The Boston Globe - 19.08.2019

A4 The Boston Globe MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2019

The World

BEIRUT — A Gibraltar court

rejected a US attempt to seize

an Iranian oil tanker on Sun-

day, clearing the way for the

ship to resume its journey in

the Mediterranean under the

Iranian flag and with a new

name.

The Grace 1 supertanker, re-

named the Adrian Darya 1, has

been anchored off Gibraltar

since it was intercepted by the

British navy on July 4 on the

grounds that it was carrying oil

to Syria in violation of Europe-

an Union sanctions.

Authorities in Gibraltar lift-

ed the detention order last

week after Britain, the nation

that rules the territory, received

assurances from Iran that the

tanker would not take its cargo

of 2.1 million barrels of oil to

Syria.

But late Friday, the United

States intervened, issuing a

warrant for the seizure of the

ship and its cargo, claiming it

was violating not only US sanc-

tions against Syria but also

those against Iran.

The Gibraltar court ruled

that the American sanctions on

Iran do not apply in the Euro-

pean Union.

WASHINGTON POST

Gibraltarwon’tletUSseizetanker

DUBAI,UnitedArabEmir-

ates — Iran appears to be pre-

paring another satellite launch

after twice failing this year to

put one in orbit, despite US ac-

cusations that the Islamic Re-

public’s program helps it devel-

op ballistic missiles.

Satellite images of the Imam

Khomeini Space Center in

Iran’s Semnan province this

month show increased activity

at the site, as heightened ten-

sions persist between Washing-

ton and Tehran over its collaps-

ing nuclear deal with world

powers.

While Iran routinely only

announces such launches after

the fact, that activity coupled

with an official saying a satel-

lite would soon be handed over

to the country’s Defense Minis-

try suggests the attempt will be

coming soon.

Iranian satellite launches

had been anticipated before the

end of the year.

In July, Iran’s Information

and Communications Technol-

ogy Minister Mohammad Javad

Azari Jahromi said that Tehran

planned three more launches

this year, two for satellites that

do remote-sensing work and

another that handles commu-

nications.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ImagesshowIransatellitelaunchlooms

PARIS — Police in France

are hunting for a customer ac-

cused of fatally shooting a wait-

er at a restaurant near Paris be-

cause, witnesses said, he was

upset over the wait for his

sandwich.

The killing took place Friday

around 9:15 p.m. at a pizza and

sandwich restaurant named Le

Mistral in Noisy-Le-Grand, east

of Paris, police said. The cus-

tomer, who has not been identi-

fied, had been waiting several

minutes for a sandwich — it

wasunclearwhatkind—and

became angry because he

thought it had not been pre-

pared quickly enough, restau-

rant employees and other wit-

nesses told local news media.

The man insulted the 28-

year-old waiter before produc-

ing a 9mm handgun, shooting

and seriously wounding him in

the shoulder, according to the

news network BFMTV. Col-

leagues who witnessed the

shooting called police. Para-

medics were unable to revive

the waiter.

He was pronounced dead at

the scene.

NEW YORK TIMES

Frenchwaitershotoverslowservice

MADRID — Around 4,

people were evacuated Sunday

because of wildfires that, for

the second time in a week, rav-

aged the countryside of one of

Spain’s Canary Islands.

Thelatestblazebrokeout

on Saturday afternoon near the

town of Valleseco on Gran Ca-

naria island in the Atlantic

Ocean archipelago.

By Sunday afternoon, the

fire had taken two different di-

rections, burning more than

4,200 acres as it continued ad-

vancing, the provincial govern-

ment said in a series of tweets.

Nine helicopters and two

planes were aiding at least 600

people including firefighters

and army emergency personnel

who were working in shifts to

tackle the blaze.

Officials described the fire

as having ‘‘great potential’’ to

spread. The island was experi-

encing temperatures near 104

degrees Fahrenheit, humidity

levels below 30 percent, and

strong winds, which provide

what experts call the ‘‘perfect

storm’’ for virulent wildfires.

Evacuations extended to at

least 40 towns in the vicinity of

Valleseco.Atleast3,700acres

of field and low forest burned

in the same area last week.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

4,000fleefireintheCanaryIslands

JERUSALEM — Feminist

icon Gloria Steinem has called

Israel’s prime minister a ‘‘bully’’

and says she won’t visit as long

as he remains the country’s

leader.

