Hong Kong protesters clash with police as summer of discontent continues - CNN

Hundreds of mainly young, masked protesters tried to break into one of the side doors of the government headquarters using metal bars and trolleys as battering rams early afternoon, Monday.

Riot police, wearing helmets and armed with shields, were visible inside the building but appeared reluctant to confront the crowds.

Pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmakers were earlier seen attempting to talk down protesters, but to little avail.

The escalation in tensions follows a morning of clashes between hundreds of protesters and riot police, amid an ongoing political crisis over a controversial extradition bill.

Demonstrators took to the streets early Monday, blocking several key roads leading to the main government building. Protesters had hoped to block or interrupt an official flag raising ceremony marking the occasion, attended by the city's embattled Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

The ceremony marked a rare public appearance for Lam, who was forced to publicly apologize for the introduction of the extradition bill last month.

That bill has been shelved and Lam says there are no plans to restart the legislative process, but protests have not stopped, with a march on June 16 attracting around 2 million people, according to organizers.

Protesters fear the bill could be used to extradite residents to mainland China for political or inadvertent business offenses and are pushing for it to be shelved completely.

Since May's mass march, smaller demonstrations have targeted police and government offices, shutting them down and trapping police officers in their headquarters for hours.

Many protesters are angry over police use of tear gas and rubber bullets to force people off the streets on June 12, when protesters successfully blocked off the city's legislature and prevented lawmakers from debating the extradition bill.

In her speech at the flag raising ceremony Monday, Lam promised to "ease anxiety in the community, and to pave the way forward for Hong Kong."

Hundreds of thousands are expected to take the streets later Monday, in what organizers hope will be the largest protest against the extradition bill since June's record-breaking turnout.

Beijing stands behind leader

While Beijing has stood by Lam, she is facing criticism from all sides for her handling of the crisis.

Lam says the bill was her idea, not Beijing's, and she's taken responsibility for a rushed roll-out and failure to communicate with the public, who fear it could be used to extradite anyone in the city across the border to China to face political charges.

Even much of the city's business community, traditionally conservative and unwilling to get too involved in politics, came out against the bill, and some pro-government figures criticized Lam for pushing it through the legislature against proper procedure.

She justified that move as necessary in order to extradite a wanted murderer to Taiwan, but that justification was made useless by Taipei's statement in May that it would not accept any transfer under the controversial bill.

Protests and anger over the bill have reinvigorated an opposition movement that had appeared to be in the doldrums after repeated losses in the wake of the 2014 Umbrella Movement.

Now Lam is facing not only continued demonstrations against the bill -- and demands for her resignation -- but also a return to the issue behind the 2014 protests, that Hong Kongers are not able to choose their own leader.

A key reason Beijing was keen to keep Lam in place, even if she wanted to resign, is that losing her would require choosing another chief executive within six months. Currently that is done by an election committee heavily stacked in Beijing's favor, and renewing this process would be sure to restart an angry political debate that had been safely kicked down the road to 2022.

Now that issue seems to be coming to the fore anyway, piling more pressure on Lam and starting new headaches for her bosses in Beijing.

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2019-07-01 06:33:00Z
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'Unidentified' object reported over DMZ, South Korea says - Fox News

South Korea's military say it has detected an "unidentified object" flying near the border with North Korea.

The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff says its radar found "the traces of flight by an unidentified object" on Monday over the central portion of the Demilitarized Zone that bisects the two Koreas. It gave no further details.

CARLSON: TRUMP DOMINATED IN MEETING WITH KIM JONG UN

The DMZ is the world's most heavily fortified border. The two Koreas have occasionally traded exchanges of gunfire before North Korea entered talks on its nuclear program.

The development came a day after President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong met at the DMZ and agreed to resume working-level talks on the North's nuclear program.

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The meeting between Trump and Kim, their third, happened in the western portion of the DMZ.

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2019-07-01 07:05:11Z
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Japan resumes commercial whaling amid backlash - CNN

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2019-07-01 05:24:17Z
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2020 Democratic hopefuls slam Trump's meeting with Kim as 'photo opportunity', say he's 'coddling' dictators - Fox News

The candidates in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary put aside their squabbles on Sunday - sort of - to focus on a common enemy: President Trump.

From former Vice President Joe Biden to former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, the Democratic hopefuls derided Trump’s third meeting with North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un – accusing the president of everything from “coddling” dictators to posing for a photo opportunity.

