Sabtu, 13 Juli 2019
Hong Kong protesters take aim at Chinese traders - Al Jazeera English
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9sMvFwyAiU
2019-07-13 18:14:41Z
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2 Americans killed during attack at a Somalia hotel - ABC News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKCnL7UJKwI
2019-07-13 16:21:11Z
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Turkey bought Russian S-400 missiles designed to down NATO planes. For the US, that's a problem - CNN
But the deal, worth about $2 billion and consummated this week, has consequences far beyond the cost to Ankara's defense budget.
It calls into question the decades-long strategic relationship between Turkey and the US, and even Turkey's credentials as a NATO member. It probably nullifies a massive contract for Turkey to buy US F-35 combat aircraft -- a plane the S-400 is designed to shoot down.
The deal also solidifies a deepening relationship between Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin -- two leaders with little time for dissent at home and who need each other in Syria. And it provides the Turkish armed forces with an advanced weapon capable of covering most of Syria and their old adversary Greece (also a NATO member.)
The S-400 can shoot down aircraft at a distance of up to 150 miles (240 km) and intercept ballistic missiles up to 38 miles away.
In essence it is a destabilizing purchase in a region that could do without any more destabilizing. It is also an assertion by Turkey of its independence as a major regional power.
Tension between Turkey and US
Erdogan and the United States have been at odds for years. The Turkish President said the US had protected Fethullah Gulen, the cleric (and Pennsylvania resident) he blames for an attempted coup in 2016. Erdogan declared: "The coup plotter is in your country. You are nurturing him there. It's out in the open."
He has demanded Gulen's extradition countless times, but there's no sign US authorities will accede.
Erdogan and other senior members of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have often played to anti-American sentiment among the party's conservative, nationalist base.
Erdogan was also infuriated by the US alliance with the Kurdish militia in Syria -- the YPG -- in the campaign to defeat ISIS. Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist group affiliated with the PKK, which has fought the Turkish state for more than three decades.
When the US considered training a mainly Kurdish contingent to guard the Turkish border last year, Erdogan tweeted: "The US has now acknowledged that it has established a terror army along our borders."
The tension persists. The two sides can't agree on the establishment of a safe zone for refugees inside northern Syria. And this week, CNN reported that US military intelligence is observing a buildup of Turkish armored units that may be planning cross-border combat operations -- amid growing concerns that US troops operating in northern Syria will be caught in the middle.
"There are some indications" that Turkey is preparing for an "incursion" into Syria, but the intelligence is not yet definitive, one official said.
For its part Washington has been exasperated by prison sentences handed to US citizens in Turkey (Pastor Andrew Brunson being the most prominent example) and Turkish staff working at the US Embassy -- seeing them as politically motivated. The Trump administration retaliated by imposing sanctions on senior Turkish ministers.
There was also tension over the Saudi response to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi -- and over what was perceived as an ambivalent approach in Ankara to confronting ISIS, especially in 2015-16. Sporadic threats by Turkey to close the US airbase at Incirlik have been another irritant.
But all these difficulties pale in comparison to the fallout from the S-400 deal. Even before the first deliveries, the US warned that Turkey would be suspended from the F-35 combat jet program and stopped training its pilots.
Erdogan has said that excluding Turkey from the F-35 program would be "robbery," since Ankara has already invested more than $1 billion in the consortium building it. Altogether it planned to buy 116 planes.
The US also threatened new sanctions should Turkey complete the S-400 contract, prompting Erdogan to claim on the sidelines of the G-20 summit: "It is out of question between two strategic partners. I think it should not happen."
US President Donald Trump has suggested the sanctions could be diluted, but many in Congress are determined Turkey should be penalized. According to a US federal law (the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act), the administration must levy at least five different penalties against Turkey. Just how punitive they will be is yet to be seen.
NATO is also concerned that the S-400 deal will affect Turkey's ability to cooperate with other alliance members. "Interoperability of our armed forces is fundamental to NATO for the conduct of our operations and missions," said one official.
Putin stirs up trouble
Russia is of course delighted that it has not only sold its S-400 to a member of NATO but helped drive a deeper wedge between Turkey and the US. The Turkish purchase is also a great shop window for the Russian defense industry. India is expected to be the next customer for the S-400.
