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Sabtu, 11 Mei 2019

Giuliani cancels trip to Ukraine to press Biden investigation | TheHill - The Hill

President TrumpDonald John Trump Trump officials considering using court-ordered removals to deport migrant families: report Dem senator calls for Senate to investigate Giuliani's planned Ukraine trip Ocasio-Cortez says 'vote your values' after finding Trump supporter sign outside office MORE's attorney Rudy Giuliani changed course late Friday, declaring he would no longer go on a planned trip to Ukraine to press for an investigation into Democratic presidential candidate Joe BidenJoseph (Joe) Robinette Biden Dem senator calls for Senate to investigate Giuliani's planned Ukraine trip Ocasio-Cortez says 'vote your values' after finding Trump supporter sign outside office Mike Gravel says he 'misspoke' with Buttigieg comment MORE.

Giuliani announced the decision Friday night during an appearance on Fox News, saying "I'm not gonna go," and blaming Democrats for trying to “spin” the trip.

"I think I'm walking into a group of people that are enemies of the President, in some cases enemies of the United States and, in one case, an already convicted person who has been found to be involved in assisting the Democrats with the 2016 election," Giuliani said, without clarifying to whom he was referring.

The news came hours after Trump told Politico in an interview that he planned to speak with Giuliani about his trip and the investigation.

“I will speak to him about it before he leaves. I’m just curious about that,” he told the outlet, saying that he has “not spoken to him at any great length” about his attorney's trip.

Giuliani first revealed his plans to travel to Ukraine in an interview with The New York Times on Thursday. The president's lawyer said he hoped to meet in the nation's capital, Kiev, to ask the country's president-elect to pursue inquiries that could yield new information about the origin of the Russia investigation and former Vice President Biden's past influence in the country.

The Times reported that the meeting's goal was to try to undermine the credibility of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, as well as the case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Trump's allies are also reportedly seeking information that could hurt Biden, who has been a clear front-runner in recent polls for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

Giuliani last week called for an investigation into Biden after The Times reported that Biden allegedly threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees in 2016 unless Ukraine removed a top prosecutor, who was later voted out. Biden’s younger son, Hunter Biden, was a board member of an energy company that the prosecutor had been looking into, according to the newspaper.

Democrats on Capitol Hill lambasted Giuliani over the proposed trip, accusing him of seeking aid from a foreign government.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold NadlerJerrold (Jerry) Lewis Nadler History will judge sycophantic Republicans harshly The Hill's Morning Report - Can Barr and House Dems avert contempt clash? CNN, Fox, MSNBC air split-screens of Nadler and empty chair for Barr MORE (D-N.Y.) slammed the move, saying, “We have come to a very sorry state when it is considered O.K. for an American politician, never mind an attorney for the president, to go and seek foreign intervention in American politics.”

In a tweet, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam SchiffAdam Bennett Schiff House Dems allege Trump subpoena lawsuit is stonewalling 'legitimate' congressional probes Instagram blocks #VaccinesKill, reviewing other anti-vaccine hashtags Schiff says Congress weighing hefty fines for Trump officials who evade subpoenas MORE (D-Calif.) called the plan “immoral, unethical, unpatriotic and, now, standard procedure.”

Giuliani added to Fox News on Friday that he won't go to Ukraine "in order to remove any political suggestion."

"I will step back and I'll just watch it unfold," he said.

The news comes after Mueller earlier this year concluded his probe into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. Mueller did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired with Russia, though he detailed extensive contacts between Trump associates and Russian figures.

Democrats are pushing for an unredacted version of the Mueller report, over which Trump has exerted executive privilege. The House Judiciary Committee voted this week to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over Mueller's unredacted report and the underlying evidence.

