Mr. Lee said that while he was tired after attending a number of protests in recent weeks, it was imperative to keep the momentum going.“If we don’t stand up now, we won’t have a chance later,” he said. “We have no choice — this is our home and there’s nowhere else for us to go.”Others said they would not be satisfied until all of the protesters’ demands were met.“Not one of our five demands can be missing,” said Ip Chuen-mui, 64, a house cleaner and longtime resident of Sha Tin, “or else we will keep coming out.”The march in Sha Tin on Sunday was the latest attempt by protesters to get out their message and sustain momentum for the movement.Last week, tens of thousands of protesters turned out for a demonstration in Kowloon, a region of Hong Kong across the harbor from the financial district where most of the protests took place last month. It was the first major action after the dramatic storming of the city’s legislative building by a small group of protesters this month.Unlike the pro-democracy protests that swept through Hong Kong in 2014, the recent demonstrations have been notable for their largely leaderless nature. Many of the recent marches and gatherings have been organized through online forums and the Telegram messaging app.The movement has also adopted decidedly low-tech messaging strategies in the form of thousands of colorful sticky notes, most expressing support for the protesters and their demands. So-called Lennon Walls, named after a memorial in Prague dedicated to the singer John Lennon, have been popping up around the city over the last few weeks.In recent days, however, scuffles have broken out when some people tried to rip down the displays.

DARLINGTON/YORK, England (Reuters) - With a string of sausages round his neck and holding packs of “Boris bangers”, Boris Johnson extolled the virtues of new business in northern England as part of his pitch to become Britain’s next prime minister. Boris Johnson, a leadership candidate for Britain's Conservative Party, visits construction work for the expansion of Terminal Two at Manchester Airport in Manchester, Britain July 9, 2019. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERSA day later, the man whose stint as foreign minister was marked by gaffes which have prompted some of his critics to question his suitability for high office couldn’t quite remember where the factory making the sausages was. At a hustings on Friday in the northeastern town of Darlington, most of the Conservative members amassed to hear him and his rival, current foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, were sympathetic to the slip, laughing when he said he had been at the factory “somewhere in Yorkshire” the day before. For others, it was yet another sign that the would-be prime minister, who has promised to take Britain out of the European Union “do or die” by Oct. 31, has little grasp of the detail needed to run a country going through turbulent times. “He can’t even remember where he was. I can remember where I was at that time yesterday and I don’t want to be prime minister,” said William Oxley, 65, from the market town of Malton in the northern English region of Yorkshire, who is “prone” to backing Hunt. “Don’t get me wrong, Boris is fabulous and there’s a huge place for Boris in British politics, but I don’t think it’s as prime minister because I think he is prone to get things wrong, I think he’s prone to over promise, I think he’s prone to speak before he thinks sometimes.” Oxley’s is only one view among the tens of thousands of Conservative Party members who are now filling in their postal votes to determine who will lead their party and take over from Theresa May as prime minister on July 23. Polling suggests that Johnson, a former London mayor who says only he can take Britain out of the EU and defeat main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn at the next election, is way out in front of Hunt. For another Conservative, John Pollock, at the Darlington hustings, a less-than-perfect grasp of detail is no barrier to becoming prime minister. “Boris is a leader, Jeremy is a doer,” Pollock said. “Boris doesn’t need to know the detail as long as he gets the right people to do their jobs.” SHORT-LIVED? Both prime ministerial candidates have traveled around the country trying to drum up support among the governing party’s members. The hustings - in cities and towns in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - have seen the two trot out the same speeches, make some of the same jokes and then take questions from roomfuls of Conservatives to try to win them over. Johnson has defended his gaffes and off-the-cuff remarks, saying he had apologized for some, including saying wrongly that a jailed Iranian-British aid worker had been teaching journalism in Iran, but also that other statements expressed “something that is true”. At many of the hustings, the rooms appear mostly in Johnson’s favor, lapping up his main messages that he will lead Britain out of the EU, with or without a divorce deal, and that he is the best Conservative to beat off electoral threats from Labour and a new Brexit Party led by veteran euroskeptic Nigel Farage. Peter Blackley, 24, a property developer and private landlord, who has more than 30 properties, said he was reluctantly backing Johnson because of those challenges. “I am supporting Boris even though I think, I don’t want to use the word unhinged, but maybe unstable. I normally would want a more stable, trustworthy candidate, someone who you want to stay on for a couple of terms,” he said. “Boris is a short fix just to get us through Brexit and get Corbyn out of the way,” he said in the northern city of York. Slideshow (7 Images)Many members interviewed at hustings said his red line of leaving the EU on the deadline of Oct. 31 was also theirs - if it is not delivered, he might not be prime minister for long. David Driver, 59, a self-employed fund administrator who voted for the Brexit Party at an election for the European Parliament in May, said he would only vote for a Conservative Party with Johnson at its helm. But Driver had a warning: If the Oct. 31 deadline passes with no Brexit “there are no two ways about it, Farage will be licking his lips and they will be toast.” Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Janet LawrenceOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson speaks in Parliament in London, Britain, March 12, 2019, in this screen grab taken from video. Reuters TV via REUTERSLONDON (Reuters) - Britain will leave the European Union on March 29 after a deal is reached “at five minutes to midnight”, former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Wednesday. Johnson, one of Britain’s most prominent Brexit campaigners, told LBC radio that the parliamentary vote on Wednesday to rule out a no-deal exit would not take no-deal off the table. “It’s quite possible that parliament will vote symbolically to say that it doesn’t want a no-deal ... but what happens then is that under the law, the UK will leave the EU on March 29 because that is what the law provides,” Johnson told LBC. Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Elisabeth O'LearyOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BIARRITZ, France (Reuters) - Iran has an opportunity to come back into compliance with the nuclear deal and resume dialogue about its nuclear activities, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier he would meet Iran’s president under the right circumstances to end a confrontation over a 2015 nuclear deal. Trump has pulled the United States out of the pact although European powers still support it. “Iran should never under circumstances be allowed to get a nuclear weapon,” Johnson said at a news conference as the G7 conference in Biarritz drew to a close. “There is clearly an opportunity now for Iran to come back into compliance with the nuclear deal... and to resume dialogue, as well as to cease its disruptive behavior in the region.” Reporting by William James; writing by Alistair Smout; editing by Guy FaulconbridgeOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

French President Emmanuel Macron looks on during a joint statement with French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, International Organization for Migration Director-General Antonio Vitorino, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Philippe WojazerPARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron will speak to Britain’s incoming Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the coming days, said an official from Macron’s Elysee presidential office, who declined to provide further details. Boris Johnson was elected leader of the governing Conservative Party and Britain’s next prime minister on Tuesday, tasked with following through on his “do or die” pledge to deliver Brexit in just over three months’ time. Nevertheless, French politician Nathalie Loiseau - who is a member of the European Parliament - warned Johnson that the EU would not be changing its position over Brexit. “As much as we all want the relations between the UK and the EU to be as close and constructive as possible, @BorisJohnson’s election doesn’t change a simple fact : we have a good deal and the EU will stand by it,” wrote Loiseau on Twitter. “The EU is not for turning,” added Loiseau. Reporting by Marine Pennetier and Michel Rose; Editing by Sudip Kar-GuptaOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Mr. Johnson has alternately dismissed the risks of a no-deal Brexit and insisted that he was willing to crash out of the bloc at the end of October if need be. During a tour of the United Kingdom this week, he has toggled between pugnacity and reassurance.On Monday in Scotland, Mr. Johnson was booed. He declared that there was “every chance we can get a deal” with Europe, but he also pronounced the Irish backstop “dead” — an apparent contradiction. The same day, Michael Gove, a member of Mr. Johnson’s cabinet who is overseeing preparations for a no-deal Brexit, said the government was “operating on the assumption” that this would be the outcome.On Tuesday, sheep farmers in Wales excoriated the new prime minister for imperiling their livelihoods by jeopardizing exports to Europe. A no-deal Brexit threatens steep tariffs on lamb exports, they said, raising the prospect of the mass slaughter of soon-to-be-unsellable animals.Experts are divided on what is really going on. Mr. Johnson may be bluffing, seeking to force Europe to reopen talks by convincing officials that he is unafraid to crash out of the European bloc. Or perhaps he is merely seeking to position himself and his Conservative Party as the victims of European intransigence ahead of national elections that are likely to follow if Europe does not budge.Or maybe he is intent on securing his legacy as a hero among hard-core Brexiteers, the man who finally liberates Britain from killjoy European bureaucrats. But if he pursues a no-deal exit to the end, Mr. Johnson risks a mutiny within the Conservative ranks. A few members of Parliament could join the opposition to bring down the government, and an election would follow. If Mr. Johnson pursues an unexpected compromise — perhaps extending the Brexit deadline or agreeing to version of an Irish backstop — he risks a revolt from the other side of his party.

BRASÍLIA—Brazil’s president-elect urged the current administration to revive a pension overhaul before his inauguration on Jan. 1, a move cheered by markets as crucial to jump-starting an ailing economy. Jair Bolsonaro, who won 55% of the vote in Sunday’s runoff, plans to start talks next week with President Michel Temer to try to pass a stalled pension reform plan by the end of this year.“Any...