In a statement posted online

Saturday, she said Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s

decision to bar a visit by two

Democratic congresswomen

was ‘‘a welcome sign that I nev-

er have to enter any country or

place under your authority.’’

At the urging of President

Trump, Israel denied entry to

US Representatives Rashida

Tlaib and Ilhan Omar last week

over their support for the Pales-

tinian-led boycott movement.

The two are outspoken critics

of Trump and of Israel’s treat-

ment of the Palestinians.

‘‘I know that Donald Trump,

the accidental occupant of the

White House, is drawn to suc-

cessful bullies,’’ Steinem wrote,

addressing Netanyahu. ‘‘If you

and Trump continue to imitate

each other, you will eventually

be alone together at the table. I

could wish both of you no

greater punishment than that.’’

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SteinemblastsIsraelileaderoverban

Daily Briefing

By Austin Ramzy
and Raymond Zhong
NEW YORK TIMES
HONG KONG — A sea of
Hong Kong protesters marched
through the dense city center in
the pouring rain Sunday, defy-
ing a police ban, in a vivid dis-
play of the movement’s con-
tinuing strength after more
than two months of demonstra-
tions, days of ugly violence, and
increasingly vehement warn-
ings from the Chinese govern-
ment.
People began assembling in
the early afternoon in Victoria
Park, the starting point of huge
peaceful marches in June that
were joined by hundreds of
thousands of protesters. The
police approved the Sunday ral-
ly, but objected to plans to
march to the Central district,
citing clashes that had occurred
after previous events. But pro-
testers marched anyway.
By midafternoon, the park
had filled with tens of thou-
sands of people, and the dem-
onstrators began to spill into
nearby roads. Protesters hold-
ing signs jammed a multilane
main road in the Causeway Bay
shopping district, stopping traf-
fic and forcing trams to slow to
a crawl. The crowd inched to-
ward the park amid heavy rain,
shouting, “People of Hong
Kong, keep fighting.”
Organizers estimated at
least 1.7 million people had
turned out — nearly 1 in 4 of
the total population of more
than 7 million — making it the
second-largest march of the
movement, after a protest by
nearly 2 million June 16.
The Hong Kong police re-
leased a far lower crowd esti-
mate, saying there were
128,000 protesters in Victoria
Park during the peak period.
But when the march
reached the government head-
quarters in the Admiralty dis-
trict, the line of people behind
stretched nearly 2 miles, with
large crowds still waiting to
leave the park.
“I came here for the future of
Hong Kong and the next gener-
ation of Hong Kong. The gov-
ernment has not responded to
our demands,” said Amy Bau,
41, a sign language teacher. “I
have come out to march many
times, and I will keep coming
out if the government contin-
ues to not answer us.”
Joyce Man, a 26-year-old
clerk, said she had joined de-
spite her worries about the mili-
tary being called upon to quell
protests.
“I still think my showing up
is my responsibility,” she said.

“The more people in the street

today, the safer Hong Kong peo-

ple are. There’s strength when

people unite.”

Roads and sidewalks across

Hong Kong Island were filled

with people on the march or

trying to make their way to the

start. Many subway trains

skipped stops near the start, cit-

ing the large crowds, and traffic

was snarled across many neigh-

borhoods.

The march was peaceful

throughout the day, following

several days of relative quiet

and no use of tear gas by the po-

lice over the weekend.

Lawrence and Season Lee

were marching on a highway

with their 3-year-old daughter,

who tottered along in pink ga-

loshes. Lawrence Lee said he

knew that violence was always

a possibility with the protests,

but he felt Sunday’s march was

too important to miss.

“We can’t take it anymore,”

he said. “The government

hasn’t given any response.”

The turnout was being close-

ly watched as a gauge of public

sentiment after several tumul-

tuous days. One week ago, riot

police officers fired tear gas in

one subway station and chased

protesters down an escalator in

another. At the Hong Kong air-

port, days of sit-ins swelled to

fill the main terminal, forcing

the cancellation of hundreds of

flights.

The situation at the airport

took a violent turn Tuesday

when protesters surrounded

two men from mainland China,

including one identified as a

state media journalist, binding

them and hitting them. That

abuse provoked widespread

condemnation from China and

apologies from protesters.

