The Wall Street Journal - 30.07.2019

A18| Tuesday, July 30, 2019 **** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

MUMBAI—India’s Prime

Minister Narendra Modi, who

was re-elected in a landslide

victory this spring, has been

getting survival tips from one

of the world’s most famous

survivalists, Bear Grylls.

Mr. Modi is set to appear

alongside the British adven-

turer in India’s wilderness on

an episode of the Discovery

Channel’s “Man vs. Wild,” a

trailer shows.

The trailer promises to

show Mr. Modi’s outdoor

skills, but it also reveals how

far the Indian prime minister

is willing to go to connect

with India’s young and media-

savvy population.

“Watch this dynamic duo,”

the voice-over says as Mr.

Grylls strides ahead of Mr.

WORLDWATCH

BRAZIL

Prison Fight Kills 57,

Many Beheaded

A gang fight in a prison in

Brazil’s Para state left at least

57 dead, many by decapitation

or asphyxiation, adding to a

string of gruesome clashes in

the country’s overloaded prison

system as the government

struggles to fight rampant crime.

The violence started Monday

when members of one of the

prison’s two leading gangs broke

into a shipping container modi-

fied to hold members of a rival

gang. The attackers beheaded 16

of their enemies before setting

the place on fire, officials said.

The fire spread, killing the re-

mainder, said Jarbas Vasconcelos,

head of the Para prison system.

“We don’t have all the bodies

yet because [the container] re-

mains too hot,” he said.

—Paulo Trevisani

RUSSIA

Opposition Leader

Sent Back to Jail

Russian opposition leader

Alexei Navalny was discharged

from a hospital where he was

being treated for a mysterious

illness and returned to jail to fin-

ish serving a 30-day sentence

for organizing unauthorized pro-

tests, as supporters said he may

have been poisoned.

A doctor confirmed the Krem-

lin critic was discharged even

though “the results of his analy-

sis were still not ready,” Mr. Na-

valny’s spokeswoman, Kira

Yarmysh, said in a tweet.

Mr. Navalny, 43 years old,

was admitted to a hospital on

Sunday after suffering an “acute

allergic reaction, severe swelling

of the face and redness of the

skin,” according to Ms. Yarmysh.

On his blog Monday evening,

Mr. Navalny recounted the

events leading up to his hospi-

talization. The activist wrote

that he awoke during the night,

his face, ears and neck burning.

During a walk, his cellmates

noticed that he had a red neck

and he soon began to feel his

forehead and the skin around his

eyes burning, Mr. Navalny re-

counted. He thought he had

been poisoned, he said, noting

that he had never suffered from

any allergies.

Anastasia Vasilyeva, a doctor

who has previously treated Mr.

Navalny and visited him on

Monday, wrote on Facebook that

his condition might have been

caused by poisoning.

Mr. Navalny’s lawyer, Olga

Mikhailova, told reporters Mon-

day that her client was “really

poisoned by some unknown

chemical substance.”

Officials at the Ministry of In-

ternal Affairs couldn’t be

reached for comment.

—Ann M. Simmons

FRANCE

Group Sues Over

Notre Dame Fire

A French group has filed a

lawsuit over potential public-

health threats from lead that

was released into the environ-

ment during Notre Dame Cathe-

dral’s devastating fire.

Hundreds of tons of toxic

lead in Notre Dame’s spire and

roof melted during the April fire.

Exceptionally high levels of lead

later were detected in the sur-

rounding air.

French environmental-protec-

tion group Robin des Bois said it

brought the lawsuit on grounds

of deliberately endangering hu-

man life. The group alleged Paris

officials should have immediately

taken measures to protect the

public.

The suit doesn’t name spe-

cific individuals as defendants.

Paris City Hall didn’t com-

ment.

Paris officials have ordered

local schools cleaned, and health

authorities recommended blood

tests for children and pregnant

women who live near Notre

Dame.

Three French charities and

the country’s culture minister

signed an agreement on Monday

ensuring transparency in how

donations to rebuild the cathe-

dral are used. About $946 mil-

lion has poured from around the

world.

—Associated Press

RUIN: The death toll from an attack in Kabul on the office of the

Afghan president’s running mate rose to at least 20 Monday, an

official said. Above, a residential building damaged in the attack.

HEDAYATULLAH AMID/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

Modi in a field. In another

shot, Messrs. Modi and Grylls

drift on a river in what looks

like a makeshift boat.

“You are the most impor-

tant man in India, my job is to

keep you alive,” Mr. Grylls

tells Mr. Modi as the pair bind

what looks like a spear in the

jungle. Later, Mr. Grylls wraps

Mr. Modi—who is wearing a

green safari baseball cap—in a

green waterproof jacket.

