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Tesla faces one other NHTSA investigation after deadly driverless crash in Texas

Tesla, Palantir, Hasbro, Target and more

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, unveils a new all-wheel drive version of the Model S on October 9, 2014 in Hawthorne, California.

Lucy Nicholson | Reuters

On Monday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had “immediately” opened another investigation into Tesla after a fatal crash occurred over the weekend in Spring, Texas.

Two men died in the crash on Saturday night and, according to several press interviews with local police, no one was apparently behind the wheel.

The electric vehicle, a Tesla 2019 Model S, hit a tree and went up in flames. One person was in the passenger seat and another was in the passenger seat of the vehicle.

Another federal agency, the National Transportation Safety Board, said it is also sending two investigators to Texas and will focus its analysis on the operation of the vehicle and the post-accident fire.

The police and federal vehicle safety authorities have not yet completed their extensive investigations. A preliminary report is not final and questions remain as to whether Tesla’s advanced driver assistance systems were used before or during the accident.

The company’s systems are marketed under the brand names Autopilot, Full Self-Driving or Full Self-Driving Beta. Tesla includes the autopilot standard in all newer vehicles. And it sells Full Self-Driving for $ 10,000 with a subscription option in the works.

Autopilot and full self-driving technology make Tesla vehicles unsafe to operate without a driver at the wheel. Some customers who purchase the FSD option also get access to a “beta” version to test the latest features added to the system on public roads before all bugs are fixed.

The company says in its user manuals that drivers are only allowed to use the autopilot and FSD under “active supervision”.

At the same time, CEO Elon Musk advertises on Twitter, where he has 50 million followers, and in media appearances as safe and continuously improved.

On an episode of the popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast in February, Musk and Rogan discussed how Tesla drivers could play chess on their cars’ touchscreens while driving when they shouldn’t. (You need to press a button that says you are the passenger.)

On the same episode, Musk also said, “I think autopilot gets good enough that you don’t have to drive most of the time unless you really want to.”

The great hope for autonomous and automated driving systems in today’s development is that – like seat belts, automated emergency braking, airbags and other technologies that have become standard – they will prevent accidents or reduce their effects. According to NHTSA data, there were 36,096 deaths in road traffic accidents involving motor vehicles in 2019.

To date, the NHTSA has initiated around 28 investigations into accidents involving Tesla vehicles, of which around 24 are active today.

The National Transportation Safety Board, an independent federal agency that investigates accidents to determine the factors that contribute, has urged the NHTSA to impose stringent safety standards on automated vehicle technology. The NTSB called on Tesla in its recommendations for poor safety practices and expressed frustration at the reluctance of the NHTSA to take action after several fatal accidents involving Uber and Tesla vehicles.

Fatal accidents involving Tesla autopilots killed Joshua Brown in Florida, Walter Huang in California, and Jeremy Banner in Florida, in addition to the two men who died in Texas. An autopilot accident also killed Tesla driver Gao Yaning in China, and there was an autopilot accident in Japan that killed a pedestrian, Yoshihiro Umeda.

Here is the full statement an NHTSA spokesperson sent CNBC about the Spring, Texas crash:

“NHTSA is aware of the tragic accident involving a Tesla vehicle outside of Houston, Texas. NHTSA immediately set up a dedicated crash investigation team to investigate the accident. We are actively working with local law enforcement and Tesla to find out more about the details about the vehicle will crash and will take appropriate action when we have more information. “

Tesla shares fell more than 4% in the late afternoon on Monday.

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Business

The Fed Faces Criticism as It Wades Into Local weather and Fairness Points

The Fed Faces Criticism as It Wades Into Climate and Equity Issues

And Michael Strain, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, said he was concerned that the Fed’s focus on boosting equity – by lowering undeclared unemployment, for example – could make it too hesitant to raise interest rates and raise them Let inflation bubble in the air.

But Fed officials say the central bank is pragmatic, not political. Ms. Daly regularly points out that understanding the risks of climate change to the financial system is important for bank regulators and regulators. Mr Powell said during a webcast on Wednesday that the Fed sees such problems “through the lens of our existing mandates” – racial, gender and other disparities in economic outcomes “hold the economy back, for example.”

“I also think we are now realizing that unemployment can go down for quite a long time without inflation being a problem – which will tend to help these groups,” he said.

Even so, the Fed knows that it is in a difficult area. Mr. Powell avoids approving certain pieces of legislation. When Fed officials talk about inequality, they are often discussing opportunity – a framework with more bipartisan support.

