DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran on Saturday summoned the British ambassador to Tehran after London blamed it for attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, the semi-official Students News Agency ISNA reported.
“During the meeting with Iran’s foreign ministry official, Iran strongly condemned the unfounded allegations and criticized Britain’s unacceptable stance regarding the attacks in the Gulf of Oman,” it said.
The ambassador was asked for an explanation and correction after Britain was the only nation to echo U.S. accusations, ISNA reported.
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt issued a statement on Friday blaming Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for the attacks, saying no other state or non-state actor could have been responsible.
Iran has denied any involvement.
The attacks have raised fears of a confrontation in the vital oil shipping route of the Strait of Hormuz at a time of increased tension between Iran and the United States.
Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Andrew Cawthorne
FILE PHOTO: Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir delivers a speech inside Parliament in Khartoum, Sudan April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan’s chief prosecutor said on Saturday that ousted President Omar al-Bashir would be sent for trial soon on corruption charges related to his three decades in power.
Alwaleed Sayed Ahmed Mahmoud told a news conference the trial referral would be made after a one-week period for objections expires, adding that criminal cases have been opened against 41 other former officials accused of graft.
The prosecutor’s office said on Thursday that Bashir, who was ousted by the military in April following months of protests against his 30-year autocratic rule, had been charged with corruption after an investigation was completed.
The charges are related to laws on “suspected illicit wealth and emergency orders,” the office said, without giving more details.
Bashir had already been charged in May with incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters. Prosecutors also ordered his interrogation on suspicion of money laundering and terrorism financing.
Mahmoud also said he had attended a meeting with military heads to discuss judicial supervision of a plan to clear what he called “criminals” from an area adjacent to a protest camp in the center of the capital.
But the idea of dispersing the protesters was not discussed, he added.
The country’s military rulers said on Thursday they had thwarted several coup attempts and that some officers had been arrested over the deadly dispersal of protesters at a sit-in in Khartoum earlier this month.
Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Helen Popper
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Two weeks after an avalanche swept up and probably killed a group of climbers in the Himalayas, Indian authorities mounted efforts to pluck their bodies from an exposed mountain face, braving harsh weather and treacherous terrain.
FILE PHOTO: Snow-covered Nanda Devi mountain is seen from Auli town, in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, India February 25, 2014. Picture taken February 25, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer
The peaks in the 2,400-km (1,500-mile) -long range are among some of the world’s tallest and most dangerous, drawing thousands of adventurers who risk their lives scaling them each year.
This year alone, more than two dozen climbers have been killed on peaks in India, Nepal and Pakistan.
“It could be very frightening up there and it’s definitely going to snow,” said Purmal Dharmshaktu, 61, who has climbed Himalayan peaks for 35 years.
“It’s summer and the crevasses would have widened. This is an incredibly tough task.”
The retrieval could take days, if not weeks, said officials who have been forced to abort aerial recovery bids because of the rugged terrain.
(Graphic link: tmsnrt.rs/2X594cE)
The Indian air force, border police and state and national disaster officials have been drafted into the recovery plans. A team of 32 launched a fresh ground and aerial effort on Tuesday that is expected to run 25 days.
“It is difficult for a helicopter to hover for long in that area,” said Vijay Kumar Jogdande, a government official in India’s northern state of Uttarakhand, adding that a three-sided bowl-shaped geographic configuration complicated the task.
The eight feared killed in the avalanche had targeted Nanda Devi East, a sister mountain of the Nanda Devi peak that is 7,816 m (25,643 ft) tall. Both rank among the world’s most challenging peaks, conquered by only a handful of people.
In an effort to acclimatize before that bid, however, the group, led by expert Martin Moran, set out to scale an unclimbed 6,477-m (21,250-ft) -high peak, said deputy leader Mark Thomas.
Thomas, and three others on the expedition, survived because they did not attempt that climb.
Moran and his companions did not return to their base camp on May 29 as planned, with five bodies being spotted by a helicopter on June 3, at a height of about 5,000 m (16,404 ft).
Climbing regulator the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) is sending a separate expedition of 12 on Wednesday. It will take an alternate route to reach the bodies by June 19, IMF spokesman Amit Chowdhury told Reuters.
The eight missing climbers have been identified as Moran, John Mclaren, Rupert Whewell and Richard Payne, all from Great Britain; Anthony Sudekum and Ronald Beimel from the United States; Ruth McCance from Australia; and Chetan Pandey, an Indian, who was the IMF’s liaison officer.
Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Euan Rocha and Clarence Fernandez
MANILA (Reuters) - China has rejected Philippine allegations that a Chinese fishing vessel abandoned 22 Filipinos after it sank their boat in the South China Sea, as pressure builds on President Rodrigo Duterte to take a tougher line.
