Summer reading is a pastime that many swear by — there’s nothing quite like sprawling out by the pool or digging your feet into the sand at the beach with a good book. But reading out in the sun comes with its own set of cons. Getting sand in between the pages after an accidental drop is enough to screw up your relaxing retreat, or even worse, dropping it into the water by mistake (good luck salvaging that one). Even reading on a tablet has its own issues — most notably screen glare. But, there’s still one more option that can help you remedy many (if not all) of those issues: A Kindle. Read more...
With Mother's Day and Father's Day back-to-back and vacations weaved in around graduation parties and BBQs, keeping tabs on your pup gets difficult — and an automatic feeder isn't always enough.
It’s a strange thing. In the dead of the subzero Antarctic winter, when the oceans at the bottom of the world are frozen over, scientists have observed massive holes the size of South Carolina or larger opening up in the sea ice.
The rare, puzzling phenomena occurred most recently in the winters of 2016 and 2017, though considerably larger holes opened up in the 1970s. Now, scientists have a good grasp of why such great holes, known as polynyas (Russian for "hole in the ice"), form.
A slew of environmental factors must come together at the same time for the great ice voids to open up. The research, published Monday in the journal Nature, used observations taken from big floats in the remote ocean, NASA satellites, and even sensors attached to the heads of elephant seals to show how the ocean under the ice gets mixed up, like a bartender shaking up a cocktail. Ultimately, this mixing transports relatively warmer water up to the surface. Read more...
eBay is a great place to buy a lot of things, like used iPhones, vintage sweaters, and unnerving ventriloquist dummies that look like Call Me By Your Name star Timothée Chalamet.
A "one of a kind Timothée Chalamet ventriloquist figure" is currently up for grabs on eBay for the low starting bid of $122,795. The doll is wearing a recreation of the outfit Chalamet wore to the Golden Globes in February, complete with Louis Vuitton harness. According to the item's description, it is made of white pine, and is "upholstered in foam and quilted fabric." Like its subject, it has gorgeous eyebrows. It is the seller's only item for sale. Read more...
You already buy personal hygiene items (or at least, you should), so it’s nice when those necessary, daily items are on sale. You get to save on something you would have bought anyway.
If you’re in the market for an electric toothbrush or an electric shaver, Amazon is hooking you up today. You can grab an Oral-B electric toothbrush or Braun shaver for up to 56% off.
The Oral-B Genius Pro 8000 is an electric toothbrush that’s designed for the modern world. It features Bluetooth connectivity and pairs with an app that provides coaching and feedback to ensure you get the most thorough clean. It’s also mechanically advanced, removing up to 100 percent more plaque than manual brushing. Read more...
Welp, we have a new entry on the list of creepy internet videos.
Vivian Gomez posted a video to Facebook late last week taken by one of the security cameras outside her home. In the video, a small mystery creature that bears a striking resemblance to an alien is seen taking a strange strut past her car and out toward the street.
Here's what Gomez had to say in her post:
Yup, that's pretty damn strange. So what the hell is that?
Of course, this being the internet, the first assumption is that it's somehow fake. But perhaps the most logical explanation comes from a commenter on Gomez's original Facebook post who said, "It is probably some kid wearing flip flops with shorts on his head." Read more...
The fact that a three-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate plan is down to under £15 is pretty exciting. You might not be that excited to receive this news, but that's probably because you don't have all the details, and that's where we come in.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a really impressive package when you look at everything that is included. You get all the benefits of Xbox Live Gold, but with over 100 high-quality console and PC games as well. New games are added all the time, so there’s always something new to play, and you can enjoy exclusive member deals and discounts, too. Read more...
TL;DR: You can pre-order the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch games Pokemon Shield and Pokemon Sword for under £40, saving you over £15 on list price.
There are two new Pokemon games coming to Nintendo Switch, meaning a new region to explore, new gyms to compete in, and of course, new Pokemon. It's pretty massive news, and if you haven't already pre-ordered a copy, we have a deal for you.
You can now order Pokemon Shield or Pokemon Sword for under £40 on ShopTo. These games are usually listed at £54.99, meaning this deal saves you over £15. The games are released in November 2019, so by pre-ordering at this price you are not only getting a great deal, but you're ensuring that you're one of the first to play the new titles. Read more...
We like to start the week with a round up of the very best 4K TVs on the market. We don't know what it is about this list, but nothing gets us pumped for the week ahead like deals on all the top TV brands. You can save on 4K TVs from Philips, Samsung, LG, Sony, and more.
If you needed more evidence that AI-based deepfakes are incredibly scary, we present to you a new a tool that lets you type in text and generate a video of an actual person saying those exact words.
A group of scientists from Stanford University, the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Princeton University, and Adobe Research created a tool and presented the research in a paper (via The Verge), titled "Text-based Editing of Talking-head Video." The paper explains the methods used to "edit talking-head video based on its transcript to produce a realistic output video in which the dialogue of the speaker has been modified." Read more...
When it comes to technology, it doesn't always pay to stick with the biggest brands. Sure, there is a certain amount of clout associated with the likes of Apple and Bose, for example, but more often than not you can get a better deal if you look elsewhere.
This isn't really the case with headphones though. We're definitely not saying that you should stick rigidly to the most recognisable names, but generally speaking, you will get a higher quality audio with brands like Bose and Sony. These brands really know what they are doing when it comes to headphones, and the results are there for you to hear. Read more...
Controlling your WiFi network in a busy household can be frustrating. With family and friends coming and going all day, it's basically impossible to monitor the activity that is going on under your own roof. Wouldn't it be great if there was an app for that?
You can now control your network from anywhere with the Linksys app. That means you can see who is online, pause the internet, schedule WiFi access for study or bedtime, and even create a guest network. The Linksys app wouldn't be much good without a Linksys WiFi system, though. Read more...
Christmas has officially begun for avid gamers after the first E3 briefings took place over the weekend.
Microsoft is going big for the famous expo and has dropped the prices on a number of its console packages. This includes a solid Xbox One S for under £200 — positively a steal for a console that also includes a 4K Blu-Ray player. If you're looking to go all digital, the disc-free Xbox is only £169.99.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate was also announced, and you can pick up a discounted three-month pass that includes access to over 100 high-quality console and PC games, alongside Xbox Live Gold. Read more...
Many people resist the urge to get a decent VPN for their Android phone. Why bother with an extra app just to get online, now that internet connections are ubiquitous?
Over time, however, the scenarios in which you might need a VPN become more common. You could need to check what a site looks like from another geolocation, or test something that isn't available in your country. What often acts as the final straw is being unable to watch some of your favourite TV shows while travelling.
A VPN, or virtual private network, provides an additional layer of privacy when connecting to the internet. It's like using a private tunnel to browse the web, keeping you safe from prying eyes and enabling you to surf as if you were connecting from a server in a different place. Typically, all you need to do as a user is install the app on your smartphone, start it up, choose a server location, and then you can just continue browsing as usual. Read more...
For those in the dark, the Amazon Fire TV Stick is, well, a little stick that you plug into your HDTV that enables you to start streaming over 10,000 apps, games, and Alexa skills, including Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, Netflix, and more. You also get access to millions of websites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit, with browsers like Silk and Firefox.
Not only all that but you can launch apps and control content with the Alexa Voice Remote that comes included. Just ask for the content you want and Alexa responds. It's as easy as that.
For Amazon Prime members there are even more options to choose from. They get unlimited access to Prime Video, which features thousands of movies and TV episodes at no additional cost. Plus, Prime members can add over 50 premium channels such as Discovery and Eurosport Player. Read more...
There are a number of reasons why you might want to start using a virtual private network or VPN. VPNs offer many benefits, like getting around geographic restrictions for streaming content.
They can also help protect your privacy and make browsing more secure (though it's always a good idea to vet your VPN provider's claims carefully — some do a better a job than others).
But choosing the right VPN for you can be a daunting task. With so many options, you'll want to think carefully about which features are most important to you and how much you're willing to pay. Read more...
If you’re a movie buff or enjoy nothing more than binge-watching box sets, chances are you've heard of Kodi. Kodi is a free, open-source software media player app formerly known as XBMB that acts as a hub for all your music, movies, and TV content, which can be shared across all your devices.
Benefits include being able to turn your gadgets into a part of a digital streaming hub, accessing all sorts of file formats and searching for content in one place, watching geo-blocked content, and adding lots of customisable features via add ons such as iPlayer, which are needed for streaming content. Of course, there are drawbacks too, but most of these can be circumnavigated with a VPN (Virtual Private Network), which encrypts data leaving a device and makes it impossible for others to see what you’re downloading. Read more...
You've probably heard and read quite a bit about China's internet censorship, but what does it actually mean for the average internet user in the country? What is understood is that the Chinese government block access to foreign websites and slow down cross-border internet traffic. The government censors content for mainly political reasons, but also to maintain its control over the population.
This system of censorship is named the 'Great Firewall' and is the largest such system in the world. If you’re travelling to the vast country, then your internet privileges will be severly restricted. It's not an experience most people will be familar with thankfully, but it has become the norm for Chinese citizens. Read more...
Amazon Prime Video is a popular on-demand streaming service that hosts thousands of popular movies, TV shows, and award-winning Prime Originals. In case you don't have all the facts memorised, allow us to explain.
Let's start with the basics, shall we? Amazon Prime costs £79 a year in the UK and offers one-day delivery, music, and Amazon Prime Video. You can pay for the whole package in one lump sum or pay monthly instead at a cost of £7.99 a month, which comes to £95.88 each year.
You can get a 30-day free Amazon Prime trial if you are a new customer, which lets you get a taste of all the benefits before you commit. You can cancel the trial when it comes to an end or you can continue Prime membership at full price. The choice is yours. Read more...
