HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong is facing its worst crisis since it returned to China from British rule in 1997, the head of China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office said on Wednesday amid more anti-government protests in the Asian financial hub. “Hong Kong’s crisis ... has continued for 60 days, and is getting worse and worse,” Zhang Xiaoming, one of the most senior Chinese officials overseeing Hong Kong affairs, said during a meeting in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. “Violent activities are intensifying and the impact on society is spreading wider. It can be said that Hong Kong is now facing the most severe situation since its handover,” he said. Hong Kong has seen months of sometimes violent protests that began with opposition to a now-suspended extradition law and which have evolved into a direct challenge to the government of embattled leader Carrie Lam and calls for full democracy. Hong Kong’s protests pose a major challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping who is grappling with a trade war with the United States and a slowing economy. Zhang held a forum on Wednesday to discuss the political crisis in Hong Kong which included Hong Kong delegates to China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress and China’s main consultative body, the CPPCC. No opposition democratic figures or protest representatives were invited. Related CoverageHong Kong protests take a toll as companies flag impactChinese official says Hong Kong facing biggest crisis since 1997Speaking after the meeting, several attendees said Zhang cited speeches by former Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in 1984 and 1987 in which he said if “turmoil” occurs in Hong Kong, “the central government must intervene”. No specific mention, however, was made of deploying the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which has a garrison in Hong Kong, to quell the unrest, with Zhang cited as saying Beijing remained confident in the Hong Kong government and local police. “We note with concern the Chinese government’s statements,” a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said, without citing which of the comments Washington considered problematic. “We urge Beijing to adhere to its commitments in the Sino-British Joint Declaration to allow Hong Kong to exercise a high degree of autonomy,” the spokeswoman said.” We urge all sides to exercise restraint and refrain from violence.” Elsie Leung, a former justice secretary, said she felt that even if the PLA were deployed it would not conflict with Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” by which it has been governed since 1997. “One country, two systems would continue,” she said. In China’s sharpest rebuke yet of the protesters, the government warned them on Tuesday not to “play with fire” and called on Hong Kong citizens to protect their homeland. People aim laser pointers at the facade of the Hong Kong Space Museum during a flash mob staged to denounce the authorities' claim that laser pointers were offensive weapons in Hong Kong, China, August 7, 2019. Picture taken with a slow shutter speed. REUTERS/Thomas PeterThe Global Times, a Chinese tabloid published by the Communist Party’s People’s Daily, showed a video on its official Twitter feed of thousands of police officers taking part in an anti-riot training drill in Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong. The protests have drawn millions onto the streets in opposition to an extradition bill that would see suspects tried in mainland courts controlled by the Communist Party. Many feared it would undermine Hong Kong’s independent judiciary and was another step towards full mainland control of Hong Kong. Several thousand Hong Kong lawyers dressed in black, marched in silence on Wednesday to call on the government to safeguard the independence of the city’s department of justice. The city’s lawyers fear the justice department’s prosecutions of arrested protesters are taking on an increasingly political slant with over 500 arrests, many charged with rioting, an offence that carries a 10-year jail term. A female lawyer who declined to be named said she was marching “to make sure the government knows that within the legal sector, we will not allow judicial independence to be compromised by politics or pressure from the Chinese government”. A group of unidentified government prosecutors published an open letter last week accusing Secretary of Justice Teresa Cheng of putting politics above legal principles. “All we want is justice and all we want is consistency,” said prominent lawyer Kevin Yam, who also protested. “We don’t want to see thugs get away while the best of our youth get prosecuted. We uphold the rule of law and we ask for justice.” Slideshow (10 Images)Protesters are demanding a complete withdrawal of the extradition bill, an independent inquiry into the crisis, an investigation into what they say is excessive use of force by police, and for Hong Kong leader Lam to step down. A brazen attack by an armed mob on protesters at a train station in Yuen Long on the night of July 21 that left 45 people injured, has so far seen 23 people arrested for the relatively light charge of unlawful assembly. Protesters say police were slow to protect them. Police fired tear gas in Sham Shui Po late on Tuesday, as protesters gathered outside a police station to demand the release of Keith Fong, a student union leader from Baptist University, who they say was unlawfully arrested by several plain-clothes police for buying laser pointers on the grounds that he possessed offensive weapons. Protesters have sometimes aimed lasers, which are widely available in shops, at police during recent clashes. Reporting by Farah Master, James Pomfret, Anne Marie Roantree, Greg Torode, Donny Kwok, Noah Sin and Sijia Jiang; additional reporting by David Brunnstrom and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Michael Perry, Paul Tait and Grant McCoolOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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The Manhattan District Attorney's office on Wednesday unsealed an indictment of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, shortly after he was sentenced in a case in a federal court in D.C. Interested in Russia Investigation? Add Russia Investigation as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Russia Investigation news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Russia Investigation Add Interest According to the indictment, Manafort was charged with a total of 16 counts in the state of New York, including residential mortgage fraud and other state crimes, and if convicted on all charges could face between just over eight years and 25 years in prison, according to New York state law. The indictment was returned by a grand jury in Manhattan last week but announced on Wednesday moments after Manafort was sentenced to 73 months of imprisonment for illegal foreign lobbying and witness tampering in his D.C. case. He faces a total of 81 months between both the D.C. case and the Virginia case.(MORE: Paul Manafort's sentence in DC case means he faces 81 months total behind bars) In November, Trump told the New York Post that though a pardon for Manafort had never been discussed, he "wouldn't take it off the table." With the New York District Attorney's charges, even if President Trump pardons Manafort, he still faces a criminal case on the new state charges. Mortgage fraud is not a crime under federal law and therefore there is no double jeopardy issue. As part of an effort to ensure Manafort's prosecution in New York, state Sen. Todd Kaminsky Wednesday afternoon called for a bill to close the state's "double jeopardy loophole," which exempts convicted criminals pardoned by the president from State prosecution for the same crime. In addition to the residential mortgage fraud charges, Manafort also faces charges in Manhattan of attempted fraud, conspiracy, falsifying business records and scheming to defraud. Broadly, Manafort is accused of lying on mortgage applications to secure a loan in the millions of dollars for some properties on Howard Street in Manhattan, Union Street in Brooklyn and a property in Bridgehampton.(MORE: Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort in court to confront special counsel's allegations of lying) According to the indictment, the alleged crimes were committed between December 2015 and January 2017. In one instance, Manafort is accused of deceiving an appraiser by pretending to be living in a condo that he was using to take out loans, according to the indictment. "The appraiser for Howard St is calling to make an appointment to view the condo," Manafort allegedly wrote in an email cited in the indictment. "Could you please call [Individual #2] to arrange a time for him to access the apartment. Remember, he believes that you and [Individual #3] are living there." During a trial in a separate foreign lobbying and financial crimes case in Virginia brought by special counsel Robert Mueller's team, prosecutors accused Manafort, who is a longtime New York Yankees season tickets holder, of jeopardizing millions of loans he sought by putting big charges on the American Express card for the season tickets. Mueller's prosecutors also accused Manafort of using money wired from his offshore bank account to purchase some of the tickets. In the New York indictment, Manafort allegedly asked an unidentified person to sign a letter saying, "Thank you for allowing me to use the AMEX Business Plum card to purchase season tickets for the 2016 baseball season."(MORE: Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort in court to confront special counsel's allegations of lying) The Manhattan District Attorney's investigation began in March 2017 but was shelved in deference to the special counsel, according to a source familiar with the matter. The case was revived recently as Manafort’s legal odyssey with Mueller neared a conclusion. "No one is beyond the law in New York," District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement. "Following an investigation commenced by our Office in March 2017, a Manhattan grand jury has charged Mr. Manafort with state criminal violations which strike at the heart of New York’s sovereign interests, including the integrity of our residential mortgage market." President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday afternoon that he feels "very badly" for Manafort but said that he hasn't given any thought to offering him a pardon. "I have not even given it a thought as of this moment," Trump said. "It's not something that's right now on my mind. I do feel badly for Paul Manafort that I can tell you.”