FILE PHOTO: President Rodrigo Duterte speaks after his arrival, from a visit in Israel and Jordan at Davao International airport in Davao City in southern Philippines, September 8, 2018. REUTERS/Lean Daval Jr.
China’s embassy in Manila said the crew had sought to rescue the Filipino fishermen but fled after being “suddenly besieged by seven or eight Filipino fishing boats”.
“There was no such thing as (a) ‘hit-and-run’,” it said in a statement late on Friday, adding it would handle the issue in a “serious and responsible manner”.
The sinking took place on Sunday near the Reed Bank, the site of untapped gas deposits that an international arbitration court in 2016 ruled the Philippines had sovereign rights to exploit. Beijing disputes that.
The issue could complicate what are determined efforts by Duterte to build a strong relationship with China, despite deep mistrust among his U.S.-allied defense apparatus, which remains wary about China’s maritime militarization and what it sees as bullying and denial of Manila’s access to its own offshore oil and gas reserves.
Duterte has made no mention of Sunday’s incident during any of the lengthy and unscripted speeches he has since given. His defense minister, navy chief and spokesman have publicly denounced the Chinese crew and his foreign minister said he had lodged a protest with Beijing.
Presidential spokesman, Salvador Panelo, did not respond to a request for comment on China’s version of events.
Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros on Saturday called for bilateral ties to be downgraded and said China’s denial was “preposterous” and the story made no sense.
She said Duterte had plenty to say about mundane issues, but should speak up when it came to sovereignty.
“Nothing is more reassuring to the public than to see and hear their own president, the supposed architect of the country’s foreign policy, telling them that he is on top of the situation,” Hontiveros said.
Sunday’s incident is the latest confrontation involving China’s vast fishing fleet, which experts say has been co-opted to serve as Beijing’s militia and augment its constant coastguard presence in waters also claimed by Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei.
Philippines Supreme Court judge Antonio Carpio, a staunch critic of China’s maritime claims and conduct, said that among its massive fishing contingent were boats with reinforced steel hulls “purposely for ramming fishing vessels of other coastal states.”
“The Filipino people must send a strong signal to China that any new ‘gray zone’ offensive of ramming Filipino fishing vessels ...will mean a break of diplomatic ties,” Carpio said in a statement late Friday.
Reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Michael Perry
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong media reported on Saturday the city’s government would suspend a proposed law on extradition to mainland China that sparked widespread anger and violent protests, with leader Carrie Lam planning to address reporters later in the day.
Support for the swift passage of the extradition bill began to crumble on Friday with several pro-Beijing politicians and a senior advisor to Lam saying discussion of the bill should be shelved for the time being.
The extradition bill, which will cover Hong Kong residents and foreign and Chinese nationals living or traveling in the city, has many concerned it may threaten the rule of law that underpins Hong Kong’s international financial status.
Around a million people, according to protest organizers, marched through Hong Kong last Sunday to oppose the bill. Protests through the week were met with tear gas and rubber bullets from police, plunging the city into turmoil and piling heavy pressure on Lam.
Another protest is planned for this Sunday.
Hong Kong’s iCable, the South China Morning Post and Sing Tao newspaper all reported that the bill would be suspended on Saturday. TVB and iCable said Lam would hold a news conference on Saturday afternoon.
Calls to Lam’s office went unanswered outside of business hours. Lam has not appeared in public or commented since Wednesday. Hong Kong media reported Lam would meet pro-Beijing lawmakers around noon to explain her pending announcement.
Backing down from efforts to drive the bill through the city’s legislature by July would have been unthinkable last week when the law’s passage seemed inevitable as Lam remained defiant.
People attend a rally in support of demonstrators protesting against the proposed extradition bill with China, in Hong Kong, China, June 14, 2019. Picture taken June 14, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
But Michael Tien, a member of Hong Kong’s legislature and a deputy to China’s national parliament, said a total withdrawal of the bill was unlikely.
“The amendment is supported by the central government, so I think a withdrawal would send a political message that the central government is wrong. This would not happen under ‘one country, two systems’,” he told Reuters, referring to the model under which Hong Kong enjoys semi-autonomy.
Tien, a member of the pro-Beijing camp, said he supported a suspension of the bill without a timetable.
Despite chatter that the government would hit pause on the bill, organizers of last Sunday’s protest march stood by plans for another march this Sunday. In addition to opposing the bill they would also be calling for accountability of the police for the way protests have been handled.
Lam has said the extradition law is necessary to prevent criminals using Hong Kong as a place to hide and that human rights will be protected by the city’s court which will decide on a case-by-case basis extraditions.
