While MIT engages in damage control following revelations the university’s Media Lab accepted millions of dollars in funding from Jeffrey Epstein, a renowned computer scientist at the university has fanned the flames by apparently going out of his way to defend the accused sex trafficker—and child pornography in general. Richard Stallman has been hailed as one of the most influential computer scientists around today and honored with a slew of awards and honorary doctorates, but his eminence in the academic computer science community came into question Friday afternoon when purportedly leaked email excerpts showed him suggesting one of Epstein’s alleged victims was “entirely willing.”An MIT engineering alumna, Selam Jie Gano, published a blog post calling for Stallman’s removal from the university in light of his comments, along with excerpts from the email in which Stallman appeared to defend both Epstein and Marvin Minsky, a lauded cognitive scientist and founder of MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab who was accused of assaulting Virginia Giuffre. Giuffre has alleged that sex offender and financier Epstein trafficked her to powerful men for sex, including Minsky, who died in 2016. She’s alleged that Epstein and his alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell recruited her at Mar-a-Lago when she was 16 years old. Stallman wrote that “the most plausible scenario” for Giuffre’s accusations was that she was, in actuality, “entirely willing.” Vice’s Motherboard later reprinted the emails in full. Gano did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Stallman also wrote in the email exchange that “it is morally absurd to define ‘rape’ in a way that depends on minor details such as which country it was in or whether the victim was 18 years old or 17.” A deep dive into his writings shows this isn’t the first time Stallman has expressed such questionable views, however. He has written dozens of posts on his personal website in favor of legalizing pedophilia and child pornography for more than 15 years.“This ‘child pornography’ might be a photo of yourself or your lover that the two of you shared. It might be an image of a sexually mature teenager that any normal adult would find attractive. What’s heinous about having such a photo?” Stallman wrote in 2011 on his personal site, stallman.org, in an argument in favor of Congress limiting laptop searches at the U.S. border.Stallman currently works as a visiting scientist at MIT, according to the website of the university’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL), and as the president of the Free Software Foundation, which he founded in 1985. Stallman has been seen as a pioneering computer scientist for decades, especially in his creation of and advocacy for new kinds of freely available software. Much of his work underpins modern computer science. He’s worked at MIT on and off since the 1980s, and he spoke at a Microsoft computer science research center just last week. The Free Software Foundation, Microsoft, and MIT did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Stallman’s remarks. Stallman also did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast. Stallman commented on the news of Epstein at length on his personal site. In April of this year, the programmer wrote of one story, “I disagree with some of what the article says about Epstein. Epstein is not, apparently, a pedophile, since the people he raped seem to have all been postpuberal.” He preferred to call Epstein a “serial rapist.”Chafing at the idea of a legal age of consent was a favorite theme of his, per his earlier blog posts. In 2003, he said, “I think that everyone age 14 or above ought to take part in sex, though not indiscriminately. (Some people are ready earlier.)”Alan Dershowitz, one of the lawyers who helped broker Epstein’s 2008 sweetheart plea deal, has also argued against age of consent laws, calling statutory rape an “outdated concept” in a 1997 op-ed and suggesting on Twitter in July that a 16-year-old should have the “constitutional right” to consensual sex. Stallman was apparently also quite open about his ideas not only on age of consent laws, but also pedophilia. In 2006, he wrote, “I am skeptical of the claim that voluntarily pedophilia harms children. The arguments that it causes harm seem to be based on cases which aren't voluntary, which are then stretched by parents who are horrified by the idea that their little baby is maturing.” The law does not allow for “voluntary” pedophilia.In 2006, he said it wouldn’t so bad for an adult man who worked for the Department of Homeland Security to have sex with a 14-year-old, as one government employee had allegedly propositioned: “Supposing she had voluntarily had sex with him, presuming that they used a condom and suitable contraception, it would have done no harm to either of them.”He reiterated his point in 2013: “There is little evidence to justify the widespread assumption that willing participation in pedophilia hurts children.”People within the tech industry knew of Stallman’s remarks, chattering about his controversial claims in social networking sites and forums at least since last year, but his remarks about Epstein’s victims reignited the debate Friday. The digital trail of Stallman’s remarks and the whisper network surrounding them raise the question of whether MIT and the Free Software Foundation knew of his controversial statements. Stallman’s permissive streak extended to all varieties of illegal sexual behavior. In 2003, he wrote a post about a judge who argued that repealing an Alabama anti-sodomy law would lead to the legalization of "prostitution, adultery, necrophilia, bestiality, possession of child pornography, and even incest and pedophilia.” The computer scientist responded, “All of these acts should be legal as long as no one is coerced. They are illegal only because of prejudice and narrowmindedness.”Stallman extended his argument to say that internet censorship is worse than child pornography: “The term ‘child pornography’ is dishonest. The censorship of it puts young lovers in direct danger of prosecution. Many published works are disgusting, but censorship is more so.”And in 2011: “Even when it is uncontroversial to call the subject depicted a ‘child,’ that is no excuse for censorship. Having a photo or drawing does not hurt anyone, so and [sic] if you or I think it is disgusting, that is no excuse for censorship.”MIT has been rocked in recent weeks by scandals arising from its connections to Epstein. The director of the vaunted MIT Media Lab, Joichi Ito, resigned after the New Yorker reported he accepted more money from Epstein than he disclosed and that he had concealed the donations from both the university and the public. The president of MIT, L. Rafael Reif, ordered an independent investigation, which revealed that he, too, had taken part in hiding Epstein’s donations. Reif is facing calls to step down after acknowledging that the Media Lab accepted funds from Epstein long after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution, with Reif’s own signature found on a 2012 note thanking Epstein for his generosity to the university.