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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/443233-giuliani-cancels-trip-to-ukraine-to-press-biden-investigation

2019-05-11 10:05:01Z
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French forces rescue American during raid to free hostages in Africa - ABC News

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https://abcnews.go.com/International/french-forces-rescue-american-raid-free-tourists-burkina/story?id=62968346

2019-05-11 10:28:00Z
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Havoc in Hong Kong Legislature Over Extradition Bill - The New York Times

HONG KONG — Anger over a proposal that would let people suspected of crimes be extradited to mainland China led to pandemonium in Hong Kong’s legislature on Saturday, as lawmakers scuffled and at least one was carried out of the chamber on a stretcher.

It was the most vivid display to date of the deep divide in the semiautonomous Chinese city over the legislation. Tens of thousands of people marched on the Legislative Council last month to protest the bill, the largest demonstration in Hong Kong since the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement in 2014.

The bill would let Hong Kong’s government send people suspected of crimes to jurisdictions with which it does not currently have extradition agreements. The government says it is urgently needed because a Hong Kong man accused of killing his girlfriend in Taiwan last year could otherwise go free.

Both sides of the dispute agree that the man should face trial. But opposition lawmakers, rights groups, lawyers’ associations, foreign governments and prominent voices in Hong Kong’s powerful business community have expressed concern that the extradition bill would subject people in the city to the mainland Chinese legal system, which is opaque and heavily influenced by the governing Communist Party.

Pro-democracy opposition lawmakers have tried to stop the bill, proposing a narrower alternative that would allow extradition only to Taiwan. The opposition, which lost much of its clout after several pro-democracy lawmakers were disqualified in 2016 and 2017, is waging a procedural fight against the proposal.

The chaos erupted on Saturday as two committees tried to meet simultaneously to consider the bill — one led by the opposition and the other by pro-Beijing lawmakers, each claiming that the other was illegitimate. Gary Fan, a member of the opposition camp, was taken out of the legislature on a stretcher after he fell while trying to take a microphone away from another politician. His office said later that he was conscious and awaiting treatment at a hospital.

Wu Chi-wai, a pro-democracy lawmaker, struggled with security guards.CreditVincent Yu/Associated Press

The government has said it needs the bill’s broad authorization for extraditions to keep the city from becoming a haven for criminal suspects. But opponents say opening up extraditions to mainland China would further erode the unique legal status of Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to China in 1997 under a framework called “one country, two systems.” That arrangement allows the city its own government and legal and economic systems, as well as far better protection of civil liberties than on the mainland.

Mainland China has long been excluded from Hong Kong’s extradition agreements. On Thursday, the city’s top official, Carrie Lam, denied that that was because of concerns about the quality of its judicial system. Several opposition lawmakers were removed from that meeting for interrupting Ms. Lam and calling her a liar.

After business groups raised concerns this year that the bill could put people at risk of being sent to the mainland over financial disputes, the government dropped nine economic crimes from the list of offenses that could lead to extradition.

But that did not mollify all the bill’s critics. The Hong Kong Bar Association asked last month why, if mainland courts could not be trusted to deal with economic crimes, they should be trusted with handling other criminal cases.

This past week, a United States congressional commission sharply criticized the extradition proposal, saying it “would diminish Hong Kong’s reputation as a safe place for U.S. and international business operations, and could pose increased risks for U.S. citizens and port calls in the territory.”

Image

Gary Fan, an opposition lawmaker, was taken away on a stretcher after falling during the pandemonium.CreditJames Pomfret/Reuters

The report also said the bill could violate provisions of the U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, which outlines American policy toward the city. Under that legislation, if Hong Kong is deemed to be insufficiently autonomous from China, the president can suspend agreements with the city on trade, investment, visas and extraditions.

Edward Yau, Hong Kong’s commerce secretary, said the questions raised by the American commission’s report showed why Hong Kong lawmakers needed to examine the proposal “so that we can make the bill workable and we can allow different views to be expressed.”

Taiwan officials have asked the Hong Kong authorities for help in extraditing Chan Tong-kai, the man suspected of killing his girlfriend. But they have also raised objections to the legislation. China considers self-governing Taiwan to be part of its territory, and Taiwan has said it will oppose any agreement that undermines its sovereignty.

