CHINESE OFFICIALS CONDEMN, MOCK TRUMP SANCTIONS
Chinese and Hong HONG KONG
Kong officials by turns condemned and mocked a Friday move by the Trump administration to impose sanctions on Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, and 10 other senior officials for their roles in a prolonged crackdown on political dissent in the city.
The Hong Kong government and several of the officials targeted dismissed the impact of the penalties while also condemning them as “blatant and barbaric interference” in China’s domestic political situation. The head of China’s liaison office to Hong Kong, Luo Huining, said on Chinese media that the U.S.’ efforts were a waste because he had no holdings in the United States, adding that he could send $100 to President Donald Trump to give him something to freeze.
The new sanctions are the first against officials in Hong Kong and mainland China over the city’s harsh suppression of prodemocracy protests, and are yet another indication that the United States has begun to treat Hong Kong as simply another Chinese city.
Profits rebound at Berkshire Hathaway. The strong recovery in the stock market — and a surge in the value of Apple’s stock, in particular — drove a rebound in profits for Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in the second quarter.
Berkshire on Saturday said it earned $26.4 billion in the second quarter, a turnaround from a $49.7 billion loss in the first quarter, when a plunge in the stock market, prompted by the coronavirus outbreak, caused huge paper losses in Buffett’s giant stock portfolio. In the second quarter of last year, Berkshire earned $14.2 billion.
The weak economy, caused by the pandemic and business interruptions, weighed on many of the companies that the conglomerate owns. Berkshire warned that the pandemic could lead to changes in the economy that could hurt its operations.
“We cannot reliably predict when business activities at our numerous and diverse operations will normalize. Nor can we predict how these events will alter the future consumption patterns of consumers and businesses we serve,” it said in its second-quarter filing.
Aside from its stock holdings in companies such as Apple and Bank of America, Berkshire owns outright a wide array of large businesses — in the insurance, railway, energy, retail and manufacturing sectors — that provide a snapshot of the health of the U.S. economy.
Remains of sailor and seven Marines killed in training accident are recovered. The remains of seven Marines and one sailor killed in a training accident off the coast of Southern California late last month were recovered Friday in a U.S. Navy underwater salvage operation, according to authorities.
The servicemen’s remains will be sent to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware before being released to their families, the I Marine Expeditionary Force said in a statement. The amphibious assault vehicle they were in also was recovered, and the accident remains under investigation.
CDC closes some offices over bacteria discovery. The nation’s foremost public health agency is learning that it is not immune to the complex effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told employees that some office space it leases in the Atlanta area would be closed again after property managers of the buildings discovered Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, in water sources at the sites. No employees were sickened. The announcement was reported Friday by CNN.
That the CDC is contending with this problem highlights the seriousness of Legionella in the aftermath of coronavirus lockdowns and how complicated it can be to prevent it.
The CDC itself warns that Legionnaires’ disease, a respiratory illness, can be fatal in one in 10 cases. — Denver Post wire services