HONG KONG/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia has banned Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] from supplying equipment for a 5G mobile network citing national security risks, a move the Chinese telecoms gear maker criticized as being “politically motivated”. The ban, announced on Thursday, signals a hardening of Australia’s stance toward its biggest trading partner at a time when relations between the two have soured over Canberra’s allegations of Chinese meddling in its politics. This is also in line with measures taken by the United States to restrict Huawei and compatriot ZTE Corp (000063.SZ) from its lucrative market for similar reasons. Australia said in an emailed statement on Thursday that national security regulations typically applied to telecom carriers would now be extended to equipment suppliers. Firms “who are likely to be subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government” would leave the nation’s network vulnerable to unauthorized access or interference, and presented a security risk, the statement said. The statement did not identify the Chinese firm, but an Australian government official said the order was aimed at Huawei and precluded its involvement in the network. Huawei, the world’s largest maker of telecommunications network gear, shot back on Friday saying the 5G ban was “politically motivated” and that it had never been asked to engage in intelligence work on behalf of any government. “Chinese law does not grant government the authority to compel telecommunications firms to install backdoors, listening devices, or engage in any behavior that might compromise the telecommunications equipment of other nations,” it added. Huawei, already a supplier of 4G network in Australia, also pointed out that there was no fundamental difference between 4G and 5G architecture and that the latter provides stronger guarantees around privacy and security. Western intelligence agencies, however, have for years raised concerns about Huawei’s ties to China’s government and the possibility its equipment could be used for espionage. While there is no evidence to back this suspicion, Chinese law does require organizations and citizens to support, assist and cooperate with intelligence work. “That’s what you get when you have the aligned strategy of a Chinese company with the Chinese government,” said John Watters, Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Strategy Officer of cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc (FEYE.O). “(Australia) basically made a decision to spend more money to have more control over their national communication system, because they’re up against a competitor that will sacrifice near-term margin for long-term intelligence advantage.” China expressed concern over Australia’s Huawei 5G ban and said Canberra should not use the excuse of national security to erect barriers and conduct discriminatory practices. “We urge the Australian government to abandon ideological prejudices and provide a fair competitive environment for Chinese companies’ operations in Australia,” foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily news briefing on Thursday. The commerce ministry said Australia had made a wrong decision that would negatively impact companies in both nations. Australia had previously banned Huawei from providing equipment for its fiber-optic network and moved to block it from laying submarine cables in the Pacific. But Huawei’s exclusion from the mobile network comes at a time of particularly strained relations between Australia and China, which outgoing Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had two weeks ago sought to reset with a conciliatory speech. A Huawei shop is pictured in Singapore August 8, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar Su“It is ... out of step with this attempt to reset the relationship,” said James Leibold, Associate Professor of Politics and Asian Studies at La Trobe University. “They’re not going to forget Turnbull’s earlier strident language anytime soon,” he said. Turnbull will be replaced as prime minister by Treasurer Scott Morrison who won a Liberal party leadership vote on Friday. Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Byron Kaye in SYDNEY; Additional reporting by Sijia Jiang in HONG KONG, Jonathan Barrett in SYDNEY and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Darren Schuettler, Alexandra Hudson and Himani SarkarOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.S. President Donald Trump listens to a question from reporters next to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as he arrives for a closed Senate Republican policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 26, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Republican in the U.S. Senate said on Tuesday he supported a push by a Republican colleague for an inquiry into potential law enforcement missteps in a probe of possible collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia. “I think Senator (Lindsey) Graham has raised a legitimate question,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters. “I think it’s not inappropriate for the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, with jurisdiction over the Justice Department, to investigate possible misbehaviors.” Graham, who heads the panel, said on Monday he wanted to see a special counsel appointed to look into the origins of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant for former Trump adviser Carter Page. The warrant was based in part on information in a dossier on Trump compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer who co-founded a private intelligence firm. Graham said he would use the panel’s subpoena power if necessary, whether or not a special counsel is appointed, to look into the matter. Graham’s call for an investigation came one day after Attorney General William Barr said a report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller found that Trump’s campaign did not conspire with Moscow. Reporting by Richard Cowan; Writing by Makini Brice and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Susan ThomasOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Hong Kong International Airport has cancelled all departures for the rest of the day, after thousands of anti-government protesters occupied it.Passengers have been told not to travel to the airport, which is one of the world's busiest transport hubs.In a statement, officials blamed "seriously disrupted" operations.Many of those protesting are critical of the actions of police, who on Sunday were filmed firing tear gas and rubber bullets at close range. Some protesters wore bandages over their eyes in response to images of a woman bleeding heavily from her eye on Sunday, having reportedly been shot by a police projectile. In a statement on Monday afternoon, Hong Kong's Airport Authority said they were cancelling all flights that were not yet checked in. More than 160 flights scheduled to leave after 18:00 local time (10:00 GMT) will now not depart. The background you need on the Hong Kong protests Explaining the protests in 300 words How badly has tourism been affected? Arrivals already heading into Hong Kong will still be allowed to land, but other scheduled flights have been cancelled.Officials are now working to reopen the airport by 06:00 on Tuesday, a statement said.Some passengers expressed annoyance at the disruption. "It's very frustrating and scary for some people," one man from Pakistan told the BBC. "We'll just have to wait for our next flight."Helena Morgan, from the UK, said she was set to return to the UK to get her exam results on Thursday. "I'm hoping we get back for them and we're not on a flight," she said.But others were more understanding of the protests. "I was expecting something, given all the news," one arrival, Gurinda Singh, told Reuters news agency.As rumours spread that police plan to move in on protesters on Monday evening, thousands opted to leave on foot. There are large backlogs for transport back into the centre, local reports say. The BBC's Stephen McDonell, who is at the scene, says the airport has effectively shut down while authorities work out how to deal with the crisis.Hong Kong's mass demonstrations and unrest show no sign of abating, more than two months after they were sparked by a controversial extradition bill.Beijing officials have strongly condemned Sunday's violence and linked violent protesters to "terrorism".On Sunday afternoon, a peaceful rally in the city's Victoria Park led to clashes when protesters moved out of the area and marched along a major road despite a police ban.There were confrontations in several central districts and police used rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse the demonstrators. How radical youth forced the government's hand Read about the history of Hong Kong In the bustling central Wan Chai district, petrol bombs and bricks were thrown at police, who responded by charging at protesters.A number of people, including a police officer, were injured in the clashes.Videos on social media also showed officers storming enclosed railway stations and firing tear gas. Footage inside another station showed officers firing what appeared to be rubber bullets at close range and several police officers beating people with batons.Local media outlets reported that suspected undercover police officers had dressed-up as protesters to make surprise arrests.While protests in the city have turned increasingly violent, there were no reports of arrests during the three previous days of the airport sit-in. On Monday the Chinese authorities, who have not yet physically intervened to quell the unrest, used their strongest language yet to condemn violent protesters."Hong Kong's radical demonstrators have repeatedly used extremely dangerous tools to attack police officers, which already constitutes a serious violent crime, and also shows the first signs of terrorism emerging," Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), said at a press briefing."This wantonly tramples on Hong Kong's rule of law and social order."Elsewhere, Cathay Pacific has warned staff they could be fired if they "support or participate in illegal protests" in Hong Kong. The development comes days after Beijing mounted pressure on the airline and a #BoycottCathayPacific campaign began to spread.Hong Kong police have also unveiled a water cannon vehicle as a new tool to combat the protests.Amnesty International has previously warned that the tool could cause serious injuries and inflame tensions. Demonstrations started in June in opposition to a proposed extradition bill, which would have allowed suspected criminals to be sent to mainland China for trial.Critics said it would undermine Hong Kong's legal freedoms, and could be used to silence political dissidents.Although the government has now suspended the bill, demonstrators want it to be fully withdrawn.Their demands have broadened to include calls for an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality, and an amnesty for all arrested protesters. Hong Kong is part of China but its citizens have more autonomy than those on the mainland. It has a free press and judicial independence under the so-called "one country, two systems" approach - freedoms which activists fear are being increasingly eroded.Are you currently at the airport? Email [email protected] include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803 Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay Send pictures/video to [email protected] Upload your pictures / video here Text an SMS or MMS to 61124 or +44 7624 800 100 Please read our terms of use and privacy policy

