Violent clashes have erupted between Hong Kong police and protesters at the end of a peaceful demonstration against the controversial extradition bill. The incidents took place late on Sunday in a bustling town between Hong Kong island and the border with China.The scene descended into chaos shortly before 10pm local time (1400 GMT), after riot police chased protesters into a shopping centre in Sha Tin. Police used truncheons and pepper spray against protesters, who threw objects such as umbrellas and plastic water bottles at them. Some protesters were also seen beating a police officer. Several arrests were made.A sanctioned, daytime demonstration against the bill earlier in the day had drawn tens of thousands of people. The extradition bill’s critics fear it could result in government opponents being sent to China to stand trial in Communist party-controlled courts.The violence broke out shortly after police had cleared the streets following an hours-long standoff with protesters that began in the late afternoon when a small group of protesters threw objects at the police and placed traffic cones on the street, dismantled roadside metal barriers and set up makeshift barricades to separate themselves from police, who formed into a line.Those standing near the police line put on goggles, face masks and helmets and armed themselves with umbrellas in case police used pepper spray. Noisy protesters chanted: “Nasty police, shame on you!” and shouted “Hong Kong, go!” to boost their spirits.At about 6.30pm, more than a hundred riot police in green uniforms emerged on the scene, holding long shields. Protesters shouted: “Warrant cards! Warrant cards!” – complaining that police did not have identification numbers on their uniforms.In a statement late on Sunday, the Hong Kong government said it “strongly condemned” protesters who “blocked roads, violently assaulted police officers and caused a breach of peace.”.On Saturday, police had used pepper spray and batons to clear protesters in a similar protest in Sheung Shui, on the Chinese border, after clashes with protesters who refused to leave after a police-sanctioned march.Police commissioner Stephen Lo said in a press briefing early on Monday that more than 40 protesterswere arrested. He said at least 10 policemen were injured, including one who had a section of his ring finger bitten off by a protester. He also said protesters violently kicked and beat a policeman who fell to the ground in the shopping centre in Shatin when the clashes took place.The public broadcaster RTHK later said that 22 people were admitted to hospital after the clashes, of whom three were in serious condition. It reported that 11 police officers were injured in the unrest and two lost fingers.The extradition bill has been suspended and Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, has declared it “dead”, but this has failed to reassure citizens, who fear it could be revived. At the demonstration in Sha Tin earlier on Sunday, protesters also urged the authorities to release people who have been detained during protests over the past month, and to investigate police use of force.“Release the righteous fighters! Carrie Lam step down! Shame on the nasty police!” they chanted.Since 9 June, Hong Kong has been rocked by its biggest political crisis, with millions thronging the streets under the sweltering sun to protest against the proposed extradition law, which many fear could result in government critics being sent to China to stand trial.The anti-extradition movement has morphed into a bigger movement encompassing a range of different causes over the past weeks. Many Hong Kong citizens say they have felt energised and emboldened by the solidarity and large turnout at recent protests, which have made headlines across the world.The extradition protests have also reignited a longing for democracy. On Sunday, many protesters also chanted “I want real universal suffrage!”Hong Kong’s leader is not elected by ordinary voters but by an elite committee accountable to Beijing. Only half of the 70-seat legislature is directly elected, while the other 35 seats are occupied by mostly pro-establishment figures from corporate and special interest groups.The Hong Kong government has ejected pro-democracy lawmakers and barred candidates seen as pro-independence from running for elections, thereby stripping the pro-democracy camp’s ability to block unpopular policies in the legislature. Topics Hong Kong Protest China Asia Pacific news

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The former son-in-law of Paul Manafort, the one-time chairman of President Donald Trump’s campaign, has cut a plea deal with the Justice Department that requires him to cooperate with other criminal probes, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The guilty plea agreement, which is under seal and has not been previously reported, could add to the legal pressure on Manafort, who is facing two indictments brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his probe of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Manafort has been indicted in federal courts in Washington and Virginia with charges ranging from tax evasion to bank fraud and has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Jeffrey Yohai, a former business partner of Manafort, was divorced from Manafort’s daughter last August. Yohai has not been specifically told how he will be called on to cooperate as part of his plea agreement, but the two people familiar with the matter say they consider it a possibility that he will be asked to assist with Mueller’s prosecution of Manafort. Legal experts have said that Mueller wants to keep applying pressure on Manafort to plead guilty and assist prosecutors with their probe. Manafort chaired the Trump campaign for three months before resigning in August 2016. Both Trump and Russia have denied allegations they colluded to help Republican Trump win the election. Hilary Potashner, a public defender who is representing Yohai, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Manafort’s spokesman, Jason Maloni, declined to comment. Andrew Brown, a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, had been overseeing an investigation into Yohai’s real estate and bank dealings in California and New York several months before Mueller was appointed to his post in May 2017. Yohai’s agreement, which was concluded early this year, included him pleading guilty to misusing construction loan funds and to a count related to a bank account overdraft. While the deal was cut with Brown’s office, the federal government “can ask for help at any time,” said one of the people familiar with the matter. A spokesman for Brown did not respond to a request for comment and a spokesman for Mueller declined to comment. President Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort departs U.S. District Court after a motions hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S., May 4, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstManafort is to go on trial later this year to fight the two indictments. The charges against him range from failing to disclose lobbying work for a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party to bank fraud. As a close business partner, Yohai was privy to many of Manafort’s financial dealings, according to the two people familiar with the matter and court filings in the bankruptcies of four Los Angeles properties in 2016. In addition to co-investing in California real estate, the two cooperated in getting loans for property deals in New York, Manafort’s indictments show. Mueller sent a team of prosecutors to interview Yohai last June, asking him about Manafort’s relationship with Trump, his ties to Russian oligarchs, and his borrowing of tens of millions of dollars against properties in New York, Reuters reported in February, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Reporting by Nathan Layne; Editing by Alistair BellOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"The crew has taken the necessary measures to save the unit, which is in working order," Shoigu added. He confirmed to Putin that the vessel could be repaired and said "the main reason for the tragedy: a fire in the battery (compartment) that spread out." "We are using the services of the submarine designers and industry representatives to assess the volume and time frame of repairs," he added. Shoigu is overseeing the probe into the incident. On Wednesday, he indicated there were some survivors and that 10 of the victims were captains. "Fourteen crew members were killed, the rest were saved," he said according to RIA-Novosti."Seven of the dead were captains of the first rank, and three were captains of the second rank. Two were Heroes of Russia. All deceased officers will be presented with state awards posthumously," he added.NATO back on the hunt for Russian submarines in the ArcticHe said the submariners evacuated a "civilian representative of the industry" from "the compartment engulfed in fire." They then proceeded to lock "the hatchway to stop the fire from spreading all over the apparatus and were fighting till the end so the vessel survived."In the Kremlin transcript released Thursday, he told the President that assistance measures were being given to the sailors' families."Assistance measures include good education for those children who are still studying and a decent standard of living for everyone, just as we did following similar bitter tragedies," he said. The blaze is one of the deadliest incidents the Russian navy has experienced in years.Twenty people were killed on board a Russian nuclear submarine in 2008, when a fire extinguishing system was triggered accidentally. In 2000, more than 100 men died on the Kursk, a nuclear-powered submarine, when two explosions in its bow caused it to sink to the floor of the Barents Sea.

