The Boston Globe - 06.08.2019

TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2019 The Boston Globe A

SYDNEY— Australian offi-
cials confirmed Monday that
theircountry will not be used
as a base for any planned US
mid-range missilesfollowing
talks with Americanofficials
in Sydney.
US DefenseSecretary Mark
Esper said at last weekend’s
meetingsthat he wantedto
deploy intermediate range
conventionalmissilesat vari-
ous Asia-Pacific sites within
months.
The movefollows the
Trump administration’s with-
drawal from a Cold War-era
arms control treaty with Rus-
sia. It also comesin the wake
of Chinese military expansion
in the Asia-Pacific,and is like-
ly to anger Beijing.
Australian Defense Minis-
ter Linda Reynoldssaid Mon-
day that while the locations
for the missilebases werenot
yet known,Australia would
not be one of them.
She said Espermadeno
such request, and no such re-

quest was expected fromthe

United States.

Prime Minister Scott Mor-

risonlater echoedReynolds’

comments. ‘‘It’s not being con-

sidered,’’ Morrison told report-

ers in Brisbane on Monday.

The step comesafter the

Intermediate-range Nuclear

Forces Treaty — signedby the

United States and Russia in

1987 — expired Friday.

The United States says it

plans to begin testing new

missiles that wouldhave been

prohibitedunderthe accord.

‘‘We now are free to devel-

op that range of weapons...

that had not been availableto

us,’’ Espertold reporters be-

fore the weekend meetings.

The US missile ambitions

in the regionraise the possi-

bility of an armsrace with

China, whichwouldleave

Australia in a difficult position

between its most important

security ally and its largest

trading partner.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

Australia won’thost USmissilesite

CAIRO — A car packed

with explosives detonated in

downtown Cairo on Monday,

killing at least 20 and injuring

47, Egypt’s Interior Ministry

said. It was the highest terror-

ism-related death toll in the

capital in more than two

years.

The government initially

said the early-morning blast

was causedby the collisionof

four cars.But later in the day,

the Interior Ministry said the

explosives-filled car was actu-

ally on its way to commit an

attack in another part of the

capital.

‘‘The technical inspection

also indicated that the vehicle

contained explosives that

caused the blast whenthe car

collidedwith the othercars,’’

the ministry said in a state-

ment. ‘‘It is estimated that the

car was being driven to a

place to be usedin carrying

out a terrorist operation else-

where.’’

The statementadded that

the car was stolen a few

months ago from the province

of Menufia, 55 miles north of

Cairo.

No group immediately

claimed responsibility for the

blast. But Egyptian authori-

ties were quick to blame

Hasm, a militantgroup that

emerged three years ago and

has claimed several attacks.

Egypt accuses Hasm of being

the militant arm of the

banned Muslim Brotherhood.

The Islamist movement, once

a political force, has denied

the allegations.

The blast started a fire

that triggered the partial evac-

uation of the National Cancer

Institute, the capital’s main

cancer hospital, accordingto

Egypt’s Health Ministry.

WASHINGTON POST

Explosives-packed carkills 20in Egypt

PARIS — Environmental
groups and one of France’s
largest labor unions called
Monday for a containment
shieldand other safety mea-
sures to ensure decontamina-
tion work at Notre Dame
Cathedral does not expose
workers and residents to un-
safe levels of lead.
The Paris regional admin-
istration suspended the job of
removing hazardous sub-
stances fromthe fire-ravaged
Paris cathedral last month un-
der pressure from labor in-
spectors concernedabout
health risksfor workers.
The administration had
said that whenthe lead-re-
moval work resumed,stricter
safety procedures, new equip-
ment and allowingmuch few-
er workers insideat a time
would ‘‘prevent any release of
polluting elements to the out-
side.’’
But representatives from
environmental groups and the

CGT union said at a news con-

ference Monday they don’t

think the government safe-

guardsgo far enough.

They asked for a regularly

updated chart showingthe

level of lead in the air. Labor

and environmental groups are

also pushing for the creation

of a medical center to monitor

firefighters, workers, and resi-

dents.

Paris Deputy Mayor Anne

Souyris said updated mea-

surements of lead levels are

set for release on Tuesday.

The decontamination work

is scheduled to resume

Wednesday, starting with the

square in front of Notre Dame

and adjacent streets, Souyris

said.

Hundreds of tons of lead

that was in Notre Dame’s spire

and roof melted during the

April 15 fire, which came

close to destroying the cathe-

dral.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Notre Dame leadcleanup at issue

Daily Briefing

TheWorld

BOGOTÁ — Venezuelan

migrant Wuendy Villamizar

fled Venezuela by foot while

seven months pregnant to en-

sure she gave birth in Colom-

bia.