There is risk in viewing the Fed as a “quote unquote democratic institution,” said Peter Conti-Brown, a Fed historian at the University of Pennsylvania. It could lose support across political cycles, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely viewed as a liberal project.

“The Fed always needs political support to do its job well and have the autonomy it wants,” said Sarah Binder, a political scientist at George Washington University who studies the Fed’s politics. Pushback that led to reform came generally from Democrats – who forced them to focus more on employment and curb their ability to help Wall Street – rather than Republicans, she noted.

And even now, some Democrats say the central bank could go further. Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan, has urged the Fed to do more, such as providing cheaper loans to states and communities.

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Politics

Alex Jones Faces a Reckoning

Alex Jones Faces a Reckoning

Mr. Friesen and Mr. Holmes decided to counter Mr. Jones’ version of the conversation with their own. The two men met through Marty DeRosa, a comedian from Chicago. Holmes, 33, grew up in the small town of Princeton in northern Illinois. His parents were members of the No-Name Fellowship, a religious cult. The cult broke up after the child of one of its members died after being denied medical treatment.

“My whole life has been influenced by a loud, tall, brazen cheat cult leader,” joked Holmes.

At the University of Missouri, the 36-year-old Friesian took an interest in American storytelling, including the conspiratorial stories Americans tell themselves.

He occasionally listened to Mr. Jones “from 9/11” when the Infowars host claimed to have predicted the attacks, Mr. Friesen said. “Then when I saw that he was getting involved with Trump, it felt weird,” said Mr Friesen.

Mr. Jones’ leap into presidential politics intrigued Mr. Friesen, who compared Mr. Jones to Charles E. Coughlin, a Catholic priest and similarly sprawling, charismatic radio station in the 1930s who went from populism to virulent anti-Semitism to obscurity.

For Infowars, a return to the dark could be looming. After a dizzying audience surge during Mr. Jones’ live broadcast of the Capitol uprising on Jan. 6, daily traffic on the Infowars website has dropped to about a quarter of that day’s views, well below what it has seen in recent years, an analysis by SimilarWeb, an internet tracking company.

Social media traffic has never fully recovered after Mr. Jones was removed from most major platforms in 2018 and 2019 for violating guidelines on abusive behavior and posting posts promoting violence or hatred. Sites like Infowars can attract casual readers who follow viral posts on social media. However, according to SimilarWeb analysis, these referrals have decreased significantly as less than 1 percent of all traffic to Infowars is through social media.

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Politics

Police officer Kim Potter faces manslaughter cost

Police officer Kim Potter faces manslaughter charge

Kim Potter, the Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright, was arrested Wednesday morning for second degree manslaughter.

The 48-year-old has bailed $ 100,000 and is due to appear in court on Thursday.

Potter’s arrest came the day after she resigned from the Brooklyn Center Police Department and three days after she shot the 20-year-old black man. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Wright’s death, while fleeing a police station, exacerbated already high tensions in and around Minneapolis over the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd last year.

Kim Potter, a 26-year-old veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, poses for a booking photo in Hennepin County Jail for driving 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic obstruction on April 14, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota fatally shot.

Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office via Reuters

Body camera video footage of Potter during Sunday’s confrontation suggests she believed she pulled out a taser as she pointed and fired the gun at Wright after he turned away from another officer who tried to get him next to his Handcuffed SUV.

Wright had been stopped by police in Brooklyn Center because license plates had expired and an air freshener was hanging on his rearview mirror.

Police then attempted to arrest Wright after learning that he was wanted on a pending no-show arrest warrant in a criminal case accused of carrying a gun without permission and escaped police in June to be.

Potter screamed desperately and repeatedly “Taser!” before shooting Wright as he sat in the driver’s seat of his vehicle after pulling away from the other officer.

Potter’s Taser is colored pale yellow in contrast to their black 9mm Glock pistol.

Washington County, Minnesota District Attorney Pete Orput announced that Potter would be charged with Wright’s death.

Brooklyn Center, Minnesota Police Officer Kim Potter in 2007.

Bruce Bisping | Star Tribune via Getty Images

She was arrested Wednesday morning at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Authorities said she would be detained in Hennepin County Jail and the Washington County Attorney’s Office would bring charges later on Wednesday.

Authorities said the investigation into the shooting is still active.

Wright’s older brother told NBC News that the family had hoped Potter would be charged with a more serious crime.

“I’m not very happy about this, but I will take every win I can get right now,” said Dallas Bryant, Wright’s 23-year-old brother.

