Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters block airport - BBC News

Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong have blocked roads to the territory's airport, disrupting the operation of the major Asian transport hub.

Trains to the airport were halted and roads blocked. Passengers had to walk to the terminal. Most flights operated as normal, but delays were reported.

Thousands of black-clad protesters then tried to enter the terminal building but were stopped by riot police.

On Saturday, police and protesters clashed during a banned rally.

Live warning shots were fired into the air and tear gas and water cannon used to disperse tens of thousands of protesters.

Images later showed riot police hitting people with batons and using pepper spray on a train in Hong Kong's metro.

Police say they were called to the scene amid violence against citizens by "radical protesters".

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People took to the streets on Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the Beijing government banning fully democratic elections in China's special administrative region.

The political crisis in Hong Kong - a former British colony - is now in its third month with no end in sight, the BBC China correspondent Stephen McDonnell says.

What happened at Hong Kong's airport?

Thousands of protesters gathered at the main bus station near Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok airport on Sunday morning.

Airport staff reinforced by police officers stopped their advance.

The demonstrators then moved to other parts of the complex, blocking roads and other transport links.

The airport is built on a tiny outlying island and can only be reached via a series of bridges.

"If we disrupt the airport, more foreigners will read the news about Hong Kong," one protester was quoted as saying by Reuters.

At one point the airport express train service was suspended. Officials said this was because of debris thrown onto the line.

Following the arrival of riot police, demonstrators first built barricades to slow their advance, then left the airport on foot.

In August, protesters paralysed the airport for several days. Hundreds of flights had to be cancelled.

A guide to the Hong Kong protests

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-49544219

2019-09-01 13:49:20Z
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‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Dorian unleashing devastating blow in northern Bahamas, takes aim at Southeast U.S. - The Washington Post

Hurricane Dorian on Sunday morning. (NOAA)

Andrew Freedman

Editor focusing on extreme weather, climate change, science and the environment.

September 1 at 8:55 AM

With peak winds of 160 mph, Hurricane Dorian is about as powerful as an Atlantic hurricane can get as the core of its strongest winds and most dangerous storm surge moves over the northwestern Bahamas.

Dorian is the first time since the start of the satellite era that Category 5 storms have developed in the tropical Atlantic in four straight years, according to Capital Weather Gang’s tropical weather expert Brian McNoldy.

The storm is moving slowly toward Florida and the Southeast United States, but its exact track remains somewhat uncertain, with computer models shifting the storm slightly closer to the coast early Sunday compared with Saturday.

Florida may miss the full fury of this severe hurricane, but dangerous storm hazards are still possible. Coastal Georgia and the Carolinas also are at risk.

Even while the majority of computer models predict Dorian will remain just off the Florida coast, the National Hurricane Center is urging residents not to let their guard down and to continue preparing for an “extremely dangerous” hurricane.

As of 8 a.m. Saturday, the storm was centered 35 miles east of Great Abaco in the Bahamas and was headed west at 7 mph. The storm’s peak winds are now at 160 mph, and Dorian has maintained Category 4 and now Category 5 intensity for an unusually long period.

Storms this powerful typically tend to undergo cycles that weaken their high-end winds for a time.

A disastrous scenario is unfolding in the northern Bahamas, where the storm’s eyewall may sit for at least 24 hours as steering currents in the atmosphere collapse, causing Dorian to meander slowly, if not stall outright, for a time. This is the region that contains the storm’s fiercest winds and heaviest rains.

This forecast scenario could bring catastrophic wind damage, dump more than two feet of rain, and cause a storm surge, which is the storm-driven rise in water above normally dry land at the coast of at least 10 to 15 feet above normal tide levels.

In short, this is a storm that, depending on its exact track over the northern Bahamas, particularly Grand Bahama and the Abaco Islands, could reshape these locations for decades.

It’s also extremely likely to be only the second Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the Bahamas since 1983, according to Phil Klotzbach of Colorado State University. The only other is Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The international hurricane database goes back continuously only to 1983.

