HONG KONG: Chaos engulfed the heart of Hong Kong on Saturday night as police fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters who set large fires and threw petrol bombs, defying a ban on rallying - and mounting threats from China - to take to the streets for a 13th straight weekend.
Police had banned the demonstration on security grounds and on Friday arrested several key activists and legislators in a dragnet on pro-democracy figures.
But on Saturday afternoon, tens of thousands of protesters - many in their signature black T-shirts and under a colourful canopy of umbrellas - defied the order and marched through Hong Kong island chanting "reclaim Hong Kong, revolution of our times".
As evening fell, violence ricocheted through the city's commercial centre, with a minority of hardcore protesters unleashing a barrage of petrol bombs and rocks at riot police.
Thick, black smoke swirled from a large fire started by masked demonstrators at a barricade on a major thoroughfare, close to Hong Kong police headquarters.
The fire was extinguished, as demonstrators were pressed into the neon-lit shopping hub of Causeway Bay, under a hail of tear gas and sporadic firing of rubber bullets.
Police made numerous arrests as the night deepened into a cat-and-mouse chase across the city and protesters spread out.
Ryan, a 19-year-old protester, needed first aid after he was hit by what he believed to be a rubber bullet.
"I needed an ice pack for the wound," Ryan told AFP. "But I feel ok, think I will continue the fight tonight," he said.
The months-long protests were sparked by an attempt by Hong Kong's Beijing-backed government to pass a bill which would have allowed extradition to China.
But they have expanded into a wider pro-democracy push and a rejection of attempts by Beijing to curtail the freedoms of the semi-autonomous territory.
Earlier on Saturday, police fired a water cannon and rounds of tear gas to disperse protesters massed in front of the city's parliament, known as the Legislative Council (LegCo), which was stormed in July during the early days of the protest movement.
"Peaceful protest doesn't work," 22-year-old demonstrator Stone told AFP, giving one name.
As protesters streamed into the metro, graffiti on a pillar inside a nearby metro station read: "We shall never surrender."
Xinhua, Beijing's state media service, posted a video on Twitter late Saturday of armed Chinese riot police holding "anti-riot drills in Shenzhen", a city which borders Hong Kong.
It was the latest salvo in a campaign of intimidation aimed at protesters in the southern territory.
Beijing has also unleashed a mix of propaganda and economic muscle in an attempt to constrict the movement, which it views as a direct challenge to its rule.
Opposition to the extradition bill - now suspended but not permanently withdrawn - has brought much of Hong Kong to the streets, with millions marching peacefully but also groups of radical protesters clashing with police.
Protesters were in a defiant mood throughout Saturday, which marked the fifth anniversary of Beijing's rejection of a call for universal suffrage for Hong Kong that sparked the 79-day "Umbrella Movement" in 2014.
Many demonstrators are determined not to let the new movement fizzle out like the Umbrella protests did.
"It's 'now or never' for Hong Kong," said a 33-year-old accountant who gave her surname as Wong.
"I'm a mother-of-two. They didn't come today but their grandmother did. We're defending the right of assembly for the next generation in Hong Kong."
Hong Kong police said in a statement that "radical protesters" threw "corrosives and petrol bombs" at officers, "posing a serious threat to the safety of everyone".
At least five high-profile activists and three lawmakers were arrested on Friday in a sweep that rights groups said was taken directly from "Beijing's playbook".
Two of the Umbrella Movement's leaders, Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow were among those arrested, charged and bailed for "inciting others to take part in unauthorised assembly".
Police denied the sweep was timed specifically to weaken the weekend's protests.
More than 900 people have been arrested since June in connection to protests.
The European Union's diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said the developments were "extremely worrying", while US President Donald Trump said his economic pressure on China was forcing Beijing to take a more moderate line on Hong Kong.
The weeks of violence have damaged Hong Kong's reputation for stability and prosperity.
In an attempt to sidestep Saturday's protest ban, crowds earlier sang "Hallelujah" in religious gatherings - which do not require the same stringent permission from authorities.
Fire, tear gas and petrol bombs as Hong Kong engulfed by chaos
Fire, tear gas and petrol bombs as Hong Kong engulfed by chaos
- But large crowds, many in their signature black T-shirts and under a colorful canopy of umbrellas, snaked through Hong Kong
- Police fired a water cannon and rounds of tear gas to disperse protesters
Lawsuit says Russian officials stole millions meant to fortify border region attacked by Ukraine
They face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty
LONDON: Russian prosecutors are seeking to recover nearly $33 million of funds that they say were allocated for the defense of the western Kursk region, invaded by Ukraine last year, but stolen instead by corrupt officials.
Ukrainian troops stormed across the border in a surprise attack on Aug. 6 and seized a chunk of Russian territory, some of which they still hold — a valuable bargaining chip for Kyiv in any peace talks with Moscow.
