Jangan Permisi

Minggu, 08 Desember 2019

Hong Kong protesters keep up pressure with mass march - CNN

Tens of thousands of protesters of all ages began assembling at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay at 3 p.m. (2 a.m. ET) under bright blue skies. Many in the crowd could be seen carrying large banners, bearing slogans such as "Free Hong Kong."

The event marks the first time since mid-August that a march organized by the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) has been granted police approval. The group was responsible for two back-to-back, largely peaceful weekend marches in early June, which it estimates drew a combined total of more than 3 million people.

The march is expected to move through the main island to Chater Road in Central, according to the CHRF, who are pegging the rally to international Human Rights Day, which falls on December 10 and marks the United Nations' adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"Hong Kong's human rights violations and humanitarian crisis are reaching the tipping point now," CHRF said in a statement, calling on the city's government to "uphold its commitment to Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all UN human rights treaties applicable to Hong Kong."

Organizers have vowed to keep the protest peaceful, and are reportedly deploying 200 marshals to handle any potential conflicts between marchers and the police.

The police have permitted the CHRF to hold rallies in recent months, but not march, and several unauthorized demonstrations have broken out into violent conflicts between protesters and police.

"This is the last chance given by the people to (Chief Executive) Carrie Lam," CHRF convenor Jimmy Sham said Friday, according to AFP.

The group has called on Lam, the city's leader, to meet the protest movement's demands, including an independent investigation into allegations of police brutality and the restarting of political reform to allow full universal suffrage for how the city's leader and legislature are chosen.

There has been something of a lull in protests since pro-democracy candidates scored a landslide victory in local council elections last month, but frustration is growing at Lam's failure to respond to those results in any meaningful way.

Protesters celebrated the passage of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act in the United States, cheering what some described as US President Donald Trump's "thanksgiving present" to them, but any gift from their own government, or the authorities in Beijing, does not seem forthcoming.

Marches organized by the CHRF earlier this summer attracted hundreds of thousands of participants from across Hong Kong, including families and seniors. While turnout predictions are lower for Sunday, a strong showing could reiterate the message of support for the protest movement delivered by the election results, and add pressure on Lam to come up with some kind of compromise solution.

In a statement, the city's government said it "hopes that members of the public, when expressing their views and opinions as well as striving for their own rights and freedom, can embody the tenets of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to respect others' rights and freedom. All violent and illegal acts are contrary to the spirit of the Declaration."

"From June this year until now, there have been over 900 public demonstrations, processions and public meetings," the statement added. "Unfortunately, many ended in violent and illegal confrontations, including reckless blocking of roadways, throwing petrol bombs and bricks, arson, vandalism, setting ablaze individual stores and facilities of the Mass Transit Railway and Light Rail, and beating people holding different views."

The statement said that the government was willing to "engage in dialogues, premised on the legal basis and under a peaceful atmosphere with mutual trust," and added that in the wake of the extradition bill crisis which kicked off the protests, it has "learned its lesson and will humbly listen to and accept criticism."

On Sunday, police said they had seized a "large amount of weapons, including one firearm and over a hundred bullets" during raids that morning. Eight men and three women were arrested in connection with the operation, they said in a statement.

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2019-12-08 08:04:00Z
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Hong Kong prepares for mass march as protesters keep up pressure - CNN

Organizers have vowed to keep the protest peaceful, and are reportedly deploying 200 marshals to handle any potential conflicts between marchers and the police.

The police have permitted the CHRF to hold rallies in recent months, but not march, and several unauthorized demonstrations have broken out into violent conflicts between protesters and police.

"This is the last chance given by the people to (Chief Executive) Carrie Lam," CHRF convenor Jimmy Sham said Friday, according to AFP.

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North Korea conducted 'very important test' at satellite launch facility: state media - Fox News

How serious is North Korea's 'Christmas gift' threat?

North Korea has threatened the United States saying, it will choose its ‘Christmas gift’ if President Trump fails to meet the looming nuclear deadline. Fox News spoke with Bruce Klingner from The Heritage Foundation about the recent threats.