Who trusts Boris Johnson? Not, apparently, his team. The paradox of the race to lead the Conservative party, and therefore Britain, is that those convinced that Mr Johnson is an irresistible, unstoppable electoral force at the same time appear terrified that he may encounter meaningful scrutiny. His conversations in Westminster are reportedly shadowed by an MP acting as minder. The televised debates to which he has agreed will take place only after members have received their ballot papers: “If you want the job, you have to turn up for the interviews,” goaded Jeremy Hunt, adding later that his rival “needs to show he can answer difficult questions”.Perhaps Mr Johnson will formulate answers soon. But at the hustings in Birmingham he was evasive when pressed repeatedly about why police were called in the early hours of Friday to the flat he shares with his partner Carrie Symonds. The man who says the public want straight-talking politicians tried to dismiss and then dodge the question, with a long digression about Routemaster buses and other defensive, rambling evasions.Contrary to some of this weekend’s commentary, what happens behind closed doors should not always stay there. When a woman screams at her partner to “get off me” and “get out of my flat”, calling the police is a responsible thing to do. The neighbour who did so says he was frightened and concerned for those involved; another neighbour also considered dialling 999. When police say no offences or concerns are apparent and no further action is needed, as on this occasion, the matter would in normal circumstances end there. But running for prime minister is not, by definition, a normal circumstance.Mr Johnson’s personality has always been both a political strength and weakness: for all his popularity, doubts over his temperament and judgment have long dogged him. Those questions are rightly becoming more pointed as he approaches No 10.One answer, from his former editor Max Hastings, is that “I’m not sure he’s capable of caring for any human being other than himself.” His record in office, too, is one of carelessness and self-promotion. As mayor, he was careless with public money, backing the doomed garden bridge which cost taxpayers £43m. As foreign secretary, he was careless with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s fate; Iran used his remarks to haul her back to court. Again and again – as a journalist, MP and Brexit’s cheerleader – he was and seems utterly careless about the truth, appearing committed only to whatever advances his prospects. Tory members, and voters generally, may have priced his character in. Previous trespasses have been forgiven. Yet in polls before and after the Guardian broke news of the incident, his lead as the man judged best to be prime minister by voters slid from 27 points to 11. His eight-point lead over Mr Hunt among all voters became a three-point deficit. What some find amusing in an MP or mayor, and tolerable in a foreign secretary, may look less funny in a potential PM.Mr Johnson’s political success has rested on his persona of plain-speaking affability and charm, and latterly his hard-Brexit credentials. Under the lens, even the latter are looking fuzzier, as he tells MPs of various persuasions what they want to hear.The Tory membership will decide whether Mr Johnson reaches Downing Street. Their judgment is not a representative one and may not be a good one, but should be an informed one. The public, denied the right to choose our leader, have at least a right to know who is being imposed upon us. Scrutiny is not only appropriate. It is necessary. Topics Boris Johnson Opinion Conservative leadership Conservatives Jeremy Hunt editorials

“SWEAT IS FUN!” insists Pocari Sweat, a Japanese soft drink loved by active types across Asia. This summer millions of Hong Kongers have taken up a new sport: marching, originally against a controversial extradition bill and increasingly in opposition to their territory’s pro-Beijing government. Many do so clutching bottles of the isotonic beverage.Pocari went from a source of hydration to a symbol of political resistance after a Facebook exchange on July 9th between Pocari Sweat Hong Kong and a customer revealed that it was withdrawing adverts from TVB, a local television network that pro-democracy activists say has portrayed them unfairly. In the statement Pocari Sweat said that it had taken a “proactive step” to urge TVB “to respond to public concern”. Pocari cans have since starred in dozens of revolutionary memes.Get our daily newsletterUpgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks.Around the world consumer-facing companies have embraced progressive causes dear to the coveted demographic group of 20- and 30-somethings. In Hong Kong, however, corporate activism is complicated by consumer attitudes on the mainland, where anti-Beijing sentiment is often viewed as treasonous.Some companies side more or less openly with the protesters. Wonder Life, a Hong Kong maker of condoms, posted on Facebook that consumers’ objections about TVB had led it not to advertise on the channel. Others are more oblique. The Hong Kong arm of Cigna, an American insurer, said it would stop advertising on TVB and explained in a social-media post that “we are constantly reviewing our media planning strategies to promote our brand and our mission to be your health and well-being partner.” In June Ztore, a local e-commerce startup, tried to avert a boycott by distancing itself from a founder who backed the extradition bill.Just as appearing to stand up to the authorities can burnish corporate reputations, seeming to kowtow to them can do harm. Yoshinoya, a chain of Japanese restaurants which endeared itself with protesters after running a Facebook ad that seemed to mock heavy-handed Hong Kong policemen, faced a backlash when it deleted the ad and the boss of its Hong Kong franchise-owner told two newspapers that he had taken part in pro-police rallies. Online maps shared by protesters tag the chain as unfriendly to the cause.Some businesses fall foul of demonstrations through no clear fault of their own. Sun Hung Kai Properties is facing calls for a boycott of its 24 big shopping centres after some accused the developer, Hong Kong’s largest, of letting the police clash with protesters on its premises on July 14th. The company says it did not call the police and was unaware of the deployment.Firms with a presence on the mainland as well as in Hong Kong face the most delicate balancing act. Seeming to back protests may play well with Hong Kongers but backfires among mainland influencers. Last month Nike pulled a line of limited-edition trainers from being released in China after its Japanese designer’s opposition to the extradition bill prompted calls for a boycott on Chinese social media.Many brands are studiously trying to stay neutral. On July 10th Pizza Hut, which had stopped advertising on TVB days earlier, issued a statement to explain that its promotion had simply ended as scheduled. Three days later Tempo, which makes toilet paper, posted on Facebook, which is popular in Hong Kong, and on Weibo, the mainland’s biggest microblogging site, that it would carry on advertising with TVB, earning it plaudits from the Global Times, a Communist Party newspaper.Fearing a backlash Pocari’s mainland offices in Tianjin and Guangdong disassociated themselves from the Hong Kong branch. “We are two completely different entities,” they said in a statement. Headquarters in Japan has not weighed in publicly. On July 10th the Hong Kong arm posted a short statement on its Facebook page in which it apologised for any “inconvenience” caused by the conversation on July 9th. Marchers thirsting for undiluted political electrolytes may feel they are the ones who have been inconvenienced. ■

