with Pyongyang.
    “I think John really should take a look at how badly they’ve done in the past and maybe a new method would be very good,” said President Trump.
    North Korea’s top nuclear negotiator released a statement Friday, saying he welcomes what he described as a “wise political decision by President Trump” to approach relations from a more practical point of view.    He then knocked Bolton as a “nasty trouble-maker” for insisting Pyongyang follow the Libyan path of denuclearization by fully eliminating its nuclear program upfront.
    President Trump also slammed Bolton for his approach.    He said Bolton set the U.S. back after the Trump administration worked to strengthen relations with North Korea, which led to Pyongyang releasing hostages and returning the remains of U.S. service members who died in the Korean War.
    “The relationship is good, so I think that’s better than somebody that goes around and says we want to use ‘the Libyan model’…that set us back very badly when he (Bolton) said that,” explained the president.
    President Trump said he has received an invitation to visit Pyongyang for talks with Kim Jong-un.    The North Korean diplomat went on to say he hopes the U.S. would present the right calculated method at the next round of talks.
FILE – In this June 30, 2019, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the North
Korean side of the border at the village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone. North Korea on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, has praised President
Donald Trump for saying Washington may pursue an unspecified “new method” in nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

9/20/2019 North Korea chief negotiator welcomes Trump’s call for ‘new method’ at talks by Hyonhee Shin and David Brunnstrom
FILE PHOTO: Kim Myong Gil, minister at North Korea's mission to the United Nations, leaves bound for North Korea
with other North Korean officials after the second Economy and Energy Cooperation Working Group Meeting in
South Korean territory at the truce village in Panmunjom, north of Seoul August 8, 2007. Ahn Young-joon/Pool via REUTERS/File photo
    SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – North Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator welcomed on Friday U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion that a “new method” be used in talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programs.
    Kim Myong Gil praised Trump’s “wise political decision” to seek a new approach to the stalled talks without a “troublemaker” in the U.S. administration – an apparent reference to John Bolton, Trump’s hawkish former national security adviser, who was fired last week.
    Trump said on Wednesday Bolton’s suggestion for a Libyan model of denuclearization for North Korea “set us back very badly,” while his own diplomacy had resulted in the country freezing nuclear tests and returning remains of U.S. soldiers missing from the 1950-53 Korean War.
    “So I think John really should take a look at how badly they’ve done in the past and maybe a new method would be very good,” Trump said, when asked about news reports saying that Bolton thought talks with North Korea were doomed to failure.
    Kim Myong Gil said he wanted to be “optimistic” that the United States would present the “right calculation method at the upcoming talks,” an apparent reference to a call by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for Washington to show more flexibility.
    “At the moment I am not quite sure what he (Trump) implied in his suggestion of ‘new method’ but to me it seems he wanted to imply that a step-by-step solution starting with the things feasible first while building trust in each other would be the best option,” Kim added in a statement carried by North Korea’s official KCNA news agency.
    The White House did not respond when asked to elaborate on Trump’s remarks.
    The State Department repeated a past statement, saying: “We welcome the North Korean commitment to resume negotiations in late September.    We are prepared to have those discussions at a time and place to be agreed.”
    It did not respond when asked if there could be any contacts with the North Koreans on the sidelines of next week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, which Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are due to attend.
    North Korea’s mission to the United Nations said early this month that the country’s foreign minister, Ri Yong Ho, would not attend the annual gathering of world leaders “due to his schedule.”
    Trump’s efforts to engage with North Korea nearly fell apart in February after he followed Bolton’s advice at a second summit in Hanoi and handed Kim Jong Un a piece of paper urging Pyongyang to transfer all of its nuclear weapons and bomb fuel to the United States.
    Pyongyang has denounced Bolton, who has advocated using military force to topple the leadership of the isolated country, as a “war maniac” and “human scum.”
    While negotiations have stalled since Hanoi, North Korea said this month that it was willing to restart working-level talks in late September, but no date or location have been set.
    The KCNA statement formally confirmed Kim Myong Gil as North Korea’s new chief negotiator, after diplomatic sources told Reuters in July that he would act as counterpart to U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Jack Kim in Seoul and David Brunnstrom in Washington;, Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky, Timothy Heritage and Daniel Wallis)

9/20/2019 IS fighters hid among Afghan pine nut harvesters during U.S. drone strike: U.S. official by Rupam Jain and Ahmad Sultan
FILE PHOTO: Men carry a coffin of one of the victims after a drone strike, in Khogyani district
of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Parwiz/File Photo
    JALALABAD/KABUL (Reuters) – A senior U.S. defense official in Afghanistan’s capital city Kabul on Friday said Islamic State fighters were hiding among pine nut harvesters when a U.S. drone strike in eastern Afghanistan killed at least 32 people.
    The attack occurred in early hours of Thursday in Wazir Tangi area of Nangarhar province, causing high civilian casualties.
    Provincial Afghan officials on Friday said 32 men and children were killed and more than 40 were injured in the strike.
    U.S. officials said the drone strike was conducted solely to target IS fighters in a densely forested area that is not inhabited by locals but offers a high yield of pine nuts to villagers residing on the edge of the forest.
    “There were IS (fighters) there, but it appears during harvest season the locals cut deals with the IS fighters to act as harvesters,” said a senior U.S. official who is privy to the counter-terrorism operations conducted by American forces in Afghanistan.
    “We were not privy to this ‘agreement’ that puts them (IS fighters) amongst other harvesters.    We are working through it now with the officials,” he told Reuters.
    Senior Afghan officials in Kabul said a probe was being conducted to assess the intelligence failure before planning the drone strike.
    Javed, a survivor of the attack recovering in the Nangarhar Regional Hospital, said it was his second night in the forest when a drone struck his temporary shelter.
    “Many people were injured,” he said.
    President Ashraf Ghani, while speaking at an election rally in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, promised measures to prevent civilian casualties in the war against militants.
    Afghan forces, often backed by the U.S. military, have intensified ground and air operations against Islamist groups to protect civilians, government buildings, polling stations and a large expatriate population.
    Operations such as the latest U.S. drone strike angered locals, who staged small protests against the foreign and Afghan forces.
    “We cannot even protest on a large scale because IS or Taliban can target us easily, but the U.S. must admit they made a mistake,” said Rahmatullah Sardar, a dry fruit trader in Jalalabad city.
    IS fighters are seen as an even greater threat than the Taliban because of their military capabilities and strategy of targeting civilians.    The U.S. military estimates there are about 2,000 IS fighters in Afghanistan.
    Separately, the death toll in a Taliban truck bombing that destroyed a hospital in southern Afghanistan has risen to 39, nearly double the previous figure, with 140 wounded, a spokesman for the provincial governor said.
    “Only two of those killed were security force members, and the rest of them are civilians, including women, children, patients and visitors,” spokesman Gul Islam Syaal said of Thursday’s attack.
    The Taliban said the target of the attack in Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, was a nearby building housing the government’s intelligence department.
    The Taliban have been carrying out nearly daily attacks since the collapse of peace talks with the United States this month, in the run-up to elections on Sept. 28 to dissuade people from voting.
(Additional reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi. Orooj Hakimi in Kabul; Writing by Paul Carsten, Rupam Jain in Kabul; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Steve Orlofsky)

9/21/2019 Hong Kong protesters take to streets after ‘Lennon Wall’ graffiti torn down by Jessie Pang and James Pomfret
A "Lennon Wall" is seen in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China September 21, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police fired volleys of tear gas to disperse democracy protesters marching in sweltering heat on Saturday after pro-China groups pulled down some of the “Lennon Walls” of anti-government messages in the Chinese-ruled city.
    The first volley was fired when a protester hurled a petrol bomb towards the approaching police line.
    The marchers converged on the government offices in the town of Tuen Mun, in the west of the New Territories, where some set fire to a Chinese flag on the ground as others tore down wooden and metal fences and traffic bollards to build road blocks.
    Some were trashing fittings at the Light Rail Transit station, digging up bricks and picking up stones at the sides of the tracks.    Others turned fire extinguishers on the police.
    Police made several arrests.
    Dozens of Beijing supporters had earlier torn down some of the large mosaics of colorful Post-it notes calling for democracy and denouncing perceived Chinese meddling in the former British colony which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
    “I am a Chinese man!” one the pro-Beijing protesters shouted in defense of his actions when confronted by pro-democracy supporters.
    The walls have blossomed across the Asian financial center, at bus stops and shopping centers, under footbridges, along pedestrian walkways and at universities.
    They have also occasionally become hot spots of violence in more than three months of unrest.
    The subway transit operator, MTR Corp, closed stations near potential protest sites, including Tuen Mun.
    Hong Kong’s protests picked up in June over legislation, now withdrawn, that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial.    Demands have since broadened into calls for universal suffrage.
    A pro-Beijing city legislator, Junius Ho, who has been a vocal critic of the protests, had urged his supporters to clean up approximately 100 Lennon Walls around the city on Saturday.
    But in a message posted late on Friday on his Facebook page, Ho said “for the sake of safety” the Lennon Walls would not be cleared up, only the streets.
‘RISING AGAIN’
    Steve Chiu, who works in finance, said people like Ho would only give the pro-democracy movement fresh impetus.
    “Through provocative acts like this, he helps unify the moderates and frontline in the movement,” he told Reuters.
    “It’s like a wave.    Sometimes we’re in a trough and sometimes on a crest, and we’re rising again.”
    The walls are named after the John Lennon Wall in communist-controlled Prague in the 1980s that was covered with Beatles lyrics and messages of political grievance.
    The anti-government protesters are angry about what they see as creeping interference by Beijing in Hong Kong, which returned to China under a “one country, two systems” formula that ensures freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland.
    China says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” arrangement and denies meddling.    It has accused foreign governments including the United States and Britain, of inciting the unrest.
    The demonstrations have taken on their own rhythm over the months and tend to peak at weekends, often with anti-government activists, many masked and in black, throwing petrol bombs at police, trashing metro stations, blocking airport roads and lighting street fires.
    At times, they have been confronted by supporters of Beijing wielding sticks.
    Police have responded with tear gas, water cannon, rubber bullets and several live rounds into the air, prompting accusations of brutality which they deny.    Amnesty International on Friday said some police treatment of detainees amounted to torture.
    Police said they have respected the “privacy, dignity and rights” of those in custody according to regulations, allowing detainees transport to hospitals and communication with lawyers and their families.
(Reporting by Greg Torode, Jessie Pang, James Pomfret, Poppy McPherson, Donny Kwok, Clare Jim, Twinnie Siu, Tyrone Siu, Poppy McPherson and Felix Tam; Writing by Farah Master and Nick Macfie; Editing by Robert Birsel)

9/21/2019 Iran threatens ‘full destruction’ of ‘any aggressor’ who attacks the nation by OAN Newsroom
    Iran issues a threat to pursue and destroy any aggressors, who attack the nation.
    Speaking at a press conference Saturday the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said, any attack, even a limited one would provoke a “crushing response” in return.
Chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Gen. Hossein Salami speaks in a ceremony displaying pieces of the American drone shot down by
the Guard in the Strait of Hormuz in June, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019. Salami said his forces are ready for combat and
“any scenario” as the country’s nuclear deal with world powers collapses and tensions with the U.S. soar. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
    The remarks come just one day after the Pentagon announced, it will deploy U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
    The Iranian military leader also said, Iran “will go on until the end” and will not let war reach its territory.
    “Our will to react to any kind of invasion is decisive.    We are eager to react be careful.    A limited aggression would not remain limited,” said Salami.    “We will continue until the full destruction of any aggressor.    We would leave no corner safe.    Consider this.    Do not make mistakes.    Whoever wants their land to turn into the main battlefield, let it be.”
    This comes as Iran continues to deny any involvement in the attack on Saudi Arabia’s Aramco oil facilities.

9/21/2019 Iran says it will destroy any aggressor
Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif reacts during a news conference with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
(not pictured) after their meeting in Moscow, Russia, September 2, 2019. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/Files
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran will pursue any aggressor, even it carries out a limited attack, and seek to destroy it, the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday, after attacks on Saudi oil sites which Riyadh and U.S officials blamed on Tehran.
    “Be careful, a limited aggression will not remain limited.    We will pursue any aggressor,” the head of the Guards, Major General Hossein Salami, said in remarks broadcast on state TV.    “We are after punishment and we will continue until the full destruction of any aggressor.”
    U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday approved sending American troops to bolster Saudi Arabia’s air and missile defences after the Sept. 14 attacks.
    Iran denies involvement in the attack, which was claimed by Yemen’s Houthi movement, a group aligned with Iran and currently fighting a Saudi-led alliance in Yemen’s civil war.
    Trump’s move drew fire in Washington on Saturday from U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who called it his “latest outrageous attempt” to circumvent Congress.
    “These unacceptable actions are cause for alarm,” Pelosi said in a statement accusing Trump of turning “a blind eye” to Saudi violence against innocent Yemenis, human rights abuses and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
    “The United States cannot enable more brutality and bloodshed,” she added.    “Congress will do our job to uphold the Constitution, defend our national security and protect the American people.”
    Meanwhile, Amirali Hajizadeh, who heads the Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace branch, said any attacks on Iran would receive “a crushing response,” the official news agency IRNA reported.
    Hajizadeh was speaking at a public exposition called “Hunting Vultures,” where remains of drones which were downed in Iran or crashed there were displayed, along with the Iranian air defence system which shot down a U.S. military drone in June.
    The exposition is part of annual events commemorating the start of the 1980-88 war with Iraq, which also includes air and naval displays in the Gulf and military parades on Sunday.
    Iran’s foreign minister meanwhile denounced renewed U.S. sanctions against its central bank following the Saudi attacks as an attempt to deny ordinary Iranians access to food and medicine, and said the move was a sign of U.S. desperation.
    The United States on Friday imposed more sanctions, targeting the Central Bank of Iran, which was already under U.S. sanctions, the National Development Fund of Iran – the country’s sovereign wealth fund – and an Iranian company that U.S. officials say is used to conceal financial transfers for Iranian military purchases.
    “This is a sign of U.S. desperation … When they repeatedly sanction the same institution, this means their attempt at bringing the Iranian nation to its knees under ‘maximum pressure’ has failed,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters in remarks shown on state television.
    “But this is dangerous and unacceptable as an attempt at blocking … the Iranian people’s access to food and medicine,” Zarif said, speaking after arriving in New York for the annual U.N. General Assembly next week.
    Separately, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi rejected what he called “unreal and repetitious accusations by certain Saudi officials” about the attacks, state media said.
    A senior Saudi official said earlier that Riyadh would wait for the results of a probe before responding to the attacks on its oil facilities, for which it believes Iran is responsible.
SANCTIONS
    Zarif said he would on Wednesday meet foreign ministers of the remaining signatories to the 2015 nuclear accord, which was agreed with Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia as well as the United States.
    “As we have said before, the United States can only attend if it returns to the (nuclear accord) … and ends its economic war against Iran,” Zarif said.
    The United States withdrew from the accord last year and re-imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran.
    After reports on social media of a cyber-attack on some petrochemical and other companies in Iran, a state body in charge of cyber security denied there had been a “successful” attack.
    “Based on our observations … there has not been a successful cyber-attack on oil facilities and other critical infrastructure,” said an official statement carried by IRNA.
    NetBlocks, an organisation that monitors internet connectivity, earlier reported “intermittent disruptions” to some internet services in Iran starting on Friday evening.
    The group said the impact was limited, affecting only specific providers, and the cause was unclear.    “Data are consistent with a cyber-attack or unplanned technical incident on affected networks as opposed to a purposeful withdrawal or shutdown incident,” it said in a tweet.
    NetBlocks Director Alp Toker said they saw four Iranian networks falling offline over a three hour period on Friday evening.    This began when the first reports emerged and ended shortly afterwards.    The networks have been stable since.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom, additional reporting by Jack Stubbs in London and David Morgan in Washington; Editing by Kevin Liffey, Giles Elgood and Daniel Wallis)

9/21/2019 China’s Pacific influence grows as it signs up new friend in Solomon Islands by Ben Blanchard
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi shakes hands with Solomon Islands Foreign Minister
Jeremiah Manele during a ceremony to mark the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations at the
Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, September 21, 2019. Naohiko Hatta/Pool via REUTERS
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China and former Taiwan ally the Solomon Islands established diplomatic ties on Saturday in a sign of Beijing’s growing influence in the Pacific that has angered Washington, with a top Chinese diplomat saying the time was almost up for the rest of Taiwan’s friends.
    In a setback for self-ruled and democratic Taiwan, which China claims as a province with no right to state-to-state ties, Beijing this week won over two previous Taiwanese allies in the Pacific – the Solomon Islands and Kiribati.
    Washington, which also only has official relations with China rather than Taiwan, has watched with growing alarm at China’s increasing influence in the Pacific.
    In a show of displeasure, Vice President Mike Pence has declined a request from the Solomon Islands leader to meet to discuss development partnerships after it cut ties with Taiwan.
    The Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, told reporters in Beijing after signing diplomatic ties with the Solomon Islands that it was “neither reasonable nor sustainable” for them not to have formal ties.
    “This was a strategic decision, a transparent decision and a natural decision,” Wang said of the Solomon Island’s decision to desert Taiwan, standing next to Solomon Islands’ Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele at a state guesthouse in Beijing.
    Wang added a warning for Taiwan, whose President Tsai Ing-wen is gearing up for re-election in January and whose government has denounced China for luring away its friends with promises of cheap aid.
    “China must and will be reunified.    Factually and legally, Taiwan island has been and will always remain an inalienable part of China’s territory.    This status will not change, and is impossible to change,” Wang said.
    Taiwan now with formal relations with just 15 countries, mostly small and poor nations in Latin America and the Pacific, including Nauru, Tuvalu and Palau.
    “Now, there are only a handful of countries who have not yet established diplomatic relations with China.    We believe more and more visionary people in these countries will speak up for justice in keeping with the overriding trend of the times,” Wang said.
    Both the Solomon Islands and Kiribati may be small, developing nations, but they lie in strategic waters that have been dominated by the United States and its allies since the Second World War.
‘NATIONAL INTERESTS’
    China routinely denies offering easy cash and loans in return for recognition, which Taiwan has repeatedly accused Beijing of doing, but said this week that both Kiribati and the Solomon Islands would have “unprecedented development opportunities” with China by their side.
    “Solomon Islands’ decision to establish relations with the People’s Republic of China is based on our national interests,” Manele said.
    “The development challenges of my country are huge. We need a broader partnership with everyone, including the People’s Republic of China.”
    Neither Wang nor Manele took questions.
    China has yet to formally sign up Kiribati, who had originally abandoned Beijing in Taipei’s favor in 2003, but could hold a ceremony in the Chinese capital in the coming days ahead of Oct. 1, the 70th anniversary of the founding of Communist China.
    Kiribati said it acted in its best national interest when it severed ties with Taiwan and re-established diplomatic relations with China.
    Kiribati is the seventh country to drop Taiwan as a diplomatic ally since 2016 when Tsai took office, following Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic, Sao Tome and Principe, Panama, El Salvador and the Solomon Islands.
    China has stepped up pressure on Taiwan, flying regular bomber patrols around the island, cutting off a talks mechanism and forcing foreign companies to refer to Taiwan as part of China on their websites.
    China suspects Tsai of pushing for Taiwan’s formal independence, a red line for Beijing.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; writing by Se Young Lee; editing by Giles Elgood)

9/21/2019 Dozens detained in Kazakhstan at anti-China protests
Kazakh law enforcement officers detain opposition supporters during a rally in
Almaty, Kazakhstan September 21, 2019. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev
    ALMATY/NUR-SULTAN (Reuters) – Police detained dozens in Kazakhstan’s two largest cities on Saturday as they took part in the latest protest against China’s influence in the Central Asian republic.
    Neighboring China is already one of Kazakhstan’s largest investors and trade partners and a plan to relocate a number of Chinese plants and factories to the former Soviet republic has faced public opposition.
    The latest round of protests on Saturday was organized by supporters of Mukhtar Ablyazov, a fugitive banker living in France who has been the fiercest critic of Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
    Nazarbayev resigned last March after running the oil-rich nation for almost thirty years, but retains sweeping powers as the head of the security council and the ruling Nur Otan party.
    Kazakh authorities consider Ablyazov’s political movement extremist and involvement in its activities a crime.
    Authorities have detained 57 people and may be charged, the interior ministry said.
    “You know that as of today’s date ?at 2 p.m. the banned DCK in Kazakhsan was called upon to gather… we (the police) asked people to disperse, and those who didn’t, were taken to the district offices for questioning,” Bakytzhan Malybayev, first deputy chief of Nur-Sultan police, told reporters.    “We will carry out questioning and then the people will be released."
    Reuters reporters witnessed several arrests in Nur-Sultan and Almaty.    In Kazakhstan’s capital Nur-Sultan, police detained a man with a banner reading: “Let’s not give way to Chinese expansion” and “The old man is the enemy,” an anti-Nazarbayev slogan.    Several people chanted: "Freedom to political prisoners.”
    Some protesters tried to escape as police moved in and smashed the windows of a police bus.
    In Almaty, protesters were quickly taken away to police buses as they began chanting slogans against Chinese expansion and “Old man, go away!”
    China is a major investor in Kazakhstan’s energy sector and buys oil and gas from the mostly Muslim nation of 18 million, but critics accuse some Chinese companies – as well as Western ones – of hiring too few local staff and paying them less than foreign workers.
(Maria Gordeyeva in Almaty, Tamara Vaal in Nur-Sultan; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov and Andrey Kuzmin, editing by Deepa Babington)

9/22/2019 Hong Kong police storm mall as protest turns violent by Poppy McPherson and Jessie Pang
Anti-government protesters hold a rally in a shopping mall in Sha Tin, Hong Kong, China September 22, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police stormed a shopping mall where a pro-democracy protest turned violent on Sunday, and activists trashed fittings at the rail station next door.
    Hundreds of protesters, young and old, gathered in the mall in the New Territories town of Sha Tin, chanting: “Fight for freedom” and “Liberate Hong Kong.”
    Protesters also called for a boycott of businesses in the Chinese-ruled city seen as pro-Beijing and made a paper chain of receipts from those stores, which were then hung across the mall.
    Activists rounded on a man believed to have opposed them when they had damaged the Chinese flag.    Shouting, they pushed him into a corner beside the station and cheered as crowds punched and kicked him.
    After 20 minutes, he managed to walk away, dazed and bleeding from the forehead.    Protesters also smashed video cameras and ticket booths in the station.
    Some started to trash fittings at the entrance of the mall itself.    The protesters spilled outside where they lit barricades made of cardboard, broken palm trees and other debris.
    Police warned they would fire tear gas.
    Violence has hit parts of the former British colony at different times over more than three months, but life goes on as normal for most people most of the time.
    However, pictures of petrol bombs and street clashes broadcast worldwide present a huge embarrassment for Beijing just days ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic on Oct. 1.
    The Hong Kong government has already called off a big fireworks display to mark the day in case of further clashes.    China, which has a People’s Liberation Army garrison in Hong Kong, has said it has faith in Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to solve the crisis.
    There was also a noisy standoff between protesters and police at the Tsing Yi interchange station, which serves the Airport Express and the metro, which had been closed due to plans to block roads around the station.
    Police fired tear gas to disperse protesters who threw petrol bombs in two new towns on Saturday after pro-China groups pulled down some anti-government graffiti.    There were violent clashes elsewhere in the city.
    Police condemned the violence and said there had been many serious injuries in clashes between people of “different views.”
    The protesters are angry about what they see as creeping Chinese interference in Hong Kong, which returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula intended to guarantee freedoms that are not enjoyed on the mainland.
    China says it is committed to the arrangement and denies meddling.    It has accused foreign governments including the United States and Britain of inciting the unrest.
    Hong Kong police earlier prevented a protest targeting the airport.
    Pro-democracy protesters have targeted the airport before, occupying the arrivals hall, blocking approach roads and setting street fires in the nearby town of Tung Chung.
(Reporting by Poppy McPherson, Jessie Pang, Farah Master, Felix Tam and Twinnie Siu; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Giles Elgood)

9/22/2019 Hong Kong police fire tear gas after storming shopping mall by Poppy McPherson and Jessie Pang
A barricade on fire set by anti-government protesters is pictured during a demonstration
in Sha Tin, Hong Kong, China September 22, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police fired tear gas on Sunday to break up pro-democracy protesters who trashed fittings at a railway station and shopping mall, the latest confrontation in more than three months of often violent unrest.
    It was the biggest of several clashes across the Chinese-ruled city, most taking place in or near Mass Transit Railway (MTR) stations, now a familiar target of attack.
    Hundreds of protesters, young and old, had gathered in the New Town Plaza in the New Territories town of Sha Tin, chanting: “Fight for freedom” and “Liberate Hong Kong.”
    Protesters called for a boycott of businesses seen as pro-Beijing and made a paper chain of receipts from those stores, which were then hung across the mall.
    Activists rounded on a man believed to have opposed them when they had trampled on the Chinese flag.    Shouting, they pushed him into a corner beside the station and cheered as crowds punched and kicked him.
    After 20 minutes, he managed to walk away, dazed and bleeding from the forehead.    Protesters also smashed video cameras and ticket booths in the station.
    Some started to trash fittings at the entrance of the mall.    The protesters then spilled outside where they set fire to barricades made of cardboard, broken palm trees and other debris.
    Police fired tear gas after coming under attack from bricks dug up from pathways.
    Violence has hit parts of the former British colony at different times over the last three months, but life goes on as normal for most people most of the time.
    However, pictures of petrol bombs and street clashes broadcast worldwide present a huge embarrassment for Beijing just days ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic on Oct. 1.
    The Hong Kong government has already called off a big fireworks display to mark the day in case of further clashes.    China, which has a People’s Liberation Army garrison in Hong Kong, has said it has faith in Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to solve the crisis.
    The protesters are angry about what they see as creeping Chinese interference in Hong Kong, which returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula intended to guarantee freedoms that are not enjoyed on the mainland.
    China says it is committed to the arrangement and denies meddling.    It has accused foreign governments including the United States and Britain of inciting the unrest.
MTR TARGETED
    There was also a noisy standoff between protesters and police at the Tsing Yi interchange station, which serves the Airport Express and the MTR.
    There were also scuffles at the Kwai Fong MTR, near Tsing Yi. Activists lit a street fire outside Prince Edward MTR station, north of the Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district, where police said they would use tear gas to disperse them.
    Police closed Kowloon station, also on the Airport Express route, where about 400 protesters had gathered, shouting abuse and vandalizing property.
    Protest violence has often targeted the MTR, which is blamed for closing stations at the government’s behest to stop demonstrators gathering.
    Protesters are also demanding that the MTR hand over CCTV footage of police beating protesters on a train at Prince Edward station as they cowered on the floor, smartphone footage of which went viral online.
    Police fired tear gas to disperse protesters who threw petrol bombs in two new towns on Saturday after pro-China groups pulled down some anti-government graffiti.    There were violent clashes elsewhere in the city.
    Police condemned the violence and said there had been many serious injuries in clashes between people of “different views.”
    Police earlier prevented a protest targeting the airport.
    Pro-democracy protesters have targeted the airport before, occupying the arrivals hall, blocking approach roads and setting street fires in the nearby town of Tung Chung.
(Reporting by Poppy McPherson, Jessie Pang, Farah Master, Felix Tam and Twinnie Siu; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Giles Elgood and Deepa Babington)

9/23/2019 Iran resists sanctions, U.S. is ‘desperate,’ Rouhani says
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivers a speech during the ceremony of the National Army Day
parade in Tehran, Iran September 22, 2019. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday new U.S. sanctions, under which Iran’s central bank was blacklisted for a second time, pointed to U.S. “desperation” in face of Iranian resistance.
    The United States on Friday imposed another round of sanctions on Iran, including on its central bank which was already blacklisted, following the Sept. 14 attacks on Saudi oil facilities that Riyadh and U.S. officials have blamed on Iran.
    Tehran denies involvement in the attacks which was claimed by Yemen’s Houthi movement, an Iran-aligned group fighting a Saudi-led alliance in Yemen’s civil war.
    “Americans are sanctioning institutions that have already been blacklisted.    This signals America’s complete desperation and shows that it’s maximum pressure has failed…as the great Iranian nation has resisted successfully,” Rouhani said in remarks carried by state television.
    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday the United States aimed to avoid war with Iran and the additional troops ordered to be deployed in the Gulf region were for “deterrence and defense.”
    But Rouhani said the situation had become “intense” in the region and blamed it on Washington.
    “The region has become intense…They make propaganda about damage (in Saudi ) which can be repaired in two weeks … because America wants to conquer the region,” Rouhani said.
    Rouhani said he would introduce a regional peace plan dubbed HOPE (Hormuz Peace Endeavour) at the United Nations General Assembly this week.
    “All countries of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz and the United Nations are invited to join,” Rouhani said before leaving for New York to attend the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

9/23/2019 Hong Kong mops up after fresh violence, braces for October 1 anniversary
A burning barricade is seen next to a bus during a rally outside Mong Kok Police Station,
in Hong Kong, China September 22, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong cleaned up on Monday and train services in the city resumed, after another weekend of sometimes violent protests that saw pro-democracy activists vandalize a railway station and a shopping mall.
    Nearly 50 people were arrested in the weekend clashes, police said, bringing the total number of arrested in the protests since June to 1,556.
    The Chinese-rule territory is on edge ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic on Oct. 1, with authorities eager to avoid scenes that could embarrass the central government in Beijing.
    The Hong Kong government starts an official dialogue with community members this week in a bid to heal rifts in society and has already called off a big fireworks display to mark Oct. 1 in case of further clashes.
    The former British colony also marks the fifth anniversary this weekend of the start of the “Umbrella” protests, a series of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014 that failed to wrestle concessions from Beijing.
    Activists plan to gather at so-called Lennon Walls, which feature anti-government messages and are named after the original John Lennon Wall in Communist-ruled Prague in the 1980s, in the heart of the financial center on Saturday and spread to different areas across Hong Kong island.
    Another rally is planned on Sunday in the bustling shopping and tourist district of Causeway Bay, the site of some fierce recent clashes between police and protesters.
    Police on Sunday fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the latest clashes in more than three months of unrest that has plunged the city into its worst political crisis in decades.
    Forty-seven people, 42 males and five females aged between 14 and 64, were arrested.
    The biggest of several clashes took place in or near Mass Transit Railway (MTR) stations, now a familiar target of attack because stations are often closed at the government’s behest to stop demonstrators from gathering.
    Hundreds of protesters had gathered in the New Town Plaza in the New Territories town of Sha Tin on Sunday, chanting: “Fight for freedom” and “Liberate Hong Kong.”
    Activists trampled on a Chinese flag near the train station and rounded on a man they believed had opposed them. Protesters also smashed video cameras and ticket booths in the station.
    Some started to trash fittings at the entrance of the mall.    The protesters then spilled outside where they set fire to barricades made of cardboard, broken palm trees and other debris.
    MTR said on Monday train services had returned to normal.
    China, which has a People’s Liberation Army garrison in Hong Kong, has said it has faith in Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to solve the crisis.
    Demonstrators are frustrated at what they see as Beijing’s tightening grip over the Asian financial hub, which returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula intended to guarantee freedoms that are not enjoyed on the mainland.
    China says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” arrangement and denies interfering.
    Anti-government protesters, many masked and wearing black, have caused havoc since June, throwing petrol bombs at police, trashing metro stations, blocking airport roads and lighting street fires.
    Scores of airlines wrote jointly to the Hong Kong government earlier this month to seek airport fee waivers as they struggle to deal with the financial fallout from the protests that have led to a sharp drop in traveler demand.
(Reporting By Anne Marie Roantree and Farah Master; Additional reporting by Twinnie Siu; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Alex Richardson)

9/23/2019 China sees Kiribati ties soon, no word on space tracking station
FILE PHOTO: Lagoons can be seen from a plane as it flies above Kiritimati Island,
part of the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati, April 5, 2016./File Photo
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China will formally resume ties soon with Kiribati, the foreign ministry said on Monday, following the Pacific island state’s decision to ditch relations with Taiwan.
    But it did not say what will happen to a space tracking station that China used to operate in Kiribati and is now closed.
    Kiribati announced last week that it was cutting relations with self-ruled Taiwan in favor of China, which claims Taiwan as a wayward province with no right to state-to-state ties.
    China and Kiribati had ties until 2003, when Tarawa established relations with Taipei, causing China to break off diplomatic relations.
    Until then, China had operated the space tracking station in Kiribati, which played a role in tracking China’s first manned space flight in 2003, just before the suspension of ties.
    Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang did not answer a question about what would happen with the former space tracking station.
    On the timing of when China and Kiribati will formally resume diplomatic relations, Geng said: “What should happen will come sooner or later.    Everybody should remain patient.”
    “We look forward to resuming diplomatic relations with Kiribati and opening a new page in the two countries’ relations,” Geng said.
    He said China also believed this would serve both countries’ people and would be beneficial for peace, stability and prosperity for Pacific island countries.
    China has welcome Kiribati’s decision though the two have not yet officially signed an agreement to resume ties.
    Last week was a difficult one for Taiwan, as the Solomon Islands also ditched Taipei for Beijing.    The Solomon Islands foreign minister signed a deal on diplomatic ties with Beijing in China on Saturday.
    Both the Solomon Islands and Kiribati are small developing nations but lie in strategic waters that have been dominated by the United States and its allies since World War Two, and China’s moves to expand its influence in the Pacific have angered Washington.
    A former Taiwanese ambassador to Kiribati, Abraham Chu, told Taiwan’s Central News Agency over the weekend that China had never fully removed the tracking station in Kiribati and said China’s then-ambassador in Kiribati was a space expert.
    The equipment was locked away and guarded by four fishermen, Chu said.
    “It seems it can come back at any time,” he added, referring to the tracking station.
    The Kiribati government did not respond to a request for comment.
    China’s space program is overseen by the military.    China’s Defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
    Taiwan now has formal relations with just 15 countries, mostly small and poor nations in Latin America and the Pacific, including Nauru, Tuvalu and Palau. China has signaled it is coming for the rest of its allies.
(Reporting by Michael Martina and Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

9/23/2019 20 Al-Qaeda, 22 Taliban militants killed in joint U.S.-Afghan raid in Helmand by OAN Newsroom
    U.S. Special Forces and the Afghan military carried out a deadly raid against Al-Qaeda militants in Southern Afghanistan.    American and Afghan commandos, with the support from a U.S. gunship AC-130, reportedly destroyed an Al-Qaeda compound in the province of Helmand over the weekend.
    At least 20 Al-Qaeda terrorists were killed in the joint raid. U.S. military officials said an additional 22 Taliban militants were killed on the scene, while six terror suspects were arrested.
    Following the raid, Afghan officials called on the Taliban to come to the negotiating table.
    “The Afghan government and the Afghan national security, we all are extending our hand for the peace process and has given the opportunity for the Taliban to come,” stated Afghani Interior Minister Massoud Andarabi.
Afghans transport the body of a person who was killed during a raid conducted by Afghan
special forces, in the southern Helmand province, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Abdul Hadi)
    Separate reports alleged civilian casualties during the raid in Helmand.    Some claimed the Al-Qaeda compound was close to civilian buildings.
    Meanwhile, U.S. commandos suffered no casualties in the raid, while several Afghan troops were wounded.

9/24/2019 Hong Kong leader says police under extreme pressure; acknowledges ‘long road’ ahead by Anne Marie Roantree and Donny Kwok
Riot police react as they disperse crowds of anti-government protesters during a rally
outside Mong Kok police station, in Hong Kong, China, September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday the city’s police force, which has been accused of beating activists and using excessive force during protests, is under extreme pressure and acknowledged it will be a “long road” toward healing rifts.
    Beijing-backed Lam said it was “quite remarkable” there had not been fatalities during three months of protests, and she hoped dialogue would help resolve the political crisis gripping the Asian financial center.
    Police cast doubt over allegations that officers beat a man during a protest on Saturday, while Amnesty International called on the government to investigate police use of force against demonstrators.
    Police Acting Senior Superintendent Vasco Williams told reporters on Monday that footage of the alleged incident appeared to show an “officer kicking a yellow object,” not a man, in an alley.
    He conceded that the incident needed to be investigated, although he ruled out police “malpractice” and added that the video could have been “doctored.”
    What started as protests over a now-shelved extradition bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial have evolved into broader calls for greater democracy and an independent inquiry into police actions.
    Demonstrators are frustrated at what they see as Beijing’s tightening grip over the former British colony, which returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula intended to guarantee freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland.
    China has said it is committed to the arrangement and denies interfering.
    Lam said that, while she supported the police to safeguard the rule of law, “that doesn’t mean that I would condone irregularities or wrong practices done by the police force.”
    “I know the level of mutual trust is now relatively low in Hong Kong, but we have to make sure that we can continue to operate as a civil society,” she told reporters.
RED LINES
    Lam was speaking after Amnesty called for an investigation into police actions and urged the Hong Kong government to encourage Beijing to safeguard protesters’ right to peaceful assembly.
    “Ordering an independent and effective investigation into police actions would be a vital first step,” Joshua Rosenzweig, head of Amnesty’s East Asia regional office, said in a report.
    “Authorities need to show they are willing to protect human rights in Hong Kong, even if this means pushing back against Beijing’s ‘red line’.”
    In 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned in a speech marking the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to Beijing that any attempt to undermine China’s sovereignty was a “red line” that would not be tolerated.
    The protests have weighed on Hong Kong’s stock exchange.    On Tuesday, the Asia-Pacific unit of brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (AB InBev) raised about $5 billion in a Hong Kong IPO, after being priced at the bottom of a marketed range.    In July, the company canceled plans for an IPO aiming to raise $9.8 billion.
    The wider economy has also been hit.    The Hong Kong Trade Development Council said on Monday that it expects Hong Kong’s exports to shrink by 4% this year, in what would mark its worst export performance in a decade.
LAWMAKER ATTACKED
    A democratic lawmaker, Roy Kwong, was taken to hospital on Tuesday after being punched and kicked by three men in the Tin Shui Wai district close to the border with mainland China.
    Fellow Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting said the assailants had suspected triad, or organized criminal backgrounds, and intended “to send a message to threaten all” pro-democracy lawmakers.
    Over more than three months, many peaceful protests have degenerated into running battles between black-clad protesters and police, who have responded with tear gas, water cannon, rubber bullets, bean bag rounds and several live rounds fired into the air.
    Police, who have also been seen beating protesters on the ground with batons, say they have shown restraint in the face of increased violence, including protesters hurling petrol bombs.
    Lam said she hoped a dialogue session on Thursday evening with 150 members of the public would help bridge the divide, but conceded “it will be a long journey to achieve reconciliation in society.”
    In a direct challenge to Communist Party rulers in mainland China, some protesters have targeted Beijing’s representative office in Hong Kong, thrown bricks outside the Chinese People’s Liberation Army base and set fire to the Chinese flag.
    The city is on edge ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic on Oct. 1, with authorities eager to avoid scenes that could embarrass the central government in Beijing.
    Lam said all national events should be respected and held in a safe environment.
    Guests at a flag-raising ceremony to mark the occasion will be moved indoors so it “can be carried out in a solemn and orderly manner,” the Home Affairs Department told Reuters on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Anne Marie Roantree, Donny Kwok, James Pomfret, David Kirton, Twinnie Siu and Poppy McPherson in Hong Kong; Editing by Stephen Coates and Alex Richardson)

9/24/2019 China grants new tariff waivers for U.S. soybean imports: Bloomberg
FILE PHOTO: Workers are seen next to a truck unloading harvested soybeans at a farm in
Chiping county, Shandong province, China October 8, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China has granted new waivers to several domestic state and private firms exempting them from retaliatory tariffs on soybeans imported from the United States, Bloomberg said, citing unidentified sources familiar with the matter.
    It said the waivers would apply to between 2 million tonnes and 3 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans.    Some of the companies have already bought at least 20 cargoes, or about 1.2 million tonnes of soybeans, on Monday, it added.
(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

9/25/2019 Iran ready to accept nuclear deal changes if U.S. returns, lifts sanctions: spokesman
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks about the nuclear deal in Tehran, Iran May 8, 2018 in this still image taken from video.
IRINN/Reuters TV via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. IRAN OUT. TV RESTRICTIONS: BROADCASTERS:
No Use Iran. No Use BBC Persian. No Use Manoto. No Use VOA Persian. DIGITAL: No Use Iran. No Use BBC Persian. No Use Manoto.
No Use VOA Persian. For Reuters customers only.
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran is willing to give reassurances on not seeking nuclear arms and accept changes to its 2015 nuclear accord with world power if the United States returns to the deal and lifts sanctions, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.
    “If the sanctions are ended and there is a return to the (nuclear) accord, there is room for giving reassurances toward breaking the deadlock and the President (Hassan Rouhani) has even a proposal for small changes in the accord,” the spokesman, Ali Rabiei, said on state TV.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom)

9/25/2019 Dozens of Hong Kong protesters appear in court on rioting charges by Jessie Pang
Protesters gather to support forty-four protesters who have been charged with rioting over their actions during a major protest on
July 28 and are to stand trial at the Eastern Magistrates' Court in Kowloon, Hong Kong, China September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Dozens of Hong Kong anti-government protesters appeared in court on Wednesday, charged with rioting and other offences over violent clashes two months ago near China’s main representative office.
    The case was adjourned until Nov. 19 after prosecutors said they needed more time to study 35 hours of video, including police, online and CCTV footage. The 44 defendants were to be released on bail, lawyers said.
    Police clashed with thousands of protesters in the former British colony on July 28 as they sought to defend the Hong Kong Liaison Office, a symbol of Chinese rule, from the crowds. Officers fired tear gas, rubber bullets and sponge grenades.
    The mostly young activists in hard hats and gas masks dismantled street signs and fences which they used to form makeshift barricades to slow police advances.    This is now a common tactic, met by the same response, almost every weekend.
    A week earlier, on July 21, they had daubed slogans on the walls of the Liaison Office and thrown paint bombs at it.
    Violence has hit parts of the former British colony at different times over the last three months, but life goes on as normal most of the time.
    But pictures of petrol bombs and street clashes broadcast worldwide present a huge embarrassment for Beijing before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic on Oct. 1.
FIVE DEMANDS
    The protesters are furious at what they see as creeping Chinese interference in Hong Kong, which returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula intended to guarantee freedoms that are not enjoyed on the mainland.
    China says it is committed to the arrangement and denies meddling.    It has accused foreign governments including the United States and Britain of inciting the unrest.
    The protesters have five demands – the scrapping of now-withdrawn legislation that would have allowed extraditions to China, retraction of the word “riot” to describe the rallies, the release of all detained demonstrators, an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality and the right for Hong Kong people to choose their own leader.
    The charges on Wednesday, apart from rioting, included one of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place and several of assaulting police. The defendants are yet to make their pleas.
    The publisher of Hong Kong’s Apple Daily, controlled by pro-democracy tycoon and Beijing critic Jimmy Lai, on Wednesday condemned an assault on one of its reporters by unknown assailants at a restaurant.    The female reporter has been covering the protests. [nL3N26G0EB]
(Reporting by Jessie Wong, Writing by Nick Macfie, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

9/25/2019 China says has no intent to play ‘Game of Thrones’ but warns on sovereignty by David Brunnstrom and David Lawder
China's State Councilor and Special Representative Wang Yi speaks during the 2019 United Nations Climate Action Summit
at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
    NEW YORK (Reuters) – China’s top diplomat hit back at U.S. criticism of its trade and development model on Tuesday, saying Beijing had no intention to “play the Game of Thrones on the world stage” but warned Washington to respect its sovereignty, including in Hong Kong.
    Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister and state councilor, said Beijing would not bow to threats, including on trade, though he said he hoped a round of high-level trade talks next month would produce positive results.
    In a speech on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York – which Wang is expected to address on Friday – he urged a move away from confrontation between the two biggest global economies, saying they should cooperate for mutual benefit and for that of rest of the world.
    Earlier on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump had a stern message for China and its president, Xi Jinping, in his speech at the U.N. General Assembly, saying that the United States would no longer tolerate Beijing’s trade practices and that he would not accept a “bad deal” with China on trade.
    He also warned that the world was watching how Beijing handles mass demonstrations in Hong Kong that have heightened fears of a potential Chinese crackdown.
    Trump has sought to pressure China to agree to reduce trade barriers through a policy of increasing tariffs on Chinese products.    He accused China of the theft of trade secrets “on a grand scale” and said it was taking advantage of World Trade Organization rules that give Beijing beneficial treatment as a “developing economy”
UNNECESSARY DAMAGE
    Wang told an event co-hosted by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the U.S.-China Business Council that the trade war was inflicting unnecessary damage on both countries, raising costs for American firms, pushing up consumer prices and dampening U.S. growth potential.
    He warned that the United States should not try to force China to change its development model nor de-couple the two economies, saying such efforts were unworkable.
    “Negotiation cannot take place under threat or at the expense of China’s legitimate right to development,” Wang added.
    Wang rejected the views of those who believe Beijing is aiming to surpass the United States as a strategic power, saying “seeking hegemony is not in our DNA” and said China was a developing country still far behind the United States.    "China has no intention to play the Game of Thrones on the world stage. For now and for the foreseeable future, the United States is and will still be the strongest country in the world.”
    At the same time, Wang said the two countries need to stick to the principles of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, respect each other’s territorial sovereignty, and not attempt to impose their will on each other.
    He said that to maintain Hong Kong’s prosperity, it was necessary to reject violence and respect the rule of law.
    “We hope the U.S. will be consistent in its words and actions, respect China’s sovereignty and respect the efforts of the Hong Kong … government to stop violence and restore order,” he said.
    Wang also shot back at heightened U.S. criticism of China’s treatment of its Muslim minority in the western region of Xinjiang, saying the actions Beijing had taken there were to prevent extremism and terrorism.
    In another event on the sidelines of the U.N. assembly on Tuesday, the United States led more than 30 countries in condemning what it called China’s “horrific campaign of repression” against Muslims in Xinjiang.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and David Lawder; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

9/25/2019 Iran’s Rouhani to call for ‘coalition of hope’ in Gulf as tension spikes by Parisa Hafezi
FILE PHOTO: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani attends a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan June 14, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS
    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will give a speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday that will likely determine whether Tehran will re-engage with the United States to ease the heightened tension between the longtime enemies.
    The confrontation between Tehran and Washington has ratcheted up since last year, when U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with major powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled that country’s economy.
    Rouhani, the nuclear pact’s architect, has left the door open to diplomacy, saying that if sanctions were lifted, Washington could join nuclear talks between Tehran and other powers.
    But, in spite of French President Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to bring about talks between the two countries, Trump on Tuesday said he would intensify sanctions on Iran as part of Washington’s “maximum-pressure” policy to force Tehran to negotiate a broader deal.
    Trump wants a deal that further curbs Iran’s nuclear program, restricts its ballistic missile work and ends its support for proxy forces in the Middle East.    Tehran has ruled out negotiating any new agreement.
    In reaction to tightened U.S. sanctions on its vital oil exports since exiting the deal, Iran has gradually scaled back its commitments under the agreement and has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf, through which an estimated one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.
    At the General Assembly, Rouhani is expected to call for a “coalition for hope” in the Gulf that “will secure freedom of navigation, flow of energy and the regional stability in the Persian Gulf,” a senior Iranian official told Reuters.
    The shadow of war has lengthened after a Sept. 14 air strike on the heartland of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, which included damage to the world’s biggest petroleum-processing facility, knocking out more than 5% of global oil supply.
    The United States, the European Union and Saudi Arabia have blamed the attack on Iran, instead of the Yemeni Iran-aligned Houthi group that claimed responsibility.    Iran distanced itself from the attacks, but said it was ready for “full-fledged” war.
    The escalating confrontation could tip the balance of power in Iran in favor of hardliners looking to constrain Rouhani’s ability to open up to the West, particularly because Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s aversion to Washington remains a formidable barrier to any diplomatic solution.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