Over the last few weeks, protesters in Hong Kong have taken to spraypainting traffic barriers, bridges, police stations and more with the words: “If we burn, you burn with us.”On Monday, much of the city burned under clouds of teargas, hails of rubber bullets, and fires lit by angry protesters facing off against riot police. Protesters and a group of men brawled on the street, hitting each other with wooden rods and traffic cones. In another neighbourhood, two people were knifed. Three cars rammed through crowds of protesters, injuring one person.After nine weeks of protests, demonstrators and the local government, backed by Beijing, find themselves in a stalemate where the possibility of a peaceful resolution has become more and more unlikely.The protests, triggered by an extradition bill that would send suspects to mainland China, have gained momentum and taken on new demands after weeks of clashes with police.The government under the chief executive, Carrie Lam, has held fast to its position that the protesters are rioters and deployed the city’s police force to deal with weekly protests that regularly devolve into clashes. Police have used teargas in 13 of Hong Kong’s 18 districts and more than 500 people have been arrested.Protesters, incensed by the police tactics and the government’s continued lack of response, are undeterred by such increasingly harsh measures. Some are adopting more extreme, violent tactics – taunting the police, defacing emblems of China’s sovereignty over Hong Kong, throwing bricks and petrol bombs.Protesters call it the “scorched earth” policy, that in order to compel authorities to pay attention a price must be paid – whether that is in the form of heavy criminal charges, getting repeatedly hit by teargas, or damaged job prospects if the Hong Kong economy suffers from political unrest.“I don’t think the government is willing to give ground and there’s no indication that the protesters are willing to settle,” said Adam Ni, a China researcher at Macquarie University in Australia.Ni believes the protests will continue to escalate, growing more violent, until another inflection point is reached – probably the death or serious injury of a protester, police officer or bystander.“Without the government giving in to demands of the people on the street, I don’t see that the protests will end peacefully,” he said.As political unrest continues, the possibility that Beijing could intervene looms larger. Chinese and Hong Kong officials have repeatedly denied plans to deploy the People’s Liberation Army, which has a garrison in Hong Kong – a scenario that would be reminiscent of the violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, in 1989.Yet, China has released two promotional videos showing Chinese military and police battling residents in black, the signature colour of the protesters. A senior military official recently referred to the part of Hong Kong’s garrison law which says the PLA can intervene to “maintain public order” if Hong Kong requests it.Observers say sending in troops or taking over the governing of Hong Kong directly is an extreme last resort. “That would have huge costs to the mainland government, to the Hong Kong government,” said John Burns, a professor emeritus at Hong Kong University focusing on Hong Kong.“All of this would be put under tight party control and then you have people in Hong Kong still with their ideas, seething under this kind of military occupation. Is that the way to go?”Not all protesters appear concerned about the possibility of the PLA entering their streets, knowing it would hurt Beijing as much as Hong Kong.“We are not afraid. If the Chinese army comes out, we will celebrate,” said one protester.Others say Hong Kong authorities, under pressure from China to take a harder line on protesters, can turn to methods used before. After a wave of pro-democracy protests in 2014 known as the Umbrella movement, the government disqualified pro-democracy lawmakers and jailed leaders of the movement.Yet it’s not clear those measures worked, given the resurgence of mass protests this summer. “When resistance came back, it came back with a vengeance,” said Victoria Hui, an associate professor of political science at Notre Dame University.Many protesters are not optimistic. Jason Keung, a lanky 22-year old in glasses, trainers and a surgical mask, was sitting alone on a kerb, mentally preparing to do battle with the police. He says he tries not to focus on how things will end.“I don’t think about the future because I just want to live in the now,” he said. “Hong Kong is controlled by China, yes. I don’t think we can fight them but we have to try. We don’t have any choice but to fight.” Topics Hong Kong China Carrie Lam Protest Asia Pacific analysis

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States sees the European Union as its top priority in a global effort to convince allies not to buy Huawei equipment for next-generation mobile networks, a U.S. State Department Official said on Tuesday. After meetings with the European Commission and the Belgian government in Brussels, U.S. officials are set to take a message to other European capitals that the world’s biggest telecommunications gear maker poses a security risk, said the official, who declined to be named. “We are saying you need to be very, very cautious and we are urging folks not to rush ahead and sign contracts with untrusted suppliers from countries like China,” the official said. The United States fears China could use the equipment for espionage - a concern that Huawei Technologies Co. says is unfounded. The push to sideline Huawei in Europe, one of its biggest markets, is likely to deepen trade frictions between Washington and Beijing. Washington is using “multiple tracks”, the U.S. official said, including talks at the U.S.-led NATO alliance in Brussels and at international conferences in Barcelona and Munich: “Europe is definitely where we see this as the top priority.” Huawei gear is widely used in Europe but the push is aimed at equipment for the new fifth generation mobile technology, which promises to link up everything from vehicles to factories at far greater speeds. While Washington has largely barred Huawei from supplying its government and contractors, it sees advanced European preparations for 5G networks as a security risk that could also endanger the United States. “Going with an untrusted supplier like Huawei or ZTE will have all sorts of ramifications for your national security and ... since we are military allies with almost all members of the European Union, on our national security as well,” the official said. Asked for evidence of intelligence work by Huawei or its rival ZTE, the U.S. official said American alarm stemmed more from China’s status as a one-party state, a series of Chinese laws approved in 2017, and counter-terrorism legislation. The official cited language in the National Intelligence Law that directs individuals and companies to aid China’s intelligence-gathering and keep such work secret. “Huawei and ZTE ... are ensconced in a one-party state where they are simply not equipped to resist directions from Beijing.” The official also pointed to vulnerabilities found in older networks built by Huawei in Britain, even when they were monitored by a laboratory overseen by British intelligence. Slideshow (2 Images)Reuters reported exclusively on Jan. 30 that the European Commission, the EU executive, was considering proposals that would ban Huawei from 5G networks, but that work was at an early stage. Concern is also growing in Germany. But France is walking a fine line, with parliament reviewing a provision that would increase government powers to make checks on 5G equipment. “We may not have all the information the United States has. But we take decisions based on what we know. And at this stage, we have not decided to ban Huawei in France,” a French official said this week. Additional reporting by Michel Rose in Paris; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Enlarge this image Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., questions Michael Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer, as Cohen testifies before the House oversight committee on Wednesday. Meadows had a heated exchange with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., during the hearing. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption toggle caption Alex Brandon/AP Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., questions Michael Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer, as Cohen testifies before the House oversight committee on Wednesday. Meadows had a heated exchange with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., during the hearing. Alex Brandon/AP Two lawmakers who engaged in a heated exchange that included accusations of racist behavior during a Wednesday committee hearing hugged it out on the House floor on Thursday."It was a very good conversation," Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., told reporters after. Meadows approached Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., on the House floor where they engaged in a brief conversation and embraced. "I just wanted her to know there is no animosity or hard feelings at all and she said the same and it was a very good moment." Analysis 5 Revelations From Cohen: 2017 Checks, 'Catch-And-Kill,' Possible Book Deal A spokesman for Tlaib has not responded to NPR's request for comment on her take on the exchange.During the House Oversight Committee's hearing to take testimony from President Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, Meadows brought Lynne Patton, an African-American woman who works in the Trump administration at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to refute Cohen's allegations of Trump's racist behavior. Meadows Refers To Patton Tlaib, a freshman, was one of the last lawmakers to question Cohen and used part of her time to admonish Meadows for doing so. "Just because someone has a person of color — a black person working for them does not mean they aren't racist," she said Wednesday, "And it is insensitive that some would even say — the fact that someone would actually use a prop — a black woman — in this chamber, in this committee is alone, racist in itself."House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., citing a personal friendship with Meadows, mediated the dispute by having Tlaib clarify she saw the act as racist, not the congressman. Tlaib Pushes Back Meadows would not say Thursday if he regretted bringing Patton as his guest to the hearing. "I'm not going to get into analyzing everything, obviously at this particularly point it is critically important that people know each others' motives and heart and I think that we understand each other," he said.The exchange led Democratic activists to resurface and circulate online a 2012 video of Meadows saying "we are going to send Mr. Obama home to Kenya or wherever it is," which is widely acknowledged as playing on racist, birther conspiracies levied against Barack Obama. President Trump engaged and popularized birther conspiracies for years before acknowledging it was false during his 2016 campaign. Politics GOP Attacks After Opening Focused On Trump: Highlights From Cohen's Testimony "Listen, that's old news. I've addressed that dozens of times and candidly apologized for that a number of times," Meadows told reporters Thursday regarding the 2012 video, "It was when I was running for office, I answered a question. I actually had just gotten back from Kenya where we had been doing mission work in Kenya. Anybody who knows me knows I look to show respect regardless of race or gender or anything that would indicate that there would be a racist motive for me is just not accurate." Politics Michael Cohen Calls Trump A 'Racist' And A 'Con Man' In Scathing Testimony National Security Here's What May Happen When The Mueller Investigation Is Completed

As the public and government regulators around the world discuss whether and how to manage the power of technology companies, one idea that keeps coming up is breaking up these large conglomerate corporations into smaller pieces. Public distrust for tech companies has shifted to talk of antitrust action against them. Facebook, for instance, might then have to compete with Instagram for photo-sharing and WhatsApp for messaging—rather than owning both.The idea has managed to garner support from both Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, and Republican President Donald Trump.However, advocates and opponents of breaking up big technology firms are falling prey to some serious misconceptions. I study the effects of digital technologies on lives and livelihoods across 85 countries and lead Tufts Fletcher School’s Digital Planet initiative studying technological innovation around the world. In my opinion, there are three myths worth busting before considering taking on big tech.Myth 1: Comparing Standard Oil and GoogleThose cases from the past may seem similar to today’s situation, but this era is different in one crucial way: the global technology marketplace. Currently, there are two parallel “big tech” clusters. One is in the U.S., dominated by Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple. The other is based in China, dominated by Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and Huawei. This global market is subject to different political and policy pressures from what regulators faced when dealing with Standard Oil and Microsoft.Both clusters are attempting to add users to accumulate reservoirs of data, which will fuel the next stage of competitiveness in a future run by artificial intelligence. The Chinese government has blocked most of the U.S. companies from entering the Chinese market, protecting its “AI national team.” The U.S. government has done likewise, blacklisting some Chinese outfits for a period while discouraging others.If the U.S. technology giants are broken up, the result would be a vastly uneven global playing field, pitting fragmented U.S. companies against consolidated state-protected Chinese firms.Geopolitical factors aren’t limited to the U.S.-China rivalry. The European Union, Russia, and India are also heavy users of Silicon Valley technologies, and each is exploring its own options for legislation and regulation.U.S. companies’ size and data-accumulation capabilities give the country economic and political influence around the globe. Their power would change if they were broken up—and, in my view, that should be a key consideration in regulators’ decisions.Myth 2: Price is rightThose two sides seem to agree that price plays a key role. People who argue against breaking up the tech giants point out that Facebook and Google provide services that are free to the consumer and that Amazon’s marketplace power drives its products’ costs down. On the other side, though, are those who say that having low or no prices is evidence that these companies are artificially lowering consumer costs to draw users into company-controlled systems that are hard to leave.Both sides are missing the fact that the monetary price is less relevant as a measure of what users pay in the technology industry than it is in other types of business. Users pay for digital products with their data, rather than just money. Regulators shouldn’t focus only on the monetary costs to users. Rather, they should ask whether users are being asked for more data than is strictly necessary, whether information is being collected in intrusive or abusive ways, and whether customers are getting good value in exchange for their data.Myth 3: Trust-busting is all or nothingThere aren’t just two ways for this debate to end, with either a breakup of one or more technology giants or simply leaving things as they are for the market to develop further.My own idea of the best outcome would take a page from the history of antitrust litigation: The company that is sued is not broken up, and yet the very fact that there was a lawsuit leads to progress. That has happened in the past, in the cases against the Bell System, IBM, and Microsoft.In the 1956 federal consent decree against the Bell System, which settled a seven-year legal proceeding against the company, the company wasn’t split up, but Bell was required to license all its patents royalty-free to other firms. This meant that some of the most profound technological innovations in history—including the transistor, the solar cell, and the laser—became widely available, yielding computers, solar power, and other technologies that are crucial to the modern world. When the Bell System was eventually broken up in 1982, it did not do nearly as much to spread innovation and competition as the agreement that kept the Bells together a quarter-century earlier.The antitrust action against IBM lasted 13 years and didn’t break up the firm. However, as part of its tactics to avoid appearing to be a monopoly, IBM agreed to separate pricing for its hardware and software products, previously sold as an indivisible bundle. This created an opportunity for entrepreneurs Bill Gates and Paul Allen to create a new software-only company, called Microsoft. The surge of software innovations that have followed can clearly trace their origins to the IBM settlement.Two decades later, Microsoft was itself the target of an antitrust action. In the resulting settlement, Microsoft agreed to ensure its products were compatible with competitors’ software. That made room in the emerging internet marketplace for web browsers, the predecessors of Apple’s Safari, Mozilla’s