“President Trump’s coddling of dictators at the expense of American national security and interests is one of the most dangerous ways that he’s diminishing us on the world stage and subverting our values as a nation,” Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said.

TRUMP HEADS TO DMZ, DANGLING POSSIBILITY OF MEETING KIM AND CROSSING INTO NORTH KOREA

Bates added that Trump’s “conduct reinforces that we urgently need a president who can restore our standing in the world, heal relationships with key allies Trump has alienated and delivered real change for the American people.”

Trump and Kim met in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea and briefly stepped into the north – making him the first sitting U.S. leader to do so.

After asking if Kim wanted him to cross, Trump took 10 steps into the North with Kim at his side, then escorted Kim back to the South for talks at Freedom House, where they agreed to revive the stalled negotiations.

The spectacle marked the latest milestone in two years of roller-coaster diplomacy between the two nations. Personal taunts of "Little Rocket Man" (by Trump) and "mentally deranged U.S. dotard" (by Kim) and threats to destroy one other have given way to on-again, off-again talks, professions of love and flowery letters.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., tweeted Sunday that Trump “shouldn’t be squandering American influence on photo ops and exchanging love letters with a ruthless dictator. Instead, we should be dealing with North Korea through principled diplomacy that promotes US security, defends our allies, and upholds human rights.”

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY STEPHANIE GRISHAM ROUGHED UP BY NORTH KOREAN SECURITY GUARDS

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who is locked in a close battle for second in the polls with Warren, reiterated his Senate colleague’s “photo ops” comment and added that Trump “weakened the State Department.”

“The concern here is his incredible inconsistencies. I have no problem with him sitting down with Kim Jong Un in North Korea or any place else. But I don’t want it simply to be a photo opportunity, the whole world’s media was attracted there,” Sanders said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”

Sanders added: “What’s going to happen tomorrow and the next day? He has weakened the State Department. If we’re going to bring peace to this world, we need a strong State Department, we need to move forward diplomatically, not just do photo opportunities.”

Another Democratic senator running for president, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, was skeptical that any substantive agreements would come to fruition from Trump’s talks with Kim.

“We want to see a denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, a reduction in these missiles but it’s not as easy as just going and, you know, bringing a hot dish over the fence to the dictator next door,” Klobuchar said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “This is a ruthless dictator and when you go forward, you have to have a clear focus and a clear mission and clear goals.”

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Castro, who has seen a boost in his profile since Wednesday night’s debate, also lambasted Trump for “raising the profile of a dictator like Kim Jong Un” without any substantive gains being made.

"It's worrisome that this president erratically sets up a meeting without the staff work being done,” Castro said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.” “It seems like it's all for show; it's not substantive.”

The former Secretary for Housing and Urban Development added: "I am all for speaking with our adversaries, what's happened here is this president has raised the profile of a dictator like Kim Jong Un and now three times visited with him unsuccessfully because he’s doing it backward.”

Kim is suspected of having ordered the killing of his half-brother through a plot using a nerve agent at a Malaysian airport in 2017. Meanwhile, the United Nations said in May that about 10 million people in North Korea are suffering from "severe food shortages" after the North had one of the worst harvests in a decade.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-06-30 17:50:07Z
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'Millions march': Sudanese renew protests to demand civilian rule - Aljazeera.com

Tens of thousands of protesters have poured onto the streets of Khartoum and elsewhere as part of mass rallies aimed at pressuring Sudan's ruling generals to hand over power to a civilian-led administration and seeking justice for the scores of victims of a deadly military crackdown.

Dubbed the "millions march", Sunday's demonstrations were the first since security forces on June 3 killed more than 100 people during the bloody dispersal of a protest camp outside the military headquarters, the focal point of the protesters' months-long struggle for democracy.

Protesters who spoke to Al Jazeera, which was banned by the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) from reporting in the country just a few days before the sit-in's dispersal, said there was a "huge turnout" in Khartoum despite a widespread internet blackout.

"They said they wanted to make their demands heard," said Al Jazeera's Hiba Morgan, reporting from Juba, the capital of neighbouring South Sudan.

"People are also saying that the military and the riot police are using tear gas, live ammunition and stun grenades to try and disperse the crowd."

'Civilian rule!'