Her infant son was born

healthy at a border hospital

earlier this year but has gone

without one of the most basic

human rights: citizenship.

That changed Monday,

when President Iván Duque

announced that his govern-

ment will grant citizenship to

morethan 24,000 babies like

Santiago Josue who were born

to Venezuelan parents in

Colombia and are at risk of

statelessness.

The 26-year-old mother of

threeis still overwhelmed try-

ing to providefor her family

while livingin Colombia with-

out any legal status herself, but

knowing that her youngest

will be entitled to the same

rightsas any other citizen

cameas a relief.

Duque hailed the resolu-

tion as a sign of solidarity with

the hundreds of thousandsof

Venezuelans who continue to

flee a political and economic

crisis. More than 1.4 million

Venezuelans are now residing

in the neighboringAndeanna-

tion, more than in any other

country.

Under the new framework,

childrenborn to Venezuelan

parents in Colombia as of Aug.

19, 2015,will have the right to

citizenship.The measureis

slated to be in effect for two

years.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Colombia naturalizes Ve nezuelantots

ByJeffrey Gettleman

and Sameer Yasir

NEWYORKTIMES

NEW DELHI— The Indian

government said Monday it

was revoking a constitutional

provision that had for decades

given a unique degree of au-

tonomy to Kashmir, a disputed

mountainous region alongthe

India-Pakistan border.

In anticipation of the an-

nouncement, whichmany ana-

lysts predicted could set off ri-

otingand unrest, India flooded

Kashmirwith thousandsof ex-

tra troops. It also evacuated

tourists, closed schools,and

cut off Internet service.

For many years, Kashmir

has beengoverneddifferently

than otherparts of India, and

the government’s decision to

revoke parts of Article 370 of

the constitution is widely seen

as a blow to Kashmir’s special

status. India’s governing

Bharatiya Janata Party has

deeprootsin a Hindu nation-

alist ideology, and one of its

campaignpromisesduringthe

election this year had been re-

movingthe specialstatus of

Kashmir, which is predomi-

nantlyMuslim.

“Today the BJP has mur-

dered the Constitution of In-

dia,” said Ghulam Nabi Azad, a

leader of the IndianNational

Congress, an opposition party.

The Indian governmental-

so said it would support a par-

liamentary bill to split the state

of Jammuand Kashmir, which

includes the Kashmir Valley,

into two federal territories —

Jammuand Kashmir, which

will have a state legislature,

and Ladakh, a remote,high-al-

titude territory, which will be

without a legislature.

A sense of panichas spread

across Kashmiras millions of

residentswoke up Monday to

deserted streets. Relatives of

Kashmiris who could be

reached by phonesaid that

many peoplewerefearful

about stepping outside and

werewaiting in their homes

for news about what was going

to happennext.

Many Kashmirishad feared

that the Indian government,

led by Prime Minister Naren-

dra Modi, would either remove

theirregion’s special status or

turnKashmirinto a federally

ruled territory.

Separatist groups, includ-

ing some that are armedand

maintain links to neighboring

Pakistan, have beenchafing for

independence fromIndia for

years.Analysts say that any

steps that reduceKashmir’s

autonomy coulddemoralize

the Kashmirpublic further

and provoke an outburst of vi-

olence.

The Pakistani Foreign Min-

istry condemnedthe Indian

announcementas a violation

of United Nations resolutions,

saying in a statement Monday

that “Pakistan will exercise all

possible optionsto counterthe

illegal steps.”

Fears of unrest rise

after India revokes

Kashmir autonomy

Troopsin place

as schoolsclose,

servicesarecut

ByAustin Ramzy
and Mike Ives
NEWYORK TIMES
HONGKONG — Antigov-
ernmentprotesters mounted
their fiercest challenge to au-
thoritiesMonday, disrupting
more than200 airlineflights,
occupyingmalls,and blocking
roadways and rail lines to snarl
the commute for hundreds of
thousandsof workers.
The protesters calledfor a
general strike in an effort to
halt daily life across the semiau-
tonomousChinese territory,
wielding a potentially powerful
new tool in theirweekslong
campaign against the Hong
Kong government.
Hong Kong’s values of effi-
ciency, hardwork, and, increas-
ingly, a dedicationto public
protest are colliding as protest-
ers fromacross society test the
limitsof the city’s policeforce.
Officers Monday firedtear gas
nearshopping malls and resi-
dential areasand arrested at
least 82 people,while the city’s
leader warned that efforts to
“toppleHong Kong” could de-
stroy livelihoods and pushthe
city “to the verge of a very dan-
gerous situation.”
Mondaywasthelastofthree
consecutive days of large-scale
civil disobedience intendedto
increase pressure on the gov-
ernment as it confrontsHong
Kong’s worst political crisis
since 1997, when it was re-
turned to Chinese rule after
morethan150 yearsas a Brit-
ish colony.
Many protesters said they
felt they had no choice but to
escalate their actions after the
government was unswayed by
peaceful marchesin June that

organizers said drew as many

as 2 million people.