Firefox, and Google Chrome.Even Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s top antitrust official and frequent tech-giant nemesis, has said, “Antitrust prosecutions are part of how technology grows.” But that doesn’t mean they all have to achieve their most extreme ends, of breaking up the companies.Antitrust rules are complicated enough, and plenty of experts will be called on to give their views on what to do with “big tech.” Technology pervades every aspect of modern lives, giving each person a responsibility to weigh in on this issue without misconceptions clouding their judgments. Technology has become a political issue. In a politically overheated climate, public sentiments may matter even more than the opinions of experts.Bhaskar Chakravorti is dean of global business at the Fletcher School at Tufts University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The US art photographer and activist Nan Goldin has led a protest outside the Louvre in Paris demanding that the world’s most visited museum change the name of its Sackler wing because some of the multibillionaire family of art philanthropists benefited from the business of addictive prescription painkillers.In recent months Goldin has taken part in protests at US museums and threatened UK gallery boycotts over donations from one branch of the Sackler family, which is accused of profiting from the US opioid crisis as the owners of the American pharmaceutical company that makes the highly addictive prescription painkiller OxyContin.The Louvre demonstration on Monday was the first time Goldin had taken her international campaign to France. The artist waded into the fountains beneath the Louvre’s pyramid with more than a dozen activists carrying red banners stating: “Take down the Sackler name.”About 40 protesters chanted, “Shame on Sackler” as crowds of tourists looked on. One activist lay down in the fountain and others played dead around the edge.The Louvre’s Sackler wing is made up of 12 rooms of near eastern antiquities, including key pieces from the museum’s Persian collection. The Sackler name is prominent at many global art institutions as a result of financial support given by the family.The Louvre confirmed that the Theresa and Mortimer Sackler foundation had donated to the refurbishment of its rooms of Persian and Levantine art in the period 1996 to 1997. No donation from the Sackler family has been made to the museum since.Demonstrators from the campaign group Pain (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) said they believed that the Louvre was not contractually bound in perpetuity to display the Sackler name. They urged it to be the first major museum to remove the name from its galleries.Goldin said: “The museum world must act. I hope the Louvre understands that artists and activists are mobilised to get the name removed, and the Louvre could be the first museum to take the Sackler name down. Often there’s a domino effect among museums and galleries.”In March, London’s National Portrait Gallery became the first major art institution to drop a plan for a grant from the Sackler family, in a move that campaigners said was a landmark victory in the battle over the ethics of arts funding.The gallery said it had been jointly agreed with the branch of the Sackler family whose company makes OxyContin that it would “not proceed at this time” with a £1m donation. Goldin has also staged protests at the Guggenheim and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.Goldin said: “The Louvre is one of the world’s greatest museums and one of the most visited museums on Earth. It has 12 Sackler rooms. But this crisis has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans and it’s coming Europe’s way. This is an emergency.”During the protest, Goldin, who currently has work on show at a modern art exhibition at the Palace of Versailles, wore her medal, the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, an honorary award from the French state for her art. “It’s the first time I’ve worn it,” she said.Goldin began her campaign against the Sacklers after she became addicted to powerful prescription painkillers. She has since demanded that arts institutions in the US and Britain refuse further Sackler donations and argued that the family should instead pay for treatment and rehabilitation for opioid addicts.The Louvre security guards allowed the protest to take place peacefully for more than 30 minutes before the activists moved away of their own accord.Goldin said she would seek a meeting with museum staff to discuss the campaign to rename the Sackler wing.A spokesperson from the Louvre confirmed that about 15 people were involved in the protest inside the fountain, but declined to comment further.Representatives for the members of the Sackler family who own Purdue declined to comment.• This article was amended on 3 July 2019 to clarify a reference to the decision to drop a proposed donation to London’s National Portrait Gallery by some Sackler family members – the gallery and the family members said it had been a joint decision. Topics Paris Nan Goldin Opioids Protest Pharmaceuticals industry France Europe news

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Wednesday said it was “unnecessary” for a Washington judge to sentence Manafort to time in prison for conspiracy and fraud charges. “It was hostile and it was totally unnecessary,” Kevin Downing told reporters outside the courthouse. He did not address a New York indictment against Manafort announced earlier on Wednesday. Reporting by Susan Heavey and Makini Brice; Editing by David AlexanderOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong’s airport halted flights on Monday, blaming demonstrators for the disruption, while China said the anti-government protests that have swept the city over the past two months had begun to show “sprouts of terrorism”. The airport authority said it was working with airlines to resume flights from 6 a.m. on Tuesday, but the developments raised the stakes sharply after a weekend of skirmishes during which both activists and police toughened their stances. The precise trigger for the airport’s closure was not clear, since protesters occupying the arrivals hall for four days have been peaceful. Most of them had left shortly after midnight, but around 50 remained, discussing their next move. “This is about our freedom,” a 24-year-old protester wearing a mask, who gave his name only as Yu, told Reuters during the evening. “Why should we leave?” Some Hong Kong legal experts say official descriptions of some protesters’ actions as terrorism could lead to the use of extensive anti-terror laws and powers against them. China’s People’s Armed Police also assembled in the neighboring city of Shenzhen for exercises, the state-backed Global Times newspaper said. The Communist Party’s official People’s Daily newspaper said on the Twitter-like Weibo that the force can handle incidents including riots or terrorist attacks. Hong Kongers responded by taking to the streets again. Crowds picketed a police station, singing hymns. Hundreds of people returned to a subway station, where police had hit activists with batons, to protest against heavy-handed tactics. The increasingly violent demonstrations have plunged the Chinese-ruled territory into its most serious crisis in decades, presenting Chinese leader Xi Jinping with one of his biggest challenges since he came to power in 2012. Related CoverageU.S. urges all sides to refrain from violence in Hong Kong: officialCanada's Trudeau extremely concerned about Hong Kong, urges China to be careful“Hong Kong has come to a critical juncture,” said Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office spokesman Yang Guang in Beijing. “Protesters have been frequently using extremely dangerous tools to attack the police in recent days, constituting serious crimes with sprouts of terrorism emerging.” The protests began in opposition to a bill allowing extraditions to the mainland for trial in Communist-controlled courts, but have widened to highlight other grievances, winning broad support. Demonstrators say they are fighting the erosion of the “one country, two systems” arrangement enshrining some autonomy for Hong Kong when China took it back from Britain in 1997. Hong Kong is the world’s busiest air cargo port and the 8th busiest by passenger traffic, handling 73 million passengers a year. The airport has been filled with anti-government protesters for four days. The mostly young black-clad protesters have chanted slogans such as “No rioters, only tyranny!” and “Liberate Hong Kong!” while approaching travelers with flyers describing their demands and explaining the unrest. U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said they were “bravely standing up to the