9/25/2019 Timeline: Seven decades of Communist China by Ben Blanchard
Visitors are seen in front of pictures of late Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong, former Chinese leaders Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao
and Chinese President Xi Jinping during an exhibition on China's achievements marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the
People's Republic of China (PRC) at the Beijing Exhibition Center, in Beijing, China September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee
    (Reuters) – China will celebrate the 70th anniversary of Communist Party rule on Oct. 1 with flowers, speeches, performances and a massive military parade through central Beijing.
    The 70 years since the end of the civil war, in which Communists and Nationalists, or Kuomintang, fought to control territory vacated by the invading Japanese, have been tumultuous.
    China went through wrenching social changes as it veered from a planned economy to a failed experiment with radical collectivization to today’s free-wheeling, often messy mix of bare-knuckled competition and crony capitalism, all supervised by the Communist Party.
    People’s Republic of China @70: https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-ANNIVERSARY/0100B2BS1EV/CHINA70.jpg
    Following are some of the key moments in the history of the world’s most populous country since 1949:
    1949: Mao Zedong proclaims the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1 in Beijing.    Chiang Kai-shek’s defeated Nationalist-led government flees to Taiwan in December.
    1950-1953: China supports North Korea against U.S.-backed South Korea in the Korean War.    At least 100,000 Chinese “volunteers” die.
    1957: The Anti-Rightist Movement purges intellectuals and reformers with liberal economic and political views.    Veteran Communists are later purged for opposing the Great Leap Forward.
    1958-1961: The Great Leap Forward attempts to catapult China into the modern industrial age by collectivizing agriculture and creating steel in “backyard furnaces.”    An estimated 30 million people, mostly peasants, starve to death.
    1959: Chinese troops crush an uprising in Lhasa after widespread Tibetan resistance against forced collectivization. The Dalai Lama flees to India, where he remains.
    1966-1976: The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution unleashes the teenage Red Guards, who with fanatical devotion to Mao set out to destroy all vestiges of China’s “feudal” culture.    Schools close and the country disintegrates to near anarchy before youths decamp to the countryside to “learn from peasants.”
    1971: The People’s Republic of China joins the United Nations, displacing the Nationalist-led government in Taiwan, which had held the China seat.
    1972: U.S. president Richard Nixon visits China.
    1976: Tangshan earthquake.    An estimated 300,000 die.
    1976: Mao dies.    Veteran Party members defeat a power grab by his wife, paving the way for Deng Xiaoping to take charge.
    1978: “Reform and Opening up” policy revives agriculture as peasants regain the right to farm their own plots.    Over the next decade, food shortages vanish and foreign investment begins.
    1978-1979: “Democracy wall” posters support political reform.
    1979: United States and China reestablish diplomatic relations.
    1985: China runs a trade surplus with United States for the first time.
    1989: Students and workers protest for political reform and against inflation on Tiananmen Square for weeks before the army crushes the movement on June 4, killing hundreds, if not more.
    1992: Deng revives economic reform with his Southern Tour.
    1997: Deng dies.
    1997: British colony Hong Kong returns to Chinese rule. Tiny Portuguese-run Macau follows suit two years later.
    1998: The Asian financial crisis coincides with reform of state-owned firms, throwing an estimated 30 million out of work.
    2001: China joins the World Trade Organization.
    March 2008: Protests erupt across the Tibetan plateau after deadly riots in Lhasa, triggering a crackdown on Tibetans.
    May 12, 2008: An earthquake in Sichuan province kills around 80,000.
    August 8, 2008: Olympic Games open in Beijing.
    2009: Ethnic riots in China’s far western region of Xinjiang kill 197 people.
    2012: Xi Jinping becomes head of the Communist Party, and president the next year, kicking off a massive crackdown on corruption and civil society, with dozens of senior officials jailed for graft and rights activists jailed on charges that include subversion.
    2013: Xi unveils landmark initiative to re-create the old Silk Road, now called the Belt and Road Initiative.
    2013: China jails once-rising political star and contender for top leadership Bo Xilai for life for corruption, in a dramatic scandal kicked off by his wife’s murder of a British businessman.
    2015: China’s fearsome former domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang jailed for life for crimes including corruption and leaking state secrets.
    2017: U.S. President Donald Trump visits Beijing, but the next year the two countries embark on a trade war, underscoring deteriorating ties between the world’s two largest economies.
    2018: China changes its constitution to lift presidential term limits, meaning Xi can remain president until he dies.
    2019: Mass and at times violent protests in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong against a contested extradition bill morph into demands for greater freedom from Beijing.
(This story has been corrected to fix typo in Paragraph 1.)
(Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

9/25/2019 Sanctions-hit Iran props up economy with bartering, secret deals by Parisa Hafezi
FILE PHOTO: Iranian rial currency notes are seen at a market in the holy Shi'ite city of
Najaf, Iraq September 22, 2019. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani - RC1A4B48AE60/File Photo
    NEW YORK (Reuters) – Washington’s policy of applying “maximum pressure” on Iran with wide-ranging sanctions has shredded the country’s oil revenues, sent its economy into recession and devalued its national currency.
    Yet Iran remains defiant in the face of U.S. efforts to compel it to accept tougher restrictions on its nuclear program and scale back support for proxy wars across the Middle East.
    Iranian officials, business people and analysts say the country is staying on its feet by stepping up exports of non-oil goods and increasing tax revenues, but most importantly resorting to bartering, smuggling and back-room deals.
    To circumvent U.S. banking and financial sanctions, Iran’s rulers have built up a network of traders, companies, exchange offices, and money collectors in different countries, they say.
    “America cannot isolate Iran,” said one senior Iranian official, who like other officials asked not to be named.    “If they succeed in ending our oil sales, which they cannot, we will export textiles, food, petrochemicals, vegetables, you just name it.”
    Ali Vaez, Iran Project Director at the International Crisis Group, said although the Iranian economy was in dire straits, it was far from being overwhelmed.
    “Iran is quite experienced in living under economic duress … In the past few years, its non-oil exports have grown significantly and so has their trade with neighboring countries like Iraq and Afghanistan,” Vaez said.    “Iran can also smuggle oil and generate some revenue.”
TOUGH SANCTIONS
    Western companies raced back to Iran’s market and its oil income surged a year after a 2015 nuclear pact agreed with six major powers ended the sanctions regime imposed in 2012 over its disputed nuclear program.
    New sanctions brought in after President Donald Trump withdrew from that agreement last May are the most painful ever imposed by Washington, targeting nearly all sectors of Iran’s economy including how it finances its international trade.
    The OPEC member’s crude exports have been slashed by more than 80% since last year, against 2012 when exports plummeted to less than 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) from about 2.5 million bpd.
    Although food and medicine are exempt, lack of access to the global financial system has given rise to a humanitarian crisis with shortages of specialized medicine.
    The International Monetary Fund has forecast that Iran’s economy will contract in 2019 by 3.6 percent because of dwindling oil revenues.     The World Bank anticipates inflation jumping to 31.2 percent in 2019-20 from 23.8 percent in 2018-19 and 9.6 percent the year before that.    Some economists believe inflation has actually topped 40 percent.
    Iranian officials repeatedly contend that the country can weather the storm, but the reality on the ground is harsh.
    The sharp devaluation of Iran’s national currency and difficulty paying for urgent import needs have led to spikes in the prices of bread, rice and other staples.
    “It is easy for officials to talk about resisting America’s pressure.    They don’t have to be worried about the rent or increasing prices of goods,” said Ali Kamali, a 63-year-old retired teacher in Tehran.    “Prices are going up every day.”
    An end to sanctions is not in sight anytime soon, with Trump saying on Tuesday that pressure will intensify on Iran.    Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will give a speech at a U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday that will likely determine whether Tehran will re-engage with the United States.
    Tensions have been further raised by Sept. 14 attacks on U.S.-ally Saudi Arabia’s oil sites that Washington, Riyadh and the European Union blame on Iran.    Tehran denies involvement in the attacks, which were claimed by Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen.
    “Iran doesn’t have many other sources of income, beyond oil, so their economy is in a tailspin … They do have considerable budgetary reserves … to get them past the next few months, but the situation is not tenable,” said Chuck Freilich, senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
FINANCE HAS DRIED UP
    The financial sanctions have hit banks, institutions, individuals and front companies in several countries like Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
    Iran has used the barter system to evade such sanctions in the past, but the scale is bigger this time, especially with neighboring countries, including Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
    “We are a rich country with long borders with so many countries.    If you sell anything below its market price, you can find dozens of buyers … And transfer the cash by land, sea or even through a third country,” said another Iranian official.
    He said he has sold “tonnes of goods” in recent months and traveled to Dubai three times per month to “get the job done.”
    The majority of Iran’s non-oil exports are from the petrochemical industry, whose output reached 44.8 million tonnes in the first ten months of the last Iranian year that ended in March.    Exports generated over $9.7 billion.     “Our customers come to Iran or we meet them in a neighboring country.    This is business and when the price is lower than the market price, you can find many buyers,” said a third official.
    On a recent visit to Istanbul, Reuters was invited to a meeting of three young Iranians with a small group of foreign traders to discuss non-oil export deals.
    After hours of discussions and several calls to Tehran to get guidance on the price and location of delivery, two deals worth around two billion dollars were finalised.
    “No insurance, no banks … just cash,” said one of the Iranians, who ran a government-linked import-export company.
(Additional reporting by Tuqa Khalid in Dubai; Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

9/25/2019 Iranian President: Open to discuss changes to nuclear deal if sanctions are lifted by OAN Newsroom
    Iran’s president said he would consider small changes to the 2015 nuclear deal if the U.S. lifts sanctions against the regime. On     Tuesday, President Hassan Rouhani reportedly told the media in New York he may consider alterations to the deal with the U.S. and six other countries provided the Trump administration drops its extensive economic sanctions on Tehran.
    Earlier in the day, President Trump blasted Iran in front of the UN General Assembly in New York and threatened to strengthen sanctions against the country.
    “All nations have a duty to act, no responsible government should subsidize Iran’s blood lust,” he stated.    “As long as Iran’s menacing behavior continues, sanctions will not be lifted — they will be tightened.”
FILE – In this Sept. 3, 2019, file photo, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, center, listens to a lawmaker after
defending his proposed tourism and education ministers, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
    The U.S. placed new sanctions on Iran last week in response to its attack on Saudi oil facilities.    However, the regime has continued to deny any involvement in the strikes.
    “Hoping it free itself from sanctions, the regime has escalated its violent and unprovoked aggression,” President Trump told the assembly.    “In response to Iran’s recent attack on Saudi Arabia oil facilities, we just imposed the highest level of sanctions on Iran’s central Bank and sovereign wealth fund."

9/25/2019 Iran to U.S.: ‘You should … pay more’ for a new deal by Parisa Hafezi and Michelle Nichols
FILE PHOTO: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani attends a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan June 14, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS
    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that the United States must “pay more” for any agreement that goes beyond the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that Washington abandoned.
    Rouhani also appeared to reject meeting U.S. President Donald Trump while the two are in New York this week for the annual United Nations General Assembly and warned world leaders that the Gulf region was on the verge of going up in flames.
    “Our response to talks under pressure is no,” Rouhani said in a speech to the U.N. even as the United States increased the pressure by sanctioning Chinese firms for dealing in Iranian oil despite U.S. sanctions.
    The U.S.-Iranian confrontation has ratcheted up since last year, when Trump withdrew from Iran’s nuclear deal with major powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled its economy.
    Trump wants an agreement that goes beyond the 2015 nuclear deal and would further curb Iran’s atomic program, restrict its ballistic missile work and end its support for proxy forces in the Middle East.
    “If you wish more, if you require more, you should give and pay more,” Rouhani said in his U.N. General Assembly address, without giving details.
    In his own speech on Tuesday, Trump accused Iranian leaders of “bloodlust” and called on other nations to put pressure on Iran after Sept. 14 attacks on Saudi oil facilities that Washington blames on Tehran despite its denials.
    The United States plans to increase its military presence in Saudi Arabia following the attacks.
    Rouhani, however, said the Gulf region is “on the edge of collapse, as a single blunder can fuel a big fire.”
    “We shall not tolerate the provocative intervention of foreigners.    We shall respond decisively and strongly to any sort of transgression to and violation of our security and territorial integrity,” Rouhani said in his speech.
    Trump had said there was still a path to peace and Rouhani, the nuclear pact’s architect, has also left the door open to diplomacy, saying that if sanctions were lifted, Washington could join nuclear talks between Tehran and other powers.
NO TRUMP-ROUHANI MEETING SEEN
    Despite the French and British leaders urging Rouhani to meet Trump, an Iranian official told Reuters there was no chance that the U.S. and Iranian presidents would meet this week.
    “The chances of a meeting are zero.    They know what to do.    They should return to the JCPOA, lift sanctions and end this unfair maximum pressure on Iran,” the official said, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) 2015 deal.
    “Then of course they can join the talks under the deal,” the official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, added.
    Under the 2015 deal, Iran limited its nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions that constricted its ability to trade with the world.
    Since abandoning the deal last year, Trump in May tightened sanctions on Iran in an effort to reduce its oil exports – its main source of foreign exchange and government revenues – to zero.
    On Wednesday, the United States sanctioned five Chinese people and six entities it accused of knowingly transferring oil from Iran in violation of Washington’s curbs on Tehran.    The entities include two Cosco Shipping subsidiaries but not the parent company itself.
    While it originally respected the deal despite Trump’s withdrawal, Iran has gradually reduced its compliance and has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf, through which an estimated one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.
    The United States has blamed Iran for a series of actions since May – some of which Iran has denied – that have roiled oil markets, including attacks on half a dozen tankers, shooting down a U.S. drone and the Sept. 14 attacks on Aramco facilities.
    The air strikes on the heartland of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry damaged the world’s biggest petroleum-processing facility and knocked out more than 5% of global oil supply.
    Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir said Riyadh was consulting “with friends and allies about the next steps to take” once an investigation into who was responsible for the attack was complete.
    The United States, European powers and Saudi Arabia have blamed the attack on Iran, instead of the Yemeni Iran-aligned Houthi group that claimed responsibility.    Iran distanced itself from the attacks, but said it was ready for “full-fledged” war.
    The confrontation could tip the balance of power in Iran in favor of hard-liners looking to constrain Rouhani’s ability to open up to the West, particularly because Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s aversion to Washington remains a formidable barrier to any diplomatic solution.
    In the penultimate sentence of his speech, Rouhani raised the possibility of talks.
    “This is the message of the Iranian nation: Let’s invest on hope toward a better future rather than in war and violence.    Let’s return to justice; to peace; to law, commitment and promise and finally to the negotiating table,” he said.
(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi and Michelle Nichols; Additional reporting by John Irish, Arshad Mohammed and Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by Arshad Mohammed; editing by Grant McCool)

9/25/2019 Iran’s Rouhani says no to talks under U.S. pressure by Parisa Hafezi
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani is seen on a large video screen next to the U.N. logo as he addresses the 74th session of the
United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Iran will never hold talks with the United States under pressure, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, but added that lifting all the sanctions Washington imposed on Tehran and respecting a U.N. Security Council resolution could pave the way for talks.
    “Our response to talks under pressure is NO,” said Rouhani, but warned that Iran might exit a 2015 nuclear deal if the European powers failed to salvage the deal.
    “We are committed to the nuclear deal … but Iran’s patience has a limit,” said the pragmatic president, who was architect of the deal with six powers.
    Iran has criticized the European parties to the deal for their failure to protect Iran’s interests by shielding them from U.S. penalties which has been reimposed and tightened since last year when Washington exited the pact.
    In retaliation, Iran has gradually reduced its commitments to the agreement.
    The confrontation between arch enemies Iran and the United States has ratcheted up after attacks on Saudi oil facilities on Sept. 14 that Washington, the EU and Riyadh blame on Tehran despite its denials.
    Rouhani said the only way to secure peace and safety in the Gulf was strengthening “consolidation among all the nations with common interests in the Persian Gulf and the Hormuz region.”
    He said to those countries that “we are neighbors with you, not with America” and called for the United States to withdraw troops from the region.
(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi and Michelle Nichols; editing by Grant McCool)

9/25/2019 Mainland China urges UN General Assembly to ignore U.S. concerns over Xinjiang labor camps by OAN Newsroom
    China is calling on the UN General Assembly to ignore the reports of forced labor camps in its Xinjiang province.    On Tuesday, the Chinese government said the reports of indoctrination, torture, and murder of Uighur and other Muslim minorities in the camps are false.    Beijing stressed the camps are “vocational training facilities” and serve to prevent Islamic terrorism.
    Chinese officials also slammed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as an “arrogant interventionist.” over his latest criticism of human rights abuses by China.    Beijing warned the UN General Assembly against endorsing Pompeo’s concerns.
    “Recently, in disregard of China’s opposition, the United States has repeatedly smeared and slandered China’s policy towards Xinjiang, and interfered in China’s internal affairs under the guise of religious and human rights, stated Chinese Foreign Ministry Geng Shuang."    “Now, it made an even bigger mistake by holding the so-called discussion on the Xinjiang issue during the U.N. General Assembly.”
    Beijing also blasted Vice President Mike Pence over his criticism of the lack of religious freedom in China.
In this Sept. 21, 2018, photo, Han Chinese ride in a tricycle passing by farmhouses at the Unity New Village in Hotan, in western
China’s Xinjiang region.    The Trump administration, locked in a trade war with China, is increasing the pressure
on Beijing over what it says is the systematic oppression of ethnic minority Muslims.    American officials hosted a
panel Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly gathering in New York to highlight the plight
of Uighurs, whose native land in China’s far western Xinjiang province they say is a police state. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

9/26/2019 Anger, impatience mount in Pakistani Kashmir as Khan makes diplomatic push by Abu Arqam Naqash and Charlotte Greenfield
FILE PHOTO - Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan gestures as he speaks during a rally to express solidarity with the
people of Kashmir, in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Naseer Chaudary
    MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – As Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan prepares to deliver another appeal to the world to address the situation in Kashmir, he faces the risk that rising anger in his country’s portion of the disputed region could spiral into a confrontation with India.
    Some people in Pakistan’s portion of Kashmir said thousands of people were preparing to storm the line of control (LOC) – a ceasefire line agreed with India that is one of the most militarized frontiers in the world.    Reuters could not independently verify the claims.
    But regional tensions have swelled since India stripped its portion of Kashmir of autonomy in August, made mass arrests, limited communications and imposed curfew-like restrictions in some areas to contain a decades-long uprising against New Delhi’s rule.
    Khan has appealed to Kashmiris to give him the chance to sway the international community and he is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, but patience appears to be in short supply in Pakistani Kashmir.
    “We are all waiting for the United Nations…to see if the world can help us. Otherwise, we will try to break the LOC border,” said Habib Urhman Afaqi, the president of the Jamaat-e-Islami political party for the district of Kotli, near the LOC.    He said tens of thousands of men around the region were organizing by word of mouth and social media.
    “We are preparing people, emotionally, and collectively we will be ready to fight on 27 September,” Afaqi said.
    As of Thursday, there were no signs of any gathering of people in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan’s portion of Kashmir which is about 30 km (18 miles) from the LOC.    Political leaders in the region said they were waiting until after Khan’s speech to take action.
    Khan has strongly criticized New Delhi’s actions in Kashmir in an international diplomacy campaign and cut off trade ties, but has condemned the plan to storm the LOC.    He said in a speech this month that anyone who attempted to cross the border risked drawing the ire of India, losing international sympathy and would be an “enemy of Kashmir.”
    Pakistan’s military said it would not allow any one to cross the LOC.
    “Pakistan is making all peaceful/diplomatic efforts to awaken world conscience to get them (Kashmiris) relief,” the military’s media wing said in an e-mail.    “However, as stated earlier Pakistan keeps all options open and shall go to any extent as regards resolution of the Kashmir dispute.”
“CANON FODDER”
    Both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers and have fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.
    A spokesman for the Indian military warned against using Kashmiris as “canon fodder” and said he hoped Pakistan would ensure the LOC was not breached.
    “The Indian army is aware of the public utterances of Pakistani leaders aimed at instigating unarmed civilians,” the spokesman said in response to a question from Reuters.
    “It is a known fact that they are being sent on harm’s way to create a humanitarian crisis to draw world attention.”
    Khan told the New York Times on Wednesday that he would appeal in his speech for United Nations intervention in Kashmir but was not optimistic he could accomplish much in the short-term. He warned of large-scale violence in Indian Kashmir when the restrictions on civilian movements were lifted.
    Kashmir has been Pakistan’s single most pressing foreign policy issue since it was born out of British colonial India, but some Pakistani Kashmiris say Khan is being weak.
    “Imran Khan has nothing at stake and this decision whether to trample down or storm the LOC should be of the Kashmiris,” said Subiyal Rasheed, a 35-year old software engineer from the town of Rawalakot, who says he is speaking with other young men about storming the LOC en masse.
    Memes using the hashtag ”#TweetoSultan” went viral in recent weeks, a play on historic Muslim warrior Tipu Sultan and a dig at Khan that his battle was being waged through ineffective emotional tweets.
    Khan told reporters in New York this week that he was doing everything he could.
    “We can’t attack India, clearly that is not an option, and apart from that we’re doing everything possible we could do,” Khan said.
    India, which says its revocation of Kashmir’s special status will allow the region to develop economically, has long accused Pakistan of training, arming and sending militants to Kashmir.
    Pakistan denies this and says it only provides diplomatic and moral support to non-violent separatists in the region.
    Khan has stepped up his warnings this month that India is planning a ‘false flag’ attack on its own soil to give it an excuse to attack Pakistan, a claim India denies.
    Syed Salahuddin, a Kashmiri militant commander who heads an alliance of over a dozen groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, said in a speech this month that “harsh steps” from Pakistan’s government had hindered his groups’ ability to take action.
    He later said in an interview that Pakistan should send troops across the border or convince the United Nations to send peacekeeping troops there.
    “Pakistan has been extending us political and moral support…but the Kashmiris want some practical steps,” he told Reuters by phone, declining to answer further questions.
(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield in ISLAMABAD and Abu Arqam Naqash in MUZAFFARABAD; additional reporting by Asif Shahzad in ISLAMABAD and Devjyot Ghoshal in New Delhi; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

9/26/2019 Explainer: How Afghanistan will elect a president and potential peace maker
Afghan presidential candidates Abdullah Abdullah and former Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar shake hands before the
presidential election debate at TOLO TV studio in Kabul, Afghanistan September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
    KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan will soon choose its next president.    Whoever emerges victor will be key to the war-ravaged nation’s search for peace, but must beat more than a dozen other candidates and possibly face a run-off if no one gets a majority in round one.
    Eighteen candidates are officially vying to lead the country, although some have informally dropped out.    Of the rest, contenders include incumbent President Ashraf Ghani, his 2014 rival and uneasy partner in government Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and former warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.     Roughly 9.6 million people, about a third of them women, have registered to vote in 5,373 polling centers. Yet about one in twelve of those centers may not open because of security threats.     The Taliban insurgents, who control swathes of the country, have warned people against participating in the elections.     To protect voters, Afghan forces supported by NATO troops mission have been monitoring election stations across the country from Sept. 22.
    Campaigning, which lasts 60 days, ends two days before the vote.
    To win the presidency after the initial polling, the leading candidate will need more than half of all votes.
    Otherwise, they face a run-off with the runner-up while the remaining candidates are forced to drop out.
    If there is a second round, it is set to take place within two weeks of the first round results announcement.
    Preliminary results of the presidential elections are set to be announced Oct. 19, with the declaration of the final presidential result intended for Nov. 7, although long delays are the norm in Afghanistan since the return to democracy.
    Transmission of results will be slower from rural and remote parts of the country but steps are being taken to ensure that all results get declared together, election officials say.
    International observers will track the polls but will not be physically present at the stations because of the danger of insurgent attacks.    Domestic observers, appointed by different candidates, will be present.
    If a candidate dies during the voting or before results are announced, the election must be held again.
    Candidates must be Muslim, at least 40 years old and only hold Afghan nationality.    They cannot have been convicted by a court of crimes against humanity, criminal acts or deprivation of civil rights.
(Reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

9/26/2019 Khamenei says Iran should give up hope of European help against U.S. sanctions
FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during Friday prayers
in Tehran September 14, 2007. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl/File Photo
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday European countries were unlikely to help Iran against U.S. sanctions, and Tehran “should give up all hope” in that regard, according to his official website.
    Britain, France and Germany, parties to a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, have tried to set up a trade mechanism to barter humanitarian and food goods with Iran after the United States withdrew from the deal last year and re-imposed sanctions.    But the mechanism is still not operational.
    Iran has repeatedly said it will ramp up its nuclear activities unless the European countries do more to protect its economy from the impact of the U.S. sanctions.
    “Despite their promises, the Europeans have practically adhered to America’s sanctions and have not taken any action and are unlikely to do anything for the Islamic Republic in the future.    So one should give up all hope on Europeans,” Khamenei was quoted as saying.
    “There should be no trust in countries that have held the banner of hostility to (Iran’s) Islamic system, led by the United States and some European countries, because they are openly hostile to the Iranian people,” Khamenei said.
    “The road to interaction and negotiations is open to all countries other than America and the Zionist regime (Israel),” Khamenei told members of a powerful clerical body.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by John Stonestreet and Peter Graff)

9/27/2019 China needs strong leadership or will ‘crumble,’ policy paper says
FILE PHOTO: Visitors are seen in front of a picture of Chinese President Xi Jinping during an exhibition
on China's achievements marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC)
at the Beijing Exhibition Center, in Beijing, China September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China needs the strong, unified leadership of the Communist Party or the country will “crumble,” the government said in a policy paper released on Friday ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.
    China’s cabinet news office said in a white paper that the country’s success since the Communists took power 70 years ago was down to the party’s leadership.
    “China is huge in size, has complex national conditions, and its governance difficulties are rarely seen.    Without a unified and strong leadership force, China will move toward division and crumble, bringing disaster to the world,” it said.
    Chinese authorities have long justified a firm fist in dealing with problems, like the crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Beijing in 1989, as being necessary for national stability.
    Strong-arm President Xi Jinping, who will headline the anniversary celebrations of the world’s second-biggest economy on Tuesday, has further tightened party rule and cracked down on those who may challenge authority since taking office in late 2012.
    Xi has also overseen a military modernization program that has unnerved the region.
    China does not seek to export its development model nor want to import any foreign models, seeking only peace and not “hegemony,” the policy paper said.
    “The Chinese people do not have it in their genes to invade others or dominate the world.    In modern times, China has been bullied by the Great Powers, war and turmoil have left a deep impression with the suffering caused; China will never impose the sufferings it has been through on other peoples.”
    China is marking the anniversary at a time of uncertainty for the country, which is locked in a bitter trade war with the United States and faces challenges from a slowing economy as well as anti-government protests in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong.
    China will never “trade away” its core interests and not allow its security and sovereignty to be compromised, the paper said.
    “The threat of trade wars and the continued increase in tariffs are not conducive to solving problems,” it said, in reference to its trade disputes with Washington.
    “China is a mature economy with a complete industrial system, complete industrial chain, broad market space and strong economic development momentum.    It will never be weakened by trade wars,” the paper added.
    “China is confident that it has the ability to face difficulties, turn crises into opportunities, and open up a new world.”
    The United States should look rationally at China’s development, as China has no intention of challenging the United States and does not want to replace the United States, it added.
    “The United States cannot control China, and it is even more unlikely to stop China’s development.    Curbing and suppressing other countries and transferring domestic contradictions abroad will not keep the United States strong.”
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Gao Liangping; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

9/27/2019 Hong Kong braces for weekend protests ahead of major Chinese anniversary
FILE PHOTO: Anti-government students gather for protests in Lok Fu, Hong Kong, China September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong is braced for a weekend of unrest with pro-democracy protests likely to mount in the China-ruled territory ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic on Tuesday.
    Thousands of people are expected to rally in the city center on Saturday evening after authorities granted a permit for a gathering at Tamar Park, next to the headquarters of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council.
    The Asian financial hub marks the fifth anniversary this weekend of the start of the “Umbrella” protests, a series of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014 that failed to wrest concessions from Beijing.
    Rallies are also expected on Sunday to mark Global Anti-Totalitarianism Day, with solidarity events planned in cities across the world, including Paris, Berlin, Taipei, New York, Kiev and London.
    But the biggest protests are likely to be on the Oct 1 National Day, with protesters saying they plan to use the holiday to propel calls for greater democracy in the former British colony and to embarrass political masters in Beijing.
    Activists plan a mass rally from Victoria Park in the bustling Causeway Bay district to Chater Garden near government headquarters.
    Official festivities have been scaled back, with authorities keen to avoid embarrassing Beijing at a time when President Xi Jinping is seeking to project an image of national strength and unity.
    Benny Tai, a leading activist who was jailed for his role in the “Umbrella” movement, says that campaign revolutionized youngsters and set the stage for the current protests.
    Pro-Beijing rallies are also planned in the city, raising the prospect of clashes.
    Hong Kong has been roiled by sometimes violent demonstrations for months, with protesters blocking roads and vandalizing metro stations and riot police firing tear gas, pepper spray and water cannon at crowds.
    Sparked by a bill – since withdrawn – that would have allowed extradition of suspected criminals to mainland China, the protests have since expanded into a broader pro-democracy movement.
    Protesters are angry about what they see as creeping Chinese interference in Hong Kong, which returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula intended to guarantee freedoms that are not enjoyed on the mainland.
    China says it is committed to the formula and denies meddling.    It has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of inciting the unrest.
    Hong Kong’s economy is on the verge of its first recession in a decade.    Tourist arrivals in August dropped by nearly half from the same month in 2018, Commerce Secretary Yau Tang-wah told reporters on Friday.
    “Arrivals in August dropped 49.6%,” he said.    “Early in September they dropped by 30% to 40%. The situation is severe.”
    Crowds chanting anti-government slogans trapped city leader Carrie Lam in a stadium on Thursday after she held her first “open dialogue” with the people in bid to quell the unrest.
    More than four hours after the talks had ended, a convoy carrying Lam and other senior officials left the area under police guard.
    “Like many participants said last night, Hong Kong should not be divided into colors.    Diversity and freedom are cherished values in our society,” Lam said on her Facebook page.
    “There were people outside the venue who wanted me to go out to talk.    I know that everyone has different opinions about the form of dialogue. I promise that the dialogue will continue.”
(Additional reporting by Felix Tam; Writing by Poppy McPherson; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

9/27/2019 100K Afghan troops deployed for election weekend by OAN Newsroom
    Afghanistan is using its military to guard polling stations for safe and fair elections amid ongoing terror attacks.    The Afghan government deployed over 100,000 troops and officers on Friday to protect voting sites as their presidential election goes underway on Saturday.
    This comes as the Taliban threatens to cause harm at polling stations by launching rockets and staging suicide bombings. In spite of this, many citizens say they fully trust officials will provide a safe weekend that results in a positive election day.
    “We are very satisfied with our security forces and they behave very well with us,” said one Afghan citizen.    “We are fine with their searching and do not have any problem…under any circumstances, we will vote for sure.”
In this Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 photo, Afghan National Army soldiers search a car at a checkpoint ahead of presidential elections scheduled
for Sept. 28, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghans facing down Taliban threats are torn between fear, frustration and sense of duty
as they decide whether to go to the polls Saturday to choose a new president. But the security preparations have been elaborate. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
    There are 18 candidates running in this election and the winner will be in position to make or break peace talks with the Taliban, which could possibly lead to resumed talks with the U.S.

In this Monday, Sept. 23, 2019 photo, Afghan election workers load ballot boxes and other election materials on a truck for distribution
ahead of presidential elections scheduled for Sept. 28, at the Independent Election Commission compound, in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The Taliban have warned Afghanistan’s 9.6 million eligible voters to stay away from polling stations during
Saturday’s presidential election. It’s unclear how many will heed those warnings, but turnout is expected to be depressed as a result. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

9/27/2019 Despite French, British pleas, few signs of U.S.-Iran detente by Parisa Hafezi, John Irish and Arshad Mohammed
FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks at a news conference on the sidelines of the
United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid
    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Britain and France all but begged Iran to jump into the waters of a negotiation with the United States this week.
    Neither antagonist, however, showed much desire to discuss the many issues dividing them, from Iran’s reawakening nuclear program to the U.S. sanctions squeezing the Iranian economy.
    The absence of dialogue – let alone a presidential meeting – shows neither is yet willing to abandon core elements of policy: the U.S. belief that pressure will bring Iran to its knees, and Iran’s refusal to capitulate to U.S. duress.
    As a result, European and Gulf officials expect Washington to keep tightening its vise on Iran’s economy and foresee more attacks in the Gulf – like the Sept. 14 strikes on Saudi oil facilities – that the West blames on Tehran despite its denials.
    French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson teamed up on Tuesday to urge Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to meet U.S. President Donald Trump while they were all in New York this week for the U.N. General Assembly.
    “If he leaves the country without meeting with President Trump, this is a lost opportunity,” Macron told Johnson in a rare three-way meeting with Rouhani caught on camera.
    “You need to be on the side of the swimming pool and jump at the same time,” Johnson said, miming a jumping gesture to the Iranian president, who was wearing his habitual floor-length robe.
    Iranian officials sniffed at the idea of Rouhani-Trump talks in New York, with one on Wednesday putting the odds at “zero.”
    “The era of using pressure to bring a country to its knees is over,” said a second Iranian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
    They also reiterated, in public and private, their demands that the United States return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that Trump abandoned last year and that it ease the sanctions he tightened in May to try to eliminate Iran’s oil exports.
    “They walked out of the deal, imposed sanctions, tried to cut our oil exports, threatened other countries to stop helping us,” said the second Iranian official.    “Then they talk about talks?    No chance.”
‘UNSTABLE STATUS QUO’
    In the view of Western officials, Iran has struck back against U.S. sanctions through a series of attacks in the Gulf that have roiled oil markets.
    The pre-dawn Sept. 14 drone and missile attacks on Saudi oil facilities followed earlier attacks on Saudi oil installations and on oil tankers in Gulf waters – widely blamed on Iran – and temporarily crippled much of the kingdom’s production capacity.
    Critics argue that Trump’s failure to respond militarily has convinced Tehran it can continue to strike with impunity.
    “The Iranians are still willing to take the risk involved in attacking oil facilities in Saudi Arabia since they understand that they will not exact a heavy price,” said a Western intelligence source.
    The one area where U.S. and Iranian officials signaled a willingness to talk, though it was unclear whether they actually did, was on the possibility of releasing prisoners from the other country.
    The United States this week deported an Iranian woman who pleaded guilty to exporting restricted U.S. technology to Iran, but U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to discuss whether a U.S.-Iranian prisoner swap was in the offing.
    Trump, who basks in high-profile summits, had said he was willing to meet Rouhani in New York without preconditions, but the Saudi attacks upended the efforts by France’s Macron to bring the U.S. and Iranian leaders together.
    “The Sept. 14 attacks were of such magnitude that it was a turning point,” said a French diplomatic source.
    The source described Iran’s early September decision to take another step away from the nuclear deal by starting to develop centrifuges to speed up its uranium enrichment as “a third knife attack” on the 2015 agreement.
    “There was a little wiggle room before.    That’s even smaller now, but it still exists,” he added.
    Iran committed another breach of the fraying nuclear deal by enriching uranium with advanced centrifuges, a report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog policing the deal said on Thursday.
    A third Iranian official said a U.S.-Iranian negotiation was still possible, saying: “It is always darkest before the dawn.”
    Analysts, however, doubted one was likely anytime soon.
    “The Trump administration keeps insisting that Iran is under pressure – which is certainly true.    But Trump is under pressure as well, as     Iran continues to attack U.S. and global interests and expands its nuclear program in potentially dangerous ways,” said Phil Gordon, who served at the State Department and U.S. National Security Council under then-President Barack Obama.
    “Iran has signaled in recent weeks that it is not prepared to simply cave to U.S. maximalist demands as Trump seems to have hoped,” added Gordon, who is now at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.    “So now Trump has to decide if he’s going to give in to some of Iran’s demands – a major climbdown – or to accept the costs and risks of the unstable status quo.”
(Reporting By Parisa Hafezi, John Irish and Arshad Mohammed; Writing by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Mary Milliken and Jonathan Oatis)

9/27/2019 In swipe at Trump, China tells U.N. tariffs could plunge world into recession by David Lawder and David Brunnstrom
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly
at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 27, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – China’s top diplomat said on Friday that tariffs and trade disputes could plunge the world into recession and Beijing was committed to resolving them in a “calm, rational and cooperative manner.”
    In blunt speech to the annual United Nations General Assembly, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said:
    “Erecting walls will not resolve global challenges, and blaming others for one’s own problems does not work.    The lessons of the Great Depression should not be forgotten.”
    In a clear swipe at U.S. President Donald Trump, who started a damaging trade war on China nearly 15 months ago, Wang added, without naming the U.S. leader:
    “Tariffs and provocation of trade disputes, which upset global industrial and supply chains, serve to undermine the multilateral trade regime and global economic and trade order.
    “They may even plunge the world into recession.”
    In successive round of tit-for-tat tariffs between the United States and China have levied punitive duties on hundreds of billions of each other’s goods, roiling financial markets and threatening global growth.
    A new round of high-level talks between the two sides is expected in Washington in the first half of October.
    Wang’s remarks, unusually pointed for a Chinese diplomat, coincided with word that the Trump administration is considering radical new financial pressure tactics on Beijing, including the possibility of delisting Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges.
    Sources told Reuters on Friday that the move would be part of a broader effort to limit U.S. investments into Chinese companies, in part because of growing security concerns about their activities.
    Wang also took aim at Trump’s policy on North Korea, in which ground-breaking talks between Pyongyang and Washington have stalled, largely over the U.S. refusal to ease punishing sanctions.
    Wang said it was necessary for the United Nations to consider invoking the rollback terms of North Korea-related sanctions resolutions “in the light of new developments” on the Korean Peninsula “to bolster the political settlement of the Peninsula issue.”
    He said “the realistic and viable way forward” was to promote “parallel progress in denuclearization and the establishment of a peace mechanism” to gradually build trust “through phased and synchronized actions.”
    Wang reiterated comments made earlier in the week, stressing China’s commitment to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of another country.
    “On the international stage, we speak for justice and oppose hegemonism or bullying,” Wang said.
    Shortly before Wang’s speech, China and Kiribati formally resumed diplomatic ties at ceremony he presided over at the Chinese Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.
    The move followed the Pacific island state’s decision to ditch relations with Taiwan, which the United States supports with arms supplies and which Beijing considers a renegade province.
    “I do believe that there is much to learn and gain from the People’s Republic of China and the reestablishment of our diplomatic relations is just the beginning,” Kiribati’s President Taneti Maamau said at the event.
    The Solomon Islands and Kiribati are the latest countries to switch relations to China, leaving self-ruled Taiwan with formal ties to only 15 countries.
(Reporting by David Lawder, David Brunnstrom and Michelle Nichols; editing by Grant McCool)

9/28/2019 Hong Kong protesters rebuild ‘Lennon Walls’ ahead of China National Day by Angie Teo and Joyce Zhou
People stand next to banners, part of a Lennon Wall to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the
Umbrella Movement, at Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, China September 28, 2019 REUTERS/Susana Vera
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong protesters were rebuilding “Lennon Walls” of anti-government graffiti on Saturday as they marked the fifth anniversary of the “Umbrella” pro-democracy movement that gridlocked the territory for weeks.
    A series of pro- and anti-Beijing protests is planned for the Chinese-ruled city ahead of the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China on Tuesday, including at the consulate of former colonial power Britain.
    Anti-government protesters have attacked the legislature, Beijing’s main Liaison Office, occupied the airport, thrown petrol bombs at police, vandalized metro stations and set street fires in more than three months of unrest.
    Police have responded with tear gas, water cannon, rubber bullets and occasional live rounds fired into the air.
    “They are not our children,” China supporter Yau Mei-kwang said of the frontline activists.    “Because at this age, they should be studying, not running to the airport, hitting people, hitting the police, insulting people.    That is not right.”
    A pro-democracy protester at one Lennon Wall who only gave his name as Wong defended the use of violence.
    “We know that they will not listen if we rally in peace because we are not on the same level,” he said.
    Some Lennon Walls were torn down by pro-Beijing activists last weekend.    The large mosaics of Post-it notes calling for democracy have cropped up in underpasses, outside shopping centers, at bus stops and universities and outside the Legislative Council.
    The anti-government protesters are angry about what they see as creeping Chinese interference in Hong Kong, which returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula guaranteeing freedoms that are not enjoyed on the mainland.
    China dismisses the accusation.    It has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of fanning anti-China sentiment.
‘NOT SURE WHEN PROTEST WILL END’
    “Lennon Walls carry the spirit of civil disobedience from the Umbrella movement,” said pro-democracy protester Kelvin Law, 24.
    “I am not sure when this protest will end.    Either we win or we lose.    But as long as we are united and fight, generation after generation, we can achieve democracy.”
    Protesters appealed to the British two weeks ago to rein in China and ensure it respects the city’s freedoms.    They plan to do so again on Tuesday.
    Britain says it has a legal responsibility to ensure China abides by the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, which lays out the “one country, two systems” arrangement.
    At the same time, it is pinning its hopes on closer trade and investment cooperation with China, which since 1997 has risen to become the world’s second-largest economy, after it leaves the European Union at the end of October.
    The protests were sparked in June by planned legislation, since withdrawn, that would have allowed the extradition of suspected criminals to mainland China.    But they have since expanded into a broader pro-democracy movement.
    The student-led Umbrella protests that gridlocked the city for 79 days in 2014 failed to wrest concessions from Beijing.
    One of the leaders of those protests, the bespectacled Joshua Wong, 22, said on Saturday he will run for local district council elections in November.
    “It’s time to let Emperor Xi (Chinese President Xi Jinping) be aware that now is our battle,” he told reporters.    “…We stand in solidarity, we stand as one.”
    The U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China marked the Umbrella anniversary with a statement denouncing the “accelerated erosion” of Hong Kong’s autonomy.
    “We call on the Hong Kong government to make the selection of the Chief Executive and the election of all members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage a priority and take concrete steps to strengthen Hong Kong’s autonomy,” it said.
    Dan Garrett, a U.S. academic who gave evidence before the commission, said on Twitter he was not allowed to land in Hong Kong on Thursday for the first time in 20 years of visiting and living in the territory.
    Various protests are expected on Saturday and Sunday, but the biggest are likely to be on Tuesday, marking the Oct. 1 anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
    Activists plan a mass rally from Victoria Park in the bustling Causeway Bay district to Chater Garden, a cricket pitch back in colonial days, in downtown Central.
    Official festivities for National Day have been scaled back, with authorities keen to avoid embarrassing Beijing at a time when Xi is seeking to project an image of national strength and unity.
(Additional reporting by Yiming Woo, Jessie Pang and Twinnie Siu; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Kim Coghill)

9/28/2019 Afghan presidential vote held in relative calm, but turnout low by Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Rupam Jain
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah poses as he casts his vote at a
polling station in Kabul, Afghanistan September 28, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
    KABUL (Reuters) – Tight security ensured Afghanistan’s presidential election was held on Saturday in relative calm, though several small attacks, low turnout and complaints about the voting system heightened fears an unclear result could drive the country into further chaos.
    Preliminary results are not expected before Oct. 17 and final results not until Nov. 7.    If no candidate gets 51% of the vote, a second round will be held between the two leading candidates.
    Taliban fighters attacked several polling stations across the country to try to derail the process, but intense security prevented the large-scale violence of previous polls.
    “This election was the healthiest and fairest election in comparison to the previous elections,” said Hawa Alam Nuristani, head of country’s Independent Election Commission (IEC), after the voting concluded.
    Ten of thousands of Afghans braved the threat of militant attacks and delays at polling booths to vote in the election, a major test of the Western-backed government’s ability to protect democracy against Taliban attempts to derail it.
    Two policeman and one civilian were killed in mostly small-scale Taliban attacks, the defense ministry said, adding 37 people were injured.
    Tens of thousands of troops were deployed to try to protect voters and polling stations.
    IEC officials did not immediately share the details on turnout, but Western diplomats in Kabul estimated it was low due to fears of violence and delays caused by polling officials.
    Voting was extended by two hours, after technical problems delayed the opening of some polling stations around the country.
    Independent election observers and activists said a slow pace to voting triggered confusion at some polling stations, with long queues forming outside.
    “It took the first voter 31 minutes to vote.    For subsequent voters it was taking around five minutes and then it started to streamline to 3 minutes and 30 seconds,” said Nishank Motwani, an observer stationed in Kabul.
    “Election commission staff looked panicked and voters were getting angry that the queue was not moving.”
TALIBAN INTERVENTION?
    Some observers feared the Taliban had forced a partial shutdown to upset the final results as the IEC, without giving a reason, said it had failed to establish contact with 901 of the 4,942 polling centers.
    The hardline Islamist group, which controls more of the country than at any time since its regime fell in 2001, had warned the more than nine million registered voters to stay at home or face dire consequences.
    Saturday’s presidential vote is the fourth since the Taliban was toppled.
    Over a dozen candidates are vying for the presidency, led by incumbent Ashraf Ghani and his former deputy Abdullah Abdullah.
    The winner will play a crucial role in the country’s quest to end the war with the Taliban and any resumption of talks between the militant Islamist group and the United States, which were called off this month.
    The Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan said early turnout was “very poor,” in part due to the requirement for voters to be photographed, to which female voters in conservative areas objected.
    Others were determined to vote.
    “Bravado gets defined when one musters courage to cast one’s vote,” said Kabul doctor Roya Jahangir after casting her ballot.    “We hope this time there is no fraud.”
    Hundreds of voters complained their names were missing from voters’ lists or the biometric devices used to prevent fraud. Addressing those concerns, the IEC eased restrictions, allowing anyone with election stickers on their national identity cards to vote.
POLLING STATIONS ATTACKED
    The small-scale attacks included an explosion at a polling station in a mosque in the southern city of Kandahar which wounded 16 people, according to a security source.
    In the northern province of Faryab, Afghan forces clashed with Taliban fighters in six districts, forcing people to stay indoors.
    The Taliban said its fighters attacked polling stations in Laghman province, in eastern Afghanistan. Officials said four explosions in the eastern city of Jalalabad, in which one person was killed, disrupted voting at some stations.
    Blasts also hit Kabul and Ghazni, officials said, while more than 400 polling centers remained closed because they were in areas under Taliban control.
    Western diplomats said the scale of the militant group’s attacks would determine whether talks with Washington resumed.
    “Talks can only begin if the Taliban exercises restraint and allows people to vote,” said one diplomat overseeing the elections.
    Ghani cast his ballot in a Kabul high school, telling reporters: “I thank God that today that people’s vote will help the republic of Afghanistan to move forward.”
    Abdullah voted at a different Kabul school.    “The threats to innocent people do not show the strength of the Taliban,” he said.
    Both men came to power in 2014 after a bitterly contested election marred by fraud.
    Afghanistan’s political scene is still tainted by the aftermath of that vote, which forced the two main rival groupings to form an unstable partnership.    Both sides were accused of massive electoral cheating.
    Gender break-up across polling centers – https://graphics.reuters.com/AFGHANISTAN-ELECTION/0100B2CY1H3/Afghanistan-elections-polling-centers.jpg
    Gender disparity of Afghanistan’s electorate – https://graphics.reuters.com/AFGHANISTAN-ELECTION/0100B2CZ1H5/Afghanistan-election-gender-split.jpg
(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi, Orooj Hakimi, Paul Carsten, Hameed Farzad and Rod Nickel in Kabul, Mustafa Andalib in Ghazni, Sarawar Amani, Ismail Samim in Kandahar, Anwarullah Mohabbat in Paktia, Matin Sahak in Balkh, Storay Karimi in Herat, Ahmad Sultan and Rafiq Shirzad in Nangarhar, Writing by Rod Nickel, Rupam Jain, Editing by Kim Coghill, John Stonestreet and Mark Potter)