THAME, England (Reuters) - Former British foreign minister Boris Johnson returned from his summer holiday to face both criticism and support over his remarks about burqas, amid deepening divisions in Britain’s ruling Conservative Party on Sunday. Britain's former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson stands outside his home near Thame in Oxfordshire, August 12, 2018. REUTERS/Peter NichollsJohnson, seen as the biggest threat to Prime Minister Theresa May’s struggling leadership, has become a lightning rod for discontent within the party after a newspaper column in which he said Muslim women who wear burqas look like letter boxes or bank robbers. The comments came in a Aug. 5 piece arguing against a ban on the Islamic full-face veil, but have been criticized as Islamophobic. Others saw the remarks as colourful rhetoric that strikes a chord with many Britons. May has scolded Johnson, stirring anger amongst those of his supporters who see him as the focal point for resistance to her proposed “business-friendly” Brexit plan. The party has also launched an investigation into his remarks. Under the headline “Boris sparks cabinet war” the Sunday Times said four unnamed senior ministers were dismayed at May’s handling of the situation. “They have managed to engineer a total disaster,” one minister was quoted as saying. “Trying to silence Boris is stupid, especially when the majority of people agree with him.” Johnson spent Sunday at his residence in the small town of Thame, around 80 km (50 miles) northwest of London, emerging only to bring cups of tea to reporters. Asked whether he regretted his comments, he declined to comment. Johnson resigned from the cabinet last month in protest at May’s Brexit plan, setting himself up as a talisman for the many Conservatives who want a more radical departure from the European Union. Meanwhile, May has struggled to hold her cabinet together on Brexit and faces a testing few months in which she hopes to secure a deal on leaving the EU, face the party’s unhappy grassroots, and win a crucial vote in parliament. Johnson’s burqa remarks were defended by, amongst others, Donald Trump’s former political strategist Steve Bannon, who told the Sunday Times that his overall message had been lost because of a “throwaway line”. Bannon has previously called on Johnson to challenge May’s leadership. But a Conservative member of the upper house of parliament and former government polling adviser, Andrew Cooper, accused Johnson of “moral emptiness” and populism over the remarks. “The rottenness of Boris Johnson goes deeper even than his casual racism & his equally casual courting of fascism. He will advocate literally anything to play to the crowd of the moment,” Cooper said on Twitter. Johnson, who has made clear that he does not intend to apologize over his burqa comments, did not address the row in his latest column which was published late on Sunday evening. Instead he focused on housing policy, saying stamp duty land tax, a tax which is applied to property purchases, was “absurdly high” and was stalling the property market. He also criticized developers for delivering poorly built homes and hoarding land. Reporting by Peter Nicholls in Thame and William James in London; Editing by Giles ElgoodOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

FILE PHOTO: Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson walks after leaving the Cabinet Office in London, Britain March 19, 2019. REUTERS/Henry NichollsLONDON (Reuters) - Boris Johnson, who led the campaign to leave the European Union, said Prime Minister Theresa May’s twice-defeated Brexit divorce deal is dead, the Evening Standard newspaper said on Thursday. “Boris: May’s deal is dead,” the newspaper said on its front page. The newspaper said Johnson, who fell in behind the deal after May promised to quit if it was passed, had told friends: “It’s dead anyway.” Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Reuters) - At his first political rally since the end of the Russia collusion probe, President Donald Trump on Thursday accused backers of the investigation of trying to overturn the 2016 election and attempting “illegally” to claim power. Declaring the country “hurt” by the probe, Trump called his opponents “losers” and celebrated the fact the investigation had come to a close. “After three years of lies and smears and slander, the Russia hoax is finally dead. The collusion delusion is over,” he told a crowd of thousands at a Grand Rapids arena. “The Russia witch hunt was a plan by those who lost the election to try and illegally regain power by framing innocent Americans – many of them, they suffered – with an elaborate hoax,” he said. On Sunday, U.S. Attorney General William Barr released a summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s more than 300-page report about his investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election. The investigation did not establish that members of Trump’s campaign conspired with Russia during the election. The findings delighted the president and his inner circle, who spent the first two years of his administration confronting a cloud of suspicion over how the New York businessman and political novice won the White House. With that cloud largely lifted, Trump has let loose, calling out those who supported the investigation and referring to evil acts of treason by his opponents. Trump revisited that theme at the rally, knocking the media and Democrats and calling for accountability. “These are sick people and there has to be accountability because it’s all lies and they know it’s lies,” Trump said. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S., March 28, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua RobertsFor the president, the rally capped off a week of rejoicing in the results of the investigation he had repeatedly called a “witch hunt,” and stewing over its origins. Advisers to Trump, who is not known to let go of grudges easily, have debated the merits of going after the president’s opponents and those he blames for sparking the investigation versus claiming a win, moving on and using the momentum of good news to bolster his bid for re-election. In the packed, noisy arena in Michigan, a political swing state that Trump wants to win again in 2020, the view of the crowd was clear. Thousands of supporters, many of them wearing red “Make America Great Again” hats, cheered as the president railed at his opponents. But they seemed as eager to cheer him over policy issues, applauding loudly when he assured them he was building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico and promised to secure the border. The industrial state along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, helped propel Trump, a Republican, to his improbable victory in 2016. The crowd’s enthusiasm underscored the risks to Trump of going too far expounding on his chagrin over the Mueller probe. Some advisers feel his best bet is to focus on the strong economy and success in enacting administration priorities like the tax overhaul. Mueller left unresolved in his report the question of whether Trump committed obstruction of justice by impeding the Russia investigation. In his letter to Congress, Barr said he and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, determined there was insufficient evidence to establish that the president committed obstruction of justice. Slideshow (7 Images)Democrats were not satisfied with Barr’s determination and have demanded to see the report in full. Some Republicans, including Trump himself, have also voiced support for releasing it. Trump faces other investigations into his personal and business affairs from Democratic lawmakers, who now control the U.S. House of Representatives. But Democrats also risk alienating voters weary of the Russian probe. Trump told the rally his opponents now had to decide whether to keep up their “partisan investigations” or apologize to Americans and focus on issues like infrastructure and healthcare. Reporting by Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham, Eric Beech and Steve Holland in Washington; Editing by Peter CooneyOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, will arrive in Beijing on Thursday amid a thaw in bilateral ties that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago.Relations between the Asia’s two biggest economies deteriorated dramatically in 2012 when the Japanese government “nationalised” a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea known as the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.The move sparked officially sanctioned protests in several Chinese cities, forcing Japanese firms to temporarily close their premises. The dispute hit Japanese investment in China, whose coast guard vessels continue to make regular incursions into waters around the islands.Despite continued friction over the Senkakus and Japan’s war record, mutual concern over Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policy has helped pave the way for Abe’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in the first official visit to China by a Japanese leader for seven years.Officials in Tokyo said Abe’s three-day visit would put relations on a “new trajectory” as the countries mark the 40th anniversary of a peace and friendship treaty.When they meet on Friday, Abe and Xi are likely to overlook historical and territorial disputes and focus instead on closer economic cooperation.With its economy feeling the pain from its trade war with the US, China is eager to attract more investment from Japan, while Tokyo is desperate to prevent any damage to its export-led economy that could result from a prolonged slowdown in China, its biggest trade partner.“We don’t want to see US-China trade frictions damage the international system,” Kyodo news quoted a Japanese government official as saying.But Abe, who will be accompanied by 500 business leaders, must also ensure that economic détente with China does not provoke Trump, who has also imposed tariffs on Japanese steel and aluminium and threatened to do the same with its cars and auto parts.However, some analysts believe the president’s protectionism could spur Tokyo and Beijing into developing much closer ties.“The trade war with the US seems like it’s helping bring them together a bit,” said Kristin Vekasi, assistant professor of political science at the University of Maine, and an expert on Japan-China ties. “In that sense, they’re actually on the same side ... and if Japan leans away from the US because of decreased economic opportunities, there’s a potential for closer ties with China.”Others, though, said Abe’s visit was unlikely to result in a significant diplomatic breakthrough. “There is no reason to believe a single visit by PM Abe to Beijing would right all the baggage that have accumulated in Sino-Japanese relations,” tweeted Dali Yang, an expert in Chinese politics from the University of Chicago.Tokyo has already signalled its intention to put bilateral economic ties on a new footing, announcing this week that it was ending official development assistance to China, worth 3.65 trillion yen (US$32.4bn) over the past 40 years. Officials in Tokyo said economic aid had “fulfilled its role” in transforming China’s economy.While the two leaders will discuss joint investments in infrastructure in other countries in the region, Japanese officials played down the prospect that Abe would sign up to China’s multibillion dollar Belt and Road Initiative.The leaders are also expected to agree on a series of more modest measures that, given the tensions of the past few years, carry symbolic significance.They include the resumption of reciprocal naval visits after a seven-year hiatus and the possible loan of pandas to Japanese zoos.Japanese media reported that Abe would also ask Xi to lift a ban on food imports from Fukushima that China introduced in the wake of the March 2011 nuclear meltdown.Wire agencies contributed to this report. Topics Japan China Asia Pacific Shinzō Abe Xi Jinping news

Boris Johnson’s election as Conservative leader has been greeted in Brussels with a rejection of the incoming British prime minister’s Brexit demands and an ominous warning by the newly appointed European commission president about the “challenging times ahead”.Ursula von der Leyen, who will replace Jean-Claude Juncker on 1 November, said both sides had a “duty” to deliver a deal as she offered her congratulations to Johnson on his victory.“There are many difficult issues we will tackle together,” she said. “It is important to build up a strong working relationship because we have a duty to deliver something which is good for the people in Europe and the United Kingdom.”Juncker later published a letter to Johnson in which he wrote of his hopes of working together in “in the best possible way”.The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, tweeted that he wanted to work “constructively” with Johnson on the basis that both sides were committed to facilitating “the ratification of the withdrawal agreement”, the deal struck by Theresa May that the new Conservative leader has repeatedly described as dead.The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he wished to “very much to work with [Johnson] as quickly as possible” and would call him “when he is officially prime minister”.The German chancellor Angela Merkel echoed those comments, adding that her country and UK “should be close friends in future”.But in an indication of the political baggage that Johnson will bring into Downing Street, EU officials felt free to take potshots in the hours immediately before the announcement of his election by the Conservative party membership.One eastern European commissioner, Vytenis Andriukaitis, likened Johnson’s “unrealistic promises” to those of the former Russian president Boris Yeltsin, whose empty rhetoric was said to have ushered in the authoritarian rule of Vladimir Putin.The Lithuanian health commissioner, Vytenis Andriukaitis, wrote in a blogpost published on the European commission website: “It is a different Boris, of course, but there was something in the way of doing politics that was similar: many unrealistic promises, ignoring economic rationales and rational decisions.