A spokesman for Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said on Thursday that Taiwan would not pursue the extradition of Mr. Chan if the extradition legislation put Taiwanese visitors and residents in Hong Kong at risk of being sent to mainland China. Opposition lawmakers say that undermines the government’s claim that the bill must be passed now.

Mr. Chan was convicted in Hong Kong last month of money laundering in connection with the possession of his dead girlfriend’s cash and valuables, and he was sentenced to 29 months in prison. With time served and good behavior, he could be released in October, said John Lee, Hong Kong’s secretary for security.

Local officials have said they fear Mr. Chan could flee the city after his release unless an extradition arrangement with Taiwan is reached first.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/asia/hong-kong-extradition-law.html

2019-05-11 08:19:56Z
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Hong Kong lawmakers fight over extradition law - BBC News

Fighting erupted in Hong Kong's legislature on Saturday over planned changes to the law allowing suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial.

Several lawmakers were injured and one was taken to hospital as politicians clashed in the chamber.

Critics believe the proposed switch to the extradition law would erode Hong Kong's freedoms.

But authorities say they need to make the change so they can extradite a murder suspect to Taiwan.

One pro-Beijing lawmaker called it "a sad day for Hong Kong".

Pro-democracy lawmaker James To originally led the session on the controversial extradition bill but earlier this week those supportive of the new law replaced him as chairman.

Tensions boiled over on Saturday, with politicians swearing and jumping over tables amid a crowd of reporters as they fought to control the microphone.

Pro-democracy legislator Gary Fan collapsed and was carried out on a stretcher, while one pro-Beijing legislator was later seen with his arm in a sling.

Why change the extradition laws?

Under a policy known as "One Country, Two Systems", Hong Kong has a separate legal system to mainland China.

Beijing regained control over the former British colony in 1997 on the condition it would allow the territory "a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs" for 50 years.

But Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam earlier this year announced plans to change the law so suspects could be extradited to Taiwan, Macau or mainland China on a case-by-case basis.

Ms Lam has cited the case of a 19-year-old Hong Kong man who allegedly murdered his pregnant girlfriend while on holiday in Taiwan before fleeing home.

While Taiwan has sought his extradition, Hong Kong officials say they cannot help as they do not have an extradition agreement with Taiwan.

Why object to the switch?

The proposed change has generated huge criticism.

Protesters against the law marched on the streets last month in the biggest rally since 2014's pro-democracy Umbrella Movement demonstrations.

Even the normally conservative business community has objected. The International Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong said the bill has "gross inadequacies" which could mean people risk "losing freedom, property and even their life".

And Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, told the government-funded broadcaster RTHK last month the proposal was "an assault on Hong Kong's values, stability and security".

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48237316

2019-05-11 08:16:01Z
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Hong Kong legislators brawl over contentious extradition law - Reuters

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Scuffles broke out in Hong Kong’s legislature on Saturday between pro-democracy lawmakers and those loyal to Beijing over an extradition law that will extend Beijing’s powers over the financial hub.

Pro-democracy lawmakers clash with pro-Beijing lawmakers during a meeting for control of a meeting room to consider the controversial extradition bill, in Hong Kong, China May 11, 2019. REUTERS/James Pomfret

One person was taken to hospital.

The former British colony is trying to enact rules that would allow people accused of a crime, including foreigners, to be extradited from the city to countries without formal extradition agreements, including mainland China.

Opponents fear the law would erode rights and legal protections in the free-wheeling financial hub - freedoms that were guaranteed when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Tempers boiled over when pro-democracy lawmakers and the pro-Beijing majority tried to hold separate hearings on the bill.

Scuffles erupted and lawmakers clambered over tables, cursed one another and piled into each other as security personnel tried to maintain order.

One pro-democracy lawmaker, Gary Fan, fell heavily and had to be stretchered off to hospital. Several pro-Beijing lawmakers also fell, with one appearing later with his arm in a sling.

“It’s a sad day for Hong Kong,” said pro-establishment lawmaker Elizabeth Quat.