A lawsuit filed by the office of Russia’s Prosecutor General orders the head of the Kursk Regional Development Corporation, his deputies and a number of businessmen to repay more than 3.2 billion roubles ($32.7 million) allegedly embezzled from the regional defense budget, state news agency RIA reported.
In the two years prior to Ukraine’s attack, the governor in charge of Kursk at the time had repeatedly told the public that Russia had boosted its fortifications along the region’s 150-mile (240 km) border with Ukraine.
“Right now the risk of an armed invasion of the territory of Kursk region from Ukraine is not high,” Roman Starovoit assured residents in November 2022. “However, we are constantly working to strengthen the region’s defense capabilities.”
The next month, he posed in a snowy field beside a row of pyramid-shaped anti-tank defenses known as “dragon’s teeth.”
But in the autumn of 2023, Ukraine’s National Resistance Center, created by the special operations forces, said in an online post that reconnaissance showed “almost all the strongholds are deserted of personnel and equipment” along the border with Kursk. Corruption was a factor, it said.
Vidео published by Ukrainian paratroopers during the early days of the August incursion showed columns of armored vehicles pouring into Kursk through the rows of dragon’s teeth.
’ILLEGAL ENRICHMENT’
Between 2022 and 2023, some 19.4 billion roubles were pumped from Russia’s federal budget to Kursk, according to RIA, to build defenses such as ditches and dragon’s teeth.
The lawsuit alleges that officials instead funnelled that money into contracts with over a half-dozen companies controlled by several business people. The companies created “the appearance of performing work on the construction of protective structures and put in place a false scheme of expenses,” it says.
The head of the regional development fund and two of his deputies “used their official position for personal purposes...(and) for their illegal enrichment through the wrongful seizure of budget funds allocated for the protection and strengthening of the country’s defense capabilities against enemy invasion.”
The trio was arrested and sent to pre-trial detention on corruption charges in December and January, Russian media reported. They face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty. One of the businessmen named in the suit, whose firm carried out construction work in Kursk, was placed in pre-trial detention last week.
Reuters was unable to locate lawyers for the detained individuals for comment.
“Everyone who has broken the law should know that there will be no leniency or indulgence for him,” Kursk’s acting regional governor Alexander Khinshtein posted on Telegram on Tuesday.
“Especially when it concerns such a vital topic for all Kurskites as the construction of fortifications!“
Germany scraps Rwanda meeting over DR Congo fighting
- A spokesman for Germany’s development ministry said it had “canceled the government consultations planned for February with Rwanda“
- “There can be no business as usual amid the current escalation”
BERLIN: Germany said Tuesday it had canceled a planned meeting with Rwandan officials next month over Rwanda’s role in fighting in Democratic Republic of Congo.
A lightning offensive in the eastern DRC by fighters from the M23 armed group and Rwandan forces has led to clashes around the besieged city of Goma and a spiralling humanitarian crisis.
A spokesman for Germany’s development ministry said it had “canceled the government consultations planned for February with Rwanda” and was “co-ordinating with other donors about further measures.”
“There can be no business as usual amid the current escalation,” the spokesman said in a statement.
He said “talks on development cooperation can only resume when Rwanda and M23 end the escalation and withdraw.”
At least 17 people have been killed and 367 wounded during two days of fighting, according to reports from Goma hospitals.
The United Nations said Tuesday that food assistance in and around Goma had been “paused” and voiced concern over food shortages.
The UN Security Council was to meet on Tuesday to discuss the conflict.
The United States and France have also condemned the offensive by M23 and Rwandan forces while Britain expressed “deep concern” at the violence and called for de-escalation.
Afghan Taliban leader dismisses foreign ‘threats’ after ICC warrant
- Akhundzada did not reference specific countries, bodies or “threats“
- Since sweeping back to power in 2021, the Taliban authorities have implemented a strict interpretation of Islamic law
KABUL: Afghanistan’s supreme leader has said the Taliban will not be intimidated by “threats” in a speech given days after the International Criminal Court prosecutor requested a warrant for his arrest over the persecution of women in the country.
“Whether Westerners or Easterners, how could we believe them and not almighty God’s promises! How can we allow ourselves to be affected by their threats!” Hibatullah Akhundzada said in a recording of a speech shared with journalists on Tuesday.
The address was given at a graduation ceremony for religious scholars in southern Kandahar province on Monday, said the governor’s spokesman, Mahmood Azzam.
The reclusive Taliban leader, who rules by decree from Kandahar, has made only a handful of appearances since inheriting the Islamist movement’s leadership, with only audio recordings released of his rare speeches given in closed settings.
