Sabtu, 17 Agustus 2019
Pro-democracy, pro-government forces stage dueling protests in Hong Kong - Fox News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydy8SG5et-4
2019-08-17 22:13:02Z
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'Protect the students': Hong Kong teachers join protests - Aljazeera.com
Hong Kong - Thousands of teachers braved hot, stormy weather on Saturday to march through downtown Hong Kong to denounce perceived government inaction and alleged police brutality against students protesting the city's extradition bill crisis, now pushing into its eleventh week.
Carrying umbrellas to battle vacillating heat and rain, teachers streamed up a main highway and snaked through a park chanting "protect the next generation of students!".
The protest began at a park called Chater Garden in downtown Hong Kong and was planned to end at the home of the city's embattled leader Carrie Lam, but was redirected by police.
"As a teacher, we have to show our support to them," said Carina Ma, a secondary school English teacher in her forties who was marching on Saturday.
"If the teachers are not the role models to stand against the brutality and violence, we cannot teach our students well. So we must come out and stand up for them."
The mood was both determined and angry, with some marchers waving their signs in front of police and chanting "Free Hong Kong!"
Teachers are the latest sector of society to join widespread demonstrations that have rocked the Chinese territory since early June.
What began as a protest against a now-shelved extradition bill that would allow suspects to be sent to mainland China has swelled into wider fury over Chinese interference into the affairs of the semi-autonomous territory.
While protesters have been demonstrating for nearly three months, the Beijing-backed government has refused to concede on any of the protesters' five main demands, which include universal suffrage, full retraction of the bill, and amnesty for all arrested protesters.
Most demonstrations have been peaceful but come nightfall fringe groups have often clashed with police, erupting into tear gas-filled chaos in the streets.
Hong Kong police said on Thursday they had arrested at least 748 people since the protests began.
'They feel really hopeless'
English teacher Ma is concerned for the safety of her students as well as their wellbeing, especially with the new school year approaching.
"I think most of them cannot focus in the lessons. They are so confused and angry and emotional," she said, noting that many are dealing with political disagreement within their families. "At school, if we can't make them feel supported and [listened to], they really feel hopeless".
Ming Lam, 34, a clinical instructor, echoed these concerns.
"Definitely I worry about their studies because they spend much time fighting for Hong Kong freedom and democracy," said Lam, fanning a baby strapped to her chest.
She also worries about her students being able to safely get to classes in different hospitals on weekends amid tear gas and roadblocks.
Hong Kong has seen several scuffles between police and protesters during the weeks of demonstrations [Al Jazeera/Casey Quackenbush]
Kristof Van den Troost, an assistant professor at the Centre for China Studies at the China University of Hong Kong, said he feared what the "government is doing to Hong Kong" amid the ongoing protests.
"[We] keep going on even though the pressure is very high to stop and give up, because everything feels so hopeless," said the 37-year-old Belgian native who has lived in Hong Kong for 14 years.
"Things are quite nervous at the moment. We expect that there will be tensions on campus soon because the school year is going to start. Things are going to be very turbulent".
'Threats' from Beijing
Tensions have been particularly high this week after an airport occupation turned bloody on Tuesday night, with protesters beating and tying up two men from mainland China.
Beijing has also ramped up its rhetoric, saying the protests were showing signs of "terrorism" and releasing images of troop build-ups across the border in Shenzhen. But some Hong Kongers remain unperturbed.
"I don't believe the Chinese government will do anything," Lam said. "I think it's only a threat".
Van den Troost agreed that Chinese military intervention seemed unlikely. "It would be bad for China itself," he said. "The main thing for Hong Kong is to stick to non-violent protests because we don't want to give the mainland government an excuse to come here."
"It's always a possibility. During June 4, 1989, people didn't expect that the army would crack down and they did, so you never know," he said, referring to the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/students-hong-kong-teachers-join-protests-190817093349631.html
2019-08-17 11:47:00Z
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US issues warrant to seize Iranian tanker off Gibraltar - CNBC
The United States has issued a warrant to seize an Iranian oil tanker caught in the standoff between Tehran and the Westin a last ditch effort to prevent the vessel from leaving Gibraltar.
The Grace 1 was seized by British Royal Marines at the western mouth of the Mediterranean on July 4 on suspicion of violating European Union sanctions by taking oil to Syria.
Gibraltar lifted the detention order on Thursday after the British territory's chief minister said he had secured written assurances from Tehran that the cargo would not go to Syria.
But with the vessel and its 2.1 million barrels of oil free to leave, the United States launched a separate legal appeal to impound the ship on the grounds that it had links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which it designates as a terrorist organization.