A group of lawyers representing the Wright family said in a statement, “While we appreciate the District Attorney seeking justice for Daunte, no conviction of the Wright family can return loved ones.”

“This was not an accident. This was a deliberate, deliberate and unlawful use of force,” the lawyers said.

Former Police Officer Kim Potter’s home was blocked by security barricades on April 14, 2021 in Champlin, Minnesota.

Kerem Yucel | AFP | Getty Images

Potter, who served at the Brooklyn Center for 26 years and previously served as president of the police union, has retained a defense attorney, Earl Gray, according to the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association. Gray did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gray is also representing former Minneapolis Police Officer Thomas Lane, one of two other ex-officers on trial separately from Chauvin on lesser charges for the death of Floyd, who was black like Wright.

Floyd’s assassination by Chauvin sparked nationwide protests against police misconduct against minority suspects and called for a major reform of police practices.

Wright’s death sparked protests in the Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis.

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Politics

Rep. Matt Gaetz faces Home Ethics probe amid intercourse site visitors investigation

Rep. Matt Gaetz faces House Ethics probe amid sex traffic investigation

The House Ethics Committee said Friday it had opened an investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz, the embattled Republican from Florida who was facing a federal investigation into criminal sex trafficking.

In a statement, the ethics committee said it was aware of the public allegations that Gaetz “may have committed sexual misconduct and / or illegal drug use”.

The panel also found that Gaetz allegedly “shared inappropriate pictures or videos on the floor of the house, misused government identification records, converted campaign funds for personal use and / or accepted bribes, inappropriate tips, or improper gifts that violate house rules , Laws or other standards of conduct. “

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38-year-old Gaetz has vigorously denied the wrongdoing since the Justice Department’s investigation first became known last week. He was not charged with a crime.

“The office will repeat once again that these claims are obviously false and have not been confirmed by a single person willing to leave their name behind,” Gaetz’s office told CNBC in response to the new ethics inquiry.

The Democrat-led Ethics Panel announced Friday that it has opened an investigation into Rep. Tom Reed, RN.Y., citing allegations of possible sexual misconduct.

Last month, Reed apologized to a woman who accused him of rubbing her back and hanging off her bra in a Minneapolis bar in 2017. Reed said he would not seek re-election in 2022.

Reed’s office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment, but instead said in a statement to Politico: “We have already publicly addressed this situation and are working, in line with it, with the House Ethics Committee to bring this matter to a close. “

Ethics Committee press releases, attributed to Chairman Ted Deutch, D-Fla., And senior member Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., Stated that an investigation “does not in itself indicate a violation, or reflecting a judgment in the name. ” of the committee. “

Federal investigators are investigating whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her trips with him, the New York Times reported for the first time last week.

The investigation reportedly emerged from an investigation by Gaetz’s associate Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector on criminal charges including underage sex trafficking, stalking, cable fraud and identity theft.

Greenberg had previously pleaded not guilty, but his attorney and prosecutors on his case told a judge on Thursday that Greenberg is expected to make a plea deal.

NBC reported Wednesday that investigators are investigating whether women were being paid to travel to the Bahamas with Gaetz to have sex, and whether Gaetz and Greenberg were using the internet to look for women who could pay them to have sex .

“I’m sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very well today,” Greenberg’s lawyer Fritz Scheller told reporters on Thursday afternoon.

A Republican congressman, Adam Kinzinger from Illinois, has already asked Gaetz to resign.

Gaetz said this week that he had “absolutely not resigned” from the congress. As a staunch supporter of the former President Donald Trump, Gaetz has signed Marc Mukasey, a defender of the Trump organization, as a representative.

Gaetz has also hired a PR firm, the Logan Circle Group.

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Business

Alibaba Faces $2.eight Billion High quality From Chinese language Regulators

Alibaba Faces $2.8 Billion Fine From Chinese Regulators

China announced on Saturday that it had fined e-commerce titan Alibaba a record $ 2.8 billion for monopoly business practices. This was the government’s toughest move to date in its campaign to tighten regulation of the country’s internet giants.

Beijing’s market watchdog began investigating Alibaba for possible antitrust violations in December, including preventing vendors from selling their goods on other shopping platforms. On Saturday, the regulator said its investigation found that Alibaba was hindering competition in online retail in China, affecting innovation in the internet economy and harming consumer interests.

The fine on Alibaba, one of China’s most valuable private companies and the foundation of the business empire of Jack Ma, the country’s most famous tycoon, exceeds the $ 975 million antitrust fine imposed by the Chinese government on American chip giant Qualcomm in 2015.

