Hollywood strike forces Venice fest to switch opening film

ROME, Italy - The Venice Film Festival has switched its opening selection, after the movie that had been slated to open pulled out because of the ongoing Hollywood strike, organisers said.

Edoardo De Angelis' "Comandante" will now open the 80th Venice International Film Festival, in place of Luca Guadagnino's "Challengers", the festival said in a statement late on Friday.

"Challengers" featuring US star Zendaya, "will not participate at the Festival following a decision made by the production," owing to ongoing industrial action in Hollywood, it said.

"Comandante" will have its world premiere on Wednesday, August 30 in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema on the island of Lido di Venezia during the opening ceremony.

The change comes two weeks after actors joined a writers' strike, triggering the first industry-wide walkout for 63 years, effectively shutting down Hollywood.

The SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild) went on strike after negotiations to reach a new deal with production studios ended without an agreement.

The union's demands have focused on dwindling pay in the streaming era, as well as the threat to the industry posed by artificial intelligence.

Based on a true story, "Comandante" depicts the rescue of 26 shipwrecked Belgians during World War II by a submarine skipper played by Pierfrancesco Favino.

De Angelis, 44, was behind 2016 film "Indivisibili" and the TV drama series The Lying Life of Adults.

The Venice festival will end on September 9 with the screening of "La sociedad de la nieve" ("Society of the Snow") by Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona, the organisers said.

Agence France Presse

Gold, oil surge in Asia as US, Iran exchange threats

SYDNEY - Asian share markets looked to be heading into turbulence on Monday as a flare-up of tensions in the Middle East sent gold to its highest in almost 7 years while oil flirted with 4-month peaks.

The United States detected a heightened state of alert by Iran's missile forces, as President Donald Trump warned the US would strike back, "perhaps in a disproportionate manner," if Iran attacked any American person or target.


Iraq's parliament on Sunday recommended all foreign troops be ordered out of the country after the US killing of a top Iranian military commander and an Iraqi militia leader.

Spot gold surged 1.6 percent to $1,575.37 per ounce in jittery trade and reached its highest since April 2013.

Oil prices added to their gains on fears any conflict in the region could disrupt global supplies.

Brent crude futures rose $1.05 to $69.65 a barrel, while US crude climbed 94 cents to $63.99.

"The risk of further escalation has clearly gone up - given the direct attack on Iran, Iran's threat of retaliation and Trump's desire to look tough - posing the threat of higher oil prices," said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP Capital.

"Historically though oil prices need to double to pose a severe threat to global growth and we are long way from that."

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was off 0.16 percent though most major indices were yet to open. Futures for Japan's Nikkei pointed to an opening fall of around 500 points.

E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent in very choppy trade.

Sovereign bonds benefited from the safety bid with yields on 10-year Treasuries down at 1.795 percent having fallen 10 basis points on Friday. Treasury futures gained 7 ticks.

In currency markets, the Japanese yen remained the favored safe harbor courtesy of Japan's massive holdings of foreign assets. Investors assume Japanese funds would repatriate their money during a true global crisis, pushing the yen higher.

Early Monday, the dollar had edged down to a 3-month trough of 107.81 yen, and risked a pullback all the way to 107.00. The euro likewise eased to 120.45 yen having hit a 3-week low.

The dollar was steadier against the other majors, with the euro being little changed at $1.1166. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was holding at 96.852.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

German cabin crew union threatens Lufthansa strikes after 'failed' talks

BERLIN - German cabin crew union UFO said arbitration talks with Lufthansa on Sunday had failed and its members could stage strikes any time from now on, though they would spare passengers industrial action on Dec. 24, 25 and 26.

In addition to a dispute over pay and pensions, UFO has been at odds with Lufthansa for months over the union's legal status. Lufthansa has said the union's leadership team that took office earlier this year was not elected in a way that met legal requirements.

"Even though we have agreed not to disclose the contents of these talks, unfortunately we must state that there was no solution ... so we failed," UFO spokesman Nicoley Baublies said in a statement after Sunday's talks.

"Industrial action must be expected again any time from now," he added. "The only thing we can disclose to our passengers is that we will leave out the Christmas holidays - specifically December 24, 25, 26."

Industrial action on Monday, Dec. 23, could not be ruled out, he said.