North Korea carried out a “very important test," state media reported Sunday, at a satellite launching facility that the U.S. previously said North Korea had partially dismantled and agreed to close as part of denuclearization efforts.

Pyongyang didn't say what type of test was conducted, but North Korea's KCNA news agency said it took place at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, which experts believe the country has used to test rockets.

State media said the test will have “an important effect on changing the strategic position of (North Korea) once again in the near future.”

NORTH KOREA TO TRUMP: STOP CALLING KIM JONG UN ‘ROCKET MAN’, OR WE’LL CALL YOU A ‘DOTARD’

People watch a TV news program reporting North Korea's announcement with a file footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019. The letters, top left, read "North. Very important test." (Associated Press)

North Korea claims the satellite launches are part of a peaceful space program, but experts say they are likely disguised tests for ballistic missiles and rocket technology.

The new test comes amid a deadline set by Pyongyang, demanding the U.S. relieve sanctions and change its policy on North Korean denuclearization by the end of the year.

Denuclearization talks have stalled between the U.S. and North Korea since the Vietnam summit in February over how much sanctions relief Pyongyang would get for dismantling its main nuclear complex.

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A statement released by North Korea’s United Nations ambassador said denuclearization is off the table and added that lengthy talks with the U.S. are unnecessary, claiming the Trump administration is pursuing a “hostile” policy against North Korea in an attempt to “stifle” it.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-12-08 04:53:14Z
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Sabtu, 07 Desember 2019

American graduate student jailed in Iran has been freed | ABC News - ABC News

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2019-12-07 15:24:46Z
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US graduate student released from Iran highlights cases of Americans detained by Tehran - Fox News

A Chinese-American graduate student is on his way back to the United States after he was released from an Iran prison in exchange for an Iranian scientist who was held by the U.S.

The release of Xiyue Wang, who was detained in 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly “infiltrating” the country and sending confidential material abroad, on Saturday put a spotlight on the detention of at least four other Americans in Iran.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged on Saturday that the Trump administration’s top priority is to return Americans held in Iran and around the world.

AMERICAN GRADUATE STUDENT HELD IN IRAN ON SPY CHARGES SINCE 2016 RELEASED

The most notable detention is that of former FBI Robert Levinson, who vanished from the Iranian island of Kish in 2007 while on an unauthorized CIA mission.

Last month Iran acknowledged for the first time that Levinson was the subject of an "on going case" in the Public Prosecution and Revolutionary Court of Tehran. However, Iranian officials did not say how long the case has been open or how it started.

Levinson is now the longest-held hostage in U.S. history.

His daughter, Sarah Moriarty, told Fox News’ “The Story” last month the Trump administration has been “working very hard; very tirelessly to bring him home.”

The U.S. has offered a $25 million reward for information leading directly to Levinson’s safe location, recovery, and return. This is on top of a $5 million reward already posted.

“My message to my dad is that we are working tirelessly every day and we are working hard to bring him home,” Moriarty said.

DAUGHTER OF EX-FBI AGENT MISSING FOR A DECADE IN IRAN THANKS TRUMP FOR 'CLEAR MESSAGE' TO TEHRAN

Others detained in Iran include 81-year-old businessman Baquer Namazi, who has been held for over two years and has been diagnosed with epilepsy. He is a former representative for the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF who served as governor of Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province under the U.S.-baked shah.

He and his son Siamak Namazi, also a dual national who has been held for more than three years, are serving a 10-year sentence after they were convicted of collaborating with a hostile power.

Baquer Namazi's other son told Fox News in a statement Saturday that while he is thrilled that Wang's "horrific nightmare" has ended, he is "beyond devastated that a second President has left my ailing father Baquer Namazi and brother Siamak Zamasi behind as American hostages in Iran in a second swap deal."

"I hope, pray and expect that this is not a one-time trade but the beginning of an expedited process that will bring my family home soon," Babak Zamaki said.

Also detained is U.S. Navy veteran Michael White, who had been held in an Iranian prison on unspecified charges since late July 2018. The 46-year-old White was detained after visiting his Iranian girlfriend, his mother told the New York Times in January.