“We laughed at Taiwan’s legislature in the past, but Hong Kong’s is even worse,” she told reporters.

The bill is the latest lightning rod for Hong Kong people worried about Beijing’s powers over the city that was promised a high degree of autonomy under a “one country, two systems” formula when it returned to Chinese rule.

More than 130,000 opponents of the bill marched against it two weeks ago, while several thousand gathered outside the legislature on Friday night to demand it be scrapped.

Even Hong Kong’s normally conservative business community has expressed opposition. The International Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said the bill had “gross inadequacies” and would put people at “risk of losing freedom, property and even their life in future on being surrendered”.

‘RISKS FOR U.S.’

Hong Kong’s Bar Association has said the law lacked sufficient safeguards for individuals to face a fair trial in mainland China and it noted difficulties in validating any evidence put forward by Chinese authorities.

The United States weighed into the controversy this week when a U.S. congressional commission said the law could extend China’s “coercive reach” and create serious risks for U.S. national security and economic interests in Hong Kong.

The U.S. commission even said U.S. navy might have to stop visits to Hong Kong.

China rejected the report saying Hong Kong affairs were an internal matter.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has insisted on the need for arrangements to extradite offenders to China and Taiwan, an island Beijing claims as its own, and other countries that don’t have extradition treaties with the city.

She has cited the case of a Hong Kong man who allegedly murdered his girlfriend in Taiwan last year, and who has since fled back to Hong Kong, as a major reason for rushing through the legislation with minimal public consultation.

Yet Taiwan authorities have since said they opposed Hong Kong’s extradition bill, and won’t agree to an ad hoc extradition arrangement for the murder suspect even if the bill was passed.

Slideshow (2 Images)

Hong Kong’s opposition democratic lawmakers hold less than a third of the seats in the city’s 70-seat legislature, meaning they can’t veto the legislation when it goes to a final vote, possibly in weeks.

“We will make use of all the rules of procedures to delay the legislation as much as we can,” said Democrat Lam Cheuk-ting.

Some activists have called for more street protests.

Reporting by James Pomfret and Jessie Pang; Editing by Robert Birsel

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-politics-extradition/hong-kong-legislators-brawl-over-contentious-extradition-law-idUSKCN1SH04H

2019-05-11 04:33:00Z
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Jumat, 10 Mei 2019

2 decorated French soldiers killed in rescue mission that saved American, other hostages in Africa - Fox News

An American citizen is among a group of four hostages who have been freed in western Africa following a French special forces military operation that resulted in the deaths of two of their own soldiers, the Elysee announced Friday.

France said the hostages were rescued Thursday night following a battle in Burkina Faso.

PASTOR, 5 OTHERS KILLED IN BURKINA FASO CHURCH ATTACK

The statement from France said President Emmanuel Macron "bows with emotion and gravity at the sacrifice of our two soldiers, who gave their lives to save those of our fellow citizens".

They were identified as petty officers Cédric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello. A Facebook post by the French Navy added that both men received numerous awards and recognitions throughout their military careers, such as the Gold Level of the National Defense Medal.

Cédric de Pierrepont, left, and Alain Bertoncello were killed Thursday during a hostage rescue mission in Burkina Faso, France says. (French Navy)

The hostages who were rescued, according to France, were a U.S. citizen, a South Korean national, and French nationals Patrick Picque and Laurent Lassimouillas.

The Frenchmen were tourists who were kidnapped during a safari in Benin last week, Reuters reported. The circumstances surrounding the capture of the other two were not immediately clear.

TRUMP SAYS US CITIZEN WHO WAS HELD HOSTAGE IN YEMEN FOR 18 MONTHS HAS BEEN FREED

According to one security source on the ground, Benin – where the hostages were taken – has been especially unstable following parliamentary elections in March, after electoral authorities ruled that only two parties - both loyal to the current President Patrice Talon – met the requirements to take part.