Critics, including leading lawyers and rights groups, note that China’s justice system is controlled by the Communist Party, and marked by torture and forced confessions, arbitrary detention and poor access to lawyers.
Last Sunday’s protest in the former British colony was the biggest political demonstration since its return to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” deal. The agreement guarantees Hong Kong’s special autonomy, including freedom of assembly, free press and independent judiciary.
Many accuse China of extensive meddling since then, including obstruction of democratic reforms, interference with elections and of being behind the disappearance of five Hong Kong-based booksellers, starting in 2015, who specialised in works critical of Chinese leaders.
Slideshow (4 Images)
Beijing has denied that it has overreached in Hong Kong.
The extradition bill has spooked some of Hong Kong’s tycoons into starting to move their personal wealth offshore, according to financial advisers, bankers and lawyers familiar with the details.
Reporting by John Ruwitch, Joyce Zhou, Vimvam Tong, Clare Jim and Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Michael PerryEditing by Michael Perry
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong media reported on Saturday the city’s government would suspend a proposed law on extradition to mainland China that sparked widespread anger and violent protests, with leader Carrie Lam planning to address reporters later in the day.
People attend a rally in support of demonstrators protesting against proposed extradition bill with China, in Hong Kong, China, June 14, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Support for the extradition bill began to crumble on Friday with several pro-Beijing politicians and a senior advisor to Lam saying discussion of the bill should be shelved for the time being.
The extradition bill, which will cover Hong Kong residents and foreign and Chinese nationals living or traveling in the city, has many concerned it may threaten the rule of law that underpins Hong Kong’s international financial status.
Hundreds of thousands of people marched through Hong Kong last Sunday to protest the bill, and street demonstrations through the week were met with tear gas and rubber bullets from police, plunging the city into turmoil and piling heavy pressure on Lam. Another protest is planned for this Sunday.
Hong Kong’s iCable, the South China Morning Post and Sing Tao newspaper all reported that the bill would be suspended on Saturday. TVB and iCable said Lam would hold a news conference on Saturday afternoon.
Calls to Lam’s office went unanswered outside of business hours. Lam has not appeared in public or commented since Wednesday.
Backing down from efforts to drive the bill through the city’s legislature by July would have been unthinkable last week when the law’s passage seemed inevitable as Lam remained defiant.
Lam has said the extradition law is necessary to prevent criminals using Hong Kong as a place to hide and that human rights will be protected by the city’s court which will decide on a case-by-case basis extraditions.
Opponents, including leading lawyers and rights groups, say China’s justice system, where courts are controlled by the Communist Party, is marked by torture and forced confessions, arbitrary detention and poor access to lawyers.
Last Sunday’s protest in the former British colony was the biggest political demonstration since its return to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” deal. The agreement guarantees Hong Kong’s special autonomy, including freedom of assembly, free press and independent judiciary.
Many accuse China of extensive meddling since then, including obstruction of democratic reforms, interference with elections and of being behind the disappearance of five Hong Kong-based booksellers, starting in 2015, who specialized in works critical of Chinese leaders.
The extradition bill has spooked some of Hong Kong’s tycoons to start moving their personal wealth offshore, according to financial advisers, bankers and lawyers familiar with the details.
Reporting by John Ruwitch, Joyce Zhou, Vimvam Tong, Clare Jim and Anne Marie Roantree
Cuban migrants return to Mexico from the United States to await their court hearing for asylum seekers as part of the legal proceedings under a new policy established by the U.S. government, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico June 14, 2019. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez
EL PASO, Texas (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Thursday began ramping up the pace of returns of asylum seekers to Mexico to wait out their U.S. court hearings by sending around 200 migrants back through the El Paso, Texas, port of entry, according to a Mexican official.
The increase from around 100 migrants a day is the first sign of expansion of a Trump administration policy known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, said Luis Carlos Cano, a spokesman for Mexico’s national immigration agency in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso. The program began in January and was meant to expand as part of a deal to stave off tariffs on Mexican goods.
Reporting by Julio-Cesar Chavez in El Paso, Texas; Editing by Leslie Adler
KOLKATA/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A leading Indian doctors’ association called for a nationwide strike on Monday, stepping up protests by medical staff demanding better security at hospitals after an attack on doctors in Kolkata.
A doctor holds a placard at a government hospital during a strike demanding security after the recent assaults on doctors by the patients' relatives, in Kolkata, India, June 14, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
The move could paralyze hundreds of government-run health facilities across India. Thousands of doctors across the country went on a strike on Friday.
The state of West Bengal, of which Kolkata is capital, has been the worst hit by the strike with at least 13 big government hospitals affected.