Chinese Communist Party,” and that a violent crackdown would be completely unacceptable. The activists at the airport have been polite and passengers mostly unperturbed. “I was expecting something, given all the news,” one arrival, Gurinda Singh, told Reuters. “I’m just pleased my plane arrived and the protests here seem peaceful.” Anti-extradition bill protesters rally at the departure hall of Hong Kong airport in Hong Kong, China August 12, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas PeterSome activists moved to the departure area and caused disruptions, police told a news conference as the cancellations were announced. Earlier in the day, police declined to say if they would move to clear the demonstrators. There was no visible police presence in either the departure or arrivals area. “Airport operations at Hong Kong International Airport have been seriously disrupted as a result of the public assembly at the airport today,” the city’s airport authority said in a statement, without elaborating. About 190 flights were affected, Chinese aviation data firm VariFlight said, though planes already en route to Hong Kong were allowed to land. Malaysia Airlines said it would be cancelling its flights between Malaysia and Hong Kong until Tuesday afternoon. Demonstrators threw up barricades across Hong Kong at the weekend, as police fired tear gas into crowded underground train stations as well as rubber bullets and pepper pellets at close range. In response, protesters have sought to channel a Bruce Lee maxim: “Be water,” employing a flash-mob strategy to frustrate authorities and stretch their resources. Still, scores of protesters were arrested, sometimes after being beaten with batons and bloodied by police. One young female medic was hospitalized after being hit by a pellet round in the right eye. Demonstrators were also angered by the use of undercover police, dressed as protesters. Slideshow (24 Images)Hundreds of people returned on Monday to the scene of some of the clashes to protest against the use of force. China has used the threat of terrorism to justify tough measures in its regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, which have been criticized by rights groups and Western governments. It warned them off on Monday as well. “Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong and Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement. China has also put pressure on big companies, such as Cathay Pacific Airways (0293.HK), whose shares tumbled to a 10-year low on Monday after it was told to suspend staff engaged in illegal protests. Reporting by Greg Torode, Clare Jim, Vimvam Tong, Felix Tam, Noah Sin, Brenda Goh, Twinnie Siu, James Pomfret, Farah Master, Anne Marie Roantree and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong. Additional reporting by Tony Munroe in Beijing; Writing by Tom Westbrook; Editing by James Pomfret and Mark HeinrichOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

FILE PHOTO: A surveillance camera is seen in front of the Huawei logo outside its factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File PhotoLONDON (Reuters) - China on Sunday warned Britain not to discriminate against companies involved in developing the 5G network and to resist pressure from other countries over whether it should work with Huawei Technologies. Huawei, the world’s biggest telecoms equipment maker, is under intense scrutiny after the United States told allies not to use the company’s technology because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spying. Huawei has denied this. Sources told Reuters on Wednesday Britain’s National Security Council (NSC) had decided to bar Huawei from all core parts of the country’s 5G network and restrict its access to non-core parts. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, China’s ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming defended Huawei as having a good track record on security and said Britain should “make decisions independently and in accordance with their national interests”. “The last thing the world needs is the introduction of any sort of discriminatory measures toward companies involved in 5G network development. The last thing China expects from a truly open and fair ‘global Britain’ is a playing field that is not level,” he wrote. Liu said security concerns about the development of 5G networks were understandable but could be managed. “The risks should be taken seriously but risks must not be allowed to incite fear. They can be managed, provided countries and companies work together,” he said. Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Dale HudsonOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Media player Media playback is unsupported on your device Video Will organic revolution boost farming in India? In 2016, Sikkim, a small state in India’s northeast, was declared the country's first fully organic state. Since then, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been trying to promote chemical-free farming across the country. It’s been nearly half a century since the "Green Revolution" introduced modern farming techniques that included the use of pesticides, to make India a self-sufficient food producer. So will Sikkim’s organic revolution be able to reinvent agriculture once again across India? Reporter: Yogita Limaye; Producer: Pooja Aggarwal; Filmed and edited by Vishnu Vardhan

China has offered its full support to Hong Kong’s embattled leader and its police force, and said violent protesters must be swiftly punished, in rare remarks by the government office that oversees policy towards the territory.Hong Kong has been rocked by two months of escalating pro-democracy protests that have posed the most significant challenge to Beijing’s authority since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.In its first press conference since 1997, the state council’s Hong Kong and Macau affairs office said the protests were “horrendous incidents” that have caused serious damage to the rule of law.“No civilised society or rule of law society will tolerate rampant violence,” said Yang Guang, a spokesman for the office. Yang said the violence, which he blamed on a “few radicals”, had seriously undermined Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.“In our view, the most dangerous situation in Hong Kong is that violent crimes have not been effectively stopped,” he added. “The most important task of Hong Kong at present is to resolutely punish violent crimes according to law, restore social stability as soon as possible, and safeguard Hong Kong’s good legal system.”The last eight weeks of protests were sparked by a now delayed bill that would allow suspects to be extradited to mainland China, but most recently the anger has pivoted towards the police, who have been accused of using excessive force.Protesters have also focused their ire on what many believe to be collusion between the authorities and triads, Hong Kong’s organised crime groups, after masked and armed thugs conducted vicious attacks on metro commuters, protesters and journalists on 21 July.At the press conference on Monday the Hong Kong office said “rumours” of police or Chinese involvement in the attacks were “unfounded and insulting”.Echoing statements previously made by state-owned media and other Beijing officials, the spokesman also sharply criticised foreign “interference”, blaming western politicians for trying to cause trouble in the country.Hours before the briefing on Monday, the People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist party, called on the Hong Kong government and police to “not hesitate” and “do what needs to be done” to end the weeks of protest.“For some time, the power of the Hong Kong police has been severely limited by politics, public opinion, and even the judicial environment,” said one editorial, describing protesters as “thugs” and “militants” who have undermined stability in Hong Kong.“Facing these circumstances the Hong Kong government and police should not have any hesitation or any ‘psychological burden’ – do what needs to be done.” The article called on the police to “punish lawbreakers regardless of whether they hold up the banner of ‘freedom and democracy’ or wear the cap of ‘civil disobedience’”.Monday’s remarks by government officials and the party paper are the strongest statements Beijing has made since the mass protests began in June. Observers have been looking for clues as to how Beijing would respond and the possibility of escalation, including deploying the People’s Liberation Army, which has a garrison in Hong Kong.At the briefing, the spokesperson sidestepped a question on potential intervention, saying he had nothing to add to what was already stated in the Basic Law, the city’s constitution. Last week, an official from the Chinese defence ministry said Beijing could legally intervene should the Hong Kong government ask for help “in maintaining social order”.In a front-page article in the overseas edition of the People’s Daily on Monday, the paper also criticised the Civil Human Rights Front, a group in Hong Kong that has organised mass marches against the extradition bill. The paper accused the group of collaborating with “western forces” and warned citizens to keep their eyes open to such groups who “lead the wolves into your home and hurt the country”.