Enlarge this image People walk past an Apple store in Beijing in December 2018. Apple CEO cited weaker-than-expected iPhone sales in China as the company lowered its quarterly revenue estimates Wednesday. Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images People walk past an Apple store in Beijing in December 2018. Apple CEO cited weaker-than-expected iPhone sales in China as the company lowered its quarterly revenue estimates Wednesday. Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images Updated at 9:39 a.m. ET ThursdayApple is cutting billions from its revenue estimates for the just-ended holiday season, citing sharply slower iPhone sales in China."While we anticipated some challenges in key emerging markets, we did not foresee the magnitude of the economic deceleration, particularly in Greater China," CEO Tim Cook said Wednesday in a letter to Apple investors.Cook lowered the company's revenue guidance for the three months that ended Dec. 29 to about $84 billion from as much as $93 billion.The announcement of weakness from one of the world's largest companies offers fresh evidence of a global economic slowdown, which has sent stock markets sliding in recent months. Business Apple Becomes World's 1st Private Sector Company Worth $1 Trillion Cook said that in its earlier projection, Apple had "expected economic weakness in some emerging markets. This turned out to have a significantly greater impact than we had projected." The company also saw "fewer iPhone upgrades than we had anticipated," he said.In August, Apple became the first private sector company worth $1 trillion. But its stock has dropped more than 30 percent in the past three months, leaving its market cap at below $750 billion. Apple's stock fell an additional 9.3 percent Thursday morning. Business Stock Market Gyrations Making You Dizzy? Get Used To It, Analysts Say Cook said the slowing in China's economy was made worse by "rising trade tensions with the United States."Slumping financial markets seemed to hurt consumer confidence in China, he said, "with traffic to our retail stores and our channel partners in China declining as the quarter progressed." The Two-Way Dip In iPhone Sales Results In Apple's First Revenue Decline In 13 Years

Cuba has announced it will withdraw thousands of its doctors from Brazil after the South American nation’s president-elect Jair Bolsonaro questioned their training and demanded changes to their contracts.The far-right Bolsonaro, who takes office on 1 January, said in an interview this month that the 11,420 Cuban doctors working in poor and remote parts of Brazil could only stay if they received 100% of their pay and their families could join them.Under the terms of the agreement with Cuba, brokered via the Pan-American Health Organization, Havana receives the bulk of the doctors’ wages.Bolsonaro threatened to break off diplomatic relations with Havana over the program, saying it trampled on the rights of the doctors by handing the Cuban government 75% of their pay and denying mothers the right to have their children with them.“That is just torture for a mother,” Bolsonaro said in the 2 November interview with Brasilia’s Correio Braziliense newspaper. He also questioned the qualifications of the Cuban doctors and said they would have to renew their licenses in Brazil.Cuba’s health ministry rejected Bolsonaro’s comments as “contemptuous and threatening to the presence of our doctors” in a statement announcing its withdrawal from the program.“These unacceptable conditions make it impossible to maintain the presence of Cuban professionals in the program,” the ministry said in a statement.Cuban doctors work in dozens of countries, some without cost to their hosts and others where Cuba charges a fee per doctor, most of which it says goes to keep the free national health system in Cuba functioning.The billions of dollars in revenues represent the most important source of export earnings for the communist-run government.Since the Brazilian program, called “More Doctors”, was started in 2013 by the leftist former president Dilma Rousseff, about 20,000 Cuban health professionals have served in Brazil, including in 700 municipal districts that had never had a resident doctor, the ministry said.Bolsonaro said the program could have continued if it complied with his conditions. “Unfortunately, Cuba did not accept,” he said in Twitter post after the Cuban announcement. Topics Brazil Cuba Jair Bolsonaro Americas news

Hope Hicks, the former communications director for the White House, is joining Rupert Murdoch's media empire.Ms Hicks, 29, will serve as chief communications officer for Fox, the parent company of Fox News and other news outlets.She left the White House in April, after rising to prominence as a close Trump adviser during the 2016 presidential campaign. Fox News is President Donald Trump's favourite cable channel.This summer he named former Fox News co-president Bill Shine as assistant and deputy chief of staff for communications.Mr Shine resigned from Fox News last year as the network's handling of sexual misconduct scandals came under scrutiny, though Mr Shine himself was not accused of any harassment.Mr Trump is also reported to have a close relationship with host Sean Hannity, a leading cable news cheerleader of the president.Ms Hicks had worked for the Trump Organization since 2014.She kept a low profile while at the White House but was said to be one of Mr Trump's most trusted confidantes.The announcement that she will take a role at Fox is the latest in a series of appointments 21st Century Fox has been making in anticipation of a major reorganisation.The firm is preparing to sell a big portion of the existing company to Walt Disney Co and spin off its news assets, including Fox News, into a new company called Fox.Those deals are expected to be completed in the first half of 2019, pending regulatory approval.

Hong Kong protesters have shut down one of the world’s busiest airports in a dramatic escalation of the mass demonstrations that have plunged the city into its worst political crisis in decades.The unprecedented cancellation of all flights followed the fourth consecutive day of protests at the airport and amid increasingly threatening statements from Beijing. A Chinese official said “terrorism” was emerging in the city, while in Hong Kong authorities demonstrated water cannon for use in crowd control.The protests are in their 10th week, with confrontations between protesters and police growing more violent. Rights groups and democracy activists have accused police of using increasingly excessive force. At least 40 people were treated in hospital after clashes on Sunday, including a woman who was hit, reportedly with a beanbag round, and could potentially lose an eye.Protesters in black T-shirts and face masks filled the airport, handing out lists to arriving visitors documenting alleged police violence and holding up graphic images of injured protesters. Some held signs that said: “An eye for an eye” and wore eye patches in solidarity with the injured woman.Others held posters that said: “Hong Kong is not safe” and “Shame on police” and chanted: “Stand with Hong Kong, fight for freedom!” “I just don’t understand how people can tolerate that kind of police brutality. I feel like if I don’t come out now, I can’t come out ever,” said Hilary Lo, who took a half day’s sick leave from her accountancy firm to attend the demonstration.“People are starting to realise the police are out of control, especially with what has happened in the past two weeks,” she said.Tourists remained at the airport through the protest, with flights expected to resume at 6am on Tuesday. Elodichukwu Obiageli, from Nigeria, said she had been stranded for five hours. “We had no information from our airline. We are just stranded here – we have no money,” she said, adding that all airport stores had closed.By the early evening, crowds had thinned amid reports police would move in to clear the airport but when they did not show, thousands of protesters streamed back, bringing supplies to stay through the night.“Honestly, I don’t think anything will happen,” said Andy Chu, a protester who remained at the airport. “I think the police strategy until now we can see is to burn out our energy, just let us sit here and wait.”“A few hours ago there were rumours flying around, saying the police are coming in to kick us out, with teargas,” he said. “I think that is also from the police. That’s part of their tactics, part of the game. They want most of the more peaceful protesters to leave themselves.”Hong Kong’s summer of dissent has presented one of the biggest challenges to China’s leader, Xi Jinping, since he came to power in 2012. Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council called on authorities to “show no mercy” in dealing with the protesters.“Hong Kong’s radical demonstrators have repeatedly used extremely dangerous tools to attack police officers, which already constitutes a serious violent crime, and also shows the first signs of terrorism emerging,” Yang said at a press briefing. “This wantonly tramples on Hong Kong’s rule of law and social order.”State-backed media in China on Monday said armed police had held exercises in the neighbouring city of Shenzhen.In an apparent warning to protesters of a toughening approach on the part of authorities, Hong Kong police invited legislators and journalists on Monday to witness a display of water cannon. Police have never used the device since two were bought after pro-democracy protests in 2014, but during Monday’s demonstration one was blasted at dummy targets in a training facility. Man-Kei Tam, the director of Amnesty International’s Hong Kong division, warned that clashes between protesters and police had “escalated to another level, especially on the police side” over the weekend.Tam cited footage of police firing teargas into a subway station in Kwai Fong on Sunday night. It was not clear how many protesters were in the station but it was rare for officers to fire teargas indoors. He also shared a video of police firing non-lethal projectiles at close range as protesters attempted to flee down an escalator at another subway station.The police have also reported injuries among their ranks, including eye irritation from laser pointers and petrol bomb burns.Civil Rights Observer, a local rights group that sends observers to protests, said it had serious concerns about police violence and had seen “clear evidence to show the police are violating their guidelines”, according to its spokesman, Icarus Wong Ho-yin.During the protests at the weekend, the Hong Kong Free Press news website posted footage of one arrest that appeared to show officers dressed as protesters pressing a demonstrator to the ground. The young man, who said his name was Chow Ka-lok and asked for a lawyer, sustained head wounds and a broken tooth.Protests in Hong Kong began in early June against a legislative bill that would have allowed for residents to stand trial in mainland China on criminal charges. While the territory returned to Chinese rule in 1997, it was promised semi-autonomy for 50 years including a separate legal system. Many protesters feared the bill, now suspended, would have led to the decline of civil and political rights in the Asian financial hub. Topics Hong Kong Asia Pacific Air transport Protest China news