“These decisions led to a new autocratic constitution and finally paved the way to Vladimir Putin. Today in Russia we have oligarchs, a pseudo-market economy, a regulated, governed pseudo-democracy. And, Putin’s authoritarianism. For Boris Yeltsin, the warning came true: ‘Boris, you are wrong.’ Hopefully, it will not be the case for Boris if he is elected today.”Andriukaitis, who was born in a Soviet gulag, added: “I can only wish him luck in ‘taking back control’, spending more money on the NHS, swiftly concluding new trade agreements. In other words, I hope and wish that he does not give anyone a reason to use the quote ‘Boris, you are wrong’ against him.”During the leadership campaign, Johnson said he would scrap the Irish backstop and hold back the UK’s £39bn financial settlement until the EU agreed a comprehensive trade deal. He has threatened to leave the EU with or without a deal by 31 October.At a press conference in Brussels, Frans Timmermans, the former Dutch foreign minister who is Juncker’s deputy in the commission, stood by his recent comments in which he accused Johnson of “playing games” with Brexit, adding that the new prime minister’s “character, persona, attitude” would have no bearing on the EU’s negotiating position.Timmermans said: “He took a long time deciding whether he was for or against Brexit. And now his position is clear. I think the position of the EU is also clear. The United Kingdom reached an agreement with the European Union and the European Union will stick to that agreement. And we will hear what the new prime minister has to say when he comes to Brussels.”Timmermans, who insisted the British public had not voted for no deal when they voted for Brexit in 2016, told reporters: “I think what came out of the negotiation is the best possible solution in a very complicated situation. It does justice to both the position of the EU and the United Kingdom and I would hope we can continue to work on the basis of that assumption.“I think if you have an agreement between a country and an organisation like the EU I think it’s the responsibility of us all to stick to that agreement and make it work …“The world’s politics is rife with colourful people these days and if you can’t deal with them there is not much you can do … I don’t think his character, persona, attitude makes any difference in that sense. We reached a deal that was the best possible deal and I hope this is something that is understood in Westminster.”Natalie Loiseau MEP, a close ally of the French president, made a reference to the former prime minister Margaret Thatcher in a tweet: “Boris Johnson’s election doesn’t change a simple fact: we have a good deal and the EU will stand by it. The EU is not for turning.” Topics European Union Boris Johnson Brexit Europe Conservative leadership Conservatives Foreign policy news

原标题：美智库称中国对新加坡华人施加影响 使馆斥编造抹黑 驻新加坡使馆发言人针对《海峡时报》刊登美国智库抹黑中新关系言论发表谈话 中新网7月21日电 据中国驻新加坡使馆网站消息，7月19日，驻新加坡使馆发言人针对《海峡时报》刊登《报告显示中国如何在新加坡进行影响力操作》发表谈话，内容如下： 7月18日，《海峡时报》刊登《报告显示中国如何在新加坡进行影响力操作》（Report flags how China conducts influence operations in Singapore）的报道，引述美国詹姆斯敦基金会近日发表的一份报告，诬称中国利用统战手段，通过新加坡商会、宗乡会馆、文化组织和华文媒体等不同渠道对新加坡华人施加影响，引导社会舆论和政策走向 ... 上述说法完全是无中生有，是编造抹黑。包括经贸、人文在内，中新各领域交流合作，是两个友好国家关系的具体体现，是两国政府和社会各界共同努力的结果。中新独特的历史文化渊源是推进两国关系的天然优势，却被一些人当成了攻击的口实。这不仅是对中国的攻击，也是对新加坡的伤害。谎言取代不了事实，只能越说越无趣。该基金会报告的内容很荒唐，但用心很明确，就是要离间两国人民的感情，阻碍两国的正常交往。营造和维护中新关系健康发展的社会氛围和舆论环境，是双方的共同愿望，也是包括媒体在内大家的共同责任

Last Christmas, we had a platform dilemma at my mom’s house. The only thing she loves more than her iPhone 8 is the Amazon Echo in her living room. She likes to call out old jazz tunes from the couch at night. Even so, she let her Amazon music service subscription expire. She refuses to pay for two music services, and she doesn’t like having two digital assistants in her life.Things will be simpler this Christmas. Apple made the surprising move last week of bringing Apple Music to Amazon’s Alexa-powered devices. Now my mom can standardize on Apple Music–which has some pretty great curated jazz collections–and feel a lot better about the ten bucks a month she pays for it. Like her, millions of other people will benefit from Apple’s user-friendly move, including lots of iPhone owners who will become new Echo owners this holiday season.In one sense, Apple’s decision to put its music service on the Echo replicates its earlier decision to put Apple Music on Android devices. But it’s remarkable because it seems to come at the expense of Apple’s own ecosystem.Until now, the only smart speaker Apple Music worked on was the company’s own HomePod speaker. Theoretically, the removal of that exclusivity means one less reason to invest in a HomePod. On top of that, the HomePod no longer boasts the key differentiating feature of sounding better than every other smart speaker, now that Google and Amazon (and Sonos) have release more audio-focused models. Listening to music is still by far the number one use of smart speakers, research shows.So why would Apple do this?While the company competes with Amazon and Google in the smart speaker market, it is also in a fierce battle with Spotify for the subscription music service market. Apple Music has about 56 million paying users to Spotify’s 87 million. It could be that it’s now more important for Apple to get access to all those Alexa/Echo users than it is to keep Apple Music exclusive to its own smart speaker.It’s hard not to look at that choice and see it as another sign that consumers have largely rejected the HomePod. Gene Munster at Loup Ventures estimates that Amazon will sell 28.5 million Echos this year (the majority of them in the $29 to $99 range), and Google will sell 16.2 million of its Home speakers. Apple, he forecasts, will sell only 3.5 million HomePods. There are reasons for this disparity. The HomePod is relatively expensive, at $349. While it does sound great, it’s deeply locked into Apple’s ecosystem; you can’t do a lot with it other than play music from Apple Music, the Apple cloud, or other iDevices.Had HomePods been flying off the shelves, it’s far less likely Apple would have put Apple Music on Alexa/Echo. Even if it’s not an admission that the HomePod is a flop, it could be a sign that Apple recognizes the limits of its own voice ecosystem.Or not. Again, it’s hard to do battle with Spotify without being on a whole lot of devices, not just one $349 speaker. “Apple’s decision to make Apple Music available on Echo has little to nothing to do with how HomePod sales are trending,” writes Above Avalon’s Neil Cybart in a research note Monday. “Instead, it has everything to do with