The protests were launched in response to an attack at the NRS Medical College in Kolkata on Monday that left three junior doctors seriously injured after a dispute with a family whose relative had died.
Doctors demanding better security began a strike but their action was confined to the state. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned them on Thursday, saying police did not strike when one of their colleagues was killed.
Banerjee’s remarks, which included a warning that junior doctors would be evicted from their hostels if they did not go back to work, triggered a nationwide reaction.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) said the “barbaric” attack at the NRS reflected a national problem and called for a countrywide protest. It also demanded legislation to safeguard doctors.
Nearly 30,000 doctors were on a one-day strike on Friday, most in West Bengal, New Delhi and the western state of Maharashtra, according to figures proved by medical associations.
The IMA had previously called for a protest on Friday, but later in the day asked for the protests to continue over the weekend, and a nationwide withdrawal of non-essential services in all health care institutions on June 17.
All emergency and casualty services will continue to function, IMA, which represents nearly 350,000 doctors in the country, said.
The federal health minister, Harsh Vardhan, tried to calm the furor, promising better security at hospitals and calling on Banerjee to withdraw her ultimatum.
“I urge doctors to end their strike in the larger interest of society. I will take all possible measures to ensure a safe environment for them at hospitals across the country,” Vardhan said on Twitter.
India spent an estimated 1.4% of its gross domestic product on healthcare in 2017/18, among the lowest proportions in the world. Many millions of Indians depend on the cheap but inadequate public health system.
Saradamani Ray, whose 77-year old father is a patient at the NRS Medical College, said she would have to move him because of the strike.
“I will have to take my father somewhere else for his dialysis, maybe a private hospital,” she told Reuters.
“It will cause a lot of financial strain, but there’s nothing I can do. I will have to pay.”
Reporting by Rupak De Chowdhuri in KOLKATA and Shounak Dasgupta in NEW DELHI; Additional reporting by Subrata Nag Choudhury, Rajendra Jadhav and Devjyot Ghoshal; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by Euan Rocha and Angus MacSwan
LONDON (Reuters) - The number of people to die from a listeria outbreak in British hospitals has risen to five from three, Public Health England (PHE) said on Friday.
The agency said that since the outbreak it had reviewed earlier cases and established that one other death had also been linked to the infection, which is thought to stem from sandwiches and salads. One patient who had been seriously ill has also since died, taking the number to five.
“To date, there have been no patients linked to this incident outside healthcare organizations, but we continue to investigate,” said PHE’s Nick Phin. “Swift action was taken to protect patients and any risk to the public is low.
Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Stephen Addison
SEOUL (Reuters) - Yang Hyun-suk, founder of South Korea’s YG Entertainment which manages top K-pop performers, stepped down on Friday from his duties as chief producer, in the aftermath of drug and sex scandals involving his artists.
In March, a member of YG’s boyband Big Bang quit showbiz over sex bribery accusations, prompting police investigations and the resignation of four K-pop stars including him.
Allegations subsequently surfaced of a network of pop stars, businessmen and cops having colluded and enabled tax evasion, bribery and prostitution, exposing the dark side of the glitzy industry.
“I have waited out in patience this situation in which shameless and humiliating words are being thoughtlessly spread as if it is the truth,” Yang, a former legendary K-pop star, said in a statement.
“But I don’t think I can hold it in any longer.”
Yang said he was stepping down to avoid further damage to the firm’s artists over the accusations. These involved prostitution mediation, tax evasion and cover-up of a drug scandal, all of which he has denied.
YG’s top shareholder, Yang, founded the K-pop management firm in 1996. His brother Yang Min-suk, the agency’s chief executive, also stepped down, according to a regulatory filing.
On Wednesday, the leader of another one of YG’s boy bands, iKON, also exited show business over media reports that he was attempting to buy illegal drugs. He publicly apologized for his act and quit the band.
YG Entertainment is one of the top K-Pop record labels behind groups BlackPink and Big Bang, but its shares have slumped for months, hit by the scandals.
Shares of YG Entertainment closed down 5.6% on Friday, falling for a third consecutive session, while its affiliate, YG Plus, lost nearly 6%.
Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Ju-min Park and Clarence Fernandez
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers on Thursday responded to the crisis in Hong Kong over a proposed extradition law with China by introducing legislation that would require the U.S. government to justify the continuation of special treatment for the territory.
Protesters hold signs following a day of violence over a proposed extradition bill, outside the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong, China, June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
The bipartisan Senate legislation, sponsored by several senior senators, would require the U.S. secretary of state to issue an annual certification of Hong Kong’s autonomy to justify special treatment under the U.S. Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992.
The proposed law, introduced by Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, would also require the U.S. president to identify those responsible for the abduction of booksellers and other individuals from Hong Kong and subject them to U.S. sanctions.