And then there's Syria. President Vladimir Putin seduced Turkey into joining the "Astana" process with Russia and Iran on the future of Syria, essentially sidelining the United Nations and the US. Now, Erdogan needs Russian support to prevent an offensive by the Assad regime against the rebel-held province of Idlib, where Turkey has peacekeeping troops but also backs several rebel factions.
If Turkey wants to have any sway on the future shape of Syria, it has to engage with Russia. Buying the S-400 helped cement a necessary if not necessarily warm relationship.
Above all, the arrival of the first batch of S-400 equipment in Ankara on Friday is the most dramatic instance of a trend that stretches back to the Arab Spring. Erdogan, already in power for more than 15 years, wants to fashion Turkey as an independent and influential power in the region, no longer beholden to the United States and no longer in need of the American nuclear umbrella that protected it for decades.
Holding out an olive branch Friday, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Turkey was still considering buying US Patriot missiles "to cover our need for a long-range air and missile defense system." He also said the purchase of the S-400 "does not in any way mean a change of [Turkey's] strategic orientation."
But the course of Turkey's strategy seems set.
As Aaron Stein puts it in Foreign Affairs, Erdogan and the AKP "don't think their relationship with Washington is nearly as valuable as Washington seems to think it is."
Taking up the thread, Steven A. Cook, a longtime Turkey watcher, says Ankara "is not the partner it used to be. In the future, U.S. policy should be based on the fact that while Turkey is not an enemy of the United States, it is also not a friend."
And you don't share your best jets with countries that are not your friends.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/13/europe/turkey-russia-missiles-nato-analysis-intl/index.html
2019-07-13 16:06:00Z
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Hong Kong police pepper spray protesters at the Chinese border - CNN
According to iCable, protesters against the practice of parallel trading confronted a group of traders in Sheung Shui who buy goods in Hong Kong to sell in China. Police used pepper spray to end the confrontation, after which small scuffles broke out between protesters and police.
In a video posted on social media, Senior Superintendent Kong Wing-cheung of the Hong Kong police public relations department said the protest had now ended, and called on demonstrators to leave the area.
"Police discovered there was a confrontation among protesters. However, when the police intervened, a few individual protesters tried to push the police," Kong said.
"The police also discovered that some had planned and distributed helmets, eye masks on a large scale near the Sheung Shui MTR station. They also dismantled steel barriers on the roadside and used water barriers to block the roads," he added.
Kong urged protesters to "cease all violent behaviors and to leave as soon as possible," asking those not involved in the demonstration to "leave peacefully and not participate in any other illegal behaviors."
While Saturday's protests targeted parallel trading, which is believed to lead to shortages of goods on the island, the most dramatic protests in recent months have centered on a bill that would allow Hong Kong residents to be extradited to mainland China. Millions have participated in the mass demonstrations against the bill.
The bill was suspended on June 18 but not formally withdrawn, while Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said it was "dead" and there was "no such plan" to reanimate it.
Protesters, however, fear the government could revisit the bill, and are calling for its complete withdrawal as well as Lam's resignation. On July 7, tens of thousands of people marched through the Kowloon side of Hong Kong, hoping to appeal to tourists from mainland China.
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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US service member killed in Afghanistan, military says - Fox News
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.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-service-member-killed-afghanistan
2019-07-13 13:59:06Z
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Clashes erupt as thousands march in Hong Kong against Chinese traders - Fox News
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.
Protesters hold up words that read: "Strict enforcing of law against smugglers of grey goods" in Hong Kong Saturday, July 13, 2019. Several thousand people are marching in Hong Kong against traders from mainland China in what is fast becoming a summer of unrest in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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.
Police attack a protester in Hong Kong Saturday, July 13, 2019. 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. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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.
Protesters hold up words that read: "Strict enforcing of law against smugglers of grey goods" in Hong Kong Saturday, July 13, 2019. Several thousand people are marching in Hong Kong against traders from mainland China in what is fast becoming a summer of unrest in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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."
https://www.foxnews.com/world/clashes-erupt-as-thousands-march-in-hong-kong-targeting-chinese-traders
2019-07-13 13:48:33Z
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US service member killed in Afghanistan, military says - Fox News
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.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-service-member-killed-afghanistan
2019-07-13 12:18:23Z
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