After models run early Saturday shifted the storm track offshore Florida, some that were run late Saturday into early Sunday shifted it back closer to the Florida coast.

Because it would take just a small shift in Dorian’s track for hazardous winds to reach Florida’s east coast, a tropical storm warning was issued for the zone from Deerfield Beach, just north of Fort Lauderdale, to Sebastian Inlet, just south of Melbourne.

While most models keep Dorian offshore Florida, the Hurricane Center wrote in its 5 a.m. Sunday advisory that a track near the coast or even landfall in Florida remain possibilities.

If the storm makes a close pass to Florida, tropical-storm-force winds could arrive as soon as Sunday night or early Monday morning. Because the storm is predicted to be a slow mover, effects from wind, rain and storm surge could be prolonged, lingering through the middle of next week.

The threat to Florida and the Southeast

Irrespective of the storm’s ultimate course near Florida’s east coast to the North Carolina Outer Banks — or even inland — significant coastal flooding is likely because of the force of Dorian’s winds and astronomically high or king tides.

The risk of a direct strike on Florida is less than it was a few days ago but has not been eliminated. Much depends on the strength of the high-pressure area that has been pushing Dorian west toward the northern Bahamas and Florida.

Most models show steering currents collapsing as Dorian nears Florida because of a weakening of the high, before it gets scooped up by a dip in the jet stream approaching the East Coast and starts turning north.

However, this collapse in steering currents is so close to Florida that some models continue to track the storm close enough for damaging impacts in parts of the state. One trend in the models overnight on Saturday and Sunday morning has been to show a slightly stronger high that brings the center of Dorian farther west, closer to the Florida coast and the Southeast coast, before making the northward turn.

However, a few models do bring it inland or come perilously close. And there is time for the models to shift further — either closer to Florida and the Carolinas or farther out to sea.

Farther north into coastal Georgia and the Carolinas, the forecast is also a nail-biter. Just small differences in where the storm starts to turn north and, eventually, northeast and the shape of the turn will determine where and whether Dorian makes landfall.

Scenarios involving a direct hit, a graze and a near miss appear equally likely based on available forecasts. As the Hurricane Center writes: “Residents in these areas should continue to monitor the progress of Dorian.”

The shape of the coastline from northern Florida through the Carolinas means there is a risk of significant storm-surge flooding there even if the storm’s center remains just offshore.

However, unlike with notorious recent storms such as Matthew and Florence, it’s unlikely that the Carolinas will experience devastating rainfall amounts from Hurricane Dorian, as the storm will pick up forward speed on nearing the Carolinas.

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2019-09-01 12:34:11Z
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Gridlock as protesters gather at Hong Kong airport following violent night - CNN

While most protesters did not get close to the airport terminals -- after a court injunction and heavy police presence was put in place following clashes there last month -- they succeeded in blocking roads and and prompted the city's subway operator to suspend its airport service. Photos also showed extreme traffic congestion on a key bridge leading to the airport, with travelers and airport staff forced to get out and walk.

Tung Chung, the nearest town and subway stop to the airport, was flooded with protesters and confused travelers as the sun went down Sunday. Demonstrators retreated from the airport itself in the face of heavy police presence, but not before they succeeded in disrupting every way to and from the terminals, including throwing objects onto rail tracks, halting the Airport Express train.

Inside Tung Chung station, protesters vandalized ticket gates and fittings. Barricades on the streets near the airport were also set alight in front of the police advance. Protesters building a barricade nearby told CNN they were trying to stop police traveling to the airport in order to give others more time to leave.

CNN saw flight attendants run past a burning barricade as they attempted to make it to the airport in time. Hundreds of passengers remain stranded in the terminal itself, with few transport options to get into the city.

Disruptions expected

The city's transport network had braced for trouble, with local airline Cathay Dragon relocating its check-in counters, and the airport closing some short-term parking. It's the 13th consecutive weekend of protests in Hong Kong, concluding days of escalation in which a number of activist leaders and lawmakers were arrested, and speculation heightened about China's strategy toward the city's pro-democracy movement.