Taliban members are “Muslims who stand for what is right and cannot be harmed by anybody. If anyone stands against them, from the West or East, nobody can harm them,” Akhundzada said.
Akhundzada did not reference specific countries, bodies or “threats,” but the speech came days after the ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said he was seeking arrest warrants for the Taliban supreme leader and chief justice over the persecution of women.
Since sweeping back to power in 2021 — ousting the Western-backed government and ending a 20-year insurgency — the Taliban authorities have implemented a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
They have imposed restrictions on women and girls the United Nations has characterised as “gender apartheid.”
Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls and women are banned from education.
Women have been ordered to cover their hair and faces and wear all-covering Islamic dress, have been barred from parks and stopped from working in government offices.
The Taliban government claims it secures Afghan women’s rights under sharia but many of its edicts are not followed in the rest of the Islamic world and have been condemned by Muslim leaders.
Danish PM says received European support over Trump’s Greenland bid
- “This is a very, very clear message... that of course there must be respect for territory and the sovereignty of states,” Frederiksen said
- Trump has signalled that he wants the Arctic island — which is believed to hold large untapped mineral and oil reserves — to become part of the US
COPENHAGEN: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Tuesday said she had received support from European leaders as she sought backing to counter US President Donald Trump’s threats to take over Greenland.
After an initial stopover in Berlin in the morning, Frederiksen was in Paris by midday and due to travel to Brussels in the afternoon to meet NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, the Danish head of government told reporters she had received “a great deal of support.”
“This is a very, very clear message... that of course there must be respect for territory and the sovereignty of states,” Frederiksen said.
“This is a crucial part of the international community, the international community that we have built together since World War II,” she added.
Trump has signalled that he wants the Arctic island — which is believed to hold large untapped mineral and oil reserves — to become part of the United States.
He has talked for years about a possible deal to take control of the Danish autonomous territory.
On Saturday, he told reporters he believed that the United States would “get Greenland,” which is located between the United States and Europe in a region of increasing strategic value as the melting of Arctic sea ice opens up new shipping routes.
Trump argues his country needs Greenland for “international security.”
But Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen on Tuesday retorted that “Trump will not have Greenland.”
“Greenland is Greenland. And the Greenlandic people are a people, also in the sense of international law,” Lokke told reporters.
Frederiksen met early on Tuesday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.
After speaking about Russia’s war in Ukraine, Scholz stressed that “borders must not be moved by force” and added the English-language phrase: “To whom it may concern.”
The chancellor said “the times we live in are challenging” and require a strong Europe and NATO. He stressed that “Denmark and Germany are strong partners and close friends.”
Tuesday’s visits followed a weekend Nordic summit where leaders all “shared the gravity of the situation,” Frederiksen said.
Denmark on Monday announced that it would spend 14.6 billion kroner ($2 billion) to bolster security in the Arctic.
It said it would send three new frigates to the region, as well as long-distance drones equipped with advanced imaging capabilities. It would also reinforce its satellite capabilities.
Officials in Greenland, which depends heavily on Denmark for subsidies, have long been pushing for independence but have said they are open to doing business with the US.
A day after Trump was sworn in as president, Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede insisted that Greenlanders “don’t want to be American.”
In mid-January, Frederiksen reportedly spoke to Trump by telephone, stressing that it was up to Greenland to determine its future.
According to European sources cited by the Financial Times, Danish officials described the conversation as “horrendous,” and that Trump’s interest in Greenland was “serious, and potentially very dangerous.”
The US president, who has not excluded a possible military intervention to annex the island, reportedly threatened Denmark with tariffs over the issue.
The United States is the small Scandinavian country’s main export market.
Greenland’s trade and justice minister Naaja Nathanielsen on Monday told AFP that the Greenlandic people were living through a “worrying time” and were “concerned” about Trump’s statements.
“As a government, our job is not to panic and to figure out what the actual demands are,” Nathanielsen said.
“If it is about military presence, the US has been here for 80 years, we are not opposed to that. If it is about the minerals, it is an open market,” she added.
But, she warned, “if it is about expansionism, we are a democracy, we are allies and we ask our allies to respect our institutions.”
The European Union’s top military official on Saturday said that troops from EU countries could be based in Greenland.
“In my view, it would make perfect sense not only to station US forces in Greenland, as is currently the case, but also to consider stationing EU soldiers there,” Robert Brieger, chairman of the European Union Military Committee told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot did not rule out the possibility of European troops in Greenland.
“Why not, since it is a matter of security,” Barrot told Sud Radio on Tuesday.
He stressed, however, that “that is not the wish expressed by Denmark, but it is a possibility.”