The Chinese authorities left little doubt on Saturday about the signal they wanted to send to other internet giants. In a comment posted online a minute after the fine was announced, People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official newspaper, described regulation as “a kind of love and care.”

“Monopoly is the great enemy of the market economy,” the comment said. “There is no contradiction between legal regulation and support for development. Rather, they complement and reinforce each other. “

The fine is unlikely to materially affect Alibaba’s assets. The state market regulator, the Chinese agency that imposed the fine, said the amount represented 4 percent of Alibaba’s domestic sales in 2019. The group reported profits of more than $ 12 billion in the last three months of 2020 alone.

Overall, the fact that Beijing has not asked Alibaba to make any major additional concessions makes the decision “good news for the firm,” said Angela Zhang, associate professor and director of the Center for Chinese Law at Hong Kong University.

When Qualcomm was fined six years ago, it also agreed to offer Chinese customers significant discounts on patent fees. On Saturday, the market regulator said only that Alibaba would have to curb its anti-competitive behavior and submit reports of its compliance for three years.

“I would think the market should respond positively,” said Professor Zhang, although she warned the government could conduct additional research on other aspects of Alibaba’s business at any time.

In a statement, Alibaba said it would “sincerely” accept the punishment and strengthen internal systems “to better serve our responsibility to society”.

“The penalty imposed today was to alert and catalyze businesses like ours,” Alibaba said. “It reflects the thoughtful and normative expectations of regulators for the development of our industry.”

Over the past decade, Alibaba’s business has expanded beyond shopping to include logistics, grocery, entertainment, social media, travel booking, and more. Like its peers on the Internet, Alibaba has said that the breadth of its business helps make each of its services more useful. However, critics say the size of the company worsens the playing field for competitors and limits consumer choice.

China started taking a closer look at its tech giants last year. The market regulator proposed updating the country’s antimonopoly law with a new provision for large internet platforms like Alibaba’s. In November, officials put an end to plans by Alibaba’s sister company, finance-focused Ant Group, to go public and tighten control over internet finance.

In December, it opened the antimonopoly investigation against Alibaba – an astonishing twist for Mr. Ma, whom the people of China had long held up as an icon of entrepreneurial plucking.

In the USA and Europe too, skepticism about the power of large Internet companies has increased. Western regulators have repeatedly fined Goliaths like Google over the past few years for various antitrust violations. But such penalties have not changed the nature of businesses in general enough to allay concerns about their power.

China began tightening oversight of big tech later than the West. But his efforts are already beginning to affect the way Chinese internet giants operate. This reflects the extent to which all private companies in China must remain in the good grace of the government in order to survive.

For many years, Alibaba and its arch-rival, gaming and social media giant Tencent, have competed fiercely in a variety of companies, including by preventing their own users from spending time on the other company’s services. That could gradually change. In a first for the company, Alibaba recently applied for two of its trading platforms, Taobao Deals and Xianyu, to be present on WeChat, Tencent’s ubiquitous social app.

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Business

South Asia faces a get up name because it trails in world gender equality

South Asia faces a wake up call as it trails in global gender equality

South Asia is on the brink of a wake-up call as it watches the world in its efforts to close the gender gap, an expert told CNBC.

The World Economic Forum predicts that it could now take 195 years to achieve gender equality in the region – 59 years more than the global average.

Corporations have a huge responsibility to fill that void, Sharmini Wainwright, senior managing director at Michael Page Australia recruiting agency, told CNBC.

“It may be a good time to wake up here,” said Wainwright on Thursday.

India in particular still has a long way to go in this regard. The pandemic and other cultural and demographic issues made it an “incredibly challenging year” for the country. Currently, only 13% of senior executives in India are women.

“There is still a long way to go,” said Wainwright. “Big Indian companies really need to push for change.”

The results come from a larger WEF study of the impact of the pandemic on the gender gap. It is now estimated that it will take 135.6 years to achieve gender equality – a generation longer than previously thought.

Western Europe has been a leader in gender equality. The gap is expected to close in 53 years, followed by North America (62 years) and Latin America and the Caribbean (69 years).

Thailand leads the Asia-Pacific region

However, other parts of the Asia-Pacific region showed signs of progress. In Thailand in particular, more than half (53%) of management positions were filled by women in 2020.

Those senior female executives This has usually been a combination of international and local talent, especially within multinational companies in manufacturing and in the supply chain.