After three months of protest, Hong Kong's political crisis appears increasingly intractable. Chief Executive Carrie Lam has refused to rule out invoking broad emergency powers, and Reuters reported this week that Beijing had quashed Lam's proposal to concede to some of the protest movement's five demands.

The previous day's protests ended bitterly, with hundreds gathered in anger outside Mong Kok police station. At least 51 people were arrested late that night, with dozens rounded up in Kowloon's Prince Edward subway station. Graphic video footage showed police swinging batons in the station, landing some blows on individuals already lying on the ground.

Police said Sunday that the subway clearance operation was a response to citizen reports of disruption and vandalization, and that those arrested had been accused of participating in an unauthorized assembly and "criminal damage" among other charges.

Earlier on Saturday, protesters throwing petrol bombs and setting fires had been quickly met with tear gas, rubber bullets and a water cannon -- a suggestion that Hong Kong police's patience is waning after a long summer of conflict.

Interfering with airport operations has been one of the protesters' most-criticized tactics. An occupation of the main terminal in early August saw flight cancellations, the mobbing of two mainland Chinese citizens, and ultimately a court injunction. Chinese authorities described those chaotic scenes as breaking "the bottom line of the law, morality and humanity," and while some travelers speaking to CNN expressed sympathy for the movement, others gave voice to frustration.

Some protesters later apologized for taking the August airport protest too far.

CNN's Helen Regan, Kenneth Leung, Joshua Berlinger and Tim Schwarz contributed reporting.

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2019-09-01 10:09:00Z
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Hong Kong: Police violently tackle suspected protesters on metro - BBC News

Riot police have clashed with suspected protesters in Hong Kong's metro system after thousands marched in defiance of a ban.

Protesters lit fires, threw petrol bombs and attacked the parliament building.

In response, police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon to disperse crowds, and fired live warning shots as they tried to clear the streets.

Hong Kong has now seen 13 successive weeks of demonstrations.

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2019-09-01 09:12:52Z
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Hong Kong police storm subway with batons as protests rage - Fox News

How will Hong Kong protests end?

The Hudson Institute’s Chinese strategy Director Mike Pillsbury says President Trump is not directly intervening on Hong Kong protests.

HONG KONG – Protesters in Hong Kong threw gasoline bombs at government headquarters and set fires in the streets, while police stormed a subway car and hit passengers with batons and pepper spray in scenes that seem certain to inflame tensions further in a city riven by nearly three months of pro-democracy demonstrations.

Police had denied permission for a march Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of a decision by China against fully democratic elections in Hong Kong, but protesters took to the streets anyway, as they have all summer. They provoked and obstructed police repeatedly but generally retreated once riot officers moved in, avoiding some of the direct clashes that characterized earlier protests.

Late at night, though, video from Hong Kong broadcaster TVB showed police on the platform of Prince Edward subway station swinging batons at passengers who backed into one end of a train car behind umbrellas. The video also shows pepper spray being shot through an open door at a group seated on the floor while one man holds up his hands.

HONG KONG PROTESTERS DEFY BAN TO CLASH WITH POLICE, HIT WITH TEAR GAS, WATER CANNON

It wasn't clear whether all the passengers were protesters. Police said they entered the station to make arrests after protesters assaulted others and damaged property inside. The TVB video was widely shared on social media as another example of police brutality during the protests. Angry crowds gathered outside Prince Edward and nearby Mong Kok station, where police said they made arrests after protesters vandalized the customer service center and damaged ticket machines.

Also Saturday, two police officers fired two warning shots into the air "to protect their own safety" after being surrounded by protesters near Victoria Park, the government announced. It was the second time police fired warning shots following an incident the previous weekend.

Protests erupted in early June in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous Chinese territory of 7.4 million people. A now-shelved China extradition bill brought to the fore simmering concerns about what many in the city see as an erosion of the rights and freedoms that residents are supposed to have under a "one country, two systems" framework.

The mostly young, black-shirted protesters took over roads and major intersections in shopping districts on Saturday as they rallied and marched with no obvious destination in mind.