The show, which will be

broadcast Aug. 12, seeks to

raise awareness about the en-

vironment.

Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata

Party has been ahead of the

curve in promoting his public

image. He has a Twitter fol-

lowing of almost 49 million

and broadcasts regular “From

the Heart” radio addresses.

The show will be broadcast

across 180 countries, Mr.

Grylls wrote on Twitter.

This latest effort sees Mr.

Modi in the northern state of

Uttarakhand with Mr. Grylls,

who in 2015 filmed an episode

of another survival show with

President Obama in Alaska.

Mr. Modi’s episode was shot

in around six hours on Feb. 14

at Jim Corbett National Park, a

government official familiar

with the matter said. In the

episode, Mr. Modi shared his

experiences of wildlife and

survival, the official said.

“India- where you find lush

green forests, diverse wildlife,

beautiful mountains and

mighty rivers. Watching this

programme will make you

want to visit different parts of

India and add to discourse of

environmental conservation,”

a tweet on Mr. Modi’s verified

Twitter account said.

Mr. Modi has promised to

safeguard India’s environment

amid rising air pollution and

urbanization. He has promoted

solar power and urged a bal-

ance between development

and the environment.

Earlier Monday, he said the

country is in the midst of a ti-

ger cub boom. It is now home

to almost 3,000 tigers and the

country had completed a

pledge to double its tiger pop-

ulation four years ahead of

deadline.

“Let us all pledge to create

a green and environmentally

sustainable country,” he said

in a speech Monday. “Let the

tiger be that symbol of sus-

tainability.”

Despite being filmed hold-

ing a spear, Mr. Modi, who is a

vegetarian, didn’t kill any-

thing, the official said, and in-

stead ended the shoot with In-

dian snacks and tea.

BYCORINNEABRAMS

ANDRAJESHROY

Modi Takes On the Great Outdoors

calls for democratic and elec-

toral reforms and a halt to po-

lice violence.

Beijing’s immediate options

are limited, said Adam Ni, a

China researcher at Macquarie

University in Sydney. “Beijing

just doesn’t have any simple

short-term answers to the cur-

rent impasse,” he said. “Heavy-

handed responses will likely

backfire, but responses that are

perceived to be weak may pro-

voke more resistance.”

Beijing on Monday high-

lighted some of Mrs. Lam’s per-

ceived failures.

“We have noted that the

special region’s government

has already done some serious

summary and reflection,” said

Xu Luying, a spokeswoman for

the affairs office. Ms. Xu cited

Mrs. Lam as saying she would

“change the administrative

style, and listen to public opin-

ion more openly and inclu-

sively.” The Hong Kong chief

executive hasn’t publicly held

discussions with opposition

groups.

China has yet to acknowl-

edge the deep-seated opposi-

tion among many in Hong Kong

to the mainland’s political sys-

tem, with the official line that

those opposed are a minority

of radicals. Ms. Xu on Monday

cast it as an economic issue,

and said Beijing would work to

help young people improve

their livelihoods.

WORLD NEWS

omy and a trade conflict with

the U.S. Beijing sought Monday

again to portray the Hong Kong

unrest, now in its eighth

straight weekend, as the prod-

uct of meddling by “external

forces.”

The statements came a day

after Hong Kong police and

protesters clashed Sunday, this

time near the city’s financial

district. Officers used tear gas,

riot shields and nonlethal pro-

jectiles to contain thousands of

protesters, many wearing black

clothes and yellow hard hats.

At least 49 people were ar-

rested, police said, as authori-

ties took more aggressive mea-

sures to quell the unrest. Some

protesters also experimented

with more dangerous tactics,

including setting small fires in

occupied roadways.

The protests were sparked

by a proposed extradition law

that would have made it easier

for people in Hong Kong to be

sent for trial in mainland

China. The Hong Kong govern-

ment last month suspended the

proposed law in response to

the public outcry—a move en-

dorsed by Beijing—in a rare re-

versal for President Xi Jinping.

It did little to quell protest-

ers’ anger over the broader is-

sue of Beijing’s encroachments

on civil liberties in the city.

Their demands now include

There are increasing signs of

distress from the business com-

munity. On Monday, the Ameri-

can Chamber of Commerce in

Hong Kong joined calls for au-

thorities to formally withdraw

the extradition bill and form an

independent committee to ex-

amine all aspects of the unrest.

The Hong Kong and Macau

Affairs Office news conference

was accompanied by a fresh

stream of mainland media re-

ports condemning the protester

violence. After originally cen-

soring information about the

Hong Kong demonstrations,

Beijing switched tactics in the

past week, using state media to

fan public anger against the

protests.

Beijing also has escalated its

rhetoric, with officials warning

last week that some Hong Kong

protesters had “touched the

bottom line.”

