Hong Kong defends its immigration procedures after British MP was denied entry
HONG KONG — Hong Kong's government on Monday defended its immigration procedures after a British member of parliament was denied entry to the Chinese city last week , an incident that has prompted concerns among U.K. officials.
Wera Hobhouse, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party representing Bath, on Sunday wrote on the social media platform Bluesky that authorities gave her no explanation for what she described as a 'cruel and upsetting blow.' She noted that she was the first British MP to face such a situation upon arrival in the former British colony since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997 .
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New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Don't underestimate Donald Trump — he and his goals will survive without Elon Musk
Among other things last week, President Trump played host to Germany's chancellor in the Oval Office, issued a travel ban against 12 countries whose citizens routinely violate their visas, had a 'very positive' conversation about tariffs with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and twisted arms to push his 'one big beautiful bill' across the congressional finish line. Meanwhile, a stream of good economic news sent stock markets higher, with a jobs report beating expectations while inflation fell and wages rose. Oh, and Trump also had a brutal falling out with Elon Musk. Advertisement 3 Elon Musk attends news conference with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington. AP No need to guess which of the above dominated the news. Bad news travels fast and predictions of calamity win eyeballs, but I've learned a few things knowing and covering Trump for a decade. Rule No. 1 is always to remember to take a deep breath when it feels as if the end of his days is near. Advertisement Whatever the sensational event of the moment, the smart play has been to realize that this too shall pass — and to feel sorry for cats because they only have nine lives. Rule No. 2 is to be prepared for the next big end of days event, which is coming soon, and to expect another one after that. The 47th president is a human machine full of pride and plans, but only rookies still attempt to define him by a single event. If a stream of nasty Democrat prosecutions and threats of jail didn't derail him, the end of a partnership with the world's richest man won't either. Advertisement While Trump often appears to be courting disaster, reports of his imminent political demise still remain premature. That's not to say he is impervious, only that he is the closest thing to it on the American scene today. The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on. Advertisement So long, Elon, it was nice knowing ya. Need for speed Another thing to remember about Trump is that he's in a hurry to get big things done and is determined not to get sidetracked by anything. He's well aware of how Dems used the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax to win the House in the middle of the first term and showed no compunction about impeaching him over a nothing-burger phone call. He's not going to squander his second chance with a GOP-controlled Congress to engage in wild goose chases or pout over setbacks, even when they involve an important ally such as Musk. The clock in his head is always ticking. 3 The Musk-Trump feud sparked the day after the DOGE head left the White House. NY Post Despite his occasional talk of a possible third term, he knows that's not going to happen. Besides the constitutional prohibition, the reality is that he turns 79 next Saturday, and the last thing Trump wants to do is stay too long at the party and repeat Joe Biden's decrepit decline in office. Thus, Trump's need for speed is what makes the Musk divorce important. It ends, or at least interrupts, an iconic alliance that was good for both men and was paying big dividends to America. Whether Musk is right that his support and his extensive financial contributions made the difference in last year's campaign is impossible to know. But there is no doubt that the addition of Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard to the Trump train broadened his appeal well beyond traditional GOP circles and MAGA diehards. Advertisement Consider, for example, that Kamala Harris foolishly tried to counter Trump's moves by adding former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney to her team and claiming they were evidence she had bipartisan appeal. The advantage to Trump wasn't a close call. As for Musk, most critical was his commitment to DOGE and to the idea that spending cuts are not only possible but essential to the nation's future. He used his soapbox to set a new standard for Washington, even if the results fell short of the promise. Advertisement Whatever started his break with Trump, it was complete when he attacked the tax cut and spending legislation the president helped to craft, saying at one point, 'I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don't know if it can be both.' No damage to agenda The oddity is that the break came after Musk officially left his temporary DOGE post, complete with a happy sendoff in the Oval Office where Trump praised him and gave him a ceremonial key to the White House. Given the nasty nature of the rupture, attempts by others to forge a reconciliation are not likely to succeed. Yet even if the break is final, I don't believe it will do serious damage to the president's agenda, despite the hopes of media doomsayers. As even The New York Times ruefully conceded in a Saturday headline, 'Elon Musk May Be Out. But DOGE Is Just Getting Started.' Advertisement 3 President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington. AP Another mistake many Trump observers are making is seeing him through the eyes of his chaotic first term. As I have noted before, Trump 2.0 is a very different person. Being on the sideline for four years served him well in that he better understood Washington, and was smarter about what he wanted to achieve and who could help him do that. Advertisement In raw political terms, Biden's spending-palooza that drove inflation to 40-year highs and the inexplicable decision to open the southern border were gifts that helped pave the way to a Trump return. And then came the brush with death from a would-be assassin's bullet in Pennsylvania. 'God spared me' I had previously arranged to interview Trump the next day on his flight to the GOP convention in Milwaukee, and to my everlasting surprise, he kept his schedule. It was during that interview that he first raised the idea of divine intervention, saying, 'I'm not supposed to be here . . . I'm supposed to be dead.' His wry sense of humor remained intact, as he noted that people were already calling the photo of him standing up, pumping his fist and shouting 'fight, fight, fight,' with his face streaked with his own blood, an 'iconic' scene. 'They're right and I didn't die,' Trump said. 'Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture.' Although he was never an especially religious man, Trump began to embrace the idea that 'God spared me for a purpose, and that purpose is to restore America to greatness.' It's a fat target for haters, but the important thing is that Trump himself believes it to be true. One result is that he is a much calmer and more gracious president. Even his demeanor last week reflected a 'what, me worry?' approach, as he demonstrated in a series of quick phone interviews with media outlets, including The Post, where he insisted he was not rattled by the blowup. His explanation was simple: Musk suffers from 'Trump Derangement Syndrome.' Woof, woof, and the caravan moves on.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Reform UK row as party chair calls new MP's burqa ban question ‘dumb'