How can you best protect your personal information when online? The simple answer is with virtual private networks, or VPNs. But which VPN is best for you, and do you need to pay for the service? Based on customer reviews, we have compared the best VPNs (both paid and free) in the UK to give you a clear answer.
For those feeling confused, here’s the inside story on a VPN. It’s essentially a connection method used to add security and privacy to private and public networks, like the internet.
Personal VPNs are becoming increasingly popular as more of our everyday life transitions to the web. A VPN improves privacy because the user's initial IP address is replaced with one from the VPN provider. Those subscribed to a VPN can obtain an IP address from any gateway city the VPN service provides. Make sense? Read more...
A Virtual Private Network, or VPN, is an essential service that secures your internet connection, giving you greater control over how your online activity can be tracked, and providing a combination of security (keeping your computer and data protected) and privacy (keeping your identity protected).
So how does a VPN accomplish this? By creating an encrypted connection between your computer and a server operated by the VPN service, that’s how. When you’re connected to the VPN server, all of your network traffic passes through a safe, protected tunnel that no one else should be able to monitor. That's the theory anyway. Read more...
Would you be chill if someone leaked your entire search history to the government? How about if your internet provider made it so that one episode of Love Island took an hour to load?
If you've had a crisis about anything related to the above, you've probably given some thought to getting a VPN.
We know you've seen absolutely loads of VPN reviews from experts across the board, including from our tech team at Mashable. But if you wanted a raw opinion — or thousands of them — from people with absolutely no filter, there's only one place to go: Reddit. Read more...
Every day of Pride Month, Mashable will be sharing illuminating conversations with members of the LGBTQ community who are making history right now.
Sasha Velour is one queen with a lot on her royal to-do list.
Known for her abstract style and thoughtful approach to performance, the winner of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 9 hasn't stopped her victory prance since that infamous "So Emotional" lip-sync in 2017. Since then, she's continued to head up her Brooklyn-based drag review Nightgowns, promoted the work of other queer artists, served up some of the most stunning looks to ever hit Instagram, and otherwise fulfilled her regal obligations every step of the runway. Read more...
You know what they say: Don't hate the player, hate the game.
Let's be honest, dating can be difficult — even at the best of times. Whether it's finding common interests and shared passions or something as simple as holding a meaningful conversation, it can take a lot of work to find Mr. or Mrs. Right. It doesn't matter if you're looking for a long-term relationship or more of a one-night connection. Dating can be awkward, challenging, and even downright stressful.
However, just because it can be difficult doesn't mean it can't be fun too. And for gamers, fun is what really matters. Whether it's becoming Thanos for a bit in Fortnite or protecting the last safe city in Destiny 2, people who play video games like to have fun with everything they do and every game they play. Read more...
Online dating is officially mainstream. "We met on Tinder" is the new "we met in a bar."
Countless children have been born to parents who met via an online dating app like Match or eharmony. And according to eharmony, more than 50% of couples will meet online by 2031 (they would say that, but it’s not an implausible forecast given online dating’s rising popularity).
With so many options, it can be hard to know where to find the best crop of potential mates. Each of the dating apps out there have features that will matter differently to you depending on your lifestyle, what you want, and what's most important to you. Looking for Ms. Right? Or perhaps just Mr. Right Now? It's helpful to know how each dating app is different so that you can surround yourself with people who want the same thing as you. Read more...
In America, the Equal Rights Amendment — an amendment from 1972 that states people "shall not be denied or abridged" equal rights on account of their sex — is very, very close to being passed. 37 out of the 38 required states have ratified it.
In the segment above from Sunday's Last Week Tonight Episode, John Oliver breaks down exactly what that means — and explains why the ERA is so important.
"None of this is that complicated," says Oliver. "Equality for women should be a basic principle of our society — and if you think it already is, great! All the more reason to write it down."
"And if you think it isn't, then we badly need the ERA." Read more...
Haven't got a gift for your Dad for Father's Day yet? Lucky for you, we have picked out all the best deals around, ranging from laptops, gaming consoles, TVs, grooming kits, garden tools, and many more.
What caught our eye though this weekend was the 12-month PlayStation Plus for $39.99, 64GB iPad Pro for $649.99, and the Dell XPS desktop for $699.99 after coupon code. Those deals are currently still live, so let's start this morning on a positive note and snag a great deal for your dad.
Billy Porter's outfits never cease to amaze. And his Tony's gown-suit hybrid is no exception to that rule.
Made from the Kinky Boots' curtain, Porter's custom red velvet ensemble also carried an extremely important message with the inclusion of a uterus-themed motif.
Porter toldThe Hollywood Reporter that the outfit was a "beautiful nod to Elizabethan couture" with a message about women's reproductive rights.
"At the fitting, we spoke about making a pattern on the train that was in the shape of a uterus, but not obvious, of course," Porter told THR. "And I thought it was awesome because women’s rights are under attack right now. I’m an advocate for all who are disenfranchised. None of us are free until we’re all free!" Read more...
With smartphones at our fingertips and WiFi in the sky, travelling has never been easier. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. Whether it’s creating a more seamless check-in process or building a better way to plan a trip, there will always be ways to innovate in the travel industry.
British Airways and Founders Forum have partnered up to host Pitch on a Plane, a competition for start-ups that are building innovative technology solutions or services which have the potential to transform customers' travel experiences. The Founders Forum network brings together digital entrepreneurs, corporate CEOs and senior investors who engage in open debate, brainstorming, discussion and problem solving at invite-only forums across the world. Read more...
TL;DR: The crystal-clear PaMu Scroll wireless headphones are a true competitor to the coveted AirPods, and you can grab a pair for just $69.99 in the Mashable Shop.
Look to your left, and then to your right. It's almost certain that you'll spot a handful of people with earbuds on. Whether they're listening to podcasts or blasting playlists — or simply trying to avoid conversation — there's a reason why people are glued to their earbuds.
The true wireless earbud revolution is here, folks, and it's here to stay.
But now that cable-free earphones are cementing their status as a necessity rather than luxury, there comes another set of problems. More and more companies are coming out with their own version of wireless buds just for the heck of it. Read more...
What do you do when you hear that Mike Tyson is opening a weed resort in the middle of the California desert? You go investigate. What we found was far more surreal than anyone could have imagined.
The first silence arrived together with stillness after the shaking that had been tossing us about violently during that brief yet eternal time when I awaited death, eyes closed, huddled in my seat, listening to the deep roar of the engines and their final, desperate screeching.
The only company that can make computers for our OS seemed incapable of making good computers anymore. Each update threatened to remove or break things we needed or loved. Their newest designs felt punitive, rather than feeling like a celebration of computing.
The story of blight in Mobile, Alabama, is the story of the rich and poor in America, of unregulated real estate, and of centuries of inequality. But in Mobile, a small team figured out how to change the narrative.
In the aftermath of Holzhauer's one bad game, there's been a lot of discussion about his Final Jeopardy bet, and this is the exact kind of thing I need to discuss.
A dead ringer for Apple AirPods, these AirSounds 2 True Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds not only don't break the bank, but also feature an impeccable listening experience, auto pairing, wireless charging and touch controls. Did we mention they are just $39.99?
Like many women, I got sad, not angry, for most of my pre-menopausal life. I pushed down and compressed my anger until I could almost convince myself it did not exist. I reveled in being split, diaphanous. It was a little like being high, having no singular self. Being weightless, like a ghost.
Sentenced to life in prison, he informed on former associates, disappeared into the witness protection program and died in 2012 — a death unnoticed until now.
Getaway in Brooklyn was comfortably full for a Saturday night, when I came in to try my first "shrub" — an acidic beverage made from vinegar, fruit, sugar, club soda and zero alcohol.
Is he the operator who spun the then-secret Mueller report? Or the straight shooter who later disclosed portions that were damaging to President Trump?
Most self-help books would suggest that you can fight life's currents with determination and positive thinking, but that could lead to further disappointment and frustration.
In Dilijan national park, a group of radical forest rangers – made up of young environmental activists and volunteers – are taking a stand against the country's 'wood mafia'.
After watching the final chapter of "Deadwood," I'm convinced it is one of the best stories ever put on television, and one that, although it is not set "in this century, and moment," feels suddenly, deeply resonant.
During Ramadan, many people sleep through the daytime and wake up a few hours before sundown, when they are free to break their fast. People can't spend all night eating, though, and that leaves them with plenty of time to kill. Some choose to go climbing.
Two decades ago, X-Men kicked off its superpowered film franchise in what was, perhaps to the uninitiated, an unlikely location: the depths of the Nazi Holocaust.
French President Emmanuel Macron offered a young oak to his US counterpart Donald Trump on the occasion of a state visit to Washington in 2018, and the two shoveled dirt around it under the watchful eyes of their wives -- and cameras from around the world (AFP Photo/JIM WATSON)
Washington (AFP) - The photo of Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron planting an oak tree in the garden of the White House symbolized the friendship shown by the two leaders.
But relations between them have since frayed -- over issues ranging from Iran to trade -- and the tree, a diplomatic source said this week, did not survive.
The French president offered the young oak to Trump on the occasion of a state visit to Washington in 2018, and the two shoveled dirt around it under the watchful eyes of their wives -- and cameras from around the world.
It was a symbolic gesture: the tree came from a northern French forest where 2,000 US Marines died during the First World War.
Few expected Kim Jong Un to last long when he became the leader of North Korea in December 2011. His country was isolated and laboring under U.N. sanctions. The economy was in a shambles. To make matters worse, he had little experience running anything, let alone one of the world's most oppressive governments. But the 27-year-old was no milksop. He was clever, ruthless and had more geostrategic nous than anybody had anticipated. Today, his grip on power is all but absolute.