Policy experts say China is

unlikely to deploy troops in

Hong Kong, as it would reflect

a breakdown in Beijing’s 22-

year governance system for the

city. However, a Defense Minis-

try spokesman said last week

military intervention was an

option under Hong Kong’s Gar-

rison Law, if requested by the

city’s government.

—Lekai Liu, Natasha Khan

and Chuin-Wei Yap

contributed to this article.

BEIJING—China’s top office

for Hong Kong affairs endorsed

the territory’s leader and the

police’s handling of violent

clashes with protesters, signal-

ing that Beijing is unlikely to

yield concessions as it pres-

sures the semiautonomous city

to quell the unrest.

Yang Guang, a spokesman

for the Hong Kong and Macau

Affairs Office of the State

Council, on Monday gave tacit

support for the city’s authori-

ties to ramp up efforts to re-

solve the standoff—making it

clear that the onus for ending

it remains with Chief Executive

Carrie Lam.

“The most important thing

at present is to punish violence

and uphold the rule of law,”

said Mr. Yang. He declined to

directly discuss the possibility

of sending mainland troops to

the city, an unpalatable option

for China.

The Hong Kong protests

have become an international

embarrassment for China as it

wrestles with a slowing econ-

BYEVADOU

Beijing Presses Hong Kong to Curb Unrest

Official backs police

and chief executive,

leaving it to territory

to stifle protests

Yang Guang of China’s Hong Kong affairs office stressed on Monday the need to punish violence.

WANG ZHAO/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

China’s “coercion and intimida-

tion” of countries in the region

and said attempts to prevent

nations from joining was desta-

bilizing.

China has asserted owner-

ship of swaths of the South

China Sea—U.S. officials say

this is a violation of

international law—and has in-

terfered with Vietnamese devel-

opment plans. Vessels from

China and Vietnam’s coast

guards have patrolled the area

in recent weeks.

The U.S. and its allies have

stepped up joint exercises in the

South China Sea and elsewhere

in the region in a bid to counter

China’s projection of power.

In addition, China has signed

a deal with Cambodia for exclu-

sive rights to a major naval

base in that country.

Rep. Eliot Engel (D., N.Y.),

chairman of the House Foreign

Affairs Committee, last week

called China’s actions “a dis-

turbing demonstration of a

country openly flouting inter-

national law.”

At the Asia-Pacific gather-

ings, Mr. Pompeo could attempt

to broker a deal between Japan

and South Korea, two U.S. allies

that are embroiled in a trade

dispute over advanced technol-

ogy product components. Offi-

cials from both countries have

expressed interest in the U.S.

playing a mediating role.

“Any time we have the U.S.,

the [Republic of Korea], and

Japan in the same place, there’s

going to be a desire to get to-

gether,” the senior State De-

partment official said.

Secretary of State Mike

Pompeo will tackle a number of

the U.S.’s most critical foreign-

policy issues across the Asia-Pa-

cific region this week in a series

of meetings in Thailand, Austra-

lia and the Federated States of

Micronesia.

A senior State Department

official described the visit as an

opportunity to assert the U.S.’s

role as a Pacific power by en-

gaging with regional partners

in the administration’s effort

“to advance the shared vision

of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Mr. Pompeo will meet with

officials from member nations

of the Association of Southeast

Asian Nations, or Asean, in

Bangkok.

While the U.S. isn’t an Asean

member, it is a party to the East

Asian Summit, composed of

Asean members and eight addi-

tional countries—including the

U.S., Russia and China—and the

Asean Regional Forum, repre-

senting association members

and 10 others.

Mr. Pompeo will chair a U.S.-

Asean meeting on Thursday as

well as a gathering of foreign

ministers from countries in-

volved in the Lower Mekong

Initiative, an American-led de-

velopment program.

U.S. efforts to begin denucle-

arization talks with North Ko-

rea will be on the agenda along

with China’s actions in the

South China Sea, the senior

State Department official said.

The U.S. and Chinese delega-

tions are expected to attend

some of the same events, but

no formal bilateral conversa-

tions have been announced.

Earlier this month, the State

Department expressed concern

about reports that China has

interfered with oil and gas ex-

ploration in the South China

Sea. It singled out Vietnam as a

particular concern for the U.S.

The department condemned

BYCOURTNEYMCBRIDE

China Looms Large

In Pompeo’s Asia Trip

In a photograph provided by the Discovery Channel, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tea with British adventurer Bear Grylls for an

episode of the channel’s ‘Man vs. Wild’ show filmed in Uttarakhand state. Mr. Modi’s party has been working to promote his public image.

DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS INDIA

The secretary of state

could try to broker a

deal between Tokyo

and Seoul.