“This generated to a high-level of vulnerability coupled with instability in the borders of Burkina Faso,” said the source. “The kidnap has all the markings of the interplay between organized kidnapping gangs and jihadist groups. The death of the two French Special Forces indicates the strength and depth of these groups in capacity, local knowledge, and atmospherics.”

Another U.S. intelligence analyst in the region pointed out that an array of militias have “expanded operations” and that the situation has become especially inflamed in recent months.

Islamic extremists have become increasingly active in Burkina Faso, raising worries the militants could be infiltrating northern Benin and neighboring Togo as well. While it is not yet clear who abducted the group and why, neighboring Burkina Faso – once considered a beacon of calm in the otherwise terror-teeming region – has been a growing hotbed for some time.

The raid that saved the hostages happened Thursday night in the Western African nation of Burkina Faso, France says; the Frenchmen were tourists who were kidnapped in neighboring Benin. (Google Maps)

Over the past six months, at least 5,000 people have been killed in the Sahel – the sub-Saharan region of northern Africa – amid an escalation of inter-ethnic violence ranging from bombings to massacres to suicide attacks. Fox News also reported last year that Al Qaeda too had gained a foothold in the region, spilling over the porous border from Mali with weapons obtained in leftover Gaddafi stockpiles ascertained in Libya seven years ago.

Notably, abductions have also risen in the region and officials have been cautioning that more and more terrorist groups view seizing foreign tourists as a chance to fund their violent reigns with ransom payments.

The Sahel region near where the French citizens were kidnapped is as an ecological transition zone between the Sahara desert and Africa’s savannahs farther south. It has been roamed by militants in recent years who have targeted French nationals and other Europeans for kidnappings and demanded millions of dollars for their release. NGO groups operating on the ground also told Fox News that while French passports were once considered relatively safe compared to other nationalities like the U.S., they have become especially red-flagged by armed groups.

As it stands, more than 4,500 French troops are deployed to the area.

While the identity of the freed American has not been public, one former Pentagon official stressed that there are U.S. citizens – not just tourists – who have vanished from the area in recent areas, one of importance being aid worker Jeffrey Woodke, now 59, who was last seen in Niger in October 2016.

The U.S. State Department, in a travel advisory issued in early April, warned Americans to "reconsider travel" to Burkina Faso as "terrorist groups continue plotting attacks and kidnappings... and may conduct attacks anywhere."

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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https://www.foxnews.com/world/american-hostage-freed-in-africa-french-soldiers-killed

2019-05-10 15:32:09Z
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2 decorated French soldiers killed in rescue mission that saved American, other hostages in Africa - Fox News

An American citizen is among a group of four hostages who have been freed in western Africa following a French special forces military operation, the Elysee announced Friday.

France said the hostages were rescued Thursday night following a battle in Burkina Faso that left two of its soldiers dead.

PASTOR, 5 OTHERS KILLED IN BURKINA FASO CHURCH ATTACK

The statement from France said President Emmanuel Macron "bows with emotion and gravity at the sacrifice of our two soldiers, who gave their lives to save those of our fellow citizens".

Cédric de Pierrepont, left, and Alain Bertoncello were killed Thursday during a hostage rescue mission in Burkina Faso, France says. (French Navy)

The hostages that were rescued, according to France, were a U.S. citizen, a South Korean national, as well as French nationals Patrick Picque and Laurent Lassimouillas.

The Frenchmen were tourists who were kidnapped during a safari in Benin last week, Reuters reported. The circumstances surrounding the capture of the other two were not immediately clear.

TRUMP SAYS US CITIZEN WHO WAS HELD HOSTAGE IN YEMEN FOR 18 MONTHS HAS BEEN FREED

Islamic extremists have become increasingly active in Burkina Faso, raising worries the militants could be infiltrating northern Benin and neighboring Togo as well.

The raid that saved the hostages happened Thursday night in the Western African nation of Burkina Faso, France says. (Google Maps)

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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https://www.foxnews.com/world/american-hostage-freed-in-africa-french-soldiers-killed

2019-05-10 14:57:07Z
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