Since the U.S. moved an aircraft carrier, Patriot missiles, and B-52 bomber task force to the region, Iran has pulled back some ships, but U.S. officials hesitate to say it is drawing down.
ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN THE NORTH ARABIAN SEA — In early May, the Iranians and their proxies were at extremely high levels of military readiness with ships, submarines, surface-to-air missiles and drones all prepared, according to two U.S. officials in the region.
Now, on Saturday, Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said that the U.S.'s moving the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier, plus Patriot missiles and a B-52 bomber task force to the region has had a stabilizing effect on Iran.
McKenzie said this week that the threat is imminent and that Iran or its proxies could attack at any time.
On Saturday, he expanded on that view, saying, "I would say the threat has probably evolved in certain ways."
Several thousand demonstrators marched through Port-au-Prince on Sunday to demand the resignation of Haitian President Jovenel Moise over allegations of embezzlement https://t.co/75sfISZQ6Z
German Chancellor and head of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party Angela Merkel speaks at the congress of the youth wing of the CDU, Junge Union, in Potsdam, October 16, 2010. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
POTSDAM, Germany (Reuters) - Germany's attempt to create a multicultural society has "utterly failed," Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday, adding fuel to a debate over immigration and Islam polarising her conservative camp.
Speaking to a meeting of young members of her Christian Democrats (CDU), Merkel said allowing people of different cultural backgrounds to live side by side without integrating had not worked in a country that is home to some four million Muslims.
"This (multicultural) approach has failed, utterly failed," Merkel told the meeting in Potsdam, south of Berlin.
Merkel faces pressure from within her CDU to take a tougher line on immigrants who don't show a willingness to adapt to German society and her comments appeared intended to pacify her critics.
Demonstrators attend a protest to demand authorities scrap a proposed extradition bill with China, in Hong Kong, China June 9, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
The majority of the doomed F-35 is still unrecovered and foreign adversaries would love to get their hands on any of it.
In a follow-up to our ongoing coverage on the deadly crash of an F-35A belonging to the Japan Air Self Defense Force that occurred on April 9th, 2019, the body of Major Akinori Hosomi has been found after two months of searching the waters off northeastern Japan. The condition of the pilot's remains and other details regarding where the discovery occurred was not disclosed out of consideration for the experienced military aviator's family. It has also been announced that Japan has officially called off the search and recovery operation for what's left of the doomed F-35A. The U.S. Navy called off its participation in the search effort a month ago.
The world is witnessing a huge growth in the number of ballistic missiles used to threaten enemies thousands of kilometers away with conventional and nuclear weapons, as tensions ratchet higher between world powers and international arms agreements fall by the wayside.
China is building an enormous arsenal of missiles to deter potential US attacks, and, along with Russia, it's developed hypersonic missiles that offer an unprecedented challenge to air defense systems. In the Middle East, a hidden arms race is ongoing between Saudi Arabia and Iran to develop rocket weapons. And the United States under president Donald Trump is giving up on arms control agreements and preparing to invest in more missiles and missile defenses.
United Technologies has agreed to buy Raytheon in an all stock deal, forming one of the world's largest aerospace and defense companies with more than $74 billion in revenue and $13.5 billion in EBITDA, through one of the industry's biggest deals ever.
In a statement release on Sunday afternoon, the new entity will be called Raytheon Technologies Corp., the companies said. The combination, which is being presented as a merger of equals, will take place in the first half of 2020 after United Technologies' planned spinoff of its Otis elevator and Carrier air-conditioner businesses.
LONDON (Reuters) - Iran said on Sunday Europe was in no position to criticize Tehran for its military capabilities and it called on European leaders to normalize trade ties with the Islamic Republic despite U.S. sanctions, or face consequences.
President Donald Trump last year withdrew the United States from world powers' 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sweeping sanctions. Trump condemned the accord, signed by his predecessor Barack Obama, as flawed for not being permanent and for not covering Iran's ballistic missile program or its role in conflicts around the Middle East.
The west European signatories to the deal - France, Britain and Germany - share the same concerns as the United States over Iran's ballistic missile development and regional activities.
* Unnamed general said to be latest victim of Kim, who is thought to have killed 16 senior aides * Allegedly thrown into giant piranha tank inside Kim's Ryongsong Residence * The carnivorous fish have razor-sharp teeth which can tear flesh apart in minutes
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly executed a general accused of plotting a coup by throwing him into a piranha-filled fish tank.
The unnamed general was said to be the latest victim of the dictatorial leader, who has executed numerous aides, including his envoy to the US in May.
The general was allegedly killed inside a giant piranha tank built inside Kim's Ryongsong Residence, in Pyongyang, after being accused of plotting a coup, the Daily Star reported.
* Roughly one million people have taken to Hong Kong's streets to protest proposed new extradition laws * Riot police were called to control the crowds and were forced to use batons, tear gas guns and pepper spray * The laws will make it easier for people wanted in connection with crimes to be extradited to China and Macau * Opponents of the plan say they deeply question the fairness and transparency of the Chinese court system
Several hundred riot police armed with batons, shields, tear gas guns and pepper spray sealed off the Legislative Council in Hong Kong as a similar number of protesters charged their lines shortly after midnight.
Police used batons and fired pepper spray at protesters, who still managed to close off part of a nearby road.
Several people on both sides appeared to be injured, and ambulances were called. Metal barriers were left twisted and torn in the clashes.
The Legislative Council is where debates will start on Wednesday to pass a new government bill that will allow suspects wanted in mainland China to be sent across the border for trial.
Read more .... WNU Editor: I can understand the need to have an extradition agreement where wanted criminals can be deported to a country where they have committed a crime. But the problem is that China's legal system cannot be trusted. China also has a long history of targeting its political opponents, and to me it is a given that China will abuse this extradition agreement with Hing Kong to target its opponents.
More News On Today's Demonstrations In Hong Kong Over Proposed New Extradition Bill With China
Armed men, believed to be Russian servicemen, walk outside a Ukrainian military base in Perevalnoye, near the Crimean city of Simferopol, March 14, 2014. Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters
Russia plans to develop "genetic passports" for military personnel, according to Alexander Sergeyev, the head of the country's Academy of Sciences. The program also involves the Kirov Military Medical Academy, which conducts research in military medical services.
Speaking ahead of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Sergeyev said that "the most important and interesting project considered by representatives of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Military Academy, is the so-called Genetic Passport of a soldier. The project is far-reaching, scientific, fundamental. Its essence is to find such genetic predispositions among military personnel, which will allow them to be properly oriented according to military specialties."
In March, Russia's President Vladimir Putin issued a decree on "chemical and biological safety for the period up to 2025," which introduced the concept of genetic passports for all citizens.
Pope Francis laments what he calls the modern "culture of insults," saying "the more we use social media, the less social we are becoming." https://t.co/wR2pEYGyC4
UK holidaymakers have been warned by the Foreign Office they could face riots, terrorism threats and viral diseases if they travel to some of their favourite holiday destinations this summer.
WORLD WAR 3 could be a reality if Vladimir Putin persists with his policy of aggression in the Baltic States, according to former US ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst.
HONG KONG's protest against China's extradition bill descended into violence as several hundred protesters clashed with a similar number of police outside the city's parliament in the early hours of Monday morning.
HOLIDAYMAKERS and reps have been forced to have terrorist training this summer amid rising concerns terror outfit ISIS will strike and massacre Brits traveling abroad in Europe.
IRAN has issued a chilling warning to the west after unveiling new air defence systems which can seek and destroy six targets with missiles at the same time.
(WELLINGTON, New Zealand) — Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom and three of his former colleagues on Monday took their fight against being extradited to the U.S. to New Zealand’s top court.
The Supreme Court began hearing arguments in the seven-year-old case after Dotcom and the others lost several previous court rulings.
But even if the men lose their latest appeal, they have legal options which could keep their case alive in the New Zealand court system and delay any extradition for several more years.
U.S. authorities in 2012 shut down Dotcom’s file-sharing website Megaupload and filed charges of conspiracy, racketeering and money laundering. If found guilty, the men could face decades in prison.
Megaupload was once one of the internet’s most popular sites. U.S. prosecutors say it raked in at least $175 million, mainly from people using it to illegally download songs, television shows and movies.
Ira Rothken, one of Dotcom’s lawyers, said in an interview that if anyone did something illegal in relation to Megaupload, it was the users.
“This case is all about trying to hold Megaupload and Kim Dotcom and the others responsible for the acts of users,” Rothken said. “And we’re saying you can’t do that. You can’t do that in the United States and you can’t do that in New Zealand.”
The Supreme Court has scheduled five days to hear the appeal. After that, it could take them several months to issue their decision.
Should the Supreme Court uphold the earlier court rulings and find the men are eligible for extradition, then New Zealand’s Justice Minister Andrew Little would need to make the final decision on whether the extraditions should proceed. And Little’s decision could also be appealed in the courts.
Dotcom, who was arrested in 2012 during a dramatic police raid on his mansion and incarcerated for a month, was released on bail more than seven years ago.
In addition to Dotcom, who founded Megaupload and was its biggest shareholder, the U.S. is also seeking to extradite former Megaupload officers Mathias Ortmann, Bram van der Kolk and Finn Batato. The indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court in eastern Virginia.
Dotcom did not attend Monday’s hearing, although the other three men did. Rothken said Dotcom was at his home in Queenstown and was being kept informed of developments.
Dotcom said his wife was helping the defense team.
“My wonderful wife Elizabeth has graduated law school to become a lawyer this year and today she’s fighting alongside my legal team for our future,” Dotcom wrote on Twitter. “Frankly if it wasn’t for Liz I don’t think I could have made it this far.”