“[China] will never allow any foreign forces to collaborate with the internal forces, endanger Hong Kong’s development, and trample on ‘one country, two systems’,” the article said.With anger mounting over police violence, including the use of teargas in residential areas over the weekend, there is no end in sight to the mass demonstrations. Protests are scheduled for the next three weeks all over the territory, including a mass transit strike, a rally by civil servants and a city-wide strike.“For the Chinese Communist party, the continuing crisis in Hong Kong is not only a direct challenge to its authority but also damaging to its domestic prestige and international reputation,” said Adam Ni, a China researcher at Macquarie University in Australia.“Essentially, Beijing just doesn’t have any simple short-term answers to the current impasse,” he said. “Beijing’s Hong Kong problem is here to stay.” Topics Hong Kong Asia Pacific China news

CPAC – the annual conference for conservative activists, which is sponsored by the NRA – occurred less than two weeks after the Parkland school shooting. The Guardian spoke with attendees including Sebastian Gorka, Katie Hopkins and Mark Burns about gun ownership, Parkland conspiracy theories and policy reform in the wake of the massacre

President Trump called for the end of the special counsel’s investigation, even as top officials warned of Russian interference. President Trump urged Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday to end the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, raising more questions about whether Mr. Trump has tried to obstruct the investigation. The White House and the president’s lawyers sought to minimize any damage by arguing that the call, issued on Twitter, was an angry opinion, not an order. Mr. Trump has also sought an interview with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, and his office, in an attempt to clear himself of any wrongdoing. Yet even as Mr. Trump characterizes the investigation as a “Russian hoax,” top administration officials came forward on Thursday to assert that Russian election interference was a serious threat and to vow to prevent it. ImageThere is evidence that Paul Manafort saw the Trump campaign as a way to boost his stature and eventually gain more work for foreign clients.CreditMark Wilson/Getty ImagesProsecutors began their case this week against Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s former campaign chairman, in federal court in Alexandria, Va. They say that Mr. Manafort hid tens of millions of dollars he received for his work in Ukraine and then engaged in bank fraud when he no longer earned that income. Mr. Manafort’s defense team made clear in their opening arguments that they intended to shift the blame to Rick Gates, Mr. Manafort’s former business partner and likely the government’s star witness. Federal prosecutors spent the first few days emphasizing Mr. Manafort’s lavish spending and the reversal of his fortune after 2014. Mr. Manafort’s accountant also testified that she had agreed to alter tax and bank documents to help Mr. Manafort out of his financial problems.Additional ReadingPaul Manafort Was Deep in Debt. He Saw an Opportunity in Trump.Manafort’s Trial Isn’t About Russia, but It Will Be in the AirMueller’s Digging Exposes Culture of Foreign Lobbying and Its Big PaydaysIn midterm elections: more primary victories and an influence campaign on Facebook. Facebook announced on Tuesday that it had identified an active political influence campaign, potentially intended to disrupt the midterm elections in November. The company said it had removed a number of false accounts and pages that were involved in activity around divisive issues. But as midterm primaries continued this week, Mr. Trump’s stamp is clear in some aspects of the midterm elections: shaping a governor’s race in Florida and potentially providing an opportunity for Democrats in Kansas. Additional ReadingNews Analysis: Facebook Grapples With a Maturing Adversary in Election MeddlingObama Endorses Dozens of Democrats, Rewarding Diversity and LoyaltyCampaigns Enter Texting Era With a Plea: Will U Vote 4 Me?The Upshot: 99 Days to Go, and the Midterm Elections Battleground Is Not What Was Expected The administration escalated the trade war with China and contemplated more tariffs and other economic measures. President Trump intensified the trade war with China on Wednesday, ordering his administration to consider more than doubling proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. (China threatened retaliation on Friday.)The United States and Mexico are moving closer to agreement on how to rewrite important parts of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Talks this week, however, have excluded the pact’s third member, CanadaMr. Trump also reiterated his threat to Congress on Monday to shut down the government this year if he did not receive sufficient funding for a wall at the southern border. His administration is also considering bypassing lawmakers and granting a $100 billion tax cut primarily to the wealthy. Additional ReadingAhead of Asia Trip, Business Lobby Gives Pompeo an Earful on Trade WarTrump Tariffs Are Lifting Profits, Steel Giant ArcelorMittal SaysFaced With Crippling Sanctions, ZTE Loaded Up on LobbyistsThe tension between the White House and the press corps increased. Mr. Trump publicly clashed with the publisher of The New York Times, A. G. Sulzberger, on Sunday over the president’s threats to journalism and what Mr. Sulzberger said was a misrepresentation of a private meeting between them. While the president has always had a combative relationship with his perceived detractors — especially unfavorable news reports — it escalated this week in rallies in Florida and Pennsylvania, centering many of his attacks on the press corps. Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser, appeared to disagree with that position on Thursday — a notable contrast with the assertions made by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the press secretary, during a briefing. Additional ReadingCrowds, Stoked by Trump’s Rhetoric, Increase Their Ire Toward the PressUnderstanding The Times: What Does ‘Off the Record’ Really Mean?What Is QAnon: Explaining the Internet Conspiracy Theory That Showed Up at a Trump Rally

Nine pro-democracy campaigners have been convicted over their leadership of “umbrella movement” rallies in Hong Kong in 2014, in a controversial verdict that has prompted renewed alarm about the city’s political freedom.Protest leaders including the sociology professor Chan Kin-man, 60, the law professor Benny Tai, 54, and the Baptist minister the Rev Chu Yiu-ming, 75, were among those found guilty on rarely used colonial-era public nuisance charges for their roles in the 2014 protests calling for free elections, the largest civil disobedience movement in the city’s history.All three were charged with one count of conspiracy to cause public nuisance. Tai and Chan were also convicted of inciting others to cause public nuisance. The court did not immediately announce sentences for the charges, which each carry a maximum of seven years in prison.The other defendants, including the pro-democracy politicians Tanya Chan and Shiu Ka-chun, the former student leaders Eason Chung and Tommy Cheung, and the activist Raphael Wong, were convicted of inciting others to cause a public nuisance as well as inciting others to incite. One former lawmaker, Lee Wing-tat, was found guilty of incitement to incite others to create public nuisance.In a summary of the judgment, Justice Johnny Chan said civil disobedience was not a defence to a criminal charge. Prosecutors argued that the protests, which shut down parts of the city for almost three months, calling for the rights of Hong Kong residents to elect their own leader, had caused “unreasonable” disruptions to public order.The court said it was “naive to suggest that a concession to introduce the form of universal suffrage ... could be made by the government overnight with a click of the fingers”. The 268-page judgment said it was “equally naive to suggest a mass protest of tens of thousands of people could be dispersed overnight even if a positive response were to come from the authorities”.On Tuesday, supporters holding yellow umbrellas, a symbol of the demonstrations, crowded outside the courthouse. Tai told supporters: “No matter what happens today, I have the confidence that many people here will strive for Hong Kong’s democracy.”The trio founded the pro-democracy Occupy Central movement in 2013, which joined the student-led umbrella movement a year later to block reforms that would allow Hong Kong to have direct elections but only of candidates pre-screened by Beijing.More than two years after the protests ended unsuccessfully, Hong Kong’s justice department brought charges against the group leaders. The nine defendants, known as the “Umbrella Nine”, were the last group of demonstrators to be charged over the 2014 protests.Human rights groups have described the prosecution as politically motivated, criticising the use of vaguely worded public nuisance laws against protesters.