US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has criticised banking giant HSBC for supporting China’s move to impose new security legislation in Hong Kong. Mr Pompeo also said the US stood with its allies against China’s “coercive bully tactics”.

The Trump administration has repeatedly attacked Beijing for what it says is an attempt to end Hong Kong’s autonomy. HSBC, which is UK-based but was formed in Hong Kong in 1865, declined to comment on Mr Pompeo’s remarks. US-China ties have deteriorated rapidly since the start of the year over Hong Kong and the coronavirus pandemic. The statement on Tuesday by America’s top diplomat came after both HSBC and Standard Chartered expressed support for China’s national security legislation in Hong Kong. Mr Pompeo said the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “browbeating” of HSBC “should serve as a cautionary tale“.(BBC)…[+]

An artwork by British graffiti artist Banksy that was stolen last year from the Bataclan music hall in Paris has been found by police in central Italy. The work, which depicted a young female figure with a mournful expression, was painted as a tribute to the victims of the 2015 terror attack at the venue.

It was cut out and removed from one of the venue’s emergency doors by a group of hooded people using angle grinders. According to La Repubblica it was found in a farmhouse in the Abruzzo region. The district attorney of the Italian city of L’Aquila, Michele Renzo, said: “The finding was possible following investigations conducted by the district prosecutor in collaboration with the police and the French judiciary.” 

After it was taken, the Bataclan posted on Twitter: “Today we are deeply indignant. Banksy’s work, a symbol of memory and belonging for everyone – locals, Parisians, citizens of the world – was stolen from us.” A press conference is set to be scheduled with further details about how it was found. Ninety people were killed in November 2015 when armed militants targeted the Bataclan during a concert by rock band Eagles Of Death Metal. The stencilled mural, described by the venue as “a symbol of recollection”, was one of a series of artworks attributed to Banksy that appeared around Paris in June 2018.(BBC)…[+]

The US state of Georgia has ordered an inquiry after its primary election was marred by claims of voter suppression.

Within minutes of polls opening on Tuesday, long queues formed in the city of Atlanta, with some residents waiting hours to cast their vote. Some areas also reported shortages of the new voting machines and a lack of back-up paper ballots. Voters were choosing candidates for November’s general election, for which the primary is seen as a preview.

US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden are expected to compete hotly for Georgia in the forthcoming battle for the White House. Nevada, South Carolina, West Virginia and North Dakota also voted on Tuesday amid the coronavirus pandemic and unrest unseen since the 1960s. Voting sites saw queues grow immediately after opening on Tuesday, in part because of social distancing. But the delays were also due to severe technical issues that made it impossible for some locations to cast any ballots.Atlanta’s Democratic Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms took to Twitter in the morning to report that residents across the city and some suburbs were turning up to find that voting machines “are not working”.(BBC)…[+]