(MOSCOW) — Preliminary results show an ally of Kazakhstan’s former president has won the presidential election.
The Central Election Commission in this Central Asian country said Monday that Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won nearly 71 percent of the vote with all the ballots counted.
Tokayev became acting president when Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had led the country since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, abruptly stepped down. Shortly after Nazarbayev resigned, Kazakhstan’s ruling party nominated Tokayev for presidency in what was largely seen as an orchestrated handover of power.
Sunday’s vote was marred a police crackdown on protesters who took to the streets against what they see as a mockery of democracy. Some 500 people were taken into custody after police broke rallies in Kazakhstan’s two largest cities.
Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam said Monday she will not scrap a contentious extradition plan or step down from her position, following a massive protest that gripped the city over the weekend.
Speaking from the Legislative Council where hours earlier police and holdout protesters had clashed overnight, the Chief Executive doubled down on her commitment to the proposed legislation. She told reporters the bill will be a “long-term benefit” to the city. “No one wants to see Hong Kong be a haven for fugitives,” Lam said.
On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of people joined a demonstration that choked major thoroughfares as it snaked its way from Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to the Legislative Council, displaying widespread opposition to a bill that would allow China to extradite fugitives from the semiautonomous region. Protesters chanted “Carrie Lam, Step Down” and “No China Extradition” as they marched in the city’s largest protest in years. Police estimated 270,000 people participated, but organizers say more than a million people—or nearly one in seven Hong Kong residents—took part.
Lam thanked those who joined the largely peaceful march, but condemned the clashes that broke out around midnight when riot police brandishing batons and tear gas moved to clear out protesters who threw metal barricades at officers.
“I want to thank every one of you because…the scrutiny helps to enhance good governance,” she said.
The Chief Executive said the demands of Hong Kong citizens have been heard, but insisted that the bill “will resume its second reading debate on June 12.”
Critics say the extradition bill signals Beijing’s creeping encroachment on the territory, which was returned to China from British rule in 1997. The legislation would allow Beijing to round up opponents that live in or transit through Hong Kong, threatening the city’s judicial independence and further eroding its democratic freedoms.
Lam denied taking direction on the bill from Beijing and pledged to further educate opponents who she implied were swayed by “foreign forces.”
She ignored questions about the protesters calling for her resignation.
At a press conference following Lam’s remarks, opponents chided her response and vowed to keep fighting.
“We don’t need more explanation [or] more safeguards. We want this to be scrapped completely,” says Claudia Mo, a pro-democracy legislator. “There is no fair trial, humane punishment guarantees in the mainland. There’s no trust, no confidence.”
The extradition critics called on Hong Kong residents to stage fresh protests Wednesday morning, when lawmakers will gather to debate the bill.
“Until she withdraws the amendment, we will keep fighting,” says Jimmy Sham, a convener of the Civil Human Rights Front, a coalition of pro-democracy groups that organized Sunday’s march.
(MOSCOW) — Police detained hundreds of people in Kazakhstan amid unauthorized protests of a presidential election Sunday that opponents alleged was a fake exercise in democracy.
Officers, some in riot gear with shields and helmets, broke up the demonstrations in the capital, Nur-Sultan, and in Almaty, the Central Asian country’s main commercial city. Some 500 protesters were taken to police stations, a government official said.
Three police officers were injured in the clashes, Deputy Interior Minister Marat Kozhayev said. There were no immediate reports of charges following the arrests.
The snap election was called after the unexpected March resignation of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, 78, who had led the country since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Many people assumed Nazarbayev would run for re-election during a regularly scheduled presidential vote next year.
The protesters alleged the election to choose his successor would not be free or fair, and had called for a voter boycott.
Nazarbayev loyalist Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the upper house speaker who became acting president when Nazarbayev stepped down, was expected to win easily.
Seven candidates were on the ballot, including a genuine opposition figure for the first time since 2005.
The opposition candidate, Amirzhan Kossanov, said he had no complaints about possible campaign violations before Sunday’s contest.
“But the most important result, the peak of the election political process, is counting of the votes,” Kossanov said.
The national elections commission reported that about 77% of the electorate turned out to vote. Previous presidential elections had reported turnouts of more than 90%.
Kazakhstan recently has experienced rising opposition sentiment. Previous anti-government rallies took place in the spring to protest the early election, which opponents saw as an orchestrated handover of power.
One of the most prosperous former Soviet republics, large Kazakhstan stands at a crossroads between neighbors China and Russia.
(PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti) — Protesters denouncing corruption blocked roads and paralyzed much of Haiti’s capital Sunday as they demanded the removal of President Jovenel Moise, while police reported two people killed and five injured.
Demonstrators burned tires and threw stones during the march in Port-au-Prince, where the scent of burning rubber filled the air. Many stores and gas stations were closed and travel between some cities was impeded as protesters blocked roads with cars, stones and other large objects.
Police erected barricades near the presidential palace and fired tear gas to drive away demonstrators who tried to breach them.
Police spokesman Michael-Ange Jeunes said gunshots caused the two deaths and wounded four people. He said a police officer was injured by a thrown rock.
There was no information on who fired the shots.
Louis-Jeunes said protesters set fire to two police cars and two buildings. He said 12 people had been arrested.
Similar protests were held in the Haitian cities of Jacmel, Cap-Haitien, Saint-Marc and Gonaives. Demonstrators came from a wide cross section of society, including political parties, religious groups and community organizations.
Protesters were demanding further investigation into the fate of funds that resulted from subsidized oil shipments from Venezuela under the Petrocaribe program. A Senate investigation recently determined at least 14 former government officials allegedly misused $3.8 billion under the administration of former President Michel Martelly.
Venezuela’s collapsing economy has forced the South American nation to halt or drastically curtail Petrocaribe shipments, leading to problems for power generation. Many Haitians now receive electricity for only a few hours a day.
(KHARTOUM, Sudan) — Shops were closed and streets were empty across Sudan on Sunday, the first day of a general strike called for the start of the workweek by protest leaders demanding the resignation of the ruling military council.
The Sudanese Professionals Association urged people to stay home to protest the deadly crackdown last week when security forces violently dispersed the group’s main sit-in outside the military headquarters in the capital, Khartoum.
The protesters say more than 100 people have been killed since the crackdown began June 3, including at least four slain by security forces on Sunday.
The protesters hope that their strike and campaign of civil disobedience will force the military to hand over power to civilians. The military leaders ousted longtime President Omar al-Bashir in April after four months of mass rallies. The generals have refused demonstrators’ demands for an immediate move to civilian rule, instead pushing for a transitional power-sharing arrangement.
The SPA posted photos of what it said was an empty Khartoum International Airport, adding that airport workers and pilots are taking part in the civil disobedience.
Other videos online showed offices and businesses closed and light traffic, in both Khartoum and the Red Sea city of Port Sudan.
SPA activist Dura Gambo said at midday that participation in the general strike “exceeded our expectations.”
“All private and some government banks joined the strike. Cities across the country are almost empty,” she said.
The head of the leading opposition Umma party, Sadek al-Mahdi, warned of escalation from both the protest leaders and the military council.
“The mutual escalation damages the county. We have been working to adjust the strike and disobedience to contain the escalation,” he said in televised comments.
An Associated Press journalist saw a heavy deployment of troops from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in several parts of Khartoum and its sister city of Omdurman. There are long lines for fuel in several areas in the capital.
The internet remains cut off in Khartoum, and other types of communications also are restricted, with reports of mobile network services heavily disrupted.
Security forces removed barricades from main roads and opened the sit-in area outside the military’s headquarters for the first time in a week. The SPA urged protesters to avoid clashes with the RSF.
The RSF grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militias used by al-Bashir in the Darfur conflict in the early 2000s. Protesters accuse it of leading the nationwide crackdown, and the SPA has called for the force to be disbanded.
The Sudan Doctors’ Committee, the medical affiliate of the SPA, said that of the four people killed Sunday, one was a young man who was shot by the RSF in Khartoum’s Bahri neighborhood. Two others died of their wounds after RSF forces beat them, and a fourth was shot in Omdurman, it said.
The committee says 118 people have been killed since June 3. The military-run Health Ministry has offered a lower death toll of 61, including 49 civilians and three security forces in Khartoum.
The World Health Organization said Saturday that 784 people were wounded in Khartoum since June 3, although it added that the actual number could be higher because not all cases are reported or recorded.
The opposition Sudanese Congress Party posted a video of what it said was a funeral in Bahri. “Blood for blood. We do not accept blood money,” the mourners chanted.
The SPA said peaceful, civil disobedience and a general strike “is the fastest and most effective way to topple the military council … and to hand over power to a transitional civilian authority.” It urged international agencies to refrain from dealing with the military council.
The SPA said security forces have arrested and intimidated activists, bankers, doctors, air traffic workers and other professionals in recent days.
“Dozens of airport workers have been arrested by intelligence and the RSF since Monday. We do not know their whereabouts. New workers have been seen in the past days to replace those who took part in the strike,” an airport worker told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisal.
The state-run SUNA news agency quoted authorities as saying the airport was functioning normally and that all workers had reported for duty Sunday.
The Sudan Pharmacists Central Committee, which is also part of the SPA, said RSF forces raided a government health agency in Khartoum that supplies medications and other care needs for patients across Sudan. The RSF has been accused of targeting hospitals and health centers caring for wounded protesters.
The Umma party said Saturday that security forces had arrested one of its leaders, Adel al-Mufti, along with other opposition figures, including Mohammed Esmat, a negotiator for the protesters.
Esmat was detained after meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday. Ahmed met separately with the ruling generals and the protest leaders in an effort to revive talks.
A spokesman for the military council did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.
