The Globalist Weekly: 17th June 2019
Tags: Globalist, Saudi Arabia, Protest, Politics, Universal Studios

A concise weekly digest of the top readings, content, ideas and discussions from our global bureaux and correspondents at ComplexGlobal.

Hong Kong protests over China extradition bill

Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters in Hong Kong on Wednesday, hours after tens of thousands of mostly young people surrounded the city’s government headquarters and postponed the debate over a controversial bill that would allow fugitives to be extradited to China. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam is standing firm in her support for the proposed extradition bill despite mounting pressure and death threats.

Gulf of Oman oil tanker attacks

The US military has released a video which it says shows Iran’s Revolutionary Guard removing an unexploded mine from the side of an oil tanker damaged in an attack in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday. The blasts came a month after four oil tankers were damaged in an attack off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. The US blamed Iran for that attack, but did not produce evidence.

Houthi missile hits Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport

At least 26 people were injured Wednesday when a Houthi missile fired from Yemen hit Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia. The Arab Coalition fighting to support Yemen’s government vowed a firm response and said the attack proved Tehran’s support for cross-border terrorism. The attack took place in the early hours when the missile hit the arrival lounge of the airport in Asir Province at 2:21 a.m.

Papua New Guinea’s most divisive PM is gone

It has been just two weeks since Papua New Guinean politics erupted. The dramatic events saw politicians in our nearest neighbouring country camping out in two hotels, shouting matches in parliament, and threats of no-confidence motions, before eventually, realising he had lost the support of his colleagues, the prime minister Peter O’Neill resigned. The subsequent transition has been smooth. The new prime minister James Marape has succeeded O’Neill and his newly-appointed cabinet has begun work.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders Leaving White House

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary who fiercely defended President Trump through one of the most tumultuous periods in American politics while presiding over the end of the iconic daily news briefing, will step down at the end of the month. Mr. Trump announced her departure on Thursday on Twitter, the presidential tweet having supplanted the role that a White House press secretary played in previous administrations. He later praised her for her grit, her heart and her loyalty to him and his goals.

The Day the Music Burned — the Vault fire at Universal

It was the biggest disaster in the history of the music business — and almost nobody knew. This is the story of the 2008 Universal fire. The fire that swept across the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood on Sunday, June 1, 2008, began early that morning, in New England. At 4:43 a.m., a security guard at the movie studio and theme park saw flames rising from a rooftop on the set known as New England Street, a stretch of quaint Colonial-style buildings where small-town scenes were filmed for motion pictures and television shows.

Originally published at https://www.complexglobal.co