9/29/2019 Street fires burn in Hong Kong amid running battles between protesters and police by Alun John and Sumeet Chatterjee
An anti-government protester shouts slogans in front of riot police in Hong Kong, China September 28, 2019. REUTERS/Susana Vera
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police fired water cannon, rubber bullets and round after round of tear gas at petrol bomb-throwing protesters on Sunday in some of the most widespread and violent clashes in more than three months of anti-government unrest.
    Running battles in the Causeway Bay shopping district, Wan Chai bar area and the Admiralty district of central government offices followed a night of showdowns with police in the Chinese-ruled city, where street fires burned as dusk fell.
    More protests are planned in the run-up to China’s Oct. 1 National Day, marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.
    “Police officers are using appropriate force to disperse radical protesters in Admiralty and Wan Chai and will soon embark on a dispersal operation in Causeway Bay,” they said in a statement.
    Police fired tear gas from the roof of the Legislative Council building, which activists trashed and daubed with graffiti weeks ago.
    Protesters, many of them wearing their trademark black with face masks, took cover from the tear gas behind umbrellas, some throwing tear gas canisters back at police.
    They built barricades with trolleys and trash cans and other debris.    One threw a petrol bomb at police in the Wan Chai metro station where an entrance was set ablaze.
    At least one petrol bomb landed in the grounds of central government offices where several windows were smashed.    There were street fires on the main drag of Hennessy Road.
    Police, who raise placards warning of retaliation before firing tear gas or firing water cannon, a tradition dating back to British rule, made several arrests, often in swoops, grappling people to the tarmac.
    There were no immediate reports of serious injuries.
    The water cannon fired blue dye, which elsewhere in the world is used to make identification of offenders easier.
    The government said that the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, will be out of town for China’s National Day, despite her having sent out invitations for celebrations at home.
    Some shops closed ahead of expected demonstrations, while the MTR metro service shut stations, a move that has made it a target of violence in the past.
    Protesters shouted anti-China slogans and called for their “five demands, not one less” of the government, including universal suffrage and the dropping of all charges against their arrested colleagues.
    About 200 China supporters dressed in red T-shirts gathered on top of Victoria Peak, overlooking the harbour, at around midday.    They sang the Chinese national anthem and chanted “I love China.”
    Angela, a housewife in her 40s, a Chinese flag sticker plastered on her cheek, said the pro-democracy protesters were “thugs.”
    "If the government takes violent action I don’t object,” she said.    “We have tolerated enough.    I think I have emotional problems because of the riots. Because it’s not safe to go out.”
CHANGE OF HEART
    Lam, the focus of weeks of anti-government unrest, will leave for Beijing on Monday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic the following day.
    Lam, who was trapped in an indoor stadium by street protests for hours this week after an “open dialogue” with the people, will return to Hong Kong on Tuesday night overland, minimising the chances of a clash at the airport, a popular target of anti-government protests.
    She had sent out invitations “requesting the pleasure of your company” at a flag-raising ceremony and National Day reception at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on Tuesday.
    It was not immediately clear why she had the change of heart but the government said Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung would stand in for her.
    Arthur, 40, wearing glasses and a mask covering the lower half of his face, said Lam’s trip was expected.
    “In these three months, Carrie Lam has not really cared about the protesters.    She only cares about the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) or what we might call ‘her boss’,” he said.
    “I think Hong Kong is somehow at this moment the frontline between Western democracy and the dictatorship in China…. Hong Kong looks more and more like a police state.”
    Police fired tear gas and water cannon on Saturday night to disperse protesters who threw petrol bombs and rocks, broke government office windows and blocked a key road near the local headquarters of China’s People’s Liberation Army.
    The protesters are angry about what they see as creeping Chinese interference in Hong Kong, which Britain returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula guaranteeing freedoms that are not enjoyed on the mainland.
    China dismisses the accusation and has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of fanning anti-China sentiment.
    Protests were sparked in June by planned legislation, since withdrawn, that would have allowed the extradition of suspected criminals to mainland China.    But they have since expanded into a broader pro-democracy movement.
(Reprioting by Alun John, Jessie Pang, Anne Marie Roantree, Donny Kwok, Angie Teo, Twinnie Siu, Sumeet Chatterjee, David Kirton, James Pomfret and Poppy McPherson; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Kim Coghill)

9/29/2019 Afghan election sees big drop in voter numbers: unofficial estimate by Hamid Shalizi
Afghan election commission workers count ballot papers of the presidential election
in Kabul, Afghanistan September 28, 2019.REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail
    KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s presidential election turnout is unofficially estimated at just over 2 million people or about 20 percent of registered voters, an official said on Sunday, solidifying fears that a low participation rate could marr the vote.
    The figure is a sharp drop from the roughly 7 million who turned out to vote in the last presidential election in 2014.
    Tight security ensured the election took place on Saturday in relative calm, but low turnout and complaints about the voting system heightened fears an unclear result could drive the war-torn country into further chaos.
    To be sure, many Afghans braved the threat of militant attacks to vote in an election seen as a major test of the Western-backed government’s ability to protect democracy against Taliban attempts to derail it.
    But of 9.67 million registered voters, only about one in five cast their ballot, according to the election commission official who requested anonymity as they were not authorized to release a turnout figure.
    Previous elections were tainted by accusations of fraud, dozens of deaths and allegations that the election commission was not independent.    Memories of those issues hung over Saturday’s vote.
    Deteriorating security and Taliban warnings not to take part also deterred many from the polls.
    Taliban fighters attacked several polling stations across the country to try to derail the process, but intense security prevented the large-scale violence.
    Preliminary results are not expected before Oct. 19 and final results not until Nov. 7.    If no candidate gets over half of the votes, a second round will be held between the two leading candidates.
(Reporting by Hamid Shalizi; Additional reporting by Rod Nickel and Abdul Qadir Sediqi; Writing by Paul Carsten; Editing by Stephen Coates)

9/29/2019 China says companies facing many difficulties due to trade frictions by Ryan Woo
Men work on a cargo ship at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer
    BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese companies are facing many difficulties due to trade frictions, Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said on Sunday.
    The United States and China have been locked in an escalating trade war for over a year.    They have levied punitive duties on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other’s goods, roiling financial markets and threatening global growth.
    “Trade faces unprecedented challenges,” Zhong told a news conference in Beijing.    “These challenges are both external and internal.”
    A new round of high-level talks between the world’s two largest economies is expected in Washington on Oct. 10-11, led from the Chinese side by President Xi Jinping’s top economic adviser, Vice Premier Liu He.
    China will expand imports, and measures to stabilize trade will yield positive results, Zhong add, without giving details.
    The Trump administration is considering radical new financial pressure tactics on Beijing, including the possibility of delisting Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges.
    Sources told Reuters on Friday that the move would be part of a broader effort to limit U.S. investments into Chinese companies, in part because of growing security concerns about their activities.
    The trade war has added to tensions between China and the United States, whose ties are also strained over U.S. criticism of human rights issues in China, including protests in Hong Kong, the disputed South China Sea and U.S. support for Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
    The Chinese government’s top diplomat said on Friday that tariffs and trade disputes could plunge the world into recession and Beijing was committed to resolving them in a “calm, rational and cooperative manner.”
    The trade war has taken its toll on the Chinese economy.
    China’s exports unexpectedly fell in August as shipments to the United States slowed sharply, pointing to further weakness in the world’s second-largest economy and underlining a pressing need for more stimulus.
    Beijing is widely expected to announce more support measures in coming months to avert the risk of a sharper economic slowdown as the United States ratchets up trade pressure.
    Despite a slew of growth measures since last year, China’s economy has yet to stabilize.    Analysts expect growth could cool further this quarter from a near 30-year low of 6.2% hit in April-June.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo, Kevin Yao and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Writing by Engen Tham in Shanghai; Editing by Kim Coghill)

9/29/2019 Singer attacked with paint at pro-Hong Kong democracy rally in Taiwan
FILE PHOTO: Hong Kong pro-democracy singer Denise Ho performs at a free concert after Lancome, the face-cream company owned by
French cosmetics giant L'Oreal, cancelled a concert featuring Ho, in Hong Kong, China June 19, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – 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.
    Organizers said around 100,000 people attended the Taipei rally to support the anti-government protests in Hong Kong, part of a global “anti-totalitarianism” rally ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of Communist China on Oct. 1.
    “A lot of social activists in Hong Kong are actually subjected to situations like this every day.    I think this is very obviously a sort of suppression and intimidation,” Ho told reporters after being hit by the paint.
    “I think that Hong Kong people will not back down or be scared by situations like this,” she said, calling the incident “an attack on free speech.”
    Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Chinese-ruled Hong Kong since mid-June in protests denouncing what they perceive as creeping interference by Beijing, a charge China denies.    Sunday saw some of the most violent clashes since the protests began, with Hong Kong police firing water cannon, rubber bullets and rounds of tear gas at petrol bomb-throwing protesters.
    Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said Ho’s attackers “will be harshly punished” according to law and that Taiwan will not tolerate violence.
    “Please take our will and determination to protect Taiwan’s democracy seriously,” Tsai said in a post on Facebook.    “This is the land of freedom and civilization, not the territory of rampant totalitarianism.    Don’t try to challenge Taiwan’s democracy and rule of law.”
    People in Taiwan have been closely watching Hong Kong and many have become increasingly wary of Beijing’s “reunification” agenda for Taiwan.
    China considers democratic Taiwan a breakaway province to be taken under its control, by force if necessary, and has suggested an arrangement similar to Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” formula guaranteeing certain freedoms.
    Braving heavy rain ahead of an approaching typhoon, many protesters in Taipei wore black and repeatedly chanted “free Hong Kong.    Stand with Hong Kong.”    Some carried signs that read “support Hong Kong, against totalitarianism.”
    Beijing has accused Taipei of supporting the Hong Kong protests, an accusation Taiwan denies.
    Thousands of people from Hong Kong have left for Taiwan in recent years, citing fears of Chinese erosion of the city’s freedoms.
    Commenting on Sunday’s protests around the globe, Tsai said many were rallying for freedom and democracy.    “Everyone’s heart is with Hong Kong.”
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Fabian Hamacher; Editing by Susan Fenton)

9/30/2019 Hong Kong police expect ‘violent attack’ on sensitive Chinese anniversary by Donny Kwok and Twinnie Siu
Anti-China posters are seen at a tram station in Hong Kong, China September 29, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Police expect more violence on Hong Kong’s streets on Tuesday, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, after a chaotic weekend in which they fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters who set fires and threw petrol bombs.
    There will be a “very serious violent attack” on Tuesday, a superintendent of the police’s public relations branch, Tse Chun-chung, told a news conference on Monday.
    Police said they arrested a total of 157 people, including 67 students, over the weekend and estimated nearly 100 petrol bombs were thrown.    They said eight police officers were injured.
    The Chinese territory is on edge on the eve of the anniversary, with authorities eager to avoid scenes that could embarrass the central government in Beijing.
    A huge clean-up was under way on Monday after roads, shops and buildings across the financial center were daubed in graffiti, windows in government buildings smashed and parts of pavements uprooted by protesters during the weekend’s unrest.
    Some underground stations were vandalized and streets strewn with debris from roadblocks and the charred remains of fires.
    Two prominent democracy activists, actor Gregory Wong and Ventus Lau, were arrested for their involvement in protests on Monday, according to a representative for the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), the organizer of previous mass protests.
    Hong Kong police did not immediately confirm the arrests.
    CHRF said on Monday authorities had rejected a permit for a march planned for Tuesday from Victoria Park in the bustling tourist district of Causeway Bay to Chater Road, next to government headquarters, based on security concerns.
    Protestors are expected to proceed with demonstrations across Hong Kong regardless.
    The city’s leader, Carrie Lam, the focus of the unrest, made a last-minute decision to mark the People’s Republic anniversary in Beijing.    The embattled leader had sent out invitations “requesting the pleasure of your company” at a flag-raising ceremony and reception in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
TIGHT SECURITY
    Security was tight around the Convention Centre where the ceremony is due to take place, with roads closed and riot police on guard.    A series of strikes are planned on Monday and multiple demonstrations are scheduled on Tuesday.
    It was not clear whether Lam was summoned to Beijing due to the escalation in the violence on the weekend.    The government said Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung would stand in for her at the anniversary ceremony.
    The unrest over the weekend saw some of the worst and most widespread violence in more than three months of anti-government demonstrations in the Asian financial hub.
    The weekend marked the fifth anniversary of the start of the “Umbrella” protests – a series of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014 that failed to wrestle concessions from Beijing.
    The latest clashes began in mid-afternoon on Sunday and continued late into the night, as thousands of masked protesters roamed the streets, facing off against riot police amid plumes of tear gas and raging fires.
    Protesters are angry about what they see as creeping interference by Beijing in their city’s affairs despite a promise of autonomy when British rule ended in 1997.
    The trigger for the protests was planned legislation, now withdrawn, that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial, despite Hong Kong having its own much-respected independent judiciary.    The protests have since broadened into calls for universal suffrage.
    Police said an officer fired a warning shot after they were “surrounded and attacked by a large group of violent protesters” on Sunday.
    By early morning on Monday all MTR metro stations on the city’s main island were open, but staff could be seen repairing damage and clearing debris from in and around the stations.
    Workers at a Starbucks store targeted by protesters were shoveling broken glass into garbage bags and peeling anti-China posters off the walls.    Starbucks stores in Hong Kong are run by the Maxim’s Group, which has drawn the ire of protesters after Annie Wu, the daughter of the founder, criticized the protests during an appearance at the United Nations earlier this month.
    An Indonesian journalist was hit in the eye by a rubber bullet on Sunday and was hospitalized.    The Indonesian Consulate confirmed that one of its citizens had been injured.
(Reporting by Twinnie Siu and Donny Kwok; Additional reporting by Angie Teo and Jessie Pang, writing by Farah Master and Bill Rigby; Editing by Stephen Coates, Himani Sarkar, William Maclean)

9/30/2019 Amid gleaming skyscrapers, Hong Kong’s poor set aside hardships and join protests by Poppy McPherson and Felix Tam
Lou Tit-Man, 73, writes a protest sign outside Mong Kok police station in Hong Kong, China
September 23, 2019. The sign reads "blood for blood". REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Just before midnight in Hong Kong’s Mong Kok district, a slight man in his seventies peels away from a crowd of protesters jeering at police.    Behind him, a young woman calls out, “Be safe!”
    They make an improbable pair: she a smartly dressed 24-year-old; he an elderly activist who has for decades been sleeping on the streets of one of the wealthiest – and most unequal – cities on earth.
    Bringing the two together is a movement that began in June with protests against a bill that would have allowed extradition to mainland China.    The proposed legislation has since been withdrawn.
    The demonstrations have since spiraled into a struggle over the future of the Chinese-ruled city that has drawn people from a broad cross-section of society.    Some live on the breadline, but they have set aside their grievances to support a movement they hope will secure a better future for all.
    “Even though we are poor, we still support the five demands,” said the 73-year-old, Lou Tit-Man, referring to a five-point agenda that includes calls for universal suffrage and for hundreds of arrested protesters to be pardoned.
.     While others organize on encrypted apps like Telegram, Lou Tit-Man follows news of the demonstrations on his shortwave radio, one of the few possessions he has managed to keep from thieves, along with a mask picked up after one scuffle.
    Known locally as “Iron Man,” a play on his Chinese name and reputation for resilience, he spent four months in jail during the 2014 “Umbrella Movement” that paralyzed the city but failed to win major concessions from Beijing.
    In his shirt pocket he carries a crumpled copy of an article about him in a local newspaper, relating how he spent his government subsidies to buy food and water for the mostly young protesters.
    “I want the next generation to have a better life,” he said, “I put all my heart and soul into the social movement.”
    This year’s rallies have brought thousands of people onto the streets weekend after weekend, shouting slogans like “stand with Hong Kong” and “revolution of our time” that express a growing discontent with what is seen as creeping Chinese interference in the city.
    The government has called for dialogue and said it is willing to “take forward constitutional development” in accordance with the law.
    Recent demonstrations have often erupted into violence, with black-clad protesters setting fires and vandalizing metro stations as police fired tear gas, pepper spray, and water cannon.
    More turmoil is expected ahead of Oct 1., when Beijing plans lavish celebrations to mark 70 years of the People’s Republic.
    Authorities describe the participants as “rioters” controlled by external instigators. A recent police tally of the hundreds arrested showed the youngest was 13, the eldest in their eighties.
    Many taking to the streets are students, but others are teachers, pilots, nurses, chefs and cleaners and workers from the poorest districts of the city.    They include rough sleepers and residents of the crowded subdivided flats that stand in the shadows of skyscrapers.
ECONOMIC WOES
    While much of the anger driving the protests stems from political grievances – especially over the implementation of the “one country, two systems” agreement under which Hong Kong was handed back to China, promising a high degree of autonomy – analysts say it also has roots in economic woes.
    A survey by a local university found 84 per cent of protesters said they were angry about class inequality and 92 per cent thought the wealth gap was unreasonable.
    Graffiti laments the prohibitive cost of housing – the most expensive in the world – and the issue was raised in a community dialogue with Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Thursday night.
    The city of 7.4 million, built up from a fishing village by British colonizers in the pursuit of wealth, is now home to more billionaires than any other in the world barring New York, but one in five of its people live in poverty.
    Income inequality recently reached its highest level in more than four decades, according to government data.
    In Sham Shui Po, the poorest of Hong Kong’s districts, parks are crowded with men sleeping on mattresses or benches.    Many are elderly and in poor health, with rashes and bone-thin limbs. Nearby, women push fluffy dogs in prams.
    “The affluent people just take everything from poor people,” said Lou Tit-Man, who sleeps in a rough neighborhood where he said he has been beaten up by members of Chinese triads, or gangs.
    “In the long-term I want Hong Kong to become an equal society,” he said.
    Ng Wai Tung, a social worker, said the city’s “sky-rocketing rent” was fuelling homelessness and a housing crisis the government was failing to tackle.
    An acute housing shortage means people wait, on average, at least five years for public housing.    Most young people live with their parents and more than 200,000 are packed into subdivided units, known as “coffin cubicles” and “cage homes,” for which they pay the equivalent of more than $500 per month.
    Authorities vowed to build 280,000 public flats by 2027 but have said they will fall short of that goal.
    Lam said on Friday she would focus on solutions to the crisis in her upcoming policy address, which normally takes place in October.
PILLAR OF OUR SOCIETY
    “If the government really wanted to help me, I wouldn’t have to work two jobs and live in a subdivided area,” said 60-year-old Ip, a cleaner at a university, who moved to Hong Kong from mainland China in her thirties.
    She pays $5,000 ($637) a month for a dark room in Sham Shui Po which barely fits the bed she shares with her husband, who is ill and cannot work.    The roof leaks.
    She formed tight bonds with students after taking part in the 2014 demonstrations, to the chagrin of her husband and family.
    “There were some protesters that I didn’t know who treated me so well.    They chatted with me and were very peaceful,” she said.
    “These young people were beaten by the police … They were willing to sacrifice themselves to safeguard a better future for Hong Kong.”
    Her parents in the mainland tell her she has been brainwashed by foreign forces.    But when she visits them in Guangdong province, and sees them glued to state TV coverage of the protests, she thinks it is they who are misinformed.
    “I keep arguing with people who don’t support the students,” she said.    “They are the most important pillar of our society.    I must help them.”
    Outside the police station in Mong Kok, the crowd watches as Lou Tit-Man scrawls slogans like, “Stop police brutality” and “Step down, Carrie Lam.”    He writes the messages on scraps of paper he finds on the street and puts them up near the station.     Every night, the police clear the area.    “Afterwards I will make new ones,” he said with a grin.
(Reporting by Poppy Elena McPherson; Additional reporting by Angie Teo; Editing by Mike Collett-White)

9/30/2019 Front-runners each claim victory in Afghan election by Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Rod Nickel
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah speaks during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan September 30, 2019. REUTERS/Parwiz
    KABUL (Reuters) – The front-runners for Afghanistan’s presidency, incumbent Ashraf Ghani and chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, have both declared victory, echoing an election crisis five years ago when competing claims by the two men led to months of turmoil.
    Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission is gathering votes from Saturday’s election.    If no candidate wins more than half, a runoff vote would be held between the top two.
    “Our votes are the highest in the election, and the election will not go to the second round,” Abdullah said at a press conference in Kabul on Monday.
    Ghani’s running mate Amrullah Saleh said on Sunday that Ghani had won a clear first-ballot victory, without offering evidence.
    “The information that we have received show that 60 to 70% of people voted (for) us,” Saleh was quoted by news outlet VOA as saying in a story on its website.
    Ghani and Abdullah were also the top two candidates in the last election in 2014, leading to months of turmoil as both men accused each other of fraud.    The United States finally stepped in, brokering a power-sharing deal under which Ghani became president and Abdullah accepted the new post of chief executive.
    Abdullah was also involved in a months-long election dispute in 2009 when he challenged the victory of then-incumbent Hamid Karzai.     Afghan presidential candidates have a pattern of assembling competing coalitions of regional and ethnic chieftains, and accusing rival camps of organizing fraud in far-flung districts under the control of their supporters.
    The chief executive of the electoral commission, Habiburrahman Nang, told a press conference that no candidate had the right to declare himself the winner before the results are tallied.
    Preliminary results are not expected before Oct. 19 and final results not until Nov. 7.
    Abdullah said on Monday he would accept only votes that were filed with biometric voter verification.    Problems with scanning machines had led the commission to also accept votes without scanning fingerprints.
    Foreign countries that have troops in Afghanistan are wary of yet another destabilizing election dispute.
    Boasting of victory before the election commission has even counted votes is unhelpful, said Czech Republic Ambassador to Afghanistan Petr Stepanek, whose country has 350 soldiers in the U.S.-led NATO force that supports the government.
    “It’s pushing the election commission into murky water.    (The candidates) should respect the institutions,” Stepanek said in an interview.
    The winner would have a stronger position to conduct any negotiations with the Taliban aimed at ending the country’s 18-year war.
    Tight security ensured the election on Saturday was conducted in relative calm, with only small-scale attacks by the Taliban.
    At least 2.2 million people voted, with more votes to be gathered, the commission said on Sunday.
    Ballot boxes are being transported from remote areas to Kabul for counting.    The process can be dangerous.
    Thirteen election staff members have been kidnapped since Saturday by the Taliban, and 11 others were wounded on election day, election commission spokesman Abdul Aziz Ibrahimi said.
    The Taliban said on Saturday that low turnout underlined that the election was illegitimate and that Afghan people do not accept “i>foreign imported processes.”
    The militant group threatened attacks leading up to election day, causing many voters to stay home.
(Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Rod Nickel in Kabul; Editing by Peter Graff)

9/30/2019 Indonesia police fire tear gas as rallies over new laws turn violent by Agustinus Beo Da Costa
A riot police officer fires tear gas during a riot following protests near Indonesian Parliament building in
Jakarta, Indonesia, September 30, 2019 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Aditya Pradana Putra/ via REUTERS
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian police fired tear gas in several areas of Jakarta on Monday as a protest against legal reforms descended into running battles, causing traffic gridlock and chaotic scenes in parts of the central business district.
    Several thousand students, activists and workers had gathered near parliament to oppose a new law that critics say undermines the fight against graft, and a new criminal code outlawing sex outside marriage, and criminalizing insulting the president’s honor.
    A list of student demands that has been circulated on social media also includes stopping forest fires and removing a heavy military presence in the restive easternmost area of Papua.
    Students have led the rallies across the country since last week, some of the biggest since 1998 student protests fueled unrest that led to the fall of former strongman leader Suharto.
    On Monday, police fired tear gas to break up crowds, including near the Atma Jaya Catholic University in the city center, where a medical center had been set up, said Bunga Pertiwi, a bank worker who was helping injured students.
    “So many cars were trapped.    Many turned around.    It was so chaotic,” Pertiwi said by telephone.
    A subway station near Jakarta’s financial center was also closed and a commuter line halted as protesters fled from tear gas.
    Earlier, police said they fired tear gas after protesters who refused to disperse and threw rocks, bottles and fireworks at officers, according to the state Antara news agency.
    Asfinawati, who heads the Legal Aid Institute, condemned using tear gas near a designated medical zone.
    A Twitter account that tracks the protests, @AksiLangsung (direct action), reposted several tweets saying protesters needed oxygen, water and medication.
    In another spot near the commercial center of Tanah Abang, a car parked in front of a police station was torched, news website Detik.com reported, citing a firefighter.
    The portal also said 37 students were taken to Pertamina Hospital for treatment, quoting a hospital official.     Monday was the last day of parliament’s session and lawmakers officially agreed to delay to its next term a vote on the criminal code bill.    A new parliament will be sworn in on Tuesday.
    Chief security minister Wiranto warned in a televised news conference demonstrators not to damage public facilities in expressing their criticism of the government.
    “Demonstrations that break laws, demonstrations that attack officers, damage and burn stuff, are not demonstrations anymore, but a movement by rioters,” the minister said.
    More than 20,000 police and military personnel were deployed to maintain security in the capital, according to media.     Students also staged protests in the cities of Yogyakarta, Solo and Bandung in Java.
    More than 200 protesters in Bandung were treated in a university after clashes with police, a dozen of which had since been moved to a hospital, Detik.com reported.
    Last week, President Joko Widodo said he would consider revoking the law governing the anti-corruption agency and ordered police restraint after the death of two student protesters, one of whom police said died of bullet wounds.
    Sandi Saputra Pulungan, an activist with the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said the protests would continue until all of their demands were met.
    “We see that in Indonesia, our democracy is in danger.    It’s as though we’re not in a democracy, but rather we are returning to the era of the New Order,” Pulungan said, referring to the 32-year rule of the late president Suharto, who used the army to maintain tight control and contain opposition.
(Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa, Gayatri Suroyo, Stanley Widianto and Fanny Potkin; Editing by Ed Davies and Giles Elgood)

9/30/2019 ‘I love you China’: Beijing enlists foreign voices ahead of anniversary
Soldiers march in Tiananmen Square before a wreath laying ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the founding
of the People's Republic of China in Beijing, China, September 30, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
    BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese state media released videos of foreign citizens praising the country on the eve of celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic, as new research showed declining perceptions of China in many western countries.
    The videos, published over the weekend ahead of a vast military parade scheduled for Oct. 1, show foreign citizens, identified by country, singing patriotic ballads and praising China’s culture and development.
    “I love you China… I love your homegrown sugar cane, that quenches my heart like milk,” sang a chorus of singers including Canadians, Germans and Americans in a video filmed in the eastern city of Nanjing.
    The video was posted by state broadcaster CCTV with English subtitles on YouTube, which is blocked by authorities inside the country.
    Another video showed Thai citizens praising Chinese movies, bridge engineering and traditional food with hashtags linking to the country’s 70th anniversary celebrations.
    The patriotic videos, designed to bolster support for the anniversary of the establishment of Communist Party-ruled China, were released as attitudes towards China in many countries have darkened amid a backlash over trade, Hong Kong and human rights.
    A new report released on Monday by the U.S.-based Pew Research Center showed that perceptions of China have declined in the past year in countries including the United States, which is locked in a bitter trade war with Beijing. Canada, Sweden and Australia, which have had diplomatic disputes with China, have also seen perceptions weaken.
    A median of 41% of respondents in 32 countries surveyed have a favorable opinion of China, compared with a median of 37% with an unfavorable opinion, the survey found.
    Nearly 35,000 people were surveyed.
    Countries that viewed China more favorably included Russia, where 71% of people polled viewed the country positively, while young people across all countries had more positive attitudes in general.
    President Xi Jinping will oversee Tuesday’s military celebration, which will include people from foreign countries, organizers have said.
(Reporting by Cate Cadell; Editing by Alex Richardson)

10/1/2019 Streets of Hong Kong become protest battlefield on China National Day by Jessie Pang and Donny Kwok
The rising sun is seen behind surveillance cameras near Tiananmen Square before a military parade marking the 70th founding
anniversary of People's Republic of China, on its National Day in Beijing, China October 1, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at pro-democracy protesters throwing petrol bombs in the Asian financial hub on Tuesday as its Chinese rulers celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.
    Cat-and-mouse clashes spread from the upmarket district of Causeway Bay to the Admiralty area of government offices on Hong Kong island.    Violence also escalated across the harbor to Kowloon and beyond to the New Territories in the most widespread unrest in nearly four months.
    The South China Morning Post and television reports said at least one person was wounded in the chest by police firing live rounds.    Police did not respond to requests for comment but have said they fired live rounds into the air in previous clashes.
    Video footage of a police officer firing at a protester at close range went viral, but there was not immediate verification of its authenticity.
    Fifteen people were wounded across the territory, one critically, the Hospital Authority said without giving details.
    Police fired water cannon and volley after volley of tear gas to disperse protesters throwing Molotov cocktails outside central government offices in the Admiralty area and ordered the evacuation of the Legislative Council building next door.
    Police said “rioters” had used corrosive fluid in Tuen Mun in the west of the New Territories, “injuring multiple police officers and reporters.”    No details were immediately available.
    The territory has been tense for weeks, with protests often turning violent, as authorities tried to avoid activists spoiling Beijing’s birthday parade at a time when the central government is already grappling with a U.S.-China trade war and a slowing economy.
    By the afternoon, police and protesters were involved in standoffs across Hong Kong, with the streets littered with tear gas canisters and other debris.
    Nearly four months of street clashes and demonstrations have plunged the former British colony into its biggest political crisis in decades and pose the most serious popular challenge to President Xi Jinping since he came to power.
    Earlier, thousands of black-clad protesters, some wearing Guy Fawkes masks, marched from Causeway Bay toward government headquarters in Admiralty, defying a ban on a rally.
    Rail operator MTR Corp shut down many of its metro stations to stop protesters moving around.    Shutting stations have made them a common target for attack, and a fire was lit at Admiralty station on Tuesday.
    Protesters had vowed to seize the opportunity on China’s National Day to propel their calls for greater democracy onto the international stage, hijacking an occasion Beijing sees as an opportunity to showcase China’s economic and military progress.
    “I’m not young, but if we don’t march now, we’ll never have the chance to speak again, it’s as simple as that,” said one marcher near Causeway Bay, a 42-year-old woman with her own logistics company who identified herself as Li.
    Hundreds of officials and members of Hong Kong’s pro-establishment elite began the day with a flag-raising ceremony and National Day reception at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, held early and moved behind closed doors.    Roads to the center were closed and tightly policed.
    Hong Kong had benefited from China’s support under the “one country, two systems” policy, Acting Chief Executive Matthew Cheung told the assembly, referring to guarantees of political freedoms after the city’s handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
    But he said escalating violence was disrupting social order and hurting the economy.
    The government of embattled leader Carrie Lam has already canceled an annual Oct. 1 fireworks display over the city’s Victoria Harbour, citing public safety.
    Lam, who was trapped in a stadium for hours last week after attending the “open dialogue,” left for Beijing on Monday to celebrate China’s birthday on the mainland.    She will return on Tuesday.
CHOREOGRAPHED FESTIVITIES
    In contrast to events in Hong Kong, Beijing’s carefully choreographed anniversary festivities included troops marching through part of Tiananmen Square with new missiles and floats celebrating the country’s technological prowess.
    Lam was shown on television smiling as a float celebrating Hong Kong went past as she sat with Chinese officials.
    The Communist Party leadership is determined to project an image of national strength and unity in the face of challenges including Hong Kong’s unrest.
    “On our journey forward, we must uphold the principles of peaceful reunification and one country, two systems; maintain lasting prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macau … and continue to strive for the motherland’s complete reunification,” Xi said in a nationally televised speech in Beijing.
    Hong Kong protesters are angry about what they see as creeping Chinese interference in the Asian financial center.     China dismisses the accusation and has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of fanning anti-China sentiment.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang and Donny Kwok, Additional reporting by Sharon Tam, Poppy McPherson, Anne Marie Roantree, Farah Master, James Pomfret, Twinnie Siu, Alun John, David Kirton, Jennifer Hughes and Keith Zhai; Writing by Clara Ferreira Marques, Bill Rigby and Nick Macfie; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Robert Birsel and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

10/1/2019 Hong Kong police fire water cannon, tear gas as protests spread by Jessie Pang and Donny Kwok
Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong (L) from Demosisto takes part in a demonstration during
China's National Day in Hong Kong, China October 1, 2018. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong protesters threw petrol bombs and police fired tear gas in street battles across the city on Tuesday, posing a direct challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.
    Police fired water cannon and tear gas to try to disperse protesters throwing petrol bombs outside central government offices in the Admiralty area of Hong Kong island and ordered the evacuation of the Legislative Council building, trashed by activists weeks ago, next door.
    In the New Territories town of Sha Tin, police fired tear gas canisters directly at high-rise windows, though it was not clear why, as the Chinese-ruled city was gripped by the most widespread violence in nearly four months of unrest.
    Police said “rioters” had used corrosive fluid in Tuen Mun in the west of the New Territories, “injuring multiple police officers and reporters.”    No details were immediately available.
    The Chinese-ruled territory has been tense for weeks, with protests often turning violent, as authorities scramble to avoid activists spoiling Beijing’s birthday parade at a time when the central government is already grappling with a U.S.-China trade war and a slowing economy.
    Peaceful protests descended into chaos with police firing volleys of tear gas outside a famous Taoist temple in the residential district of Wong Tai Sin. At least eight motor-cycles were torched.
    Nearly four months of street clashes and demonstrations have plunged the former British colony into its biggest political crisis in decades and pose the gravest popular challenge to President Xi since he came to power.
    Thousands of black-clad protesters, some wearing Guy Fawkes masks, marched from Causeway Bay toward government headquarters in Admiralty, defying a ban on a rally and setting up the likelihood of clashes with police.
    Rail operator MTR Corp shut down its whole metro system to stop protesters moving around.    Shutting stations has made it a common target for attack, with several of its stations trashed over recent weeks.
    Protesters had vowed to seize the opportunity on China’s National Day to propel their calls for greater democracy onto the international stage, hijacking an occasion Beijing sees as an opportunity to showcase China’s economic and military progress.
    Demonstrators blocked roads across the territory in frantic game of cat-and-mouse with police, piling pressure on already stretched security resources.
    “I’m not young, but if we don’t march now, we’ll never have the chance to speak to again, it’s as simple as that,” said one marcher near Causeway Bay, a 42-year-old woman with her own logistics company who identified herself as Li.
    Police said they arrested five people, aged between 17 and 25, in the central district of Wan Chai late on Monday after finding them with walkie-talkies, lighters and material for petrol bombs, including 18 liters (4.75 gallons) of fuel and empty bottles.
    Hundreds of officials and members of the pro-establishment elite began the day with a flag-raising ceremony and National Day reception at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, held early and moved behind closed doors.    Roads to the center were closed and tightly policed.
    Hong Kong has benefited from China’s support under the “one country, two systems” policy, Acting Chief Executive Matthew Cheung told the assembly, referring to guarantees of political freedoms after the city’s handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
    However, he said escalating violence was disrupting social order and hurting the economy.
NUMBERS DOWN
    The IFC mall, one of the city’s largest upscale shopping centers, was closed on Tuesday, depriving retailers of sales in what would normally be a busy shopping week when mainland tour groups traditionally flood in for the annual Golden Week holiday.
    IFC houses an Apple Inc store, jewelers Tiffany & Co and Chow Sang Sang <0016.HK>, cosmetics maker L’Occitane <0973.HK> and Gucci, which is owned by French group Kering .
    Standard & Poor’s cut its Hong Kong economic growth forecast on Tuesday to a paltry 0.2 percent for this year and 1.6 percent for 2020, blaming tension in the city for the plunging retail sales and a sharp dip in tourism.    Its last forecast in July was for 2.2 percent growth this year and 2.4 percent for 2020.
    Visitor arrivals dropped 39% in August from a year earlier, with the number of mainland tourists to Hong Kong dropping 42.3% over the period, according to the latest data.
    Cheung called a first “open dialogue” last week with citizens an important step and said more would follow.
    A group of protesters outside the venue shouted “No national day celebrations, only national day mourning,” and called for those arrested during recent clashes to be released.    Police fired pepper spray during a scuffle outside a nearby train station.
    The government of embattled leader Carrie Lam has already canceled an annual Oct. 1 fireworks display over the city’s Victoria Harbour, citing public safety.
    Lam, who was trapped in a stadium for hours last week after attending the “open dialogue,” left for Beijing on Monday to celebrate China’s birthday on the mainland.    She will return on Tuesday.
BEIJING PARADES
    In contrast to events in Hong Kong, Beijing’s carefully choreographed anniversary festivities included troops marching through part of Tiananmen Square with new missiles and floats celebrating the country’s technological prowess.
    Lam was shown on television smiling as a float celebrating Hong Kong went past as she sat with Chinese officials.
    The Communist Party leadership is determined to project an image of national strength and unity in the face of challenges including Hong Kong’s unrest, slowing economic growth and a trade war with the United States.
    “On our journey forward, we must uphold the principles of peaceful reunification and one country, two systems; maintain lasting prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macau … and continue to strive for the motherland’s complete reunification,” Xi said in his nationally televised speech in Beijing.
    Hong Kong protesters are angry about what they see as creeping Chinese interference in the Asian financial center.
    China dismisses the accusation and has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of fanning anti-China sentiment.
    Last month, Beijing moved thousands of troops across the border into the city.    The Xinhua state news agency described the movement as routine rotation.
    Asian and Western envoys in Hong Kong, however, have said the absence of any evidence that troops had been withdrawn suggested it was a reinforcement, with the largest-ever regular army force now stationed in the city.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang and Donny Kwok, Additional reporting by Sharon Tam, Poppy McPherson, Anne Marie Roantree, Farah Master, James Pomfret, Twinnie Siu, Alun John, David Kirton, Jennifer Hughes and Keith Zhai; Writing by Clara Ferreira Marques, Bill Rigby and Nick Macfie; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Robert Birsel)

10/1/2019 China showcases fearsome new missiles to counter U.S. at military parade by Michael Martina
FILE PHOTO: Military vehicles carrying hypersonic missiles DF-17 drive past Tiananmen Square during the military parade marking the 70th founding
anniversary of People's Republic of China, on its National Day in Beijing, China October 1, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s military on Tuesday showed off new equipment at a parade in central Beijing to mark 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic, including hypersonic-glide missiles that experts say could be difficult for the United States to counter.
    In a speech at the start of the nearly three-hour, highly choreographed spectacle, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that his country would stay on the path of “peaceful development,” but that the military would resolutely safeguard the country’s sovereignty and security.
    China says the parade, the country’s most important political event of the year, which featured more than 15,000 troops marching through part of Tiananmen Square as jet fighters trailing colored smoke soared overhead, is not meant to intimidate any specific country.
    But defense experts see it as a message to the world that China’s military prowess is growing rapidly, even as it faces mounting challenges, including months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong and a slowing economy.
    As expected, China unveiled new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and showcased its advancing intercontinental and hypersonic missiles, designed to attack the aircraft carriers and bases that undergird U.S. military strength in Asia.
    A state television announcer called the missile arsenal a “force for realizing the dream of a strong nation and strong military.”
    Among the weapons were the “carrier killer” Dongfeng-21D (DF-21D), unveiled at military parade in 2015, designed to hit warships at sea at a range of up to 1,500 kilometers, and the DF-26 intermediate range missile, dubbed “Guam killer” in reference to the U.S. Pacific island base.
    The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) also rolled out a hypersonic missile, known as the DF-17, which theoretically can maneuver sharply at many times the speed of sound, making it extremely difficult to counter.
    Nozomu Yoshitomi, professor at Japan’s Nihon University and a retired major general in Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Force, said the DF-17 posed serious questions about the effectiveness of the regional missile defense system the United States and Japan are building.
    “There is a possibility that if we do not acquire a more sophisticated ballistic missile defense system, it will become impossible for both the United States and Japan to respond,” Yoshitomi said.
    Bringing up the rear of the ground parade were 16 upgraded launchers carrying DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are the backbone of China’s nuclear deterrent, capable of reaching the United States with multiple nuclear warheads.
    State media said 40% of the arms shown in the parade were appearing in public for the first time.    Such hardware included new and revamped versions of missiles, such as the long-range submarine-launched and ship-based YJ-18A anti-ship cruise missiles, the official Xinhua news agency said.
    China has a practice of only displaying systems in parades it says have entered some form of service, though analysts have cautioned that some of the new equipment could be experimental or prototypes.
    For instance, the Gongji-11, described by the state-controlled Global Times as an attack drone and the “final version” of the Sharp Sword drone that first flew in 2013, was displayed for the first time on the back of a truck.
    China showed jets in aerial refueling formation, and the Z-20 medium lift helicopter, similar to a U.S. UH-60 Black Hawk, also made its public debut, Xinhua said.
RAPID DEVELOPMENT
    Many modern Western militaries eschew elaborate, large-scale military parades as costly extravagances and argue such events have almost no value for war beyond a possible boost to morale.
    Still, governments around the region and foreign military experts watched the parade closely for signals about China’s military achievements, looking for clues about weapon capabilities and evidence of new systems.
    The government of the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, said in response to the parade that China was a serious threat to peace and democracy.
    As a part of what Chinese military officials said would be a focus on command structure reforms under Xi’s ambitious military reorganization, hundreds of personnel from the PLA’s new Joint Logistics Support Force, Strategic Support Force, and Rocket Force marched in their national day parade debuts.
    Xinhua also said there were two female major generals participating in the parade for the first time.
    Analysts see progress in combined operations between branches of the military and in mechanizing its forces as a shift in priorities from defending Chinese borders toward having expeditionary forces able to defend the country’s far-flung commercial and diplomatic interests.
    Many said the show of force was a reminder to the United States and its allies at how far the PLA has come.
    Sam Roggeveen, the director of the Sydney-based Lowy Institute’s International Security Program, said the pace of China’s military technological development was “breathtaking” and that with defense spending thought to be around 2% of GDP, “they’re not breaking a sweat.”
    “The message is pretty blunt.    It dramatically erodes the U.S. military edge is Asia, and over the long-term, America’s military primacy in Asia is clearly under threat,” Roggeveen said.
(Reporting by Michael Martina; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard and Tony Munroe in Beijing, Colin Packham in Sydney and Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

[IF YOU ARE AN AMERICAN AND READING THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE THEN YOU NEED TO WAKE UP IN THAT AS YOU SEE BELOW THESE PEOPLE ARE FIGHTING FOR THEIR FREEDOM.    THEY HAVE NO ACCESS TO WEAPONS TO DEFEND THEMSELVES UNDER COMMUNISM EXCEPT WHAT THEY CAN MAKE TO RIOT WITH.    BELOW IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A COUNTRY WHETHER COMMUNISM OR SOCIALISM TAKES ALL YOUR WEAPONS AWAY FROM THE PEOPLE AND THEN THE GOVERNMENT CAN CONTROL YOU AND YOU ARE DEFENSELESS.    SO IF YOU LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES THEN THIS SHOULD BE A WAKEUP CALL TO NOT VOTE FOR ANY DEMOCRAT WHO ARE PUSHING FOR TAKING YOUR WEAPONS AWAY AND DENYING YOU YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS UNDER CAPITALISM AND THE FREEDOMS YOU HAVE.].
10/2/2019 Police shoot teen protester as Hong Kong violence escalates by Jessie Pang and Donny Kwok
Riot police run during a protest on China's National Day in Hong Kong, China October 1, 2019. REUTERS/Susana Vera
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police shot a teenage protester on Tuesday, the first to be hit by live ammunition in almost four months of unrest in the Chinese-ruled city, amid violent clashes on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.
    Cat-and-mouse clashes spread from the shopping district of Causeway Bay to the Admiralty area of government offices on Hong Kong island, and then on to the New Territories bordering mainland China, with police firing tear gas and water cannon at petrol bomb throwing activists.
    Police said an officer shot an 18-year-old man in the shoulder in the Tsuen Wan area of the New Territories with a live round.    Protesters have previously been hit with bean bags rounds and rubber bullets and officers have fired live rounds in the air.
    Police chief Stephen Lo said the firing of live rounds – which were discharged in three places – was lawful and fair.
    “Police lives were under serious threat, that’s why they fired live rounds,” he told reporters, adding that the wounded man was conscious when taken to hospital.
    Dramatic video footage of the Tsuen Wan shooting shows a chaotic melee with riot police battling protesters wielding metal bars, before an officer fires a shot at close range.
    As the wounded man steps back and falls, someone tries to help, but another policeman tackles him to the ground.
    Tuesday’s violence was the most widespread since the unrest erupted in early June, plunging the former British colony into its biggest political crisis in decades and posing the most serious popular challenge to President Xi Jinping since he came to power.
    Protesters had vowed to seize the opportunity on China’s National Day to propel their calls for greater democracy onto the international stage, hijacking an occasion Beijing sees as an opportunity to showcase China’s economic and military progress.
   "I’m not young, but if we don’t march now, we’ll never have the chance to speak again, it’s as simple as that,” said one marcher near Causeway Bay, a 42-year-old woman with her own logistics company who identified herself as Li.POLICE BAN DEFIED
    Setting the scene for confrontations, thousands of black-clad protesters, some wearing Guy Fawkes masks, had marched on Admiralty, defying a police ban. Violence escalated across the harbor to Kowloon and beyond to the New Territories.
    In the Admiralty area, police fired water cannon and volley after volley of tear gas to disperse protesters throwing Molotov cocktails outside central government offices and ordered the evacuation of the Legislative Council building next door.
    Petrol bombs were also thrown at MTR metro stations, including at Causeway Bay and Admiralty and Sham Shui Po in the New Territories.    Many stations were closed to stop protesters moving around.
    Chinese banks and Chinese-backed businesses were targeted with petrol bombs and anti-China graffiti.    Local broadcaster RTHK said it was pulling all its reporters away from the violence after one was hit on the head.
    Police said 31 people had been wounded across the territory, two critically, without giving details.
    Protester Jerry, 26, dressed in black and sitting amid the wreckage in Causeway Bay, denounced the police.
    “The Hong Kong police, they’ve just lost their minds,” he told Reuters.    “They just follow orders.    They say it’s to protect lives, but they see the people as objects.”
    British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab criticized the use of live ammunition.
    “Whilst there is no excuse for violence, the use of live ammunition is disproportionate, and only risks inflaming the situation,” Raab said in a statement.
    A United Nations spokesman called for protests to be peaceful and security forces to exercise restraint.
BIRTHDAY PARADE
    Hong Kong has been tense for weeks, with protests often turning violent, as authorities tried to avoid activists spoiling Beijing’s birthday parade.
    Hundreds of officials and members of Hong Kong’s pro-establishment elite began the day with a flag-raising ceremony and National Day reception at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, held early and moved behind closed doors. Roads to the center were closed and tightly policed.
    Hong Kong had benefited from China’s support under the “one country, two systems” policy, Acting Chief Executive Matthew Cheung told the assembly, referring to guarantees of political freedoms after the city’s handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
    But he said escalating violence was disrupting social order and hurting the economy.
    The government of embattled leader Carrie Lam has already canceled an annual Oct. 1 fireworks display over the city’s Victoria Harbour, citing public safety.
    Lam, who was trapped in a stadium for hours last week after attending the “open dialogue,” left for Beijing on Monday to celebrate China’s birthday on the mainland.
    In contrast to events in Hong Kong, Beijing’s carefully choreographed anniversary festivities included troops marching through part of Tiananmen Square with new missiles and floats celebrating the country’s technological prowess.
    Lam was shown on television smiling as a float celebrating Hong Kong went past as she sat with Chinese officials.
    The Communist Party leadership is determined to project an image of national strength and unity in the face of challenges including Hong Kong’s unrest.
    “On our journey forward, we must uphold the principles of peaceful reunification and one country, two systems; maintain lasting prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macau … and continue to strive for the motherland’s complete reunification,” Xi said in a nationally televised speech in Beijing.
    The protests were initially triggered by a contentious extradition bill, now withdrawn, that would have allowed people to be sent from Hong Kong to mainland China for trial, but have since morphed into a much wider campaign.
    Hong Kong protesters are angry about what they see as creeping Chinese interference in the Asian financial center.
    China dismisses the accusation and has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of fanning anti-China sentiment.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang and Donny Kwok, Additional reporting by Sharon Tam, Felix Tam, Poppy McPherson, Anne Marie Roantree, Farah Master, James Pomfret, Twinnie Siu, Alun John, David Kirton, Jennifer Hughes and Keith Zhai; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Alex Richardson)