At the Vatican, Pope Francis told the faithful in St. Peter’s Square that the news from Sudan is causing “pain and worry.” He prayed for the end of violence and that the common good would be sought through dialogue.
(TIJUANA, Mexico) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he was reluctantly prepared to slap retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods if negotiators in Washington had failed to strike a deal, addressing a boisterous celebratory rally Saturday in the border city of Tijuana.
The president’s comments came shortly after his foreign minister and chief negotiator, Marcelo Ebrard, told the rally the country had emerged from the high-stakes talks that avoided U.S. tariffs on Mexico’s exports with its “dignity intact.”
López Obrador said that as an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, he opposes retaliation but had been prepared to impose tariffs on U.S. goods. “As chief representative of the Mexican state I cannot permit that anyone attacks our economy or accept an unjust asymmetry unworthy of our government.”
The rally in Tijuana, a short walk from the border, was originally scheduled as an act of solidarity in the face of President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 5% tariff on Mexico’s exports if it did not stem the flow of Central American migrants crossing its territory toward the U.S.
But after Mexican and U.S. officials reached an accord late Friday that calls on Mexico to crackdown on migrants in exchange for Trump backing off his threat, officials here converted the rally into a celebration.
Ebrard, who helped negotiate the deal, said when he gave the president his report, he told López Obrador: “There are no tariffs, Mr. President, we emerged with our dignity intact.”
López Obrador has said consistently that Mexico’s immigration policy will be guided by respect for human rights. How that is integrated with the more proactive enforcement Mexico has promised Trump is yet to be seen.
“We take advantage of being here in Tijuana to say to the people of the United States once more that we do not harbor any intention nor will we harbor any intention to harm them, and we are resolved to collaborate with them in all areas, especially on the concern spurred by the growth of the migratory flow to their country,” he said.
“At the same time, we ask for their understanding because the migratory phenomenon doesn’t come from nowhere, it comes from the material needs and the insecurity in the Central American countries and in marginalized sectors and regions of Mexico, where there are human beings who need to set out on a pilgrimage to mitigate their hunger and their poverty or to save their lives.”
A series of speakers at the government-organized gathering spoke of the importance of the U.S.-Mexico relationship and applauded Mexico’s negotiating team. The rally had the feeling of a campaign event with paraphernalia from López Obrador’s ruling Morena party spread throughout the crowd.
The event was held in an intersection of Tijuana’s gritty downtown surrounded by pharmacies and currency exchange shops. Prostitutes lined the street a block away from the stage filled with dignitaries.
Lopez Obrador spoke of the long and intertwined histories of the two countries, noting that they “are protagonists in the largest demographic exchange in the world.”
Tijuana residents at the rally said they supported the terms of the agreement. But residents just a block away expressed concern the deal could mean more asylum seekers having to wait in Tijuana and other Mexican border cities for the resolution of their cases in the U.S. That process can take months or even years.
Angelica López, 41, has worked at a U.S. assembly plant in Tijuana that makes motors of all kinds for more than 20 years. The threatened tariffs would have directly impacted her family’s well-being, she said.
“Honestly, we were worried,” she said. “That’s how we eat, how we provide for the family, our home.”
As for the possibility that it means more Central American migrants have to wait out their asylum process in Tijuana, López noted that she had arrived in Tijuana as an economic migrant from another part of Mexico.
“The opportunities are for everyone, we simply support one another as human beings.”
But a block away, masseuse Omar Luna, said he believed many of the Central American migrants waiting in Tijuana were not there to work and were causing problems.
“This part affects us a little,” he said. “A lot of them don’t come to work, they’re criminals, (but) not all of them.”
Critics of the deal in Mexico say that other than a vague reiteration of a joint commitment to promote development, security and growth in Central America, the agreement focuses almost exclusively on enforcement and says little about the root causes driving the surge in migrants seen in recent months.
The deployment of 6,000 National Guard troops appears to be the key commitment in what was described as “unprecedented steps” by Mexico to ramp up enforcement, though Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero said that had already been planned and was not a result of external pressure.
Another key element of the deal is that the United States will expand a program known as the Migrant Protection Protocol, or MPP. According to Mexican immigration authorities, since January there have been 10,393 returns by migrants to Mexico while their cases wend their way through U.S. courts.
Observers said a concern is that if the MPP rolls out on a mass scale along the United States’ entire southern border, it could overwhelm Mexican border cities.
Despite the Trump Administration’s reported refusals this year to grant permission for U.S. embassies to fly rainbow flags during Pride Month, some diplomats are finding ways to still show their support for the LGBTQ community.
Under the Obama administration, all U.S. embassies received permission to hoist rainbow flags during the month-long celebration. This year, President Trump’s State Department has been denying requests by U.S. embassies around the world to fly rainbow flags on embassy flagpoles during June, according to NBC News. Currently, embassies are permitted to fly the flag on exterior walls or inside the embassies, according to NBC.
The lack of approval to raise a Pride flag alongside Old Glory hasn’t stopped many embassies from displaying rainbow colors or the flag itself.
A picture tweeted by the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, shows the building’s facade lit up with rainbow lights. The Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, displayed a large pride flag several stories up. The U.S. Consulate General in Chennai, India posted a video of the Consul General speaking in front of an enormous rainbow flag. And the website of the U.S. Embassy in Vienna featured a photo of the Pride flag hanging below the American flag from International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia in May.
In Jerusalem, the U.S. Embassy sent a delegation to the city’s Pride parade, according to the Jerusalem Post. Additionally, Randy Berry, the U.S. Ambassador to Nepal, tweeted a photo of himself with embassy staff holding up letters spelling “PRIDE 19.”
Today, along with the U.S. Mission in Nepal community, I join people around the world in celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, & Intersex #PrideMonth, and reaffirm the U.S. commitment to defending human rights for all. #Pride2019pic.twitter.com/5awKWtcP80
— Ambassador Randy Berry (@USAmbNepal) June 1, 2019
According to the Washington Post, the policy changed last year, after Mike Pompeo, an evangelical Christian, became Secretary of State. Last year, the Post said all requests to fly pride flags on embassy flagpoles were approved by the State Department.
Under this administration, some State Department employees told the Post it’s better to maintain a low profile.
“We fly below the radar,” one employee said. “We survive because they don’t realize we’re here.”
(BEIJING) — China is creating a system to protect its technology, according to state media, as the U.S. restricts the access of Chinese companies to American technology in a spiraling trade dispute.
The People’s Daily newspaper said Sunday that the system will build a strong firewall to strengthen the nation’s ability to innovate and to accelerate the development of key technologies.
“China … will never allow certain countries to use China’s technology to contain China’s development and suppress Chinese enterprises,” the main paper of the ruling Communist Party said, without directly referring to the United States.
No details have been released about what China is calling a national technological security management list. The plan was announced Saturday evening in a brief three-paragraph dispatch by the official Xinhua News Agency.
The aim is to forestall and defuse national security risks more effectively, Xinhua said, adding that detailed measures would be unveiled in the near future.
The initiative follows U.S. moves to restrict sales to Huawei Technologies and other Chinese tech firms on national security grounds.
The U.S. Commerce Department last month added Huawei to its list of entities that are engaged in activities contrary to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests.
As such, any sale of U.S. technology to Huawei will require Commerce Department approval.
China responded by saying its Commerce Ministry would develop its own list of foreign entities that it regards as “unreliable.”
This weekend’s announcement of plans for a technological security management list is clearly related to the unreliable entities list, the state-owned Global Times newspaper said in an editorial posted online Sunday.
It said the act would provide a legal basis to manage technology exports and counter American supply cutoffs to some Chinese companies.
“Since 2018, the U.S. has repeatedly drawn on its domestic law to exert pressure on Chinese high-tech enterprises,” the English-language editorial read in part. “China’s countermeasures against the U.S. require more legal weapons.”
The two largest economies appear as far apart as ever in their dispute, though U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he held a constructive meeting Sunday with the head of China’s central bank.
In a Twitter post, Mnuchin said he and Yi Gang, governor of the People’s Bank of China, had a “candid” discussion about trade issues. The post showed the two shaking hands and smiling.
They met on the sidelines of the G-20 finance meeting in Fukuoka, Japan.
Mnuchin earlier urged China to rejoin talks on the dispute that have stalled after 11 rounds of negotiations. He said no talks were scheduled, however, and that major progress on the stalemate would likely have to wait for a meeting of Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping later this month.
Protesters flooded the streets of Hong Kong Sunday to oppose a bill that would allow China to extradite fugitives from the semiautonomous region, bringing the busiest parts of the city to a standstill and drawing the largest crowds seen here since pro-democracy demonstrations paralyzed its center for months in 2014.
Critics fear the extradition bill would allow Beijing to round up opponents that live in or transit through Hong Kong, threatening the city’s judicial independence and further eroding its democratic freedoms. The former British colony was returned to China in 1997 under an agreement called “one country, two systems,” which granted it a high degree of autonomy for 50 years, but an increasingly assertive Beijing has called the deal’s integrity into question.
The Hong Kong government says the extradition bill is meant to plug “loopholes” in the current legal system, and it could be up for a vote before the end of June. If passed, Hong Kong could decide on a case-by-case basis whether to send fugitives to places including China, Macau and Taiwan, with which it has no formal extradition agreements. Taiwan has already said it won’t seek extradition if the bill is passed.
Organizers said more than a million people joined the march, which would make it the largest demonstration in the city’s history. In 2003, an estimated half a million people joined a march opposing proposed national security legislation outlawing offenses against the Chinese government, which is believed to be the second largest protest since the end of British rule.