Apple Music.” Cybart says that if strict platform lock-in was ever very important to Apple’s music strategy it never would have made its music service work on Android and Windows.Quid pro quoApple’s decision could be based on still other factors. Stratechery’s Ben Thompson, writing in a research note over the weekend, proposed that Apple Music-on-Echo was the result of a trade-off between Apple and Amazon. Recall that a few weeks ago Apple announced that it would, for the first time, be directly selling iPhones on the Amazon marketplace (resellers can still sell the devices, but they’ll all have to be authorized by Apple). Thompson proposes that that’s something Apple wanted, while Amazon wanted for Apple Music to be available on its Echo devices (Above Avalon’s Cybart agrees with this analysis).Thompson likened the arrangement to another deal between the two tech giants. Up until last year, Apple had wanted to sell its Apple TV box on Amazon. Meanwhile Amazon wanted to get its Prime Video streaming app onto Apple TV. Both things eventually happened, the apparent result of another calculated quid pro quo arrangement.Whether it was Apple or Amazon that wanted Apple Music on the Echo, it does seem like a good move for Apple once you peel back the layers. The simple fact is that Amazon is selling the sh*t out of low-cost Echo speakers, and will likely sell a whole lot more during this holiday season. Confronted with that fact (and, likely, disappointing HomePod sales) Cybart points out that Apple had three choices–do nothing and cede the music subscriptions for Echo owners to Amazon or Spotify, or release a much less expensive HomePod, or make Apple Music work on Echo. Since Apple would have to sacrifice a lot of style points and sound quality to sell a cheap HomePod, that seems unlikely. Better to let others have the budget smart speaker market, and sell one of your key services through those devices.Startling though the news is at first blush, Apple Music becoming Alexa-friendly is yet another sign that Apple cares about its larger services business. “Apple is starting to prioritize services over hardware, which I believe is a smart move for the company,” says Moor Insights & Strategy principal Patrick Moorhead. “Apple needs growth and at this juncture, monetizing the base with services is a better bet than a new hardware category.”Actually, in my mom’s case, Amazon will benefit just as much as Apple. Now that she can listen to her beloved Oscar Peterson and Dave Brubeck in the living room, I’m probably going to need to upgrade her to the improved audio of the $150 Echo Plus.

"Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame died in the service of the nation to which he had already contributed so much," French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement. "By giving his life to end the murderous escapade of a jihadist terrorist, he died a hero."Interior Minister Gérard Collomb announced the officer's death Saturday, which raised the number of victims in the gunman's rampage to four. The attacker killed two other people and wounded more than a dozen others in the supermarket raid. Before then, he had killed another person Friday while stealing a car."France will never forget his heroism, his bravery, his sacrifice," Collomb said on Twitter. As Friday's attack was underway, Beltrame offered to exchange himself for one of the female hostages held inside the Super U supermarket, Collomb said. He was shot while entering the market. Beltrame had left his phone on so police could hear his interactions with the gunman, Collomb said.As soon as they heard gunfire, police went in and killed the gunman.Police respond to the hostage situation Friday in the southern French town of Trèbes. Beltrame died Friday night, police said."I bow to the courage, the sense of sacrifice and the exemplary nature of this officer who gave his life for the freedom of the hostages," the French National Police said on Twitter. Married with no children, Beltrame had served in the French military police and received a number of awards for bravery.He served in Iraq in 2005, and was given an award for bravery in 2007, Macron said. For four years, he was a commander in the Republican Guard, which provides security at the Élysée Palace, home of the French president. In 2012, he was knighted in France's prestigious Legion of Honor. Beltrame also was secretary-general in the Ecology Ministry for four years. Last year Beltrame was appointed deputy commander of the anti-terror police in the Aude region. According to the newspaper La Dépêche du Midi, Beltrame led a simulated terror attack in December on a supermarket for training purposes, similar to the one Friday in which he lost his life."His leadership skills, his willingness, his unfailing commitment were appreciated by everyone, especially in the development of counterterrorism capacity in the Aude police force," Macron said.Before the supermarket, the gunman stole a car, killing one person in the vehicle and wounding another, the interior minister said.The gunman then shot at four National Police officers who were jogging in Carcassonne. The driver tried to run the officers down. One of them was wounded, but he was not in serious condition.French police block access to Trèbes as they respond to the hostage situation Friday."People were absolutely calm before and never thought that there could be an attack in a town like this," Collomb told reporters, adding that the risk of terrorism in France remained "very high." On Friday, police detained a woman who was "very close" to the gunman Lakdim and "shared his life," prosecutor François Molins said. A second person was arrested Saturday, the Paris prosecutor's office told CNN. The unidentified male, born in 2000, was described as a friend of Lakdim's.More than 230 people have died in a series of Islamist-inspired terror attacks in France over the past three years, including 17 in a mass shooting at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdoin Paris in January 2015 and130 in the Paris attacksthe following November. In 2016,86 people died in Nicewhen a truck rammed into crowds during Bastille Day celebrations. There have also been a string of "lone wolf" ISIS-inspired attacks, including the killings of a priest and rabbi.France remained under a state of emergency for about two years after the Paris attacks. It was lifted late last year. "Our country has suffered an Islamist terrorist attack," Macron told reporters Friday. "We've paid the price of the danger of the terrorist threat in blood for several years."Macron said the investigation will answer several questions -- when and how the gunman was radicalized, and where he got a weapon.The ISIS-affiliated Amaq News Agency described the gunman Friday as a "soldier" of the militant group but offered no evidence ISIS had any contact with him."This attack has been claimed by ISIS, and it is currently being analyzed," Macron said.President Donald Trump condemned the French attack in a tweet Saturday. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the horrible attack in France yesterday, and we grieve the nation's loss," the US leader said.