A federal court in Washington issued a warrant to seize the tanker, the oil it carries and nearly $1 million.
"A network of front companies allegedly laundered millions of dollars in support of such shipments," the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jessie Liu, said in a news release.
"The scheme involves multiple parties affiliated with the IRGC and furthered by the deceptive voyages of the Grace 1."
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how the warrant, which was addressed to "the United States Marshal's Service and/or any other duly authorized law enforcement officer," may be enforced.
The Pentagon declined to comment, as did Britain's Foreign Office.
Asked on Friday about the U.S. intervention, Gibraltar's chief minister, Fabian Picardo, said that would be subject to the jurisdiction of Gibraltar's Supreme Court. "It could go back to the court absolutely."
The Gibraltar Chronicle newspaper reported that the vessel was unlikely to sail before Sunday, citing an unnamed source who added that it was waiting for six new crew members including a captain to arrive.
The Grace 1 had its name erased and it was no longer flying a Panama flag.
Iranian state television had quoted Jalil Eslami, deputy head of the country's Ports and Maritime Organisation, as saying the tanker would depart for the Mediterranean after being reflagged under the Iranian flag and renamed Adrian Darya.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/17/us-issues-warrant-to-seize-iranian-tanker-off-gibraltar.html
2019-08-17 09:42:31Z
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AOC laughs off Trump claim she's 'fuming' that Tlaib, Omar now get more attention - Fox News
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez brushed off a tweet from President Trump on Friday claiming she envied the media attention fellow “Squad” members Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar have received over their recent controversy with Israel.
“Like it or not, Tlaib and Omar are fast becoming the face of the Democrat Party," the president wrote. "Cortez (AOC) is fuming, not happy about this!”
TRUMP SUGGESTS 'SETUP' AFTER TLAIB REJECTS ISRAEL'S INVITE: 'ISRAEL ACTED APPROPRIATELY!'
But the New York Democrat apparently wasn't buying it. She simply added a laughing emoji to a retweet of Trump’s tweet.
Trump’s comment came amid a string of tweets Friday responding to Tlaib’s announcement that she would not travel to Israel to visit her grandmother despite having been granted permission to enter the country from Israeli officials.
"Israel was very respectful & nice to Rep. Rashida Tlaib, allowing her permission to visit her 'grandmother,'" Trump wrote. "As soon as she was granted permission, she grandstanded & loudly proclaimed she would not visit Israel. Could this possibly have been a setup? Israel acted appropriately!"
Israeli officials initially denied entry to Tlaib and Omar, pointing to the pair’s itinerary which stated they planned to visit “Palestine” and not “Israel.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered the phrasing evidence that the two U.S. congresswomen intended to use their trip to promote a boycott of the Jewish state.
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When Tlaib initially requested the visit to her grandmother, she pledged not to "promote any boycotts against Israel." She subsequently tweeted that visiting her grandmother under those conditions would go against her beliefs.
That prompted criticism from Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, who tweeted that Tlaib apparently hated Israel more than she loved her grandmother.
Fox News’ Sam Dorman contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/aoc-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-trump-fuming-squad-rashida-tlaib-ilhan-omar-new-faces-democratic-party-israel
2019-08-17 11:25:02Z
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Crowds Pack Hong Kong Streets for Another Weekend of Protests - The New York Times
HONG KONG — Under bursts of rain and occasional rumbles of thunder, protesters packed the streets in several areas of Hong Kong on Saturday, days after both the demonstrators and the police came under criticism for taking violence and mayhem to new levels.
The events scheduled for the weekend, which began with a rally led by teachers, underscore the breadth and variety of the protest movement. The wave of demonstrations began in June to oppose a now-suspended bill that would allow extraditions to mainland China. But the movement has broadened to include other demands, including universal suffrage and an investigation of the police.
[What’s going on in Hong Kong? Here’s a look at how the protests have evolved.]
Brenda Chow, 55, a substitute teacher, was among the thousands who gathered in the Central district for the rally Saturday morning. “We are here to protect our students, to protect our children and to voice our demands,” Ms. Chow said.
In the afternoon, crowds marched with umbrellas through the residential districts of Hung Hom and To Kwa Wan, in an event meant to draw attention to the influx of tour groups from mainland China. Some demonstrators see the increase in visitors from the mainland as one aspect of China’s growing presence in Hong Kong, a former British colony that has been a semiautonomous territory since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
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“Our community has been disturbed,” said Andy Choi, 37, an engineer who has lived in the area for seven years. “Our parking lots have been remodeled as spaces for tourist buses.”