In recent days, the protests

have quieted somewhat. The

airport limited terminal access

to passengers, halting demon-

strations there. On Saturday,

when protests were held at sev-

eral places across the city, riot

police officers chased off a few

hundred black-clad demonstra-

tors who had surrounded a sta-

tion, but did not fire tear gas.

The authorities later said a po-

lice officer had fired a bean bag

round at a person who had

thrown a trash can and other

items at a police vehicle in the

Mong Kok district.

Entering the weekend, the

repeated call among protesters

was to prepare to rally Sunday.

The protests began in June

over a Hong Kong government

proposal that would have al-

lowed extraditions to mainland

China. That legislation has

been shelved, though not com-

pletely withdrawn, and the de-

mands of the protesters have

grown to include expanded di-

rect elections and amnesty for

arrested protesters. Many pro-

testers have complained about

the use of force by the police

and have accused the authori-

ties of not aggressively investi-

gating thugs who have attacked

demonstrators.

“This protest started be-

cause we didn’t agree with a

government policy, but as time

went on, we discovered many

bad things about the police and

the criminals and other things

that make us want to speak up,”

said Paul Lam, 25.

The Civil Human Rights

Front, the group that organized

the gathering, issued a long

statement criticizing what it

called “Chinese-style repres-

sion” by the Hong Kong police,

and called for top officers to

step down.

“Today’s assembly continues

the will of the 2 million people

who marched on June 16

against brutality,” it said. “We

want to gather the most Hong

Kongers, and, using peaceful,

rational, and nonviolent

means, unite in spirit and ac-

tion to express our indignation

against police brutality, as well

as display Hong Kongers’ firm

resolve.”

The Hong Kong government

responded that, over the past

two months, police had faced

protesters who blocked roads,

vandalized public facilities, set

fires, and attacked officers with

gasoline bombs and bricks.

“The police have been han-

dling these illegal acts with tol-

erance,” the government said in

a statement. “Only when they

were violently attacked and left

with no choice did the police

use minimum force to disperse

protesters in order to restore

social order.”

The Chinese government

has criticized the protests in

strong terms, calling the airport

violence “close to terrorism”

and warning that the military

could be called in. Paramilitary

police have gathered for drills

in the nearby city of Shenzhen,

and a video carried by state me-

dia late Saturday showed hun-

dreds of riot police officers with

shields and batons charging at

men dressed in black.

Ivan Choy, a senior lecturer

in the department of govern-

ment and public administra-

tion at the Chinese University

of Hong Kong, said the large

turnout showed the criticism

from mainland officials and the

displays of force had had little

effect.

“The harsh lines and tough

political positions of Chinese of-

ficials have not helped stop the

movement,” he said. “People

keep coming out to express

their grievances with the Hong

Kong government and police.”

In cities around the world,

including London, Toronto,

Sydney, Melbourne, and New

York, protesters took to the

streets Saturday to show sup-

port for the planned demon-

stration in Hong Kong. One ac-

tivist and organizer in New

York estimated at least 40 cities

had planned similar rallies.

In Melbourne, Australia’s

second-largest city, scuffles

broke out between Hong Kong

protesters and pro-Beijing

groups. And in Sydney, sup-

porters of the Chinese govern-

ment denounced the Hong

Kong democracy movement

and shouted profanities at a

handful of counterprotesters.

In New York, hundreds of

people dressed in black, includ-

ing Alvin Yeung, a Hong Kong

lawmaker, and Nathan Law, a

prominent activist, gathered in

Chinatown for a rally.

At one point, demonstrators

put their hands over their right

eyes to show support for a

woman in Hong Kong who was

hit in the eye with a projectile

during clashes with the police.

Across the street, a smaller

group of pro-China protesters

waved flags and chanted na-

tionalist slogans.

Yeung, a vocal critic of the

Hong Kong government, said it

was important for people

around the world to support

the Hong Kong protesters.

“Hope is the only thing we

have,” he said.

Demonstrators defy police ban

in show of strength after strife

Largely peaceful

Hong Kong rally

draws 1.7 million

APPLE DAILY/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Protesters gathered for a rally at Victoria Park in Hong Kong before marching into the city’s Central district on Sunday.

VINCENT THIAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS

A protester held up a sign to encourage others to leave the

area near the Chinese Liaison Office in Hong Kong Sunday.

MARCOS MORENO/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Renamed the Adrian Darya, an Iranian tanker sailed in the

waters in the British territory of Gibraltar on Sunday.