HONG KONG — Many explanations have been put forward to explain why Hong Kong, a city famous for its orderly ways, has been convulsed by nine weeks of increasingly violent protests.The most immediate is fury at a proposed law that would have allowed extradition to mainland China. There is also anger at astronomical property prices fueled by wealthy buyers from mainland China, and revulsion at heavy-handed police tactics involving the regular use of tear gas and rubber bullets.On Thursday, however, China’s ruling Communist Party identified a novel reason for the unrest: the secret machinations of an American woman working as a diplomat in the United States Consulate in Hong Kong.The woman, Julie Eadeh, a political counselor, has become a central figure in a growing Chinese narrative that Hong Kong’s protests are the work of traitors who are being directed by foreign, particularly American, “black hands” bent on fomenting an uprising in the former British colony.CCTV, China’s state broadcaster, described Ms. Eadeh on Thursday as “the behind-the-scenes black hand creating chaos in Hong Kong.”Ta Kung Pao, a Hong Kong newspaper controlled by the Communist Party, published a photograph, taken on Tuesday, of the diplomat standing in the lobby of a luxury hotel with pro-democracy student leaders under the headline “Foreign Forces Intervene, Seek to Stir ‘Color Revolution.’” It said it had received the photo from unidentified patriotic “netizens.”The newspaper described Ms. Eadeh, a graduate in Arab studies from Georgetown University, as “a mysterious and low-profile expert on subversion.”The same newspaper, as well as other Hong Kong outlets, last month published a photograph of a non-Chinese man it described as a “foreign commander” of the Hong Kong protest movement. The image showed the man, who was said to be providing information about police movements to protesters, sitting on the steps of a pedestrian walkway with his cellphone. The man was in fact an editor at The New York Times, Kevin Roche, and he was communicating at the time with a Times reporter.A State Department spokesman, asked about the accusations against Ms. Eadeh, said that American diplomats “meet regularly with a wide cross-section of people across Hong Kong” and that on the day of her encounter with student activists, “our diplomats also met with both pro-establishment and pan-democratic camp legislators, as well as members of the American business community and the consular corps.”The spokesman added, “We categorically reject the charge of foreign forces as being behind the protests. It is not credible to think that millions of people are being manipulated to stand for a free and open society.”The “black hand” allegations aired on Thursday against Ms. Eadeh mimic almost word for word Chinese propaganda 30 years ago against the leaders of the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.Few analysts expect the People’s Liberation Army, which has a garrison in Hong Kong, to be called out to stage a repeat of the Tiananmen massacre in Beijing and quash the demonstrations. But the barrage of propaganda casting the protests as a foreign-inspired plot that threatens China’s national security has sent an ominous warning that Beijing wants the Hong Kong government to take tougher action to contain the crisis.On Wednesday, Beijing’s top official for Hong Kong, Zhang Xiaoming, said that the protests had “the obvious characteristics of a color revolution,” a reference to the popular uprising that started in the Caucasus nation of Georgia in 2003 with the so-called Rose Revolution and brought pro-Western governments to power in a number of former Soviet republics.The accusations of foreign meddling are a sign that Beijing, already bitterly at odds with Washington over trade, has decided to add Hong Kong to its list of grievances against the United States.The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s office in Hong Kong issued a statement on Thursday saying that it would make “solemn representations” to the United States over its consulate official’s “contacts with the ‘Hong Kong independence movement.’”The ministry in Beijing first fingered the United States as a culprit in the Hong Kong unrest last month, asserting that unidentified American officials were behind an initial round of violent clashes.But vague accusations of foreign meddling have now given way to a more detailed conspiracy theory featuring the supposedly “secret meeting” this week between Ms. Eadeh and the student activists.Wen Wei Po, another Hong Kong paper controlled by the Communist Party, also published the photograph of Ms. Eadeh at the meeting, along with a picture that showed the diplomat, who earlier worked in Baghdad, wearing a flak jacket and helmet and surrounded by military hardware during a trip to the Iraqi city of Mosul.The newspaper also published a list of American officials and politicians it accused of interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Vice President Mike Pence and the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi.The Global Times, a Beijing tabloid also controlled by the Communist Party, picked up the Hong Kong reports, describing Ms. Eadeh as “a so-called diplomat” who had previously worked in the Middle East “planning subversive activities on the grounds of human rights and democracy.”Joshua Wong, a pro-democracy student leader who appears in the hotel photograph, scoffed at the reports of a conspiracy in a post on Facebook: “They are saying this again. The protesters can handle things like press conferences, which dirty cops and the chief executive cannot, so there must have been secret training!”The Standard, a Hong Kong newspaper, quoted him as saying he had met with Ms. Eadeh to urge the United States to stop exporting tear gas and rubber bullets to Hong Kong.“What’s so special about meeting a U.S. consul?” he said.The belief that the State Department is coordinating and even orchestrating the Hong Kong protests feeds into a narrative that dates back to the Cold War, when the United States and the Soviet Union each sought to subvert the other’s ideology and its proxy states with spies and subterfuge.Ideological rivalry has now subsided, with even China, though nominally still wedded to communism, showing no interest in exporting Marxism through subversion. But both Moscow and Beijing have in recent years sought to blame outsiders for domestic troubles — notably when Russia alleged that Michael McFaul, the American ambassador to Moscow from 2012 to 2014, was an instigator of street protests against Vladimir V. Putin, who was then the prime minister.China has until now mostly avoided attacking American diplomats by name, leaving this to nationalist bloggers like those who accused Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the former ambassador to Beijing, of trying to stoke a “Jasmine Revolution” in China in 2011 by appearing outside a McDonald’s restaurant in Beijing on the day of a proposed protest that never took place.