Protest activity in Hong Kong had quieted somewhat in the days before, as if all sides were stopping to catch their breath. Street clashes became intense in several parts of the city last Sunday, with the police firing tear gas into a subway station and the authorities accusing protesters of hurling gasoline bombs.
On Tuesday, there was a night of chaos at Hong Kong’s international airport, where demonstrators had forced flight cancellations for two straight days. Protesters confronted a man they accused of being a mainland Chinese police officer, pushing him to the ground and kicking him until he fainted, prompting an evacuation by ambulance.
They also surrounded a reporter for a Chinese state-run newspaper, bound his hands and feet, punched him and searched his belongings. Protesters later apologized for their behavior.
The United Nations’ human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, said this past week that there was evidence that the Hong Kong police had violated international standards for the use of less-lethal weapons like tear gas. In a statement, she urged the authorities to act with restraint.
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An animal-protection group had organized a rally for Saturday evening, to call on the police to stop sending police dogs to protest scenes, and to stop using tear gas in residential areas where they could cause discomfort to animals nearby. But organizers said Saturday morning that the event was canceled.
Protest leaders hope for a large turnout on Sunday in Victoria Park, in the Causeway Bay district. They had applied for a permit to march from the park to Central, essentially the same route taken in two enormous marches against the extradition bill in June, but the police turned them down. Organizers have appealed that decision, saying that it puts people in danger because many are likely to march regardless.
Some people marching in Hung Hom on Saturday chanted, “Go to Victoria Park on Aug. 18!”
An early sign of the movement’s continued vitality came Friday evening, when a rally in Central drew thousands of people. The gathering was peaceful and largely over by 10 p.m.
Surrounded by some of Hong Kong’s skyscrapers, the crowd watched a video message from Brian Leung, a protester known for deliberately removing his mask to show his face after he and others stormed the local legislature’s building in July. He has since left Hong Kong and faces possible arrest if he returns.
“Uncertainty surely abounds when it comes to my future,” Mr. Leung said. “I would still put the movement over my safety.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/17/world/asia/hong-kong-protests.html
2019-08-17 09:33:45Z
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U.S. issues warrant to seize Iranian tanker off Gibraltar - Reuters
GIBRALTAR (Reuters) - The United States has issued a warrant to seize an Iranian oil tanker caught in the standoff between Tehran and the West in a last ditch effort to prevent the vessel from leaving Gibraltar.
The name of Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 is seen removed as it sits anchored after the Supreme Court of the British territory lifted its detention order, in the Strait of Gibraltar, southern Spain, August 16, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca
The Grace 1 was seized by British Royal Marines at the western mouth of the Mediterranean on July 4 on suspicion of violating European Union sanctions by taking oil to Syria.
Gibraltar lifted the detention order on Thursday after the British territory’s chief minister said he had secured written assurances from Tehran that the cargo would not go to Syria.
But with the vessel and its 2.1 million barrels of oil free to leave, the United States launched a separate legal appeal to impound the ship on the grounds that it had links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which it designates as a terrorist organization.
A federal court in Washington issued a warrant to seize the tanker, the oil it carries and nearly $1 million.
“A network of front companies allegedly laundered millions of dollars in support of such shipments,” the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jessie Liu, said in a news release.
“The scheme involves multiple parties affiliated with the IRGC and furthered by the deceptive voyages of the Grace 1.”
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how the warrant, which was addressed to “the United States Marshal’s Service and/or any other duly authorized law enforcement officer,” may be enforced.
The Pentagon declined to comment, as did Britain’s Foreign Office.
Asked on Friday about the U.S. intervention, Gibraltar’s chief minister, Fabian Picardo, said that would be subject to the jurisdiction of Gibraltar’s Supreme Court. “It could go back to the court absolutely.”
The Gibraltar Chronicle newspaper reported that the vessel was unlikely to sail before Sunday, citing an unnamed source who added that it was waiting for six new crew members including a captain to arrive.
The Grace 1 had its name erased and it was no longer flying a Panama flag.
Iranian state television had quoted Jalil Eslami, deputy head of the country’s Ports and Maritime Organisation, as saying the tanker would depart for the Mediterranean after being reflagged under the Iranian flag and renamed Adrian Darya.
Writing by Kate Holton; Editing by Angus MacSwan
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-iran-tanker/u-s-issues-warrant-to-seize-iranian-tanker-off-gibraltar-idUSKCN1V7055
2019-08-17 07:57:00Z
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Jumat, 16 Agustus 2019
Captain of Iranian supertanker that's trying to leave Gibraltar 'doesn't want to stay in command,' lawyer says - Fox News
The captain of an Iranian supertanker at the center of a diplomatic standoff no longer wants to keep command of the ship, which is in need of repairs that could impede its immediate departure from Gibraltar, the sailor's lawyer said Friday.