10/2/2019 Hong Kong office workers, schoolmates denounce police shooting of teen by Clare Jim and Yiming Woo
An alumnus of Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College reacts during a student gathering at the school in solidarity with
the student protester who was shot by a policeman on Tuesday in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, China, October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Susana Vera?
    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.
    The office workers marched to 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.    Five remained in a serious condition with 35 stable.
    Thirty police were injured, with five in hospital.
    During one clash, an officer shot an 18-year-old school student in the chest with a live round after coming under attack with a metal bar, video footage showed.    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.
    Police said they arrested 269 people – 178 males and 91 females – aged 12 to 71 during the Tuesday turmoil, while officers fired about 1,400 rounds of tear gas, 900 rubber bullets and six live rounds.
    The 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 and Yimin Woo; Additional reporting by Twinnie Siu, Jessie Pang, Bill Rigby, Donny Kwok, Sumeet Chatterjee; Writing by Farah Master, Anne Marie Roantree and Nick Macfie; Editing by Robert Birsel)

10/2/2019 North Korea fires ballistic missile, possibly from submarine, days before talks by Joyce Lee and Chang-Ran Kim
People watch a TV screening of a file footage for a news report on North Korea firing a missile that is
believed to be launched from a submarine, in Seoul, South Korea, October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
    SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) – North Korea fired what may have been a submarine-launched ballistic missile from off its east coast on Wednesday, a day after it announced the resumption of talks with the United States on ending its nuclear program.
    If confirmed, it would be the most provocative test by North Korea since it started the talks with the United States in 2018.    Analysts said it was likely a reminder by Pyongyang of the weapons capability it had been aggressively developing as it gears up for the new round of talks.
    A State Department spokeswoman called on Pyongyang to “refrain from provocations” and remain committed to the nuclear negotiations.
    South Korea’s military said it had detected the launch of one missile that flew 450 km (280 miles) and reached an altitude of 910 km (565 miles).    It was likely a Pukguksong-class weapon, as the North’s earlier submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) under development were known.
    South Korean Defence Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo told a parliamentary committee that the Pukguksong, or Pole Star in Korean, has a range of about 1,300 km (910 miles) and that the missile’s trajectory may have been raised to reduce the distance it traveled.
    CNN, citing a U.S. official, said that the missile was launched from an underwater platform, which North Korea has previously done at the early stage of the SLBM program in 2015.
    South Korea expressed concern and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned the launch, saying it was a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
    North Korea rejects U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban Pyongyang from using ballistic missile technology, saying they are an infringement of its right to self-defense.
    Talks aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs have been stalled since a second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam in February ended without a deal.
    The two leaders then met at the Demilitarized Zone border between the two Koreas in June and pledged to reopen working-level talks within weeks.
SEA LAUNCH
    South Korea’s military said the missile was launched eastward from the sea northeast of Wonsan, the site of one of North Korea’s military bases on the east coast.
    Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said it appeared that one missile was launched and had split in two and then fallen into the sea.    The Japanese government had said earlier it appeared North Korea had launched two missiles, one of which fell inside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
    South Korea’s Jeong, asked about Japan’s earlier assessment of two missiles, said the missile might have had at least two stages that separated in flight.
    North Korea had been developing SLBM technology before it suspended long-range missile and nuclear tests and began talks with the United States that led to the first summit between Kim and Trump in Singapore in June 2018.
    State news agency KCNA released photos and a report of leader Kim Jong Un in July inspecting a large, newly built submarine, seen as a potential signal that Pyongyang was continuing with its development of an SLBM program.
    The latest missile launch was the ninth since Trump and Kim met in June, but the others have been of short-range land-based missiles.
    David Wright, missile expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists, put the range of the missile tested on Wednesday at about 1,900 km (1,200 miles) at standard trajectory.
    Hours before Wednesday’s launch, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said in a statement the working-level talks with the United States would be held on Saturday – a development that could potentially break what had been months of stalemate.
    North Korea’s previous missile launch was on Sept. 10, also hours after Choe had expressed Pyongyang’s willingness for talks with the United States.
    Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said: “North Korea tends to raise the stakes before negotiations in an effort to win unearned concessions.”
    Trump has played down North Korea’s recent series of short-range launches, saying in September the United States and North Korea “didn’t have an agreement on short-range missiles” and that many countries test such weapons.
    Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said the timing of the latest launch enhances leverage for the North and also signals Pyongyang is in for the long haul in its talks with Washington.
    “The risk is that testing such a system causes the U.S. to walk away before this weekend, but Kim probably bet that the U.S. is so invested in the talks taking place and making progress … that the U.S. won’t walk away.”
(Reporting by Joyce Lee, Josh Smith and Chang-Ran Kim; Additional reporting by Linda Sieg, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Chris Gallagher and David Dolan in Tokyo, and Eric Beech in Washington; Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Paul Tait and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

10/2/2019 Iran to cut nuclear deal commitments until it reaches ‘desired result’: supreme leader
FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gives a speech to a group of scholars and seminary students
of religious sciences in Tehran, Iran September 17, 2019. Official Khamenei website/Handout via REUTERS
    GENEVA (Reuters) – Iran will continue reducing its commitments under its 2015 nuclear deal until it reaches the “desired result,” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday, according to his official website.
    “We will continue the reduction of commitments,” Khamenei said in a meeting with commanders of the elite Revolutionary Guards.
    “The responsibility is with the Atomic Energy Organization and they must be carry out the reduction …in a precise, complete and comprehensive way and continue until the time we reach a desired result.”
(Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh)

10/2/2019 Iran’s Rouhani says French plan for talks broadly is acceptable
FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a session
of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council In Yerevan, Armenia October 1, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS
    GENEVA (Reuters) – A plan for talks presented to the United States and Iran by French President Emmanuel Macron is broadly acceptable to the Islamic Republic, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday during a cabinet meeting that was broadcast live.
    He said some wording needed to be changed in the plan, which outlines that Iran will not pursue nuclear weapons and will help the security of the region and its waterways, while Washington will remove all sanctions.    It would also allow Iran to immediately resume oil sales.
    But Rouhani also told the cabinet meeting, broadcast on state TV, that mixed messages about sanctions received from the United States while he was there last week had undermined the possibility of talks. Rouhani attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
    He added that it was not acceptable for U.S. President Donald Trump to say in public that he would intensify sanctions while European powers were telling the Islamic Republic in private that he was willing to negotiate.
    “The American president on two occasions, once in his speech at the United Nations and another time, said explicitly that we want to intensify sanctions.    I told these European friends, so which part should we accept? Should we accept your word that you say America is ready?” Rouhani said.
    “Or the words of the president of America who in 24 hours said explicitly twice … that I want to intensify sanctions? [The Europeans] didn’t have a clear answer.”
    European powers were continuing efforts to arrange talks, Rouhani said.    Germany, Britain and France were among signatories to Iran’s 2015 nuclear pact with world powers, which Trump pulled the United States out of last year.
    Separately, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Iran will continue reducing its commitments under a landmark 2015 nuclear deal until it reaches a “desired result,” according to his official website.
    “We will continue the reduction of commitments and must continue with complete seriousness,” Khamenei said in a meeting with commanders of the elite Revolutionary Guards.
    “The responsibility is with the Atomic Energy Organization and they must carry out the reduction of commitments that the Islamic Republic has announced in a precise, complete and comprehensive way and continue until the time we reach a desired result.”
(Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Catherine Evans)

10/2/2019 Explainer: North Korea’s suspected submarine missile ‘pushes the envelope’ by Jack Kim
People watch a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing a missile that is believed
to be launched from a submarine, in Seoul, South Korea, October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
    SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea fired what may be a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on Wednesday, which would be the first test in three years of what had been a relatively young but rapidly progressing program to deliver nuclear weapons.
    The launch comes hours after the North announced it would resume nuclear talks with the United States this weekend, potentially ending a months-long deadlock that followed a vow by North Korea leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump to make progress.     The exact type of the missile and the launch platform remain unclear, but it appears to be a step that “pushes the envelope,” said Joshua Pollack, a leading expert on nuclear and missile proliferation and editor of Nonproliferation Review.
WHAT HAPPENED?
    A missile was launched from the sea soon after 7 a.m. on Wednesday (2200 GMT Tuesday) about 17 km (11 miles) northeast of the coastal city of Wonsan, the site of one of North Korea’s military bases used for previous missile launches.
Japan initially said two missiles were launched but later clarified it was likely one projectile that went through stage separation.    The projectile hit the waters in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the Japanese government said.
    South Korea’s Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said an Aegis destroyer detected one missile launch, which flew 450 km (280 miles) in a lofted trajectory 910 km (565 miles) high.
    It is unclear if the missile was launched from a submarine or a platform at sea.
    A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that, according to initial intelligence, the missile was a submarine-capable ballistic missile launched from a platform at sea.
WHAT NEW THREAT DOES IT POTENTIALLY REPRESENT?
    If the missile had been launched on a standard trajectory, the range would have been up to 1,900 km (1,200 miles), which would put it in the medium-range missile class.
    That missile would have all of South Korea and Japan within range.    A launch from a submarine deployed in the surrounding waters would pose greater difficulty for their missile defense.
    The threat of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) grows exponentially with the range of the submarine.    The North’s existing Romeo-class submarines, which were built in the 1990s, are believed to have a range of about 7,000 km, potentially making a one-way trip to near Hawaii possible.
    But they are diesel-electric powered and very noisy, making them highly vulnerable to detection, especially by U.S. forces with their decades of experience tracking Soviet submarines.
WHAT IS THE PROGRESS OF NORTH KOREA’S SLBM PROGRAM?
    North Korea began testing submarine-launched ballistic missiles in 2015 and conducted four submarine launches by August 2016, when a two-stage solid-fuel Pukguksong missile flew about 500 km (310 miles) on a lofted trajectory. That test was considered a success.
    There has been no known tests since then to suggest the North has made progress in developing an SLBM of intermediate or long ranges.
    Those previous launches were conducted near the port city of Sinpo, about 110 km from Wonsan and home to many of the North’s fleet of submarines, believed to be one of the world’s largest.
    Despite the size of the fleet, most of the vessels are believed to be small or vintage Soviet-era models and only one is believed to be an experimental submarine capable of carrying a ballistic missile.
    North Korea said in July leader Kim Jong Un inspected a large, newly built submarine and that its operational deployment was near.
    Analysts said photos released on the North’s state media suggested the vessel could be a modified Romeo class type with an enlarged hull, not the larger submarine that satellite images have suggested was being built at the Sinpo shipyard.
SECOND-STRIKE CAPABILITY?
    Submarine-launched ballistic missiles are considered key to delivering a second-strike capability that can be used to retaliate against a nuclear attack.
    To be assured of the capability, the submarine must not only have the ability to launch a nuclear ballistic missile but also the endurance to sail within range of the enemy.
    Military analysts are sceptical the North’s submarine program has reached the level of technical sophistication to achieve a second-strike capability.
OTHER RECENT MISSILE TESTS
    North Korea has conducted nine launches since leader Kim met Trump at the demilitarised zone (DMZ) inter-Korean border on June 30 and pledged to resume nuclear talks.
    All but the one on Wednesday has been short-range missiles and rockets that would be fast and effective way to attack South Korea and U.S. forces stationed there.
    Before Kim entered an unofficial moratorium on missile and nuclear tests to engage in dialogue with Trump, the North test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017.
    If launched on a standard trajectory, that missile would have had a range of up to 13,000 km, putting the mainland United States in strike distance.
    But experts are doubtful the North has mastered the technology to build a nuclear warhead small enough to be mounted on a missile that can withstand re-entry to the atmosphere and to guide it with precision to hit the target.
(Reporting by Jack Kim; Additional reporting by Josh Smith, Joyce Lee and Sangmi Cha in Seoul and Idrees Ali in Washington; Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Lisa Shumaker)

10/2/2019 Taliban, U.S. envoy in Pakistan to review broken peace talks by Asif Shahzad and Charlotte Greenfield
FILE PHOTO: Taliban chief negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar sits in a car after the end of peace talks
with Afghan senior politicians in Moscow, Russia May 30, 2019. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
    ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Afghan Taliban officials were due in Islamabad on Wednesday to discuss the possibility of reviving talks for a political settlement in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s foreign ministry and the insurgent group said.
    The high-profile Taliban delegation was arriving as the top U.S. diplomat involved in talks with the militants, Zalmay Khalilzad, also met government officials in Islamabad.
    It was not clear if the Taliban would meet Khalilzad, though one senior Pakistani government official said that might happen.
    The Taliban delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the group’s founders, was due to discuss “important issues” with Pakistani officials, spokesman Suhail Shaheen said.
    The visit, the latest stop on a tour of regional powers including Russia, China and Iran by Taliban officials, comes after efforts by the militants and the United States to reach a deal allowing for the withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign forces broke down last month.
    “The visit would provide the opportunity to review the progress made under U.S.-Taliban peace talks so far, and discuss the possibilities of resuming the paused political settlement process in Afghanistan,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.    It said a meeting between the insurgents and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was being finalised.
    Khalilzad, U.S. President Donald Trump’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, has been meeting Pakistani officials in Islamabad following discussions between Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in the United States.
    “These consultations follow discussions held between the United States and Pakistan during the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week,” said a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad via email.
    The spokesman did not say if Khalilzad was still in Pakistan on Wednesday or if he planned to meet the Taliban officials.    A top Pakistan government official told Reuters that the Taliban would likely meet Khan, and that, “we’re trying that we will convince the Taliban that the delegation also meets Zalmay Khalilzad.”
    The official said the meetings would focus on attempting to convince the Taliban to include the Afghan government in the peace talks.    The insurgents have previously refused to negotiate with what they call an illegitimate “puppet” regime in Kabul.
    Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, said on Twitter that the Afghan government should be involved in any peace process.
    “No progress will be imminent if a peace process is not owned and led by the Afghan government,” he said.
PROGRESS ON PEACE?
    The United States has long considered Pakistani cooperation crucial to efforts to end the war in Afghanistan.
    Trump last month halted the talks with the Taliban, aimed at striking a deal allowing U.S. and other foreign troops to withdraw in exchange for Taliban security guarantees, following the death of a U.S. solder and 11 others in a Taliban bomb attack in Kabul.
    The Taliban delegation would inform Pakistan’s leadership of the factors that derailed the talks, said a Taliban official who declined to be identified.    The Taliban also planned to follow up on Khan’s recent comment that he would try to convince Trump to resume the talks, the Taliban official said.
    Baradar, the head of the delegation, was making his first known visit to Pakistan since he was released from a Pakistani jail a year ago.
    Previously the coordinator of the group’s military operations in southern Afghanistan, he was arrested in 2010 by a team from Pakistani and U.S. intelligence agencies.
    The U.S. and Taliban said last month, shortly before talks broke off, that they were close to reaching a deal, despite concerns among some U.S. security officials and within the Afghan government that a U.S. withdrawal could plunge the country into even more conflict and open the way for a resurgence of Islamist militant factions.
(Reporting by Jibran Ahmed in Peshawar, Pakistan and Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Orooj Hakimi in Kabul and Charlotte Greenfield and Asif Shahzad in Islamabad; Writing by Rod Nickel in Kabul and Charlotte Greenfield in Islamabad; Editing by Robert Birsel and Alex Richardson)

10/2/219 Exclusive: Ships with one million tonnes of grain stuck outside Iran’s ports in payment crisis by Jonathan Saul and Parisa Hafezi
FILE PHOTO: People buy fruits and vegetables from Tajrish Bazaar in Tehran, Iran
August 1, 2019. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo
    LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) – More than 20 ships carrying around one million tonnes of grain are stuck outside Iranian ports as U.S. sanctions create payment problems and hamper the country’s efforts to import vital commodities, sources directly involved in the trade said.
    Trading companies such as Bunge and China’s COFCO International have been hit by payment delays and additional costs of up to $15,000 a day as the renewed U.S. restrictions stifle the processing of transactions, trade sources said.
    Food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies are exempt from sanctions Washington re-imposed after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was walking away from a 2015 international deal over Iran’s nuclear program.
    But the U.S. measures targeting everything from oil sales to shipping and financial activities have deterred several foreign banks from doing any Iranian business, including humanitarian deals such as food shipments.
    The few remaining lenders still processing Iranian business face multiple hurdles to facilitate payments as financing channels freeze up.
    Six Western and Iranian sources said the situation was contributing to the cargoes being held up for more than a month outside Iran’s biggest ports for goods, Bandar Imam Khomeini and Bandar Abbas.br>     The ships are carrying cargoes including soybeans and corn mostly from South America, the sources said.    The grain vessels are also visible through ship tracking data.
    “There are no restrictions on humanitarian business, but you can’t get paid for it,” one European source said.    “You can be waiting for months to get a payment.”
    Another source said: “There is nervousness among traders about making more sales to Iran before the backlog (of ships) is cleared.”
    A senior Iranian port official, who declined to be named, told Reuters there had been problems since U.S. sanctions were imposed on its financial system in November 2018.
    “What has changed is that now the number of banks, traders that are staying away from doing business with Iran is increasing,” the official said.
    Separate U.S. sanctions imposed in September on Iran’s central bank – following attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia that U.S. officials blamed on Tehran – have added to difficulties with transactions.
The Iranian port official said these latest sanctions would scare away banks.
    “Some small banks that we used to work with have informed us that they will no longer do business with us,” he added, declining to name the banks.
    An official with Iran’s agriculture ministry said separately that Tehran had since the 1980s aimed to ensure the country had sufficient stocks of grain.
    “We have increased the amount of stockpiles because of Trump’s policy towards Iran and tensions in the past months,” the official said.    “It is becoming more and more difficult because of the sanctions.”
    The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated last month that Iran’s total cereal stocks in 2019 would total 5.1 million tonnes, falling to 4.8 million tonnes in 2020, versus 9.9 million tonnes in 2016.
(GRAPHIC – Ships carrying grain stuck outside Iran’s Bandar Imam Khomeini port:
https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/7/6733/6715/Pasted%20Image.jpg)
PRESSURE ON PORTS
    Trade sources said Iranian ports were also struggling to process ships due to a lack of available berths.
    Of the vessels still anchored, at least 20 dry bulk ships were waiting outside Bandar Imam Khomeini, Refinitiv data showed.    A further two vessels had managed to discharge their cargoes after waiting for weeks, the data showed.
    Separate data from shipping intelligence platform MarineTraffic showed a similar number of ships stationary for more than a month.
    A separate Iranian government official confirmed that ships were waiting but declined to give details.
    Trade sources said Turkey’s Halkbank – one of the main banks that Iran has relied on for such humanitarian trade – had not been able to process payments fast enough because of the complexity of the process and in some cases did not complete transactions with suppliers.    Halkbank declined to comment.
    Suppliers have been left with additional costs, known as demurrage, of up to $15,000 a day as they wait to unload.
    Trade sources said U.S. agribusiness group Bunge and China’s COFCO International were among the companies affected, together with smaller Turkish and Iranian suppliers.
    COFCO International declined comment.
    Bunge spokesman Frank Mantero said: “While we don’t comment on or confirm commercial contracts, Bunge exports agricultural commodities in accordance with all applicable legislative frameworks.”
    Two sources said the increasing difficulties had prompted U.S. agribusiness company ADM to halt trading with Iran since August.    An ADM spokeswoman declined to comment.
    Trade sources told Reuters in December that Bunge and rival U.S. group Cargill [CARGIL.UL] as well as other suppliers had halted new food supply deals to Iran due to payment issues.
    Cargill [CARGIL.UL] said in a statement: “In certain countries where international sanctions exist, we provide that food using the humanitarian exception for medicine and food.”
    A U.S. Treasury spokesperson said Washington designated Iran’s central bank under its counter terrorism authorities, adding that the broad exceptions to the sanctions such as for humanitarian trade that once applied to transactions involving the central bank no longer applied.
    The spokesperson also said the department continued to encourage the private sector and foreign counterparts to provide humanitarian assistance, if the transactions were conducted with Iranian financial institutions or entities that have not been blacklisted by Washington.
(Additional reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago, Timothy Gardner in Washington, Michael Hogan in Hamburg, Nigel Hunt in London and Ebru Tuncay in Istanbul; Editing by Veronica Brown and Jane Merriman)

10/3/2019 Hong Kong court to hear assault case against teen student shot by police by Donny Kwok
People take part in a students' march on the campus of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in solidarity
with the student protester who was shot by a police officer on October 1, the CUHK students who were arrested in anti-government
protests, and the pro-democracy movement, in Sha Tin, Hong Kong, China, October 3, 2019. REUTERS/Susana Vera
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – The lawyer for an 18-year-old Hong Kong student protester shot in the chest by police was due to appear in court on his behalf on Thursday, after the teenager was charged over his role in violent demonstrations.
    Tony Tsang, who was shot at close range as he fought an officer with a metal pipe on Tuesday, was charged with rioting, which carries a maximum 10-year sentence, and assaulting a police officer.
    The shooting came during a day of clashes in the Asian financial hub, the latest turmoil in months of anti-government protests that have angered Beijing and raised questions about the city’s economic prospects.
    Tsang is in hospital in stable condition and was not able to attend the court session.
    But about 200 supporters turned up to watch the proceedings after another night of violence as petrol bomb-throwing demonstrators angry about the shooting clashed with police into the early hours of Thursday.
    Police urged the government to impose curfews to help curb the escalating violence in the Chinese-ruled city, where officers have become a target of protesters amid accusations of excessive force.
    Activists went on the rampage in districts across the former British colony late into the night, setting fires, blocking roads and vandalizing shops and metro stations as police fired tear gas to disperse them.
    “Wherever there are protests nearby I’ll come … I’m out tonight for a simple reason.    You don’t shoot a teenager at point blank range,” said Alex Chan, an interior designer at a protest in the shopping district of Causeway Bay.
    “These protests will continue and we won’t give up.”
    The demonstrations have stretched the police force and transport networks to their limits.
    Rail operator MTR Corp closed stations in districts including Po Lam, Hang Hau and Tseung Kwan O just before midnight on Wednesday as the violence picked up.    All affected stations reopened on Thursday.
EMERGENCY LAW
    The protests began 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 opposition to the Beijing-backed government has plunged the city into its biggest political crisis in decades and poses the gravest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power.
    The Hong Kong government is under increasing pressure to find a solution to the confrontation.
    Goldman Sachs estimated this week that the city might have lost as much as $4 billion in deposits to rival financial hub Singapore between June and August.
    The city is expected to enact an emergency law that would outlaw face masks, worn by many protesters to conceal their identities, after a special meeting of the Executive Council on Friday, media outlets TVB and Cable TV reported.
    The Hong Kong stock market jumped to a one-week high on the news.
    Earlier in the day, Lam Chi-wai, chairman of Junior Police Officers Association, had urged the city’s leader to impose a curfew to maintain public order.
    “We are only an enforcement agency with limited power under the law.    When facing such a series of massive rioting incidents, we cannot work alone – clapping only with one hand – without appropriate measures and support from top level,” Lam said.
    The public has become increasingly hostile towards police amid accusations of heavy-handed tactics.    Police say they have shown restraint.
    The lawyer for an Indonesian journalist injured when police fired a projectile during protests on Sunday said she had been blinded in one eye.
    The European Union said in a statement it was deeply troubled by the escalation of violence and the only way forward was through “restraint, de-escalation and dialogue.”
    The city’s tourism board announced the cancellation of a major cycling tournament, the Hong Kong Cyclothon, and the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival, citing “unforeseen circumstances in the coming weeks.”
    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.
(Reporting by Donny Kwok and James Pomfret; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree and Poppy McPherson; Editing by Stephen Coates, Robert Birsel)

10/3/2019 Hong Kong set to ban face masks in bid to curb violence: media
An anti-government protester wearing a Guy Fawkes mask attends a protest in Sham Shui Po district on China's
National Day in Hong Kong, China October 1, 2019. Picture taken October 1, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong is set to enact an emergency law to ban face masks at rallies, media reported on Thursday, as authorities grapple with nearly four months of anti-government protests.
    Many demonstrators wear face masks to hide their identities and shield themselves from tear gas.
    The Hong Kong stock market jumped to a one-week high on the news, reported by media outlets TVB and Cable TV.
    The unrest, which began over opposition to a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial, shows no sign of letting up.
    Demonstrators, angry over the shooting of an 18-year-old this week by police, clashed with police into the early hours of Thursday.
    Demonstrators threw petrol bombs and police responded with tear gas.
    Police have also urged the government to impose curfews to help curb the escalating violence in the Chinese-ruled city, where officers have become a target of protesters amid accusations of excessive force.
(Reporting By Twinnie Siu and Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Robert Birsel)

10/3/2019 North Korea says it successfully tested new submarine-launched ballistic missile by Joyce Lee
What appears to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) flies in an undisclosed location in this undated
picture released by North Korea's Central News Agency (KCNA) on October 2, 2019. KCNA via REUTERS
    SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea said on Thursday it had successfully test-fired a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from the sea to contain external threats and bolster self-defense, ahead of fresh nuclear talks with the United States.
    The launch on Wednesday was the most provocative by North Korea since it resumed dialogue with the United States in 2018 and a reminder by Pyongyang of the weapons capability it has been aggressively developing, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, analysts said.
    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “sent warm congratulations” to the defense scientists who conducted the test, state news agency KCNA said, indicating he did not attend the launch as he has at previous tests of new weapons systems.
    The new type of SLBM, called Pukguksong-3, was “fired in vertical mode” in the waters off the eastern city of Wonsan, KCNA said, confirming an assessment by South Korea’s military on Wednesday that the missile was launched on a lofted trajectory.
    “The successful new-type SLBM test-firing comes to be of great significance as it ushered in a new phase in containing the outside forces’ threat to the DPRK and further bolstering its military muscle for self-defense,” KCNA said.
    DPRK is short for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
    The test “had no adverse impact on the security of neighboring countries,” KCNA said but gave no other details about the launch.
    Photos released in the North’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper, whose front two pages featured the test, showed a black-and-white painted missile clearing the surface of the water, then the rocket engine igniting to propel it into the sky.
    A State Department spokeswoman called on Pyongyang to “refrain from provocations” and to remain committed to nuclear negotiations.
    South Korea expressed strong concern and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned the launch, saying it was a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
    North Korea rejects U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban Pyongyang from using ballistic missile technology, saying they are an infringement of its right to self-defense.
    Talks aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs have been stalled since a second summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in Vietnam in February broke down in disagreement over nuclear disarmament.
    North Korea fired the missile hours after announcing it would resume talks with the United States by holding working-level negotiations on Oct. 5.
    North Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Myong Gil, arrived at the Beijing airport on Thursday with other North Korean officials and booked flights to Stockholm, Sweden, Yonhap reported, citing an airport official.
    “We’re going for the DPRK-U.S. working-level negotiations,” the negotiator Kim told reporters in Beijing, according to Yonhap.    “There’s been a new signal from the U.S. side, so we’re going with great expectations and optimism about the outcome.”
‘NUCLEAR CAPABLE’
    The Pukguksong-3 appeared to be a new design that has enhanced range and stability compared with a version tested in 2016, three analysts said.
    It was probably launched from a test platform and not a submarine, which would be the final stage of testing, said Kim Dong-yub, a military expert at Kyungnam University’s Institute of Far Eastern Studies in Seoul.
    State news agency KCNA released photos and a report in July of leader Kim Jong Un inspecting a large, newly built submarine, but an unnamed South Korean military source said on Thursday that the submarine appears to be still incomplete, Yonhap news agency reported.
    Leader Kim Jong Un’s absence at the test is “extremely unusual,” Kyungnam University’s Kim said, probably meant to contain the political fallout that could result in the upcoming talks falling apart before they even start.
    On Wednesday, South Korea’s military said the missile flew 450 km (280 miles) and reached an altitude of 910 km (565 miles).    It was likely a Pukguksong-class weapon, as the North’s earlier submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) under development were known.
    South Korean Defence Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said the Pukguksong, or Pole Star in Korean, would have had a range of about 1,300 km (910 miles) on a standard trajectory.
    North Korea had been developing SLBM technology before it suspended long-range missile and nuclear tests and began talks with the United States that led to the first summit between Kim and Trump in Singapore in June 2018.
    The latest version of the Pukguksong may be the longest-range North Korean missile that uses solid fuel and the first nuclear-capable missile to be tested since November 2017, Ankit Panda of the U.S.-based Federation of American Scientists said.
    North Korea has been developing rocket engines that burn solid fuel, which has advantages in military use compared with liquid fuel because it is stable and versatile, allowing it to be stored in missiles until they are ready for launch.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Writing by Jack Kim. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

10/3/2019 Pakistan and Taliban call for U.S. to resume Afghan peace talks
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi welcomes Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who is leading
Taliban Political Commission (TPC) delegation, upon his arrival at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office
in Islamabad, Pakistan October 3, 2019. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA)/ Handout via REUTERS
    ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR (Reuters) – Peace talks in Afghanistan must resume as soon as possible, Pakistan and the Taliban militant group urged on Thursday, after President Donald Trump broke off negotiations last month seeking to end the United States’ longest war.
    Trump halted talks with the group, aimed at striking a deal for U.S. and other foreign troops to withdraw in exchange for Taliban security guarantees, after it carried out a bomb attack in Kabul that killed 12 people, including a U.S. soldier.
    “Both sides agreed on the need for the earliest resumption of the peace process,” Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement on Thursday after Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi met a Taliban delegation that is visiting Islamabad.
    The U.S. embassy in the Pakistani capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    The United States has long considered Pakistan’s cooperation crucial to efforts to end the war in Afghanistan.
    The meeting came as Zalmay Khalilzad, the top U.S. envoy involved in the peace talks, also visited Islamabad for talks with the government, although it was not clear if he would have any contact with the Islamist militant Taliban.
    The latest development follows a meeting last week between Trump and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
    A pause in the bloodshed would help smooth the way to an agreement, Pakistan’s foreign minister said.
    “It was emphasized that reduction of violence by all parties to the conflict was necessary,” the ministry said, adding that such a step would help to speed resumption of the peace effort.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad in Islamabad and Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Clarence Fernandez)

10/4/2019 Hong Kong brings back colonial-era emergency powers to quell violence by Clare Jim and Noah Sin
[THE ABOVE IMAGE TELLS ME THAT THESE HONG KONGERS ARE DETERMINED TO MAKE CHINA BACK DOWN OR ELSE IT WILL CONTINUE]

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam attends a news conference to discuss sweeping emergency laws
at government office in Hong Kong, China October 4, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam invoked colonial-era emergency powers on Friday for the first time in more than 50 years in a dramatic move intended to quell escalating violence in the Chinese-ruled city.
    Lam, speaking at a news conference, said a ban on face masks would take effect on Saturday under the emergency laws that allow authorities to “make any regulations whatsoever” in whatever they deem to be in the public interest.
    The emergency laws allow curfews, censorship of the media, control of harbors, ports and transport, although Lam did not specify any particular action that might follow, beyond the mask ban.
    But it was far from clear if the introduction of emergency powers would deter the protesters.
    Banks and shops in the busy Central district closed early in anticipation of violence as some protesters burned Chinese flags and chanted “You burn with us.
    Thousands of demonstrators gathered in other parts of the territory.
    “The anti-mask law has become a tool of tyranny,” said Samuel Yeung, an 18-year-old university student in Central.
    “They can make use of the emergency law to enact any policies or laws that the government wants.    There’s no rule of law anymore.    We can only be united and protest.”
    Many protesters wear masks to hide their identity due to fears employers could face pressure to take action against them.
    “Almost all protesters wear masks, with the intention of hiding their identity.    That’s why they have become more unbridled,” said Lam.
    “We can’t keep the existing regulations idle and let violence escalate and the situation continue to deteriorate.”
    Lam described the territory as being in serious danger, but not in a state of emergency.
    Pro-Beijing groups had been pushing for a mask ban but it was not clear how the government would implement it in a city where many of its 7.4 million residents wear them every day to protect against infection following the outbreak of the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003.
    Police can stop anyone in public and ask them to remove a mask if the officer believes it may prevent identification, according to the law.    Exceptions are made if the person wearing a mask can prove they need it for medical, religious or professional reasons.
    Offenders face a maximum fine of HK$25,000 ($3,200) and imprisonment for a year, according to details of the prohibition published by the government.
    Four months of anti-government protests have plunged Hong Kong into its biggest political crisis since its handover from Britain to Beijing in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula granting it autonomy.
    What began as opposition to a proposed extradition law, that could have seen people sent for trial in mainland courts, has grown into a broad pro-democracy movement and a serious challenge to Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
‘THINK TWICE’
    Authorities had already loosened guidelines on the use of force by police, according to documents seen by Reuters, but the emergency powers could backfire, some analysts fear.
    “This is the next significant miscalculation,” said Phill Hynes, head of political risk and analysis at ISS Risk, shortly before the widely expected introduction of the emergency laws.
    “The next will be barring certain candidates from running in District Council elections.    Both will nicely inflame tensions and increase protests and actions.”
    Pro-democracy campaigners condemned Lam’s decision.
    “This is an ancient, colonial set of regulations, and you don’t use them unless you can’t legislate anymore,” said Martin Lee, a veteran activist and one of the city’s most prominent lawyers.    “Once you start, there’s no end to it.”
    The U.N. human rights office said Hong Kong must protect the right to freedom of assembly and Britain urged its former colony not to aggravate tension.
    Some Hong Kong’s businesses, struggling with a dip in tourism and retail sales due to the protests, gave the law a warmer welcome.
    “I agree with it at this point,” said businessman Allan Zeman, who is also an economic adviser to Lam.    “You have to do something drastic to end the violence. A lot of people will think twice about coming out.”
    But Hong Kong shares fell on Friday, hitting one-month lows.
    Violence escalated on Tuesday, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, when police fired about 1,800 volleys of tear gas, 900 rubber bullets and six live bullets – one of which hit an 18-year-old.
    The student, Tony Tsang, was shot at close range as he fought an officer with what appeared to be a white pole.    He has been charged with rioting, which carries a maximum 10-year sentence, and assaulting an officer. Tsang is in stable condition in hospital.
    The shooting enraged the protesters who rampaged across the city, throwing petrol bombs, blocking roads and starting fires as police responded with tear gas.
    The protesters are angry about what they see as creeping interference by Beijing in their city’s affairs despite the promise of autonomy under the “one country, two systems” formula.
    China dismisses accusations it is meddling and has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of stirring up anti-China sentiment.
(Reporting by Clare Jim and Noah Sin; Additional reporting by Twinnie Siu, Donny Kwok, James Pomfret, Jessie Pang, Felix Tam and Farah Master; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree and Bill Rigby; Editing by Robert Birsel)

10/4/2019 Exclusive: Iran not ‘drawing back’ militarily after Saudi attack-US admiral by Phil Stewart
FILE PHOTO: Vice Admiral James Malloy, commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT)/5th Fleet
is seen during U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command center
in Manama, Bahrain, January 11, 2019. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iran has not drawn back to a less threatening military posture in the region following the Sept. 14 attack on Saudi Arabia, the top U.S. admiral in the Middle East told Reuters, suggesting persistent concern despite a lull in violence.
    “I don’t believe that they’re drawing back at all,” Vice Admiral Jim Malloy, commander of the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, said in an interview.
    The United States, Saudi Arabia, Britain, France and Germany have publicly blamed the attack on Iran, which denies involvement in the strike on the world’s biggest crude oil-processing facility.    The Iran-aligned Houthi militant group in Yemen has claimed responsibility.
    Malloy did not comment on any U.S. intelligence guiding his assessment.    But he acknowledged that he monitored Iranian activities closely, when asked if he had seen any concerning movements of Iranian missiles in recent weeks.
    Malloy said he regularly tracks Iranian cruise and ballistic missile movements — “whether they’re moving to storage, away from storage.”     He also monitors whether Iran’s minelaying capabilities head to distribution sites or away from them.
    “I get a briefing of movements on a daily basis and then assessments as to what that could mean,” he said.
    Relations between the United States and Iran have deteriorated sharply since President Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear accord last year and reimposed sanctions on its oil exports.
    For months, Iranian officials issued veiled threats, saying that if Tehran were blocked from exporting oil, other countries would not be able to do so either.
    However, Iran has denied any role in a series of attacks that have followed, including against tankers in the Gulf using limpet mines earlier this year.
“DENY IT IF YOU CAN”
    Asked what the latest attack in Saudi Arabia showed him, Malloy said: “From my perspective, it is a land-based version of what they did with the mines … quick, clandestine — deny it if you can.”
    “Send a signal and harass and provoke,” he said.
    His remarks came a week after the Pentagon announced it was sending four radar systems, a battery of Patriot missiles and about 200 support personnel to bolster Saudi defenses — the latest in a series of U.S. deployments to the region this year amid escalating tensions.
    Still, the latest deployment was more limited than had been initially under consideration.
    Reuters has previously reported, for example, that the Pentagon eyed keeping an aircraft carrier in the Gulf region indefinitely, amid speculation that the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group will soon need to wind up its deployment.
    Malloy declined to speculate about future carrier deployments.    But he acknowledged the tremendous value of aircraft carriers — as well as the ships in the strike groups that accompany an aircraft carrier.
    That includes the contribution of destroyers now accompanying the USS Abraham Lincoln to a U.S.-led, multinational maritime effort known as Operation Sentinel.
    It is meant to deter Iranian attacks at sea — and expose them if they occur.
SHINING A FLASHLIGHT
    “What Sentinel seeks to do is shine a flashlight across that and make sure that if anything happens in the maritime, they will be exposed for that activity,” he said.
    This includes by providing a surveillance and communication backbone to share intelligence with nations that have agreed to participate, which include Britain, Australia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
    “We’ve created essentially a zone defense,” he said.
    Washington first proposed the effort in the Gulf in June after accusing Iran of attacking oil tankers around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint.    But the proposal was met with concern in some European capitals, already at odds with Washington over its withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
    Malloy met Saudi Arabia’s naval commander on Sunday, assuring him of U.S. support following the Sept. 14th attack, which rattled global oil markets.    He said U.S. support included intelligence sharing.    “ We are constantly in the process of tightening that information flow with them,” Malloy said.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Sandra Maler)

10/4/2019 After pressing Iran for answers, IAEA reports improved cooperation
FILE PHOTO: An Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
    VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran has improved its cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the IAEA’s acting chief said on Friday, as it presses for answers to questions it will not spell out but that diplomats say include how uranium traces were found at an undeclared site.
    The International Atomic Energy Agency, which polices Iran’s nuclear deal with major powers, told Tehran last month that “time is of the essence” in addressing what it describes in its jargon as concerns about the completeness of Iran’s safeguards declarations to the agency.
    Diplomats say Iran has been stonewalling the agency over the uranium particles found in environmental samples taken at what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a “secret atomic warehouse” in Tehran.    Iran has said was a carpet-cleaning facility.
    Acting IAEA Director General Cornel Feruta, who is heading the agency provisionally after the death in July of its longtime chief Yukiya Amano, reported progress on Friday.
    “Some engagement is ongoing, and this engagement is currently taking place,” Feruta told reporters, adding that this new engagement was in relation to his call in September for action by Iran, though he still declined to go into specifics.
    The progress was the result of meetings with various senior Iranian officials in recent weeks, he said.
    “This is an ongoing process … I cannot prejudge how this is going to end. The engagement doesn’t mean that the issues are completely addressed, but it’s a step in the right direction,” Feruta said.
    At the same time, Iran continues on its course of breaching the deal’s restrictions on its nuclear activities step by step in response to U.S. economic sanctions imposed on it since Washington pulled out of the deal last month.
    The United States argues that its sanctions will force Iran to the negotiating table as Washington seeks a more far-reaching agreement addressing Iran’s ballistic missile program and its role in conflicts in the Middle East.
    Iran says it will not negotiate unless U.S. sanctions are lifted.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

10/4/2019 U.S. Afghanistan envoy meets Taliban in Pakistan: sources by Asif Shahzad and Jonathan Landay
FILE PHOTO: U.S. envoy for peace in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad speaks during a debate at
Tolo TV channel in Kabul, Afghanistan April 28, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/File Photob
    ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Taliban delegation met U.S. special representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad for more than an hour on Thursday, two sources told Reuters, the first known contact between the sides since U.S. President Donald Trump called off talks last month.
    Trump halted the talks, which aimed at a plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan in exchange for Taliban security guarantees, following the death of a U.S. soldier and 11 others in a Taliban bomb attack in Kabul.
    The Taliban is ready to stand by a tentative agreement struck in Doha before Trump canceled the talks, according to Pakistan’s foreign minister and sources from the militant group, who said the insurgents were eager to resume negotiations.
    However the meeting in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad did not represent a resumption of formal negotiations, official sources cautioned.
    “The Taliban officials held a meeting with Zalmay Khalilzad … all I can tell you is that Pakistan played a big role in it to convince them how important it was for the peace process,” a senior Pakistan official told Reuters, but declined to be identified as he was not authorized to speak publicly.
    He added that the meeting, which was confirmed by a second source, did not involve formal negotiations on the peace process, but aimed at building confidence.    He declined to elaborate further on the discussions.
    Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told Reuters that the Taliban were set to meet with Khalilzad during their visits to Islamabad though he was not aware of what they discussed and exactly when a meeting was taking place.
    “They were due to meet Zalmay Khalilzad.    I think that might have happened.    I’m hoping that they have met,” he said on Friday.
    He added that the Taliban considered themselves as abiding by a tentative agreement signed with Khalilzad in Qatar before Trump called a halt to talks.
    “They’re ready to own their commitment,” he said.
    Two Taliban sources confirmed they viewed themselves as committed to the agreements reached in Doha and were disappointed when Trump pulled out of talks.
    The U.S. embassy in Islamabad and the State Department in Washington declined to comment on whether there had been a meeting between the Taliban and Khalilzad.
    A State Department representative said Khalilzad had spent several days in Islamabad this week for consultations with authorities in Pakistan, but his meetings in Islamabad did not represent a restart of the Afghan peace process.
    Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, would not confirm or deny that Taliban had met Khalilzad, adding that the Taliban delegation was still in Islamabad for meetings on Friday.
    Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Taliban leader in Afghanistan said the delegation’s visit to Pakistan was intended to revive negotiations to end the 18-year war.
AFGHAN INCLUSION
    A Pakistan government source said that Pakistan would do “whatever possible” to get stakeholders, including Russia and China, to meet and work on guarantees of any successful peace arrangement.
    “The Taliban want all stakeholders like America, Russia, China…to sit together and give some guarantees that any deal done and signed wouldn’t be backed out before they resume the negotiations,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s government was also trying to ensure the Afghan government was included.
    Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has complained bitterly about the Taliban shutting his administration out of the previous talks.
    The U.S. government told Kabul that Khalilzad planned to meet the Taliban in Islamabad, a senior Afghan government source said.
    However, Afghan officials were told the meeting was to discuss the 2016 kidnapping of two university professors, American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks, in Kabul by the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani group.
    The source said the Afghan government does not want the peace process to resume unless it is led by Afghans.
    The Taliban delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the group’s founders, met Pakistan’s foreign minister on Thursday and both sides called for a resumption of the talks as soon as possible.
    The United States has long considered Pakistan’s cooperation crucial to ending the war in Afghanistan.
    Before the talks broke off, the United States and Taliban said last month they were close to reaching a deal, despite concerns among some U.S. security officials and in the Afghan government that a U.S. withdrawal could bring more conflict and a resurgence of Islamist militant factions.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad in Islamabad and Jonathan Landay in Washington; Additional reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Hamid Shalizi in Kabul, Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar and Charlotte Greenfield in Islamabad; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield and Rod Nickel; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Clarence Fernandez and Frances Kerry)