Enlarge this image After Paul Manafort's plea, the question now is what else Manafort has done, what he knows and what the office of Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller might use in its investigations or prosecutions down the line. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Drew Angerer/Getty Images After Paul Manafort's plea, the question now is what else Manafort has done, what he knows and what the office of Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller might use in its investigations or prosecutions down the line. Drew Angerer/Getty Images This week in the Russia investigation: Paul Manafort turns state's evidence ... what will he tell the government?After a long career as an advocate for political animals of nearly every kind across the world, Paul Manafort is now going to work for the United States government.Donald Trump's onetime campaign chairman pleaded guilty on Friday to avoid his second federal trial and signed a deal that obliges him to help the Justice Department. The deal is for a case in Washington, D.C. He previously was convicted in a separate case by a federal jury in Alexandria, Va. National Security Paul Manafort Pleads Guilty, Agrees To Cooperate With Mueller's Russia Probe The White House and attorneys for President Trump were sanguine, insisting that Manafort's case means nothing for them and that the wrongdoing that Manafort has admitted has no connection either to the administration or to the 2016 presidential campaign.In point of fact, that is so: Manafort's two federal cases have involved his lobbying work on behalf of the now-former president of Ukraine, the way Manafort failed to disclose it as required by law and the way he concealed the millions of dollars he earned. The question now is what else Manafort has done, what he knows and what the office of Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller might use in its investigations or prosecutions down the line. The possibilities are extensive. They could scale from netting a few more small fish around Washington, D.C., to the biggest whale in these waters. Manafort has admitted to working with a number of law firms, public relations agencies and others as part of his work for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. He also has admitted concealing that work instead of disclosing it under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. FARA, as it is known, was widely considered a joke until Manafort and his onetime protege, Rick Gates, were indicted last year. The Justice Department seldom punished lobbyists who failed to register. National Security A 'Toothless' Old Law Could Have New Fangs, Thanks To Robert Mueller Now it has brought such cases against at least three: Manafort, Gates and a consultant in their orbit, W. Samuel Patten. At least one more person has been caught up in the Ukraine work, too: Dutch attorney Alex van der Zwaan, who was sentenced to prison time earlier this year.Evidence from Manafort may permit the Justice Department to lay waste to the lucrative world of foreign lobbying, if that's the direction Mueller wants to travel. In the case of Patten, the special counsel's office didn't even handle the case itself; it spun off a recommendation to prosecute to the National Security Division of the big Justice Department. Manafort's cooperation could mean there are more such cases involving big K Street players. Could Manafort help Mueller's office nail down cases against Manafort's onetime business partner, Roger Stone? Stone has said he thinks he's next to be indicted — though he denies wrongdoing. Stone never was a formal part of the Trump campaign in 2016, but he is a regular adviser of Trump's and he was in contact with WikiLeaks, which distributed the embarrassing information about Democrats and other targets of Russian cyberattacks. Politics Mueller Seeks Interview With Disputed 'Link' Between Trump Camp, WikiLeaks Or could Manafort implicate Donald Trump Jr.? The two men hosted — along with Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner — the Russian delegation that offered "dirt" on Hillary Clinton to the Trump campaign. No recordings or transcripts have emerged from that meeting and the public has had to rely on the statements of people involved. Except Manafort's.If Manafort confirms the established narrative about the session, that is significant. If he gives an account that varies from it, that is significant. The Senate Judiciary Committee has released Manafort's notes from the Trump Tower meeting, but so far nothing more detailed from him about it has emerged publicly.What if Manafort knows something else, or many other somethings else, that are not part of the Russia imbroglio as it is understood today? His relationships with powerful Eastern European figures could be significant. Or people closer to home: Manafort has been a highly connected Republican political operative since the days of Gerald Ford.Does that mean bad news for Trump? Manafort's camp has insisted that he has nothing to offer the government on the president, and the White House stated unequivocally on Friday that it has no connection to the plea deal. Maybe that's the end of this. Politics Judge Orders Paul Manafort Detained Amid Witness Tampering Allegations Or maybe the world has changed now that Manafort has gone from a private citizen to a cooperating federal witness. These arrangements have that kind of effect on people. Trump's former longtime attorney Michael Cohen went from serving as his personal "pit bull" to implicating Trump in campaign law violations as Cohen pleaded guilty last month — the same day Manafort was convicted in his first federal trial in the Eastern District of Virginia. Politics Guilty: 6 Takeaways From Manafort's And Cohen's Big Day The price of avoiding the second trial was that Manafort has agreed to help prosecutors with "any and all matters" going forward, and there is no way to know whether that may involve Trump and Russia or things like the payments Cohen made to women to quiet their allegations about Trump ahead of Election Day — or something else. Imbroglio-watchers wondered whether Mueller's office might observe a 60-day quiet period ahead of Election Day to forestall accusations that its work created political disruptions for Republicans. The answer, based on Friday's news, appears to be "no," although it's possible the window before this year's midterm elections now actually will be quieter than it might have. Manafort was set to have gone on trial during the putative quiet period, with jury selection scheduled for next week and opening arguments set for the week after. Now, none of that will happen and there won't be a marathon of headlines about the case, prosecution witnesses, evidence, arguments and so forth. Even if Manafort has helped Trump and Republicans, in one sense, by vitiating a high-profile trial this fall, he may hurt them politically — or, ultimately, legally — by cooperating with the Justice Department. That could affect his chances for a presidential pardon.Trump's power to pardon under the Constitution is broad. In fact, his attorneys argue it is so vast it includes the prospect that he could pardon himself. (That is not a universally accepted principle.) Law Michael Cohen's Lawyer Says His Client Would Never Accept Pardon From 'Corrupt' Trump But clearly now there are complicating factors in Manafort's case.One involves the other track of the Russia imbroglio, involving alleged obstruction of justice. If the special counsel's office is looking for evidence of what the law calls "corrupt intent" by Trump to frustrate the investigation, it might seize on a pardon for Manafort just after his guilty plea but before he can begin cooperating in earnest. National Security The Russia Investigations: Can There Be A Final Answer On 'Collusion'? The politics of such a move might also trigger a political backlash against the president and Republicans at a time when they do not want voters to be thinking about the Russia investigation. So if there is to be a pardon, the most logical time for it might be later this year. The nature of Manafort's deal, however, may mean that the pardon ship has sailed. Trump praised Manafort last month when he said that, unlike Cohen, Manafort had "refused to break." The president said how bad he felt for Manafort and lamented at how unfairly he said he had been treated. Now, however, Trump's comments may no longer be "operative," as White House officials might have said in another time and place. Trump already has been distancing himself from Manafort and following Friday's news, now may cut him adrift. National Security Big Questions In Russia Case May Be Answered If FISA Documents Are Unredacted