Enlarge this image Riot police fire tear gas at protesters during a demonstration in Hong Kong's Wong Tai Sin District on Monday. Anthony Kwan/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Anthony Kwan/Getty Images Riot police fire tear gas at protesters during a demonstration in Hong Kong's Wong Tai Sin District on Monday. Anthony Kwan/Getty Images Amid weeks of mass anti-government demonstrations in Hong Kong that have frequently turned violent, Beijing on Tuesday issued a stark warning to protesters: "those who play with fire will perish by it."The remarks, at a news conference in Beijing, were made by Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council.He said China has "tremendous power" to put down the protests and warned that anyone who engages in "violence and crimes ... will be held accountable." Enlarge this image Yang Guang, spokesperson for mainland China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, speaks concerning the ongoing protests in Hong Kong during a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday. Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images Yang Guang, spokesperson for mainland China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, speaks concerning the ongoing protests in Hong Kong during a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday. Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images Asked if he could rule out the use of military force in Hong Kong, Yang told journalists: "We will not let any acts attacking the principle of 'one country, two systems' go unpunished.""I warn all those criminals: Don't misjudge the situation or take restraint as a sign of weakness," he said.Yang's comments came a day after Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, vowed to restore order in the city after nine weeks of nearly uninterrupted demonstrations. Speaking on Monday, the embattled Lam said the Chinese territory was "on the verge of a very dangerous situation" — words repeated verbatim by Yang.The city on Monday was plunged into chaos as protesters barricaded roads and besieged police stations in the most significant unrest since the former British colony was returned to China in 1997.A general strike on Monday brought life in the bustling Asian hub to a standstill. Protesters were joined by teachers, security workers and some 2,300 aviation workers, resulting in 224 flight cancellations. Commuter trains were shut down when protesters lodged umbrellas in the doors or used their arms to prop them open during rush hour.In clashes overnight Monday, police tried to quash demonstrations in seven separate districts, including densely populated Mong Kok in Kowloon, across the harbor from Hong Kong island. In several locations, they used flash grenades and tear gas against black-clad protesters wearing face masks.Police said 148 people were arrested and "some 800 tear gas rounds" were expended in Monday's melee. Since the protests began on June 9, Hong Kong police say they've arrested 420 people.Social and political divisions are deepening in Hong Kong, with one side determined to defend what they say are their shrinking liberties, and the other firm in holding the line on intensifying dissent. The latest protests caught fire in June to oppose a proposed law that would have allowed some in the territory accused of serious crimes to be extradited to mainland China for prosecution.Although Lam's government has since suspended consideration of the controversial bill, protesters want a promise to kill it completely. They have also infused their demands with grievances taken directly from the 2014 Occupy Central "umbrella" movement in Hong Kong.So far, Beijing has used a carrot-and-stick approach to trying to persuade protesters to go home. Hong Kong, Beijing argued on Tuesday, enjoys a privileged role in international financial systems, a status that a small group of radical activists threaten.But many in Hong Kong disagree."It's reached a point where threats aren't going to make things go away now," says Antony Dapiran, a Hong Kong-based lawyer and writer. "I can't help but think that the intended message [at Tuesday's news conference] was directed domestically, to send a message that we are in control here and maintaining stability."Meanwhile, protesters are trying to expand their protest methods beyond marches to street performances, strikes and exhibitions, says Lo Kin-hei, a vice chairman of the opposition Hong Kong Democratic Party."The protesters also need to rest," Lo told NPR, stressing that on-the-ground protests would continue. "The clashes, the intense protests, I don't think [the protesters] will give up on this because they think this is the one thing that can affect the course of governance."In yet another potentially worrisome sign, more than 12,000 police officers in the southern city of Shenzhen, which is adjacent to Hong Kong, conducted anti-riot drills on Tuesday, according to Chinese state media and the Chinese police force.On Weibo, a Chinese social media site similar to Twitter, the Shenzhen police posted that the drills were in preparation for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1."A drill will be held to increase troop morale, practice and prepare for the security of celebrations, [and] maintain national political security and social stability," the post said.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort breached his plea agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office by lying to prosecutors about matters which are material to its Russia probe, a judge ruled on Wednesday. The ruling concludes weeks of wrangling between Manafort’s lawyers and the special counsel over whether he had intentionally lied to prosecutors, impeding their investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is overseeing the Manafort case in a Washington court, found there was a “preponderance” of evidence that Manafort lied on three different topics, including his communications with his former business partner Konstantin Kilimnik, whom prosecutors say has ties to Russian intelligence. Kilimnik has denied such ties. Jackson cleared Manafort of allegations that he intentionally lied on two other subjects - Kilimnik’s role in an obstruction of justice charge and statements Manafort made about his contacts with members of the Trump administration. Nevertheless, the ruling will almost certainly dash Manafort’s hopes of avoiding significant time in prison, as Mueller’s prosecutors are now released from their obligation to support a lighter sentence. Sentencing experts have said Manafort, 69, could face a decade in prison. Michael Zeldin, a former federal prosecutor, said one possible reason Manafort chose to lie was because he was hoping for a presidential pardon — echoing speculation raised by one of Mueller’s prosecutors at a court hearing last week. “Why he lied is a great mystery unless he is covering up something of significance,” Zeldin said. “Unless he is pardoned he is going to spend the rest of his life in prison.” The judge found that Manafort lied about his interactions with Kilimnik including about the sharing of polling data on the Trump campaign and their discussions over a “Ukrainian peace plan,” a proposal that envisioned ending U.S. sanctions on Russia - long an important objective of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government. A court transcript released last week showed that Mueller’s team believed those lies to be “at the heart” of their investigation into potential collusion, which Trump and Russia have both denied. In a court filing ahead of Wednesday’s ruling, Manafort’s lawyers repeated their argument that their client never intentionally lied to prosecutors and stressed that he corrected any mistakes once they were pointed out to him. Manafort struck the deal with Mueller in September when he pleaded guilty in Jackson’s court to conspiracy against the United States, a charge that includes a range of conduct from money laundering to failing to register as a lobbyist for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, as well as conspiracy to obstruct justice for his attempts to tamper with witnesses in his case. Manafort also faces sentencing in a separate case in Virginia where a jury in August convicted him of financial crimes including failing to pay taxes on some $16 million he pocketed for his political work in Ukraine. Slideshow (2 Images)Manafort lawyers have said he is suffering from depression, anxiety and gout while in detention awaiting sentencing. Given his age and health issues. Manafort had been in a position to receive some leniency prior to Jackson’s ruling, said sentencing expert Mark Allenbaugh. “That is gone now,” he said. “Manafort will serve a minimum of 10 years’ imprisonment, maybe more, for both cases.” Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Nathan Layne; editing by Tom Brown and Sonya HepinstallOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