The tanker — and its 2.1 million tons of Iranian light crude oil — seemed to perform mild maneuvers on Friday but largely remained still, shrouded in heavy fog in waters off the British overseas territory a day after authorities ended its detention for allegedly breaching European Union sanctions on Syria.
The release Thursday, as the United States reportedly maneuvered to re-seize the tanker, came as the head of the Gibraltar government said that Iran had promised him not to deliver the fuel to a sanctioned refinery in Syrian territory, although an Iranian official later disputed that those assurances had been delivered.
Any delay of the vessel's departure could provide a window of opportunity for the U.S. to mount further legal action and try to again stop the tanker amid growing confrontation with Tehran.
IRANIAN SUPERTANKER RELEASED BY GIBRALTAR, DESPITE LAST-MINUTE US ATTEMPT TO SEIZE IT
A view of the Grace 1 supertanker is seen backdropped by Gibraltar's Rock, as it stands at anchor in the British territory of Gibraltar, on Thursday.
Tensions have escalated since President Donald Trump last year unilaterally pulled the U.S. out of the 2015 nuclear deal signed by Iran and other world powers.
The decision re-imposed sanctions on Iran, stopping billions of dollars in business deals, largely halting the sale of Iran's crude oil internationally and sharply depreciating Iran's currency, the rial. More recently, the Persian Gulf has seen attacks on oil tankers and other high-stakes confrontations.
In early July, Tehran seized the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero in apparent retaliation for the detention of the Grace 1. Analysts had said the release of the Grace 1 by Gibraltar could see the Stena Impero go free.
But that prospect remained up in the air on Friday with a lawyer representing three Grace 1 crew members who were released from detention on Thursday casting doubts on the vessel's immediate departure.
Richard Wilkinson told The Associated Press that the Indian national who commanded the oil tanker until it was detained in early July had asked his Iranian employers to replace him.
"He doesn't want to stay in command of the ship, he wants to go home, because he wasn't happy to go back and pick up the broken pieces," said Wilkinson. "But he's a professional skipper and needs to wait for a new crew to do a proper handover."
A stern view of the Grace 1 super tanker in the British territory of Gibraltar on Thursday.
The lawyer said the tanker had been due for repairs in Gibraltar even before it was seized, which impeded the replacement of certain parts, making the tanker unfit for an immediate long voyage.
Adding to the uncertainty, the next possible destination of the cargo became a point of contention as Iranian and Gibraltar authorities showed disagreement over the terms that led to the ship's release.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi on Friday said the country had made no commitments to gain the release of its tanker, while the chief minister of Gibraltar insisted on the written assurances it had received.
The captors of the vessel "raised the issue of commitment in a bid to make up for their humiliation caused by this illegal act and piracy," Abbas Mousavi said, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
"We announced that Syria was not its destination and we have upheld the same ... and reiterated that it was nobody's business even if it was Syria," he added.
In response, the Gibraltar government issued a statement saying that "the evidence is clear and the facts speak louder than the self-serving political statements we are hearing today."
Authorities in the territory at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea didn't reveal if the vessel was expected to leave any time soon. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said it was now strictly a matter of the ship's agents and owners.
"She is able to leave as soon as she organizes the logistics necessary in order to sail a ship of that size wherever it is going next," Fabian Picardo told the BBC. "It could be today. It could be tomorrow. This is a matter now exclusively for the ship agents and ship owners."
Authorities in Gibraltar had said Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice had requested to seize the ship and its cargo, but Picardo said that such a request should be made directly to the territory's judiciary and not the government.
No U.S. claim had been lodged by the end of business day on Friday, a spokesman from the Gibraltar Supreme Court told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to be identified by name in media reports.
Wilkinson, the Grace 1 captain's lawyer, said it would be challenging for the U.S. to secure the detention under the argument of applying U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
"They seem to want to enforce American sanctions in British territorial waters. Good luck with that," Wilkinson said, adding that "the U.S. is pretty late in the day."
"You need to get a formal application to the court, just writing a letter to the government is not enough," he said.
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Earlier, authorities in the U.S. had announced plans to revoke visas for the country of any crew member on the Iranian oil tanker. Wilkinson said that the measure wouldn't be problematic for most of the crew, who come from Southeast Asian countries, including India.
In a statement, the State Department accused the Grace 1 of assisting Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps in evading U.S. sanctions on oil exports from the country. The Corps is designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. and subject to separate penalties.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/iranian-supertanker-captains-lawyer-speaks
2019-08-16 18:25:20Z
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