10/5/2019 Hundreds return to Hong Kong streets as metro, shops shut after violence by Felix Tam and Greg Torode
Anti-government protesters wearing masks attend a protest in central Hong Kong, China October 5, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s metro system stayed shut on Saturday, paralyzing transport in the Asian financial hub, and malls and shops closed early after a night of chaos in which police shot a teenage boy and protesters torched businesses and metro stations.
    Friday’s protests across the Chinese-ruled city erupted hours after its embattled leader, Carrie Lam, invoked colonial-era emergency powers for the first time in more than 50 years to ban the face masks demonstrators use to hide their identities.    The night’s “extreme violence” justified the use of the emergency law, Beijing-backed Lam said in a television address on Saturday.
    “The radical behavior of rioters took Hong Kong through a very dark night, leaving society today half-paralyzed,” she said in pre-recorded remarks.
    “The extreme violence clearly illustrated that Hong Kong’s public safety is widely endangered.    That’s the concrete reason that we had to invoke emergency law yesterday to introduce the anti-mask law.”
    But undeterred by the ban and transport shutdown, several hundred pro-democracy protesters, many wearing masks, took to the streets on Saturday, marching through the normally bustling central district of Causeway Bay.
    Other groups gathered in Sheung Shui and Tsim Sha Tsui districts as the sun began to set.
    “We’re not sure what is going to happen later, but we felt we had to get out and show our basic right to wear a mask,” said one protester, Sue, 22, who wore a black mask and dark glasses to the Causeway Bay march.
    “The government needs to learn it can’t squeeze Hong Kong people like this.”    The increasingly violent demonstrations that have roiled the city for four months began in opposition to a bill introduced in April that would have allowed extradition to mainland China, but they have since spiraled into a broader pro-democracy movement.
    The unrest has plunged Hong Kong into its biggest political crisis since its handover from Britain to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that granted it autonomy and broad freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland.
    China’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said on Friday the protests were evolving into a revolution backed by foreign forces and could not continue indefinitely.
    The United Nations human rights chief called on Saturday for an independent probe into the violence during anti-government protests in Hong Kong, saying the injuries were alarming.
TRANSPORT SHUTDOWN
    MTR Corp said its network, which carries about 5 million passengers each day, would remain suspended, while shopping malls and supermarkets also closed, in a new blow for retailers and restaurants in a city on the edge of recession.
    “As we are no longer in a position to provide safe and reliable service to passengers in the circumstances, the corporation had no choice but to make the decision to suspend the service of its entire network,” it said in a statement.
    Protesters had set fires at stations, as well as to an empty train, and injured two staff, added MTR, which is known for operating one of the world’s most efficient rail networks.
    All stations closed late on Friday, stranding passengers and forcing many to walk home, a situation set to worsen during a holiday weekend in the city.
    The airport express, one of the most popular routes to the airport, re-opened with restricted service on Saturday, MTR said.
    More than a dozen shopping malls, supermarkets, and branches of Bank of China (Hong Kong) [BOCHK.UL], Bank of East Asia, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which have been targeted by protesters, said they would not open on Saturday.     The 7-Eleven chain of convenience stores said outlets would close at 5 p.m.
    Shoppers formed long lines in supermarkets ahead of the expected closures.
    Companies across Hong Kong, the Asian base for many global businesses, are increasingly walking a tightrope between the protesters and China’s Communist Party rulers in Beijing.
    On Saturday, shoe brand Vans came under fire from Hong Kong internet users for removing from its website a design submitted in an online competition that showed Hong Kong protesters clad in yellow hard-hats.
    In a statement, Vans said designs were removed “in line with our company’s long-held values of respect and tolerance, as well as our clearly communicated guidelines for this competition”
FACE MASK BAN
    The ban on face masks, which took effect on Saturday, was ordered under emergency laws allowing authorities to “make any regulations whatsoever” in what they deem to be the public interest.
    But the move enraged protesters, who took to the streets to vent their anger, many wearing masks in defiance of the ban.    There were no immediate reports of arrests over the masks.
    Demonstrators set fires, hurled petrol bombs at police and burned the Chinese national flag, in a direct challenge to authorities in Beijing.    Police said an officer in Yuen Long, a district in the outlying New Territories that saw fierce clashes in July, had fired a shot in self-defense after a protester threw a petrol bomb at him, setting him on fire.
    Media said a 14-year-old boy was shot and the city’s Hospital Authority said his condition was now stable, but gave no details.
    About 100 demonstrators besieged a branch of the Bank of China (Hong Kong) in the high-end shopping district of Causeway Bay, while across the harbor in the district of Kowloon, protesters smashed the glass store front of a China Life Insurance branch.
    Police fired volleys of tear gas to disperse protesters in flashpoint districts such as Causeway Bay, Sha Tin and Wong Tai Sin, underscoring the challenges they face as protests show no sign of letting up.
    Hospital authorities said 31 people were hurt in Friday’s protests, two of them seriously.
(Reporting by Felix Tam, Greg Torode, Clare Jim, and Twinnie Siu; Writing by Poppy Elena McPherson; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Clarence Fernandez and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

10/5/2019 Hong Kong’s Lam says ‘extreme violence’ justified use of emergency powers by Felix Tam
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam attends a news conference to discuss sweeping emergency
laws at government office in Hong Kong, China October 4, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Saturday “extreme violence” in the Asian financial hub had justified her decision to invoke emergency powers for the first time in half a century, following a night of violent protests.
    Transport in the former British colony was paralyzed as Hong Kong’s metro system stayed shut on Saturday, following Friday’s chaos, in which police shot a teenage boy and pro-democracy protesters torched businesses and metro stations.
    “The radical behavior of rioters took Hong Kong through a very dark night, leaving society today half-paralyzed,” Lam said, in her first comments since Friday’s ban on face masks ordered on the basis of the emergency provisions.
    “The extreme violence clearly illustrated that Hong Kong’s public safety is widely endangered,” she said in a pre-recorded television announcement.
    “That’s the concrete reason that we had to invoke emergency law yesterday to introduce the anti-mask law.”
    Demonstrators have used face masks to conceal their identities in increasingly violent protests that have roiled the city for four months.
    The protests began in opposition to a bill introduced in April that would have allowed extradition to mainland China, but have since spiraled into a broader pro-democracy movement.
    After Friday’s violence, rail operator MTR Corp took the unprecedented step of shutting down the entire network, which carries about 5 million passengers each day, while shopping malls and supermarkets also closed.
    Further demonstrations are planned across Hong Kong through Monday, which is a public holiday, but it was not immediately clear how the transport shutdown would affect them.
(Reporting by Poppy Elena McPherson; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

10/5/2019 Hong Kong goes quiet as subway, shops close after night of violence by Felix Tam and Greg Torode
A man closes his shop as an anti-government protest passes, in Tsim Sha Tsui
district, in Hong Kong, China October 5, 2019. REUTERS/Susana Vera
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong fell eerily silent on Saturday, with the subway and most shopping malls closed in an unprecedented shutdown of one of the world’s biggest commercial centers after the government invoked emergency measures to curb months of unrest.
    Hundreds of anti-government protesters defied a ban on face masks and took to the streets across the Chinese-ruled city earlier in the day.    But by evening they had largely dispersed in preparation for bigger marches planned for Sunday.
    Rail operator MTR Corp suspended all services, paralyzing transport in the Asian financial hub, while malls and shops closed early after a night of chaos in which police shot a teenage boy and protesters torched businesses and metro stations.
    Protests had erupted on Friday across the former British colony hours after its embattled leader, Carrie Lam, invoked colonial-era emergency powers for the first time in more than 50 years to ban the use of face masks demonstrators have been using to hide their identities.
    The night’s “extreme violence” justified the use of the emergency law, Beijing-backed Lam said in a television address on Saturday.
    “The radical behavior of rioters took Hong Kong through a very dark night, leaving society today half-paralyzed,” she said in pre-recorded remarks.
    “The extreme violence clearly illustrated that Hong Kong’s public safety is widely endangered.    That’s the concrete reason that we had to invoke emergency law yesterday to introduce the anti-mask law.”
    Undeterred by the ban and transport shutdown, several hundred pro-democracy protesters – many wearing masks – marched through the normally bustling shopping district of Causeway Bay on Saturday, but there was no repeat of Friday’s violence.
    Other groups gathered in Sheung Shui close to the border with mainland China and in the busy shopping and tourist district of Tsim Sha Tsui.
    “We felt we had to get out and show our basic right to wear a mask,” said one protester, Sue, 22, who wore a black mask and dark glasses to the Causeway Bay march.
    “The government needs to learn it can’t squeeze Hong Kong people like this.”
    The increasingly violent demonstrations that have roiled the city for four months began in opposition to a bill that would have allowed people to be extradited to mainland China for trial.    They have since spiraled into a broader pro-democracy movement.
    The unrest has plunged Hong Kong into its biggest political crisis since its handover from Britain to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that granted it autonomy and broad freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland.
    China’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said on Friday the protests were evolving into a revolution backed by foreign forces and could not continue indefinitely.
    The United Nations human rights chief called on Saturday for an independent probe into the violence seen during the protests.
    Michelle Bachelet told a media conference in Kuala Lumpur the U.N. was: “alarmed by the injuries to the police and protesters, including journalists and protesters shot by law enforcement officers.”
TRANSPORT SHUTDOWN
    MTR Corp shut its network, which carries about 5 million passengers a day, while shopping malls and supermarkets also closed in a blow for a city on the edge of recession.
    “As we are no longer in a position to provide safe and reliable service to passengers in the circumstances, the corporation had no choice but to make the decision to suspend the service of its entire network,” MTR said in a statement.
    Protesters had set fires at stations as well as to an empty train, and injured two staff, added MTR.
    The airport express, one of the most popular routes to the airport, re-opened with a restricted service on Saturday, MTR said.
    More than a dozen shopping malls, supermarkets, and branches of Bank of China (Hong Kong), Bank of East Asia, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which have been targeted by protesters, did not open on Saturday.
    Shoppers formed long lines in supermarkets ahead of the expected closures.
    Companies across Hong Kong, the Asian base for many global businesses, are increasingly walking a tightrope between the protesters and China’s Communist Party rulers in Beijing.
    On Saturday, shoe brand Vans came under fire from Hong Kong internet users for removing from its website a design submitted in an online competition that showed Hong Kong protesters clad in yellow hard-hats.
    In a statement, Vans said designs were removed “in line with our company’s long-held values of respect and tolerance, as well as our clearly communicated guidelines for this competition.”
FACE MASK BAN
    The ban on face masks, which took effect on Saturday, was ordered under emergency laws that allow authorities to “make any regulations whatsoever” in what they deem to be the public interest.
    The move enraged protesters, however, who took to the streets on Friday night to vent their anger, many wearing masks in open defiance.     Some set fires, hurled petrol bombs at police and burned the Chinese national flag, in a direct challenge to authorities in Beijing.
    Bachelet said on Saturday that face masks should not be used to provoke violence, but she warned Hong Kong against using the ban to target particular groups or curtail the right to freedom of assembly.
    Police said an officer in Yuen Long, a district in the outlying New Territories that saw fierce clashes in July, had fired a shot in self-defense on Friday night after a protester threw a petrol bomb at him, setting him on fire.
    Media said a 14-year-old boy was shot and the city’s Hospital Authority said his condition was now stable but gave no further details.
    Also late on Friday, about 100 demonstrators besieged a branch of the Bank of China (Hong Kong) in the high-end shopping district of Causeway Bay, while across the harbor in the district of Kowloon, protesters smashed the glass store front of a China Life Insurance branch.
    Police fired volleys of tear gas to disperse protesters in flashpoint districts such as Causeway Bay, Sha Tin and Wong Tai Sin, underscoring the challenges they face as protests show no sign of letting up.
    Hospital authorities said 31 people were hurt in Friday’s protests, two of them seriously.
(Reporting by Felix Tam, Greg Torode, Clare Jim, and Twinnie Siu; Writing by Poppy Elena McPherson; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Hugh Lawson)

10/5/2019 North Korea breaks off nuclear talks with U.S. in Sweden by Johan Ahlander and Philip O’Connor
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference with Montenegro's Prime Minister
Dusko Markovic, after a meeting in Podgorica, Montenegro, October 4, 2019. REUTERS/Stevo Vasiljevic
    STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – North Korea’s top negotiator said late on Saturday that working-level nuclear talks between officials from Pyongyang and Washington that had been seen as a step toward ending months of stalemate, had been broken off in Sweden.
    The North’s chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Myong Gil, who had spent much of the day in talks with an American delegation, told reporters outside his country’s embassy that the decision was based on the view that U.S. negotiators would not “give up their old viewpoint and attitude.”
    “The negotiations have not fulfilled our expectation and finally broke off,” Kim told reporters through an interpreter.
    “The U.S. raised expectations by offering suggestions like a flexible approach, new method and creative solutions, but they have disappointed us greatly and dampened our enthusiasm for negotiation by bringing nothing to the negotiation table.”
    The meeting at an isolated conference center on the Swedish capital’s outskirts was the first formal working-level discussion since U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in June and agreed to restart negotiations that stalled after a failed summit in Vietnam in February.
    The delegation from North Korea, also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), which is under sanctions banning much of its trade due to its nuclear program, arrived in Sweden on Thursday after Pyongyang unexpectedly said the talks would take place.
    Analysts have said the leaders of both countries faced growing incentives to reach a deal, although it is unclear whether common ground could be found after months of tension and deadlock.
    Only a day after announcing the new talks, North Korea said it had test-fired a new ballistic missile designed for submarine launch, a provocative gesture that also underscored the need for Washington to move quickly to negotiate limits on Pyongyang’s growing arsenal.
    Speaking in Athens on the last leg of a tour of southern Europe while the talks were still underway in Stockholm, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said he was hopeful of progress in the talks.
    “We are mindful this will be the first time that we’ve had a chance to have a discussion in quite some time and that there remains to be a lot of work that will have to be done by the two teams,” he told a news conference.
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, Johan Ahlander, Simon Johnson, Niklas Pollard and Philip O’Connor in Stockholm; additional reporting by David Brunnstrom and Michele Kambas in Athens; Joori Roh in Seoul; writing by Niklas Pollard; Editing by Alexander Smith, William Maclean and Hugh Lawson)

10/6/2019 Thousands defy anti-mask law and march in Hong Kong by Donny Kwok and Poppy McPherson
Anti-government protesters attend a demonstration in Wan Chai district, in Hong Kong, China October 6, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of protesters marched through central Hong Kong on Sunday wearing face masks in defiance of colonial-era emergency powers which threaten them with a year in prison for hiding their faces.
    Police fired tear gas in several places in the Asian financial hub but there was no obvious signs of violence, with protesters ignoring the gas, dousing the canisters with water or tossing them back at police.
    Police said protesters were participating in unlawful assemblies, blocking major roads, and warned they would soon begin “dispersal operations on Hong Kong island,” ordering protesters to leave immediately.
    “Members of the public are advised to stay indoors and keep their windows shut,” the police said in a statement.
    Authorities are braced for two major protests on Sunday, fearing a recurrence of Friday night’s violent protests which saw the Asian financial center virtually shut down the next day.
    Only hours after Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam invoked emergency powers last used more than 50 years ago, mask-wearing protesters took to the streets on Friday, setting subway stations on fire, smashing mainland China banks and clashing with police.
    “The anti-mask law just fuels our anger and more will people come on to the street,” Lee, a university student wearing a blue mask, said on Sunday, as he marched on Hong Kong island.
    “We are not afraid of the new law, we will continue fighting.    We will fight for righteousness.    I put on the mask to tell the government that I’m not afraid of tyranny.”
    Hong Kong’s four months of protests have plunged the Chinese-ruled city into its worst political crisis in decades and pose the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power six years ago.
    What started as opposition to a now-withdrawn extradition bill has swelled into a pro-democracy movement against what is seen as Beijing’s increasing grip on the city, undermining its “one country, two systems” status promised when Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997.
    China dismisses the accusation, saying foreign governments, including Britain and the United States, have fanned anti-China sentiment.
    Protesters on Sunday chanted “Hong Kongers, revolt” and “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong,” as riot police monitored them from overhead walkways and footbridges, some taking photographs and filming the marchers.
    Police fired tear gas at a rally at Pacific Place which seemed peaceful and also at Admiralty, near government offices, said witnesses.
    Some roads clogged with protesters resembled a field of flowers, with thousands of colorful umbrellas.    Umbrellas are a symbol of an earlier pro-democracy movement, but were being used on Sunday simply to keep off the rain.
    Protesters handed out face masks to encourage people to defy the ban.    One masked protester carried a mask-wearing “Buzz Lightyear” doll from Walt Disney Co’s “Toy Story” animation film.
    Friday night’s “extreme violence” justified the use of the emergency law, Beijing-backed Lam said on Saturday.
    The current “precarious situation,” which endangered public safety, left no timely solution but the anti-mask law, Matthew Cheung, Hong Kong’s chief secretary, wrote on his blog on Sunday.    He urged people to oppose violence ahead of grassroots district council elections set for Nov. 24.
HONG KONG STRUGGLES
    Rail operator MTR Corp Ltd <0066.HK> said it would not open some stations on Sunday, after an unprecedented shutdown following Friday night’s violence.    It said it needed time to repair vandalized facilities and would cut short operations by more than three hours, to end at 9 p.m.
    Most supermarkets and commercial stores reopened after the previous day’s closures, though some malls, such as Sogo in the bustling Causeway Bay commercial district and IFC in Central, remained shuttered.
    Global luxury brands from Prada to Cartier are counting the costs as the unrest has kept tourists away, taking retail sales down 23% in August, their biggest decline on record.
    Many restaurants and small businesses have had to shut repeatedly, with the protests pushing Hong Kong’s economy to the brink of its first recession in a decade.
    Financial Secretary Paul Chan in a blog on Sunday said despite recent obstacles, the banking system remained sound and the financial market was functioning well.
    Hong Kong may have lost as much as $4 billion in deposits to rival financial hub Singapore from June through August, Goldman Sachs estimated this week.
    “Hong Kong will not implement foreign exchange controls. The Hong Kong dollar can be exchanged freely and capital can come in and out freely.    This is the solemn guarantee of the Basic Law,” said Chan.
    Protesters have taken aim at some of China’s largest banks, trashing automated teller machines at branches of Bank of China Ltd’s <601988.SS> <3988.HK> Hong Kong unit, for example, while nearby international counterparts, such as Standard Chartered PLC , have escaped untouched.a
    Chan’s comment came after Hong Kong’s Monetary Authority said about 5% of the city’s ATMs could not transact cash withdrawals for “various reasons.”
    The Hong Kong Association of Banks condemned violent acts “which have caused serious damage to some bank branches and ATMs.”
(Reporting by Donny Kwok Poppy and McPherson; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

10/6/2019 Iran will use every means possible to export its oil: SHANA by Parisa Hafezi
Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh listens to journalists at the beginning of an OPEC
meeting in Vienna, Austria, July 1, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran will not succumb to U.S. pressure and will use every possible way to export its oil, Iranian Oil Ministry’s website SHANA quoted Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh as saying on Sunday.
    Iran’s crude oil exports were reduced by more than 80% when the United States re-imposed sanctions on the country last November after President Donald Trump pulled out of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
    “We will use every possible way to export our oil and we will not succumb to America’s pressure because exporting oil is Iran’s legitimate right,” Zanganeh said.
    In response, Iran has gradually scaled back its commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal, under which Tehran accepted to curb its nuclear activities in return for lifting most international sanctions.
    The increasing U.S. pressure on Iran has scared away foreign investors from doing business in the country.
    Last year, China’s National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) replaced French oil company Total as the operator of Phase 11 project at South Pars gas field after the French company ended its participation rather than violate U.S. sanctions.
    But late last year, CNPC suspended investment in the field in response to U.S. pressure.
    “China’s CNPC has totally pulled out of the South Pars Phase 11 development and Iran’s Petropars company will carry out the job,” SHANA quoted Zanganeh as saying.
    Iran has the world’s second-largest reserves of natural gas, but it has not yet become a major exporter because of international sanctions imposed on the country for decades.
    SHANA also quoted Zanganeh saying that Iran wanted to improve ties with Gulf Arab countries.
    “We want to be friends with all regional countries … they must not regard us as their enemy … Our mutual enemy is outside the Middle East.”
    Iran and Saudi Arabia have repeatedly clashed at meetings of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries over oil output policies.    Tensions between the two countries flared after Saudi Arabia blamed Iran for an attack on Saudi oil facilities on Sept. 14., a charge Tehran denies.
    “We have no dispute with Saudi Arabia … I have no problem to meet with Saudi Arabia’s oil minister,” Zanganeh said.
    Separately, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation (AEOI) reiterated on Sunday that the country would reduce its commitments under the deal further if the European parties to the pact did not meet promises to shield Iran’s economy from U.S. sanctions.
    “We will go ahead with our plans to decrease our commitments to the nuclear deal if other parties fail to keep their promises,” the Students News Agency ISNA quoted AEOI’s spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi. Editing by Jane Merriman)

10/6/2019 North Korea doubts U.S. will have alternative plans inside two weeks by Ju-min Park and Josh Smith
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un meet at the start of their summit at the
Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
    SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea said on Sunday there was no way the United States would bring alternative plans for their stalled nuclear talks to a meeting proposed by Stockholm in two weeks after weekend negotiations in Sweden broke down.
    The working-level talks between U.S. and North Korean envoys were broken off on Saturday. The U.S. State Department said it had accepted Sweden’s invitation to return for more discussions with Pyongyang in two weeks.
    North Korea said the ball was now in Washington’s court, and warned Washington that it would wait only until the end of the year for the United States to change course.
    “We have no intention to hold such sickening negotiations as … happened this time (in Sweden) before the U.S. takes a substantial step to make complete and irreversible withdrawal of the hostile policy toward the DPRK,” KCNA state news agency cited a spokesperson for North     Korea’s foreign ministry as saying, referring to the official name of North Korea.
    Ann Linde, Sweden’s minister for foreign affairs, said the talks had been constructive “for as long as they lasted.”
    “Then I think there was a somewhat different view on what to accomplish at one meeting,” she told Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT, adding that Sweden was at the countries’ disposal if they decide to meet again.
    “If that is in two weeks or two months remains to be seen.    I think it is possible to achieve more talks, but that is entirely up to both parties,” she said.
    It is unclear whether North Korea will return to the talks, but Pyongyang could be using its strategy of negotiating on the edge to gain concessions as fringe benefits of participating in negotiations, experts say.
    “They want to create the impression that the cause of the impasse is the inflexibility of the U.S. side – and they likely want to force the United States to either come back with a more favorable negotiating position or eventually force President Trump to engage at the summit level to keep diplomacy alive,” said Mintaro Oba, a former U.S. State Department official specializing in the Koreas.
    Vipin Narang, a nuclear affairs expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, added that North Korea is also buying time to continue to expand and improve its missile and nuclear force, and negotiate the terms by which it is accepted as a nuclear weapons power.
    “If that’s the case, their best strategy is to dangle the hope of a fictional future deal but stall on actual negotiations, let alone crafting or implementing any such deal,” Narang said.
    Under sanctions banning much of its trade because of its weapons program, North Korea recently test-fired a new ballistic missile designed for submarine launch, a provocative gesture that also underscored the need for Washington to move quickly to negotiate limits on Pyongyang’s growing arsenal.
DEADLINE COMING CLOSE
    North Korea reiterated the year-end deadline that leader Kim Jong Un set for the United States to show more flexibility in the talks, which fell apart in February during his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.
    In June, the two leaders then met again in Panmunjom, the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, and agreed to restart working-level talks.
    At the working-level talks, the United States has said it brought “creative ideas” and had good discussions with North Korea, without giving further details.
    But North Korea’s foreign ministry said Washington had made no preparations for the talks in Sweden but sought only to serve its own political aims.
    The North Korean delegation led by chief nuclear negotiator Kim Myong Gil left the embassy in Stockholm, Yonhap News Agency said.    Asked whether they would return to Sweden, Kim suggested asking the U.S. side.
    The North Korean delegation flew to Moscow on Sunday, apparently going back home via Beijing, according to Yonhap.
    A motorcade believed to carry U.S. counterparts also left a Stockholm hotel, Yonhap said.
    “The U.S. is spreading a completely ungrounded story that both sides are open to meet after two weeks. … It is not likely at all that it can produce a proposal commensurate to the expectations of the DPRK and to the concerns of the world in just a fortnight,” the foreign ministry spokesperson said.
(Additional reporting by Helena Soderpalm, Johan Ahlander and David Brunstromm in Stockholm; Editing by Jane Merriman, Timothy Heritage, Daniel Wallis and Jonathan Oatis)

10/7/2019 Hong Kong faces more protests after night of violence
An anti-government protester throws a rock to the entrance of a metro station, in Hong Kong, China October 6, 2019. REUTERS/Susana Vera
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Protest-scarred Hong Kong struggled to recover on Monday after scores of people were arrested in violent clashes overnight and as the last British governor of the Chinese-ruled city warned that people could be killed.
    “Before long, unless we are very, very lucky, people are going to get killed, people are going to be shot,” former British governor Chris Patten told Sky News.    “The idea that with public order policing you send police forces out with live ammunition is preposterous.”
    After four months of massive and sometimes violent protests, two protesters have been shot, one in the chest and one in the leg.     Authorities said the shootings were not intentional but occurred during skirmishes between police and protesters.
    Many protesters, police and journalists have been injured in clashes, with police using rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators, some of whom throw bricks and petrol bombs.
    A journalist working with Hong Kong’s public broadcaster was recovering in the hospital on Monday after being hit by a petrol bomb on Sunday night.
    On Monday, Hong Kong’s metro rail system was only partially functioning, with many stations torched in protests, and many shops and Chinese banks extensively damaged.
    The Sunday night protests, the second night of violence since the imposition of colonial-era emergency laws on Friday, saw scores of protesters arrested and the first warning from Chinese military personnel stationed in the territory.
    Tens of thousands of protesters, many families with children, marched peacefully through the center of Hong Kong on Sunday, wearing face masks in defiance of the emergency powers that threaten them with a maximum of one year in prison for hiding their faces.
    However, police fired tear gas and used baton charges in an attempt to disperse protesters across the Asian financial hub, and the rallies deteriorated into running clashes as night fell.
    Carrie Lam, the city’s leader, has said the face mask ban was necessary to end the violence by militant activists.    But the move has been criticized by human rights groups and the United Nations, and has sparked more violent protests.
    “She would have to be crazy to be making these decisions on her own without being pressured into them.    The face mask business, absolutely madness,” said Patten, who handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997.
    “I fear for the future, unless Carrie Lam actually intervenes and understands the importance of dialogue,” he added.
    The protests have plunged the former British colony into its worst political crisis in decades and pose the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
    The Hong Kong government said in a statement early on Monday, a public holiday in the city, that “public safety has been jeopardized and the public order of the whole city is being pushed to the verge of a very dangerous situation.”
    What started as opposition to a now-withdrawn extradition bill has grown into a pro-democracy movement against what is seen as Beijing’s increasing grip on the city, which protesters say undermines the “one country, two systems” status promised when Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997.
    China dismisses such accusations, saying foreign governments, including Britain and the United States, have fanned anti-China sentiment.
MORE PROTESTS
    Further protests are planned on Monday evening.
    Hong Kong’s rail operator, MTR Corp, said on Monday that because of “serious vandalism,” most of the stations in the network were temporarily closed.    That included typically busy stations such as Admiralty and Wan Chai, around the city’s government offices and bar district.
    MTR’s announcement followed an unprecedented shutdown on Saturday and minimal operations on Sunday, which largely paralyzed much of the city.
    The entire network, which typically carries about 5 million passengers a day, will shut at 6 p.m. (1000 GMT) Monday, more than four hours earlier than normal, to allow for repairs, it said.
    Grocery stores that had shut early on Sunday were mostly open by Monday morning.    Many businesses and stores have had to close repeatedly during the protests, and Hong Kong now faces its first recession in a decade.
    China’s Hong Kong military garrison warned protesters on Sunday they could be arrested for targeting its barracks with lasers.
    Chinese military personnel raised a yellow flag with the arrest warning written in large letters, a Reuters witness said, the first direct interaction between the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and protesters.
    The protesters eventually dispersed.
    The PLA has remained in barracks since the protests started, leaving police to handle the demonstrations, but the PLA’s top brass has warned violence is “absolutely impermissible.”
(Writing by Farah Master and Michael Perry; Editing by Paul Tait and Gerry Doyle)

10/7/2019 Taiwan says China is an ‘authoritarian’ threat in the Pacific
FILE PHOTO: Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu attends a news conference announcing Taiwan's decision to terminate diplomatic
ties with the Pacific island nation of Kiribati, in Taipei, Taiwan September 20, 2019. REUTERS/I-Hwa Cheng
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan said on Monday China was practicing “authoritarian expansionism” in the Pacific, pointing to reports of plans for Chinese military presence in two Pacific countries that have recently switched diplomatic allegiance to Beijing from Taipei.
    “We have seen reports that China is interested in reopening this radar station in Kiribati, and building a naval base in Western Province of Solomon Islands,” Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told a forum on cooperation among countries in the Pacific.
    “From the long-term strategic perspective, like-minded friends and partners should really be worried whether the Pacific will remain free and open, and whether the key actors follow the rules-based international order.”
    The Solomon Islands and Kiribati decided to recognize China last month, dropping self-ruled and democratic Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own province with no rights to state-to-state relations.
    That reduced the number of its diplomatic allies in the Pacific to just four – Palau, the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Nauru.    It now has formal diplomatic ties with just 15 nations in all.
    Wu urged countries including the United States to “push back strongly” against China’s moves to diminish Taiwan’s presence in the Pacific.
    “I certainly don’t want to see the Pacific turned into another South China Sea, with us one day all sighing that it is too late for us to do anything,” Wu said, referring to Chinese moves to build military installations on artificial islands and reefs in the disputed water.
    China’s Foreign Ministry was not immediately available for comment.
    Diplomats attending the forum in Taipei include Sandra Oudkirk, U.S. State Department deputy assistant secretary for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
    Oudkirk’s visit has been seen by some analysts and diplomats in Taiwan as an effort to shore up support for Taipei.
    Taiwan has come under pressure from Beijing, which includes regular Chinese bomber patrols around the island, since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016.    China suspects Tsai of pushing for Taiwan’s formal independence, a red line for Beijing.     Taiwan has accused China of trying to meddle in its upcoming presidential votes in January as Tsai is seeking re-election – an accusation which China denies.
    The United States, which has a fraught relationship with China over trade, defense and technology issues, upholds what is known as the “one-China” policy – officially recognizing Beijing and not Taipei – while assisting Taiwan.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

10/7/2019 Australia to help Solomons build security infrastructure project
FILE PHOTO: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly
at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
    MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia will help the Solomon Islands build a border and patrol boat outpost, the prime ministers of the two countries said on Monday, as they hailed their security cooperation and friendship.
    Australia’s ties with the Solomon Islands and other small, developing countries in the Pacific have taken on additional significance as China expands its influence in a region dominated by the United States and its allies since World War Two.
    In September, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati became the latest Pacific nations to cut ties with Taiwan and establish diplomatic relations with China in a sign of Beijing’s growing influence.
    Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Manasseh Sogavare, the prime minister of the Solomon Islands, said the border and boat project showed “enduring and close friendship” and is part of Australia’s “broader step up” in the Pacific.
    “Australia’s support for a border and patrol boat outpost will enhance infrastructure and security cooperation between our countries, and support Solomon Islands’ border security,” the leaders said, according to a joint statement released by the Australian prime minister’s media office.
    There was no information provided about potential costs of the project in the west of the island nation.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Robert Birsel)

10/8/2019 Hong Kong leader Lam does not rule out Beijing help, as economy suffers by Clare Jim and Noah Sin
Students at Hong Kong Baptist University take part in a rally after police entered the campus
on Sunday while chasing protesters, in Hong Kong, China October 8, 2019. REUTERS/Susana Vera
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday did not rule out asking Beijing for help, as the Asian financial hub struggles to deal with months of often violent anti-government protests that are damaging its economy.
    Lam said Beijing wanted Hong Kong to solve its own problems, but under its mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, Hong Kong could ask Beijing for help.
    “If the situation becomes so bad, then no options could be ruled out, if we want Hong Kong to at least have another chance,” Lam said at weekly new conference after a long weekend of violence crippled the city.
    “But at this moment, I and my team, we are still very committed in making sure we can use our own instruments…to try and restore calm and order in Hong Kong,” she said, adding there were no plans to expand emergency laws introduced on Friday.
    “But I would appeal (to) everyone in society to join hands to achieve this objective.”
    The protests, which show no sign of abating, pose the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012 and are Hong Kong’s thorniest political crisis since Britain returned it to China in 1997.
    Lam said protests were severely damaging Hong Kong’s economy.    “Hong Kong’s various sectors will enter a severe winter season,” she said.
    Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Hong Kong over the weekend wearing face masks, despite Lam having banned masks under colonial-era emergency laws invoked on Friday.    Protesters have been using masks to shield their identities and to protect their faces from police tear gas.
    The rallies spiraled into some of the most violent clashes since protests started four months ago, forcing the unprecedented shut down of the city’s metro after many stations were torched and scores of shops and China banks damaged.
ECONOMY FACES ‘SEVERE WINTER’
    Sunday night saw the first interaction between protesters and Chinese troops stationed in the territory, which have so far remained in barracks.    Protesters targeted a military barracks with laser pointers prompting troops to hoist a banner warning them they could be arrested.    Senior ranking People’s Liberation Army officers have said violence will not be tolerated.
    Hong Kong police said on Tuesday 77 people had been arrested for violating the anti-mask law. Since Friday, more than 200 shops and public utilities have been damaged in the unrest and police have fired 367 tear gas rounds, said a police spokesman.
    What started as opposition to a now-withdrawn extradition bill has grown into a pro-democracy movement against what is seen as Beijing’s tightening grip on the city, which protesters say undermines a “one country, two systems” formula promised when Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule.
    China dismisses such accusations, saying foreign governments, including Britain and the United States, have fanned anti-China sentiment.
    U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that if anything bad happened in Hong Kong it would be bad for the U.S.-China trade talks.
    China’s Oct. 1 National Day holiday week is normally a time when Hong Kong is flooded with visitors, but many shops were closed and tourist numbers plummeted, said Lam, warning the city’s third quarter economic data would “surely be very bad.”
    “For the first six days of October, during the so-called Golden Week holiday, visitors visiting Hong Kong plunged over 50%,” she said.    Retail, catering, tourism and hotels had been hit hard, with some 600,000 people affected, she said.     The territory is facing its first recession in a decade.
    Hong Kong’s metro, which carried some 5 million people daily, was only partially operating on Tuesday, scores of shops were closed and a tenth of ATMs were broken due to vandalism.
    Lam appealed to property developers and landlords to offer relief to retailers whose businesses had been hit.
(Reporting by Farah Masters, Noah Sin, John Ruwitch, Clare Jim, Donny Kwok and Sharon Tam; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Paul Tait, Robert Birsel and Alex Richardson)

10/8/2019 China’s tourists cut back foreign travel over ‘Golden Week’, choose patriotic destinations at home by Gabriel Crossley
FILE PHOTO: Tourists visit the Forbidden City in central Beijing, China July 31, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee
    BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese mainland tourists cut back on trips and spending abroad during the long “Golden Week” holidays in early October, with a weaker yuan, political turmoil in Hong Kong and global tensions dampening their enthusiasm to travel too far from home.
    But “patriotic” tourism to local historic sites boomed on the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.    The annual holiday to mark the modern nation’s founding, during which hundreds of millions of people travel, began on National Day on Oct. 1 and ended on Monday this year.
    According to a report from Alibaba, which owns travel app Fliggy, hotel bookings in 10 classic destinations that had witnessed key moments in the history of the ruling Communist Party rose by an average of 300% year-on-year over Oct. 1-3.
    Domestic tourism revenue grew 8.47% year-on-year over the break, slipping from 9.04% growth last year and marking the lowest growth in at least 17 years, according to data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
    President Xi Jinping oversaw a massive military parade in Beijing on Oct. 1 to celebrate the anniversary.
    Amid a cooling economy, many local governments across the country had ramped up tourism campaigns and promises of cheaper holidays in the run-up to the National Day holidays this year.
    Chinese tourists also cut back overseas travel and spending. China is the single largest source of tourists in the world.
    For the first six days of the holiday, the number of border crossings by Chinese mainland residents fell 15.1% from the previous year, according to the National Immigration Administration.
    Tourists from the top seven Chinese cities for outbound travel reduced their per capita spending by amounts ranging from 16% to 25% compared to last year, according to Reuters’ calculations based on data from online travel firm Ctrip.com.
    Visits to Hong Kong, which has been wracked by anti-government protests since March, fell sharply.
    From Oct. 1-7, the average daily number of tour groups from the mainland registered by the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong declined by 85.4% compared with last year, according to Alice Chan, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong.
    Mainland visitors weren’t the only ones put off by growing violence in the Chinese-ruled city.    Total tourist arrivals in Hong Kong plunged more than 50% in the period compared with last year.
    Some tour agencies in the city have asked their staff to take unpaid leave, and a few have succeeded in getting their landlords to reduce rents, Chan said in an email.
    Layoffs are possible, she added.
    Chinese are being more cautious in their travel choices amid increasing economic uncertainty, more restrictions on travel to Taiwan, and stricter U.S. visa policies amid trade tensions, said Deng Ning, an associate professor at the Department of Tourism Management at Beijing International Studies University.
(Reporting by Gabriel Crossley; Additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Kim Coghill)

10/8/2019 Afghanistan braces for political uncertainty in election’s wake by Rod Nickel and Hamid Shalizi
Afghan election commission workers transfer data from biometric devices to the main server
at a warehouse in Kabul, Afghanistan October 7, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail
    KABUL (Reuters) – Despite pulling off a safer presidential election than expected, Afghanistan looks headed for a prolonged period of political uncertainty, with the two front-runners claiming victory before ballots are tallied and signaling they would not accept defeat.
    The situation echoes 2014, when candidates Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah alleged massive fraud by each other, forcing the United States to broker an awkward power-sharing arrangement that made Ghani president.    Both men, front-runners again, say they would not accept a similar arrangement this time.
    At the same time, Taliban insurgents rule more of the country than at any time since they were ousted from power nearly two decades ago, and have refused to accept the legitimacy of what they call a puppet U.S.-backed government.
    The unity government between the two candidates holds power until the winner is selected and takes office.
    Results are expected on Oct. 19.    If neither man wins over half the votes, a runoff would take place.
    “There is serious risk of an extended political crisis and divisive battle over the outcome, while the Taliban remain effectively unified,” said Colin Cookman, a program officer with the U.S. Institute of Peace, who has analyzed Afghan politics since 2008.
    Petr Stepanek, ambassador of the Czech Republic to Afghanistan, said a second round of voting possibly would not be held until spring, prolonging the uncertainty.
    “The election commission can say, ‘the weather is bad’ and postpone it for a couple of months,” Stepanek said.    “Then we will have a weak government.    A lame duck.”
    About 4,500 complaints have been filed since the Sept. 28 election, providing possible ammunition for the loser to reject the results.    The Independent Election Commission said on Sunday that some biometric verification machines were lost.
    Turnout was an estimated 2.6 million votes, about one-quarter of eligible voters, following threats by the Taliban against voting stations.
    Negotiations about withdrawing U.S. troops in exchange for Taliban security guarantees broke down in September, although the two sides held exploratory talks in Islamabad last week.
    The next step would be negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan government about a ceasefire and the Taliban’s future role.    The militant group has so far rejected any talks with the government.
LITTLE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT
    The Ghani camp has dismissed fears of a prolonged political stalemate.
    This election included more checks and balances than ever to prevent fraud, leaving Abdullah little to complain about if he loses, said Daoud Sultanzoy, a senior Ghani campaign leader.
    He said he believes Ghani dominated Afghanistan’s cities and eroded Abdullah’s support in northern areas, giving him a comfortable first-ballot win.
    “The process is the most transparent we’ve ever used,” Sultanzoy said.    “Somebody has to put (Abdullah) in his place.    Enough is enough.”
    Asked if Ghani would accept an Abdullah victory, Sultanzoy said that possibility was “far-fetched.”
    Abdullah is equally certain that his coalition of ethnic Hazaras, Tajiks, Uzbeks and some Pashtuns has made him a winner, said his spokesman, Mujib Rahman Rahimi.
    However the Abdullah camp is concerned about numerous irregularities, such as improbably high turnouts in insecure areas.    Abdullah would accept defeat if the election is clean and only biometrically verified votes are counted, Rahimi said, adding that he has confidence in the commission.
    But Abdullah will not accept a tainted vote, he said.
    “He commands the real power in Afghanistan,” Rahimi said.    “If he comes out ‘no’ (to the result) the country will collapse.    We should not go that direction, that is our hope.”
    Diplomats, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the situation, said the more confusion that overhangs the Afghan government, the easier it will be for the Taliban to fill the vacuum. Recent foreign visits by the Taliban may help legitimize the group, they say.
    In Islamabad last week, Taliban members hugged Pakistan’s foreign minister and exchanged gifts before the cameras.    The Taliban – which calls itself the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan – then raised issues that are the usual domain of government, such as the plight of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
    The visits are “normal political activities” planned long ago, and are no attempt to fill a leadership vacuum, said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
    He added that the political uncertainty in Kabul is of no concern, since the Taliban considers the election illegitimate.
(Reporting by Rod Nickel and Hamid Shalizi in Kabul; additional reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

10/8/2019 China calls on U.S. to lift new sanctions by OAN Newsroom
    China demands the U.S. lift recently imposed sanctions on tech companies and to stop interfering in its internal affairs.
    The country’s foreign ministry spokesperson criticized Washington Tuesday, over its decision to restrain sales of U.S. tech products to Chinese companies.
    The U.S. announced the measure on Monday in an effort to target technology, which is reportedly being used for repressing Muslim minorities.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives at a dinner marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China
at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, Sept. 30, 2019. Xi on Monday renewed his government’s commitment to allowing
Hong Kong to manage its own affairs amid continuing anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
    Beijing denied accusations during a Chinese Foreign Ministry news conference.
    “There is no such thing as the so-called human rights issue that the U.S. side claimed,” said Geng Shuang, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson “The accusation is nothing but an excuse deliberately created by the U.S. in order to interfere in China’s internal affairs.”
    The Chinese official went on to say its envoys will go ahead with their trip to D.C. this week to participate in talks aimed at ending the trade war.
    China reportedly has low expectations for those trade talks with the possibility that the delegation could cut their trip short, leaving Friday instead of Saturday.
    The vice premier will lead the Chinese delegation, but has not been given the title of special envoy for this trip.
    Sources said the move shows President Xi Jinping has likely not given him any special instructions for the meetings.
    The U.S. blacklisted 28 Chinese companies over human rights abuses Monday, ramping up tensions just ahead of trade talks.
    The two countries also remain at odds over what caused trade talks to fall apart in May.