“This bill amounts to the biggest political sellout of Hong Kong,” lawmaker Claudia Mo, a member of the Civic Party, told TIME. She was among the massive crowds that withstood sweltering heat and evening rains to protest. “It would completely destroy the ‘one country, two systems’ promise and put Hong Kong effectively under Chinese law.”
Extradition is just the latest flashpoint in the city as Beijing has sought greater influence in recent years, attempting with varying degrees of success to exert control over Hong Kong’s national security, education and electoral framework. Opponents of the extradition bill say they distrust China’s opaque legal system, whereby forced confessions, torture and closed criminal trials are commonplace, according to rights groups.
Shortly before the demonstration, the Hong Kong government said in a statement that the measure would not “in any way impact on, interfere with, or have a chilling effect on the freedom of assembly, of the press, of speech, of academic freedom or publication; or relate to offenses of a political nature.”
But the proposal has gridlocked the city’s Legislative Council, which is roughly divided between pro-democratic and pro-Beijing camps. The city’s business and diplomatic communities have expressed concern that the bill could undermine the rule of law, while Sunday’s march displayed widespread public opposition from a diverse cross-section of society, from pro-democratic political parties, to small business owners, to a network of housewives mobilized online.
“Today we’re using the sheer volume of people in attendance to make our message clear,” said a spokesperson for the Civil Human Rights Front, a coalition of pro-democracy groups that organized Sunday’s march. Organizers said more than a million people attended the march, while police estimated more than 150,000 were at the starting point of Hong Kong’s Victoria Park. Solidarity protests were also held in dozens of other major cities including Sydney, Toronto and Vancouver, organizers said.
Dale de la Rey—AFP/Getty Images Protesters march during a rally against a controversial extradition law proposal in Hong Kong on June 9, 2019.
Aerial images showed massive turnout, clogging up roads and overpasses for more than a mile in the densest parts of the city. Many protesters wore white T-shirts and waved red signs calling for the city’s Beijing-backed Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, to step down. Chants of “Hong Kong people, fight on!” rang through streets lined with skyscrapers. Despite the large crowds, the march was peaceful until authorities cleared the occupied government grounds after a midnight deadline. Some small clashes were reported between police and the mostly young protesters who remained; pepper spray and batons were used to disperse the crowds, which had been cleared from the streets by around 3 a.m.
Earlier in the day, some demonstrators held up bright yellow umbrellas, the emblem of the Umbrella Revolution in 2014, when tens of thousands of people occupied the financial district to demand free elections, ultimately without success. Large-scale protests in 2012 and 2014 were largely spearheaded by students, but the extradition bill has also grabbed the attention of Hong Kong’s business community, which fears it would weaken the rule of law essential to the success of the international finance center.
A U.S. congressional committee warned the bill would pose risks to U.S. security and economic interests, and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), a non-partisan business chamber that counts at least 600 companies as members, has spoken out against the proposal. “AmCham has serious reservations about the Hong Kong extradition bill,” Tara Joseph, the president of AmCham in Hong Kong, told TIME. “It could have significant implications for Hong Kong’s reputation as one of the world’s most important business hubs.”
There have been other signs of Beijing’s tightening grip on the semiautonomous enclave. Press freedom rankings have dropped, a foreign journalist was expelled for hosting a talk with a politician who has advocated for Hong Kong’s independence from China, the leaders of 2014 pro-democracy protests have been jailed and a Chinese businessman was inexplicably abducted from a luxury hotel.
In 2015, five booksellers peddling salacious books about mainland politics disappeared; all of them eventually resurfaced in China. China said the men had voluntarily come to China to aid an investigation, but one bookseller, Lam Wing-kee, later spoke out after returning to Hong Kong, saying that he spent months in solitary confinement and had been forced to read a scripted confession admitting to selling banned books.
Lam has since fled to Taiwan, fearing what the law would mean for him. Speaking to TIME by phone a day before the march, Lam said the proposal would “target people like me,” adding that “if the amendments pass, I can be taken away at any time.”
“We’re not taking this lying down,” said Mo, the Civic Party lawmaker. “Even if we don’t achieve anything, we need to do this to be answerable to history; we are doing this for our children, the next generation, [so] there will be a record saying ‘they put up a heroic fight.'”
— With reporting by Kamakshi Ayyar, Laignee Barron and Aria Hangyu Chen / Hong Kong
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By Sanjaya BaruThe season of pre-Budget gyan is upon us. I have a very simple word of caution for finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. A reputation lost in the first Budget is difficult to retrieve in subsequent ones. Put your best foot forward. Elections are over. They will come again and govt will have to spend again. But, for now, the focus has to be on fiscal discipline. An FM's dharma demands commitment to fiscal responsibility.Fortunately, for Sitharaman, the three other crucial areas awaiting policy attention are subjects she has directly dealt with in her first term in government — industry, commerce and defence. Turning the investment cycle around has to be the first priority of not just this July's Budget, but of the next two, so that midway through second term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi can claim that his government has taken the economy back on to the medium-term growth path of 7.5% average annual rate of growth of national income. If the economy can return to 8% growth by 2021, that would, of course, be a bonus.Policies that calm investors' nerves and give them incentives to work for, and the hope to attain a rate of investment logged in the early 2000s — 35%-plus — should be Sitharaman's first priority. Indian business — big, medium and small — has been deeply unhappy and nervous over the past couple of years. GoI owes it to the voter, the job-seeking youth, and to investors to restore faith in the growth potential of the domestic economy. It is no use chanting the mantra of being the world's 'fastest growing economy' if businesses can't feel that growth.Last February, interim finance minister Piyush Goyal read out a pre-election Budget speech that was understandably self-congratulatory. The time has come for getting to grips with the reality of a slowdown, and finding new avenues of growth. Good policies can do more for growth than public spending.The priority for Sitharaman is to make 'Make in India' happen. Once Indians feel happy making in India, foreigners will troop in too. There is no sector more ready for a major boost than defence, and Sitharaman knows what exactly she should do to get more private, domestic and foreign, investment into defence manufacturing. As raksha mantri, she devoted considerable time to developing the policy framework. But most of her ideas await implementation. Defence manufacturing can be a new avenue of growth for Indian business — big, medium and small.She should devote time in her Budget speech to unveil her 'Make in India' strategy for defence. Most FMs have shied away from a detailed statement on defence finances and manufacturing. It is surely odd that finance ministers have traditionally devoted more time to speak on expenditure in areas that are the purview of state governments, and Parliament would devote half a day to the Railway Budget and yet, defence, a central responsibility of GoI and a key component of its expenditure, has rarely secured more than a minute in most Budget speeches over the past 70 years.Indian business is ready to invest more in defence manufacturing. Sitharaman has already taken many steps to facilitate import-substituting industrialisation in defence. A proposal she has worked on to leverage the offset policy and induce original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in defence to support 'Make in India' should be unveiled forthwith.A venture capital fund can be created, with the approval of the stock market regulator, which would invest risk capital in defence startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These SMEs can then enter the global value chain of global OEMs, enhance indigenous defence manufacturing and product development capacity and capability.Finally, Sitharaman's third forte — commerce. India has come under pressure from friend and foe on the external trade front. In the past couple of years, the FM raised tariffs, mainly to deal with rising trade and revenue deficits. Sitharaman will now have to address not just US President Donald Trump's demands but, more importantly, expectations in Asia about India's commitment to regional economic integration.This does not mean India should surrender its national interest, or that India should do more for others than what they are willing to do for India. But it is necessary to signal a renewed commitment to building a more globally competitive economy at home.This is Sitharaman's opportunity to enter the history books. Manmohan Singh (1991 reforms), P Chidambaram (1997 'dream' tax cuts) and Arun Jaitley (2018 GST) entered it with bold ideas. July 2019 should be Sitharaman's Victor Hugo moment — time for ideas whose time had long come.(The writer is distinguished fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi)
Funds flow from non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to the liquidity-starved real estate sector is expected to dry up further after DHFL's recent downgrade, as other NBFCs wait out the latest uncertainty.Not just NBFCs, the funding challenges will hit the real estate sector's recovery & put pressure on property prices too."Since the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is custodian of the financial stability of the economy, we expect it to come out with specific measures relating to this crisis and not just stop at providing liquidity to the system," said Samantak Das, chief economist (research and REIS, India), JLL."Funding to the (real estate) sector has reduced by 80% since September 2018, with average ticket size dropping by at least 60% in the last six month," said the managing director of an international NBFC.The NBFC sector was limping back to normalcy early this year, with funds such as Xander, KKR and Tata Capital deploying capital to select builders, though based on stringent credit norms, with focus on the financial strength of the entity and not just a specific project.The residential real estate sector also saw some green shoots, with listed builders registering profit for the last quarter of FY19. Housing sales surged 28% from a year ago to 38,600 units in the top seven cities.NBFCs and housing finance companies' (HFCs) share of outstanding credit to developers rose from 36% in FY12 to 58% in FY18, highlighting their growing importance compared with scheduled commercial banks. 69717187 However, the IL&FS crisis of September 2018 led to a drastic reduction in NBFC lending during October–December 2018 due to the liquidity squeeze. "Recent developments in the NBFC sector have further increased uncertainty in real estate financing, which was expecting some cheer post elections and formation of a stable government," said Subhash Udhwani, founder of realty-focused boutique investment bank Elysium Capital.However, he also believes that for retail buyers, the past six months have been — and the next 12 months will be — the best time to negotiate and get assets at a bargain. "Genuine buyers might not get this opportunity once the dust settles," Udhwani added.Banks' lending to NBFCs has plateaued over the past few quarters. Incremental credit by banks to NBFCs has seen a 37% growth between April 2018 and March 2019, a deceleration from 175% a year ago."The government has to step in. Real estate is looking tricky with NBFCs contracting. Banks are not lending to real estate despite being flush with cash," said another fund manager.