ImageHundreds of thousands of people in Hong Kong protested an extradition bill in early June. The protests continue, but their goals have expanded.Credit...Lam Yik Fei for The New York TimesHONG KONG — The protests that have shaken Hong Kong this summer began with huge demonstrations in early June against an unpopular bill. Since then, they have become a broader movement against Beijing’s power in the semiautonomous territory.Over several months, violent clashes between young protesters and the police have become more frequent, and the demonstrators’ demands have gotten more diverse and ambitious. Activists have stormed government offices, halted public transportation and defaced symbols of Beijing’s authority. And the use of force against demonstrators, along with the failure to prevent a mob attack on train passengers, has made police conduct a central issue. During the protests of Oct. 1, which coincided with celebrations marking the 70th year of Communist rule in China, police shot a teenage demonstrator. It was the first time in months of protests that a live round was fired at a protester.On Sept. 4, Hong Kong’s chief executive said she would satisfy one of the protesters’ central demands by withdrawing the extradition bill. But it may not be enough to appease the protesters, who are now driven by multiple grievances with the government.[Read more about what’s happening in the Hong Kong protests.]Here’s a guide to what prompted the protests, how they evolved and why it all matters.What is Hong Kong’s relationship with China? Hong Kong, an international finance hub on China’s southern coast, was a British colony until 1997, when it was handed back to China under a policy known as “one country, two systems.” The policy made Hong Kong part of China but let it keep many liberties denied to citizens on the mainland, including free speech, unrestricted internet access and the right to free assembly. The territory has its own laws, system of government and police force under a mini-constitution known as the Basic Law. China promised that this system would remain in place until at least 2047.But many Hong Kongers feel that Beijing is already chipping away at its autonomy, and that the local government does its bidding. The territory’s top leader, the chief executive — currently Carrie Lam — is appointed by a pro-Beijing committee. And China’s security apparatus has made troubling intrusions into Hong Kong territory, including abducting booksellers and a Chinese-born billionaire.Why did people start protesting?In February, the local government introduced a bill in Hong Kong’s legislature, which is stacked with pro-China lawmakers, that would allow people accused of crimes to be sent to places with which Hong Kong had no extradition treaty — including mainland China, where the courts are controlled by the Communist Party.Mrs. Lam, the chief executive, argued that the bill was needed to guarantee justice for victims. She said it was prompted by the case of a man who was accused of killing his girlfriend in Taiwan, then evading prosecution by fleeing to Hong Kong. Critics say the bill would allow Beijing to target dissidents in Hong Kong with phony charges. [Read more about the extradition bill and why it is so unpopular.]Hundreds of thousands of people, including elderly residents and families with children, joined a march to oppose the bill on June 9. Why have the demonstrations continued?The discussion and demands changed on June 12, when the police used pepper spray, batons and more than 150 canisters of tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters, a small number of whom had thrown projectiles at the police. The violence raised the pressure on Mrs. Lam, and on June 15 she suspended the extradition bill, later calling it “dead.” But she refused to withdraw it entirely until Sept. 4, when she announced she would formally withdraw the bill. It was unclear, however, whether that decision would be enough to quell the protest movement, which over the summer developed several more ambitious demands.Fueled by anger toward the police, as well as the slow erosion of civil liberties, the largely leaderless protests morphed into a broader, more complicated movement about protecting freedoms, democracy and Hong Kong’s autonomy. The list of protesters’ demands has grown to include an independent investigation into the police response, amnesty for arrested participants and direct elections for all lawmakers and the chief executive. The demonstrations have continued, and a vast majority of the participants have been nonviolent. A peaceful march on June 16 was the biggest in Hong Kong’s history — as many as two million people may have joined it. But clashes between the police and young protesters in hard hats, masks and black T-shirts have escalated sharply. Hundreds of demonstrators broke into the Legislative Council building in July, occupying it for hours and vandalizing it. Later that month, protesters defaced China’s national emblem on the central government’s main office in the city.That night, a mob of more than 100 men armed with rods attacked protesters and bystanders at a train station, injuring dozens. The police were late to arrive and initially made no arrests; some of the people later arrested appear to have ties to the organized crime groups known as triads. The episode shocked the city and appears to have deepened anger toward the police, who have been accused of letting the attack happen.The demonstrators have become more fluid in their tactics, moving from place to place around the city (“Be water,” a line from the Hong Kong actor Bruce Lee, has become a rallying cry). They have staged strikes, surrounded police stations, thrown bricks and lit fires, and the police have ramped up their use of tear gas, deployed water cannons and sent officers undercover among the protesters. In August, the protests reached a new pitch: mass demonstrations briefly shut down air traffic at the Hong Kong airport; as many as 1.7 million defied the police to peacefully march through the city center; and street battles erupted around the city in the worst violence since June.How have the governments of Hong Kong and China responded? Beijing has stood behind Mrs. Lam and slowly ratcheted up its warnings to the protesters. In early August, for instance, Yang Guang, an official in Beijing’s office for Hong Kong affairs, warned, “I want to warn all the criminals to not wrongly judge the situation and take restraint for weakness.”A “blow from the sword of law is waiting for them in the future,” he said.But Chinese officials have largely left it to Mrs. Lam to quell the unrest.Until Sept. 4, she had refused to make further concessions to the protesters, and appeared confident that her government could ride out the unrest. Although she announced she would withdraw the extradition bill, she declined to open an independent inquiry into police conduct. On Oct. 1, police shot a teenage demonstrator. It was the first time in months of protests that a live round was fired at a protester.Chinese officials, despite their increasingly strident warnings, have not said how Hong Kong, or China, might resolve the crisis. Though the Chinese military hinted in July that it was ready to step in, Hong Kong officials have denied that they planned to ask for military intervention, which the Basic Law allows.

