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General Strike in Hong Kong Paralyzes the City as Protests Enter Week 9

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  • Protest over the now-suspended extradition bill in Hong Kong have entered their ninth week, with demonstrators participating in a general strike across the city.
  • The move forced the cancellation of over 200 flights, blocked several roads, and shut down train services, but also lead to violent clashes in the streets.
  • Over 80 people were arrested on Monday alone, which is the most on any single day since the start of demonstrations on June 9. 
  • Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam said the city is “on the verge of a very dangerous situation,” and accused activists of using the extradition bill as a cover for other motives.

General Strike 

Tens of thousands of protestors in Hong Kong brought parts of the city to a standstill on Monday during the city’s first general strike in over 50 years. 

Workers from around 20 different sectors participated in the massive general strike and attended coordinated rallies held in seven different districts. Strikers included teachers, security workers, construction workers, and almost 14,000 people from the engineering sector. 

The demonstrations left Hong Kong’s transportation systems in shambles. Strikes from more than 2,300 workers in the aviation sector forced over 200 flight cancellation at Hong Kong’s International airport, one of the busiest in the world. 

In other places in the city, crowds of protestors set up barricades, blocking roads, and shutting down train services. Several police stations were also forced to close after they were surrounded by protestors who threw projectiles and started fires outside the buildings.

Authorities used more than 1,000 tear gas canisters and 160 rubber bullets while responding to the gatherings. 

For the second time since the start of the protests, demonstrators were attacked by armed mobs who rushed at them with wooden poles. 

One video circulating online showed a car in the district of Yuen Long rushing through a barricade set up by protestors, injuring at least one person.

In another incident across town, a taxi ran through a group of protestors walking on the street, pushing at least one to the ground. 

Monday marked the fifth straight day of protests in Hong Kong and was possibly the biggest day of protests so far. Police said that on Monday alone, they made over 80 arrests by 7:30 pm local time, which is the most on any single day since the start of demonstrations on June 9. That number is expected to rise as the clashes escalate. 

What Launched the Protests? 

In recent weeks, the demonstrations in Hong Kong have become increasingly violent. The protests, which started off peaceful, were initially prompted by anger over a controversial extradition bill, which would have allowed the transfer of criminal suspects to mainland China.

Opponents of the bill saw it as Bejing’s attempting to extend its authority over the people of Hong Kong and their personal freedoms.

Although the bill has been suspended, protestors want it completely withdrawn. They have also called for Lam’s resignation, an investigation into alleged police brutality, and amnesty for arrested protestors, among other demands. 

Leaders in Hong Kong said that so far, 420 individuals have been arrested since the start of the protest on charges including rioting, unlawful assembly, possessing offensive weapons, assaulting officers, and obstructing police operations. Last week, more than 40 activists appeared in court for rioting charges. If convicted, they could be jailed for up to 10 years.

China has, for the most part, stayed out of the dispute, but China’s top policy office in Hong Kong previously condemned the protests, calling them “horrendous incidents” that have caused “serious damage to the rule of law.”

However, Beijing will announce ‘something new’ for Hong Kong on Tuesday according to the South China Morning Post which cited an anonymous source.

Lam Responds 

Protests over the bill have now entered their ninth week, with Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam saying the city is “on the verge of a very dangerous situation.”

Lam made her first media address in two weeks on Monday, where she accused activists of using the extradition bill as a cover for other hidden agendas. 

“We continue to allow these violent protesters to make use of the fugitive offender bill to conceal their ulterior motives,” she said. “Those ulterior motives are going to destroy Hong Kong.”

Lam further outraged many when she refused to resign and said it was not within her power to demand the release of those who had been arrested during protests. 

However, she acknowledged that her attempting to move the extradition bill forward had been a “failure” and pledged to “engage more, listen more and do more to meet the wishes of Hong Kong.”

See what others are saying: (BBC) (The Guardian) (CNN)

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95-Year-Old Woman Dies After Police Tases Her in Nursing Home

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The officer involved was suspended with pay and charged with assault.


A 95-year-old Australian woman whom police tasered in a nursing home last week has reportedly died from her injuries.

Clare Nowland, who had dementia and required a walking frame to stand up and move, was living at the Yallambee Lodge in Cooma in southeastern Australia.

At about 4:15 a.m. on May 17, police and paramedics responded to a report of a woman standing outside her room with a steak knife.

They encountered Nowland, then reportedly tried to negotiate with her for several minutes, but she didn’t drop the knife.