“What you have is an economy and a market that is very fast moving and very aggressively pursuing talent,” said Wainwright.

She added that this was also the result of a concerted effort by certain industries such as manufacturing over the past few decades to attract and nurture a pipeline of female executives.

“Now, 20 years later, you have seen the benefits of people who have really taken the opportunity to enjoy exceptional careers in this sector and really advance to leadership positions within the sector,” she said.

More women needed in the top chair

Nevertheless, too few women today occupy the top management position, namely the role of CEO.

According to the report, the top three job titles for female executives were chief finance officer, marketing director and legal director.

Wainwright described this as the next “big breakthrough that has to take place” and urged men to be better allies.

“How do we manage to get that first place? It’s still to come,” she said.

“This conversation is about both men and women. They are usually the ones with the greatest influence in making a change and making a decision.”

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Business

San Diego Comedian-Con faces backlash over Thanksgiving weekend dates

San Diego Comic-Con faces backlash over Thanksgiving weekend dates

A sign photographed from outside the annual San Diego Comic-Con International at the San Diego Convention Center on Sunday July 15, 2012 in San Diego, California.

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The coronavirus pandemic has paralyzed the live events business, especially the lucrative comic convention industry. In order to raise much-needed funds, San Diego Comic-Con postponed its show to fall in July 2021.

However, the decision to hold the personal international meeting on Thanksgiving weekend, an announcement made late Saturday night, has been heavily criticized by fans, talent and the press.

“So they planned #SDCC for the same weekend as the first chance most families can (hopefully) celebrate Thanksgiving in two years. See you in 2022!” wrote Charles Soule, author of the comics “Light of the Jedi” and Daredevil, after the announcement on Twitter.

As with Soule, the majority of the votes against asked why the organization would host this event during a major US holiday. Especially one that many people couldn’t celebrate with their families over the past year due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

These voices range from fans who travel a lot to attend the show to talent who perform on panels or at signings. Not to mention journalists and other industry professionals hired to cover the event.

While past conventions coincided with holidays – WonderCon was held on the Easter weekend and Anime Expo usually takes place on July 4th – hosting San Diego Comic-Con raised eyebrows during this special Thanksgiving holiday.

“My family missed Thanksgiving last year because of the pandemic,” wrote Dan Slott, an Eisner award-winning comic book writer, on Twitter. “This year we will all be vaccinated. There is no way I would go to an event instead of spending that time with them. Even if everything were magically back to normal. I can’t imagine anyone else feeling any different.”

It appears that much of the organization’s decision to hold a face-to-face meeting in 2021 was due to the cancellation of previous events, which resulted in significant financial success.

“While we have been able to move from face-to-face meetings to limited online events, like many small businesses, the loss of revenue has had an acute impact on the company, including shorter hours and lower wages for employees.” other issues, “said David Glanzer, spokesman for the nonprofit, in a statement on Saturday.” Hopefully this event will sustain our financial reserves and mark a slow return to larger face-to-face gatherings in 2022. “

San Diego Comic-Con officials did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

San Diego Comic-Con has become a huge event for the entertainment industry. It’s a place where the studios add excitement for upcoming blockbuster projects and serve as a platform for disseminating new details to the most passionate fans.

It is also a major sales driver, not only for the organization that operates it, but also for the local economy. The San Diego Tourism Group estimates that $ 88 million will be spent directly by attendees during the convention and $ 149 million will go to the region’s economy.

Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world come to this event every year, and that does not apply to the on-site staff, security guards and supervisory staff who walk through the halls over the four-day weekend.

The November conference only lasts three days and takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The number of participants is likely to be limited due to local guidelines. The organization plans to offer more information on ticket prices, capacity constraints and other details closer to the show date.

“Of course, I can see the #SDCC telling thousands of fans to skip the first post-pandemic Thanksgiving Day in order to stand in line in Hall H, but they are also asking great Hollywood actors and directors to do the same to do.” “Rus McLaughlin, Senior Content Strategist at Oculus, wrote on Twitter.” I suspect there might be a pushback there. “

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Business

H&M Faces a Boycott in China Over Assertion on Uyghurs

H&M Faces a Boycott in China Over Statement on Uyghurs

Fashion retailer H&M faces a possible boycott in China after a statement by the company last year expressing deep concern over reports of forced labor in Xinjiang sparked a social media storm this week.

A similar statement by Nike was also criticized on Wednesday, a sign that Western apparel manufacturers in China may face growing hostility over their public stance against forced labor in Xinjiang and the cessation of cotton sourcing from the region.