LONDON (Reuters) - Boris Johnson said he would get Brexit done by the Oct. 31 deadline and unite Britain after he won the race to become the country’s next prime minister on Tuesday. Boris Johnson speaks after being announced as Britain's next Prime Minister at The Queen Elizabeth II centre in London, Britain July 23, 2019. REUTERS/Toby MelvilleFollowing are highlights of Johnson’s speech following the declaration of his victory in the Conservative Party leadership race to succeed Theresa May. “We are going to energize the country. We are going to get Brexit done on Oct. 31 and we are going to take advantage of all the opportunities it will bring in a new spirit of can do.” “Like some slumbering giant we are going to rise and ping off the guy-ropes of self-doubt and negativity with better education, better infrastructure, more police, fantastic full-fiber broadband sprouting in every household. We are going to unite this amazing country and we are going to take it forward.” “I know that there will be people around the place who will question the wisdom of your decision and there may be some people here who still wonder what they have done and I will just point out to you that no one party, no party has a monopoly of wisdom. But if you look at the history of the last 200 years of this party’s existence, you will see that it is we Conservatives who have had the best insights, I think, into human nature.” “Do you look daunted? Do you feel daunted? I don’t think you look remotely daunted to me. I think we know that we can do it and the people of this country are trusting in us to do it and we know that we will do it.” “Deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn.” Compiled by Andrew MacAskill, Freddie Hayward and William SchombergOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BJ: Paragraph 5B. Article 24. Get the detail right. Get the detail right, Andrew. It’s article 24 paragraph 5B.AN: And how would you handle paragraph 5C?BJ: I would confide entirely in paragraph 5B, because that isAN: How would you get round what’s in 5C?BJ: I would confide entirely in paragraph 5B which is enough forour purposes.AN: Do you know what’s in 5C?BJ: No.AN: I thought you were a man of detail.BJ: Well,you didn’t even know whether it was an article or a paragraph, but –AN: But that’s not the details you told those Tory hustings ...BJ: There’s enough in paragraph 5B to get us the agreement that we want.AN: No. 5C says you don’t just need the EU’s approval; you need to agree with the EU the shape of a future trade agreement ...

Mobilizing anger, hatred and fear has become the familiar strategy of would-be authoritarians, and Mr. Bolsonaro has drawn liberally on the playbook of the likes of Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, Viktor Orban of Hungary and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. He has also been dubbed the “Trump of the Tropics” for his outrageous remarks and political base of evangelical Christians, moneyed elites, craven politicians and military hawks.But bashing minorities and making grandiose promises go only so far to compensate for the lack of governing competence or a coherent program. Within the first week of Mr. Bolsonaro’s presidency, the same investors and military officers who celebrated a reactionary president were also given reasons for pause. While his economy minister, Paulo Guedes, a University of Chicago-educated neoliberal economist who taught economics in Chile during the Pinochet era, promised to reform Brazil’s unwieldy pension system, Mr. Bolsonaro made unscripted comments suggesting a minimum retirement age well below what his economic team was mulling.He also alarmed various constituencies when, contrary to campaign pledges, he spoke of increasing taxes and when he questioned a proposed partnership between the Brazilian airplane manufacturer Embraer and Boeing, and when he suggested he would allow an American military base on Brazilian soil. His chief of staff said the president was “wrong” on the tax increase, Embraer stock tumbled and generals were reportedly unhappy.Mr. Bolsonaro has only just begun. As he gathers momentum, with the memory of military dictatorship still strong, much will depend on the ability of Brazilian institutions to withstand his autocratic assault. Much will also depend on Mr. Bolsonaro’s ability to deliver on sorely needed economic reforms. That test begins in February, when the new Congress convenes — the president commands only an unstable coalition of several parties, and he is bound to encounter strong opposition to his reforms. A fateful year has begun for Brazil.