Images posted on social media appeared to show heightened security around the capital, with the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the group blamed by protesters for the June 3 killings deployed in pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns in several Khartoum squares.

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In the northern Khartoum district of Bahari and in Mamura and Arkweit, in the capital's east, police fired tear gas as thousands of protesters chanted "Civilian rule! Civilian rule!", witnesses reportedly said. Security forces were also reported to have fired tear gas at demonstrators in the eastern town of Gadaref.

Reports also said that a protester had been shot dead in Atbara, the birthplace of the uprising that led to al-Bashir's removal.

First death reported from today’s protests. He reportedly died from a gunshot wound in the chest in Atbara.#SudanUprising #Watch_Sudan_June30th https://t.co/TVPbSkuDTF

— Hiba Morgan (@hiba_morgan) June 30, 2019

The march came as the African Union (AU) and neighbouring Ethiopia stepped up efforts to mediate the ongoing crisis between the protest organisers and the TMC, which seized power in April when it overthrew long-time President Omar al-Bashir in the wake of mass protests against his autocrat rule.

Rights groups have demanded the TMC guarantee the safety of demonstrators but on Saturday, on the eve of the rallies, the ruling generals warned that they would hold the protest movement responsible for any deaths or damage.

RSF chief General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo on Saturday warned he would not tolerate any "vandalism" at the protests.

"There are vandals, there are people who have an agenda, a hidden agenda, we don't want problems," said Dagalo, who is widely known as Hemeti and is also the TMC's deputy head.

'Break barrier of fear' 

In the run-up to the protests, which also mark the 30th anniversary of a coup that had brought al-Bashir to power in 1989, many Sudanese said they feared new violence.

"I expect large numbers ... and it's very possible that security forces will use force," said 25-year-old Mustafa, who gave only his first name for security reasons, adding that he planned to participate.

Talal, 29, added: "Even if only a few rallies take place in Khartoum, they will break the barrier of fear and more people will take to the streets" in the coming days."

Sudan braces for 'millions march' as protesters regroup (3:13)

The umbrella opposition group behind the protest, the Freedom and Change alliance, said demonstrators in Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman would march to the homes of some of the protesters killed on June 3.

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A doctors' group linked to the protest movement said at least 120 people were killed in the crackdown, but officials cited a death toll of 61.

The TMC insists it did not order the sit-in's bloody dispersal but acknowledged "excesses" after orders were given to purge a nearby area allegedly notorious for drug peddling.

AU-Ethiopia joint proposal

Tensions remain high since the sit-in raid, which followed the collapse of talks over who should lead a new governing body - a civilian or soldier.

Ethiopia and the AU have proposed a blueprint for a civilian-majority body, which the generals say could be a basis for resuming talks.

Demonstrators' "right to peacefully protest and express their views on 30 June, or on any other date, remains key", the European Union said.

Amnesty International's Secretary-General Kumi Naidoo said the TMC "must not allow the country to slide back into yet more repression".

"The world is watching."

In the lead-up to al-Bashir's fall, tens of thousands of demonstrators were mobilised through social media, but now protest leaders have to resort to neighbourhood campaigns to keep the movement alive.

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2019-06-30 14:44:00Z
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Harry Kazianis: Trump's unconventional North Korea strategy -- is it worthy of a Nobel Prize? - Fox News

In Washington, D.C.-area Asia circles last week, the rumor mill was buzzing with the news of a possible media event at the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas during President Trump’s visit to South Korea. The other part of that rumor, that Trump would have a third summit, or at least a short meeting, with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un, was also floated—but no White House or Blue House officials would commit to anything (well, at least not to me).

But something told me I was not to be disappointed. I held out hope for one reason: Donald Trump’s strategy for dealing with North Korea always involved taking the old rulebook on dealing with the Kim regime and lighting it on fire. What violates such diplomatic decorum more than a meeting planned with little notice and almost no time to prepare? Such a gathering, however, oozes with the potential to get Washington and Pyongyang back on track towards a new type of relations free of nuclear threats. It also hints to the possible elimination of Kim’s nuclear weapons altogether. In other words, it was just too good to pass up for both sides, as I saw it.