Mr. Manafort’s finances also intersected with companies of Mr. Vanagels and another Latvian whose name was used as a director, Stan Gorin. Among the murky transactions these companies engaged in was an $18 million deal to sell Ukrainian cable television assets to a partnership called Pericles that was put together by Mr. Manafort and financed by a Russian oligarch, Oleg V. Deripaska, according to a Cayman Islands lawsuit and Cypriot corporate records.Milltown Corporate Services, a front company in Mr. Gorin’s name, for a time controlled the television assets.In another notable case, the police in Ukraine last year questioned a barefoot man, Arkady Kashkin, who during interrogation accepted their offer of slices of pizza. He turned out to be named as a director of one of several related companies that had bought $1.5 billion in Ukrainian bonds, according to court records.In that case, first reported by Al Jazeera, Ukrainian prosecutors said that an oligarch who has since fled to Russia, Serhiy V. Kurchenko, was the actual manager of the company registered in Mr. Kashkin’s name. A judge fined Mr. Kashkin for willingly allowing his identity to be used in fraud.Neocom Systems Limited, Mr. Kaseyev’s company, which was opened a decade ago in the Central American nation of Belize, surfaced in relation to Mr. Manafort’s dealings in early 2017, several months after the longtime Republican Party strategist had been pushed out as Mr. Trump’s campaign manager over his Ukraine work.The invoice had been left in the Kiev office of Mr. Manafort’s political consulting business, Davis Manafort International. In the invoice, Mr. Kaseyev’s name is transliterated into English as Evgeniy Kaseev.Mr. Leshchenko, the Ukrainian lawmaker, publicized the find after first providing the originals to the F.B.I. Mr. Leshchenko said that the company was a front and that Mr. Kaseyev had no control over its operations.

Pardon us, but was it only three weeks ago that President Trump expressed “such respect” for Paul Manafort, his former campaign chairman and freshly minted felon, who had refused to cooperate with the special counsel’s office and took his federal bank- and tax-fraud conviction like a “brave man”? That tribute was meant to highlight the president’s contempt for the decision by his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to plead guilty that same day to his own charges of bank fraud, tax fraud and campaign-finance violations. Unlike the weak Mr. Cohen, Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter, Mr. Manafort “refused to ‘break’ — make up stories in order to get a ‘deal.’”So much for that. Mr. Trump’s expectation that there is any honor among thieves has been confounded once again.On Friday, Mr. Manafort broke in a big way — agreeing to cooperate “fully, truthfully, completely, and forthrightly” regarding “any and all matters” the special counsel, Robert Mueller, wants him to.The bombshell agreement was part of a guilty plea Mr. Manafort entered in a separate case in a Washington federal court, relating to his lucrative lobbying work for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine. He copped to charges of conspiring to defraud the United States and to obstruct justice, each of which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. Mr. Manafort also agreed to forfeit $46 million in cash and property derived from his crimes.In return, Mr. Mueller agreed to drop five other counts, which included money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent, and not to retry Mr. Manafort on 10 counts over which last month’s jury deadlocked.Unless Mr. Trump is watching Fox News, he can’t be feeling too good right now. In January, NBC News reported that he had told friends and aides he had decided Mr. Manafort wouldn’t “flip” on him. And the two men’s lawyers have been in regular contact as part of a joint defense agreement, according to Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. If any of those conversations involved the dangling of a pardon for Mr. Manafort — which prosecutors might consider to be obstruction of justice — they would not be protected by any privilege and would probably be fair game for Mr. Mueller.What else might Mr. Manafort reveal? Mr. Mueller is very interested in that curious meeting he attended, along with Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner, at Trump Tower in June 2016 — the one with the Russian government representative who promised to provide “dirt” on Hillary Clinton.The White House’s defense is that the crimes for which Mr. Manafort was convicted, committed long before joining the Trump campaign, have nothing to do with the president. The bad news for Mr. Trump is that there are still many unanswered questions about how Mr. Manafort exploited his Russian connections in the service of helping Mr. Trump’s campaign, and whether Mr. Trump knew or was involved in any way. Beyond the Trump Tower meeting, there’s evidence that Mr. Manafort hoped to use the campaign job — for which he took no paycheck — to help Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch with close ties to President Vladimir Putin, and to extract himself from a multimillion-dollar debt to the tycoon.For now, Mr. Manafort can take comfort in the knowledge that he joins an ever-growing crowd of top Trump associates who have pleaded guilty to federal offenses: Michael Flynn, the president’s former national security adviser; George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign; Rick Gates, Mr. Manafort’s business partner and deputy campaign chairman; and Mr. Cohen, whose case is being handled by federal prosecutors in Manhattan. All have agreed to cooperate with authorities, except Mr. Cohen — and even that may be changing.How many more guilty pleas and convictions will there be in Trumpworld before all this crime starts to look — how can we put it — organized?Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTOpinion).

Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, is forfeiting an estimated $22 million worth of real estate in New York — including three Manhattan apartments, a Brooklyn townhouse and a home in the Hamptons — as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors announced on Friday.Under the terms of the deal, Mr. Manafort agreed to tell all he knows to the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.Mr. Manafort, 69, said he would turn over to the government the five properties in New York, including an apartment in Trump Tower, as well as the contents of three bank accounts and his life insurance policy.[Read the court documents]The most valuable real estate Mr. Manafort has agreed to give up is his home in the Hamptons, which is estimated to be worth $7.3 million, according to Zillow. The website says the two-story, 5,600-square-foot house in Water Mill has 10 bedrooms, a swimming pool and a tennis court.The brownstone townhouse in the upscale neighborhood of Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, is estimated to be worth $4.1 million.The assets will end up in the Justice Department’s Asset Forfeiture Fund, which is used to cover costs related to law enforcement. The fund can also be used to finance “certain general investigative expenses,” according to the Justice Department’s website.The first four and a half months of the special counsel investigation cost taxpayers nearly $7 million, including $3.2 million in direct spending by Mr. Mueller’s team. The investigation has lasted about 16 months.In Mr. Manafort’s trial in Virginia, prosecutors highlighted his lavish lifestyle, including presenting evidence that he wired millions of dollars from secret overseas bank accounts to buy and renovate homes in places like the Hamptons and suburban Washington.Under the agreement, announced at a federal court hearing in Washington, Mr. Manafort was charged with two counts of conspiracy that carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. He originally faced seven charges brought by the special counsel, including obstruction of justice, failure to register as a foreign agent and conspiracy to launder money.Mr. Manafort was convicted last month in a Virginia federal court of five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failure to disclose a foreign bank account. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the remaining 10 counts, and the judge declared a mistrial on those charges.According to court documents, Mr. Manafort negotiated to give up his SoHo apartment on Baxter Street for his house in Arlington, Va., which prosecutors considered for the forfeiture deal. The house in Virginia is estimated to be worth $1.7 million. He also gave up his Trump Tower apartment so he could retain another bank account, the plea deal said.