Lufthansa said separately that arbitrators had proposed a further meeting with UFO for early January.

"Lufthansa continues to expect that good solutions can be found for the 22,000 cabin crew members with regard to the arbitration issues," the airline said in a statement. 

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Sit-down strike for climate

Red Rebels from Extinction Rebellion are seen during a School Strike for Climate Australia (SS4C) 'Solidarity Sit-down' outside of the office of the Liberal Party of Australia in Sydney, Australia on Friday. The event is part of a series of strikes in cities across Australia to protest outside the offices of politicians and fossil fuel companies.

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Hong Kong unrest spreads as leader warns city on brink

Hong Kong's unrest spread more widely throughout the financial hub Monday as riot police clashed with pro-democracy protesters at multiple locations and the city's leader warned of a "very dangerous situation".

The third consecutive night of police-protester confrontations occurred after a rare strike caused transport chaos.

Activists disrupted vital rush-hour commuter train service, held multiple rallies, besieged police stations and launched projectiles at the legislature, while the general strike affected dozens of flights at one of the world's busiest airports.

Police fired tear gas in at least 11 areas across the city, battling to disperse crowds of demonstrators in the most widespread unrest seen during the 2 months of increasingly violent protests.

The demonstrations were triggered by opposition to a planned law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, but have evolved into a wider movement for democratic reform and a halt to eroding freedoms.

Earlier Monday, Hong Kong buckled under the strike urged by protesters who wanted to emphasize they still had broad public support.

In a rare public appearance since the crisis began, chief executive Carrie Lam warned protesters she would not cave to their demands.

"(They) have seriously undermined Hong Kong's law and order and are pushing our city, the city that we all love and many of us helped to build, to the verge of a very dangerous situation," Lam said.

She later referred to chants by protesters for a "revolution", describing this as a challenge to the "one country, 2 systems" framework under which Hong Kong has been ruled since it returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

"I dare say they are trying to destroy Hong Kong," said Lam, who was appointed by a pro-Beijing committee.

China's cabinet-level State Council said it planned to hold a press conference on Tuesday. 

During Monday's widespread unrest, activists descended on subway stations at morning rush hour, deliberately keeping open doors to stop trains departing and paralyzing large parts of a network that millions of people use daily.

They later held simultaneous rallies at 7 locations and besieged multiple police stations, stretching the resources of a force that has become a lightning rod for public anger.

The most sustained clashes occurred outside the city's parliament where protesters used giant slingshots to launch bricks and the working class area of Wong Tai Sin, with tear gas fired throughout the day.

In the evening, a group of men armed with long sticks, clashed with protesters in North Point, a neighborhood where many Chinese migrants live and is known for its strong Beijing ties. They chased and beat protesters, who threw traffic cones and barricades in return.

PROTESTERS UNBOWED 

In a briefing that highlighted the longevity of the protests, police said they had fired more than 1,000 rounds of tear gas and 160 rubber bullets since rallies began on June 9, with 420 people arrested and 139 officers injured so far.

But the protesters remain unbowed. 

"Support for the political strike today seems strong and it has been bolstered further by the escalating violence between the police and protesters," political analyst Dixon Wong told AFP.

The strike -- a rare occurrence in the finance hub where unions traditionally have little sway -- hit the vital aviation sector.

More than 160 flights at the city's airport were listed as cancelled on Monday. Many were with Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's flag carrier.

The airline did not give a reason for the cancellations, but its flight attendants union confirmed some of its members had walked out.

Some major roads were also blocked and many shops across the city were shuttered, including big-name fashion outlets in the central commercial district.

The strike led to some scuffles between angry commuters and protesters at crowded subway stations.

One video, verified by AFP, showed a car smashing its way through a protesters' roadblock in the northern town of Yuen Long.

Another showed a taxi ramming protesters who hurled projectiles.

But while some locals were angered by the disruptions, others said they supported the action. 

"As long as the government doesn't respond then for sure the movement will escalate," a civil servant, who gave his surname as Leung, told AFP as he tried to make his way to work. 

Dozens of protesters have been charged with rioting, which carries a jail term of 10 years.