After leaving their careers on Wall Street in 2012 to become entrepreneurs, Irene Ryabaya and her co-founder Diana Murakhovskaya were expecting to find a more enlightened world. Instead, Ryabaya says, it was worse.“I was so surprised, because I can see why oil businesses, for example, are a bit old-fashioned in terms of attitudes to women – they’ve been around for over 100 years – but tech entrepreneurs are younger, and their world is newer, so it should be different. Instead there’s no accountability, and even more sexual discrimination and bias.”The pair were creating a friendship app, but, on the side, were also working on an informal support network for women in tech and entrepreneurship. Eventually, the app fell by the wayside, as the network took on a life of its own.“We were holding events and helping women who didn’t have the same Wall Street connections and experience. Soon it started to feel like we needed to do more.” They decided to switch directions and create their own incubator for women-led startups, called Monarq. Company founders can now apply to Monarq to get access to training, introductions and mentorship. A similar network offering pitch training and introductions, called the Female Founders Alliance, was launched in Seattle in 2017. Its founder and CEO, Leslie Feinzaig, started it after she experienced difficulties raising funds for her education tech startup.Feinzaig describes her journey of raising capital as a lonely one. Investors didn’t immediately see the market for her education tech company – an enterprise partly inspired by her six-month old daughter – despite initial success among local parents and some national media coverage. “One of the issues I think I came up against – and I have heard this from male investors in confidence – is that if investors meet a woman of child bearing age, they think that she maybe isn’t going to give it her all. Yet if they see a man at whatever age, they fully expect him to give it his all.”Feinzaig says women need to recreate the networks men typically access: “Men offer each other support by making introductions and setting up deals, and women do that less.”Statistics support her theory. All-women founder teams won just 2.2% of the total pot of money invested in the US in 2017. The picture is little better in the UK, where research from the Female Founders Forum, a project run by Barclays and the Entrepreneurs Network, found that companies with at least one female founder attracted just 9% of the cash invested in 2016. Sophie Jarvis, programme director and head of the Female Founders Forum project, points to bias and culture in the investment industry as reasons for the gender investment gap. “The venture capital industry is still quite Mad Men-esque,” she says. “I think it should look at what other professions, such as medicine and law, have done to stamp out that culture, to some extent.”Jarvis wants to encourage more women to go into venture capital. In the UK, for example, only 13% of venture capital decision makers (partners or equivalent) are women.A number of organisations have sprung up to challenge the boys’ club. Investment group Female Founders Fund only funds teams with at least one woman as a co-founder; Backstage Capital funds female, LGBTQ, and minority entrepreneurs; while not-for-profits such as Diversity VC in London and All Raise group in the US are encouraging more women to become venture capitalists.London-based investor Francesca Warner says she co-founded Diversity VC with four others to investigate the lack of diversity in the industry. “It was a response to joining the industry and being the only woman – going to conferences and there being 30 speakers who were all men, all white.”The organisation holds events at universities to encourage more people to join and produces toolkits about bias. “Investors might look at 100 deals in a month, and only invest in one. They are making quick decisions and that leads to bias,” Warner says.“It’s frustrating; it’s often down to gut feeling,” agrees Ryabaya. “These issues are pretty difficult to solve. Often it’s because women are building businesses that appeal to women, solving problems more commonly faced by women.” This leads to missed opportunities. “When I think about it, it seems absurd that some stuff doesn’t exist yet that we need – but the reason is most of the people building the software are young white males,” says Ryabaya. “You end up with thousands of Tinder clones.”Both Ryabaya and Warner say investors look for people they’ve seen before. “Both women and men do it, sadly, they look out for people who remind them of people who’ve been very successful before, say Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg. It creates a disadvantage if you don’t match that pattern.” Despite fighting a seemingly uphill battle, the women leading these initiatives are optimistic. “I am positive about the future because I know so many amazing women and men working on this. I think it will change,” says Ryabaya. Feinzaig believes this talent will be transformed into returns – and that this will generate real momentum: “I really think that over the next few decades there is going to be a windfall for people who invest in women-led businesses.” Topics Business to business Transforming leadership Gender Investing Entrepreneurs Small business Women in the boardroom

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The Hong Kong government unveiled a HK$19.1 billion ($2.4 billion) package on Thursday to support a slowing economy as escalating political protests and the prolonged U.S.-China trade war weigh heavily on the Asian financial centre. A man walks on a street after the clashes between anti-extradition bill protesters and police officers during a demonstration in Sham Shui Po neighbourhood in Hong Kong, China, August 11, 2019. REUTERS/Issei KatoFinancial Secretary Paul Chan announced the package at a news conference as anti-government protests roiled Hong Kong for the third month. He said the government is expecting to lower its 2019 GDP growth forecast to 0%-1%, from the original 2%-3%. The measures include subsidies for the underprivileged and business enterprises, as well as somewhat higher salary tax rebates. The off-cycle support came ahead of the annual policy address in October and the budget, scheduled for early next year. Chan insisted the intervention was not related to political pressure from the protests. “It is prudent and reasonable to assume that the economic headwinds will continue to be very strong,” he said. The government will also provide a 90% guarantee for approved loans to small and medium sized businesses, create more construction jobs, and hand HK$2.3 billion of subsidies to 900,000 school students. Hong Kong will release its latest economic forecasts along with second-quarter data on Friday, though analysts said the April-June readings would not give a full picture of the sharp shock to businesses seen in the last two months. Ten weeks of increasingly violent confrontations between police and demonstrators have plunged the international business hub into its worst crisis since it reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997. Tourists are cancelling hotel bookings and retailers are forecasting a sharp drop in sales, adding to the pressure on local businesses from the year-long trade war and China’s broader economic slowdown. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam last week warned the next downturn will hit the city’s economy like a “tsunami”, and said her administration will provide more “daring measures” in supporting growth. (GRAPHIC - HK retail sales, tourism receipts as of Aug 15 2019: tmsnrt.rs/2YQKnCq) But Chan’s package is unlikely to ease the downward pressure on Hong Kong’s small and open economy, said Cliff Tan, East Asian head of global markets research at MUFG. “The world’s going into recession ... Hong Kong will not be able to somehow ride that out without being affected,” he said, adding that China’s economy was also struggling. Preliminary data showed Hong Kong’s economy expanded 0.6% in April-June from a year earlier, in line with the first quarter’s decade-low pace and much less than economists expected. But GDP contracted 0.3% on a quarter-on-quarter basis. Research firm Capital Economics warned the protests could push Hong Kong into a recession, or risk “an even worse outcome if a further escalation triggers capital flight”. Financial markets have shown signs of stress, with stocks .HSI dipping to their lowest since January this week. Chinese paramilitary forces conducted exercises across the border from Hong Kong on Thursday, raising fears that Beijing may be preparing to act against mass demonstrations in the Asian financial hub it has described as “near terrorism”. (GRAPHIC - Chart - Under pressure - HK stock market: tmsnrt.rs/2N0J90m) Additional reporting by Twinnie Siu, Clare Jim and Felix Tam; Editing by Kim Coghill and Darren SchuettlerOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fifty U.S. states and territories, led by Texas, announced an investigation into Google’s “potential monopolistic behavior.”The Monday announcement closely followed one from a separate group of states Friday that disclosed an investigation into Facebook’s market dominance. The two probes widen the antitrust scrutiny of big tech companies beyond sweeping federal and congressional investigations and enforcement action by European regulators.Nebraska attorney general Doug Peterson, a Republican, said at a press conference held in Washington that 50 attorneys general joining together sends a “strong message to Google.”California and Alabama are not part of the investigation, although it does include the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Google is headquartered in California and employs more workers there than in any other region. Google also broke ground last year on a $600 million data-center project in Alabama.Tara Gallegos, a spokeswoman for California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, declined to confirm or deny any state investigation and would not comment on the announcement by the other states. Mike Lewis, a spokesman for Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, also said the state’s legal team had no comment on the probe.The news conference featured a dozen Republican attorneys general plus the Democratic attorney general of Washington, D.C.Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has a market value of more than $820 billion and controls so many facets of the internet that it’s almost impossible to surf the web for long without running into at least one of its services. Google’s dominance in online search and advertising enables it to target millions of consumers for their personal data.The state officials assembled in Washington were vague about the focus and scope of the investigation, although several suggested scrutiny of the company’s dominant search and advertising businesses.Several advocacy groups applauded the announcement, saying the power of tech companies has gone unchecked for too long. Antitrust enforcement “can help consumers and innovative competitors access markets for platforms that are more fair and more competitive,” the group Public Knowledge said in a statement.Critics often point to Google’s 2007 acquisition of online advertising company DoubleClick as pivotal to its advertising dominance.Europe’s antitrust regulators slapped Google with a $1.7 billion fine in March for unfairly inserting exclusivity clauses into contracts with advertisers, disadvantaging rivals in the online ad business.One outcome antitrust regulators might explore is forcing Google to spin off search as a separate company, experts say. Regulators also could focus on areas such as Google’s popular video site YouTube, an acquisition Google scored in 2006.Google has long argued that although its businesses are large, they are useful and beneficial to consumers.“Google is one of America’s top spenders on research and development, making investments that spur innovation,” wrote Kent Walker, the company’s senior vice president of global affairs, in a blog post Friday . On Monday, Google referred reporters to that earlier post.“Things that were science fiction a few years ago are now free for everyone — translating any language instantaneously, learning about objects by pointing your phone, getting an answer to pretty much any question you might have,” Walker wrote.But federal and state regulators and policymakers are growing more concerned not just with the company’s impact on ordinary internet users, but also on smaller companies striving to compete in Google’s markets.“On the one hand, you could just say, ‘well Google is dominant because they’re good,’” said Jen King, the director of privacy at Stanford’s Center for Internet and Society. “But at the same time, it’s created an ecosystem where people’s whole internet experience is mediated through Google’s home page and Google’s other products.”For instance, Google’s search platform is often the starting point for millions of people when they go online. Google dwarfs other search competitors and has faced harsh criticism in the past for favoring its own products over competitors at the top of search results. European regulators also have investigated in this area, ultimately fining Google for promoting its own shopping service. Google is appealing the fine.Google will control 31.1% of global digital ad dollars in 2019, according to eMarketer estimates, crushing a distant second-place Facebook. Many smaller advertisers have argued that Google has such a stranglehold on the market that it becomes a system of whatever Google says, goes — because the alternative could be not reaching customers.“There’s definitely concern on the part of the advertisers themselves that Google wields way too much power in setting rates and favoring their own services over others,” King said.Google’s smartphone operating system, Android, is also the most widely used in the world.European regulators have fined Google $5 billion for tactics involving Android, finding that Google forced smartphone makers to install Google apps, thereby expanding its reach. Google has since allowed more options for alternative browser and search apps to European Android phones.The U.S. Justice Department opened a sweeping investigation of big tech companies this summer, looking at whether their online platforms have hurt competition, suppressed innovation or otherwise harmed consumers. The Federal Trade Commission has been conducting its own competition probe of Big Tech, as has the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust.___Lerman contributed from San Francisco. Matt O’Brien in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.

FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is pictured outside their research facility in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, December 6, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo(Reuters) - China’s envoy to the European Union warned that excluding Chinese tech group Huawei could hamper new 5G mobile networks, the Financial Times on Sunday. Efforts to limit involvement of Chinese technology in upcoming 5G projects in Europe might bring “serious consequences to the global economic and scientific co-operation,” Ambassador Zhang Ming said in an interview with FT. Some Western governments, led by the United States, have barred the use of the Chinese company’s equipment in new networks over concerns the technology could be used for spying. Huawei has denied the claims, saying network security has always been its priority. Reporting by Ishita Chigilli Palli in Bengaluru and Paul Sandle in London; Editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia failed on Thursday in a bid for the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution that expressed support for a political solution in Venezuela and backed the Maduro government as the primary coordinator of international help. The Russian text only received four votes in favor. Four countries abstained and the rest of the 15-member council were against. A resolution needs at least nine votes and no vetoes by Russia, China, France, Britain or the United States to pass. Reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by James DalgleishOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Brazil’s rightwing president Jair Bolsonaro causes alarm among environmentalists after stressing that protecting his country’s unique ecosystem has to be consistent with economic growth. His brief speech to the World Economic Forum outlines a tax-cutting, privatisation agenda. Bolsonaro pledges to bring about economic change, saying that by the end of his term, Brazil will be ‘in the ranking of the 50 best countries to do business with’ Jair Bolsonaro alarms climate activists with pro-business speech

Why Mr. Manafort wanted them to see American polling data is unclear. He might have hoped that any proof that he was managing a winning candidate would help him collect money he claimed to be owed for his work on behalf of the Ukrainian parties.About the same time, Mr. Manafort was also trying to curry favor with Oleg V. Deripaska, a Russian billionaire close to the Kremlin and an associate of Mr. Kilimnik. In July 2016, Mr. Manafort, then the Trump campaign chairman, told Mr. Kilimnik that he could offer Mr. Deripaska “private briefings,” according to emails reported by The Washington Post. Mr. Deripaska had claimed Mr. Manafort owed him millions from a failed business venture, and Mr. Manafort may have been trying to use his status in the campaign to hold him at bay.The surprise disclosures about Mr. Manafort were the latest in two years of steady revelations about contacts between associates of Mr. Trump’s and Russian officials or operatives. In another development on Tuesday, the Russian lawyer who met with senior campaign officials at Trump Tower in June 2016 was charged with obstruction of justice in an unrelated case. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said that the lawyer, Natalia V. Veselnitskaya, had pretended to a federal judge that she was purely a private defense lawyer when in fact she was working with the Russian government to thwart the civil prosecution of a Russian company.Of the various Russian intermediaries to the Trump campaign, Mr. Kilimnik appears to be one of the most important to Mr. Mueller’s inquiry. A Russian citizen and resident, he faces charges from Mr. Mueller’s team of tampering with witnesses who had information about Mr. Manafort, but Mr. Kilimnik is not expected to ever stand trial. He did not respond to a phone call and email seeking comment on Tuesday.His relationship with Mr. Manafort dates back years. The two men worked together to promote a Russia-aligned politician, Viktor F. Yanukovych, who rose to Ukraine’s presidency, was ousted in a popular uprising and fled to Russia in 2014. The two men continued working together over the next three years as Mr. Manafort’s financial troubles grew and investigators began to investigate a fraud scheme that eventually led to his conviction for 10 felonies.In August 2016, apparently just before Mr. Manafort was fired from the Trump campaign, he and Mr. Kilimnik met to discuss a plan for Ukraine that seemed to further Russia’s interests. They also met several times afterward, including once in Madrid in early 2017. In an interview in February 2017 in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, Mr. Kilimnik suggested the plan would have involved reviving the political fortunes of Mr. Yanukovych, the ousted Ukrainian leader.For Russia, trying to influence the incoming Trump administration’s policy on Ukraine was of paramount importance. The economic sanctions imposed after Russia annexed Crimea damaged the Russian economy, and various emissaries have tried to convince administration officials to broker a resolution to a long-running guerrilla war between Russia and Ukraine.