The protests began nearly

two months ago in response to

legislation, since suspended,

that wouldallowcriminalsus-

pects to be extradited to main-

landChina, wherethe courts

are controlledby the governing

Communist Party. The move-

ment, which has been driven by

longstanding fears of deterio-

rating freedoms underBeijing’s

rule, has expanded to include a

variety of grievances, including

the stalled expansion of direct

elections and accusations of ex-

cessive force by police.

It was unclear howmany

people heeded the call to strike.

But protesters beganthe day by

blockingroadsand train doors

using flash-mob-style tactics,

while more than 200 flights at

the city’s internationalairport

were canceled as large numbers

of air traffic controllerscalled

in sick.

Mass rallieswereheldat

more than half a dozen sites, in-

cluding outside the government

headquarters on Hong Kong’s

mainisland.Officers firedtear

gas at several locationsacross

the city.

Later in the evening, pro-

testers in the North Point

neighborhood on eastern Hong

Kong Islandwere briefly at-

tacked by menwearing white

shirts and wieldingsticks in a

scenereminiscentof July 21,

when a pro-Beijing mobbeat

protesters and bystandersin

the satellite town of Yuen Long.

Sincethe protests began in

earlyJune, police have arrested

420 people and fired 1,

rounds of tear gas, a spokesman

said Monday.

That is significantlymore

than duringHong Kong’s last

sustained protest movement in

2014,whenthe use of tear gas

against pro-democracy demon-

strators galvanized the public

in support of a sit-in that lasted

79 days. Police fired a total of

87 tear gas canisters thenand

only on that first night.

In recent weeks, the protest-

ers’ anger has largely shifted to

focus on the scale and intensity

of the policeresponse,and

Monday they surrounded and

vandalizedseveral policesta-

tions, setting firesoutsideat

leasttwoofthem.Supporters

say police have regularly shown

restraint.

Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s

chief executive, warned Mon-

day morning in her first public

remarks in two weeksthat the

city “has become unsafeand

unstable”and that “a seriesof

extremely violent acts are push-

ing Hong Kong into very pre-

carious circumstances.”

Lam accusedprotesters of

challenging Chinese sovereign-

ty over Hong Kong, citinga slo-

gan some of them chanted that

is associated withan impris-

onedactivist who at one point

advocated Hong Kong indepen-

dence.

“They wantto topple Hong

Kong, to thoroughlydestroy the

livelihoods that 7 millionpeo-

ple cherish,” she said.

Lam is underpressurefrom

China’s central governmentto

bringthe protests undercon-

trol, and the Chinese military

hintedlast month that it could

be calledin to restore order.

The Hong Kong government

has repeatedlydenied plans to

make any such request.

The response by Hong Kong

officials to the strike Monday

“was a disaster,” said Antony

Dapiran, a Hong Kong-based

lawyerand authorof a book

aboutdissentin Hong Kong.

“They cameout with a fairly

hard line, no concessions, noth-

ing new.”

Lam even facedcriticism

fromestablishment lawmakers.

She “raisedmany questions at

the news conference, but where

are the solutions?” Ann Chiang,

a lawmaker fromHong Kong’s

largest pro-Beijing party, the

Democratic Alliancefor the

Betterment of Hong Kong,

wrote on Facebook. “Disap-

pointing!!!”

Strike sinks Hong Kong into chaos, uncertainty

Protests disrupt

daily life across

city of 7 million

BILLY H.C. KWOK/GETTY IMAGES

Protesterswearingfacemasksfacedoff against policeandtheirteargasin HongKong’s WongTai Sindistrict onMonday.

AFP/GETTYIMAGES

Activists protestedMonday

in Bangalore,India,after

thegovernmentscrapped

Kashmir’s specialstatus.

FERNANDO VERGARA/AP/FILE

In May, a 2-month-oldhad

printsof herfeet takenfor

herbirth certificate at a

hospitalin Colombia.