In Beijing on Friday, the foreign ministry expressed “extreme dissatisfaction” with the proposed U.S. bill, calling it “irresponsible carping and crude interference”.
China called on the United States “to give up its delusions of creating chaos in Hong Kong, stop pushing the proposed bill and to stop interfering in China’s domestic affairs,” spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular media briefing.
The bill would also require the president to issue a strategy to protect U.S. citizens and business from the effects of a revised extradition law and the U.S. Commerce Department to issue an annual report assessing whether Hong Kong was adequately enforcing U.S. and U.N. sanctions, particularly those on Iran and North Korea.
In addition, the legislation would make clear that Hong Kong citizens should not be denied visas to the United States if they were arrested or detained in connection with protest activity there.
The legislation was expected to be introduced to the House on Thursday.
Scuffles broke out between demonstrators and police in Hong Kong on Thursday as hundreds of people persevered with a protest against the extradition law a day after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up big crowds.
Wednesday’s protests around the city’s legislature forced the postponement of debate on the bill, which many in Hong Kong fear will undermine freedoms and confidence in the commercial hub.
Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Additional reporting by Huizhong Wu; Editing by Steve Orlofsky
A picture of the Kokuka Courageous, one of two that were hit in suspected attacks in the Gulf of Oman, is displayed during a news conference by the ship owner Kokuka Sangyo Ltd. at the company office in Tokyo, Japan June 13, 2019, in in this photo released by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS
TOKYO (Reuters) - Two “flying objects” damaged a Japanese tanker in a suspected attack on Thursday in the Gulf of Oman, but there was no damage to the cargo of methanol, the president of the shipping company said on Friday.
The Kokuka Courageous was sailing toward the port of Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates after the crew, which had evacuated after the incident, returned, President Yutaka Katada of Kokuka Sangyo told a press conference. It was being escorted by the U.S. Navy, he said.
“The crew told us something came flying at the ship, and they found a hole,” Katada said. “Then some crew witnessed the second shot.”
Katada said there was no possibility that the ship, carrying 25,000 tons of methanol, was hit by a torpedo.
The crew saw an Iranian military ship in the vicinity on Thursday night Japan time, Katada said.
The United States blamed Iran for attacking the Kokuka Courageous and another tanker, the Norwegian-owned Front Altair, on Thursday, but Tehran denied the allegations.
Japanese Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said on Friday that the incidents will be discussed at a meeting of G20 energy and environment ministers this weekend.
Seko declined to comment on American officials blaming Iran, saying Japan is still investigating the incident, which occurred while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in Tehran trying to help ease rising tensions between the United States and Iran.
Reporting by Junko Fujita; writing by Malcolm Foster; editing by Richard Pullin
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s industry minister, Hiroshige Seko, said on Friday an attack on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman this week will be discussed at a meeting of G20 energy and environment ministers this weekend.
FILE PHOTO - Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko leaves the European Commission headquarters after a meeting on steel overcapacity, in Brussels, Belgium March 10, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Walschaerts
The ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 major economies will be held in Karuizawa, northwest of Tokyo, in the run up to the G20 summit to be held in Osaka, western Japan, on June 28-29.
Two tankers, one operated by a Japanese shipping company, were attacked in the Gulf on Thursday. The United States blamed Iran for the attacks, raising concerns about a new U.S.-Iranian confrontation and driving up oil prices. Tehran denied involvement.
“Maintaining energy security is something we can share with other ministers and is an important policy issue to be discussed at the G20 energy ministerial meeting,” Seko said at a regular press conference.
“The Middle East is a key area for global energy security. We want to talk with other ministers about our concerns about global security and threats,” he said.
Seko declined to comment when asked about whether Japan would send its armed forces to the Gulf to protect tankers.
He also declined to comment on remarks by U.S. officials blaming Iran for the attacks, saying Japan was still investigating details of the incident.
The attacks happened while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in Tehran trying to help ease rising tensions between the United States and Iran.
Seko said Abe told Iranian leaders that Japan wanted to maintain economic cooperation with Iran, including buying crude oil when international circumstances allowed. Japan stopped purchases earlier this year after the reimposition of U.S. sanctions on Tehran.
Seko said the attack would not affect Japan’s energy supplies.
The other ship that was attacked was an oil tanker chartered by Taiwan’s state oil refiner, CPC Corp, to carry fuel from the Middle East.
GRAPHIC: Attacks in Gulf of Oman IMG - tmsnrt.rs/2X8ePpU
Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; writing by Aaron Sheldrick; editing by Richard Pullin
FILE PHOTO: An Indonesian youth holds a cigarette while waiting for a train in Jakarta May 24, 2012. REUTERS/Beawiharta/File Photo
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia, the world’s fourth biggest producer of cigarettes, will crack down on online tobacco advertisements in a bid to target youthful smokers, the communication minister said on Thursday.