Attorneys general in a number of US states are opening antitrust investigations into Facebook, New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, announced on Friday. A separate inquiry into Google is expected to be announced Monday.The new investigations mark yet another blow to the major tech players, which have faced increasing scrutiny from the government – most prominently an antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice.The investigations could open up big tech firms to legal actions, , as Microsoft faced 20 years ago. It could even result in breaking up companies, as a number of presidential candidates have called for in recent months.Here’s what you need to know.Antitrust regulations exist to prevent businesses from holding too much centralized power over an industry. Legislators at state and federal levels can take action to promote competition by preventing mergers, breaking up big companies, and penalizing companies for anti-competitive behavior with fines.The state antitrust investigations announced on Friday will look at “whether Facebook has stifled competition and put users at risk”, James said in a statement.Facebook has been accused of anticompetitive conduct, including buying up competing tech firms and copying features from rival apps.“We will use every investigative tool at our disposal to determine whether Facebook’s actions may have endangered consumer data, reduced the quality of consumers’ choices, or increased the price of advertising,” James said.A separate investigation into Google will be led by a bipartisan group of about three dozen state attorneys general, according to the Wall Street Journal.Details are scarce before the inquiry’s announcement, but the Journal reports the attorneys will focus on Google’s impact on digital advertising markets.The newest antitrust investigations show the basic business model for the world’s largest technology firms is being increasingly threatened, said Cillian Kieran, privacy compliance expert and CEO of the privacy startup Ethyca.They “should be seen as a bellwether for every business; compliance is not optional, rather better data practices and operations are becoming fundamental to business growth and safe operations,” he said.Facebook is also facing pushback in Europe, where the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) passed in 2018. While state-level regulation in the US would not be as impactful as federal measures, states do have the ability to levy large fines in antitrust cases.The investigations come on the heels of a chaotic year for Facebook. In July, the company was hit with a $5bn fine, the largest ever levied by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It is also facing continuing scrutiny and investigation of its proposed digital currency, Libra, due to launch in 2020.After the $5bn fine, the FTC announced it was carrying out a separate antitrust investigation against the company. House judiciary committee lawmakers also launched an antitrust review of Facebook and Google in June 2019.Tech companies are also facing pressure from the White House, which has threatened to investigate anti-conservative bias on social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter, and hosted a forum on the topic in July.Facebook has been hit with a number of other lawsuits, unrelated to antitrust, including one brought by the Washington DC attorney general regarding the Cambridge Analytica scandal, a suit in Illinois over the collection of facial recognition data, and a suit brought in California over a 2018 data breach of 30m accounts.Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple are also being subjected to a broad antitrust review opened by the US justice department in July.Facebook has argued it does not monopolize the tech space and has said it will continue “a conversation” with lawmakers on the topic. Users have “multiple choices” for every service the platform provides, said Will Castleberry, the vice-president of state and local policy at Facebook.“We understand that if we stop innovating, people can easily leave our platform,” he said. “This underscores the competition we face, not only in the US but around the globe. We will work constructively with state attorneys general and we welcome a conversation with policymakers about the competitive environment in which we operate.”Google has yet to comment. Topics Facebook Google Alphabet Social networking Social media Internet news

Andrew Yang announced he is vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination back in February. His mission? Preparing America for automation.But how is he going to do that? I got the chance to sit down with him at the Work Awesome conference in New York yesterday to ask him about his stances on trucking automation, AI policy, and his favorite topic, universal basic income (UBI).This article first appeared in Clocking In, our newsletter covering the impact of emerging technology on the future of work. Sign up here—it’s free!Erin: Why focus on automation and UBI? They aren’t common topics for presidential candidates.Andrew: The reason why I’m focused on this issue is I’m convinced it’s driving the social, economic, and political dysfunction we are seeing. The reason why Donald Trump is our president today is we automated away 4 million manufacturing jobs in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Iowa, all the swing states he needed to win and did win. And everyone who works in technology knows full well we are about to do the same to millions of retail workers, call center workers, fast food workers, truck drivers, and on and on throughout the economy.For me, there was no choice in the matter. It wasn’t like, “I’m going to run for president and I’m going to decide which issue to focus on.” I’m running for president because I know that we’re in the third inning of the greatest economic transformation of industry in the world and that our politicians don’t understand it all.Do you view automation as something that is bringing primarily negative change to the US?I tend to focus on truck driving because it’s something people understand. We should be celebrating the possible automation of truck driving as a job, because it would save thousands of lives—about 4,000 Americans die in accidents due to truckers every year.But on the flip side, you have 3.5 million Americans who drive trucks for a living. Yes, it will potentially cause riots and mass strife, especially when you consider there are an additional 5 million Americans who work at truck stops, motels, and diners who rely on the trucks stopping. So it’s overly simplistic to say is automation a good thing or is automation a bad thing. My mission as president is to make it as good a thing as it can be for as many people as possible.What is the time frame you see for these changes to the trucking industry? Because there’s a shortage of workers in trucking right now, and some think these technologies could help solve this shortage.There are massive trucker shortages. It’s a very difficult, turnover-prone job because it’s a very hard job on your body. That’s actually going to hasten the automation of the job, because they say, “It looks like we are missing half a million people, so let’s get to automating this.”The time frame you are looking at, the experts tell me, is five to 10 years away. We will see a hybrid model at first. To start, you are going to have a human driver in one truck and a robot truck following. But before long you will see mini convoys, and the human beings getting into the cab of the truck 15 miles out of a densely populated urban area.You are well known for being an advocate for UBI as a solution to automation. What information and data do you think is needed to test and better validate UBI as a possible solution?It’s wrong to think we don’t have information on this. We do. There have been many implementations of basic-income-aligned programs over the last number of decades. I was blown away when I looked at the data. The data was very clear that putting money into people’s hands improves their way of life, and it is to me the single biggest and most effective move we can make as a country to help manage the transition we are in.Obviously, UBI has a huge cost attached to it. If UBI was put in place, do you think there would also be a need for an additional allocation of resources for things beyond it to deal with automation? Like apprenticeship or digital training programs?I’m a huge fan of investing in technical and vocational training and apprenticeship programs. But even if we were able to execute them at the highest levels, that would take years, maybe even decades. And during that time we are going to eliminate millions of the most common jobs in the economy. So we have to be realistic about what we can accomplish and in what time frame. It’s much more feasible to modify our capital flows than it is to overhaul a dysfunctional educational system or train millions of Americans for jobs that they may or may not be well suited for.What are the other technology issues that you think should be major campaign issues in the next election?I think artificial intelligence should be a very important issue in the election. The folks in Silicon Valley tell me it’s going to be difficult to keep up with China because of the scale of resources China is putting behind it. This is again an area where American leadership is in true jeopardy. Now we’re relying on private companies who, despite their ingenuity, don’t have the resources to keep up with what the Chinese government can do. The Chinese government is essentially writing a blank check to various AI companies. That’s a concern to technology companies here. And that’s something that I’ve told them I will help with as president.The goal is to avoid an AI arms race, but it’s much easier to avoid an arms race when you are one of the leaders at the table than when another country is far ahead of you.On the flip side, do you think policies need to be put into place to regulate AI?The answer to that is definitely yes, and many of the technologists I talked to in Silicon Valley agreed with that. And so as president, one of my proposals will be to create a new department of technology and a new secretary of technology who is not an administrator, not a politician, but a real technologist that other technologists admire and respect. That person would be based in Silicon Valley, close to the action.We need our senior-most technologists in the room on a consulting basis to make sure things, frankly, don’t run amok and that we don’t end up doing something that threatens humanity. This is a possible existential threat, so it’s a responsibility of any government to put some sort of safeguard in place.