The world's top financial policymakers admitted Sunday that trade tensions had worsened & posed a risk for the global economy, after a G20 meeting that laid bare differences between the United States and other nations. Following 30 hours of wrangling in what one official described as a "tense" atmosphere, G20 finance minister and central bank chiefs produced a hard-fought final statement acknowledging that "growth remains low and risks remain tilted to the downside." "Most importantly, trade and geopolitical tensions have intensified," the G20 said, adding they "stood ready to take further action" if required. As a compromise pushed by Washington, the statement omitted language from a previous draft that mentioned a "pressing need to resolve trade tensions." The statement capped two days of talks in the western Japanese port city of Fukuoka that also tackled the thorny issue of taxing internet giants and, for the first time, the economic challenges posed by ageing. "In our view, this is the best outcome we could deliver. Not the perfect outcome but a good outcome," said EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, who admitted that reaching agreement was "not an easy task." "Almost everyone in the room thinks that trade tensions are a threat to growth... It's not always the mood in the American administration," he said. "I wouldnt say it's them against all the others but it looks like it sometimes, even if everyone also criticises some aggression from China." - Trade battles were front and centre of policymakers' minds as the US and China continue to threaten each other with tariffs that economists fear could slam the brakes on global growth. IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned the tariffs could shave global GDP by 0.5 per cent or about USD 455 billion in 2020 and said trade conflicts constituted the "principal threat" to the global economic outlook. The G20 ministers heaved a sigh of relief just hours before the meeting when the US and Mexico clinched a deal over immigration that stopped Washington imposing five per cent tariffs on Mexican goods.But US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Washington stood ready to impose more tariffs on China if President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping fail to strike a deal at the G20 summit later this month in Osaka. "If China wants to come back to the table and negotiate on the basis that we were negotiating, we can get a great historic deal. If they don't, we'll proceed with our tariffs," Mnuchin told reporters Saturday. He tweeted Sunday he had had a "constructive" meeting with China's central bank governor Yi Gang, during which there was a "candid discussion on trade issues". But taking a different line from the other policymakers, Mnuchin said the slowdown in some parts of the world was not due to trade difficulties and even said the friction could benefit some countries if companies relocated from China to avoid tariffs. "There will be winners and losers," said the treasury secretary. The quandary of reforming the global tax system to take into account the rise of internet giants such as Google and Facebook was another issue exercising the minds of policymakers in the coastal city. In the final statement, the G20 agreed to "redouble our efforts for a consensus-based solution with a final report by 2020". However, here again the Fukuoka meeting exposed a difference of opinion over what form this reform should take.Frustrated by a lack of global action on the issue, some countries such as Britain and France have already introduced a so-called digital tax, but Mnuchin was blunt in his assessment of these policies. He said the US had "significant concerns" and stated "I don't like them." But Moscovici was more positive, saying he was "rather optimistic" the G20 would clinch agreement on a new set of international tax rules by 2020. "It's doable, it's more than doable," he told reporters. Appropriately for a meeting held in Japan -- on track to become the world's first "super-aged" society in which more than 28 per cent of the population is over 65 -- the G20 ministers discussed for the first time the "challenges and opportunities" posed by ageing. They suggested getting more women and elderly people into the workforce and "promoting elderly-friendly industries", as well as reforming the fiscal and banking systems to take into account ageing populations. "You basically have a very large portion of mankind that is ageing and then the workforce is shrinking," OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria told AFP in an interview. Solving the issue will require wholesale changes to the way society is organised, added Gurria.
MUMBAI: The central bank's revised circular on stressed assets promises to speed up resolutions of bad assets, but smaller banks in specific deals may now have to follow the larger lenders that have more at stake in a consortium of creditors.The rule that 75% of creditors' vote is enough to pass a resolution plan and that dissenting lenders must sell at liquidation value would lower the bargaining power of smaller banks that have less exposure in specific deals. On the flipside, that would mean quicker resolutions as banks with less exposure can't stall deals any longer."Small lenders would always try to get the full value of the loan even if their exposure was just a few crores. This was not always possible and would delay the process," said Prashant Kumar, CFO at State Bank of India (SBI), the country's biggest lender. "Now, things will be easier: If 75% of lenders by value of the loans or 60% by number agree, the plan can be taken forward."Mint Road framed a new set of rules on Friday for banks after its previous circular failed to pass legal scrutiny. Power sector companies had approached India's highest court against the regulator's 2018 order that had ordered banks to treat a single-day's payment delay as default and required lenders to initiate insolvency proceedings. The new circular does not expect banks to start restructuring within one day of default but gives them a 'review period' of one month, replacing the earlier guideline that had said lenders 'shall initiate steps to cure the default.' However, after agreeing to a resolution plan, lenders have to sign a so-called inter creditor agreement (ICA) mandatorily, which could become a deterrent in the process. "The catch is that banks may not sign the ICA if not satisfied with the proposed resolution professional (RP) by the borrower, or can even arm-twist the borrowers. Small lenders may not sign the ICA and may lead to all lenders making additional provisioning," said BoB Capital Markets in a note on Saturday. Some others believe that there is no clarity on the realisable, or liquidation, value of an asset, and lack of clarity on as fundamental a point as this will lead to delays. 69718528 "If the liquidation value becomes negative, how much will the small lenders get? When can such an assessment be done is also a question," said Harish Chander, an independent consultant. "Valuation of companies is no longer done on a desktop. It takes three to six months, which means there could be delays." Unlike the previous circular that gave a blanket approval for the IBC process, this time the central bank has chosen to incentivise the insolvency mechanism instead, disfavouring customised restructuring plans.Banks have to make an additional 15% provision within one year of the commencement of the review process. This will be in addition to the 20% provision required at the end of the 180-day period, which means a 35% provision if a plan is not put in motion after a year. "More importantly, RBI has done away with the 50% provision required for IBC cases, which means banks need only a 15% provision if they want to directly take a case to IBC. Or banks risk a higher 35% provision if a plan is not agreed," Kumar said.Lawyers say the removal of a stringent timeline is welcome."The new circular is a relief for lenders who, under the earlier circular, were compelled to initiate the insolvency process within a stringent timeline even where they believed that resolution of a particular stressed asset was possible without approaching the NCLT," said Ayush Agarwala, partner of law firm K Law.
NEW DELHI: The power ministry is considering issuing an advisory to electricity regulators asking them to abstain from lowering tariffs of stressed power plants that change hands as part of lenders' resolution mechanism.The move, followed by a softened Reserve Bank circular issued on Friday, is aimed at immediately lifting investment sentiments in the stressed power sector and help banks in completing resolutions quickly.A senior government official said the ministry is likely to consider issuing the advisory to regulators for immediate relief to projects bid transparently in or outside insolvency court. A provision is also proposed to be made in draft tariff policy, which will require cabinet nod.This is the first time the Centre will intervene in clearing hurdles in way of resolution of stressed assets even as revival proposal for many such projects including steel and cement plants are facing various regulatory and legal challenges."Renegotiating tariffs by amending power purchase agreements (PPAs) when a stressed project is sold has become a concern. Such efforts could impair resolution of stressed power plants as new investors will lose incentive to buy projects. The Centre may look into the issue and if need be issue an advisory to regulators for speedy resolution of stressed power projects, till the time a permanent provision is made in tariff policy," the official said.The concerns stem out of the fact that of about a dozen power projects in resolution process since last one year only one could get through, only to hit a roadblock at regulatory stage. Tata Power and ICICI Venturesbacked Resurgent Power had in November announced acquiring 75.01% stake in Jaiprakash Associates' 1,980 MW Prayagraj power plant, in first of the stressed power plants proposed to be resolved by lenders outside insolvency court.The process, however, ran into difficulty after the Uttar Pradesh electricity regulator asked Resurgent Power to cut tariff from the plant by 40 paise due to decrease in debt. The matter is now with the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (Aptel).Power companies and bankers are worried that this can set a wrong precedence if regulators ask for tariff reduction in more projects. Industry sources said about 5-6 stressed power plants including GMR Energy Chhattisgarh, RKM Powergen, RattanIndia Amravati and RattanIndia Nashik can be settled outside bankruptcy court, while many other plants are likely to be resolved through insolvency code.""Stressed power plants are fetching much lower valuation than their potential value in view of the systemic constraints. Regulators need to recognise that these are not freshly bid projects. Banks have stepped into the shoes of a promoter to save a beleaguered project, other things remaining constant. In the transaction for these stressed projects " Tariff " as stated in PPA is centric to valuation and sustainable debt . Therefore any regulatory adventurism to reduce tariff knocks away the main plank on which the transaction has been finalised. The power ministry, needs to ring fence projects being transferred by banks to new owners from any regulatory intervention," said Association of Power Producers director general Ashok Khurana.Private power companies and lenders sought the government intervention in keeping regulators out of the paperwork for stressed assets under resolution. The companies said the limited interest in power sector for companies with handful of companies with deep pockets will be wiped out unless the regulators are kept out of the approvals.An official in Uttar Pradesh government, however, said the tariff has to be determined on reduced cost as was done in the case of NTPC's acquisition of Tanda power plant in Uttar Pradesh. PPAs of Prayagraj Power were signed on cost-plus basis in Uttar Pradesh's former Bahujan Samaj Party-led regime.The Electricity Act, 2003 provides that regulatory commissions should adopt power plant tariffs if it has been determined through bidding or reject the application with reasons recorded in writing. It directs the commissions to issue tariff orders on commercial principles and keeping in view factors which encourage competition and optimum investments. The tariff fixation has to be guided by the National Electricity Policy and tariff policy.