American Navy veteran Michael R. White, 46, was detained in Iran after visiting his Iranian girlfriend, his mother said. (Instagram)

White was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison for allegedly insulting Iran’s supreme leader and posting private information only. Information surrounding the care remains vague.

At the time, Joanne White said that the U.S. had put in a request for a consular visit with the Swiss government.

IRAN, US IN WAR OF WORDS OVER PRISONERS

The Swiss Embassy in Tehran looks out for America’s interests in the country as the U.S. Embassy there has been closed since the 1979 student takeover and 444-day hostage crisis.

An Iranian-American art dealer Karan Vafadari and his Iranian wife, Afarin Nayssari, received 27-year and 16-year prison sentences, respectively.

Pompeo said Saturday that Wang – who was released as part of the exchange of scientist Massoud Soleimani – is on his way back to the U.S.

FILE - In this Wednesday, May 9, 2018 file photo, Hua Qu, the wife of detained Chinese-American Xiyue Wang, poses for a photograph with a portrait of her family in Princeton, N.J. Iran's foreign minister says a detained Princeton graduate student will be exchanged for an Iranian scientist held by the U.S. Mohammed Javad Zarif made the announcement on Twitter on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

“Mr. Wang will soon be reunited with his wife and son, who have missed him dearly,” he said.

Tensions have been high between Iran and the U.S. since Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers in May 2018. In the time since, the U.S. has imposed harsh sanctions on Iran's economy. There also have been a series of attacks across the Mideast that the U.S. blames on Iran.

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The Western detainees from the U.S. and elsewhere will likely be used as bargaining chips for future negotiations amid Iran’s unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.

In June, Iran released Nizar Zakka, a U.S. permanent resident from Lebanon who advocated for internet freedom and has done work for the U.S. government. The U.S. deported Iranian Negar Ghodskani in September, who had been brought from Australia and later sentenced to time served for conspiracy to illegally export restricted technology from the U.S. to Iran.

Fox News' Charles Creitz, Samuel Chamberlain, Lucas Tomlinson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-12-07 15:23:01Z
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American Held In Iran Released In Prisoner Exchange - NPR

Enlarge this image

Hua Qu, the wife of Xiyue Wang, a Princeton University graduate student being held at an Iranian prison, wears a button bearing a picture of her husband as she speaks at a news conference to mark the third anniversary of his imprisonment, Aug. 8, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Patrick Semansky/AP hide caption

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Patrick Semansky/AP

Updated at 8:08 a.m. ET

Iran freed an American held prisoner for the past three years, the White House said Saturday, while Iran said the U.S. was freeing an Iranian scientist held in America in return.

"After more than three years of being held prisoner in Iran, Xiyue Wang is returning to the United States," the White House said in a statement Saturday morning. "A Princeton University graduate student, Mr. Wang had been held under the pretense of espionage since August 2016."

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter: "Glad that Professor Massoud Soleimani and Mr. Xiyue Wang will be joining their families shortly."

A senior U.S. official confirmed the release of Massoud Soleimani for Xiyue Wang.

U.S. authorities arrested Soleimani over trade sanction violations, according to The Associated Press. "He and his lawyers maintain his innocence, saying he seized on a former student's plans to travel from the U.S. to Iran in September 2016 as a chance to get recombinant proteins used in his research for a fraction of the price he'd pay at home."

The White House and Zarif both thanked the Swiss government for helping in the negotiations.

Wang was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran for spying for American and British intelligence agencies. Princeton said Wang was arrested while doing research on "the administrative and cultural history of the late Qajar dynasty in connection with his Ph.D. dissertation."

"Everything he did is normal — absolutely everything he did is normal, standard practice for scholars in this region and elsewhere," Stephen Kotkin, Wang's adviser at Princeton, told NPR in 2017. Princeton said it was working behind the scenes to free Wang.

In September 2018, a United Nations committee said Iran had "no legal basis" for Wang's arrest and detention.

This story will be updated.

NPR's Steve Inskeep contributed reporting.