Health groups say more teenagers are taking to smoking in Indonesia, which already has nationwide curbs on cigarette ads, including a ban on sponsors’ promotion of tobacco products, though it is not consistently enforced by regional authorities.
The minister said he had given orders for his team to block all online cigarette advertisements after the health minister sought the ban.
“Immediately after receiving the letter, Minister of Communication and Information Rudiantara gives direction to cull cigarette advertising content on the internet,” the ministry said in a statement.
The minister, who uses only one name, like many Indonesians, said his team had already found content on 114 social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram and Youtube, that violated the law and would now be blocked.
“We hope by blocking cigarette advertisements on the internet we can reduce the smoking prevalence, especially among children,” Health Minister Nila Moelek said, according to the Jakarta Post newspaper.
“Three out of four teenagers know about cigarette advertising from online media.”
Media in Indonesia, which is famed for its “kretek” or clove cigarettes, cited health survey data that showed the prevalence of smoking aged those aged 10 to 18 had increased to 9.1 percent last year from 7.2 percent in 2013.
About two-thirds of Indonesian men smoke tobacco daily, and more than 21 percent of boys between 13 and 15 smoked cigarettes regularly, the World Health Organization said in 2017.
Reporting by Cindy Silviana and Fanny Potkin; Editing by Clarence Fernandez
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Police kept a close watch over central Hong Kong as the Asian financial hub returned to normalcy on Friday, with banks re-opening branches closed during violent protests against a proposed extradition bill with mainland China.
A woman attends a protest following a day of violence over a proposed extradition bill, under a footbridge leading to the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong, China, June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
But with the city’s government showing no signs of backing down over the controversial bill, which critics warn threatens Hong Kong’s rule of law, further demonstrations are planned.
A few dozen demonstrators remained near the city’s legislature on Friday, which had been scheduled to debate the bill this week but was thwarted when thousands of protesters took to the streets and blocked the building.
Police, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd, have been criticized for using excessive force on unarmed demonstrators.
Opponents of the proposed extradition bill fear it would undermine Hong Kong’s that underpins its status as an international financial hub.
The territory’s Beijing-backed leader, Carrie Lam, has stood by the bill, arguing that it is necessary to plug loopholes that allow criminals wanted on the mainland to use the city as a haven. She has said the courts would provide human rights safeguards.
On Friday, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank re-opened branches that had been closed near where the protests erupted. Businesses were operating normally and commuters flowing through the area to work.
Hong Kong authorities have closed government offices in the city’s financial center for the week due to the unrest.
On Thursday, Hong Kong Police Commissioner Stephen Lo said police had arrested 11 people and fired about 150 tear gas canisters at the crowd during protests on Wednesday. The city’s hospital authority said 81 people were injured in the protests.
Police also later arrested two students at the University of Hong Kong after a raid on a student hall of residence, according to an official at the university. The police gave no immediate response to Reuters inquiries on what charges the students face.
Despite the calm on Friday more protests loom this weekend.
Last Sunday, a march against the extradition bill drew what organizers said was more than a million people for the biggest street demonstration since the 1997 handover of the former British colony back to Chinese rule.
March organizers have urged people to take to the streets again on Sunday, and protesters applied for a permit to gather on Monday, when the Legislative Council may re-convene to discuss the bill.
Meanwhile, diplomatic pressure on Hong Kong mounted.
In the United States, senior congressional lawmakers from both parties responded to the crisis on Thursday by introducing legislation that would require the U.S. government to provide an annual justification for the continuation of special business and trade privileges afforded to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under an agreement that promised a high degree of autonomy for the city within a “one country, two systems” framework. Critics say Beijing has been slowly undermining that deal and encroaching on Hong Kong’s freedoms.
Beijing has rejected those accusations and Chinese state media said this week “foreign forces” were trying to damage China by creating chaos over the bill.
Skyscrapers at Hong Kong's central business district are seen during sunset, China, June 13, 2019 REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
The hawkish Chinese newspaper the Global Times on Friday lambasted foreign leaders for being hypocrites and failing to condemn what it called “violent demonstrators”.
“This is a stark provocation. These U.S. senators make us see the dark mind of the U.S. political elite who just want to turn Hong Kong into a chaotic place by hyping the uncontrolled violent street politics,” an editorial on the newspaper’s website said.
Hong Kong’s benchmark stock exchange slid as much as 1.5% on Thursday before closing down 0.1%, extending losses from the previous day.