The five-foot-two, 95-pound woman walked toward the two officers “at a slow pace,” police said at a news conference, so one of them tasered her.

She fell to the floor and reportedly suffered a fractured skull and a severe brain bleed, causing her to be hospitalized in critical condition.

Nowland passed away in a hospital surrounded by her family, the New South Wales police confirmed in a statement today.

After a week-long investigation, the police force also said that the senior constable involved would appear in court next week to face charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault.

NSW police procedure states that tasers should not be used against elderly or disabled people absent exceptional circumstances.

Following the incident, community members, activists, and disability rights advocates expressed bewilderment and anger at what they called an unnecessary use of force, and some are now questioning why law enforcement took so long to prosecute the officer involved.

See what others are saying: (Reuters) (The New York Times) (CNN)

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U.K. Police Face Backlash After Arresting Anti-Monarchy Protesters

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London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that some of the arrests “raise questions” and “investigations are ongoing.”


The Public Order Act

A controversial protest crackdown law in the U.K. is facing criticism after dozens of anti-monarchy protesters were arrested during the coronation ceremony in London over the weekend.

The law, dubbed the “Public Order Act” was passed roughly a week ahead of the coronation for King Charles III. It gives police more power to restrict protesters and limits the tactics protesters can use in public spaces. It was condemned by human rights groups upon its passing, and is facing a new round of heat after 52 people were arrested over coronation protests on Saturday.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said protesters were arrested for public order offenses, breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. The group said it gave advance warning that its “tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be low and that we would deal robustly with anyone intent on undermining the celebration.”

It is currently unclear how many of those arrested were detained specifically for violating the Public Order Act, however, some of those arrested believe the new law was used against them.

“Make no mistake. There is no longer a right to peaceful protest in the UK,” Graham Smith, the CEO of anti-monarchy group Republic tweeted after getting arrested. “I have been told many times the monarch is there to defend our freedoms. Now our freedoms are under attack in his name.”

An Attempt to “Diminish” Protests

During a BBC Radio interview, Smith also said he believes the dozens of arrests were premeditated. 

“There was nothing that we did do that could possibly justify even being detained and arrested and held,” Smith claimed. 

“The whole thing was a deliberate attempt to disrupt and diminish our protest.”

Yasmine Ahmed, the U.K. Director of Human Rights Watch, also tweeted that the arrests were “disgraceful.”

“These are scenes you’d expect to see in Russia not the UK,” she wrote. 

When asked about the controversy, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters officers should  do “what they think is best” in an apparent show of support for the Metropolitan Police. 

For his part, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he is looking into the matter.

“Some of the arrests made by police as part of the Coronation event raise questions and whilst investigations are ongoing, I’ve sought urgent clarity from Met leaders on the action taken,” Khan tweeted.

See what others are saying: (The Guardian) (CNN) (The Washington Post)

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Foreign Nationals Make Mad Dash out of Sudan as Conflict Rages

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The conflict’s death toll has surpassed 420, with nearly 4,000 people wounded.


As the 10-day-long power struggle between rival generals tore Sudan apart, foreign governments with citizens in the country scrambled to evacuate them over the weekend.

On Sunday, U.S. special forces landed in the capital Khartoum and carried out nearly 100 American diplomats along with their families and some foreign nationals on helicopters.

An estimated 16,000 Americans, however, remain in the country and U.S. officials said in a statement that a broader evacuation mission would be too dangerous.

Christopher Maier, the assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity warfare, said in a statement that the Pentagon may assist U.S. citizens find safe routes out of Sudan.

“[The Defense Department] is at present considering actions that may include use of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to be able to observe routes and detect threats,” he said.

Germany and France also reportedly pulled around 700 people out of the country.

More countries followed with similar efforts, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, China, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Indonesia.

Yesterday, a convoy carrying some 700 United Nations, NGO, and embassy staff drove to Port Sudan, a popular extraction point now that the airport in Khartoum has closed due to fighting.

Reports of gunmen prowling the capital streets and robbing people trying to escape, as well as looters breaking into abandoned homes and shops, have persuaded most residents to stay indoors.

Heavy gunfire, airstrikes, and artillery shelling have terrorized the city despite several proposed ceasefires.

Over the weekend, the reported death toll topped 420, with nearly 4,000 people injured, though both numbers are likely to be undercounted.

See what others are saying: (The Guardian) (The New York Times) (The Washington Post)

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