10/8/2019 Iran foreign minister says ready to talk with Saudis if they stop ‘killing people’
FILE PHOTO: Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif listens during a news conference with Russia's Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov (not pictured) after their meeting in Moscow, Russia, September 2, 2019. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
    GENEVA (Reuters) – Iran’s foreign minister was quoted on Tuesday as signalling his country would be willing to sit down to discuss regional issues with Saudi Arabia, but that Riyadh had to stop “killing people.”
    Saudi Arabia, which is locked in several proxy wars in the region with arch foe Iran, has blamed Tehran for attacks on Saudi oil plants on Sept. 14, a charge Iran denies.    The kingdom has said it prefers a political solution to a military one.
    “In a situation where the Saudis would like to negotiate with Iran, if they pursue regional issues at the negotiating table and not by killing people, they will certainly have the Islamic Republic along with them,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said, according to the official IRIB news agency.
    “The ministry of foreign affairs is always ready to cooperate with our neighbours for the security of the region and we have announced this position officially.”
    A senior Saudi foreign ministry official last week dismissed as “not accurate” an Iranian government official’s remarks that Riyadh had sent messages to Iran’s president through the leaders of other countries.
    Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs Adel al-Jubeir said de-escalation should come from “the party that is escalating.”
    Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement had claimed responsibility for the assault on Saudi oil facilities, but Saudi Arabia rejected that claim.
    The group last month offered to stop launching missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities if the Saudi-led coalition battling the movement in Yemen did the same.    Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has said he viewed the offer “positively.”
    The Western-backed Sunni Muslim coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the Saudi-backed government from power in the capital, Sanaa.
    Riyadh accuses Iran of arming the Houthis, a charge both reject, although Tehran says it advises the group’s forces.
(Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva; Additional reporting by Ghaida Ghantous in Dubai; Editing by Gareth Jones and Bernadette Baum)

10/8/2019 Kazakh president orders investigation into China-linked transport project by Tamara Vaal
FILE PHOTO: Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly
at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
    NUR-SULTAN (Reuters) – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Tuesday ordered an investigation into former senior officials who initiated a struggling $1.5 billion Chinese-led project to build a light rail network in the capital.
    While Tokayev mentioned no names, his order could mean that he is targeting former and current members of his patron and predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev’s inner circle – challenging the widespread notion that the president is only No.2 in the Kazakh political hierarchy.
    Tokayev’s criticism could also hurt the image of Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure development initiative, of which the troubled project was part.
    Kazakhstan signed deals with several Chinese companies and the state-owned China Development Bank in 2015 to finance and carry out a light rail transit (LRT) project in Astana, which has since been renamed Nur-Sultan.
    The 22-km (14 miles) network was originally due to be built in time to serve visitors to the 2017 Expo exhibition, for which Kazakhstan built a whole new area in the capital.
    But the project lagged behind schedule and was plagued with financial difficulties such as having a large part of its cash – more than $200 million – frozen in a local bank that went bust.
    Last spring, construction was put on hold altogether as the city government and the Chinese bank could not agree the terms of the next loan tranche.
    At a meeting with city government officials on Tuesday, Tokayev said the project should have never been given a green light in the first place.
    “This is a very questionable project…economically incomprehensible” he said.    “I do not understand how it could have been launched.”
    Because of large costs and heavy penalties for pulling out of the deal, Kazakhstan will have to complete the project, Tokayev said, but those behind it must be held accountable.
    “I would also like to ask the anti-corruption agency to step up the investigation, it should not be superficial, simply noting that certain people have fled abroad…and overlooking (the roles) of others,” he said.
    Tokayev’s comments appeared to refer to Talgat Ardan, a former Astana LRT chief executive who was put on the wanted list in July on embezzlement charges, and some of the former mayors of the capital.
    The LRT project was launched in 2011 under Mayor Imangali Tasmagambetov but was subsequently shelved due to high costs.    The next mayor, Adilbek Zhaksybekov, revived the idea and oversaw the signing of the deals with Chinese companies.
    His successor Aset Isekeshev, in turn, oversaw the revision of some of the deal terms.    All three men are political heavyweights who had for years – alongside Tokayev himself – been promoted by and became close to Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan’s sole leader for nearly 30 years.
    The offices of Isekeshev, who now manages Nazarbayev’s nonprofit foundation, and Tasmagambetov, who is Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Russia, declined to comment on Tokayev’s speech. Zhaksybekov’s office could not be reached for comment.
    Nazarbayev resigned last March, handing over the presidency to Tokayev in line with the constitution and backing him in the subsequent election.
    But the 78-year-old former Communist apparatchik retains the title of Yelbasy, the national leader, and enjoys sweeping powers as the chair of the security council and head of the ruling Nur Otan party.
(Reporting by Tamara Vaal, Writing by Olzhas Auyezov, Editing by Angus MacSwan)

10/8/2019 China says it supports Pakistan in safeguarding its independent sovereignty
FILE PHOTO: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan (L) and China's Premier Li Keqiang attend a welcome ceremony
at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, November 3, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China supports Pakistan in safeguarding its independent sovereignty and territorial integrity, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday during a visit by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
    Khan is scheduled to meet both Li and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing this week to discuss the security situation in the disputed region of Kashmir as well as economic ties.
    Tensions over Kashmir have risen sharply since August when New Delhi revoked the autonomy of its portion of the territory, which both India and Pakistan rule in part and claim in full.
    “China-Pakistan friendship enjoys a profound foundation and the two peoples enjoy traditional friendship.    There are no strings attached to our relationship, and it is not targeted at any third party,” Li said as he met with Khan at the Great Hall of the People, according to a pool report.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo)

10/9/2019 China plans to restrict visas for U.S. visitors with ‘anti-China’ links by Keith Zhai
FILE PHOTO: U.S. and Chinese flags are seen before Defense Secretary James Mattis welcomes Chinese Minister of National Defense
Gen. Wei Fenghe to the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., November 9, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
    SINGAPORE (Reuters) – China is planning tighter visa restrictions for U.S. nationals with ties to anti-China groups, people with knowledge of the proposed curbs said, following similar U.S. restrictions on Chinese nationals, as relations between the countries sour.
    China’s Ministry of Public Security has for months been working on rules to limit the ability of anyone employed, or sponsored, by U.S. intelligence services and human rights groups to travel to China.
    The proposed changes follow the introduction by the United States of tighter rules for visas for Chinese scholars in May.
    New U.S. visa restrictions announced on Tuesday, on Chinese government and Communist Party officials the United States believes responsible for the detention or abuse of Muslim minorities, had bolstered the case for the new Chinese restrictions, one of the sources said.
    “This is not something we want to do but we don’t seem to have any choice,” the source said.
    The Chinese rules would mandate the drafting of a list of U.S. military and CIA-linked institutions and rights groups, and the addition of their employees to a visa blacklist, according to the sources, who declined to be identified.
    The tighter restrictions come amid heightened concern in Beijing that the United States and other governments are using such organizations to incite anti-government protests in both mainland China and Hong Kong, and would also be in retaliation for the U.S. visa restrictions against Chinese researchers and officials, the first source said.
    “The plan has been widely discussed by senior police officers over recent months, but made more likely to be implemented after the Hong Kong protests and the U.S. visa ban on Chinese officials,” the source said.
    China’s National Immigration Administration, which operates under the Ministry of Public Security, did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.
    Rivalry between the United States and China is fueled by a range of issues including commercial competition, human rights and worries about security.
    The United States took a major step in confronting China in May when it added Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co and 70 affiliates to its so-called Entity List, banning the Chinese company from acquiring components and technology from U.S. firms without U.S. government approval.
    The United States suspects Huawei’s equipment could be used by Beijing for spying, which the Chinese firm has repeatedly denied.
TRADE TALKS
    The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday cited the mistreatment of Uighur Muslims and others in a decision to add 20 Chinese public security bureaus and eight companies to a trade blacklist, including the world’s largest maker of video surveillance gear, Hikvision, and the world’s most valuable artificial intelligence startup, SenseTime.
    The U.S. moves have cast a pall over U.S.-China trade talks in Washington on Thursday and Friday between Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
    The United States is also moving ahead with discussions on possible restrictions on capital flows to China, with a focus on investments by U.S. government pension funds, Bloomberg reported.
    The latest tit-for-tat visa restrictions began in April when some prominent Chinese scholars had their U.S. visas revoked.
    The following month, the United States introduced legislation intended to prohibit anyone employed or sponsored by the Chinese military from getting student or research visas.
    China has denounced what it sees as punitive U.S. action against its nationals.
    U.S. citizens hoping to visit China’s mainland must apply for an entry visa.    U.S. passport holders do not need a visa to enter Hong Kong.
(Reporting by Keith Zhai; Editing by Robert Birsel)

10/9/2019 Hundreds of black-clad activists chant ‘Liberate Hong Kong’ outside High Court by Jessie Pang
Supporters of jailed activist Edward Leung, gather outside the High Court as Leung appeals against
his conviction and sentence, in Hong Kong, China, October 9, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hundreds of black clad pro-democracy demonstrators outside Hong Kong’s High Court on Wednesday chanted “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times,” as a leading activist appeared to appeal a six-year jail sentence for rioting in 2016.
    The court’s walls were scrawled with graffiti reading: “History will absolve us,” “If we burn you burn with us” and “No turn back 4HK.”
    The Asian financial hub is struggling to recover from a weekend of violent clashes between police and tens of thousands of protesters, with parts of the city virtually cut off due to a paralyzed metro that was a target of vandalism.
    Scores of shops were boarded up after also being trashed or torched, and more protests are expected in coming days.    Some streets were littered with broken glass and twisted metal debris from the protests.
    The protests started four months ago in opposition to a now withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed suspects to be sent to China, but have broadened into a pro-democracy movement amid fear that Beijing is undermining Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” formula, which gives residents greater freedom than mainland Chinese.
    The unrest is the worst political crisis since Britain handed the city back to China in 1997 and the biggest challenge to President Xi Jinping since he came into power in 2012.
    Edward Leung, 27, one of the leaders of a movement advocating independence from China, and two other activists, in 2016 received the harshest sentences handed down to pro-democracy leaders since the city returned to Chinese rule.
    In his appeal, Leung’s lawyer argued his sentence was disproportionate to his offence, citing other more violent protesters receiving lighter sentences.    His case was adjourned on Wednesday ahead of judgment.
    Outside the court hundreds of protesters wore black masks in defiance of colonial-era emergency laws banning face coverings, which were brought in on Friday to quell the unrest but which have incited more violent protests.
    Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday did not rule out asking Beijing for help to end the unrest, with Hong Kong’s economy hit hard by the protests and facing its first recession in a decade.
EVENTS CANCELED
    A slew of international events and conferences due to be held in the city have been canceled, with the organizers of the Hong Kong Squash Open the latest, stating they were postponing the event “in view of the current situation.”
    More than 200 shops and public utilities had been damaged in the weekend’s violent clashes.    More than 100 restaurants have closed in the past month, putting around 2,000 people out of work, a representative from an association of catering professionals told public broadcaster RTHK on Wednesday.
    Authorities have described protesters as “militant activists,” but many Hong Kong residents are also angry at the emergency powers, fearing their civil rights could be eroded.
    More than 2,300 people have been arrested since June, while two teenagers have been shot and wounded in skirmishes with police. Scores of people, including police, have been injured.
    Hong Kong’s unrest has started to affect global companies and sport, with luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co and U.S. sports brand Vans withdrawing an advertisement and shoe design seen as favoring protesters.
    China has canceled broadcasting NBA basketball games after an executive of the U.S. National Basketball Association team the Houston Rockets backed protesters in a tweet.    Chinese sponsors and partners have cut ties with the NBA.
    The NBA’s business in China is worth more than $4 billion, according to Forbes.
    “Every American has the right to voice their support for democracy and human rights for Hong Kong.    Full stop,” said one-time U.S. presidential candidate and former First Lady Hillary Clinton on her official Twitter account on Wednesday.
    In a separate case, a top online gamer from Hong Kong who showed support for the protests was removed from an international tournament he won, forcing him to forgo prize money that media reports put at $10,000.
    Blizzard Entertainment, via their brand Hearthstone, said the gamer identified as “Blitzchung” had violated rules and would not be allowed to play in any Hearthstone e-sports games for the next 12 months.
    China has warned foreign governments to stay out of the protests which they deem as an “internal affair” and have accused some, including Britain and the United States, of fanning anti-China sentiment.
(Reporting by Twinnie Siu, Donny Kwok, Marius Zaharia and Jessie Pang; Writing by Farah Master and Michael Perry; Editing by Paul Tait and Alex Richardson)

10/9/2019 China’s Xi says he is watching Kashmir, supports Pakistan’s core interests: Xinhua
FILE PHOTO: Chinese President Xi Jinping waves from a vehicle as he reviews the troops at a military parade marking
the 70th founding anniversary of People's Republic of China, China October 1, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
    BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday he was watching the situation in Kashmir and would support Pakistan in issues related to its core interests, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
    Xi told Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan during a meeting in Beijing that the right and wrong of the situation was clear, the report said.    Xi added that the parties should resolve the dispute via peaceful dialogue.
    Tensions over the disputed region of Kashmir have risen sharply since August when New Delhi revoked the autonomy of its portion of the territory, which both India and Pakistan rule in part and claim in full.
    Xi is scheduled to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Chennai later this week.
(Reporting by Lusha Zhang and Se Young Lee; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

10/9/2019 China open to partial deal if President Trump delays tariff increases by OAN Newsroom
FILE – In this July 31, 2019, file photo U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, center, gestures as he chats
with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, at right with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, left, looking on after posing
for a family photo at the Xijiao Conference Center in Shanghai. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool, File)
    China may be open to a partial trade deal with the U.S. ahead of negotiations in Washington this week.    A new report said Beijing is willing to discuss a smaller scale deal if President Trump vows not to impose additional tariffs.
    This includes the tariff increases that are set to go into effect next week and in December.    China would reportedly purchase an additional $10 billion of U.S. agricultural products in return.
    In a Wednesday interview, Texas Senator Ted Cruz said he supports President Trump’s efforts to reform the trade relationship with China.
    “I think trade with China is important,” said the senator.    “China’s trade policies have for a long time not been fair and not been on an even or level playing ground.”
    Earlier reports claimed Beijing has “low expectations” for this week’s meetings, but some believe China is looking to deescalate the trade war.    The Financial Times reported China’s lead negotiator is “coming with real offers.”
    “This would be a good time for any deal,” said China finance expert Eswar Prasad.    “Both governments are under domestic political duress and each side could plausibly characterize even a modest deal as a win that helps to ease some of those pressures.”
    The next round of talks is set to begin Thursday, October 10th in Washington.

10/9/2019 Iran’s Khamenei says building, using nuclear bomb is forbidden under its religion: TV
FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gives a speech to a group of scholars and seminary students
of religious sciences in Tehran, Iran September 17, 2019. Official Khamenei website/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Despite having nuclear technology, Iran has never pursued building or using nuclear weapons, which its religion forbids, the country’s highest political authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday.
    “Building and stockpiling nuclear bombs is wrong and using it is haram (religiously forbidden) … Although we have nuclear technology, Iran has firmly avoided it,” State TV quoted him as saying.
    Iran has repeatedly denied ever having sought to build a nuclear bomb.
(This story corrects to show Khamenei is highest political authority)
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; editing by John Stonestreet)

10/10/2019 Hong Kong shopping malls, metro close early as more protests planned
People are seen at Yau Ma Tei metro station, after the nearby Mong Kok was closed due to
vandalism during protests, in Hong Kong, China October 9, 2019. REUTERS/Susana Vera
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong protesters prepared for demonstrations around the city on Thursday as shopping malls said they would close early to avoid becoming targets and the city’s metro, which has borne the brunt of the violent unrest, will close three hours early.
    Hong Kong is one of the world’s top shopping cities but four months of often violent protests have severely dented that reputation, with scores of shops vandalized and malls now becoming sites for sit-ins by protesters.
    The Asian financial hub is facing its first recession in a decade due to the unrest, with the tourism and retail sectors hit particularly hard.
    Protesters have been playing cat and mouse with police, organizing demonstrations at different locations via social media, stretching security resources.
    Apple Inc on Wednesday removed an app that protesters have used to track police movements, prompting some demonstrators to say they may “visit” its Hong Kong store.
    The unrest started more than four months ago in opposition to a now-withdrawn extradition bill but has widened into a pro-democracy movement amid fears China is encroaching on Hong Kong’s freedoms.
    Those freedoms were guaranteed under a “one country, two systems” formula when Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997, which allows autonomy not enjoyed on the mainland.
    However, the unrest has pushed the special administrative region into its worst political crisis since 1997 and poses the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
    Many young demonstrators are also incensed at what they see as widening inequality, sky high property prices that make it impossible for them to get a place of their own and poor job prospects.
    Demonstrations planned for Thursday include some in support of Taiwan on its National Day and rallies against perceived police brutality, with protesters expected to wear eye patches to show solidarity with a young protester who was injured in clashes with police.
RESENTMENT
    Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, in a National Day speech in Taipei, rejected the “one country, two systems” formula that Beijing has suggested could be used to unify Taiwan and the mainland, saying the arrangement had set Hong Kong “on the edge of disorder.”
    Beijing regards Taiwan as a wayward province and has not renounced the use of force to bring it into the fold.    Beijing has held out the Hong Kong arrangement of special autonomy within a united China as a model.
    But Hong Kong’s protests have been fueled by resentment of what many residents see as relentless efforts by Beijing to exert control over their city, despite the promises of autonomy.
    Hong Kong is still recovering from a long weekend of violent clashes between police and tens of thousands of protesters.
    Scores of shops remain boarded up after being trashed or torched, anti-government graffiti is scrawled over bus stops and buildings, and some streets are still strewn with broken glass and twisted metal debris.
    Protest violence has often targeted the MTR mass transit system, torching stations and damaging ticketing machines.    The MTR has been accused of closing stations at the government’s behest to stop demonstrators gathering.
    A slew of events and conferences have moved to other locations, including Singapore.
    Hong Kong’s unrest has started to impact global companies and sport, with luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co and U.S. sports brand Vans withdrawing an advertisement and shoe design seen as favoring protesters.
China has canceled broadcasting NBA basketball games after an executive of the U.S. National Basketball Association (NBA) team the Houston Rockets back protesters in a tweet.    Chinese sponsors and partners have cut ties with the NBA.
    The NBA’s business in China is worth more than $4 billion, according to Forbes.
    China has warned foreign governments to stay out of the protests which they deem as an internal affair and have accused some, including Britain and the United States, of fanning anti-China sentiment.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang; Additional reporting by Yimou Lee in Taipei and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Paul Tait, Robert Birsel)

10/10/2019 North Korea says may reconsider steps to build trust with U.S.: KCNA
Residents hold US and North Korean flags while they wait for motorcade of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un en route to
the Metropole Hotel for the second US- North Korea summit in Hanoi, Vietnam February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Kham
    SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea said on Thursday its patience has limits and it could reverse steps to build trust with the United States, as it criticized a U.N. Security Council call for it to cease its weapons programs and denounced a U.S. missile test.
    The five European members of the U.N. Security Council met on Tuesday to urge North Korea “to take concrete steps” towards giving up its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.
    That call came days after North Korea said it test-fired a new submarine-launched ballistic missile, in what was the most provocative action by North Korea since it resumed dialogue with the United States in 2018.
    North Korea, as part of its efforts to sustain that dialogue, which has included three meetings between its leader, Kim Jong Un, and U.S. President Donald Trump, has stopped testing nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
    But North Korea’s foreign ministry spokesman, in a statement reported by its state KCNA news agency, raised questions about that restraint.
    “There is a limit to our patience and there is no law that anything we have refrained from so far will continue indefinitely,” the spokesman said.
    The spokesman also denounced what he said was the U.N. Security Council’s unfair taking up of the issue of North Korea’s self-defense.
    “The fact … is prompting us to reconsider the crucial pre-emptive steps we have taken to build trust with the U.S.”
    The spokesman did not elaborate on what pre-emptive steps he was referring to, but North Korean state media and officials have referred to the halting of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests, and the return of remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the 1950-1953 Korean War, as good-faith gestures to the United States, which it says have not been reciprocated.
    The North Korean spokesman also referred to a U.S. Air Force test of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile this month.
    The U.S. test was “clearly carried out in order to pressure us,” the North Korean spokesman said.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky, Robert Birsel)

10/10/2019 China plans to restrict visas for U.S. visitors with ‘anti-China’ links by Keith Zhai
FILE PHOTO: U.S. and Chinese flags are seen before Defense Secretary James Mattis welcomes Chinese Minister of National
Defense Gen. Wei Fenghe to the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., November 9, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
    SINGAPORE (Reuters) – China is planning tighter visa restrictions for U.S. nationals with ties to anti-China groups, people with knowledge of the proposed curbs said, following similar U.S. restrictions on Chinese nationals, as relations between the countries sour.
    China’s Ministry of Public Security has for months been working on rules to limit the ability of anyone employed, or sponsored, by U.S. intelligence services and human rights groups to travel to China.
    The proposed changes follow the introduction by the United States of tighter rules for visas for Chinese scholars in May.
    New U.S. visa restrictions announced on Tuesday, on Chinese government and Communist Party officials the United States believes responsible for the detention or abuse of Muslim minorities, had bolstered the case for the new Chinese restrictions, one of the sources said.
    “This is not something we want to do but we don’t seem to have any choice,” the source said.
    The Chinese rules would mandate the drafting of a list of U.S. military and CIA-linked institutions and rights groups, and the addition of their employees to a visa blacklist, according to the sources, who declined to be identified.
    The tighter restrictions come amid heightened concern in Beijing that the United States and other governments are using such organizations to incite anti-government protests in both mainland China and Hong Kong, and would also be in retaliation for the U.S. visa restrictions against Chinese researchers and officials, the first source said.
    “The plan has been widely discussed by senior police officers over recent months, but made more likely to be implemented after the Hong Kong protests and the U.S. visa ban on Chinese officials,” the source said.
    China’s National Immigration Administration, which operates under the Ministry of Public Security, did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.
    Rivalry between the United States and China is fueled by a range of issues including commercial competition, human rights and worries about security.
    The United States took a major step in confronting China in May when it added Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co and 70 affiliates to its so-called Entity List, banning the Chinese company from acquiring components and technology from U.S. firms without U.S. government approval.
    The United States suspects Huawei’s equipment could be used by Beijing for spying, which the Chinese firm has repeatedly denied.
TRADE TALKS
    The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday cited the mistreatment of Uighur Muslims and others in a decision to add 20 Chinese public security bureaus and eight companies to a trade blacklist, including the world’s largest maker of video surveillance gear, Hikvision, and the world’s most valuable artificial intelligence startup, SenseTime.
    The U.S. moves have cast a pall over U.S.-China trade talks in Washington on Thursday and Friday between Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
    The United States is also moving ahead with discussions on possible restrictions on capital flows to China, with a focus on investments by U.S. government pension funds, Bloomberg reported.
    The latest tit-for-tat visa restrictions began in April when some prominent Chinese scholars had their U.S. visas revoked.
    The following month, the United States introduced legislation intended to prohibit anyone employed or sponsored by the Chinese military from getting student or research visas.
    China has denounced what it sees as punitive U.S. action against its nationals.
    U.S. citizens hoping to visit China’s mainland must apply for an entry visa. U.S. passport holders do not need a visa to enter Hong Kong.
(Reporting by Keith Zhai; Editing by Robert Birsel)

10/10/2019 Iran’s Zarif: Either all Gulf states have security, or all will be deprived of it
FILE PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks at "Common Security in
the Islamic World" forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia August 29, 2019. REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Either all Gulf countries enjoy security, “or they will all be deprived of it,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday in an opinion piece in the Kuwaiti Al Rai newspaper.
    Saudi Arabia, which is locked in several proxy wars in the region with arch foe Iran, has blamed Tehran for attacks on Saudi oil plants on Sept. 14, a charge Iran denies.    The kingdom has said it prefers that its differences with Iran are resolved politically rather than militarily.
    Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement had claimed responsibility for the assault on Saudi oil facilities, but Saudi Arabia rejected that claim.
    The United States and Saudi Arabia have also blamed Iran for attacks against six oil tankers in May and June, which Tehran also denied.
    In the opinion piece, Zarif said the Gulf can be secured through dialogue among the countries of the region, including Saudi Arabia, and without the interference of foreign powers, the official IRNA news agency reported.
(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli and Ahmed Tolba and Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva; Writing by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Tom Hogue, William Maclean)

10/10/2019 Taiwan leader rejects China’s ‘one country, two systems’ offer by Yimou Lee
FILE PHOTO: Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during a visit to Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 13, 2019. The Solomon Islands on
Monday became the sixth country to switch allegiance to China since Tsai took office. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares/File Photo
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s president rejected on Thursday a “one country, two systems” formula that Beijing has suggested could be used to unify the island and the mainland, saying such an arrangement had set Hong Kong “on the edge of disorder.”
    President Tsai Ing-wen also vowed in a National Day speech to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty, saying her government would safeguard freedom and democracy as Beijing ramps up pressure on the self-ruled island it considers a wayward province.
    Tsai, who is seeking re-election in January amid criticism of her policy towards China, referred to the arrangement for the return of the former British colony of Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997 as a failure.
    Hong Kong has been hit by months of anti-government protests triggered by widespread resentment of what many city residents see as relentless efforts by Beijing to exert control of their city despite the promises of autonomy.
    China has proposed that Taiwan be brought under Chinese rule under a similar arrangement, but Tsai said Beijing’s policies towards the island were a danger to regional stability.
    “China is still threatening to impose its ‘one country, two systems’ model for Taiwan.    Their diplomatic offensives and military coercion pose a serious challenge to regional stability and peace,” Tsai said.
    “When freedom and democracy are challenged, and when the Republic of China’s existence and development are threatened, we must stand up and defend ourselves,” Tsai said, referring to Taiwan by its official name.
    “The overwhelming consensus among Taiwan’s 23 million people is our rejection of ‘one country, two systems,’ regardless of party affiliation or political position.”
    Taiwan’s National Day, marking the anniversary of the start of a 1911 uprising that led to the end of dynastic rule in China and the founding of a republic, was celebrated in Taipei with singing, dancing and parades.
    Cold War hostility between the island and the mainland had eased over the past decade or so as both sides focused more on expanding business ties, but relations have cooled considerably since Tsai took office in 2016.
    China suspects Tsai and her independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party of pushing for the island’s formal independence, and this year threatened it with war if there was any such move.
    Tsai denies seeking independence and reiterated that she would not unilaterally change the status quo with China.
FLASHPOINT
    Despite her assurances, Beijing has stepped up pressure on the island to seek “reunification” and backed up its warnings by flying regular bomber patrols around it.
    Beijing also says Taiwan does not have the right to state-to-state relations and is keen to isolate it diplomatically.
    Seven countries have severed diplomatic ties with the Taiwan and switched allegiance to Beijing since Tsai coming to power.    It now has formal diplomatic ties with just 15 nations.
    But Tsai said Taiwan was undaunted.
    “The determination of the Taiwanese people to embrace the world has never wavered,” she said, adding that Taiwan must work with “like-minded countries” to ensure peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
    Tsai said under her watch Taiwan has boosted its combat capabilities with the purchase of advanced weapons and development of home-made aircraft.
    Taiwan unveiled its largest defense spending increase in more than a decade in August, aiming to purchase more advanced weapons from overseas.
    The island has long been a flashpoint in the U.S.-China relationship.
    In July, the United States approved the sale of an $2.2 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan, angering Beijing.
    The United States has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help provide it with the means to defend itself.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robeert Birsel)

10/10/2019 India’s Modi and China’s Xi eye new border security steps in summit talks by Sanjeev Miglani
FILE PHOTO: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands as they visit the
Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, Hubei province, China April 27, 2018. China Daily via REUTERS/File Photo
    NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to agree new security measures along their unsettled border during a summit on Friday, officials said, in an effort to smooth ties ruffled by differences over Kashmir.
    The two are meeting in a seaside resort in southern India after weeks of jousting over India’s decision to revoke the special status of its part of the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir, angering arch-rival Pakistan and its ally China.
    India said on Wednesday any change to Kashmir’s status was an internal affair and there was no place for a third country to be involved, after Xi said he was watching the situation closely and assured Pakistan of Chinese support for its core interests.
    China has longstanding military ties with Pakistan, which has twice fought a war with India over Muslim-majority Kashmir.
    Modi and Xi will be aiming to prevent a further deterioration in relations during the informal summit in Mamallapuram, and the expectation is the two sides will move forward on a set of confidence-building measures, an Indian source briefed on the discussions said.
    India and China share a 3,500 km (2,200 mile) border, over which they went to war in 1962 and which remains unresolved despite more than 20 rounds of talks.
    The border has been largely peaceful, but there have been occasional stand-offs between soldiers from the two Asian giants, who have overlapping territorial claims.    The measures on the table include more border trade, tourism and even joint military patrols to boost trust, said the source.
    “Priority will be given to enhancing confidence-building measures and people-to-people exchanges,” a second government source said.
TEMPLE TOUR
    Modi will take Xi on a tour of the Shore Temple, dating back to the seventh and eighth centuries, and will have several hours of one-to-one talks designed for a free exchange of ideas on issues ranging from territorial disputes to India’s ballooning trade deficit with China and the question of allowing Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei into India’s 5G network.
    “Xi will have an in-depth communication with Modi on issues that have overall, long-term and strategic significance on bilateral relations, set the tune and guide the direction for future development of the ties,” Chinese state media quoted Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui as saying.
    Xi will be accompanied by top diplomat Wang Yi, while Modi’s team includes Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.
    The two sides are hoping that Xi and Modi – both powerful nationalist leaders – will build further their personal rapport established at the first such informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year.
    “Since the Wuhan summit, we’ve seen some movement – the restoration of a number of dialogues (military, border, economic), China giving India a little more market access, India toning down its rhetoric,” said Tanvi Madan, senior fellow at Brookings Institution.
    “But we’ve also seen enough evidence that key differences remain,” she said, referring to China’s position on Kashmir.
    For China, a top concern has been the presence of Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and the so-called Tibetan government in exile, which has been based in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamsala ever since he fled Tibet following a failed uprising in 1959.
    Ahead of the summit, police in southern India detained nine Tibetan activists who planned protests during Xi’s visit to Mamallapuram, the local Hindu newspaper said.
(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Alex Richardson)

10/10/2019 North Korea warns on test freeze in denouncing European move at U.N. by Joyce Lee and David Brunnstrom
Residents hold US and North Korean flags while they wait for motorcade of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un en route to
the Metropole Hotel for the second US- North Korea summit in Hanoi, Vietnam February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Kham
    SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – North Korea issued a veiled warning on Thursday that it could eventually end a freeze in long-range missile testing as it criticized a call by U.N. Security Council members for it to give up its nuclear weapons and denounced a recent U.S. missile test.
    Five European members of the U.N. Security Council met on Tuesday to urge North Korea to take “concrete steps” toward giving up its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.
    That call came days after North Korea said it had test-fired a new submarine-launched ballistic missile, the latest in a series of missile tests since it resumed dialogue with the United States in 2018, and the break-off over the weekend of a round of talks in Sweden.
    Despite the recent tests, Pyongyang has stuck to a freeze in testing of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles that has been in place since 2017 and allowed for three meetings between its leader, Kim Jong Un, and U.S. President Donald Trump since last year.
    North Korea’s foreign ministry raised questions about that restraint in a statement carried by the country’s official KCNA news agency.     It referred to a U.S. test this month of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, which it called an effort to exert pressure on North Korea.
    “The DPRK can give tit for tat, but exercises restraint under the judgment that it does not need to take a counteraction and it is premature,” it said, using the acronym for the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
    “But there is a limit to the patience of the DPRK and there is no guarantee that all our patience would continue indefinitely,” it added.
    The statement said there was “no justifiable reason” for the U.N. Security Council to take up an issue related to North Korea’s self-defense and said the European countries had “acted at the instigation of the U.S.”
    “The reality urges the DPRK to reconsider crucial preemptive measures taken by it for the building confidence in the U.S.,” it added.
    The statement did not elaborate, but North Korean officials have previously referred to the freezing of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests, and the return of remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the 1950-1953 Korean War, as good-faith gestures to the United States that have not been reciprocated.
    The statement followed a fresh round of nuclear talks between North Korea and the United States in Sweden which broke off on Saturday with Pyongyang blaming Washington for inflexibility.
    While the United States says it brought “creative ideas” and “new initiatives” to the talks, the foreign ministry statement said Washington came with “an empty hand” and then “encouraged its satellites to release a statement critical of the DPRK.”
    “We are now looking deep into what its intention was.”
    Asked about the latest statement, a U.S. State Department spokesman repeated a call for the North Koreans “to refrain from provocations, abide by their obligations under U.N. Security Council Resolutions, and remain engaged in substantive and sustained negotiations.”
    The U.S. State Department said at the weekend that it had accepted Sweden’s invitation to return for more discussions with North Korea in two weeks.
    North Korea has not made clear whether it will attend and has reiterated a year-end deadline that Kim Jong Un set in April for the United States to show more flexibility in talks.
    In April, Kim suggested that the deadlock in talks had made him question the testing moratorium that Trump has repeatedly held up as evidence of progress in their dialogue.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky, Robert Birsel,; Daniel Wallis and Cynthia Osterman)

10/10/2019 Hong Kong says not trying to stop protests, just violence by Jessie Pang and Poppy McPherson
People are seen at Yau Ma Tei metro station, after the nearby Mong Kok was closed due to
vandalism during protests, in Hong Kong, China October 9, 2019. REUTERS/Susana Vera
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s embattled government, which has enacted colonial-era emergency powers, said on Thursday it would not take any further measures to counter violent protests and rejected rumors that mainland Chinese security forces were involved in the city.
    Shopping malls closed early on Thursday to avoid becoming targets of planned protests and the city’s metro, which has borne the brunt of violent unrest in recent weeks, shut three hours early.
    By mid-evening protests had failed to materialize in any sizeable form, with some 60 demonstrators gathering outside one police station.    In contrast to massive daytime rallies, night protests generally see a few hundred demonstrators stage scattered events, often late at night.
    Four months of large and often violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong pose the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
    The protests started in opposition to an extradition bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent for trial in Communist Party-controlled mainland Chinese courts, but have morphed into a broader pro-democracy movement.
    China has accused some foreign governments, including Britain and the United States, of fanning anti-China sentiment over Hong Kong.
    Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam introduced emergency laws last Friday, banning face masks that protesters use to shield their identities, in an effort to quell unrest. But the move sparked some of the worst violence since protests started.
    Many Hong Kongers fear the emergency laws could be expanded and further erode their rights.
    Hong Kong’s government said on Thursday that a policy address from Lam scheduled for Oct. 16, when the Legislative Council next sits, would not include any further measures to combat the violence.
    “We have no further intention, particularly in the context of the policy address, of devising new measures to clamp down on protests,” Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung told a news conference. Lam has not ruled out asking Beijing for help.
    Cheung said the government’s operations were not aimed at stopping protests, but violence.    “We never clamp down on protests, we only clamp down on violence,” he said.
    “A protest if it’s legal, if it’s lawful, if it’s peaceful…in Hong Kong, assemblies and protests are part of Hong Kong’s landscape, part of our core values.”
ANGER AT POLICE
    Many Hong Kongers fear Beijing is eroding their freedoms and are angry at the city’s government for failing to solve social issues such as unaffordable housing and poor job prospects.
    Under a “one country, two systems” formula adopted when Britain returned its former colony to China in 1997, Hong Kong has a high-degree of autonomy and its residents enjoy freedoms that do not exist on the mainland.
    “The violence has been accelerating a lot.    I think they (police) are really damaging the law and the legal system,” said protester David, a 27-year-old accountant, wearing a black mask and clutching a sign saying “Free Hong Kong.”
    Police have fired live rounds and used baton charges and water cannons to quell the unrest.    Two teenagers have been shot.    Police fired 367 tear gas canisters over the long weekend, when tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets.
    Apple Inc on Wednesday removed an app protesters have used to track police, prompting some to say they may “visit” Apple stores in Hong Kong.
    Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmaker Charles Mok wrote to Apple’s chief Tim Cook urging the company to stand up to Chinese pressure and requested the app be restored.
    Mok said in his letter that the app “helps citizens avoid areas where pedestrians not involved in any criminal activities might be subjected to police brutality.”
    “We Hong Kongers will definitely look closely at whether Apple chooses to uphold its commitment to free expression and other basic human rights, or become an accomplice for Chinese censorship and oppression,” Mok said in the letter.
RESENTMENT AT LIVING COSTS
    China’s mainland security forces are not part of Hong Kong police operations, the government said on Thursday, responding to internet rumors the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and mainland police were involved.
    The PLA has a garrison in Hong Kong but troops have remained in barracks since the protests started.
    On Sunday, Chinese soldiers issued a warning to Hong Kong protesters who shone lasers at their barracks in the city, in the first direct interaction between mainland military forces and demonstrators.
    Besides calling for the protection of their civil liberties, many young protesters are also incensed at Hong Kong’s widening inequality, sky-high property prices and poor job prospects.
    The Asian financial hub is facing its first recession in a decade, but it boasts the world’s most expensive property market, with prices rocketing over 200% in the past decade, driven by limited housing supply and mainland Chinese buyers.
    Tiny living spaces are common, some of the poorest living in cage homes – wire mesh hutches stacked on top of each other.    A protester last month scrawled graffiti reading: “7K for a house like a cell and you really think we out here scared of jail.”
(Reporting by Jessie Pang and Twinnie Siu; Additional reporting by Yimou Lee in Taipei and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Writing by Michael Perry and Farah Master; Editing by Paul Tait, Robert Birsel and Alex Richardson)

10/11/2019 Hundreds take to Hong Kong streets ahead of new round of weekend protests
Riot police patrol near the police station in Tsim Sha Tsui district, in Hong Kong, China October 10, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hundreds of mask-wearing pro-democracy protesters marched through Hong Kong’s central business district at lunchtime on Friday, occupying a main thoroughfare and disrupting traffic as the city braced for another weekend of turmoil.
    Chanting calls for their core demands and denouncing what they see as police brutality, the crowd peacefully occupied streets in the financial district, home to some of the world’s most expensive real estate, before dispersing.
    Hong Kong’s metro operator had opened all stations in the morning for the first time in a week ahead of another round of anti-government protests, while the city’s legislature began its first session since protesters stormed the building in July.
    Pro-establishment and democratic lawmakers shouted at each other before the beginning of the session, underscoring the tension and divisions in the Asian financial hub after four months of often violent pro-democracy protests.
    Some lawmakers wore black masks as they sat in the chamber, while others carried placards reading: “Police brutality still exists, how can we have a meeting?”
    The wearing of face masks was banned under colonial-era emergency powers invoked by embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam a week ago.
    The protests have plunged the city into its worst crisis since it returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997, posing the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
    What began as opposition to a now-withdrawn extradition bill has evolved into a pro-democracy movement fanned by fears that China is stifling Hong Kong’s freedoms guaranteed under a “one country, two systems” formula introduced with the 1997 handover.
    China denies the accusations and says foreign countries, including Britain and the United States, are fomenting unrest.
    Metro operator MTR Corp, whose network carries about 5 million passengers a day, said all lines would shut at 10 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Friday, more than 2 hours earlier than usual so more repairs could be carried out after protesters torched or trashed stations across the city.
    Many stores and businesses have had to shut early due to metro closures, putting another burden on the city’s faltering economy as it faces its first recession in a decade.
    Protesters have targeted the MTR because it has been blamed for closing stations at the government’s behest to contain demonstrations.
    The normally efficient system shut down completely last Friday following arson attacks and has operated only partially since then.
    Lam introduced the emergency laws, including the ban on face masks last week in an effort to quell unrest.    But the ban sparked some of the worst violence since protests started.
    The government said it would not bring in any other emergency measures.
QUIET THURSDAY
    Shopping malls and other facilities closed early on Thursday but few demonstrators took to the streets, with only about 60 activists gathering outside one police station.
    But several demonstrations are planned across the city on Friday and through the weekend, when more people have been coming out to vent their opposition over the weeks.
    Several major conferences and other events have been called off because of the protests with the latest being an annual swimming race in the city’s famed harbor.
    Property developer New World Development Company Limited <0017.HK> said it was cancelling the Oct. 27 competition because of the “social situation.”
    The protest movement still appears to have a broad base of support despite the violence and vandalism carried out by small groups of front-line protesters.
    Residents, particularly those in their 20s and 30s, are calling for the protection of civil liberties.    Many young people are also angry about the city’s hugely expensive property, widening inequality and poor job prospects.
    More than 2,300 people have been arrested since the protests began to snowball in June, with many of them below the age of 16, authorities said.
    Lam is due to deliver the city’s annual policy address on Oct. 16 which traditionally contains sweeteners and support for business and investment.
    She has said that due to the unrest her address would not be as “elaborate” or “comprehensive” as normal.
    Pro-democracy lawmakers on Friday reiterated calls for authorities to address the protesters’ “five demands” which include universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into their complaints of excessive force by the police.
    Bernard Chan, the convener of Hong Kong’s executive council – the lead advisory body to the chief executive – wrote in an opinion piece in the South China Morning Post on Friday that Lam’s policy address would include responses to address the discontent.
    Chan said the Independent Police Complaints Council should be allowed to do its own investigation into the controversy over areas such as police procedures and held out the option of an independent inquiry later.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang and Twinnie Siu; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Paul Tait, Robert Birsel)

10/11/2019 Senior Australian minister says China is behaving badly, draws rebuke by Colin Packham
FILE PHOTO: Australian Minister of Home Affairs Peter Dutton inspects the St.Sebastian's church where two Australian citizens died
in the Easter Sunday bombing, during his visit in Negombo, Sri Lanka June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte
    SYDNEY (Reuters) – A senior Australian government minister said on Friday China was behaving in a way that was inconsistent with Australian values by targeting political parties and universities in Australia, drawing a sharp rebuke from China’s embassy.
    Relations between the important trading partners have deteriorated in recent years amid accusations that China is meddling in Australian domestic affairs and Australian fears that China is seeking undue influence in the Pacific region.
    Australian lawmakers had sought to improve the relationship by refraining from public criticism of China but Peter Dutton, the minister for home affairs, said Australia would not be silent despite their commercial relations.
    China is Australia’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade worth more than A$180 billion ($122 billion) last year.
    “We have a very important trading relationship with China – incredibly important,” Dutton told reporters in Canberra.
    “But we are not going to allow university students to be unduly influenced, we are not going to allow theft of intellectual property, and we are not going to allow our government bodies or non-government bodies to be hacked into,” he said.
    China’s embassy in Canberra called the remarks “irrational … shocking and baseless” in a statement on its website, adding that they constituted “an outright provocation to the Chinese people.”
    “Such ridiculous rhetoric severely harms the mutual trust between China and Australia and betrays the common interests of the two peoples,” the embassy said.
    China has previously denied any improper activities, accusing Australia of adopting a “Cold War mentality.”
    Reuters reported this month that Australian intelligence had determined China was responsible for a cyber-attack on the national parliament and three largest political parties before a general election in May, according to five people with direct knowledge of the matter.
    China’s Foreign Ministry denied involvement in any hacking attacks and said the internet was full of theories that were hard to trace.
    The attack on Australia’s parliament and political parties came as hackers were also targeting its most prestigious university, an official report by the Australian National University (ANU) showed, which stoked fears that China could influence research and students.
    The ANU said last week its investigators were unable to identify who was responsible for the cyber-attack.
    Foreign students are worth about A$35 billion a year to the Australian economy, with Chinese students accounting for about a third of that figure.
    Australian universities are financially dependent on overseas students, raising fears that foreign governments could exert undue influence.
    As a result, Australian universities will now be required to work with security agencies to ensure they guard against undue foreign interference.
(Reporting by Colin Packham. Additional reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Paul Tait and Karishma Singh)

10/11/2019 Hundreds take to Hong Kong streets ahead of weekend protests by Twinnie Siu and Jessie Pang
A protester holds up a sign during a protest against what they say is the abuse of pro-democracy protesters by Hong Kong
police, at Chater Garden in Central district, Hong Kong, China October 11, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hundreds of mask-wearing pro-democracy protesters marched through Hong Kong’s central business district on Friday, occupying a main thoroughfare and disrupting traffic as the Chinese-ruled city braced for another weekend of unrest.
    Chanting their core demands, which include universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality, the crowd occupied the financial district at lunchtime before peacefully dispersing.
    Hong Kong’s metro operator opened all stations for the first time in a week ahead of more planned anti-government protests, while the city’s legislature began its first session since protesters stormed the building in July.
    Pro-establishment and democratic lawmakers shouted at each other before the session, underscoring the tension and divisions in Hong Kong after four months of often violent anti-China protests.
    Some lawmakers wore black masks as they sat in the chamber, while others carried placards reading: “Police brutality still exists, how can we have a meeting?”
    Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam invoked British colonial-era emergency laws last Friday and banned the wearing of face masks which protesters have used to shield their identities.
    The protests have plunged the city, an Asian financial hub, into its worst crisis since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, posing the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
    What began as opposition to a now-withdrawn extradition bill has evolved into a pro-democracy movement fanned by fears that China is stifling Hong Kong’s freedoms, guaranteed under a “one country, two systems” formula introduced in 1997.
    China denies the accusations and says foreign countries, including Britain and the United States, are fomenting unrest.
    The Chinese embassy in Bangkok on Friday condemned Thai politicians for showing support for Hong Kong activists.
    “This is wrong and irresponsible. China hopes that relevant people will understand the truth about problems in Hong Kong, act carefully and do useful things for the friendship between China and Thailand,” the embassy said in a statement.
    Ninety people have been arrested for anti-mask law violations in the past week, pushing the total number of arrests since June to more than 2,300, police said on Friday.    Many of those arrested are under 16, authorities said.
    Police said they were investigating four reports of blackmail involving emails from a group claiming to be pro-democracy and threatening to target shops unless they fund protests via bitcoin.
    “The intimidating messages even include videos of rioters inflicting extensive damage to shops over the past few weeks,” said acting police chief superintendent Kong Wing-cheung.
    Protesters have targeted China banks and shops with links, or perceived links, to mainland China.
    Many residents fear the emergency laws may be expanded, further eroding civil liberties, but the government said on Thursday it would not bring in any other measures.
TRANSPORT DISRUPTION
    Hong Kong has been relatively calm for a few days after a street march by tens of thousands of people last Sunday spiraled into a night of violent clashes.
    Several protests are planned across the city on Friday night and through the weekend.    While daytime marches have been large scale, most night protests are small scale and sporadic.
    Metro operator MTR Corp, whose network carries about 5 million passengers a day, said the MTR would shut two hours early at 10 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Friday to allow more repairs after stations were torched or trashed last weekend.
    The MTR shut down completely last Friday following arson attacks and has operated only partially since then.
    Protesters have targeted the MTR because it has been blamed for closing stations at the government’s behest to contain demonstrations.
    Many stores and businesses have shut early to avoid becoming targets, and due to metro closures, putting another burden on the city’s faltering economy as it faces its first recession in a decade.
    Several major conferences and other events have been called, with the latest being an annual swimming race in the city’s famed Victoria Harbour.
    The protest movement still appears to have a broad base of support despite the violence and vandalism carried out by small groups of front-line protesters.
Residents, particularly those in their 20s and 30s, are calling for the protection of civil liberties.    Many young people are also angry about the city’s hugely expensive property, widening inequality and poor job prospects.
    The stress of four months of protests has seen the mental health of Hong Kongers deteriorate to its worst level in eight years, media reported.
    Hong Kong’s mental health score in 2019 was 46.41, the lowest since the annual survey started in 2012, according to the study organized by the Mental Health Month Organising Committee.    A healthy score is between 52 and 68.    The score was 50.20 last year.
    On Oct. 16, Lam is due to deliver the city’s annual policy address, which traditionally contains sweeteners and support for business and investment, but is expected to also contain measures to address social issues.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang, Felix Tam and Twinnie Siu Writing by Michael Perry and Farah Master; Editing by Frances Kerry and Nick Macfie)

10/12/2019 Iran decries ‘cowardly attack’ on oil tanker
An undated picture shows the Iranian-owned Sabiti oil tanker sailing in Red Sea.
National Iranian Oil Tanker Company via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – An Iranian government spokesman on Saturday described as a “cowardly attack” an incident that Iranian media have called the apparent targeting by missiles of an Iranian-owned oil tanker, and said Iran would respond after the facts had been studied.
    “Iran is avoiding haste, carefully examining what has happened and probing facts,” spokesman Ali Rabei was quoted as saying by the official news agency IRNA.
    “An appropriate response will be given to the designers of this cowardly attack, but we will wait until all aspects of the plot are clarified,” he said.
    The tanker Sabiti was apparently hit in Red Sea waters off Saudi Arabia on Friday, Iranian media have reported, an incident that could stoke friction in a region rattled by attacks on tankers and oil installations since May.
    A senior security official said video evidence had provided leads about the incident, the semi-official news agency Fars reported.
    “Piracy and mischief on international waterways aimed at making commercial shipping insecure will not go unanswered,” said Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s top security body, according to Fars.
    Leakage of cargo from the tanker has been stopped as it heads for the Gulf, the semi-official Iranian news agency Mehr reported.
    “The tanker is heading for Persian Gulf waters and we hope it will enter Iranian waters safely,” Mehr quoted an unnamed official as saying.    “The cargo leakage has stopped.”
    The incident, yet to be independently confirmed, is the latest involving oil tankers in the Red Sea and Gulf region, and may ratchet up tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, long-time regional adversaries fighting a proxy war in Yemen, which lies at the southern end of the Red Sea.
    The United States, embroiled in a dispute with Iran over its nuclear plans, has blamed Iran for attacks on tankers in the Gulf in May and June as well as for strikes on Saudi oil sites in September.    Tehran has denied having a role in any of them.
    Saudi Arabia had no immediate comment on Friday’s reported attack on the Iranian-owned tanker.
    The U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which operates in the region, said it was aware of the reports but had no further information.
    There was no claim of responsibility for the reported incident.
    Political risk consultancy Eurasia Group said it did not have firm evidence about who may have been behind the incident.
    “The proximity of the tanker at the time of the attack to Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah port might imply that the missiles could possibly have been launched from the kingdom."
    “Another plausible theory is that it was an Israeli sabotage operation…The purpose would be to disrupt Iranian tanker activity in the Red Sea corridor as it heads towards the Suez Canal.    A third possibility would be that the attack was conducted by a terrorist group,” Eurasia said in a statement.
    The Iranian reports offered sometimes diverging accounts.    Iranian state-run television, citing the national oil company, said the tanker was hit by missiles while denying a report they came from Saudi Arabia.
    Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the ship was hit twice, without saying what struck it.    State television broadcast images from the Sabiti’s deck saying they were taken after the attack but showing no visible damage.    The ship’s hull was not in view.
    The Red Sea is a major global shipping route for oil and other trade, linking the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal.
    Crude prices jumped briefly on the news of the alleged attack and industry sources said it could drive up already high shipping costs.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Frances Kerry)