Writing by John Ruwitch; Additional reporting by Sijia Jiang in HONG KONG and David Brunnstrom in WASHINGTON; Editing by Michael Perry
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - An Australian man pleaded not guilty on Friday to 92 charges stemming from a massacre in two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch three months ago and will stand trial in May next year.
Janna Ezat, wearing a T-shirt in memorial of her son who was killed at Al Noor mosque on March 15, reacts outside the Christchurch High Court after accused gunman Brenton Tarrant pleaded not guilty to all charges, New Zealand June 14, 2019. REUTERS/Charlotte Greenfield
A lone gunman armed with semi-automatic weapons attacked Muslims attending Friday prayers in Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island on March 15, killing 51 people in the country’s worst peace-time mass shooting. The attacker broadcast the shooting live on Facebook.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern introduced tough new firearm laws banning semi-automatic weapons after the attack, which also wounded dozens more people.
Brenton Tarrant, 29, a suspected white supremacist, appeared by video link from a maximum security facility in Auckland while his lawyer entered not guilty pleas on his behalf. The accusations against him include one terrorism charge.
About 80 members of Christchurch’s Muslim community and dozens of media representatives attended the hearing in a packed court room, with many seated in another room watching by video.
High Court Justice Cameron Mander said the trial would begin on May 4. The prosecution expected the trial would take around six weeks, although Mander said defense lawyers believed it could take considerably longer.
Courts normally try to bring cases to trial within a year but Mander said “the scale and complexity of this case makes this challenging”.
Tarrant has been remanded in custody until Aug. 15, when the next case review hearing is scheduled.
Mander said Tarrant was fit to stand trial after the court ordered him to undergo a mental health assessment at a previous hearing on April 5.
“No issue arises regarding the defendant’s fitness to plead, to instruct counsel, and to stand his trial. A fitness hearing is not required,” Mander said in a minute released to the media after Friday’s hearing.
The court lifted an order last week suppressing the publication of pictures of Tarrant. An interim suppression order barring the publication of the identity of survivors also lapsed and will not be reinstated.
LONDON (Reuters) - Boris Johnson, who has pledged to deliver Brexit on Oct. 31, surged closer to power on Thursday, winning by far the most support from Conservative lawmakers in the first round of the contest to replace Prime Minister Theresa May.
Three years since voting 52%-48% to leave the European Union, the United Kingdom is heading toward a possible crisis over Brexit as most of the candidates vying to succeed May are prepared to leave on Oct. 31 without a deal.
While parliament has indicated it will try to stop a no-deal Brexit, which investors warn would hurt financial markets and the world economy, some of those running say it may be the only way for Britain to leave the bloc without further delay.
Johnson, the face of the official campaign to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum, won the support of 114 Conservative lawmakers in the first round of the contest to replace May. A total of 313 lawmakers voted.
“Thank you to my friends and colleagues in the Conservative & Unionist Party for your support. I am delighted to win the first ballot, but we have a long way to go,” Johnson said on Twitter.
His closest rivals were: Jeremy Hunt, the foreign minister, who won 43 votes; Michael Gove, environment minister, with 37 votes and Dominic Raab, former Brexit minister, on 27 votes.
Sajid Javid, interior minister, came fifth with 23 votes. Matt Hancock won 20 votes and Rory Stewart 19. Three were knocked out: former leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom, Mark Harper and Esther McVey.
Betting markets give Johnson, who has a long record of scandals and gaffes, a 70% probability of winning the top job.
SECOND ROUND
Johnson, a former London mayor and foreign minister, has spent weeks wooing Conservative lawmakers, staying out of the spotlight with a low-key campaign at odds with his flamboyant publicity stunts of the past.
But his spokesman, while celebrating a higher-than-expected number of supporters, said there was still “a long way to go in the contest and you have to hold the numbers to go into the next rounds and that’s the challenge”.
The second round is due on June 18 with further ballots planned for June 19 and June 20 until there are just two candidates. A postal ballot of the wider Conservative Party membership will then be held to pick a leader.
A new prime minister should be chosen by the end of July. There had been speculation that the contest could be accelerated due to Johnson’s strong lead but there was no immediate sign of rivals bowing out of the race.
Some were quick to make veiled warnings about the frontrunner.
PM hopeful Boris Johnson leaves his home in London, Britain, June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson
Hunt, who has pitched himself as a unifier of both Brexit-supporting and pro-EU Conservatives, warned members of the party that “the stakes have rarely been higher for our country”. “This serious moment calls for a serious leader,” he tweeted.
Stewart, who has criticized Johnson for making promises on Brexit he cannot keep, voiced optimism about his campaign: “This is amazing - we’re getting some real momentum here ... It’s increasingly clear it’s me against Boris. And let’s win.”
