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Hong Kong protests: hundreds arrested as university standoff enters third day Fears of bloody clashes as up to 200 remain trapped inside Polytechnic University Fears of a potential crackdown or bloody clashes have risen in Hong Kong as the standoff between riot police and protesters at a university in the city enters its third day with up to 200 still trapped.Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam said about 600 protesters surrendered to authorities overnight, after police allowed two representatives to mediate between the two sides. On Tuesday, around 20 activists were evacuated to seek medical help. Continue reading... Go to Source

Impeachment witness: I've never heard anything like Trump-Sondland Ukraine call In newly released transcript, state department official details exchange in which Trump raised Ukraine investigationsDavid Holmes, a state department official, said he had “never seen anything like” the phone call he overheard between Donald Trump and Gordon Sondland, the EU ambassador, in which Trump personally raised the investigations he had requested from Ukraine.The call, which Holmes overheard during a lunch with Sondland in Kyiv, was so distinctive that no one needed to refresh his memory, according to testimony released late on Monday in the impeachment inquiry.“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Holmes told House investigators, “someone calling the president from a mobile phone at a restaurant, ...

Nine in 10 NHS bosses say staffing crisis endangering patients In dramatic intervention in election, health chiefs urge parties to avoid false promisesHospitals are so short of doctors and nurses that patients’ safety and quality of care are under threat, senior NHS leaders have warned in a dramatic intervention in the general election campaignNine out of 10 hospital bosses in England fear understaffing across the service has become so severe that patients’ health could be damaged. In addition, almost six in 10 (58%) believe this winter will be the toughest yet for the service. Continue reading... Go to Source

US says Israeli settlements no longer considered illegal in dramatic shift Declaration marks rejection of 2016 UN resolution that settlements on the West Bank are a ‘flagrant violation’ of international lawThe US has declared that Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land are not necessarily illegal, in a dramatic break with decades of international law, US policy and the established position of most US allies.“Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law has not advanced the cause of peace,” said Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state. “The hard truth is that there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and who is wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace.” Continue readin...

KPMG ends its backing for Prince Andrew's mentorship scheme Accountancy firm not renewing sponsorship, it emerges, after much-criticised TV interviewThe accountancy giant KPMG is not renewing its sponsorship of Prince Andrew’s entrepreneurial scheme Pitch@Palace, it has emerged, in the wake of his much-derided interview in which he defended his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.The Duke of York has been heavily criticised as having shown neither contrition nor sympathy for Epstein’s child victims in the BBC Newsnight interview and his suitability as patron to scores of charities and organisations has been called into question as a result. Continue reading... Go to Source

John McDonnell to attack £100bn tax giveaway to UK's billionaires Shadow chancellor’s speech to reveal one in three of the super-rich are Tory party donorsThe shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has ramped up his attack on the super-rich, describing their wealth as “obscene”, as Labour unveiled research showing one in three billionaires in the UK have made donations to the Tory party.McDonnell is due to take a swipe at the richest people in the country in a speech on Tuesday and will also set out the tax breaks billionaires have benefited from under successive Conservative governments. Continue reading... Go to Source

Hong Kong: police say surrender is only option for protesters Hundreds trapped inside Polytechnic as demonstrators try to break campus siegeHong Kong police have fought running battles with protesters trying to break a security cordon around a university in the city, firing teargas both at activists trying to escape the besieged campus and at crowds trying to reach it from outside.Police have said the demonstrators inside Polytechnic University had no option but to come out and surrender. Continue reading... Go to Source

Sydney smoke: city covered in thick haze as more than 50 bushfires burn across NSW People with asthma or respiratory illness should stay inside, health authorities warn Sydney woke up to a thick blanket of smoke over the city on Tuesday as New South Wales headed into the first of two “tough days” this week, with temperatures likely to rise to the 40s and little-to-no rainfall forecast.Most of the state’s east coast was under severe or very high fire danger ratings, with more than 50 bushfires burning, of which 28 remained uncontained. Continue reading... Go to Source