Britain’s foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has said he will not back down over comments he made about demonstrations in Hong Kong, despite growing pressure from China.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang accused Mr Hunt on Wednesday of “basking in the faded glory of British colonialism” after he expressed concerns about Beijing using the protests to justify a crackdown on human rights in Hong Kong.
Mr Hunt, who is in the running to be Britain’s next prime minister, said there would be “consequences” if China backtracked on rights agreements it made when Britain handed over control of Hong Kong in 1997.
The foreign secretary repeated his warnings on Thursday, refusing to rule out imposing sanctions on China.
"You keep your options open," he told the BBC when asked to be specific about what “consequences” there would be for China.
"What I wanted to do was to make the point clearly that this isn't something that we would just gulp and move on - this would be a very serious issue for the UK," he added.
Hong Kong was plunged into political chaos on Monday as marches to mark 22 years since Hong Kong's handover to China from Britain boiled over.
Hundreds of protesters in the city besieged and broke into the former British colony’s parliament on Monday over a controversial extradition bill.
The proposed legislation would make it easier to transfer people to face trial in China, which does not have the same level of human rights as in Hong Kong.
The extradition bill controversy has given fresh momentum to Hong Kong's pro-democracy opposition movement, awakening broader concerns that China is chipping away at the rights guaranteed to Hong Kong for 50 years under a "one country, two systems" framework.
Hong Kong has seen weeks of violent demonstrations over the bill, which was suspended on June 15 by the island’s leader Carrie Lam. Protesters are calling for it to be dropped completely or for Ms Lam to resign.
At one peaceful protest, police fired 150 rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowds.
The storming of the legislature was carried out by a breakaway group to the main peaceful demonstration, which flew Britain’s Union Jack flag over legislators’ desks.
At least 11 men and one woman have so far been arrested in connection with the incident.
Mr Hunt said he did not support violence by the demonstrators but said China should not use the protests as a “pretext for repression”.
"It is by understanding the root causes of the concerns of the demonstrators - that freedoms that they have had for their whole life could be about to be undermined by this new extradition law," he added.
China’s ambassador to the UK was summoned to the foreign office on Wednesday after he told Britain to stop interfering or risk “further damaging” diplomatic relations.
Liu Xiaoming said that those who occupied the legislative building should be "condemned as law breakers". He also accused Britain of hypocrisy for interfering over civil rights in Hong Kong when under colonial rule, there were no elections and the right to protest did not exist.
The row appeared to still be simmering on in Beijing on Thursday as Mr Shuang accused “some people on the British side” of making “irresponsible remarks” about the situation in Hong Kong.
He said: "The Chinese side has resolutely responded to Mr Hunt's mistaken statements about Hong Kong, and China's response also applies to similar statements made by other officials of the British government."
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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RESULTS
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.
Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.
Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.
TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 2pm:
Malin Cilic (CRO) v Benoit Paire (FRA) [8]
Not before 4pm:
Dan Evans (GBR) v Fabio Fogini (ITA) [4]
Not before 7pm:
Pablo Carreno Busta (SPA) v Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) [2]
Roberto Bautista Agut (SPA) [5] v Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
Court One
Starting at 2pm
Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND) v Dennis Novak (AUT)
Joao Sousa (POR) v Filip Krajinovic (SRB)
Not before 5pm:
Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (GBR) [1] v Marin Cilic v Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Nikoloz Basilashvili v Ricardas Berankis (LTU)
RESULTS
Tottenham 1
Jan Vertonghen 13'
Norwich 1
Josip Drmic 78'
2-3 on penalties
Specs
Engine: 2-litre
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 255hp
Torque: 273Nm
Price: Dh240,000
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 2
(Martial 30', McTominay 90 6')
Manchester City 0
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
WWE Evolution results
- Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
- Nia Jax won a battle royal, eliminating Ember Moon last to win
- Toni Storm beat Io Shirai to win the Mae Young Classic
- Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley beat The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag match
- Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title by defeating Kairi Sane
- Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match
- Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women’s title by beating Nikki Bella
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