Finance minister Philip Hammond, who has not publicly endorsed a candidate, wrote on Thursday to all remaining leadership contenders to urge them to stick to existing budget rules until at least the next scheduled election in 2022.
Johnson has proposed cutting income tax to 20% from 40% for those earning 50,000-80,000 pounds ($65,000-$105,000), while Gove has suggested replacing value-added tax on goods and services with a narrower sales tax.
Johnson kicked off his official campaign on Wednesday with a pledge to lead Britain out of the European Union on Oct. 31 and a warning to his divided Conservative Party that “delay means defeat”.
“After three years and two missed deadlines, we must leave the EU on October 31,” Johnson, 54, said then. “I am not aiming for a no-deal outcome.”
Johnson, whose unconventional style has helped him shrug off a series of scandals in the past, has won over much of his party by arguing that only he can rescue the Conservatives by delivering Brexit.
He argues that if Britain is prepared for a no-deal Brexit, the EU will bend to his argument to remove the so-called Northern Irish backstop to prevent a return to a hard border with Ireland if there is no agreed future trade deal.
Slideshow (3 Images)
But the EU has refused to renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement reached with May last November and Ireland has said it is not willing to change the backstop.
On Wednesday, the European Commission said: “In light of the continued uncertainty in the United Kingdom ... and the overall domestic political situation, a ‘no-deal’ scenario on 1 November 2019 very much remains a possible - although undesirable - outcome.”
Additional reporting by David Milliken; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Stephen Addison and Janet Lawrence
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - The Australian man accused of killing 51 worshippers at two mosques in New Zealand in March pleaded not guilty to all charges in a court on Friday.
FILE PHOTO - People visit a memorial site for victims of Friday's shooting, in front of the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
In an attack broadcast live on Facebook, the lone gunman armed with semi-automatic weapons targeted Muslims attending Friday prayers in Christchurch on March 15, in New Zealand’s worst peace time mass shooting.
Brenton Tarrant, 29, appeared by video link and entered his plea through his lawyers.
High Court Justice Cameron Mander said the trial will begin on May 4 next year.
Judge Mander said that courts usually endeavored to bring cases to trial within a year of the event, but that “the scale and complexity of this case makes this challenging”
Tarrant has been remanded in custody until Aug. 16 when a case review hearing is scheduled.
Tarrant faces total of 92 charges after New Zealand filed two additional attempted murder charges, one murder charge and one terrorism charge. This is the first time a terrorism charge has been brought in New Zealand.
Tarrant stood facing the camera from a high security facility in Auckland, mostly with an impassive expression but smirking at times including as his lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Around 80 members of Christchurch’s Muslim community sat in the back of the court, solemn and quiet throughout the appearance. There were some quiet gasps when the not guilty plea was entered by the Tarrant’s lawyer.
At the last hearing on April 5, the court had ordered Tarrant to undergo mental assessment first to determine whether he was fit to stand trial.
The Judge said on Friday that there were no issues arising from mental health assessments and defendant is fit to stand trial.
Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Writing by Praveen Menon; editing by Grant McCool and Sandra Maler
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is discussing with its allies a variety of options on how to protect international shipping in the Gulf of Oman in the wake of tanker attacks that Washington has blamed on Iran, senior Trump administration officials said on Thursday.
Two officials, speaking to a small group of reporters on condition of anonymity, said the United States wants to ensure the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and make sure international commerce is not disrupted.
Two oil tankers were attacked on Thursday and left adrift in the Gulf of Oman.
“We don’t think this is over,” one official said of the possibility of more such attacks.
The official said options are being reviewed.
“We’re discussing and will be discussing with our partners and allies suggestions on how we collectively can take steps to ensure, one, that we maintain freedom of navigation and international commerce is not disrupted and, second, that we protect our forces’ interests and our commercial assets and those of our partners and allies,” the official said.
The official said the attacks appeared “designed to have a political outcome” and suggested it could have been an attempt to disrupt a visit to Tehran by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
“We are going to obviously evaluate our presence in the region and the growing threat and make subsequent decisions,” the official said. “We have to look at the threat, as we always do, to our personnel and our forces but the threat to a strategic chokepoint. There’s a significant amount of trade that transits the Strait of Hormuz every day.”
Reporting by Steve Holland and Phil Stewart; Editing by Sandra Maler and David Gregorio
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan’s military rulers said on Thursday that some officers had been arrested for their involvement in the deadly dispersal of a protest sit-in in Khartoum.
An investigation into the storming of the sit-in had concluded and the results would be announced on Saturday, the military council said.
Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz, writing by Lena Masri; Editing by Toby Chopra