Authorities closed streets and a subway stop near the Chinese government office and parked water cannon trucks and erected additional barriers nearby, fearing protesters might target the building. The office would have been the endpoint of the march that police did not allow.

Instead, a group of hard-line protesters decided to take on police guarding government headquarters from behind large barriers that ring the building to keep demonstrators at bay.

While others marched back and forth nearby, a large crowd wearing helmets and gas masks gathered outside. They pointed laser beams at the officers' heads and threw objects over the barriers and at them. Police responded with tear gas, and protesters threw gasoline bombs into the compound.

Then came the blue water. A water cannon truck fired regular water, followed by repeated bursts of colored water, staining protesters and nearby journalists and leaving blue puddles in the street.

The standoff continued for some time, but protesters started moving back as word spread that police were headed in their direction. A few front-line protesters hurled gasoline bombs at the officers in formation, but there were no major clashes as police cleared the area.

Protesters regrouped and blocked a major commercial street by piling up barricades and setting a large fire. Smoke billowed into the air as hundreds of protesters waited on the other side of the makeshift barrier, many pointing laser beams that streaked the night sky above them.

Firefighters made their way into the congested area on foot to put out the fire. Police in riot gear removed the barricades and moved in quickly. They could be seen detaining a few protesters, but by then, most had already left.

As police advanced east down Hennessey Road, protesters made another stand in the Causeway Bay shopping district. They threw gasoline bombs at police, who fired tear gas and water cannons.

Protesters built another fire, a smaller one, in front of Sogo department store. Police waited behind their riot shields while firefighters put out the smoldering fire with extinguishers. When police moved in, the protesters had again retreated.

Other groups crossed Hong Kong's harbor to the Tsim Sha Tsui district, where police said they set fires and threw gasoline bombs on Nathan Road.

Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting said Hong Kong citizens would keep fighting for their rights and freedoms despite the arrests of several prominent activists and lawmakers in the past two days, including activist Joshua Wong.

Protesters are demanding the full withdrawal of the extradition bill — which would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China to stand trial — as well as democratic elections and an investigation into police use of force.

"I do believe the government deliberately arrested several leaders of the democratic camp to try to threaten Hong Kong people not to come out to fight against the evil law," Lam said at what was advertised as a Christian march earlier Saturday.

"I do believe the government deliberately arrested several leaders of the democratic camp to try to threaten Hong Kong people not to come out to fight against the evil law."

— Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting

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About 1,000 people marched to a Methodist church and police headquarters. They alternated between singing hymns and chanting slogans of the pro-democracy movement. An online flyer for the demonstration called it a "prayer for sinners" and featured images of a Christian cross and embattled Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who had proposed the extradition bill.

The Civil Human Rights Front, the organizer of pro-democracy marches that have drawn upward of a million people this summer, canceled its march after failing to win police approval. Police said that while previous marches have started peacefully, they have increasingly degenerated into violence.

The standing committee of China's legislature ruled on Aug. 31, 2014, that Hong Kong residents could elect their leader directly, but that the candidates would have to be approved by a nominating committee. The decision failed to satisfy democracy advocates in Hong Kong and led to the 79-day long Occupy Central protests that fall, in which demonstrators camped out on major streets in the financial district and other parts of the city.

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2019-09-01 06:15:34Z
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Hong Kong protesters defy ban to clash with police, hit with tear gas, water cannon - Fox News

A large fire blazed across a main street in Hong Kong on Saturday night, as protesters made a wall out of barricades and set it afire. Hundreds of protesters gathered behind the fire, many pointing laser beams that streaked the night sky above them.

Earlier, the protesters threw objects and gasoline bombs over barriers set up at government headquarters. Police on the other side responded with tear gas and blue-colored water fired from a water cannon.

The protesters retreated when police arrived on the street to clear them from the area, but reassembled and built the wall and set the fire on Hennessey Road in the city's Wan Chai district. Police had yet to confront them while the fire blazed.

A march to mark the fifth anniversary of China's decision against fully democratic elections in Hong Kong was not permitted by police, but protesters took to the streets anyway in the 13th straight weekend of demonstrations.

