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Thousands remember massacre
in rainy Hong Kong protest


Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents braved torrential rain to attend a candlelight vigil marking the 24th anniversary of Beijing's deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.

Organizers of Tuesday's annual vigil in Hong Kong's Victoria Park claimed a turnout of 150,000 people, while police gave a smaller estimate of 54,000. 

Some of those who gathered in the park left when the rains started, but many stayed, huddling under umbrellas and chanting slogans calling on China's Communist leaders to vindicate the 1989 protest movement in Beijing's main square.

Chinese troops backed by tanks crushed the student-led demonstration on June 4 of that year, killing hundreds and possibly thousands of people. Beijing considers the protest to be a counter-revolutionary rebellion and blocks annual attempts by pro-democracy activists to commemorate the killings.

Residents of the former British colony of Hong Kong have retained the right to protest since it returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. 

The chairwoman of Hong Kong's main opposition Democratic Party, Emily Lau, was at the latest vigil, organized by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China.  Speaking to a reporter by phone, she said many locals still have strong emotions about the Tiananmen crackdown.

"They really feel that China should move forward, should have an investigation to set this whole thing to rest," Ms. Lau said. "So, in a way, the Hong Kong people are very, very persistent.  Twenty-four years is a very long time, and these people keep turning up every year and they keep giving money to the Patriotic Alliance."

The rainstorm forced organizers to end Tuesday's rally after 50 minutes, the first time it has been cut short. Ms. Lau was among those who ran for cover.

"We were all drenched," she said. "It was pouring down with rain.  It was like a river flowing.  Some people left.  I left early too because we got so completely soaked.  But there were lots and lots of people going in, and all the football pitches were filled up, and they had to move over to the grass land."

Speakers at the vigil also vowed to keep fighting against what they see as Beijing's attempt to slow Hong Kong's progress toward universal suffrage for the city's leader and legislature in the coming years.

Turnout estimates for last year's event ranged from 180,000 people, as claimed by organizers, to 85,000 as reported by police.

In Beijing, police were on guard for possible protests at Tiananmen Square and other prominent areas.

Many Chinese activists already had been detained, placed under house arrest or monitored closely in the lead-up to the sensitive anniversary.

Chinese government censors also tried to block any reference to the anniversary on social media sites.  China's popular Sina Weibo service even removed a candle icon to prevent subscribers from displaying it as part of a digital vigil.

Ms. Lau said such actions have tarnished the image of the new Chinese Communist rulers who took office last November in a once-in-a-decade leadership transition.

"The impression is that the new leadership is very, very tough and, in fact, things are getting from bad to worse," Ms. Lau said.  "So it is exceedingly disappointing, because some people thought that President Xi Jinping is going to be some kind of reformist.  But I guess all those dreams have been dashed.  Nevertheless, the people still want to soldier on, because they want to see a democratic China."

Earlier this year, Xi called for more political courage to deepen reform in China and said the ruling party must improve its policies to benefit more people in a fairer way.

But he also said the process of opening up the state is a long-term, arduous and onerous cause which needs efforts from generation to generation.


Obama and Chile's president
discuss trade relations


U.S. President Barack Obama and Chilean President Sebastian Pinera have met at the White House, discussing progress toward creation of a trans-Pacific free-trade zone, and other regional and global issues.

Pinera's visit comes just more than two years after Obama visited Chile, where in an address in Santiago he praised political, economic and social progress across Latin America.

Vice President Joe Biden, who recently was in the region as part of a second-term Obama administration outreach to the region, also attended the Oval Office discussions.

Chile and the United States are among 11 nations working to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a new trade agreement.

Obama praised what he called Chile's remarkable growth trajectory and its role in the negotiations.

"We discussed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a high standard, high level trade agreement with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region which is the most dynamic and fastest growing region of the world, and Chile has been an excellent partner with us in trying to bring this multilateral trade agreement to a close," said Obama.

Negotiations involve 11 nations: the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Australia and New Zealand, with Japan also scheduled to join the talks.

Talks involve complex market access, legal, financial and labor issues. Washington said momentum was strong after the last round of talks in Peru. The next round is in Malaysia in July.

Pinera said Chile hopes a final deal on the trade zone will be achieved.

"Chile is fully committed not only achieving an agreement to create the largest free trade zone in the world, which will be the case if the Trans-Pacific Partnership is approved, but also we want to approve it within the time frame that we have set," said Pinera.

The discussions, which Obama called wide-ranging, also included the subject of negotiations for Chile to join the U.S. visa waiver program.

Next week, Obama welcomes the president of Perú, and the White House announced recently that President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil will pay a state visit in October.

The flurry of U.S. activity on Latin America, with an emphasis on trade, comes as China, which is not part of Trans-Pacific negotiations, has conducted what media reports have called a charm offensive in the region.