10/12/2019 Petrol bombs thrown in Hong Kong metro, no one injured: government
Anti-government demonstrators march in protest against the invocation of the
emergency laws in Hong Kong, China, October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Petrol bombs were thrown inside a Hong Kong metro station on Saturday but no one was injured, the government said, as pro-democracy protesters again took to the streets angry at what they believe is Beijing’s tightening grip on the city.
    The Kowloon Tong station was seriously damaged in the attack, the government said in a statement.
    Hundreds of protesters, many young and wearing face masks, were marching in Kowloon at the time and were headed to a district near the Kowloon Tong station.
    About a dozen riot police took to the streets in Kowloon’s Tsim Sha Tsui district, normally a haven for local and international shoppers, behind the marchers shortly after news of the petrol bomb attack.
    Hong Kong’s metro has borne the brunt of protests, with stations torched and trashed, and only returned to normal operations on Friday after being completely shut down.
    The metro normally carries around 5 million people a day.
    Hong Kong’s protests started in opposition to a now-abandoned extradition bill but have mushroomed in four months into a pro-democracy movement and an outlet for anger at social inequality in the Asian financial hub.
    The protests have plunged the city into its worst crisis since Britain handed it back to China in 1997 and is the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
    Hong Kong had experienced relative calm since last weekend, when a peaceful march by tens of thousands spiraled into a night of running battles between protesters and police.
    Since then there had only been small nightly protests and activists had not flagged any major action this weekend.
‘DEFEND THE FUTURE’
    A small group calling itself the “Silver-Haired Marchers” began a 48-hour sit-in at police headquarters on Saturday, describing themselves as “old but not obsolete.”
    “Whilst we may not be able to fight alongside the young protesters in the frontline against an unjust government, escalating police violence and indiscriminate arrests, we take it to heart to uphold the core values of Hong Kong and defend the future of our younger generations,” it said in a statement.
    Colonial-era emergency laws were introduced a week ago banning face masks at public rallies, sparking some of the worst violence since the protests started.    Protesters use masks to shield their identities.
    However, hundreds of people, including school children and office workers, have since defied the ban and wore face masks.    A group of protesters plan a “face mask party” on Saturday night.
    Hong Kong’s police, once praised as “Asia’s finest,” are also facing a crisis of confidence amid the worsening political tensions.    Protesters accuse them of using excessive force, a charge police deny, and two protesters have been shot and wounded during skirmishes with police.
(Reporting by Michael Perry; Additional reporting by Noah Sin and John Ruwitch; Editing by Paul Tait)

10/12/2019 China’s Xi and India’s Modi discuss proposals to improve ties hit by Kashmir by Sanjeev Miglani
China's President Xi Jinping shakes hand with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their visit to Arjuna's Penance
in Mamallapuram on the outskirts of Chennai, India, October 11, 2019. India's Press Information Bureau/Handout via REUTERS
    MAMALLAPURAM, India, (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Saturday he had a free and frank discussion with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and would pursue proposals the two leaders discussed to improve bilateral ties.
    Xi and Modi held several hours of one-on-one talks in a southern seaside Indian town in their second annual summit designed to break through decades of distrust between their countries over border disputes, a ballooning trade deficit and China’s close military ties with India’s arch rival, Pakistan.
    “Yesterday and today we have engaged in candid discussions and as friends,” Xi said in opening remarks as the two leaders sat down for formal talks with their delegations.
    “I look forward to further discussions, I may follow up on proposals discussed yesterday,” he said, without elaborating.
    Ties were ruffled when India revoked the special status of the Himalayan territory of Kashmir in August, angering both Pakistan, which claims the region, and its all-weather ally China.
    Modi noted in his opening remarks that he and Xi had agreed to manage their differences prudently and not let them snowball into disputes.
    The neighbors are expected to move forward on a set of confidence building measures along their border including border trade, tourism and even joint military patrols to boost trust, officials said.
    India and China share a 3,500 km (2,200 mile) border, over which they went to war in 1962.    Its course remains unresolved despite more than 20 rounds of talks.
    Modi took Xi on a personal tour of temple monuments dating back to the seventh and eighth century at Mamallapuram in southern India when regional leaders had trade ties with Chinese provinces.
    India’s Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said the two leaders spent nearly five hours discussing bilateral issues that have often been fraught.
    The two leaders discussed economic issues, including India’s $53 billion trade deficit with China in 2018/19, and ways to tackle it, Gokhale said.
    China, for its part, was expected to urge India to take an independent decision on telecom equipment maker Huawei’s bid for India’s proposed 3G network and not be swayed by U.S. pressure.    The United States has asked its allies not to use Huawei equipment, which it says China could exploit for spying.
    Sources told Reuters in August that China had warned of “reverse sanctions” on Indian firms engaged in business in China should India block Huawei Technologies because of U.S. pressure.
    Xi will head to Nepal later on Saturday where he is expected to push for China’s further involvement in developing its infrastructure as part of his signature One Belt On Road initiative to boost trade and transport links across Asia.
(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Paul Tait & Shri Navaratnam)

10/13/2019 China’s Xi warns attempts to divide China will end in ‘shuttered bones’
FILE PHOTO: Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the Conference on Dialogue of
Asian Civilizations in Beijing, China May 15, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
    BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping warned on Sunday that any attempt to divide China will be crushed, as Beijing faces political challenges in months-long protests in Hong Kong and U.S. criticism over its treatment of Muslim minority groups.
    “Anyone attempting to split China in any part of the country will end in crushed bodies and shuttered bones,” he told Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in a meeting on Sunday, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV.
    “And any external forces backing such attempts dividing China will be deemed by the Chinese people as pipe-dreaming!” he was quoted as saying.
    Xi, the first Chinese president to visit Nepal in 22 years, arrived in Nepal on Saturday on a state visit.    Both sides are expected to sign a deal expanding a railway link between the Himalayan nation and Tibet.
    Nepal’s Oli told Xi that the country will oppose any “anti-China activities” on its soil, CCTV reported.
    China, which is trying to de-escalate a protracted trade war with the United States, has seen its political authority tested by increasingly violent protests in Hong Kong against what is seen as Beijing’s tightening grip on the Chinese-ruled city.
    Police in Hong Kong have used rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons against pro-democracy demonstrators in the former British colony, which has been plunged into its worst political crisis in decades.
    U.S. president Donald Trump had said it would be difficult to negotiate with China if anything “bad” happens in Chinese authorities’ handling of the Hong Kong protests.
    Trump said he discussed the issue of Hong Kong with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Saturday during their latest round of talks.    Both sides reached a “phase-one deal” that has raised optimism for a broader agreement although many fundamental issues remained unresolved and existing tariffs are still not lifted.
    Washington last week also blacklisted 28 Chinese companies over Beijing’s treatment of predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities.    China has faced growing international condemnation for what it calls re-education and training centers in the remote western region of Xinjiang.    Activists say they are mass detention camps holding more than 1 million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims.
    Before arriving in Nepal, Xi was in India for talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to try to mend ties over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir amid scattered anti-China protests from Tibetan groups.
    China sent troops into remote, mountainous Tibet in 1950 in what it officially terms a peaceful liberation and has ruled there with an iron fist ever since.
    The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.    China brands him a dangerous reactionary who seeks to split off nearly a quarter of the Chinese land mass.
(Reporting by Yawen Chen and Ryan Woo; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

10/13/2019 Hong Kong protesters stage shopping mall rallies taunting riot police by Jessie Pang
Anti-government protesters set up a 4 meter tall "Statue of Lady Liberty Hong Kong"
on the iconic Lion Rock, in Hong Kong, China, October 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong pro-democracy activists staged a cat-and-mouse game with riot police on Sunday, mounting protests in several shopping malls and chanting slogans such as “Free Hong Kong” until police arrived and then dispersing among weekend shoppers.
    Some protesters vandalized shops and police made several arrests but in most cases the protests were peaceful.    The young protesters, many wearing face masks, were often supported by Sunday shoppers out for lunch.
    In one incident, a group of 50 shoppers inside a mall, none wearing masks, faced off against riot police outside the mall doors, chanting “Hong Kong police mafia.”    The shoppers cheered and clapped when police drove off.
    Hong Kong’s police, once praised as “Asia’s finest,” have been accused of using excessive force in dealing with protesters and have lost the confidence and respect of many Hong Kongers.
    “Police officers have used minimum necessary force to disperse protesters, including the deployment of tear gas.    We warn the rioters to stop their illegal acts immediately,” police said in a statement on Sunday.
    Hong Kong has been battered by four months of often massive and violent protests against what is seen as Beijing’s tightening grip on the Chinese-ruled city, and more protests are planned for Sunday.
    The protests started in opposition to a now-abandoned extradition bill but have widened into a pro-democracy movement and an outlet for anger at social inequality in the city, which boasts some of the world’s most expensive real estate.
    The unrest has plunged the city into its worst crisis since Britain handed it back to China in 1997 and poses the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
‘POLICE STATE’
    “Hong Kong used to be a prosperous city and now she has become a police state.    Hong Kong is my home.    We should protect her.    We should resist,” said a 70-year-old who only gave his last name, Hui.
    He was part of a group of 60- to 70-year-olds on Nathan Road, Kowloon, cheering the protesters, urging them to block the road and warning them when police were returning.
    Riot police entered some malls and metro stations and marched down roads in a show of force as protesters erected makeshift road barriers.    Police made several arrests, chasing down individual protesters in the street.
    “ think the police have been using their power to suppress the citizens.    That’s why more and more young children come out and protest against the government and the police.    Those being arrested don’t have human rights.    This is not fair,” said resident Mary Lam, 26.
    Petrol bombs were thrown inside a Hong Kong metro rail station on Saturday but no one was injured, the government said.
    Protesters scaled the city’s Lion Rock peak and hoisted a large statue they called “Lady Liberty” early on Sunday to rally anti-government activists ahead of more planned demonstrations in the Asian financial hub.
    The three-meter (9-feet) statue, wearing a gas mask, helmet and protective goggles, was carried up the 500-metre (1,500-feet) peak in the dead of night by several dozen protesters, some wearing head lamps, during an overnight thunderstorm.
    It held a black banner that read “Revolution of our time, Liberate Hong Kong” and could be seen from the city below.
    The statue represented an injured woman protester believed by activists to have been shot in the eye by a police projectile.    One of the protesters told Reuters he hoped it would inspire Hong Kong people to keep fighting.
    “We are telling people that you mustn’t give up.    All problems can be resolved with Hong Kong people’s persistence and hard work to reach our aims,” he said.
CRISIS
    Protesters have targeted Chinese banks and shops with links to mainland China.    A group wielding hammers damaged a Huawei store on Sunday.
    Demonstrators believe China has been eroding Hong Kong’s freedoms, guaranteed under the “one country, two systems” formula introduced with the 1997 handover.
    The now-withdrawn extradition bill, under which residents would have been sent to Communist-controlled mainland courts, was seen as the latest move to tighten control.
    China denies the accusation and says foreign countries, including Britain and the United States, are fomenting unrest.
    The Hong Kong government introduced colonial-era emergency laws last week to ban the wearing of face masks at public rallies, a move that sparked some of the worst violence since the unrest started in June.
    Police have arrested more than 2,300 people since June. Since September, nearly 40% were under the age of 18 and 10% under 15.
    Protesters accuse police of using excessive force, claims which they deny.    Two protesters have been shot and wounded during skirmishes with police.
    Hong Kong is facing its first recession in a decade due to the protests, with tourism and retail hardest hit.
(Reporting by James Promfret, Clare Jim, Poppy McPherson and Twinnie Siu; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Paul Tait)

10/13/2019 Khamenei tells Iran’s Guards to develop more advanced, modern weapons by Parisa Hafezi
FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gives a speech to a group of scholars and seminary students
of religious sciences in Tehran, Iran September 17, 2019. Official Khamenei website/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards on Sunday to develop more advanced and modern weapons, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, amid rising regional tensions.
    “The Guards should have advanced and modern weapons … Your weapons should be modern and updated.    It should be developed at home. You need to develop and produce your weapons,” Khamenei said in a speech at Imam Hussein Military University in Tehran.
    Tensions in the Gulf have spiked since the United States, Saudi Arabia, Britain, France and Germany publicly blamed Iran for Sept. 14 attacks on the world’s biggest crude oil-processing facility in Saudi Arabia.
    “Today the Guards have a powerful presence inside and outside Iran…America’s hostile approach has increased the Guards’ greatness,” Khamenei said.
    Iran has denied involvement in the Saudi attacks, which were claimed by Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen.
    The United States plans to deploy about 3,000 troops to Saudi Arabia, including fighter squadrons, an air expeditionary wing and air defense personnel, amid heightened tensions with the Saudis’ arch-rival Iran.
    An already-tense relationship between Iran and the United States has worsened over the past year since President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and world powers, saying it did not go far enough, and reimposed sanctions on Iran as part of a “maximum pressure” policy.
    Iranian state television reported that Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Tehran on Sunday as part of efforts to defuse Iranian-Saudi tensions. The two adversaries are locked in several proxy wars in the Middle East.
    Khan’s visit, during which he will meet Khamenei and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, unfolded weeks after Khan said Trump had asked him for help in reducing tensions with Iran.    Khan is expected to visit Riyadh for a conference on Oct. 29.
    Ahead of Khan’s visit, Iran’s foreign ministry said Tehran was prepared to hold talks with Saudi Arabia with or without the help of a mediator.
    In response to Washington’s “maximum pressure” policy, Iran has gradually reduced its commitments under the nuclear pact and plans further breaches if European parties fail to keep their promises to shield Iran’s economy from U.S. penalties.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

10/13/2019 Pakistan’s Khan says he will try to facilitate Iran-Saudi talks
FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani shakes hands with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan
in Tehran, Iran, October 13, 2019. Official Presidential website/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Pakistan will do its utmost to enable talks between arch regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Sunday in Tehran, adding that he will travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
    “Pakistan does not want conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia…I am happy to facilitate talks between Tehran and Riyadh…I am very hopeful as I had constructive talks with the (Iranian) president,” Khan told a joint news conference with President Hassan Rouhani, broadcast live on state TV.
    Khan arrived in Tehran on Sunday and he will later meet Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
(This story has been refiled to remove extraneous word in first paragraph)
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Frances Kerry)

10/13/2019 U.S., Afghan envoys plan to revive peace talks with the Taliban by OAN Newsroom
    U.S. leaders are planning to reignite stalled negotiations with the Taliban after they fell through in September.    A Sunday report revealed that U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met with the militant group’s representative in Pakistan in early October to test the waters for renewed talks.
    The diplomats explored two potential avenues, which they hope will lead to further negotiations and an eventual peace deal.
    One option would be securing another truce between the Afghan government and Taliban.    The Taliban agreed to a ceasefire in 2018 during the holy holiday of Eid, but since then have refused to repeat the gesture without major concessions from the Afghan government.
    The more likely choice would be a potential prisoner swap. Taliban officials have been eager to broker the release of a member of the Haqqani network, which is a group closely affiliated with the Taliban.    In exchange, they would return two professors that were captured from the American University of Afghanistan back in 2016.
    Taliban officials are also reportedly trying to revive a prior peace agreement that was reached following the last round of talks.    As part of the plan, the U.S. would have about a year and a half to remove its troops from Afghanistan.    The Taliban would accordingly agree to cut ties with Al-Qaeda.
    President Trump reneged from that agreement last month, arguing it made too many concessions to the militant group.    The president emphasized on Twitter that the Taliban was untrustworthy and no longer had the power to “negotiate a meaningful agreement.”

10/14/2019 Hong Kong violence is ‘life-threatening’, say police, citing crude bomb
Anti-govenrment protesters throws a molotov cocktail toward riot police officers during a protest
at Tseung Kwan O district, in Hong Kong, China, October 13, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police said on Monday that violence in the Asian financial hub had escalated to a “life-threatening level,” citing the explosion of a small bomb and the stabbing of a police officer in clashes with protesters overnight.
    Peaceful rallies descended into chaos on Sunday with running skirmishes between protesters and police in shopping malls and on the streets.
    Black-clad activists threw 20 petrol bombs at one police station, while others trashed shops and metro stations.
    A crude explosive device, which police said was similar to those used in “terrorist attacks,” was remotely detonated as a police car drove past and officers were clearing roadblocks in Kowloon district on Sunday night.
    A police officer also had his neck slashed by a protester.
    “Violence against police has reached a life-threatening level,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Tang Ping-keung.
    “They are not protesters, they are rioters and criminals.    Whatever cause they are fighting for it never justifies such violence.”
    Hong Kong has been rocked by four months of often huge and violent protests against what is seen as Beijing’s tightening grip on the Chinese-ruled city.
    The unrest has plunged the city into its worst crisis since Britain handed it back to China in 1997 and poses the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
    Xi has warned any attempt to divide China will be crushed.
    “Anyone attempting to split China in any part of the country will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones,” Xi said in a meeting on Sunday with leaders in Nepal, where he was visiting, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV.
    China rejects complaints it is stifling the city’s freedoms and stresses its commitment to the “one country, two systems” formula for autonomy set up when the city returned to its rule.
    China also accuses Western countries of stirring up trouble in Hong Kong.
    The protests were sparked by a now-abandoned bill which would have allowed extradition to China and Communist Party-controlled courts, but have widened into a pro-democracy movement and an outlet for anger at social inequality, in a city with some of the world’s most expensive real estate.
‘NO OPTION’
    Protests have attracted millions of people but have gradually become smaller in recent weeks.
    Yet violence by hardcore activists has risen, prompting debate among protesters over tactics.    But they say they remained united.
    “Violence is always undesirable, but in the case of Hong Kong, we have no other option,” said regular protester Jackson Chan, 21.
    “In June, two million took to the street and demonstrated peacefully, yet the government showed a complete disregard to the public opinion.    Resultantly, escalation of violence is inevitable,” Chan said.
    “The support for the movement in Hong Kong is clear, and the government should shoulder their political responsibility by responding to most of the demands, if not all.”
    Protesters have main demands, which include universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into police actions.
    Pro-democracy activists plan a rally on Monday evening, the first with government permission since the introduction of colonial-era emergency powers, which sparked some of the worst violence since the unrest started.
    Protesters said they planned to gather at Chater Garden in the Admiralty district near government headquarters at 7 p.m. (1100 GMT).
    The protests have taken on an element of civil disobedience by residents angry at what they see as excessive force by police and a heavy-handed government.
    Police have fired thousands of rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets at brick and petrol bomb-throwing protesters and arrested more than 2,300 people since June, many young teenagers.
    Two people have been shot and wounded.
    Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam is due to deliver her annual Policy Address on Wednesday amid pressure to restore confidence in the government.
    Hong Kong is facing its first recession in a decade because of the protests, with tourism and retail hardest hit.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang, Anne Marie Roantree and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Stephen Coates, Robert Birsel)

10/14/2019 Iran president says there is video footage of attack on Iranian tanker
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during press conference in Tehran, Iran
October 14, 2019. Official Presidential website/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said an Iranian tanker damaged in the Red Sea on Friday had been hit by at least two rockets, and there is video footage of the incident.
    Iranian authorities reported that the Iranian-owned oil tanker, the Sabiti, was struck off Saudi Arabia’s coast.    There has been no independent report on the cause of the damage.
    Iran’s rival Saudi Arabia has said it was not behind any attack on the tanker.    Saudi authorities said they received a distress message from the vessel, but they added that it had switched off its transponder before they could assist.
    Rouhani, speaking live on state television on Monday, said the attack was undoubtedly carried out by a government and that there would be consequences.
(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi; Writing by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Alison Williams, William Maclean)

10/14/2019 Iran urges diplomacy to lower tensions, but decries tanker incident by Parisa Hafezi and Alexander Cornwell
FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks at a news conference on the sidelines of the
United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid/File Photo
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran on Monday urged regional powers to use diplomacy to reduce tensions including Yemen’s war, but cautioned that an Iranian tanker damaged in the Red Sea last week had been hit by rockets and there would have to be consequences.
    Addressing a news conference, President Hassan Rouhani reiterated policy toward the Trump administration, ruling out bilateral talks unless Washington returns to a landmark nuclear deal and lifts crippling U.S. economic sanctions.
    Tensions in the Gulf have risen to new highs since May 2018, when the administration of President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 accord with Tehran that put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the easing of sanctions.
    Iran and its key regional rival Saudi Arabia are involved in proxy wars across the Middle East, from Syria to Iraq and Yemen.
    Rouhani said diplomacy was the way solve differences.
    “Ending the war in Yemen will pave the ground for de-escalation in the region,” Rouhani told a news conference, broadcast live on state TV, adding it could also “eventually lead to de-escalation between Iran and Saudi Arabia.”
    “We want peace and calm in the region … regional crisis can be resolved through diplomacy and co-operation between the regional countries.”
    Washington, Riyadh and European powers have accused Iran of being behind attacks on Saudi oil plans on Sept. 14, which temporarily halved Saudi oil output.    Tehran denies any role.    The strikes were claimed by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi forces.
    Rouhani said ties between Iran and the United Arab Emirates, part of a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, had improved and “officials have visited each others countries.”
    The United Arab Emirates, though a prominent foe of Iran in the Middle East’s power struggles, has not assigned blame to anyone for the attacks on oil infrastructure.
“MAXIMUM PRESSURE”
    Rouhani, restating Iran’s stance, said Tehran will continue to reduce its nuclear commitments until European parties to the pact save it by protecting Iran’s economy from U.S. penalties.
    Iran has responded to U.S. “maximum pressure” by scaling back commitments since May and threatened to continue removing curbs on its nuclear program unless European parties to the pact did more to shield Iran’s economy from the U.S. penalties.
    Britain, France and Germany, all parties to the pact, have urged Iran to refrain from any concrete act breaching the pact.
    “The European countries have failed to fulfill their promises.    We will continue to decrease our nuclear commitments,” Rouhani said.    “We will start working on IR-7 and IR-9 centrifuges.”
    Under the deal, Iran is allowed limited research and development on advanced centrifuges, which accelerate the production of fissile material that can be used to make a nuclear bomb.    Iran also agreed to limitations on specific research and development activities for eight years.
    Rouhani said an Iranian tanker, the Sabiti, damaged in the Red Sea on Friday had been hit by at least two rockets, and adding that the incident had been caught on video.    There has been no independent report on the cause of the damage.
    Iran’s rival Saudi Arabia has said it was not behind any attack on the tanker.    Saudi authorities said they received a distress message from the vessel, but they added that it had switched off its transponder before they could assist.
    Rouhani, speaking live on state television on Monday, said the attack was undoubtedly carried out by a government and that there would be consequences.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Alison Williams, William Maclean)

10/15/2019 Hong Kong leader rules out concessions in face of escalating violence by Donny Kwok and Anne Marie Roantree
FILE PHOTO: An anti-government demonstrator stands in fron of a police vehicle during a protest against the
invocation of the emergency laws in Hong Kong, China, October 14, 2019. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday ruled out making any concessions to pro-democracy protesters in the face of escalating violence, which police said was now “life threatening” citing the detonation of a small bomb.
    “I have said on many occasions that violence will not give us the solution. Violence would only breed more violence,” Lam told a news conference.
    “For concessions to be made simply because of escalating violence will only make the situation worse.    On the other hand, we should consider every means to end the violence.”
    Protesters have five main demands, which include universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into what they say has been excessive force by police in dealing with the demonstrations.
    Hong Kong has been rocked by four months of unrest, with massive marches and at times violent protests involving tear gas, petrol bombs and live rounds, over concerns Beijing is tightening its grip on the city and eroding democratic rights.
    Beijing rejects the charge and accuses Western countries, like the United States and Britain, of stirring up trouble.
    The unrest poses the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.    He has warned that any attempt to divide China would be crushed.
    The violence has escalated since the government brought in colonial-era emergency powers on Oct. 4.
    On Sunday night, protesters and police clashed in running skirmishes in shopping malls and on the streets.    Black-clad activists threw 20 petrol bombs at one police station.
    A crude explosive device, which police said was similar to those used in “terrorist attacks,” was remotely detonated as a police car drove past and officers cleared roadblocks.    A police officer also had his neck slashed by a protester.
    An 18-year-old school student has been charged with attacking the officer with a box cutter intent on causing grievous bodily harm.
    Police have arrested more than 2,300 people since June when the unrest escalated, scores of them teenagers, some as young as 12, according to Lam.
‘POLICE STATE’
    Hong Kong was guaranteed 50 years of freedoms under the “one country, two systems” formula when Britain returned its former colony to China in 1997.
    A failed attempt to create a China extradition bill, which could have seen residents sent for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts, was seen as the latest attempt to reduce those freedoms, and ignited the unrest.
    The protests have at times attracted millions onto the streets as the movement widened to include residents angry at growing inequality in Hong Kong, which boasts some of the world’s most expensive real estate.
    Lam said she would focus on land and housing initiatives in her annual Policy Address on Wednesday, seeking to restore confidence in the city’s future.
    Hong Kong is facing its first recession in a decade, with tourism and retail hit hard by the unrest.
    High street retail rents have experienced the sharpest quarterly decline since the first quarter of 1998 at the time of the Asian financial crisis, says commercial real estate investment firm CBRE.
    Protesters, residents and some lawmakers have accused police of excessive force.
    Police have fire more than 3,000 rounds of tear gas, more than 600 rounds of rubber bullets and 3 live rounds.    Two people have been shot and wounded and thousands injured.
    U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, visiting Hong Kong on Sunday, warned the city was in danger of sliding into a “police state.”    Lam rejected such criticism on Tuesday.
    “The Hong Kong police force is a highly professional and civilized force,” she said.    “I would challenge every politician to ask themselves if the large extent of violence acts and all those petrol bombs and arson and really deadly attacks on policeman happened in their own country, what would they do?”
    According to media, Hawley responded on Tuesday saying: “I chose the words ‘police state’ purposely – because that is exactly what Hong Kong is becoming.    I saw it myself.    If Carrie Lam wants to demonstrate otherwise, here’s an idea: resign.”
(Additional reporting by Twinnie Siu, Farah Master and John Ruwitch in Hong Kong; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Stephen Coates)

10/15/2019 Hong Kong leader’s policy speech to focus on housing in bid to regain support by Anne Marie Roantree and Noah Sin
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks to journalists before a weekly Executive Council
meeting in Hong Kong, China, October 15, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam will focus on land and housing initiatives in her annual Policy Address on Wednesday, seeking to restore confidence in the city’s future amid four months of sometimes violent anti-government protests.
    Beijing-backed Lam, Hong Kong’s most unpopular post-colonial leader, is under immense pressure to regain trust and quell unrest that has plunged the Asian financial center into its biggest political crisis in decades.
    Protests over a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party have evolved into calls for greater democracy and revived grievances over housing in one of the world’s most expensive property markets.
    Lam said on Tuesday her annual address will focus on land and housing, although she did not elaborate.    Some economists also expect measures to support the retail sector, which has been battered as the demonstrations scare away tourists.
    “It (policy support) will mainly come from increasing the housing stock.    Housing seems to be the big issue at the moment,” said Carie Li, an economist at OCBC Wing Hang Bank.    “There may also be relief for retailers, the tourism and catering sectors, which have been most affected.”
    Hong Kong’s August retail sales were the worst on record as the protests at times forced stores and shopping malls to close, often during peak periods such as weekends and public holidays.
    The retail, accommodation and food-service sectors employed about 16.3% of workers based on 2018 statistics, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
    The protests also pose a grave challenge for Beijing, which has singled out Hong Kong developers for not doing enough to alleviate housing problems at a time when the former British colony is facing its first recession in a decade.
    Property developer New World Development Co Ltd said in September it would donate 3 million square feet (278,710 sq m) of its farmland reserves for social housing, while Henderson Land said it would donate land in Yuen Long to build youth and other subsidized housing.
    The Democratic Party and the pro-establishment Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) said the government should make use of a regulation to take back agricultural land from developers to build public housing.
    “The housing shortage is getting more serious, especially after the government changed the public-to-private housing ratio to 70:30.    The need for public housing is more eminent but the land supply remains the same,” DAB lawmaker Lau Kwok-fan told Reuters.
    Economists said the government, which has fiscal reserves of HK$1.16 trillion ($147.9 billion), was also likely to roll out measures to support households as well as small and medium enterprises, and promote Hong Kong on the international stage.
    “Additional resources may be allocated to the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) for running overseas promotions, organizing shopping festivals, and offering merchandise concessions and discount coupons in collaboration with the retail sector,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a report.
    Lam’s annual address comes as Hong Kong is also grappling with the impact of a prolonged U.S.-China trade war and a broader economic slowdown that has seen a significant drop in exports.    The protests have also unnerved investors.     Goldman Sachs estimated this month Hong Kong may have lost as much as $4 billion in deposits to rival Asian financial hub Singapore between June and August.    While Goldman’s report did not make any mention of the protests, the period during which the flows took place coincided with the demonstrations.
    In August, the government unveiled a HK$19.1 billion package to support the slowing economy, including subsidies for the underprivileged and business enterprises, as well as somewhat higher salary tax rebates.
    Local media reported that Lam could deliver her annual speech in a pre-recorded message if protesters besieged the Legislative Council when it reconvenes on Wednesday.
($1 = 7.8456 Hong Kong dollars)
(Reporting by Anne Marie Roantree and Noah Sin in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Stephen Coates)

10/15/2019 Vietnam urges restraint amid maritime tensions with China
FILE PHOTO: Vietnam's Communist Party's Generel Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is seen in Hanoi, Vietnam April 2, 2018. REUTERS/Kham
    HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnamese President and Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong has called for restraint in the disputed South China Sea amid a tense months-long standoff between Chinese and Vietnamese ships, state media reported on Tuesday.
    China claims almost all the energy-rich waters but neighbors Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.
    Tension escalated when Beijing dispatched a research ship to conduct an energy survey in waters controlled by Vietnam in July.
    “On the subject of foreign policy, including the East Sea issue, the General Secretary stressed the importance of maintaining a peaceful and stable environment, and resolutely fighting to protect Vietnam’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the state-run Voice of Vietnam (VOV) said on its website.
    The South China Sea is known as the East Sea in Vietnam.
    Vietnam has good relations with China but should “never compromise” on its sovereignty and territorial integrity, VOV quoted Trong as saying.
    The Chinese vessel, the Haiyang Dizhi 8, was continuing its survey in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone late on Tuesday, under escort from at least three Chinese ships, according to data from Marine Traffic, a website that tracks vessel movements.
    Vietnam’s foreign ministry has repeatedly accused the vessel and its escorts of violating its sovereignty and has demanded that China remove its ships from the area.
    On Sunday, Vietnam pulled DreamWorks’ animated film “Abominable” from cinemas over a scene featuring a map which shows China’s unilaterally declared “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea.
    The U-shaped line is used on Chinese maps to illustrate its claims, including large swathes of Vietnam’s continental shelf, where it has awarded oil concessions.
    In August, police broke up a brief protest outside the Chinese embassy in Hanoi over the survey vessel.
    Trong has made more public appearances in recent weeks after suffering from an unspecified illness.
    The 75-year-old has presided over a widespread crackdown on corruption in the Southeast Asian country that has seen several high-ranking ministers and politicians, including one Politburo member, sent to prison on charges ranging from embezzlement to economic mismanagement.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by James Pearson)

10/16/2019 Hong Kong leader forced to abandon address, offers no olive branch by Clare Jim and Twinnie Siu
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam is seen on a screen as she reacts to protests by pro-democracy
lawmakers, at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, China, October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam had to abandon her policy speech in the legislature on Wednesday because of jeering lawmakers but later offered no direct olive branch to protesters, hoping instead to ease resentment by building public housing.
    Lam, who had to broadcast the annual address via a video link after the rowdy scenes in the city’s assembly, hoped to restore confidence in her administration and address discontent after four months of often violent anti-government protests.
    She had to halt her initial attempts to deliver the address after pro-democracy lawmakers called out for “five demands, not one less” and projected the protest rallying cry onto a backdrop behind her.
    The protesters’ demands include universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into what they say has been excessive force by police in dealing with demonstrations.
    In her policy statement, Lam was unapologetic about her government’s response to the protests, which has seen her introduce colonial-era emergency laws and riot police fire thousands of rounds of tear gas and hundreds of rubber bullets at brick and petrol-bomb throwing activists.
    “Any acts that advocate Hong Kong’s independence and threaten the country’s sovereignty, security and development interests will not be tolerated,” she said.
    “Despite the stormy times and overwhelming difficulties Hong Kong is experiencing, I believe that so long as we accurately adhere to the principle of ‘one country, two systems’, we will be able to get out of the impasse.”
    The protesters are angry at what they see as Beijing’s tightening grip on the city which was guaranteed 50 years of freedoms under the “one country, two systems” formula under which it returned to China in 1997.
    Beijing rejects the charge and accuses Western countries, especially the United States and Britain, of stirring up trouble.    The unrest poses the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.    He warned that any attempt to divide China would be crushed.
    Lam later told a news conference that she had held “closed door” meetings with some members of the protest movement and when the unrest ended she would hold more to address the political situation.
    But pro-democracy lawmaker Tanya Chan said Lam should resign for failing to address the protesters’ five core demands.
    “Both her hands are soaked with blood.    We hope Carrie Lam withdraws and quits,” an emotional Chan said at a news conference.
    Lam has rejected calls to step down.
    In her news conference, the Beijing-backed Lam rejected two of the protesters’ five demands – amnesty for those charged and universal suffrage – saying the first was illegal and the second beyond the chief executive’s power.
HOUSING CRISIS
    Hong Kong’s boasts some of the world’s most expensive real estate and the inability of many young people to get a place of their own has fueled the protests.
    Lam said her government would drastically increase housing projects and accelerate the sale of public housing schemes.
    The measures Lam announced are among the boldest in recent years to take back large tracts of land held by a handful of powerful developers.
    “We are determined to create home ownership opportunities for people of different income groups such that they will happily make Hong Kong their home,” Lam said.
    “I hereby set a clear objective that every Hong Kong citizen and his family will no longer have to be troubled by or pre-occupied with the housing problem, and that they will be able to have their own home in Hong Kong.”
    Lam said about 700 hectares of private land in the city’s New Territories would be brought back into public use under what is known as a land resumption ordinance.
    More than half of the allocated land would be taken back in the next few years, she said, adding that a further 450 hectares had been earmarked for “resumption.”
    Major developers, including Henderson Land <0012.HK>, New World Development <0017.HK> and Sun Hung Kai Properties <0016.HK>, are sitting on “no less than 1,000 hectares” of agricultural land, according to government estimates.
    Lam urged all developers to support the land ordinance.
    The Hong Kong stock exchange’s property sub-index rose more than 2% after the measures were announced.
    Before Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997, the colonial administration often deployed the ordinance to take property for public use, offering compensation to landowners.    But no leader has been able to successfully take back land from private developers since the handover.
‘SINISTER INTENTIONS’
    The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed three pieces of legislation related to the Hong Kong protests, drawing a swift rebuke from Beijing, which accused the lawmakers of “sinister intentions” of undermining stability in Hong Kong.
    One of the measures, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, would require the U.S. secretary of state to certify every year that Hong Kong retained its autonomy in order to keep receiving the special treatment that has allowed it to be a major financial center.
    A Norwegian lawmaker, Guri Melby, tweeted that she had nominated the Hong Kong people for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for their stand for freedom of speech and democracy.
    Authorities have arrested more than 2,300 people since June when the unrest escalated, scores of them teenagers, some as young as 12 and the oldest 83.    Two people have been shot and wounded and thousands injured.
(Reporting By Donny Kwok, Clare Jim, Sarah Wu, Twinnie Siu, James Pomfret and Jessie Pang; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree, Farah Master and Michael Perry; Editing by Robert Birsel)

10/16/2019 Three militants, two civilians killed as violence spreads in Kashmir
Kashmiri men gather around the body of Nasir Ahmad, a suspected separatist militant, during his funeral after he was killed
in a gun battle with Indian soldiers, in Arwani village in south Kashmir's Anantnag district October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Danish Ismail
    SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) – Indian security forces killed three separatists, while suspected militants shot dead two people on Wednesday, one of the bloodiest days in Kashmir since New Delhi revoked the disputed region’s autonomy more than two months ago.
    The killings were the first since mobile phone services were restored as part of a gradual relaxation of measures taken to curb violent unrest in Jammu and Kashmir state, claimed in whole by India and Pakistan and ruled in part by both.
    The government had cut off telephone and internet lines before it revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special rights on Aug. 5, striking down long-standing constitutional provisions for the Muslim-majority region.
    A security lockdown is still largely in place and broadband and mobile internet connections remain unavailable to most Kashmiris.
    The three militants were killed in a gun battle after soldiers, acting on a tip-off, raided a village in south Kashmir, two police sources told Reuters.
    “Three terrorists were killed and the bodies were retrieved from the site of the encounter,” Kashmir police said in a statement.    “Incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, was recovered.”
    Neither the soldiers or police suffered casualties, according to the police sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the media.
    Security forces imposed travel restrictions near the site of the gun battle to prevent unrest, the sources said.    Many Kashmiris hostile to India’s rule often gather to throw stones at security forces after militants are killed.
    In a separate incident in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, suspected militants shot dead a migrant worker from Chhattisgarh state, in central India, in an execution-style killing, police said.
    The brick kiln laborer was walking along a railway track in the Kakapora area when he was stopped by two people.    “He was shot in the head,” a police official said, declining to be named.
    In another incident, a fruit merchant was killed and another critically wounded when gunmen fired at them in the Shopian district of south Kashmir.
(Reporting by Fayaz Bukhari in Srinagar; Writing by Alasdair Pal and Manoj Kumar; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Nick Macfie)

10/16/2019 Taliban detonates truck bomb outside Afghan police HQ, kills 3 security forces by OAN Newsroom
    The Taliban is taking full responsibility for a deadly attack on police headquarters in Afghanistan.    A truck packed with explosives detonated Wednesday in a village east of the capital, killing at least three security forces and injuring dozens of civilians.    Many of the wounded were children studying at a nearby religious school.
    “I was in the mosque with my friends reciting the Quran when we saw a red truck rushing toward us,” a witness explained.    “Smoke and flames rose to the air — we couldn’t see anything in the area because of the smoke.”
    Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs representative Nasrat Rahimi said this attack in the Alishang district wounded 36 people, 20 of which were children.    The U.K.’s Save the Children charity weighed in on the situation, urging the Taliban to leave children out of their attacks.
    “It is extremely worrying to see so many children being killed and wounded in Afghanistan on a near-daily basis — the security situation doesn’t show signs of improvement,” said Director Onno van Manen.
    Officials are saying they expect the death toll to rise as authorities continue to search through debris.
    This is the first major attack by the Taliban since last month’s national election, which saw a surge in violence that left dozens dead.     Diplomats are currently at work to revive stalled negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban, but President Trump is urging caution.

10/16/2019 France worried by new phase in Iran’s breaching of nuclear pact by John Irish
FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks at a news conference on the sidelines of the United Nations
General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid/File Photo
    PARIS (Reuters) – France urged Iran on Wednesday not to scale back further on its commitments to a 2015 nuclear deal, saying Tehran’s new threat to speed up uranium enrichment next month was “especially worrying.”
    Iran is breaching restrictions of the pact with major powers step-by-step in response to tough sanctions imposed by the United States, which pulled out of the deal last year.
    Tehran has said its next move would be taken on Nov. 6 and diplomats fear this could force a response from European powers, who have been trying to salvage the accord. Britain, France and Germany, all signatories, have refrained from acting so far.
    “Iran must abstain from crossing an especially worrying new phase of new measures that could contribute to an escalation in tensions,” French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnès von der Muhll told reporters in a daily briefing.
    Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that Tehran was working on advanced IR-9 centrifuges for uranium enrichment.
    The nuclear deal only lets Iran accumulate enriched uranium with just over 5,000 of its first-generation IR-1 centrifuges at Natanz.    It lets Iran use small numbers of more advanced models for research, without producing enriched uranium.
    Iran is now enriching uranium with advanced centrifuges and installing more that should come online in coming weeks.
    Rouhani’s remarks suggested Iran was developing a new centrifuge, the IR-9, violating the deal which specifies the centrifuges Iran can use and making no mention of an IR-9.
    French President Emmanuel Macron attempted and failed last month to broker talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Rouhani in New York.    Prospects of any talks in coming weeks seem slim with Tehran demanding U.S. sanctions are lifted first.
    The nuclear deal aimed to extend the so-called “breakout time” Iran would need to obtain enough fissile material for a bomb, if it sought one, to a year instead of two or three months.
    “Nov. 6 will be Iran’s fourth violation. Until now they have been political and symbolic with a limited impact on the breakout time, but the more they violate, the less choice and latitude they have that doesn’t impact the breakout time,” said a French diplomatic source.
    “After November, the world doesn’t end, but it becomes much harder to save the deal,” the source added.
    Iran says it has enriched uranium for civilian purposes and has never sought nuclear weapons, but the United States and IAEA believe it once had a nuclear weapons program that it ended.
    “Iran is underscoring that it will no longer be hemmed in by the nuclear agreement, nor is it particularly alarmed by the increasingly concerned statements coming out of Europe,” Eurasia’s Iran analyst Henry Rome said.
    “This is a recipe for a significant nuclear escalation in early November, not just another incremental step.”
(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Catherine Evans and Edmund Blair)

10/17/2019 Exclusive: Satellite images reveal China’s aircraft carrier ‘factory,’ analysts say by Greg Torode and Michael Martina
FILE PHOTO: A combination image of satellite photos shows Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, China on October 3, 2018,
April 17, 2019 and September 18, 2019. Mandatory credit CSIS/ChinaPower/Maxar Technologies and Airbus 2019/Handout via REUTERS
    HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) – High-resolution satellite images show that the construction of China’s first full-sized aircraft carrier is progressing steadily alongside expansive infrastructure work that analysts say suggests the ship will be the first of several large vessels produced at the site.
    The images of the Jiangnan shipyard outside Shanghai were taken last month and provided to Reuters by the non-partisan Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), building on satellite photos it obtained in April and September last year.
    Noting a series of pre-fabricated sections, bulkheads and other components stacked nearby, CSIS analysts say the hull should be finished within 12 months, after which it is likely to be moved to a newly created harbor and wharf before being fitted out.
    The vast harbor on the Yangtze River estuary, including a wharf nearly 1 kilometer long and large buildings for manufacturing ship components, is nearly complete.    Much of the harbor area appeared to be abandoned farmland just a year ago, according to earlier images CSIS analyzed.
    It dwarfs an existing harbor nearby, where destroyers and other warships are docked.
    “We can see slow but steady progress on the hull, but I think the really surprising thing these images show is the extensive infrastructure buildup that has gone on simultaneously,” said CSIS analyst Matthew Funaiole.
    “It is hard to imagine all this is being done for just one ship,” he added.    “This looks more like a specialized space for carriers and or other larger vessels.”
    Singapore-based military analyst Collin Koh said the modern, purpose-built facility on a sparsely populated island in the Yangtze may provide better security than the congested shipyards of Dalian in northern China.    It could also help deepen co-operation between commercial and military shipbuilders.
    The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies noted this year that China’s military shipyards were focusing increasingly on larger surface warships, “adding to the sense that Chinese naval-capability development may be entering a new phase.”
    China’s navy has recently launched four large Type 055 cruisers and its first large helicopter carrier, known as the Type 075.
    China’s military has not formally announced the plans for the third carrier, designated Type 002, but official state media have said it is being built.
    The Pentagon said it in its annual survey of China’s military modernization, published in May, that work on the third carrier had begun.
    China’s Ministry of Defence did not respond to questions from Reuters.
    Funaiole said the latest images appeared to confirm the earlier photos, which suggested the latest carrier would be somewhat smaller the 100,000-tonne “supercarriers” operated by the U.S. but larger than France’s 42,500-tonne Charles de Gaulle.
    The images are due to be released by the CSIS China Power Project later Thursday.
    Asian and Western militaries are tracking developments closely.    They say this carrier would represent a vital step in China’s ambitions to create a far-ranging navy that can project power around the world to serve Beijing’s expanding global interests.
    A series of recent Reuters Special Reports showed how that effort is challenging decades of U.S. strategic superiority in East Asia.
(Click this link to read the series: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/china-army-xi/)
    It is expected to be China’s first carrier with a flat deck and catapult launch system, allowing the use of a wider range of aircraft and more heavily armed fighter jets.
    China’s first two carriers, which it has dubbed Type 001-class, are relatively small, accommodating only up to 25 aircraft that are launched from ramps built onto their decks. U.S. carriers routinely deploy with nearly four times the number of aircraft.
    Foreign military attaches and security analysts say the Type 001 ships are expected to essentially serve as training platforms for what they believe will be fleet of up to six operational carriers by 2030.
    They say the construction and deployment of aircraft carriers is considered exceptionally difficult to master.    Protecting such a large and vital surface target with escort ships, submarines and aircraft is a core part of the problem.
    “The PLA navy is not saying much in detail about its plans now, but we can see from their building works that their ambitions are vast,” said one Asian military attache, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.    “And they will get there.”
    Koh, a research fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said the new Jiangnan facilities looked permanent and reflected China’s long-held ambitions to bulk up its fleet with more carriers and other large vessels.
    “We are talking about infrastructure being built quickly and on a large scale.    It could well be the start of a ‘factory,’ if you like, for carriers and other very large vessels,” he said.
(Reporting By Greg Torode and Michael Martina. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

10/17/2019 Hong Kong assembly in chaos; attack on democracy leader a ‘chilling signal’ by Sarah Wu and Jessie Pang
Hong Kong's Civil Human Rights Front leader Jimmy Sham arrives at a hospital following an attack in Hong Kong, China
in this still image obtained from social media video dated October 16, 2019. TANYA CHAN /via REUTERS
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s parliament descended into chaos on Thursday with lawmakers dragged out by security guards for heckling leader Carrie Lam as they demanded an inquiry into a brutal attack on a prominent human rights activist ahead of a major rally.
    The knife and hammer attack on Jimmy Sham, which left him bloodied and lying in the street on Wednesday night, was designed to intimidate protesters and incite violence ahead of Sunday’s march, pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo told reporters.
    “This very vicious attack took place practically on the eve of the call for yet another massive protest in Hong Kong on Sunday.    We can’t help feeling that this entire thing is part of a plan to shed blood on Hong Kong’s peaceful protests,” she said.
    The second day of turmoil in the Legislative Council, after Lam was forced to cut short her annual policy speech on Wednesday due to heckling, and broadcast it via video instead, underscores the political rift in the city, with no end in sight to more than four months of anti-government protests.
    “Regarding the current situation we are facing, we need to be united against violence, say no to violence,” Lam said in the chamber and again defended her efforts to end the crisis.
    “I have mentioned that we will be humble, listen to different voices and set up an expert commission to find a way out of the current situation we are facing,” she said.
    Hong Kong has been battered by four months of pro-democracy protests over concerns Beijing is eroding freedoms granted when Britain handed the city back to China in 1997.
    The crisis in the Chinese-ruled city is the worst since the handover and poses the biggest popular challenge to China’s President Xi Jinping since he took office.
    Lam offered no olive branch to protesters in her policy speech on Wednesday but sought to ease resentment by announcing measures to ease     Hong Kong’s chronic housing shortage which has partly fueled protests – a move widely rejected by pro-democracy leaders.
‘HORRIFYING ATTACK’
    Pro-democracy lawmakers again accused Lam of having “blood on her hands” for not meeting protesters’ demands to end the unrest, introducing colonial-era emergency laws and allowing police to use what activists say is excessive force.
    Protesters have five core demands, which include universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into police behavior.
    Rights group Amnesty International said the “horrifying attack” on Sham, head of the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), would send a chilling signal and urged authorities to investigate.    Police said they would.
    Sham was attacked in the gritty Mong Kok district by five men with knives and hammers.    Photographs on social media show him lying sprawled on the ground, bleeding from his head.
    CHRF said he suffered three wounds to the head and has swollen knees and elbows.
    From hospital Sham urged people not to seek revenge.
    “Regardless of the identity, ethnicity, skin color of the perpetrators, the root of the problem is the violence of the regime and the political system,” he said in a statement.
    Police said they believed the attackers were not Chinese, but did not elaborate.
    “No matter how difficult the situation on Sunday might be, everyone please take care and be safe,” said Sham.
SUNDAY MARCH
    Police and protesters, some dressed in black ninja-style outfits, have engaged in running street battles for weeks, with police firing thousands of rounds of tear gas and hundreds of rounds of rubber bullets against brick and petrol-bomb throwing activists.
    Two people have been shot and wounded by police and thousands injured.    Police have arrested more than 2,300 people since June.
    Hardcore protesters have torched the city’s metro and China banks and scores of shops they believe are linked to mainland China.    The Asian financial hub is facing its first recession in a decade due to the unrest.
    The CHRF is one of the biggest pro-democracy groups in the city and organized million-strong marches in June.    It plans a march on Sunday in the district of Kowloon, but authorities have not confirmed it will be allowed.
    Past massive marches have seen families and children rally with pro-democracy activists over concerns Beijing is tightening its grip on the city and eroding democratic rights.
    Beijing rejects the charge and accuses Western countries, like the United States and Britain, of stirring up trouble.
    Under Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” formula adopted at the handover, the city enjoys freedoms not available on the mainland such as an independent judiciary.
    A now-withdrawn extradition bill which would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent to Communist Party controlled courts for trial was seen as the latest move to erode those freedoms and sparked the unrest.
(Reporting by Clare Jim, Donny Kwok, Sarah Wu, Felix Tam, Anne Marie Roantree; Writing by Michael Perry, Tom Westbrook and Farah Master; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robert Birsel)