WASHINGTON—A group of states is preparing to move forward with a joint antitrust investigation of big technology companies, according to people familiar with the situation, adding another layer of scrutiny to an industry already under a federal spotlight. The effort involving state attorneys general is expected to be formally launched as soon as next month, the people said. It is likely to focus on whether a handful of dominant technology platforms use their marketplace powers to stifle competition....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - George Papadopoulos, a former aide to then-Republican candidate Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, was sentenced on Friday to 14 days in prison after pleading guilty last year to lying to federal agents investigating whether campaign members coordinated with Russia before the election. Prosecutors for Special Counsel Robert Mueller said Papadopoulos lied to agents about his contacts with Russians during the campaign “to minimize both his own role as a witness and the extent of the campaign’s knowledge of his contacts,” according to the government’s sentencing memorandum. Among those contacts were London-based professor Joseph Mifsud, who told him the Russians had “dirt” on Trump’s Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton in the form of “thousands of emails.” Papadopoulos defended himself and contradicted White House officials in a CNN special program Saturday night, “The Mysterious case of George Papadopoulos.” In the interview with CNN reporter Jake Tapper, Papadopoulos said that he raised the prospect of Trump and his campaign officials meeting with the Russians. “The candidate (Trump) gave a nod, but did not commit either way,” he said. Trump has denied knowing anything about contact with Russians and his campaign. Russia has denied U.S. allegations that it interfered in the campaign and Trump denies campaign collusion. Prosecutors had asked Judge Randolph Moss in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to impose a prison sentence of up to six months, saying that Papadopoulos’ lies impeded their investigation and that he did not cooperate. “He didn’t come close to the standard of ‘substantial assistance,’” prosecutor Andrew Goldstein told the judge at the sentencing hearing. “It was at best, begrudging efforts to cooperate.” In addition to the prison time, Papadopoulos was sentenced to one year of supervised release and 200 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $9,500. Friday was his first public court appearance since he pleaded guilty in October 2017 to lying to the FBI while the case was still sealed. “I hope to have a second chance to redeem myself,” Papadopoulos told the judge. “I made a dreadful mistake but I am a good man.” He and his wife left the courthouse without speaking to the press. However, Papadopoulos’ mother Kiki told reporters she was satisfied he had received a fair sentence. “I am very happy with the judge. He was very fair,” Kiki Papadopoulos said. “I would have preferred less time in jail, but that’s OK. It will give him time to think things over.” The White House distanced itself from Papadopoulos, referring to his campaign role as nothing more than a low-level coffee boy, after his guilty plea. His mother said on Friday that she “still supports” Trump. The sentence that Papadopoulos received is about half the prison time given to Alex van der Zwaan, a lawyer who was also charged with lying to the FBI during the special counsel’s probe. Van der Zwaan was sentenced to 30 days in prison. Moss said he wanted to impose some prison time because while he did not “remotely believe Mr Papadopoulos was seeking to assist the Russian government,” he was nevertheless troubled by Papadopoulos’ selfish motives to lie to the FBI so that he would not lose a shot at getting a possible job in the Trump administration. Ultimately, Moss said he felt Papadopoulos expressed genuine remorse. The judge who sentenced Van der Zwaan, by contrast, did not feel he was contrite about his crimes. During Friday’s hearing, Papadopoulos’ attorney Thomas Breen went out his way to praise the FBI, and he also criticized Trump for calling the Russia probe fake news and a witch hunt. “The president of the United States hindered this investigation more than George Papadopoulos ever could,” Breen told the judge. Former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos leaves after his sentencing hearing at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., September 7, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri GripasHe portrayed Papadopoulos as a naive young man who was “being worked by a pro,” a reference to Professor Mifsud, whom he later said he believes was working for Russia and trying to take advantage of his client. “No offense, but he was unsophisticated, he was naive and he was foolish,” Breen said in court. Breen told reporters after Friday’s hearing that Papadopoulos does not recall telling anyone in the Trump campaign about Mifsud’s comments about the Russians having dirt on Clinton. The lies Papadopoulos told in his voluntary interview with the FBI on Jan. 27, 2017, prosecutors said, “undermined investigators’ ability to challenge the professor or potentially detain or arrest him while he was still in the United States.” In addition, they said Papadopoulos did not provide “substantial assistance” and only came clean after he was confronted with his own emails, texts and other evidence. In December 2017, two months after his guilty plea, the FBI had plans for a follow-up meeting with Papadopoulos. The FBI canceled the meeting when it discovered that Papadopoulos had sat down for a media interview about the case. He and his wife later participated in more media interviews. Papadopoulos was pictured in March 2016 sitting at a table with Trump, then-campaign adviser Jeff Sessions who went on to become U.S. attorney general, and other foreign policy campaign advisers. At that meeting, Papadopoulos proposed brokering a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sessions has previously testified to Congress that he pushed back against the proposal, but the memo filed by Papadopoulos’s lawyers contradicts Sessions’ account, saying that both Trump and Sessions appeared receptive to the idea. But Papadopoulos, referring to Sessions, said to CNN, “I remember that he was enthusiastic about a potential meeting.” CNN’s Tapper noted that Session’s attorneys said that Sessions stands by his testimony, and denied encouraging a meeting with Russians. Slideshow (7 Images)The court filing confirms reporting by Reuters in March about the difference between Sessions’ testimony and how others recounted his reaction to the proposal at the meeting. Papadopoulos told CNN that he hopes to return to politics in the future. “I made mistakes and I will pay for my mistakes,” he said, adding, “I don’t want to give up my goal of staying in politics.” Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; additional reporting by Eric Beech and Rich McKay; Editing by Grant McCool, Robert BirselOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON — President Trump went on the offensive on Monday a day after the special counsel investigation reported no conspiracy with Russia, suggesting that critics who pursued such suspicions were “treasonous,” guilty of “evil things” and should be investigated themselves.Grim faced and simmering with anger, Mr. Trump repeated his assertion that a collection of partisan foes had effectively conspired to try to disrupt or even end his presidency with false allegations about his campaign’s ties with Moscow in 2016.“There are a lot of people out there that have done some very, very evil things, some bad things, I would say some treasonous things against our country,” he told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. “And hopefully people that have done such harm to our country — we’ve gone through a period of really bad things happening — those people will certainly be looked at.“I’ve been looking at them for a long time,” he added, “and I’m saying why haven’t they been looked at? They lied to Congress, many of them, you know who they are. They’ve done so many evil things.”The president’s comments expanded on the theme he expressed on Sunday after the Justice Department reported that the special counsel investigation by Robert S. Mueller III had wrapped up without finding a criminal scheme to influence the presidential election in tandem with Russia’s government. With the Mueller inquiry behind him, Mr. Trump seems intent on turning the tables on his foes.Mr. Trump took a softer line toward Mr. Mueller himself. Asked at an earlier appearance with Mr. Netanyahu on Monday whether Mr. Mueller had acted honorably, Mr. Trump said, “Yes, he did. Yes, he did.”Mr. Trump indicated that he would support releasing the full report by Mr. Mueller, as demanded by congressional Democrats. “Up to the attorney general,” he said. “Wouldn’t bother me at all.”But he brushed off a question about whether he was considering pardons of any of the associates who were convicted or pleaded guilty during Mr. Mueller’s inquiry. “Haven’t thought about it,” he said.