China's President Xi Jinping, who is to meet Friday and Saturday with Obama in California, has visited Mexico, Costa Rica, and Trinidad and Tobago discussing economic cooperation.

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A fanfare of trumpets and cheering crowds greeted Queen Elizabeth on the 60th anniversary of her coronation Tuesday, with a service in Westminster Abbey featuring a priceless crown that has adorned the heads of British monarchs for 350 years.
 
Decorated with rubies, sapphires and amethysts, the golden St Edward's crown was made for the coronation of Charles II in 1661 and has been used to crown every British monarch since.
 
Together with a golden, eagle-shaped bottle containing the holy oil for anointing, it took pride of place beside the altar for the historic service.
 
For Elizabeth, 87, it was a return to the scene of her coronation when, at age 27, she ascended the throne upon the death of her father, King George VI.
 
Jubilant throngs and trumpets heralded the arrival of a monarch who has seen 12 prime ministers during her reign: from Winston Churchill to David Cameron.
 
The service was attended by all the senior British royals including the Queen's 91-year-old husband Prince Philip, who had had to withdraw from an engagement the previous day with an unspecified ailment.
 
Heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, Prince William and his pregnant wife Kate and Cameron were among 2,000 guests in the Abbey, the site of coronations for nearly 1,000 years.
 
While coronation day in 1953 was dull and rainy, bright sunshine poured through the stained glass windows of the soaring gothic edifice during Tuesday's service.        
 
In 1953, millions of Britons gathered round brand new black-and-white television sets to watch Elizabeth's coronation, an event that gave Britain a chance to celebrate in the grim, austere years after World War II.
 
“A nation watched. It was the first time the whole nation had watched anything as it happened,” said Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in his address. “This they saw: pomp and ceremony on a rainy June day, wrapped in time and custom. Very British.”
 
Hers was the 38th coronation to take place at the Abbey, a tradition launched in 1066 by William the Conqueror, the first Norman King of England.
 
Tuesday's ceremony marked another milestone for Elizabeth as she edges towards Queen Victoria's record as Britain's longest-serving monarch. Victoria died in 1901 after more than 63 years and seven months on the throne.
 
The congregation sang the national anthem at the beginning of the service, and Cameron read from the Old Testament Book of Kings. Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy wrote a poem for the occasion that focused on the symbolism of the historic crown.
 
Read by actress Claire Skinner during the service, it contained the lines: “One head alone can know its weight, on throne, in pageantry, and feel it still, in private space, when it's lifted: not a hollow thing, but a measuring; no halo, treasure, but a valuing; decades and duty.”


Public opinions divided
on case of Bradley Manning


The court martial of U.S. Army Pvt. Bradley Manning, who gave hundreds of thousands of secret government files to the WikiLeaks Web site, began this week in a courtroom at Fort Meade, Maryland.  Some analysts say Manning is a traitor who endangered American lives while supporters believe he is a whistle blowing hero. 

Prosecutors contend the 25-year-old Army intelligence analyst effectively put U.S. military secrets into the hands of the enemy, including Osama bin Laden.  They want to send him to prison for the rest of his life.

But Manning’s lawyers say he was young and naïve and only wanted to enlighten the public about the harsh reality of America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Steven Bucci is a senior foreign policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation.  He says Manning engaged in espionage and broke the trust of the nation. 

“He took an oath not to violate that trust and he willfully and with disregard for any of the potential implications of what he did, stole information and gave it away to people who were not authorized to have it. That’s called spying in the vernacular," said Bucci.

Manning has admitted turning over hundreds of thousands of documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.  He had access to the material and was arrested while serving in Iraq.

It is the largest release of classified information in U.S. history and is the most sensational since publication in 1971 of the Pentagon Papers, a secret Defense Department history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Morris Davis is a former chief military prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay who says he plans to testify in Manning’s defense at the court martial.  

He says the prosecution in the Manning case is overzealous.

“I think the government, when it started, thought it was going to be like the trial of the century and I think the impact has not borne that out.  So they ought to accept a reasonable resolution and move on," said Davis.

As Manning’s trial opens, a grassroots activist network is supporting him through a Facebook page, Twitter account and website. 

Rallies are being held this week in dozens of U.S. cities and at least six foreign countries.  Thousands of people have donated more than $1 million for his defense fund.

Anne Wright is a retired U.S. Army colonel and former diplomat who supports Bradley Manning and his decision to release classified documents.

“And these are particular cables that we need to know because they, many of them identify government malfeasance or even criminal actions being done by government employees that should be exposed to the world," said Ms. Wright.

But others say the release of the material threatened to expose valuable military and diplomatic sources and strained America’s relations with other governments.


U.S. tourist gang rape victim
in crime-plagued India


An American tourist was gang-raped by a group of men in a hill resort in northern India, police said Tuesday, in the latest of a series of attacks that have thrown the spotlight on women's safety in the world's largest democracy.
   