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Hong Kong police fire tear gas, rubber bullets as strikes paralyze city

HONG KONG - Hong Kong police fired tear gas and rubber bullets in fresh clashes with protesters after a general strike caused transport chaos on Monday, and as night fell in the Asian financial hub thousands of activists blocked roads in several districts.

The latest protests surpassed all the earlier shows of dissent for scale and intensity, escalating after Hong Kong's Beijing-backed leader warned that the city is on the verge of an "extremely dangerous situation" and represented a challenge to China's sovereignty.

What started several months ago as demonstrations over an extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial have now evolved into a much broader backlash against the city's government and its political masters in Beijing.

As some train and bus services resumed, tens of thousands of demonstrators fanned out across several districts, and there were running battles with riot police as some activists besieged police stations.

Thousands of black-clad protesters later occupied roads in Admiralty district near government buildings for several hours before moving to other areas. By nightfall, protests continued across the city.

Earlier, speaking to the media for the first time in two weeks, Beijing-backed leader Carrie Lam remained defiant as she rejected calls from protesters demanding her resignation, saying the government would be resolute in maintaining law and order.

She warned that the protests were putting the former British colony on a path of no return and had hurt its economy.

"They claim they want a revolution and to restore Hong Kong. These actions have far exceeded their original political demands," said a stern-faced Lam, flanked by senior members of her administration.

China's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said it would hold a press conference on Tuesday at 2.30 pm (0630 GMT) to discuss the situation in the city.

The protests pose the greatest political challenge to the government of the former British colony since it returned to Chinese rule and represent the biggest popular challenge to Chinese leader Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.

"These illegal acts that challenge our country's sovereignty, and jeopardize 'one country two systems', will destroy the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong," Lam said, referring to the territory's administrative system since 1997, when it was handed back to China.

Some demonstrators accused Lam of again fueling the crisis by ignoring public sentiment, however, and pledged to continue their movement.

It was "totally a waste of time" to hear her speak, said Jay Leung, 20, a university student.

"I don't think the government is doing anything to heal society," he added. "They provide no solution to solve the political problem brought on by themselves."

Russell, 38, who works in the tourism industry said, "Nothing, she said nothing. I didn't hear anything positive, she just made it worse."

COMMUTER CHAOS

Within hours of the comments, protesters hurled umbrellas and other items at police in the residential district of Wong Tai Sin, where officers responded with pepper spray. Police also fired tear gas in Tin Shui Wai district, as tension flared.

The demonstrators blocked key roads, including three tunnels, cutting major arteries linking Hong Kong island and the Kowloon Peninsula. In Yuen Long district, a car rammed through a barricade, knocking down protesters.

Commuters struggled to get to work in the rush hour before Lam spoke, with many rail and bus services suspended by activists who blocked trains from leaving stations, some by sitting in doorways, in the latest anti-government campaign.

Long lines of traffic snaked across Hong Kong island into the heart of the business center and hundreds of people were stranded at the airport, where more than 200 flights were canceled at one point.

The Airport Express train service was temporarily suspended.

"(The government) are making police the scapegoat and creating a situation that is becoming unbearable for everyone who lives here. So that's one of the reasons we have joined the strike," said Mark Schmidt, 49, a restaurant manager who closed his business on Monday.

"Losing a bit of money now is not such a problem,(compared) with losing everything that the freedom of Hong Kong used to stand for," he added.

Lam's speech focused mainly on the violence at recent protests, which have galvanized people to join rallies by civil servants, teachers, lawyers and religious groups, among others.

SHOPS SHUTTERED

In an upmarket shopping mall in Sha Tin, scores of shops were shuttered, including clothing retailer H&M as well as luxury brands Chanel and Dior.

Protesters in the shopping center chanted, "Strike! Support to the end."

Many stores in the bustling shopping district of Causeway Bay were closed as well as businesses close to the protests.

Members of the Hong Kong Disneyland Cast Members Union went on strike, as did many lifeguards, forcing authorities to close some beaches and swimming pools.

Demonstrators besieged police stations over the weekend in flash mob-style actions, spray-painting walls with graffiti and breaking windows. More than 40 people were arrested.

Police, who some have accused of using excessive force on protesters, said the violence was escalating rapidly and the situation was spiraling out of control.