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chaotic scenes of protesters rampaging through Hong Kong’s legislature, trashing furniture and daubing graffiti over walls have sent jitters through the business community, which worries about the impact on the city’s status as a financial hub. FILE PHOTO: Anti-extradition bill protesters stand behind a barricade during a demonstration near a flag raising ceremony for the anniversary of Hong Kong handover to China in Hong Kong, China July 1, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File PhotoPlumes of smoke billowed among gleaming sky-scrapers early on Tuesday as police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the heart of the Chinese-ruled city, home to the offices of some of the world’s biggest companies, including global bank HSBC. Escalating unrest over a controversial extradition bill, which would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial, grabbed global headlines and clouded the former British colony’s outlook as a finance hub, one of the city’s main pillars of growth. “I think there will be damage to the reputation of Hong Kong,” said Yumi Yung, 35, who works in fintech. “Some companies may want to leave Hong Kong, or at least not have their headquarters here.” Around 1,500 multinational companies make Hong Kong their Asian home because of its stability and rule of law. Some of the biggest and most violent protests in decades could change that perception. Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that allows freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, including freedom to protest and an independent judiciary. Monday was the 22nd anniversary. Beijing denies interfering but, for many Hong Kong residents, the extradition bill is the latest step in a relentless march towards mainland control. Many fear it would put them at the mercy of courts controlled by the Communist Party where human rights are not guaranteed. “If this bill is not completely scrapped, I will have no choice but to leave my home, Hong Kong,” said Steve, a British lawyer who has worked in Hong Kong for 30 years. Daniel Yim, a 27-year-old investment banker, said both sides needed to sit down and work things out. Related CoverageFlag-waving Grandma Wong gives Hong Kong protesters lesson in enduranceChina protests to Britain over Hunt's Hong Kong comments“I think the most effective way to address this will be that the government will ... actually tackle this and speak to the people, and I guess, you know, both sides sit together and come up with ... the appropriate solution.” Others raised concerns about the future of human rights and the judiciary. Many did not want to use their full names. “To me, the biggest worry is how Hong Kong is losing its independence bit by bit and is getting dangerously close to a country that doesn’t value human rights and that doesn’t have an independent judicial system,” said Edward, an Australian citizen who has worked in the financial sector for 10 years. The extradition bill, now suspended but not scrapped, has also spooked some tycoons into moving their personal wealth offshore, according to financial advisers familiar with the details. An Australian businesswoman who has worked in Hong Kong for 16 years lamented what she saw as Beijing’s tightening grip. “China is just taking away more and more freedom from Hong Kong,” she said. “I feel sorry for Hong Kong people, especially Hong Kong people ... (here) for more freedom, a better economy, a better life, and now it’s going backwards,” the woman said. Such concerns came as China’s top newspaper warned on Wednesday that outbreaks of lawlessness could damage Hong Kong’s reputation and seriously hurt its economy. Slideshow (2 Images)Calm has returned for now, but the events of recent weeks have set many people thinking. “If it had escalated, I would consider moving elsewhere,” a 44-year-old hedge fund manager said of the ransacking of the legislature. “I employ four to five people in Hong Kong so yes, I would consider moving.” Additional reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Paul Tait and Nick MacfieOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: The investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election is usually shrouded in mystery. Special counsel Robert Mueller hates leaks, and he hasn't commented publicly since he started the job, but we got a glimpse into his work today after The New York Times published about four dozen questions the paper says Mueller wants to ask President Trump. Here to talk about them is NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson.Hey there, Carrie. Welcome to the studio.CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Hi, Audie.CORNISH: So I think there are 49 questions. I don't know why they couldn't come up with one more. But what stands out to you?JOHNSON: There are lots of questions about President Trump's response to this investigation, taking into account possible obstruction of justice. Robert Mueller wants to know why the president fired FBI Director James Comey last year, what Trump knew about the FBI's work on Russia before he got rid of Comey at the time. The Mueller team also wants to know about the president's volatile relationship with his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, who recused himself from this Russia probe and once offered to resign. And then there are questions about former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Flynn left the White House under pressure last year. But did Trump know that Flynn had lied to the FBI about his dealings with the Russian ambassador? And did Trump learn about that before he fired Comey and asked Comey to go easy on Flynn?CORNISH: And the response from the president - not to the questions, but to this report?JOHNSON: Yeah, Trump has called this investigation a witch hunt. He went on Twitter to say it would seem very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened. But, in fact, it is against the law to interfere with an investigation, even if there is no underlying crime. The president's wrong about that. Trump also says there's no hint of collusion in this list of questions.Actually, not so fast - there are a bunch of questions about the Trump Organization's business dealings in Russia, what the president may have known about his son Donald Jr.'s contacts with the Russians, about what his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, may have been doing with Russians during the campaign, and also a question about what former campaign chairman Paul Manafort may have been doing out - to reach out to Russia during the campaign. Remember, Audie, Robert Mueller has already got cooperation from Michael Flynn, from campaign adviser George Papadopoulos and from Manafort's right-hand man Rick Gates, so prosecutors surely know more than they're saying and more than they're hinting in these questions.CORNISH: Why are we seeing these questions now, essentially in the middle of an investigation, in the middle of a negotiation about whether the president would answer - right? - in this form?JOHNSON: Well, The New York Times isn't saying where they got this list, but they do say it came from notes that Trump's lawyers took in a meeting with the special counsel team. These are not an exhaustive list of questions. But if people close to the president are trying to send him a message that he should avoid talking to Mueller, that might precipitate this kind of leak. In other words, here's a bunch of questions the special counsel team wants to ask you; do you really want to sit down for a voluntary interview and be forced to answer all these questions? The rub for the president, Audie, is if he doesn't sit for a voluntary interview, it's always possible the Mueller team could subpoena him and try to force him to talk.CORNISH: In the meantime, the man overseeing the Russia investigation, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, had some choice words for lawmakers, specifically. What did he have to say?JOHNSON: Yeah, these were very bold remarks by Rod Rosenstein at the Newseum in honor of Law Day today. He glossed over tensions with the White House. Of course, he's been a frequent target of the president. But he did have a bone to pick with Congress. Some House Republicans have drafted articles of impeachment against Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein told the audience today, no one in Congress had enough courage to attach their name to that document. And he said the Department of Justice is not going to be extorted for documents about the Russia probe or anything else.CORNISH: That's NPR's Carrie Johnson. Carrie, thank you.JOHNSON: My pleasure.Copyright © 2018 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.