Mr. Manafort soon had plenty of detractors among the campaign staff. He won few points by calling Mr. Trump “Donald” in his first CNN appearance, as if he were Mr. Trump’s peer. Some aides suggested he was unfamiliar with all the changes in politics — most notably the rise of the internet — since 1996, when he last worked on an American presidential campaign. Others described him as lazy, carefully noting when he took off on Fridays for the Hamptons. Mr. Manafort said he had built a television studio at his home there so he could appear on Sunday talk shows remotely.He lasted only five months, three of them as campaign chairman. When The New York Times revealed that a ledger found by Ukrainian investigators had listed $12.7 million in off-the-books cash payments to Mr. Manafort’s firm, one former campaign aide said that Mr. Trump was enraged. But another article detailing how Mr. Manafort and others were begging Mr. Trump to stop picking public fights equally angered Mr. Trump. When Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, told Mr. Manafort he was out, Mr. Trump was barely speaking to him.By then, Mr. Manafort’s financial house of cards was on the verge of collapse. Less than two weeks after he left the campaign, one lender informed him that it had started to foreclose on his Brooklyn brownstone. He had paid cash for it when he was financially flush four years earlier, then borrowed $5.3 million against it that February. Five months had passed with no payments.Mr. Gates managed to retain his affiliation to Mr. Trump as a liaison between the campaign and the Republican National Committee, although Mr. Trump disliked him so much that he was barred from flying on the candidate’s private plane. Mr. Manafort tried to use his lingering connection to Mr. Trump to land consulting work and to persuade banks to bail him out. He dangled a possible cabinet secretary post in front of Stephen Calk, chairman of Federal Savings Bank in Chicago, pressing Mr. Gates to promote him as a possible secretary of the Army.He continued to treat Mr. Gates as his aide, asking him how to convert profit-and-loss statements from PDF format into Word in order, prosecutors said, to inflate his income and appear more creditworthy to banks. After the election, Mr. Calk approved two loans to Mr. Manafort for a total of $16 million. Mr. Manafort used some of it to save his Brooklyn property from foreclosure.But even Mr. Calk was getting worried. On Dec. 7, 2016, he wrote to another top bank official: “Nervousness is setting in.” Less than a year later, Mr. Mueller’s team filed the first of a series of indictments against Mr. Manafort. Mr. Mueller granted a plea deal to Mr. Gates and immunity from prosecution to five of the nearly dozen witnesses for the prosecution.On Sunday, Mr. Manafort celebrated his 40th wedding anniversary in jail. He was allowed three visits limited to 30 minutes each. A notice on the website for his legal defense fund read: “Paul and his family are reaching out to anyone who can assist him at this time.”

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.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong police said on Wednesday they had arrested 12 people in connection with incidents on July 1, although it was unclear if they were among protesters who smashed their way into the city’s legislature and ransacked the building. FILE PHOTO: Helicopters fly the national flags of Hong Kong and China above riot police and protesters during the anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China in Hong Kong, China July 1, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File PhotoThe police said they had also arrested six people linked to incidents the day before, and eight others suspected of being involved in the illegal disclosure online of police officers’ private information. In recent weeks, Hong Kong has been beset by public protests against the government’s handling of an extradition bill that would allow people in the city, with its cherished tradition of judicial independence, to be sent to stand trial in China, where courts are controlled by the ruling Communist Party. The unprecedented siege and brief occupation of the Legislative Council, or Legco, took the demonstrations to a new and dangerous level on a symbolic day - the July 1 anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China from Britain. Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed leader Carrie Lam had strongly promoted the bill, but suspended it on June 15 in the face of public protests against it. Critics have called on her to officially kill the bill, but she has resisted. The issue has galvanized a wide swath of Hong Kong society and drawn hundreds of thousands of people to the streets to protest in recent weeks. In a brief statement, police said the 12 people arrested in connection with violence on July 1 had been linked to episodes that took place in the morning. The attack on the legislature did not begin to unfold until the afternoon. On July 1, police published a statement condemning the pre-dawn blocking of roads near the legislature, saying “some protesters stole iron poles and bricks from nearby construction site and guard rails from nearby roads”. Eleven of the 12 people arrested were males, and all were between the ages of 14 and 36, it said. Charges included “possession of offensive weapons, unlawful assembly, assaulting a police officer, (and) obstructing a police officer”. Many protesters have tried to hide their identities during the demonstrations by wearing face masks, helmets and in some case carrying umbrellas and avoiding cameras, but more arrests are widely expected. Five men and one woman were arrested “for offences including possession of offensive weapons, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and fighting in a public place” for various incidents on June 30, police said. Earlier, police said eight people suspected of disclosing officers’ private information online and making threats against them had been arrested. It was not immediately made clear if those eight were related to the anti-extradition protests, but police have been a target of criticism after using rubber bullets, beanbag rounds and tear gas last month to try to disperse crowds. Police Superintendent Swalikh Mohammed of the technology crime division told a news conference the six men and two women arrested were suspected of disclosing names, ID card numbers and birth dates of family members. Investigators also detected an attempt to hack the police website but he said it failed. The online crimes “affected a large number of officers, resulting not only to nuisance but threats”, he said. “The operation is ongoing and we may actually arrest more people in the near future.” On June 26, police announced they found a website “disclosing the personal data of police officers suspectedly obtained by unlawful means”. Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that allows it freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, including freedom to protest and an independent judiciary. Reporting by John Ruwitch, Donny Kwok, Twinnie Siu and Farah Master; Editing by Nick Macfie and Hugh LawsonOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

FILE PHOTO: Helicopters fly the national flags of Hong Kong and China above riot police and protesters during the anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China in Hong Kong, China July 1, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas PeterBEIJING (Reuters) - China protested to Britain over Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s warning that Beijing should honor its commitments to protect freedoms in Hong Kong or face serious consequences, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday. China lodged stern representations with Britain over the comments, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily briefing. British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt condemned violence on both sides and warned of consequences if China neglected commitments made when it took back Hong Kong to allow freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, including the right to protest. Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

(Reuters) - U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed charges on Friday against a political operative with alleged ties to Russian intelligence, bringing his probe into possible collusion by the Trump presidential campaign a step closer to the Kremlin’s door. The indictment, filed by Mueller in District of Columbia federal court, included new counts against Trump’s former campaign chair Paul Manafort and the operative, Manafort aide Konstantin Kilimnik, for tampering with witnesses about their lobbying for Ukraine. It was the third time Mueller had added to charges against Manafort since he was indicted in October. Manafort has pleaded not guilty to a raft of charges, from money-laundering, to failing to register as a foreign agent, to bank and tax fraud. The additional charges could add to pressure on Manafort to cut a deal and cooperate with Mueller’s probe, legal experts said. Manafort has longstanding ties to a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine and a Russian oligarch close to the Kremlin. But more significantly Friday’s indictment marked the first time that Kilimnik, who in previous court filings was referred to only as “Person A”, was named. Mueller has said Kilimnik has links to Russian spy agencies, an allegation Kilimnik denies. Kilimnik did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Manafort and his lawyers have disputed the charges against him. The disclosure could alter the way the public perceives Mueller’s investigation, said former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti. Trump has repeatedly denounced the probe as a “witch hunt” and denied any collusion took place. “This indictment could be very important from a political perspective,” said Mariotti, a Democrat who is running for Illinois attorney general. “You now have the former chairman of the Trump campaign charged with conspiring with a suspected Russian intelligence operative. That’s quite astounding.” In a court filing earlier this week, Mueller asked the judge overseeing the case in the District of Columbia to revoke or revise an order releasing Manafort ahead of trial due to the allegations of witness tampering. Mueller has accused Manafort of attempting to call, text and send encrypted messages in February to two people from “The Hapsburg Group,” a political discussion group he allegedly worked with to promote the interests of Ukraine, in an effort to influence their testimony or conceal evidence in the case. Manafort’s lawyers, in a court filing on Friday, asked the judge to reject Mueller’s request, saying “the text messages cited by the special counsel do not establish any witness tampering.” They said Manafort’s “limited communications cannot be fairly read, either factually or legally, to reflect an intent to corruptly influence a trial witness.” Mueller’s office said the government had “developed substantial evidence showing that the Hapsburg group performed a variety of lobbying tasks in the United States,” which included disseminating ghostwritten articles in the American media and arranging meetings with U.S. officials and politicians. Sources familiar with the group’s activities said that among its major figures were Alfred Gusenbauer, a former Austrian chancellor, and Romano Prodi, a former Italian prime minister. In Friday’s indictment, Mueller accused Kilimnik of taking part in the covert lobbying scheme and of trying to influence potential witnesses. Two U.S. intelligence officials on Friday said that Kilimnik, who was educated in part as a linguist and served in the Russian army as a translator, is believed to have at least informal ties to Russian intelligence. FILE PHOTO Paul Manafort, former campaign manager for U.S. President Donald Trump, departs after a hearing at U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, U.S., April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File PhotoThey said Kilimnik may have reported to Russian intelligence officers in Moscow or Kiev or both on his work at the International Republican Institute office in Moscow where he was employed for a decade to 2005 and later on his work for Manafort in Ukraine. In addition, one of the officials said, Kilimnik’s reported trips to the U.S. in May and August 2016 during Trump’s campaign have “attracted attention” as to whether Manafort and Kilimnik tried to capitalize on Manafort’s campaign role by offering Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska private briefings. Deripaska has denied accepting the offer or receiving any such briefings. Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Clive McKeefOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