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India may have cut interest rates thrice this year, but that's no respite for NBFCs which are facing crisis of confidence. Cost of funding for a majority of them may be set to jump with more rating downgrades in sight amid no bailout from the RBI.The Monetary Policy Committee of RBI has cut repo rate by 25 basis points last week and changes its stance on liquidity from neutral to accommodative."Due to risk aversion by larger market segment of investors class specially institutional side, credit spread for more leveraged ones and non AAA NBFC may widen and miss the advantage of rate cuts," said Ajay Manglunia MD and head institutional fixed income at JM Financial Products Limited.Post rate cut and change of stand from neutral to accommodative, the rates have rallied and yields down by 8-10 bps. This kind of rally may continue and gain moment in down side post budget with improvement in flows from foreign portfolio investors.RBI has assured of maintaining adequate system liquidity. With 21 basis points decline in the weighted average lending rate on fresh rupee loans since January, the central bank felt monetary policy transmission has been faster than earlier."A more focused approach is needed to address issues in NBFC and Housing Finance, failing which transmission of lower rates to end-borrowers may not happen fast enough," said Mihir Vora, director, Max Life Insurance.Though no specific measure was announced to provide immediate relief to the troubled NBFC sector, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said they will do whatever it takes to ensure financial stability of the system."Specific and targeted solutions to rescue these besieged sectors alone can stem the panic and stop a further contagion," said Ajay Bodke, CEO and Chief Portfolio Manager, Prabhudas Lilladher.
NEW DELHI: Friday's trade remained somewhat of consolidating nature as Nifty remained sideways for the entire session before ending with modest gains. After a flat start and a dip soon after that, the index recovered from its immediate support area in the 11,740-11,760 zone. The index pulled back from these levels and then traded sideways in a capped range and ended the day with a gain of 26.90 points (up 0.23 per cent).Monday's start can be slightly positive in nature as Nifty has bounced back from its short-term support. However, the broader technical setup suggests no sustainable upmove for the market apart from mild technical pullbacks that we might witness. 69712905 There are higher probabilities that if Nifty opens on a positive note, it may lose strength going ahead. The opening of the market on Monday and the trajectory that it takes during the day will be critical to determine the trend for the session.We expect Nifty to face resistance at 11,930 and 12,000 levels, while support should come in at 11,770 and 11,710 levels.Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the daily chart stands at 55.7669; it remains neutral and does not show any divergence against price. The daily MACD remains bullish, but it appears to be narrowing its trajectory.A Bullish Harami pattern has emerged on the candles. The present form of a Bullish Harami pattern is bearish in the current technical setup since this has formed during an uptrend. It potentially suggests the bears are gaining strengths as the bulls weaken.Pattern analysis shows Nifty is getting a full throwback after attempting to break out from the 11,740-11,760 range. It appears the index has fallen off from rising and narrowing wedge that it had formed after marking lifetime highs.As we approach Monday's trade, there are chances that some technical pullbacks may be seen initially. However, such technical pullback, if any, are likely to be deceptive and the market may remain vulnerable to profit taking at higher levels. F&O data suggests instead of any significant decline, the market may consolidate. However, they show no setup that would indicate any runaway upmoves in the market.(Milan Vaishnav, CMT, MSTA is Consultant Technical Analyst at Gemstone Equity Research & Advisory Services, Vadodara. He can be reached at milan.vaishnav@equityresearch.asia)
NEW DELHI: The truncated week gone by did not end well for the bulls on Dalal Street, with the benchmark indices finishing on a weak note. The DHFL crisis cast its shadow on the NBFCs and HFCs. Lack of commentary from the Reserve Bank of India on the liquidity woes plaguing the economy or any guidelines regarding the NBFC sector did little to nothing to dispel investor worries. The entire fiasco brewing at DHFL also put rating companies in limelight. Amid all this, Twitter was abuzz with top D-Street honchos discussing what RBI could have done differently and what investors should do now.Question mark over ratersIn a matter of one year, ratings on DHFL's long- and short-term papers have gone from AAA or A1+ to default. Sandip Sabharwal, an independent market expert, said there are serious issues with rating companies. He asked how valuable these ratings really are? DHFL was rated AAA on Long Term and A1+ on short term papers till last year Now they have cut it down to Default T… https://t.co/hXOmgWtt83— sandip sabharwal (@sandipsabharwal) 1559810343000 Amar Ambani, President, and Head of Research at YES Securities, said for rating companies it would be business as usual before the next crisis hits Street. Like I said before... For Rating agencies, it will be business-as-usual, till the next crisis hits. https://t.co/hdoqepCppp— Amar Ambani (@AmarAmbani) 1559880757000 The failure of DHFL to service interest payment on non-convertible debentures triggered a mandatory markdown by mutual funds holding its papers, causing net asset values of many debt schemes to tumble by up to 53 per cent in a single day. In the light of this development, Sabharwal said, "Debt fund managers are out to destroy the mutual fund industry due to their unnecessary exposure to over risky debt papers." He said risk-taking should be left to smallcap and midcap firms. Debt Fund Managers are out to destroy the Mutual Fund industry due to their unnecessary exposure to over risky debt… https://t.co/WJ9Giy2L6U— sandip sabharwal (@sandipsabharwal) 1559792154000 Sabharwal said the finance ministry must address the liquidity crisis in the NBFC sector and warned that like the IL&FS crisis, it can go out of hand much soon. The Finance Ministry needs to address the #NBFC liquidity issue upfront. @nsitharaman As during #ILFS time it can go out of hand very fast— sandip sabharwal (@sandipsabharwal) 1559811445000 The liquidity crisis has also raised a lot of questions on RBI. Sabharwal had a few suggestions for RBI and what it could have done differently, take a look: The problem of the Reserve Bank of India is that it has not learnt anything from the 2008 financial crisis In the f… https://t.co/FzJaJbW5vs— sandip sabharwal (@sandipsabharwal) 1559795625000 Instead of doing fancy swap transactions @rbi should just buy US Dollars from the markets and release liquidity int… https://t.co/OtXdYrI49O— sandip sabharwal (@sandipsabharwal) 1559552727000 Unlike in many developed economies where Monetary Policy has been unable to stimulate demand, in India lower rates… https://t.co/KS7TOnOA72— sandip sabharwal (@sandipsabharwal) 1559871771000 And now, it's time for some investment tips and stock market gyaan.Midcaps -- the next wealth creators? As markets stabilize around all time peaks Midcaps could outperform.....— sandip sabharwal (@sandipsabharwal) 1559621964000 Good news and good price together is a myth To outperform in markets always remember Good news and good price doesn't come together Good news and good price d… https://t.co/3Fs3oyoSEd— sandip sabharwal (@sandipsabharwal) 1559536615000 Ride the auto stocks? Two wheeler auto sales have stabilized Four wheeler should stabilize by next month Stocks are cheap..— sandip sabharwal (@sandipsabharwal) 1559534838000 How to befriend volatility During market turbulence, #investors often panic & contemplate discontinuing their SIPs as they fear erosion in the… https://t.co/qTGyx8IqIz— Arun Thukral (@arun_thukral) 1559539576000 Research, research and research To buy Rs. 20k mobile phone, one studies its specifications in detail & read reviews, etc. before making a decision… https://t.co/92uvgOOv6v— Arun Thukral (@arun_thukral) 1559646088000 Diversity: Key to maximising returns and minimising risks Just as a balanced diet is good for your health, a balanced allocation of assets in your portfolio is good for your… https://t.co/BWTxPNRQvG— Arun Thukral (@arun_thukral) 1559799926000 Lastly, Samir Arora explains the state of volatility in market. Broker to Client: It is a buying opportunity. Client: I thought you said it is a selling opportunity. Broker: That was 2 hours ago.— Samir Arora (@Iamsamirarora) 1559813074000
MUMBAI: Google is expanding its sales team in India as it looks to woo more enterprises to host applications on its cloud platform. The move comes as the search engine giant aggressively competes with rivals such as Microsoft's Azure and Amazon Web Services in the country.The push comes as Google sees traditional enterprises shifting their IT infrastructure towards the cloud to be agile and compete with Indian unicorns who have leveraged the pay-asyou-use model of hosting applications on the cloud. Google is also looking to tap the public cloud business in India.Rick Harshman, MD, Google Cloud, Apac, told ET that the company's expansion strategy in India would be driven by adoption of multi-cloud strategies by large companies and with a push of its new open cloud platform, Anthos. According to Harshman, large companies in India have increased the pace of transferring their onpremise applications to the cloud in the last 12-18 months. "The thing that really is driving the enterprises, in my personal opinion, is there's so much more competition now," he said. 69718671 "Its because cloud has been an enabler for so many of these unicorns on a global basis and here in India...You look at Ola, Byju's, Truecaller, Hike or Sharechat— none of these companies existed a few years ago and they are disrupting how traditional businesses work," Harshman said. "Cloud is enabling a democratisation of IT and great ideas to come to the forefront faster... Traditional enterprises (therefore) have to be innovative and agile."The company has been receiving the maximum investment to grow headcount among other Google product companies, he added. Google Cloud is going to triple its sales team in India and add two more centres to its Apac operations by the end of 2019. The firm also announced that it has slashed the prices of its cloud-skilling programmes for the Indian market. According to analysts, Google Cloud lags behind Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure in the global market.Harshman said the strategy to increase market share in India would be to address the needs of enterprises who are increasingly relying on multi-cloud strategies and to increase the penetration of its cloud-agnostic Anthos product."There's not one CEO, CIO or CFO that I talk to in India or anywhere else who is saying I am only going to work with one (cloud) provider. Crux for them is skilling up on each cloud provider's proprietary APIs, tech stack and that takes a long time and can be costly. This is where we think Anthos will be a differentiator," he said.
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