https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/13/china/hong-kong-protests-border-intl/index.html
2019-07-13 14:34:00Z
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A U.S. service member died early Saturday morning while deployed in Afghanistan, military officials said.
The NATO-led Resolute Support mission gave no further details and withheld identifying the service member, pending notification to next of kin.
This death marks the 10th U.S. service member to be killed in combat in Afghanistan this year. It comes following seven rounds of U.S.-led peace talks with the Taliban in Qatar.
In a telephone interview, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed told the Associated Press that the militant group was behind Saturday's killing. He said two U.S. service personnel were killed when Taliban militants attacked a tank in Sayed Abad district of central Wardak province, some 40 miles south of Kabul. The discrepancy between the number of fatalities given by the U.S. and the Taliban could not be immediately explained, but the Taliban often exaggerate their claims.
CHILD SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS AT LEAST 9, WOUNDS MORE THAN A DOZEN AT AFGHANISTAN WEDDING
The current conflict began in 2001 with the U.S.-led invasion to unseat the Taliban and hunt down al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. After nearly 18 years, it is America's longest war, in which over 2,400 American service members have died.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he wants to see a deal worked out by September 1.
On Thursday, President Trump’s nominee to be the U.S. military’s next top officer said it would be a “strategic mistake” for U.S. troops to pull out of the Middle East country prematurely. Currently, there are about 14,000 U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan, down from a high of 100,000 in 2011.
“I think it is slow, it’s painful, it’s hard – I spent a lot of my life in Afghanistan – but I also think it's necessary,” Army Gen. Mark Milley said at this confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Trump recently told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson that he wanted to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, but said he understood the risks of doing so, calling the country the “Harvard of terrorists.” The president indicated he would be open to leaving some “intelligence” forces behind if a deal can be reached with the Taliban.
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Before resigning in December, then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Bret Baier at the Reagan Library in California if the U.S. pulled its forces from Afghanistan there would be more terrorist attacks against the United States.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Several thousand people marched in Hong Kong on Saturday against traders from mainland China in what is fast becoming a summer of unrest in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
Violent clashes broke out at the end of the march between police and a group of mostly young protesters who say they believe peaceful demonstrations have failed to bring about change.
After issuing a warning, police moved forward to disperse the crowd with pepper spray and batons. In panicky scenes, fleeing protesters scrambled over each other, some falling to the ground. Some had donned protective masks and helmets ahead of the confrontation.
Earlier, walking behind a banner that read "Strictly enforce the law, stop cross-border traders," the marchers passed by pharmacies and cosmetic shops that are popular with Chinese tourists and traders who bring goods back to sell in the mainland. Many of the stores were shuttered because of the protest.
EXTRADITION BILL THAT PROMPTED MASS PROTESTS IN HONG KONG IS DEAD, LAM SAYS
Major demonstrations in the past month against a proposal to change extradition laws have reawakened other movements in Hong Kong. Thousands marched last weekend against middle-aged mainland women who sing loudly and dance somewhat provocatively in a public park. Some of the women receive tips from older men.
The protests have a common refrain: Hong Kong's government, led by a non-democratically elected chief executive, is not addressing the people's concerns.
Amy Chan, a 25-year-old bank employee who joined Saturday's march, called it a continuing action building on the momentum of the anti-extradition law protests.
"There isn't an anti-extradition protest every day to keep us going," she said. "I hope that through today's action, people in Hong Kong will not forget that there are actually many other social issues waiting to be solved."
The city's leader, Carrie Lam, has pledged to do a better job of listening to all sectors of society, but many protesters want her to resign.
HONG KONG DEMONSTRATORS STORM GOVERNMENT BUILDING, POLICE FIRE TEAR GAS TO DISPERSE PROTESTERS
Her government proposed legislation in February that would have allowed suspects to be extradited to China to face trial. The proposal ignited concerns that the rights and freedoms guaranteed to the former British colony for 50 years after its 1997 return to China are being chipped away at by a pro-Beijing government in Hong Kong.
Lam suspended the legislation indefinitely after protesters blocked the legislature on June 12, preventing the Legislative Council from meeting to debate the extradition bill. Faced with continuing protests, she declared the bill "dead" on Tuesday, but protesters remain unsatisfied, demanding it be formally withdrawn.
The march Saturday took place in Sheung Shui, a district that lies across the border from the mainland city of Shenzhen. Organizer Ronald Leung, a leader of the North District Parallel Imports Concern Group, said residents have been complaining about the issue of Chinese traders for many years.
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"Citizens are really angry," he said. "They want to come out and show their concern over the cross-border traders problem in the area, which is never solved."
A U.S. service member died early Saturday morning while deployed in Afghanistan, military officials said.
The NATO-led Resolute Support mission gave no further details and withheld identifying the service member, pending notification to next of kin.
This death marks the 10th U.S. service member to be killed in combat in Afghanistan this year. It comes following seven rounds of U.S.-led peace talks with the Taliban in Qatar.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he wants to see a deal worked out by September 1.
CHILD SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS AT LEAST 9, WOUNDS MORE THAN A DOZEN AT AFGHANISTAN WEDDING
On Thursday, President Trump’s nominee to be the U.S. military’s next top officer said it would be a “strategic mistake” for U.S. troops to pull out of the Middle East country prematurely. Currently, there are about 14,000 U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan, down from a high of 100,000 in 2011.
“I think it is slow, it’s painful, it’s hard – I spent a lot of my life in Afghanistan – but I also think it's necessary,” Army Gen. Mark Milley said at this confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Trump recently told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson that he wanted to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, but said he understood the risks of doing so, calling the country the “Harvard of terrorists.” The president indicated he would be open to leaving some “intelligence” forces behind if a deal can be reached with the Taliban.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Before resigning in December, then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Bret Baier at the Reagan Library in California if the U.S. pulled its forces from Afghanistan there would be more terrorist attacks against the United States.
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has said discussions would "continue" over the composition of a body to draw up a post-war constitution for the country.
Meeting with Russian envoy Alexander Lavrentiev, Assad discussed ongoing efforts towards "creating a committee to discuss the constitution", the presidency said on Friday.
The president and Moscow's representative "agreed to continue working and intensely coordinate between both sides on the next steps," it said in a statement.
On Wednesday, the Syrian government and visiting United Nations Envoy Geir Pedersen announced "progress" towards forming the body, whose composition has dragged for more than 17 months.
Disagreements have raged over the names to be included in the committee, a third of which are to be nominated by the government, another by the opposition, and a final third by the UN envoy.
Damascus hopes to amend the current constitution, while the opposition wants to write a new one from scratch.
The UN envoy met the Syrian Negotiation Commission opposition grouping late Thursday "to discuss the results of Pedersen's latest visit to Damascus", it said on Twitter, without further details.
Pro-government newspaper al-Watan on Tuesday reported that a body could start work as early as September if Damascus agreed to Pedersen's list.
Last month, the United States said it was time to scrap the constitutional committee initiative and come up with other ways to end the war.
Numerous rounds of UN-led peace talks have failed to end a conflict that has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests.
In recent years, a parallel negotiations track led by regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey has taken precedence.
With key military backing from Russia, government forces have retaken large parts of Syria from rebel groups since 2015, and now control around 60 percent of the country.