“Hong Kong courts, by labelling peaceful protests in pursuit of rights as public nuisance, are sending a terrible message that will likely embolden the government to prosecute more peaceful activists, further chilling free expression in Hong Kong,” said Maya Wang, a senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch.Man-kei Tam, Amnesty International’s Hong Kong director, said: “Today’s guilty verdicts are a crushing blow for freedom of expression and peaceful protest in Hong Kong. The government has used vague charges in their relentless persecution of the Umbrella Nine.“The government is increasingly using prosecutions as a political tool to target peaceful activists, abusing the law to silence debate about sensitive issues such as Hong Kong democracy and autonomy.”The city enjoys rights that do not exist on the Chinese mainland, which are protected by the 50-year handover agreement between Britain and China, but fears are growing that those liberties are being eroded.The protest movement highlighted widespread frustration, especially among the young, over the direction Hong Kong was going in, but failed to win any reforms or concessions from Beijing. Since then, many activists have been prosecuted, with some jailed, while a string of pro-democracy politicians have been barred.On Saturday, more than 200 supporters gathered for a service before the verdict where the crowd prayed and sang songs. The venue – Kowloon Union church – was where Tai, Chan and Chu first announced their Occupy Central manifesto six years ago.“What we are facing is the most powerful autocracy in human history and we have to take back our democratic rights from its hand,” a tearful Tai told his supporters. Topics Hong Kong China Asia Pacific Protest news

FILE PHOTO - Defense Attorney Kevin Downing departs from U.S. District Court following the opening day of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's trial on bank and tax fraud charges stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S., July 31, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. BernsteinALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s lawyer on Tuesday said his legal team chose not to mount a defense in his trial over alleged tax and bank fraud because U.S. prosecutors had not met the legal bar needed to prove their case. “We’ve rested because Mr. Manafort and his legal team do not think the government has met its proof,” Kevin Downing told Reuters. Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Mohammad Zargham; Writing by Susan HeaveyOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - Attorneys for Paul Manafort rested their case on Tuesday without calling any witnesses, including the former Trump campaign chairman himself, who told the judge he did not want to testify in his own defense against bank and tax fraud charges. The defense attorneys’ decision means that the closely watched case is expected to go to the 12-person jury late Wednesday, after prosecutors and Manafort’s lawyers make their closing arguments and instructions are issued to the jury. Manafort’s trial is the first courtroom test for Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who indicted him as part of an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. A Manafort conviction would undermine efforts by President Donald Trump and some Republican lawmakers to paint Mueller’s inquiry as a political witch hunt, while an acquittal would be a setback for the special counsel. Manafort lawyer Kevin Downing said Manafort’s legal team chose not to mount a defense because U.S. prosecutors had not met the legal bar needed to prove their case. “We’ve rested because Mr. Manafort and his legal team do not think the government has met its proof,” Downing told Reuters. Manafort, who has watched silently as the case against him was argued in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, was asked by Judge T.S. Ellis whether he wanted to testify. “No, sir,” he replied. Asked whether he was satisfied with the advice he’d received from his attorneys, Manafort said, “I am, your honor.” That exchange took place without jurors in the courtroom. On Tuesday afternoon, the jurors were called to hear of the defense team’s decision, and then dismissed for the day. Manafort made millions of dollars working for pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians before he took an unpaid position with Trump’s campaign that lasted five months. The charges against him involve activities that predate his tenure with the Trump campaign. Manafort has been charged with tax and bank fraud as well as failing to disclose foreign bank accounts. If found guilty on all charges, he could face eight to 10 years in prison, according to sentencing expert Justin Paperny. U.S. prosecutors on Monday rested their case against Manafort after 10 days of testimony. Manafort’s lawyers then sought to have all the charges dismissed, in part arguing the prosecution had not proven he willingly committed crimes. The motion was a standard defense request viewed by legal experts as unlikely to succeed. “They are all jury issues,” Ellis said on Tuesday, explaining that he believed it should be up to the jury to decide. With the jurors sent home, Ellis met with the lawyers in open court to decide on jury instructions. The prosecution pressed Ellis to alter instructions about comments the judge had made to emphasize that they should not be considered by the jury. Ellis eventually made changes that appeased the prosecution, but the back and forth highlighted the tense relationship between the government and Ellis throughout the trial. Greg Andres, a prosecutor on Mueller’s team, pointed to an instance during the testimony of Rick Gates where Ellis questioned whether Gates was being sincere, a comment that was criticized by legal experts as inappropriate. FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is shown in this booking photo in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S., July 12, 2018. Alexandria Sheriff's Office/Handout via REUTERS/ File Photo When confronted by Andres about the comment, Ellis responded in a sarcastic tone, “That really hurt the government, didn’t it?” Gates, Manafort’s right-hand man, was the government’s star witness, while Manafort’s lawyers have put attacking his credibility at the heart of their defense. The court was closed to the public for most of the morning on Tuesday to discuss a sealed motion. While the contents of the motion are unknown, legal experts have speculated it relates to jury misconduct, but noted that the trial resumed. Reporting by Nathan Layne, Karen Freifeld and Amanda Becker in Alexandria, Virginia; Writing by Warren Strobel and Susan Heavey; Editing by Alistair Bell and James DalgleishOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Hong Kong police have fired tear gas at an unauthorised protest held by tens of thousands of people to condemn an attack by armed masked men last week.As a small group of protesters refused to disperse in the northern district of Yuen Long, police fired rubber bullets.The demonstration took place where pro-democracy protesters had been attacked by suspected triad gang members.Police have been accused of turning a blind eye and colluding with the attackers, claims they deny.Hong Kong has seen seven weeks of anti-government and pro-democracy protests sparked by a controversial bill that would have enabled extraditions to mainland China. The government has since halted the legislation but protesters have demanded its complete withdrawal, as well as an inquiry into police violence, democratic reform, and that the territory's leader Carrie Lam resign. Saturday's march had been banned by the police, a highly unusual move in the territory, where protests are usually allowed.Police say they refused permission because they feared violent clashes between protesters and