10/17/2019 China says it hopes to reach phased trade pact with U.S. as soon as possible
FILE PHOTO: China's Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Gao Feng attends a news conference
in Beijing, China April 6, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China hopes to reach a phased agreement in a protracted trade dispute with the United States and cancel tariffs as soon as possible, the Commerce Ministry said on Thursday, adding that trade wars had no winners.
    A phased agreement would help restore market confidence and reduce uncertainty, ministry spokesman Gao Feng told reporters, adding that both sides were maintaining close communication.
    “The final goal of both sides’ negotiations is to end the trade war and cancel all additional tariffs,” Gao said.    “This would benefit     China, the U.S. and the whole world.    We hope that both sides will continue to work together, advance negotiations, and reach a phased agreement as soon as possible.”
    Chinese premier Li Keqiang said both China and the United States need to resolve the issues through dialogue.    He made the comments on Thursday when he met delegates led by Evan Greenberg, chairman of the U.S.-China Business Council.
    “China will create an internationalized business environment ruled by law where domestic and foreign firms are treated equally,” Li said.    “Property and intellectual property rights will be strictly protected.”
    White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow meanwhile said he saw momentum to finalize the initial phase of a trade deal which could be signed at the APEC forum next month in Chile.
    U.S. President Donald Trump on Oct. 11 outlined the first phase of a deal and suspended a threatened tariff hike, but officials on both sides said much more work needed to be done.
    Trump had originally planned to proceed with a rise in tariffs to 30% from 25% on about $250 billion worth of Chinese goods last week.    But the U.S. administration has yet to make a decision on how to address planned 10% tariffs on roughly $156 billion of Chinese goods due to take effect on Dec. 15.
    U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators are working on nailing down a Phase 1 trade deal text for their presidents to sign next month, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday.
    Mnuchin said the Trump administration’s “objective” was for the agreement to be signed between the presidents of the two countries at a Nov. 16-17 summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation countries in Santiago, Chile.
    Working-level representatives from both countries were working on specifics of an agreement now, Gao said.
    There have been positive signs from China in recent days.
    China’s securities regulator on Friday unveiled a firm timetable for scrapping foreign ownership limits in futures, securities and mutual fund companies for the first time.    Increasing foreign access to the sector is among the U.S. demands at the trade talks.
    A day before, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed net sales of 142,172 tonnes of U.S. pork to China in the week ended Oct. 3, the largest weekly sale to the world’s top pork market on record.
    Trump said China had agreed to make purchases of $40 billion to $50 billion of U.S. agricultural goods.    Mnuchin said the purchases would be scaled up to that amount annually.
    On Wednesday, Li said China would remove business restrictions on foreign banks, brokerages and fund management firms, without giving details.
    “Since this year, under the effect of China-U.S. trade frictions, trade and investment between the U.S. and China have fallen,” Gao said.
    “This fully demonstrates that trade wars have no winners.”
(Reporting by Gabriel Crossley; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Alex Richardson and Nick Macfie)

10/18/2019 Hong Kong braces for weekend of fresh anti-government protests
Anti-government protesters sit during a demonstration in Tiu Keng Leng in Hong Kong, China October 17, 2019. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong is preparing for a weekend of demonstrations, including a human chain at major subway lines on Friday and a democracy march on Sunday, the latest moves in more than four months of anti-government protests.
    It has been two weeks since Carrie Lam, leader of the Chinese-ruled city, invoked colonial-era emergency laws banning face masks, hoping to quell protests.    Instead, the city has been shaken by some of the most intense unrest to date.
    Although the last few days have been relatively calm, with protesters staying off the streets, prominent human rights activist Jimmy Sham was brutally attacked on Wednesday, a move pro-democracy lawmakers said was meant to intimidate protesters and incite violence ahead of Sunday’s planned march.
    Police on Friday rejected a permit request for the march, meaning it will be an illegal rally. Thousands of people have defied police in the past and staged mass rallies, often peaceful in the start but descending into violence at night.
    “We will not back down even after the attack on the Civil Human Rights Front convener Jimmy Sham. Our most powerful force is the unity and resistance of this civil society,” said the rights group, calling on the public to rally on Sunday.
    Pro-democracy protesters have called for a 40 km (25 mile) human chain outside metro stations on Friday night, asking people to wear face masks in defiance of the ban.
    Hong Kong has been battered by four months of protests, driven by concerns Beijing is eroding freedoms granted when Britain handed the city back to China in 1997.
    China has denied the accusation, blaming foreign nations such as the United States and Britain of inciting the unrest.
    The crisis in the Chinese-ruled city is the worst since the handover and poses the biggest popular challenge to China’s President Xi Jinping since he took power. Xi has warned he would crush any attempt to split China.
    Riot police and protesters have fought street battles, with police firing tear gas, rubber bullets and occasionally live rounds against brick and petrol-bomb throwing activists.
    Two people have been shot and wounded by police and thousands injured.    Police have arrested more than 2,300 people since June, many of them teenagers as young as 12.
    Many Hong Kong residents are angry with what they believe is excessive force used by police.
    Hong Kong’s Commissioner of Police, Stephen Lo, said on Friday that his force was facing an unprecedented challenge.
    “Our hearts are heavy; our responsibilities are immense.    I remain steadfast in my conviction that we can weather the storm and restore the law and order for our city,” he told a ceremony for past fallen officers.
    Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has refused to agree to the protesters’ 5 core demands: universal suffrage, an independent inquiry into police behavior, amnesty for those charged, stop describing protesters as rioters, and the formal withdrawal of a China extradition bill.
    The extradition bill, which would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent to Communist Party-controlled courts for trial, was seen as the latest move to erode those freedoms and sparked the unrest.    Lam has said the bill is now dead, but it has not been formally withdrawn.
    The Asian financial hub is facing its first recession as a result of the unrest which has damaged tourism and retail.
    Hardcore protesters have torched the city’s metro stations and Chinese banks and scores of shops they believe are linked to mainland China.    Many businesses have been forced to close.
    Secretary for Transport and Housing, Frank Chan, said on Friday it would be weeks before the metro operated fully.
    “It all depends on whether or not there will be incoming damage.    If everything remains normal and there would be no further attack or damage, then I would say that one or two weeks would be possibly the target,” he said.
(Reporting by Donny Kwok; Writing by Farah Master and Michael Perry; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

10/18/2019 China’s GDP growth grinds to near 30-year low as tariffs hit production by Kevin Yao and Gabriel Crossley
Workers look at cranes lifting containers onto cargo vessels at a port
in Yantai, Shandong province, China October 17, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s third-quarter economic growth slowed more than expected and to its weakest pace in almost three decades as the bruising U.S. trade war hit factory production, boosting the case for Beijing to roll out fresh support.
    Gross domestic product (GDP) rose just 6.0% year-on-year, marking a further loss of momentum for the economy from the second quarter’s 6.2% growth.
    China’s trading partners and investors are closely watching the health of the world’s second-largest economy as the trade war with the United States fuels fears about a global recession.
    Asian stocks stumbled after the data, reversing gains made on the UK and European Union striking a long-awaited Brexit deal.
    Downbeat Chinese data in recent months has highlighted weaker demand at home and abroad.    Still, most analysts say the scope for aggressive stimulus is limited in an economy already saddled with piles of debt following previous easing cycles, which have sent housing prices sharply higher.
    Nie Wen, a Shanghai-based economist at Hwabao Trust, pinned the worse-than-expected GDP growth mainly to weakness in export-related industries, especially the manufacturing sector.
    “Given exports are unlikely to stage a comeback and a possible slowdown in the property sector, the downward pressure on China’s economy is likely to continue, with fourth-quarter economic growth expected to slip to 5.9%,” Nie said.
    “Authorities will loosen policies, but in a more restrained way.”
    The third-quarter GDP growth was the slowest since the first quarter of 1992, the earliest quarterly data on record, and missed forecasts for 6.1% growth in a Reuters poll of analysts.    It was also at the bottom end of the government’s full-year target range of 6.0%-6.5%.
    In a briefing after the GDP data release, Mao Shengyong, a spokesman for China’s statistics bureau, announced Beijing’s plans to bring forward some 2020 special local government bond issuance to this year, in a move to spur regional infrastructure investment.
    Even recent signs of breakthrough in the protracted trade war between Beijing and Washington are unlikely to change the economic outlook any time soon.
    U.S. President Donald Trump said last week the two sides had reached agreement on the first phase of a deal and suspended a tariff hike, but officials warn much work still needed to be done.
    A slide in China’s exports accelerated in September while imports contracted for a fifth straight month.
    The drags on demand, both domestic and global, have hit several key parts of the economy with weakness seen in freight shipments, factory power generation, employment and entertainment spending. In September, factory gate prices fell at their fastest pace in three years.
    Mao from the statistics bureau said there was ample room to change monetary policy, as rising consumer inflation has been mainly driven by volatile food prices.
    The International Monetary Fund has warned the U.S.-China trade war will cut 2019 global growth to its slowest pace since the 2008-2009 financial crisis, but said output would rebound if their dueling tariffs were removed.
    Beijing has relied on a combination of fiscal stimulus and monetary easing to weather the current slowdown, including trillions of yuan in tax cuts and local government bonds to fund infrastructure projects and efforts to spur bank lending.
    But the economy has been slow to respond with business confidence shaky and local governments facing increasing strains as tax cuts hit revenues, weighing on investment.
PATCHES OF HOPE
    In contrast to the disappointing headline GDP number, China’s industrial output grew a better-than-expected 5.8% in September, faster than the 17-year-low posted in August.
    The uptick was in line with signs of increased domestic orders, though overall demand remains at historically weak levels.    Analysts had expected industrial output to grow 5.0% in September.
    September’s industrial production was also in line with recent business surveys that noted new domestic orders in food processing, textiles and electrical machinery, although growth in other products such as cement, crude steel and cars slowed further.
    Hwabao Trust’s Nie does not expect stronger manufacturing to last given slowing global demand, which would suggest a pick up in broader economic growth remains unlikely.
    Fixed asset investment grew 5.4% from January-September, matching expectations, but slowing from the 5.5% in the first eight months.
    Private sector fixed-asset investment, accounting for 60% of the country’s total investment, grew 4.7% in January-September, down from 4.9% in January-August.
    Retail sales rose 7.8% year-on-year last month, in line with expectations, and faster than 7.5% in August.
    In another positive sign, China’s property investment stayed buoyant in September, boosted by a rise in new construction activity.
    But property transactions slowed during what is traditionally China’s “Golden September” peak season for new home sales, hurt by authorities persistent crackdown on speculation, which showed few signs of easing.
    “As infrastructure investment is unlikely to rebound strongly, preventing a big slide in property investment will be key for authorities when they try to stabilize next year’s economic growth,” said Zhang Yi, chief economist at Beijing-based Zhonghai Shengrong Capital Management.
(Reporting by Kevin Yao and Gabriel Crossley; Additional reporting by Yawen Chen; Writing by Stella Qiu and Ryan Woo; Editing by Sam Holmes)

10/18/2019 Japan estimates U.S. trade deal will boost GDP by 0.8% over 10-20 years
FILE PHOTO: An industrial port is pictured in Tokyo, Japan, May 23, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
    TOKYO (Reuters) – The trade deal reached between Japan and the United States is expected to boost Japan’s economy by about 0.8% over 10-20 years when the benefits fully kick in, the Japanese government said on Friday.
    The deal is estimated to contribute about 4 trillion yen ($36.81 billion) to Japan’s gross domestic product based on its fiscal 2018 GDP, and the pact will create about 280,000 jobs in Japan, it said.
    The United States and Japan signed a limited trade deal that cuts tariffs on U.S. farm goods, Japanese machine tools and other products while further staving off the threat of higher U.S. car duties.
    The estimate is still provisional and is based on the premise that the United States would eliminate its tariffs on Japanese autos and auto parts, the government said.
    Japan has said U.S. tariffs on Japanese cars and car parts will be eliminated through further talks but no time frame has been set.
    The document of the pact written in English said: “Customs duties on automobile and auto parts will be subject to further negotiations with respect to the elimination of customs duties.”
    The government also estimated that Japan’s farm production would drop by about 60 billion yen-110 billion yen as tariffs on beef, pork and other food imports will be slashed.
    Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he had received reassurance from U.S. President Donald Trump that the United States would not impose previously threatened “Section 232” national security tariffs on Japanese car imports.
    If the U.S. were to impose 25% tariffs on Japanese auto and auto parts, Japan would pay about 1.9421 trillion yen of custom duties, the estimate showed.
    Trump pulled the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership when he took office in 2017, saying the trade pact would rob Americans of jobs and investment.
    Previously, the Japanese government estimated that the TPP 12, including the United States, would lift Japan’s GDP by 2.6% and the 11-nation TPP after Washington left would boost the economy by 1.5%.
(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

10/18/2019 Beijing’s economic growth sinks to lowest level in 26 years by OAN Newsroom
    China’s economic growth falls to its lowest level in 26 years.
    According to recent market data in the last quarter, Beijing saw its growth sink by 6%.
    In addition, Chinese exports to the U.S. fell by nearly 22% from last year.
A worker carrying boxes of goods walks by women selecting handbags at a commercial building in Beijing,
Friday, Oct. 18, 2019. China’s economic growth sank to a 26-year low in the latest quarter amid pressure
from a trade war with Washington, adding to a deepening slump that is weighing on global growth. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
    Retail and auto sales also fell by 8.2% and 11.7% respectively.    The numbers are evidence China’s economy has been crippled due to the trade war.
    The IMF has said the trade dispute led to its decision to cut its economic growth forecast by .2% this week.    This comes just one day after Chinese officials said they were fleshing out phase one of their trade deal with Washington.

10/18/2019 Attack on mosque in Afghanistan kills at least 62, injures dozens by OAN Newsroom
    At least 62 worshippers are killed and dozens more injured, by an attack on a mosque in eastern Afghanistan.
    Most of the victims were men attending Friday prayers, but officials say there are also children among the dead and wounded.
A wounded man is brought by stretcher into a hospital after a mortar was fired by insurgents in Haskamena district
of Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 18, 2019. An Afghan official says at least several people have been
killed during Friday prayers when a mortar fired by insurgents blasted through the roof of a mosque. (AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon)
    Authorities believe the attack was caused by insurgents firing mortar rounds at the roof of the mosque, but they have not been able to confirm these suspicions.
    “The whole mosque was destroyed, we don’t know if it was a suicide car bomb, rocket attack or something else, but whatever it was, it destroyed the mosque completely,” said Amanat Khan, an eyewitness in the attack.
    Authorities said they expect the death toll to rise, as more bodies are pulled from the rubble.    So far, no group has taken responsibility for the attack.
    However, authorities suspect the Taliban or ISIS may have been involved, as both groups are active in the region.

10/19/2019 Afghans search for bodies after at least 69 killed in mosque explosions
FILE PHOTO: Men carry an injured person to a hospital after a bomb blast
at a mosque, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan October 18, 2019. REUTERS/Parwiz
    KABUL (Reuters) – Police and local people searched on Saturday for more bodies in the rubble of a mosque in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province after bomb blasts in which at least 69 people were killed during Friday prayers.
    The explosives were placed inside the mosque in Jawdara area of Haska Mena district.
    Sohrab Qaderi, a member of Nangarhar’s provincial council, said the mosque, with capacity of more than 150 worshippers at a time, was full of people when the bombs exploded.
    “Bodies of 69 people, including children and elders, have been handed to their relatives,” Qaderi said, adding that more bodies could be lying under the rubble.
    On Friday, local officials had reported the number of dead at 62 and around 50 wounded.
    No group has claimed responsibility but the government accused Taliban insurgents, who are fighting to reimpose strict Islamic law after they were ousted from power in 2001 by U.S.-led forces.
    Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban, denied the group was responsible.    In a tweet, he said that witnesses to the attack said it was a mortar attack by government forces.
    One of the wounded, Gulabistan, 45, said the mosque was full when the explosion happened.
    “Mullah already started prayers and reciting verses of holy Koran, when a huge boom happened, then all around me it got dark, the only thing I remember is females’ voices and then I found myself in the hospital,” Gulabistan said.
    He said he had been told his son was among the dead while his brother and two nephews had been wounded and were in hospital.
    A Reuters reporter saw 67 freshly excavated graves for the victims in Jawdara village.
    U.S. ambassador John R Bass, said in a tweet that “killing worshippers assembled together in peace is unconscionable. All Afghans have the right to live and worship together in safety.”
    The European Union said the attack aimed to undermine hopes for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.
    The Taliban and Islamic State fighters are actively operating in parts of Nangarhar, which shares a border with Pakistan in the east.
    The mosque attack was the latest act of violence in the country.    A U.N. report this week said 4,313 civilians were killed and wounded in Afghanistan’s war between July and September.
(Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi in Kabul and Ahmad Sultan in Nangarhar; Editing by Frances Kerry)

10/19/2019 China says will work with the U.S. to address each other’s core concerns by David Kirton and Ryan Woo
FILE PHOTO: China's Vice Premier Liu He hands a letter from China's President Xi Jinping to U.S. President Donald Trump during
their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 11, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo
    NANCHANG, China (Reuters) – Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said on Saturday that China will work with the United States to address each other’s core concerns on the basis of equality and mutual respect, and that stopping the trade war would be good for both sides and the world.
    “The two sides have made substantial progress in many fields, laying an important foundation for the signing of a phased agreement,” Liu, also the chief negotiator in the trade talks, told a virtual reality conference in Nanchang, the capital of southeastern Jiangxi province.
    “Stopping the escalation of the trade war benefits China, the U.S and the whole world.    It’s what producers and consumers alike are hoping for,” Liu said in a rare public speech about the trade war.
    China and the United States reached a limited deal last week toward ending the trade war that has roiled global markets and hammered world growth.    Both sides are working toward a written agreement.
    China’s third-quarter economic growth slowed to an annual 6.0%, its weakest pace in almost three decades as the bruising trade war hit factory production and investment sentiment.
    Liu said on Saturday that China will step up investment in core technologies to accelerate economic restructuring, adding economic prospects remain “very bright.”
    “We’re not worried about short-term economic volatility.    We have every confidence in our ability to meet macroeconomic targets for the year,” he said.
    Liu said improved relations between China and the United States benefited the world.
    “Growth in Sino-U.S. economic and trade cooperation is connected to peace, stability and prosperity of the whole world,” he said.
    “China and the U.S. can meet each other half way, based on equality and mutual respect, addressing each other’s core concerns, striving to create a good environment and achieving both sides’ common goals.”
    The International Monetary Fund estimated that a tentative trade deal reached by Washington and Beijing last week could reduce the harm done by tit-for-tat tariffs imposed by both countries over the past 15 months.
    Instead of dragging global growth down by 0.8%, the impact might be limited to 0.6%, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday.
(Additional reporting Samuel Shen; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

10/19/2019 Hong Kong’s leader backs police use of force as protesters plan ‘illegal’ march
People wearing masks gather during an anti-government protest in Hong Kong, China, October 18, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam took to the airwaves on Saturday to back the use of force by police ahead of a major anti-government march planned this weekend in the Chinese-ruled city, which has been battered by months of violent protests.
    Following a week of relative calm, Sunday’s march will test the strength of the pro-democracy movement.    Campaigners vowed it would go ahead despite police ruling the rally illegal.
    In the past, thousands of people have defied police and staged mass rallies without permission, often peaceful at the start but becoming violent at night.
    The trigger for unrest in Hong Kong had been a now-withdrawn proposal to allow extradition to mainland China, as well as Taiwan and Macau.    The case of a Hong Kong man accused of murdering his girlfriend in Taiwan before fleeing back to the city was held up as an example of why it was needed.
    Late on Friday the man, Chan Tong-kai, who is jailed in Hong Kong for money laundering, wrote to Lam saying he would “surrender himself to Taiwan” over his alleged involvement in the case upon his release, which could be as soon as next week.
    Lam said in an interview on Saturday with broadcaster RTHK that it was a relief as it could bring an end to the case.
    She also said that police had used appropriate force in handling the protests, and were responding to protesters’ violence, amid criticism of heavy-handed tactics.
    More than 2,600 people have been arrested since the protests escalated in June.
    Protesters’ demands have, since then, swelled far beyond opposing the extradition bill, to take in broader concerns that Beijing is eroding freedoms granted when Britain handed the city back to China in 1997.
    China denies the accusation and has blamed foreign nations such as the United States and Britain for inciting the unrest.
    The crisis in the Chinese-ruled city is the worst since the handover and poses the biggest popular challenge to China’s President Xi Jinping since he took power.
    Police have refused permission for Sunday’s march citing risks of violence and vandalism, which has increased in recent weeks as protesters dressed in black ninja-like outfits have torched metro stations and Chinese banks and shops.
    Rights group Human Rights Watch said the police move appeared to be aimed at dissuading people from attending.
    Demonstrations on Friday were calm, with protesters forming a human chain along the city’s metro network and many donning cartoon character masks in defiance of a ban on covering faces at public rallies.
    Lam this week outright rejected two of the protesters’ five core demands: universal suffrage and amnesty for those charged during the demonstrations, saying the latter would be illegal and the former was beyond her power.
    Instead she has sought to quell the crisis with plans to improve housing supply and ease cost-of-living pressures.     The atmosphere in the city remains tense.
    Prominent rights activist Jimmy Sham was brutally beaten by four men wielding hammers and knives during the week, a move pro-democracy lawmakers said was meant to intimidate protesters and incite violence ahead of Sunday’s planned march.
    The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city’s de-facto central bank, said on Saturday that some cash machines will be out of service temporarily, owing to vandalism or to safety considerations.
(Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Twinnie Siu; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

10/19/2019 Pompeo says U.S. committed to Afghan peace after deadly explosions
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo briefs media at NATO headquarters in
Brussels, Belgium October 18, 2019. Kenzo Tribouillard/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
    KABUL (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday Washington remained committed to peace and stability in Afghanistan as police searched for bodies in the rubble of a mosque in eastern Nangarhar province where bomb blasts killed at least 69 people.
    The explosives that went off during Friday prayers were placed inside the mosque in the Jawdara area of the Haska Mena district. On Friday, local officials had reported the number of dead at 62 and around 50 wounded.
    “The United States remains committed to peace and stability in Afghanistan, and will continue to fight against terrorism,” Pompeo said in a statement.    “We stand by the people of Afghanistan who only want peace and a future free from these abhorrent acts of violence.”
    Sohrab Qaderi, a member of Nangarhar’s provincial council, said the mosque, with a capacity of more than 150 worshippers at a time, was full of people when the bombs exploded.
    “Bodies of 69 people, including children and elders, have been handed to their relatives,” Qaderi said, adding that more bodies could be lying under the rubble.
    No group has claimed responsibility but the government blamed Taliban insurgents, who are fighting to reimpose strict Islamic law after they were ousted from power in 2001 by U.S.-led forces.
    Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban, denied the group was responsible.    In a tweet, he said that witnesses to the attack said it was a mortar attack by government forces.
    One of the wounded, Gulabistan, 45, said the mosque was full when the explosion happened.
    “Mullah already started prayers and reciting verses of holy Koran, when a huge boom happened, then all around me it got dark, the only thing I remember is females’ voices and then I found myself in the hospital,” Gulabistan said.
    He said he had been told his son was among the dead while his brother and two nephews had been wounded and were in hospital.
    A Reuters reporter saw 67 freshly excavated graves for the victims in Jawdara village.
    The European Union said the attack aimed to undermine hopes for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.
    The Taliban and Islamic State fighters are actively operating in parts of Nangarhar, which shares a border with Pakistan in the east.
    A United Nations report this week said 4,313 civilians were killed and wounded in Afghanistan’s war between July and September.
(Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi in Kabul and Ahmad Sultan in Nangarhar; additional reporting by Lucia Mutikani in Washington; Editing by Frances Kerry and Rosalba O’Brien)

10/20/2019 Hong Kong police, protesters exchange tear gas, petrol bombs by Anne Marie Roantree and Marius Zaharia
Anti-government protesters gather at the start of a protest march in Hong Kong's
tourism district of Tsim Sha Tsui, China October 20, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police fired tear gas at protesters throwing petrol bombs on Sunday as thousands staged an illegal march through the Kowloon district that will test the strength of the pro-democracy campaign after four months of unrest.
    Police inside the Tsim Sha Tsui police station fired volleys of tear gas and used a loudspeaker to call on protesters in the street below to disperse.
    Hardcore black-clad protesters threw petrol bombs at the station’s iron gate and several inside the compound.
    Later a police water canon truck arrived to spray jets of blue-dye into the crowd, sending hundreds fleeing.    Police have used the blue dye to identify protesters.
    Three van loads of riot police then marched down the street.
    Elsewhere along the march route, protesters trashed shops and metro stations and set fires.
    Hong Kong has been battered by months of often massive and violent protests over concerns that Beijing is tightening its grip on the city, the worst political crisis since Britain handed the city back to China in 1997.
    The protests in the Chinese-ruled city also pose the biggest popular challenge to China’s President Xi Jinping since he took power.    Beijing has denied eroding Hong Kong’s freedoms and Xi has vowed to crush any attempt to split China.
    The unrest was sparked by a bill that would have allowed extradition to mainland China for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts.    It has since widened into a pro-democracy movement.
    Police had declared Sunday’s march illegal due to concerns over public safety.    Protesters, ranging from young students to the elderly, many carrying umbrellas to shield their faces from street surveillance cameras, face arrest.
“HONGKONGERS RESIST”
    At the start of the march banners reading “Free Hong Kong” stretched across the ground. Other posters read “HongKongers Resist,” while graffiti on one wall said “Better Dead than Red.”
    Hardcore protesters, who have staged running battles with police and torched metro stations, set up road blocks and sprayed graffiti saying: “We chose to die on our feet rather than live on our knees!”
    They have targeted Chinese banks and shops with links to mainland China, leaving mainland Chinese living in Hong Kong worried about their safety.
    Hong Kong is governed under a “one country, two systems” formula, which permits the city freedoms not available on the mainland such as an independent judiciary.
    Protesters are angry at Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam for what they see as her failure to protect those freedoms from an encroaching Beijing, imposing colonial-era emergency powers, and allowing what they say is excessive force by police.
    “Carrie Lam is not listening to us at all.    This may work in China but not in Hong Kong,” said Cheung, a 33-year-old woman wearing a face mask and black Tshirt, symbols of the democracy movement.    Like most protesters, she wanted to be known by only one name.
    “You can’t ask a city that already has freedom to walk backward.    You can’t do this in an international city,” she said, adding she was not afraid of being arrested.
    Hong Kong has been relatively calm in the past two weeks after violent protests fueled by the introduction of emergency laws, which ban face masks at public rallies.
    Protesters have 5 core demands: universal suffrage, an independent inquiry into police action against protesters, amnesty for those charged, and an end to describing protesters as rioters, and the formal withdrawal of the extradition bill.
    Lam has said the bill is dead, but it is yet to be formally withdrawn. She has rejected the other demands.    On Sunday she said a police complaints inquiry will be completed before the end of the year.
    Two people have been shot and wounded by police and thousands injured.    Police have arrested more than 2,300 people since June.
    The Asian financial hub is facing its first recession in a decade because of the unrest, with retail and tourism badly hurt.    On Sunday shops, both luxury and small, were closed along the march route.
    The city’s metro, which carries some 5 million people daily, will again shut early.
(Reporting by Twinnie Siu, Jessie Pang, Clare Jim, Sarah Wu and Tom Westbrook; Writing by Michael Perry and Farah Master; editing by Richard Pullin, Raju Gopalakrishnan)

10/20/2019 Pentagon chief in Afghanistan as U.S. looks to kickstart Taliban talks by Idrees Ali
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper addresses reporters during a media briefing
at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., October 11, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott
    KABUL (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper arrived in Afghanistan on Sunday in a bid to bring talks with the Taliban back on track after President Donald Trump abruptly broke off negotiations last month seeking to end the United States’ longest war.
    Esper’s trip to Kabul comes amid questions about the United States’ commitments to allies after a sudden withdrawal of U.S. troops from northeastern Syria and Trump’s long-time desire to get out of foreign engagements.
    “The aim is to still get a peace agreement at some point, a political agreement.    That is the best way forward,” Esper told reporters traveling with him to Afghanistan. He is due to meet President Ashraf Ghani and U.S. troops while in Afghanistan.
    “I hope we can move forward and come up with a political agreement that meets our ends and meets the goals we want to achieve,” Esper said, adding that talks were in the State Department’s domain.
    He added that the United States could go down to about 8,600 troops, from the current 14,000, without affecting counter-terrorism operations, if needed.
    Trump halted talks with the Taliban, aimed at striking a deal for U.S. and other foreign troops to withdraw in exchange for Taliban security guarantees, after it carried out a bomb attack in Kabul last month that killed 12 people, including a U.S. soldier.
    The United States says it has increased the pace of operations against militants in Afghanistan since Trump walked away from talks with the Taliban.
    “U.S. policy in Afghanistan is so confused right now because on the one hand we’re hearing the messaging from Washington and particularly Trump about our endless wars, that it could be time to leave sooner or later,” said Michael Kugelman, senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center think-tank.
    “On the other hand, you have U.S. military forces stepping up their pressure on the Taliban in more intense ways than ever before,” Kugelman said.
    A Taliban delegation met U.S. special representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad for more than an hour in Pakistan this month, though officials said it did not represent a resumption of formal negotiations.
    Some U.S. officials believed Khalilzad would resign after Trump ended talks with the Taliban.
    One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that after Trump’s sudden announcement that the United States would withdraw all its troops from northern Syria last week, there was more of a realization that Trump was serious about withdrawing from Afghanistan as well.
    Esper’s trip to Afghanistan, his first to the country as defense secretary, comes at a time of political and security uncertainty across the war-torn country.
    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday Washington remained committed to peace and stability in Afghanistan as police searched for bodies in the rubble of a mosque in eastern Nangarhar province where bomb blasts killed at least 69 people.
    Despite pulling off a safer presidential election than expected, Afghanistan looks headed for prolonged political uncertainty, with the two front-runners claiming victory before ballots are tallied and signaling they would not accept defeat.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali in Kabul; Editing by Jane Merriman and Dale Hudson)

10/20/2019 Resurgent Hong Kong protesters stage huge rally, violence erupts again by Anne Marie Roantree and Marius Zaharia
An anti-government demonstrator throws a petrol bomb towards Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station
during a protest march in Hong Kong, China, October 20, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Police and pro-democracy protesters battled on the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday as thousands of people rallied in several districts in defiance of attempts by the authorities to crack down on demonstrators.
    After two weeks of relative calm in the five-month-long crisis, the rally drew broad-based support from regular citizens including young families and the elderly.
    But a more radical faction of largely young protesters later clashed with riot police.
    Banks and other businesses linked to China were attacked and bonfires lit on Nathan Road, a main road running through the heart of the Kowloon peninsula.    Police fired volleys of tear gas and baton charged demonstrators, and also hosed them down from water cannon.
    The Civil Human Rights Front, which had failed to obtain police approval to hold the march, said about 350,000 people took part.    The police gave no estimate, saying they deemed the march to be illegal.
    “You can see Hong Kongers won’t easily give up their right to demonstrate.    Today’s turnout is more than I expected,” said Daniel Yeung, an unemployed protester who like many others wore a mask in defiance of a ban on wearing them.
    “You can see that as long as people keep coming out in large numbers we are safe and can keep fighting,” he said.
    Hong Kong, an international financial center, has been battered by months of huge and often violent protests over fears that Beijing is tightening its grip on the territory, the worst political crisis since colonial ruler Britain handed it back to China in 1997.
    On Sunday, massive crowds occupied thoroughfares in several districts in Kowloon and moved northwards, smashing a number of businesses linked to China including banks, a bookshop and other stores.
    Protesters threw petrol bombs at the Tsim Sha Tsui police station after police inside fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators.    One activist urinated onto the police gate.
    Bonfires were also set as riot police with shields and batons charged at the crowds, fired multiple volleys of tear gas.
    Police used water cannon trucks to disperse protesters, spraying jets of blue dye into the crowds and sending hundreds fleeing.    Police have used the dye to identify protesters.
MOSQUE CONTROVERSY
    In one incident, a water cannon fired a jet toward the front gate of the Kowloon Mosque where a group of people stood. The mosque is Hong Kong’s most important Islamic place of worship.
    Some worshipers interviewed by media outside the mosque afterwards called it a provocation against Islam and demanded the police apologize.    Several police officers were filmed entering the building later, though the police gave no immediate response to the incident.
    As riot police advanced protesters retreated readily, with some saying they wanted to avoid large numbers of arrests unlike past rallies when they stood their ground.
    Along the march, protesters torched and trashed metro stations and hundreds of shops according to the police, throwing goods onto the streets.    Chinese banks including ICBC and the Bank of China were torched and had glass windows smashed up.    Smartphone maker Xiaomi also had one shop vandalized.
    One trashed shop on Sunday had protest slogans left on its shutters saying it was attacked because it was owned by mainland Chinese mobs who had attacked innocent people.
    “We never rob.    We don’t forgive.    We don’t forget,” said one notice.
    Police said they had seized more than 40 petrol bombs.    An explosive device was also detonated by police that had been rigged among broken bricks in the middle of a street.
    The unrest was sparked four months ago by a bill that would have allowed extradition to mainland China for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts.    It has since widened into a pro-democracy movement.
    The protests pose the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he took power.    Beijing has denied eroding Hong Kong’s freedoms and Xi has vowed to crush any attempt to split China.
“HONG KONGERS RESIST”
    At the start of the march, banners reading “Free Hong Kong” stretched across the ground.    Other posters read “HongKongers Resist”, while graffiti on one wall said “Better Dead than Red.”
    “The government pretends we just want to destroy the city.    We’ll be out for as long as it takes to let the world know it is them who are destroying it,” said a 24-year-old who gave his name as Ray.
    Hong Kong is governed under a “one country, two systems” formula, which allows freedoms not granted on the mainland such as a free press and independent judiciary.
    Protesters are angry at Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam for what they see as her failure to protect those freedoms from an encroaching Beijing, imposing colonial-era emergency powers, and allowing what they say is excessive force by police.
    Lam’s annual policy speech last Wednesday did not address any of the protesters’ demands, which include universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality against protesters.
    Two people have been shot and wounded by police and thousands injured since the protests escalated in June.    More than 2,300 people have been arrested.
(Reporting by Twinnie Siu, Jessie Pang, Clare Jim, Sarah Wu, Donny Kwok, Tom Westbrook and James Pomfret; Writing by Michael Perry and Farah Master; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

10/20/2019 Secondary circuit of Iran’s Arak nuclear reactor to be operational within two weeks: official
FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks at a news conference on the sidelines of the
United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid
    GENEVA (Reuters) – The secondary circuit of the Arak heavy water nuclear reactor will be operational within two weeks, Ali Asghar Zarean, a special assistant to the chief of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, was quoted as saying on Sunday by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
    The starting of the secondary circuit will not violate restrictions placed on Iran’s nuclear program under a landmark 2015 deal with world powers.
    Last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran will continue to reduce its commitments to the deal, removing curbs on its nuclear program, until European parties to the pact protect Iran’s economy from U.S. penalties.
    Iran has the capacity to produce up to 25 tonnes of heavy water per year, Zarean said, noting that the Islamic Republic currently produces 20 tonnes of heavy water annually, which is exported to other countries.
    Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.
    Despite having nuclear technology, Iran has never pursued building or using nuclear weapons, which its religion forbids, the country’s highest political authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said earlier this month.
    Iran has responded to U.S. “maximum pressure” by scaling back commitments to the nuclear deal since May.    Britain, France and Germany, all signatories to the pact, have urged Iran to refrain from any concrete act breaching the agreement.
    The reduction of commitments can be reversed, Iranian officials have said, if the remaining parties to the deal uphold their promises.
(Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

10/20/2019 Defense Secretary Mark Esper in Afghanistan to restart Taliban talks by OAN Newsroom
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, center, is greeted by U.S. military personnel upon arriving
in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Lolita C. Balbor)
    U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has traveled to Afghanistan in an effort to restart talks with the Taliban.    Esper touched down in Kabul on Sunday, where he is expected to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and U.S. troops.
    Esper said he hopes the two nations can come up with a political solution that satisfies both the U.S. and Afghanistan. He added that an agreement could decrease the number of U.S. troops in the country without affecting counter-terrorism operations.
    This comes after President Trump abruptly ended negotiations with the Taliban last month over their bomb attack in Kabul.    The president emphasized on Twitter that the Taliban was untrustworthy and no longer had the power to “negotiate a meaningful agreement.”

10/21/2019 Hong Kong leader apologizes after mosque hit by police water cannon by Sarah Wu and Twinnie Siu
An anti-government demonstrator shouts toward Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station during
a protest in Hong Kong, China, October 20, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam apologized to the city’s Muslim community on Monday after police fired a water cannon at a major mosque during operations on Sunday night to quell violent pro-democracy protests in the Asian financial hub.
    While the morning after clean up was underway, Lam visited the mosque in Kowloon district, her head covered by a shawl, to express her sorrow to Islamic leaders over the incident.
    The Hong Kong leader was due to depart for Japan to attend Emperor Naruhito’s enthronement ceremony, and a government statement released later said Lam thanked Islamic leaders for repeatedly calling for calm during the political turmoil that has gripped the city in past five months.
    During running battles in Kowloon on Sunday, police used tear gas and water cannon trucks to disperse petrol bomb-throwing protesters, spraying jets of blue dye into the crowds.
    In one instance, a cannon drenched the front gate and footpath in front of the Kowloon mosque, Hong Kong’s most important Islamic place of worship where a few people had gathered including journalists.
    Blue stains from the dyed water remained on the road in front as worshippers gathered for prayers on Monday.
    Protesters had said they would not target the mosque in Sunday’s march after a leading pro-democracy leader was brutally attacked by masked men last week that the police said were “non-Chinese.”
    Some non-Chinese residents including those from South Asia have been recruited in the past by the city’s organized criminal gangs, or triads, to attack individuals.
    “South Asians have not been involved in any protesting — anti-Hong Kong or pro-Hong Kong.    We’re just living peacefully,” said Waqar Haider, an interpreter who works with ethnic minorities.
    In the statement issued by the government, Lam said Hong Kong’s Muslim community called the city home and had always co-existed peacefully with other communities.
    Chief Imam Muhammad Arshad said Lam’s apology was “accepted” and that the Islamic community hoped to continue living in Hong Kong in peace.
    Police said in a statement the mosque had been accidentally sprayed and that they “respect religious freedom and will strive to protect all places of worship.”
    “It’s just a mistake.    They apologized.    They saw some protesters standing outside the gates.    The protesters also apologized,” said Mohammed Assan, 32, who worships at the mosque.
    “The police do their work and the protesters have a right to protest.    Everybody needs freedom.    They demand to live with freedom.”
“SUSPECTED BOMBS” FOUND
    After two weeks of relative calm, Sunday’s large turnout of tens of thousands of protesters reflected strong support for the anti-government movement despite police branding the march illegal.
    Families and the elderly took to the streets in what began as a peaceful march, many wearing masks or carrying umbrellas to shield their faces in defiance of an anti-mask law that authorities invoked this month to try to quell the unrest.
    A more radical faction of mainly young protesters later clashed with riot police.
    Across the Kowloon peninsula protesters torched stores and metro stations.    Hundreds of shops were trashed, with mainland China banks and shops with links to the mainland targeted.
    “Most alarmingly, there were four instances where suspected bombs were found yesterday,” police said n Monday.
    Police said more than 100 petrol bombs were thrown by protesters, 260 tear gas canisters fired by police and 130 rubber bullets.    Hospital authorities said 27 people were injuries, three are in a serious condition.
    Since the protests escalated in June, over 2,600 people have been arrested, many under 18 years of age, while two people have been shot and many more injured.
    Many people in Hong Kong are angry at what they see as mainland China’s attempts to limit the freedoms the city enjoys under the “one country, two systems” principle enshrined in its handover from Britain in 1997.
    The protests pose the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he took power.    Beijing has denied eroding Hong Kong’s freedoms and Xi has vowed to crush any attempt to split China.
    Protesters are demanding universal suffrage, an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality, amnesty for those charged over previous demonstrations, and an end to the government’s labeling of the protesters as rioters.
    Sunday’s unrest followed an annual policy speech last week in which Beijing-backed Lam sought to ease tensions with measures to resolve a chronic housing shortage.
    She also has promised to withdraw a China extradition bill that ignited the unrest and engage in a dialogue with the public, but has so far resisted other protester demands.
(Reporting by Sarah Wu and Twinnie Siu; Writing by Farah Master and Michael Perry; Editing by Stephen Coates & Simon Cameron-Moore)

10/21/2019 China’s defence minister says resolving ‘Taiwan question’ is national priority by Ben Blanchard
China's Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe looks on during a meeting with Brazil's Defence Minister
Fernando Azevedo e Silva (not pictured) in Brasilia, Brazil September, 2018. REUTERS/Adriano Machado
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s defence minister, Wei Fenghe, said on Monday that resolving the “Taiwan question” is his country’s “greatest national interest,” and that no force could prevent China’s “reunification.”
Separatist activities are doomed to failure, Wei said at the opening of the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, which China styles as its answer to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore.
    Tensions between China and Taiwan have ratcheted up ahead of the self-ruled island’s presidential election in January.    Taiwan is China’s most sensitive territorial issue.
    “China is the only major country in the world that is yet to be completely reunified,” Wei said.
    “Resolving the Taiwan question so as to realise China’s full reunification is the irresistible trend of the times, China’s greatest national interest, the righteous path to follow and the longing of all Chinese people.”
    Proudly democratic Taiwan has lambasted China for its authoritarian rule and for being a threat to regional peace, while China has heaped pressure on Taiwan, whittling away at its few remaining diplomatic allies.
    Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council called the forum in Beijing an “irony,” saying China is “a factor of instability” that has led to rising tensions in the region.
    “The Chinese Communist Party’s intimidation of the use of force against Taiwan has threatened the world peace,” the council said in a statement.
    “The threat of force cannot shake the will to protect sovereignty and democracy of the 23 million people in Taiwan.    The Beijing authority should give up the impractical wishful thinking of ‘unification by force’ at the soonest,” the statement said.
    China regards Taiwan as its sacred territory, to be brought under Beijing’s rule, by force if needed, a message President Xi Jinping reiterated at the start of this year.
    China translates the word “tong yi” as “reunification,” but it can also be translated as “unification,” a term in English preferred by supporters of Taiwan independence who point out that Beijing’s Communist government has never ruled Taiwan and so it cannot be “reunified.”
    Defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan in 1949 at the end of a civil war with the Communists. The People’s Republic of China has never governed Taiwan, whose people have shown little interest in being ruled by autocratic Beijing.
    China has also been angered by U.S. support for Taiwan, including arms sales. Washington has no formal ties with Taipei, but is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.
    “No one and no force can ever stop China’s full reunification.    We are committed to promoting the peaceful development of cross-Taiwan strait relations and the peaceful reunification of the country,” Wei said.
    “However we will never allow separatists for Taiwan independence to have their way, nor allow interference by any external forces.    Advancing China’s reunification is a just cause, while separatist activities are doomed to failure.”
FRICTION WITH THE U.S.
    The U.S. and China have clashed across multiple fronts in recent years, not only because of the bitter trade war but also because of efforts by Washington to check what it perceives as growing capabilities and aggressiveness of Beijing’s armed forces in the Asia-Pacific region.
    China asserts territorial claims in almost all of the energy-rich waters of the South China Sea, as do smaller neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. But those countries are unable to keep pace with China’s military spending, which at nearly $170 billion this year is second only to that of the U.S.
    Washington has spoken out against what it calls China’s “coercion” of Southeast Asian neighbours, further adding to tensions.
    Wei on Monday reiterated that Beijing is a “peace-loving nation” that would never strike first and does not pose a threat to the rest of the world.
    “The China-U.S. military relationship is generally stable but we are confronted with many difficulties and challenges,” he said.     “Cooperation between the two militaries on strategic communication, mutual trust and risk control should be further strengthened.”
    The U.S. has also angered China by repeatedly conducting what it calls “freedom of navigation” operations by ships close to islands China occupies in the South China Sea.
    “The South China Sea islands and Diaoyu islands are inalienable parts of China’s territory.    We will not allow even an inch of territory that our ancestors have left to us to be taken away,” Wei said.
($1 = 7.0682 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Yimou Lee in TAIPEI; Writing by Ryan Woo and Se Young Lee; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

10/21/2019 Apology accepted, Hong Kong’s Muslims lament water cannon staining mosque by Sarah Wu
People walk past Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre in Hong Kong’s tourism district Tsim Sha Tsui, China, October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Municipal workers scrubbed away noxious blue dye from the steps of Hong Kong’s biggest mosque on Monday, while Muslim worshippers expressed frustration over police firing a water cannon outside the mosque during a large anti-government march.
    Senior police officers visited the Kowloon mosque to explain it was hit accidentally during Sunday’s clashes with demonstrators, and Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam met with community leaders on Monday to apologize.
    “It was unnecessary to drag this place of worship into this conflict between the government and the people,” Arabi Mohideen, 60, said after attending dawn prayers at the mosque in the bustling Tsim Sha Tsui district.
    During protests in Kowloon on Sunday, a police water cannon truck shot bursts of blue-dyed water at a small clutch of people on the footpath outside the mosque, hitting its gate and steps.
    Protesters, some clad in black and masked, arrived soon afterward to help clean up.    They coughed uncontrollably while wiping down metal railings and the gate, as the dye was mixed with an irritant designed to force crowds to disperse more quickly.
    Police, already facing criticism for heavy-handed tactics, issued a statement saying the incident was “most unfortunate” and unintended, while senior officers went to meet Muslim leaders late at night to offer apologies.
    Lam’s apology on Monday further underscored the sensitivity, and was accepted by worshippers, who lamented being caught up in the unrest.
    “It’s a symbol of peace,” said Waqar Haider, a