(Reuters) - U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed charges on Friday against a political operative with alleged ties to Russian intelligence, bringing his probe into possible collusion by the Trump presidential campaign a step closer to the Kremlin’s door. The indictment, filed by Mueller in District of Columbia federal court, included new counts against Trump’s former campaign chair Paul Manafort and the operative, Manafort aide Konstantin Kilimnik, for tampering with witnesses about their lobbying for Ukraine. It was the third time Mueller had added to charges against Manafort since he was indicted in October. Manafort has pleaded not guilty to a raft of charges, from money-laundering, to failing to register as a foreign agent, to bank and tax fraud. The additional charges could add to pressure on Manafort to cut a deal and cooperate with Mueller’s probe, legal experts said. Manafort has longstanding ties to a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine and a Russian oligarch close to the Kremlin. But more significantly Friday’s indictment marked the first time that Kilimnik, who in previous court filings was referred to only as “Person A”, was named. Mueller has said Kilimnik has links to Russian spy agencies, an allegation Kilimnik denies. Kilimnik did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Manafort and his lawyers have disputed the charges against him. The disclosure could alter the way the public perceives Mueller’s investigation, said former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti. Trump has repeatedly denounced the probe as a “witch hunt” and denied any collusion took place. “This indictment could be very important from a political perspective,” said Mariotti, a Democrat who is running for Illinois attorney general. “You now have the former chairman of the Trump campaign charged with conspiring with a suspected Russian intelligence operative. That’s quite astounding.” In a court filing earlier this week, Mueller asked the judge overseeing the case in the District of Columbia to revoke or revise an order releasing Manafort ahead of trial due to the allegations of witness tampering. Mueller has accused Manafort of attempting to call, text and send encrypted messages in February to two people from “The Hapsburg Group,” a political discussion group he allegedly worked with to promote the interests of Ukraine, in an effort to influence their testimony or conceal evidence in the case. Manafort’s lawyers, in a court filing on Friday, asked the judge to reject Mueller’s request, saying “the text messages cited by the special counsel do not establish any witness tampering.” They said Manafort’s “limited communications cannot be fairly read, either factually or legally, to reflect an intent to corruptly influence a trial witness.” Mueller’s office said the government had “developed substantial evidence showing that the Hapsburg group performed a variety of lobbying tasks in the United States,” which included disseminating ghostwritten articles in the American media and arranging meetings with U.S. officials and politicians. Sources familiar with the group’s activities said that among its major figures were Alfred Gusenbauer, a former Austrian chancellor, and Romano Prodi, a former Italian prime minister. In Friday’s indictment, Mueller accused Kilimnik of taking part in the covert lobbying scheme and of trying to influence potential witnesses. Two U.S. intelligence officials on Friday said that Kilimnik, who was educated in part as a linguist and served in the Russian army as a translator, is believed to have at least informal ties to Russian intelligence. FILE PHOTO Paul Manafort, former campaign manager for U.S. President Donald Trump, departs after a hearing at U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, U.S., April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File PhotoThey said Kilimnik may have reported to Russian intelligence officers in Moscow or Kiev or both on his work at the International Republican Institute office in Moscow where he was employed for a decade to 2005 and later on his work for Manafort in Ukraine. In addition, one of the officials said, Kilimnik’s reported trips to the U.S. in May and August 2016 during Trump’s campaign have “attracted attention” as to whether Manafort and Kilimnik tried to capitalize on Manafort’s campaign role by offering Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska private briefings. Deripaska has denied accepting the offer or receiving any such briefings. Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Clive McKeefOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

A federal grand jury handed down new charges on Friday against the former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who already faces five felony charges and was accused in court documents on Monday of attempted witness tampering in his case.The latest charges against Manafort, filed in Washington DC, came less than four months after his former business associate, Richard Gates III, agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.The government moved to revoke Manafort’s bail on Monday, alleging that he had sought to influence witnesses in his case with contacts by phone and through an encrypted messaging program.Prosecutors backed up the allegation with Friday’s charges, alleging that Manafort and a Russian-Ukrainian associate, Konstantin Kilimnick, “conspired to corruptly persuade” two unnamed witnesses in the case to alter or cancel planned testimony.Manafort has doggedly asserted his innocence as prosecutors have released waves of evidence of an alleged scheme by him, Gates and others to launder money they were paid for political consulting work in Ukraine, Europe and elsewhere. The government accuses Manafort of dodging taxes, failing to register as a foreign agent while working in Washington on behalf of foreign governments, and other charges.Manafort did not immediately release a statement. The White House did not immediately comment on the new charges.Trump routinely calls the Mueller investigation a “witch-hunt” and recently issued high-profile pardons to federal convicts that some have taken as a potential message to former associates targeted by the Mueller investigation. If convicted on the charges, Manafort, 69, could spend the rest of his life in prison. Alternatively, he may be able to strike a deal with prosecutors in which he would testify in the larger investigation of the Trump campaign in exchange for a reduction in the charges he faces.Federal prosecutors are under pressure as well, faced with the possibility that Trump could try to extinguish the case by firing Mueller or justice department officials overseeing the investigation.The five previously charged counts against Manafort remain unchanged: conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign principal, making false and misleading Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, and false statements.Manafort was named Trump’s campaign chairman in February 2016, but by that summer a sharpening focus on his Russia ties drove him from a daily role, and he resigned in August. In July 2017 he registered as a foreign agent, but prosecutors now say that was years too late.Kilimnick oversaw an office for one of Manafort’s companies in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, and has been tied to Russian intelligence. Topics Paul Manafort Donald Trump Trump-Russia investigation Trump administration Russia Europe news