Serbia’s prime minister resigns as anti-corruption protests grow
- “It is my appeal for everyone to calm down the passions and return to dialogue,” Vucevic told a news conference announcing his resignation
- Novi Sad Mayor Milan Djuric also stepped down on Tuesday
BELGRADE: Serbia’s populist Prime Minister Milos Vucevic resigned Tuesday in an attempt to calm political tensions and pressure roiled by weeks of massive anti-corruption protests over the deadly collapse of a concrete canopy.
The canopy collapse in November, which killed 15 people in the northern city of Novi Sad, has become a flashpoint reflecting wider discontent with the increasingly autocratic rule of Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic. He has faced accusations of curbing democratic freedoms in Serbia despite formally seeking European Union membership for the troubled Balkan nation.
“It is my appeal for everyone to calm down the passions and return to dialogue,” Vucevic told a news conference announcing his resignation.
Novi Sad Mayor Milan Djuric also stepped down on Tuesday.
Vucevic’s resignation could lead to an early parliamentary election. The resignation must be confirmed by Serbia’s parliament, which has 30 days to choose a new government or call a snap election.
Pro-government media said President Vucic will attend a Cabinet session on Tuesday evening to decide whether a new prime minister-designate will be appointed or an early election called.
Opposition parties have said they would insist on a transitional government that would create conditions for a free and fair election. Vucic’s populists have faced accusations of irregularities during past elections.
Vucevic became the prime minister in April 2024, after the Serbian Progressive Party won most votes in an election marred by tensions.
“They (ruling party) have been in a free fall since the Novi Sad tragedy,” journalist Slobodan Georgiev said on N1 television, adding that Vucic was seeking a “buffer” with the prime minister’s resignation.
Protests are the biggest challenge yet to the ruling populists
Vucic in the past had managed to cushion the impact of anti-government street protests, but the current student movement has garnered widespread support from all walks of life, including actors, farmers, lawyers, and judges.
The students’ call for justice has resonated in a country where corruption is widespread and few feel that the state institutions work in the interests of citizens.
Branimir Jovancicevic, professor at the Faculty of Chemistry in Belgrade, expressed hope that Vucevic’s resignation is a first step toward further political changes in Serbia, where power is concentrated in the hands of the president although his constitutional role is largely ceremonial.
“If the president thinks that by replacing one, essentially, unimportant figure ... will solve the problem ... he is deeply mistaken,” said Jovancicevic. ”This must lead to total political changes because autocracy and dictatorship in Serbia, in the heart of Europe, must be stopped.”
On Monday, tens of thousands of people joined striking university students in a 24-hour blockade of a key traffic intersection in the Serbian capital. Serbia’s students are demanding accountability for the canopy collapse that critics have blamed on rampant government corruption.
Classes at Serbia’s universities and dozens of schools have been blocked for two months with students camping inside their faculty buildings.
In another attempt to defuse tensions, Vucic, Vucevic and Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic on Monday evening urged dialogue with the students, who have so far rebuffed such invitations. They say Vucic shouldn’t be the one holding talks with them but that government institutions such as police and the judiciary should do their job.
Another student is assaulted
Vucevic said the immediate cause for his quitting was an attack on a female student in Novi Sad early Tuesday by assailants allegedly from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party. Vucevic said that “whenever it seems there is hope to return to social dialogue, to talk ... it’s like an invisible hand creates a new incident and tensions mount again.”
But the outgoing prime minister also said that the street protests “undoubtedly” have been organized from abroad “with an aim to directly jeopardize Serbia as a state.” Vucevic offered no evidence for his claims that echoed earlier similar statements by Vucic.
“I can never justify or understand many of these protests, blockades of lives, of roads and the freedom of movement of other citizens,” he said.
Students in Novi Sad said they were horrified by the assault they said was carried out by thugs with baseball bats. They attacked two groups of students and chased them in their car, the students said. Prosecutors later said that four people have been detained.
“We are horrified over the state of our society where such a situation is possible,” the students said in an Instagram post. “We have had enough of blood.”
The students called a big rally in Novi Sad later Tuesday in response to the attack.
Doubts over prosecutions
Serbia’s prosecutors have filed charges against 13 people, including a government minister and several state officials for the November canopy collapse. But the former Construction Minister Goran Vesic, who had resigned shortly after the canopy crash, has been released from detention, fueling doubts over the investigation’s independence.
The main railway station in Novi Sad was renovated and inaugurated twice in recent years as part of a wider infrastructure deal with Chinese state companies and a fast railway link with neighboring Hungary.
Several incidents have marred the street demonstrations in the past weeks, including drivers ramming in to the crowds on two occasions, when two young women were injured.
Students and others have been holding daily 15-minute traffic blockades throughout Serbia at 11:52 a.m., the exact same time the concrete canopy crashed down on Nov. 1. The blockades honor the 15 victims, including two children. The blockades were also held on Tuesday.