A row has broken out in Reform UK after its newest MP called on the prime minister to ban the burqa, with the party's chair, Zia Yusuf, saying it was a 'dumb' question given that was not party policy. Sarah Pochin, who recently won the Runcorn and Helsby byelection, asked Keir Starmer in parliament on Wednesday: 'Given the prime minister's desire to strengthen strategic alignment with our European neighbours, will he in the interests of public safety follow the lead of France, Denmark, Belgium and others and ban the burqa?' Her call was met with cries of 'shame' from some MPs, and Reform later clarified it was not the party's policy but that it could be part of a debate. Nigel Farage, the party leader, also weighed in later on GB News, saying: 'I don't think face coverings in public places make sense, and we deserve a debate about this.' However, Yusuf responded to the idea on X on Thursday suggesting the question should not have been asked. 'Nothing to do with me. Had no idea about the question nor that it wasn't policy. Busy with other stuff. I do think it's dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn't do,' he wrote. A Reform spokesperson said Yusuf had not been criticising Pochin personally as he had said it was a 'dumb' thing for a party to do, and that all parties contained people who took different positions on policy matters. However, it is the latest sign of disharmony in Reform, months after Rupert Lowe, one of the party's MPs, was booted out after a disagreement with Yusuf and Farage. Lowe, who now sits as an independent, takes a more sympathetic approach to the far-right agitator Tommy Robinson and has a hardline view advocating mass deportation of people who have migrated to the UK illegally. On Thursday, Lowe backed a burqa ban, saying: 'The burqa is a political symbol: it represents a deeply patriarchal and unpleasant worldview that has no place in our society. We must defend the freedom of girls and women born into a culture where that suffocation isn't a choice, but a rule. Let's ban the burqa.' The idea was also endorsed by Nick Timothy, a Tory MP and former chief of staff to Theresa May, who said on X: 'The burqa is as British as Jeddah and yes it should be banned.'
UPI
7 hours ago
- UPI
China to fast-track applications for rare-earth minerals to US, EU
A rare earth mine is in Ganxian county in central China's Jiangxi province. Photo by EPA-ESE June 7 (UPI) -- China has agreed to fast-track approvals for the shipment of rare earth minerals to the United States and some European Union nations. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke Thursday about easing trade tensions. On Saturday, China's Minister Seceary Wang Wentao said his nation is "willing to establish a green channel for qualified applications to speed up approval." Details weren't given, including the speed of the process and which EU nations are included. China controls 90% of the global processing of rare earth minerals. Major deposits also are found in the United States, Australia and Russia. Smaller amounts are in Canada, India, South Africa and Southeast Asia. Rare earth minerals are in the Earth's crust, making them difficult to extract. They include lanthanide, scandium and yttrium, all on the Periodic Table of Elements. Some major minerals that contain rare earth elements are bastnasite, monazite, loparite and laterite clays. The first rare-earth mineral was discovered in 1787 -- gadolinite, a black mineral composed of cerium, yttrium, iron, silicon and other elements. U.S. needs rare earth minerals The minerals are critical to American industries and defense, including use in cars and fighter jets. Batteries contain the minerals Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday "there should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of rare Earth products." On April 29, the United States and Ukraine created a Reconstruction Investment Fund that includes rare earth mineral rights in the European nation. Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were originally set to sign the minerals deal on Feb. 28, but the plan was scrapped after a tense exchange between them in the Oval Office in which Trump accused him of "gambling with World War III." The United States wants access to more than 20 raw materials in Ukraine, including some non-minerals, such as oil and natural gas, as well as titanium, lithium, graphite and manganese. The Chinese commerce ministry confirmed some applications have been approved without specifying industries covered. Some Chinese suppliers have recently received six-month export licenses, the American Chamber of Commerce in China said Friday, but it noted that there is a backlog of license applications. In a survey of member companies conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China late week, 75% say their stock would run out within three months, CNN reported. Jens Eskelund, the chamber president, said member companies were "still struggling" with the situation. "I hadn't realized just how important this rare earth card was before. Now the U.S. side is clearly anxious and eager to resolve this issue," he said a video on Thursday. "But of course, we'll link this issue to others -- the U.S. is restricting China on chips and jet engines, then China certainly has every reason to make use of this card. "As for whether China will change its rare earth export control policy, that probably still needs to be negotiated in more detail," Jin added. Trump said Xi and himself "straightened out" some points related to rare earth magnets, calling it "very complex stuff." The U.S. federal government said China had reneged on its promise made in Geneva on May 12. Delegations from Beijing and Washington plan to meet in Great Britain on Monday for trade negotiations. At the height of tariff war, China had imposed export restrictions on some minerals on April 4. Trump two days planned a 120% "reciprocal" tax on top of 25% levy on Chinese goods. But one week later it paused the bigger tariffs, including on other countries for 90 days. European nations' needs China's commerce ministry pledged to address the EU's concerns and establish a "green channel" for eligible applications to expedite approvals. He went to Brussels, Belgium, earlier this week and met with European Union's trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic. It's a problem for China and the EU. Sefcovic said the pause was slowing deliveries for manufacturers of a wide range of items from cars to washing machines. Wang urged the EU to "take effective measures to facilitate, safeguard and promote compliant trade of high-tech products to China." On Friday, the European Chamber, a Beijing lobby group, warned progress had "not been sufficient" to prevent severe supply chain disruptions for many companies.
