Hong Kong’s controversial extradition bill will be withdrawn but it’s too late to stop the protests
Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam says she will withdraw the controversial extradition bill that sparked three months of fierce protests. Formal confirmation of the decision can only be made when Hong Kong's Legislative Council resumes next month.
The bill would have allowed suspects to be extradited to mainland China. Since its introduction in April, there have been 14 weeks of consecutive protests in Hong Kong.
Withdrawing the bill is significant, but it’s not enough to head off the protests. The demonstrations have morphed into a wider pro-democracy movement, paralyzing Hong Kong and plunging the city into its worst political crisis since the end of British rule in 1997.
Protesters have issued five key demands: alongside the withdrawal of the bill, they want an independent inquiry into the police response to the protests, amnesty for those arrested, further democratic reforms, and for officials to stop describing the demonstrations as riots.
Lam did not address any of the other demands, and protests are expected to continue despite the bill’s anticipated formal withdrawal.
Boris Johnson tried to call an election but lost the vote in another blow to his authority
It was the British prime minister’s third major Commons vote loss in two days.
After opposition parties and members of his own party joined together to advance legislation that would prevent Britain from leaving the European Union without a deal, Johnson moved to call an election.
The PM needed two-thirds of MPs to back his election plea but fell well short after Labour and the opposition parties insisted they would not allow a public vote until they’ve guaranteed a no-deal Brexit won’t happen.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would back an election as soon as the bill seeking a Brexit delay becomes law.
SNAPSHOTS
Trump showed off a fake Hurricane Dorian forecast map to support his false claim it would hit Alabama. He showed off the map in the Oval Office after falsely stating in a tweet that Alabama was among states expected to face impacts from the hurricane, raising the ire of meteorologists and government forecasters. Trump’s map appeared to have been marked up with a Sharpie to show the hurricane’s trajectory extending into southeastern Alabama.
Scarlett Johansson said she “loves” and “believes” Woody Allen. Since the beginning of the #MeToo movement a number of actors have come forward to say they regret working with Allen. Not Johansson, though — “I love him,” she told the Hollywood Reporter. “I believe him, and I would work with him anytime.”
A group of middle school boys allegedly dripped semen and urine on food and served it to their teachers. Seven boys in Powell, Ohio have been charged in juvenile court after allegedly tricking their teachers into eating a crepe covered in semen, and barbecue sauce mixed with urine. An attorney for four of the accused told us he believes his clients, who he urged people to remember are eighth grade boys, were influenced by the internet.
Jeremy Renner shut down his app because trolls were harassing his fans and it’s a mess. The actor announced that he is shutting down his app because online trolls were impersonating him to cause drama on the platform. In a post on the app, Renner wrote “The app has jumped the shark. Literally.”
Lil Nas X was interrupted as he patiently tried to explain anti-gay prejudice to Kevin Hart. The rapper is winning praise online for explaining to a confused Hart, who quit as Oscars host last year after renewed attention to his past anti-gay comments, that he wanted to come out in order to combat anti-gay prejudice. The clip, from Tuesday's episode of HBO's The Shop: Uninterrupted, shows that as Lil Nas X was about to speak, Hart interrupts him, and the internet is furious.
We mapped all the fires that burned in the Amazon in August
It’s been a tough year for the Amazon. So far, there have been more than 90,000 fires throughout the rainforest in 2019, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
In August, smoke blackened the sky in cities as distant as São Paulo and caught the world’s attention. The month saw a spike ahead of the annual season when fires are typically more frequent: The state of Amazonas had 11,412 fires in August alone, compared to 16,587 in all of 2018.
A spike in deforestation is in part to blame, as farmers have cleared land for livestock, cultivation, and development, encouraged by Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his campaign promises. Across the Amazon overall last month, there were more than 66,000 fires, according to NASA.
We’ve created a tool that lets you visualize the number and scales of the fires that burned in August, and how they increased as the month went on.
Tom Holland revealed how they shot the “I don’t feel so good” scene in Infinity War, and boy, the feels
Holland, who played Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and who must be protected at all costs, talked about the standout heartbreaking scene where Spider-Man clings on to Iron Man — a memorable moment that stuck with many fans.
Holland confirmed in a recent interview with GQ that most of the scene was improvised. The words “I don’t wanna go” came about as a result of the technique the actor uses to cry on cue when he’s acting, which involves him repeating the same phrase to himself in his head. In Infinity War, it was “I don’t want to go.”
He demonstrated this technique at work in a video, and as it turns out, watching the actor say “I love you so much” over and over again while nearly crying is exactly as devastating as it sounds. (Starts at 7:07).