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2019-12-07 12:31:00Z
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American graduate student held in Iran on spy charges since 2016 released - Fox News

An American graduate student held in Iran has been released in exchange for an Iranian scientist held by the U.S., officials confirmed.

Iran’s foreign minister and the White House both announced that Princeton University graduate student Xiyue Wang was exchanged for scientist Massoud Soleimani.

Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, accompanied the Iranian scientist to Switzerland to make the exchange and will return with Wang, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The swap took place in Zurich and Hook and Wang are now en route to Landstuhl in Germany where Wang will be examined by doctors, the official said. Hook is expected to return to the U.S. from Germany alone, as Wang is expected to be evaluated for several days.

“After more than three years of being held prisoner in Iran, Xiyue Wang is returning to the United States,” President Trump said in a statement released by the White House on Saturday. “The highest priority of the United States is the safety and well-being of its citizens. Freeing Americans held captive is of vital importance to my Administration, and we will continue to work hard to bring home all our citizens wrongfully held captive overseas.”

In this Wednesday, May 9, 2018 file photo, Hua Qu, the wife of detained Chinese-American Xiyue Wang, poses for a photograph with a portrait of her family in Princeton, N.J. Iran's foreign minister says a detained Princeton graduate student will be exchanged for an Iranian scientist held by the U.S. Mohammed Javad Zarif made the announcement on Twitter on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019. (AP)

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday that Wang was on his way back to the United States, where he will soon be reunited with his wife and son.

"The United States will not rest until we bring every American detained in Iran and around the world back home to their loved ones," he said in a statement.

WIFE OF US SCHOLAR IMPRISONED IN IRAN SPEAKS OUT: 'HIS ONLY CRIME IS HE'S AMERICAN'

Wang was sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly “infiltrating” the country and sending confidential material abroad. His family and Princeton University strongly denied the claims.

According to the university, Wang was arrested while conducting research on the Qajar dynasty that once ruled Iran for his doctorate in late 19th and early 20th century Eurasian history.

His wife, Gua Qu, rejoiced over the news of his release in a statement on Twitter.

“Our family is complete once again. Our son Shaofan and I have waited three long years for this day and it’s hard to express in words how excited we are to be reunited with Xiyue,” the statement said. “We are thankful to everyone who helped make this happen.”

Wang’s release was negotiated with the assistance of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, who looks out for America’s interests in the country as the U.S. Embassy there has been closed since the 1979 student takeover and 444-day hostage crisis.

Xiyue Wang with son Shaofan (Courtesy of Hua Qu)

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that Soleimani was with Iranian officials in Switzerland.

PENTAGON MULLS SENDING UP TO 7,000 ADDITIONAL FORCES TO MIDDLE EAST, OFFICIALS SAY

Soleimani — who works in stem cell research, hematology and regenerative medicine - was arrested by U.S. authorities on charges he had violated trade sanctions by trying to have biological material brought to Iran.

He and his lawyers maintain his innocence, saying he seized on a former student’s plans to travel from the U.S. to Iran in September 2016 as a chance to get recombinant proteins used in his research for a fraction of the price he’d pay at home.

"Glad that Professor Massoud Soleimani and Mr. Xiyue Wang will be joining their families shortly. Many thanks to all engaged, particularly the Swiss government," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet.

US WANTS INFO ON IRANIAN PLANNER OF 2007 ATTACK THAT KILLED 5 US TROOPS, OFFERS $15M

Wang is one of at least four known Americans being held prisoner in Iran, all accused of spying.

Xiyue Wang and Hua Qu in an undated photo. (Courtesy of Hua Qu)

Hua Qu told Fox News in January that her husband was not a spy, but instead a "history nerd."

"All he wanted to do is to do good research and then teach for the rest of his life," she said at the time.

Iran has detained dual Iranian nationals and those with Western ties in the past to be used as bargaining chips in negotiations.

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Tensions have been high between Iran and the U.S. since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers in May 2018. In the time since, the U.S. has imposed harsh sanctions on Iran's economy. There also have been a series of attacks across the Mideast that the U.S. blames on Iran.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-12-07 11:31:17Z
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