HONG KONG POLICE ARREST AT LEAST 3 PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS

Protestors run for cover from tear gas shells in Hong Kong, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019. Many of the protesters outside Hong Kong government headquarters have retreated as large contingents of police arrive on the streets in what looks like preparation for a clearing operation. Police were using tear gas Saturday to drive back remaining protesters.  (AP)

The mostly young, black-shirted protesters took over roads and major intersections in shopping districts as they rallied and marched. Police erected additional barriers and brought out two water cannon trucks near the Chinese government office and deployed at various locations in riot gear.

While others marched back and forth elsewhere in the city, a large crowd wearing helmets and gas masks gathered outside the city government building. Some approached barriers that had been set up to keep protesters away and appeared to throw objects at the police on the other side. Others shone laser lights at the officers.

Police fired tear gas from the other side of the barriers, then brought out a water cannon truck that fired regular water and then colored water at the protesters, staining them and nearby journalists and leaving blue puddles in the street.

HONG KONG PROTEST ESCALATION: TEAR GAS, WATER CANNONS AND A POLICE OFFICER FIRING A WARNING SHOT

Protestors carry an injured to safety in Hong Kong, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019. Many of the protesters outside Hong Kong government headquarters have retreated as large contingents of police arrive on the streets in what looks like preparation for a clearing operation. Police were using tear gas Saturday to drive back remaining protesters. (AP)

The standoff continued for some time, but protesters started moving back as word spread that police were headed in their direction. A few front-line protesters hurled gasoline bombs at the officers in formation, but there were no major clashes as police cleared the area.

Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting said Hong Kong citizens would keep fighting for their rights and freedoms despite the arrests of several prominent activists and lawmakers in the past two days, including activist Joshua Wong.

The protests were sparked by a now-shelved extradition bill. Protesters are demanding its full withdrawal, democratic elections and an investigation into alleged police brutality in what have been pitched battles with hard-line demonstrators.

"I do believe the government deliberately arrested several leaders of the democratic camp to try to threaten Hong Kong people not to come out to fight against the evil law," Lam said at what was advertised as a Christian march earlier in the day.

About 1,000 people marched to a Methodist church and police headquarters. They alternated between singing hymns and chanting the slogans of the pro-democracy movement. An online flyer for the demonstration called it a "prayer for sinners" and featured images of a Christian cross and embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, who had proposed the extradition bill.

BRITISH HONG KONG CONSULATE EMPLOYEE RELEASED FROM DETENTION AS PRO-DEMOCRACY PROTESTS TURN VIOLENT

Protestors travel in a train en route to Causeway Bay in Hong Kong. (AP)

Authorities rejected an application from the Civil Human Rights Front, the organizer of pro-democracy marches that have drawn upward of a million people this summer, for a march to the Chinese government office. Police said that while previous marches have started peacefully, they have increasingly degenerated into violence in the end.

The standing committee of China's legislature ruled on Aug. 31, 2014, that Hong Kong residents could elect their leader directly, but that the candidates would have to be approved by a nominating committee.

The decision failed to satisfy democracy advocates in the city and led to the 79-day long Occupy Central protests that fall, in which demonstrators camped out on major streets in the financial district and other parts of Hong Kong.

The participants in the religious march Saturday were peaceful and mostly older than the younger protesters who have led this summer's movement and, in some cases, blocked streets and battled police with bricks, sticks and gasoline bombs

Religious meetings do not require police approval, though authorities said late Friday that organizers of a procession with more than 30 people must notify police.

The government shut down streets and subway service near the Chinese government's office, about 3 miles west of the religious march.

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"A public event is expected on Hong Kong Island this afternoon which may cause severe disruptions," police said. "Text messages have been sent to alert members of the public to mind their personal safety."

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2019-08-31 12:22:31Z
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The National Hurricane Center provides an update on Hurricane Dorian (LIVE) | USA TODAY - USA TODAY

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2019-08-31 13:09:34Z
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