Monday Morning Briefing: Hong Kong pushes bill allowing extraditions to China despite protest

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Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam vowed to push ahead with amendments to laws allowing suspects to be extradited to mainland China a day after the city’s biggest protest since its handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997. Riot police ringed Hong Kong’s legislature and fought back a group of several hundred protesters who stayed behind early on Monday after Sunday’s peaceful march that organizers said drew more than a million people, or one in seven of the city’s people.

Britain, France and Germany are committed to stick to their commitments from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said, adding that it was important to keep on talking to avoid a military escalation. Maas said it was important to continue dialogue with Iran and use those talks also for frank discussions.

Several of the leading candidates to become Britain’s next prime minister and take on the challenge of delivering Brexit will launch their leadership campaigns, as the crowded contest officially begins. Britain is seeking a new leader after Theresa May announced she would resign, having failed to deliver Brexit on schedule in March and seen her authority over a divided parliament evaporate after three heavy defeats in votes to approve her exit deal.

Indonesian officials warned against the prospect of further eruptions from an active volcano on the island of Sumatra after it emitted a huge column of ash, causing panic among residents. Mount Sinabung, which has seen a spike in activity since 2010, erupted for around nine minutes on Sunday, sending clouds of volcanic ash 7 km (4.4 miles) into the sky.

Exclusives

American banker and Putin ally dealt in access and assets, emails reveal. Emails reveal how a senior UBS exec named in the Mueller report once lent his help to a close friend of Putin, guiding him around U.S. foreign policy circles and awarding him a stake in a powerful Moscow bank without any money changing hands. Robert Foresman became part of Robert Mueller’s Russia probe because of a series of approaches the banker made to the Trump campaign team.

Some of the world’s biggest tech companies have told their employees to stop talking about technology and technical standards with counterparts at Huawei in response to the recent U.S. blacklisting of the Chinese tech firm, according to people familiar with the matter. Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that China summoned global technology companies for talks last week following last month’s U.S. ban on selling technology to Huawei.

United States

Nineteen Democratic presidential candidates delivered rapid-fire sales pitches to Iowa party leaders, touting their ability to energize voters, win the White House and deliver on longtime party goals such as universal healthcare. Most agreed on the problems, including finding a solution to climate change, improving public education and easing pay and wealth inequality. They all agreed on the solution: Defeating Republican President Donald Trump.

Trump defended his administration’s deal with Mexico against criticism that there were no major new commitments to stem a flow of Central American migrants crossing into the United States, and said on Sunday more details would soon be released. Key aspects of the agreement are still unclear, including whether Mexico has pledged to buy more U.S. agricultural products and if the deal materially expanded a previous commitment by Mexico to more vigorously police its southern border with Guatemala.

United Technologies agreed to combine its aerospace business with U.S. contractor Raytheon and create a new company worth about $121 billion, in what would be the sector’s biggest ever merger. The deal would reshape the competitive landscape by forming a conglomerate which spans commercial aviation and defense procurement.

“Hadestown,” a folk opera about a young couple’s dark trek to the underworld, topped Broadway’s Tony awards on Sunday winning eight honors, including the top prize best musical. Based on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, Anais Mitchell’s musical also won Tonys for best director, score, supporting actor Andre De Shields, orchestration, and sound, scenic and lighting design. Here is a list of winners in key categories.

China

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China is open for more trade talks with Washington but has nothing to announce about a possible meeting between the Chinese and U.S. leaders at this month’s G20 summit, the Foreign Ministry said.

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China exports grow despite U.S. tariffs, but import slump most in nearly three years

China’s exports unexpectedly returned to growth in May despite higher U.S. tariffs, but imports fell the most in nearly three years in a further sign of weak domestic demand that could prompt Beijing to step up stimulus measures.

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Vietnam to crack down on Chinese goods relabelled to beat U.S. tariffs

Vietnam has said it will crack down on goods of Chinese origin illegally relabelled “Made in Vietnam” by exporters seeking to avoid U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports.

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