TRUMP MEETS KIM IN DMZ, BECOMES FIRST SITTING US PRESIDENT TO STEP INTO HERMIT KINGDOM

With no risk, and lots of possible rewards, why not give it a shot? Trump’s greatest advantage in dealing with Pyongyang is that he simply does not care about the so-called proper way of conducting diplomacy. His mission, as it has always been, is to keep the American people safe, secure and prosperous. A meeting along the DMZ, even if it was quick and more of a gut check to see where Chairman Kim stood on the all-important question of denuclearization, clearly attempts to advance such an agenda. Trump took a chance for peace, with little downside to trying.

In my humble opinion, the president has done more good on the Korean issue in the last year and a half than President Obama did in eight.

Ever the showman, the president did not disappoint. In a historic gathering where Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to step into North Korea, he met with Chairman Kim jointly with South Korean President Moon Jae-in while also having a separate meeting with Kim. While no major deal was announced, just the sheer act of Trump crossing into North Korea territory is progress itself, a sign that trust is building and that both sides can work towards a brighter future. Remember, history is all about mind-blowing optics that change hearts and minds. Most people can’t recite the details of a certain treaty or document that made history, but they always remember the photo that did. Trump delivered that Sunday.

To be honest, this is a day I never thought I would see in my lifetime. During the dark days of 2017, I thought the chances were high that a nuclear war between America and North Korea could break out at any moment. While no handshake can take the place of full-blown nuclear disarmament, meetings such as these can set the tone where more summits and working level gatherings can take place for both sides to make big gains. We must start somewhere, and the past two summits and now Sunday’s gathering all build trust toward the harder work and agreements that are yet to come.

But, just as in all things that involve President Trump, those who can’t stand his clearly unconventional and unorthodox style as commander-in-chief were quick to lash out. Word from the pundit class—or the so-called foreign policy “experts” in both parties who cheered on the Iraq War, the disaster in Libya or countless other international debacles that cost our nation trillions of dollars and too many American lives—called Trump a fool for doing this.

That’s just flat wrong. While I have always believed progressives take their attacks on Trump too far, I can’t say I agree with everything the president does, either. For one, I am not a fan of Trump’s shoot-from-the-cellphone tweetstorms, going on a rampage on whatever issue has upset him at the time. I do get frustrated when he gets the facts wrong on some of the most basic issues. But on this issue, the idea that he is pulling out all the stops to try and get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and perhaps someday join the brotherhood of nations, is not only smart statecraft, it’s also good common sense.

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Sorry, I won’t let the good outweigh what is merely annoying. In my humble opinion, the president has done more good on the Korean issue in the last year and a half than President Obama did in eight. North Korea is no longer testing nuclear weapons or long-range missiles, and Trump is now apparently pen pals with Kim. Is it all rather strange? Yep. But is it better than a war that would kill millions of people? For sure. And while we have a long way to go before we can declare North Korea is no longer a threat to America, I for one love what the president is doing. And so should the American people.

And heck, if President Obama received a Nobel Prize for nearly nothing, then I think there is only one obvious thing to do, and that’s to make sure Donald Trump receives the award as well.

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2019-06-30 13:48:12Z
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Stephanie Grisham bruised in 'an all out brawl' with the North Koreans - CNN

A source at the scene said Grisham got in "an all out brawl" with North Korean officials as American and North Korean reporters were hustled in to view the summit. Grisham was bruised a bit in the scuffle, the source added.

Grisham could be seen after the episode directing reporters outside the building in which Kim and Trump met, and she was later seen looking no worse for wear as she accompanied the President at the DMZ.

Trump shook hands with Kim on Sunday and took 20 steps into North Korea, making history as the first sitting US leader to set foot in the hermit kingdom. The encounter at the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone -- their third in person -- came a day after Trump raised the prospect of a border handshake in a tweet and declared he'd have "no problem" stepping into North Korea.

Grisham, who has been the communications director for first lady Melanie Trump for the past two years, was named last week to replace Sarah Sanders as White House press secretary. Grisham will keep her current job too.

The first lady announced Grisham would assume the role of both White House press secretary and communications director on Tuesday, tweeting: "I am pleased to announce @StephGrisham45 will be the next @PressSec & Comms Director! She has been with us since 2015 - @POTUS & I can think of no better person to serve the Administration & our country. Excited to have Stephanie working for both sides of the @WhiteHouse. #BeBest"

CNN's Kevin Liptak and Kate Bennett contributed to this report.

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2019-06-30 13:32:00Z
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