The woman was picked up by three men in a truck on Monday night while hitchhiking back to her guest house in the town of Manali in Himachal Pradesh state, police said. She had been visiting friends and had been unable to find a taxi home.
   
Three men were briefly detained and then released in connection with the attack, Himachal Pradesh Police Chief B. Kamal Kumar said, clarifying an earlier statement which appeared to say the men had been arrested.
   
“Sorry, I think it was misquoted. I think they were detained for questioning, they were not arrested,” Kumar said.
   
The woman told police her attackers took her to an isolated area and raped her. She was taken to a local hospital for preliminary tests before being taken back to her guest house, said a local police inspector, who declined to be identified.
   
“We are in contact with authorities but due to issues of privacy we have no further comment,” Peter Vrooman, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, said in an email.
   
Instead of dropping the woman at her hotel, the men drove in a different direction for about 16 or 17 kilometers (10.5 miles), then overpowered and raped her, the inspector said, adding that the hospital test had confirmed the sexual assault.
   
“Her condition is stable and she is accompanied by two women constables. All medical help has been given, and the doctors have been taking care of her,” the inspector said. “We have told her we are like family and are available for any help.”
   
In March, a Swiss tourist was gang-raped while on a camping trip in a forest in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. In the same month, a British woman jumped out of her hotel balcony in Uttar Pradesh state to escape a feared sexual assault.
   
Sex crimes are common in India. The National Crime Records Bureau says more than 24,200 rapes were reported across the country in 2011, about one every 20 minutes.
   

U.S. officials seeing test
for modified wheat grain


The U.S. government is working with private companies to develop a rapid test for genetically modified wheat in response to fears about an unapproved wheat strain, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Tuesday.

Buyers in Asia and Europe have shunned U.S. wheat since the Agriculture Department  announced last week that a strain of wheat, modified by Monsanto Co. for herbicide tolerance, was found in an Oregon field. Genetically modified wheat is not approved for cultivation anywhere in the world.

Vilsack said development of a reliable, low-cost test for modified wheat was an Agriculture Department priority. Asked how soon a test would be available, Vilsack said, “Obviously, as soon as we can do it.”

Current tests are expensive and time consuming, and the new test is intended to be quick and easy.

Vilsack's remarks, on the sidelines of an event focused on cutting down food waste, were his first public comments on the subject since the wheat find was announced May 29.

Agriculture officials have said daily there are no signs genetically modified wheat was in commercial channels. Vilsack said development of a rapid test would allow grain exporters and processors to assure customers that their products are safe to eat.

With that assurance, he said, “The markets will be re-opened.”

Japan, South Korea and the European Union have said they plan to test incoming wheat shipments for modified wheat. Preliminary tests by Korea on U.S. wheat and flour were negative, officials said on Monday. Final results are expected today.

U.S. agriculture officials  were communicating with trading partners and customers about the investigation, said Vilsack.

Two approaches are available for a wheat test, said Vilsack. One test, used on corn and soybeans, examines protein in crop. The other method is a DNA test.

The department's other priority is to find the source of the wheat that sprouted in the northeast Oregon field. The unwanted volunteer seedlings survived when sprayed with the weed killer glyphosate, which led to tests that identified the wheat as a Monsanto strain.

Other fields on the farm tested negative for the wheat, said an Agriculture Department spokesman.

Some $9 billion in U.S. wheat exports hang in the balance. The United States, the world's largest farm exporter, exports nearly half of its wheat crop.


U.S. Marine and kin grabbed
by kidnappers in rural México


The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is searching for clues in the kidnapping of a U.S. Marine reservist in México.

The FBI says U.S. citizen and Iraq War veteran Armando Torres, III, disappeared May 14, along with his father and uncle, who are Mexican citizens.

A statement by the FBI's San Antonio division says armed gunmen took the three men by force from Torres' father's ranch in La Barranca in Mexico's northeastern state of Tamaulipas.  The statement says Torres had driven across the border from the southern U.S. state of Texas to visit the ranch.

Torres' sister, Cristina, said her family members' abductions came as a shock.

"It is just shocking, you know, because you do not want to believe it.  My cousin called me," she said. "She told me that she had seen a white truck outside the house.  She saw several people just get out the car and go into the house.  And they grabbed my brother, and my uncle, and my father, and they just, you know, just took them."

The FBI is turning to the public for help identifying those responsible for the kidnapping.  Anyone with information is being asked to call the agency at 956-546-6922.

México has been plagued by kidnappings in recent years, many of them carried out by the nation's drug cartels.  Official figures showed 1,043 cases between January and October 2012, although experts say the numbers are likely much higher.

In addition to the Mexican criminal investigation, the FBI says it has opened an international investigation in the case.