residents. The background you need on the protests Were triads involved in the attacks? What LegCo graffiti tells us about Hong Kong's evolving anger The rally was planned as a response to last Sunday's attack, in which about 100 men descended on Yuen Long's metro station, beating protesters - as well as passersby and journalists - with wooden and metal sticks.The attack left 45 people injured and was widely blamed on triad gang members. They appeared to target those wearing black, the colour people had been told to wear for the protest.Triads are known to be active in Yuen Long - located in a rural northern district in Hong Kong, near mainland China - and many local villagers have also expressed opposition to the pro-democracy protests.Tens of thousands defied the police ban and approached Yuen Long on Saturday, marching down some of the main roads.Police observed and filmed the start of the protest, and riot police could be seen on standby.Police said some protesters were holding iron poles and shields, and "even removing fences from roads".Some protesters also surrounded and vandalised a police vehicle, "causing danger to the life of the police officers on board", they said.Shortly after 17:00 local time (10:00 BST), police began firing several rounds of tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd.The protesters - most wearing masks and hard hats - threw projectiles and swore at police - but also parted to allow ambulances to go through.Later in the evening, in an attempt to clear several hundred demonstrators, police fired rubber bullets, injuring at least nine people, according to the AFP news agency.Protesters have been demanding an independent inquiry into police violence, saying police used excessive force in several anti-extradition bill and pro-democracy protests.During Sunday's suspected triad attack, protesters said the police were slow to respond to emergency calls - and only appeared at the station after the attackers had left.Demonstrators and pro-democracy legislators have alleged that the authorities - including the police and pro-government legislators - had advance knowledge of the attack.One Yuen Long resident told the BBC Chinese service that a relative working in the police force had warned her, ahead of the attack, not to wear black clothes.Police say suggestions that they colluded with criminal gangs were a "smear", and that 12 people have so far been arrested, including nine men with links to triads.The chief executive's deputy, Matthew Cheung, apologised on Friday, saying "the police's handling fell short of residents' expectations". However, his apology sparked outrage among police officers."[W]e have been violently charged and verbally abused. Off-duty we suffer online abuse, harassment and provocation... your works have completely written off our efforts in maintaining law and order," the Hong Kong Police Inspectors' Association said in an open letter.There have also been growing tensions between protesters and pro-Beijing groups.Earlier this week, pro-Beijing legislator Junius Ho's office was ransacked, and his parents' graves were vandalised.He had come under criticism after video footage showed him shaking hands with white-shirted men on Sunday shortly before the attacks.He said he did not know about the attack, but defended the men, saying they were simply "defending their home and people". Separately, Reuters news agency reports that, a week before the Yuen Long attack, a Chinese government official appeared at a local village banquet and encouraged the crowd to chase away protesters and "protect our home".China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong has rejected "false rumours" linking it to the Yuen Long attack.3 April - Hong Kong government introduces amendments to the city's extradition laws to the legislature that would allow criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China.9 June - In the first of many huge protests against the changes, an estimated million people march to government headquarters. 12 June - Anti-extradition bill protesters block roads and try to storm government buildings - police fire tear gas, rubber bullets and bean bag rounds at protesters, in the worst violence the city has seen in decades.15 June - Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam indefinitely delays the bill in a dramatic reversal.16 June - Despite this, an estimated two million people take to the streets demanding the complete withdrawal of the bill, an investigation into alleged police violence, and Carrie Lam's resignation.21 June - As anger grows towards police, protests blockade police headquarters for 15 hours. They now also want protesters that were arrested to be exonerated.1 July - On the anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from the UK to China, the Legislative Council (LegCo) building is stormed and broken into by protesters.21 July- Protesters deface China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong. That same night mobs of men wearing white shirts attack protesters and commuters in Yuen Long station, near mainland China, in a new escalation of violence.

In a Facebook video posted last week, an agitated man with a red beard, dark glasses and a crucifix necklace hurries through a makeshift homeless camp in the desert somewhere near Tucson, Arizona. “Authorities don’t want to come out, they don’t want to investigate,” he says, pointing out tarps strung between branches, an underground dugout, a toilet chair in the shade of a tree.If we are to believe Michael Lewis Arthur Meyer, who heads a group called Veterans on Patrol, and the conspiracy theories now circulating in the more fervid nether parts of the internet, this is a “child sex camp” run by traffickers or drug cartels. Online commenters have linked it to a novelistically tortuous plot in which Hillary Clinton, George Soros, and the Democratic establishment at large are running a global sex-trafficking ring and seeking to undermine the United States. It’s the kind of web-generated fever dream that led, in 2016, to a shooting inside a Washington DC pizzeria that was also said to be implicated in sex trafficking.I don’t know why these theorists are going to so much effort. The truth of the matter is staring us in the face, and it’s horrifying enough.For the first time since the Great Recession, homelessness is on the rise. Last year the Guardian launched Outside in America, a series dedicated to to this crisis.In a scrubby patch of marsh land next to the Silicon Valley headquarters of Facebook, one of the world’s richest companies, I visited men and women who had built primitive, unsteady homes from branches and string. Old furniture, backpacks, plastic bags, bikes and tyres sprawled in the mud. Celma Aguilar showed me the muddy pond where she washed with buckets. Gonzalo Apale said he was afraid to visit the doctor for the egg-sized tumor emerging near his cheekbone.In Los Angeles, I rode down the city’s eponymous, concrete-lined river and saw cardboard habitations tucked into the eaves of bridges, like the most fragile and dangerous of aeries. In the redwoods north of San Francisco there is a toilet chair resembling the one that appears in the Arizona video. The residents of the forest homeless camp had tried to create some privacy by putting a few tarps around it. There was nothing sinister about it, as Nicolai Lisiukoff told me. It is literally the place he and his friends go to defecate, in the open, in the rain or cold. Afterwards they have to figure out what to do with plastic bags full of excreta.“There’s this abject humiliation and embarrassment,” an Oakland woman named Mavin Carter-Griffin told me as she showed me her intricately constructed camp. “I’m astounded that my life is here.”Of course you find things that seem incongruous in these camps: gardening equipment, toys. This is because people who have nothing are forced to comb through and recycle whatever they can find in dumpsters or on street corners. If you are collecting scrap metal to earn a few dollars, by the way, a stroller comes in useful. In Arizona, the authorities have debunked the wild ideas. “There is nothing there that would validate the reporting on social media,” Ice said in a statement. “There is no indication this camp is being used for any type of criminal activity,” local police told the Arizona Daily Star.People are straining to find a convoluted and conspiratorial reason for the awfulness they see on camera in Arizona. Perhaps we just need to accept the reality that thousands of Americans are living in squalid conditions that we wouldn’t deem acceptable in a refugee camp.Alastair Gee is the editor of Outside in America, the Guardian’s series on US homelessness. Topics Arizona Opinion Homelessness Housing Poverty Social exclusion Internet comment