Authorities said 420 people have been arrested over the protests since June 9, while police have fired 1,000 rounds of tear gas and about 160 rubber bullets.

The government has refused to accede to any of the protesters' main demands, which include a complete withdrawal of the extradition bill and an independent inquiry into government handling of the crisis.

With tourist numbers falling and hotel occupancy rates slumping, the protests are piling pressure on a struggling economy.

IHS Markit's July Purchasing Managers' Index for Hong Kong showed private sector business activity dropped to its lowest level in a decade, weighed down by the protests and the Sino-US trade war.

"I would not be surprised if we see a technical recession - two consecutive quarters of contraction. That is highly probable now," said Raymond Yeung, chief China economist at ANZ.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 2.9 percent, falling to its lowest level since January. (Reporting by Clare Jim, Donny Kwok, James Pomfret, Noah Sin, Twinnie Siu, Vimvam Tam, Kevin Liu, Lukas Job, Felix Tam; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Paul Tait, Clarence Fernandez & Simon Cameron-Moore)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Protesters aim to paralyze Hong Kong with city-wide strike

Pro-democracy protesters hope to ramp up pressure on Hong Kong's embattled pro-Beijing leaders by launching a city-wide strike Monday in a bid to show there is still broad public support for their movement despite weeks of chaos.

A widespread strike would be a rare accomplishment in the freewheeling finance hub where unions traditionally have little sway.

But the movement is experimenting with more varied civil disobedience techniques after huge rallies failed to move Beijing.

The semi-autonomous southern Chinese city has witnessed two months of unprecedented protests and clashes triggered by opposition to a planned extradition law that quickly evolved into a wider movement for democratic reform and a halt to sliding freedoms.

But authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing have signaled a hardening stance with the Chinese military saying it is ready to quell the "intolerable" unrest if requested, and dozens of protesters charged with rioting.

Over the weekend riot police fired tear gas at protesters on Saturday and Sunday night.

The largely leaderless protest movement uses social messaging apps to coordinate and the strike action appears to be gaining more traction than previous strike calls in the last few weeks.

At a press conference on Saturday, strike organizers -- many hiding their identities behind masks -- said some 14,000 people from more than 20 sectors had already committed to civic action.

People from all walks of life have indicated plans online to either strike or phone in sick on Monday -- from civil servants and social workers, to flight attendants, pilots, bus drivers and even employees of the city's Disneyland.

There are also renewed calls to disrupt the city's famously efficient subway system during rush hour on Monday morning.

Activists hatched a similar plan last week that led to a couple of hours of traffic jams and backlogs, but they have had little success in bringing the city to a standstill.

'PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIER'

Given its reputation as a bastion for free-market capitalism, Hong Kong does not have much recent history of successful labor movements.

"There's a psychological barrier for people to strike," protester and pastor Monica Wong, 40, told AFP on Sunday as she attended a large rally.

"I really understand how some people will face huge pressures from their supervisors," she added.

In a statement late Sunday, Hong Kong's government warned people against joining the strike, saying it could further hamper the city's already sputtering economy.

"Any large-scale strikes and acts of violence will affect the livelihood and economic activities of Hong Kong citizens," it said.

Alongside the strike, protesters plan to hold rallies in seven different parts of the city, the fourth day in a row that protests have been scheduled.

The last fortnight has seen a surge in violence on both sides with police repeatedly firing rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse increasingly hostile projectile-throwing crowds.

A group of men suspected to be linked to triads -- Hong Kong's notorious gangsters -- also attacked demonstrators, putting 45 people in hospital.

Under the terms of the 1997 handover deal with Britain, Hong Kong has rights and liberties unseen on the Chinese mainland, including an independent judiciary and freedom of speech.

But many say those rights are being curtailed, citing the disappearance into mainland custody of dissident booksellers, the disqualification of prominent politicians and the jailing of pro-democracy protest leaders.

Public anger has been compounded by rising inequality and the perception that the city's distinct language and culture are being threatened by ever-closer integration with the Chinese mainland.

Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam has made few concessions beyond agreeing to suspend the extradition bill, and has shied away from public appearances.

Protesters are demanding her resignation, an independent inquiry into police tactics, an amnesty for those arrested, a permanent withdrawal of the bill, and the right to elect their leaders.

source: news.abs-cbn.com