The H&M statement, which can be found on the Swedish retailer’s website, was released in September after global control over the use of Uyghurs in forced labor in Xinjiang increased.

In it, H&M said it is “deeply concerned about reports from civil society organizations and media containing allegations of forced labor and discrimination against ethnic-religious minorities” in Xinjiang and that it has stopped buying cotton from producers in the region.

More than eight months later, following Western countries sanctions China for treating Uyghurs, H&M is facing online backlash from Chinese consumers. The outrage was fueled by comments on platforms such as the microblogging site Sina Weibo from celebrities and groups such as the Communist Youth League, an influential Communist Party organization.

“Would you like to make money in China while spreading false rumors and boycotting Xinjiang cotton? Wishful thinking! “Said the group in a contribution, repeating one of the statements of the People’s Liberation Army, in which the attitude of H & M was described as” ignorant and arrogant “.

On Monday, the UK, Canada, the European Union and the United States announced an escalating series of sanctions against Chinese officials for treating Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Roughly one in five cotton garments sold worldwide contains cotton or yarn from the region where the authorities have implemented forced labor programs and mass internment to turn up to a million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other largely Muslim minorities into model workers who obey the Communist Party.

Nike could be next. The company posted a statement on its website expressing concerns about “Reports of Forced Labor in and Related to” Xinjiang. “Nike does not source any products” from the region and “we have confirmed with our contract suppliers that they do not use any textiles or spun yarn from the region.”

On Wednesday, Nike was at the top of Weibo’s “Hot Search” list. Some users were angry that Nike had joined the boycott of cotton from the area. The company declined to comment.

Huang Xuan, a Chinese actor who had a men’s clothing deal with H&M, issued a statement saying he would cancel the deal, adding that he opposed “defamation and rumors” as well as “any attempt at that To discredit land “. Singer and actress Victoria Song, who previously supported H&M, also released a statement saying she has no relationship with the brand and that “national interests are paramount”.

By Wednesday evening, at least three major Chinese e-commerce platforms – Pinduoduo, Jingdong and Tmall – had removed H&M from search results and taken their products off sale. The measures underscored the pressures of foreign companies doing business in China as they navigate political and cultural debates such as the country’s sovereignty and its checkered human rights record.

On Wednesday evening, H&M China responded by posting on the Sina Weibo microblogging website that the company “does not take a political position”.

“The H&M Group respects Chinese consumers as always,” the statement said. “We are determined to invest in China in the long term and to develop further.”

H&M is the second largest fashion retailer in the world after Inditex, the owner of Zara, and China is the fourth largest market.

State broadcaster CCTV criticized H&M, saying it was “a misconception to try to play a righteous hero”. H&M, it said, “will definitely pay a heavy price for its wrongdoing.”

Claire Fu contributed to the research.

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Politics

North Korea nationwide extradited to U.S., faces cash laundering expenses

North Korea national extradited to U.S., faces money laundering charges

Kim Yu Song, advisor to the North Korean embassy in Malaysia, reads a statement to the media in front of the North Korean embassy. North Korea is breaking diplomatic relations with Malaysia in protest after a court ruled that a North Korean citizen named Mun Chol Myong should be extradited to the United States for money laundering charges. The Malaysian government said it would order all diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours.

Wong Fok Loy | LightRocket | Getty Images

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Mun has been detained in Malaysia since his arrest by local authorities in May 2019, less than two weeks after being charged in Washington on six money laundering cases, including the money laundering conspiracy.

North Korea said last Friday it cut diplomatic ties with Malaysia over Mun’s extradition, which was approved by a Malaysian court last week.

The Associated Press reported on Saturday that Mun was in FBI custody in Washington.

Kang Son Bi (L) wife of Mun Chol Myong, the North Korean man who may be extradited from Malaysia to the US for money laundering, arrives at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on December 6, 2019.

Mohd Rasfan | AFP | Getty Images

“One of the FBI’s biggest counterintelligence challenges is bringing overseas defendants to justice, particularly the North Korean case,” FBI assistant director Alan Kohler Jr. of the bureau’s counterintelligence division said in a statement.

“Thanks to the FBI’s partnership with overseas authorities, we are proud to bring Mun Chol Myong to the US for trial and we hope he will be the first of many,” Kohler said.

The indictment accuses Mun and co-conspirators of using a network of front-line firms, registering bank accounts under false names, and removing references to North Korea from international transfers and receipts.

In doing so, they enticed American banks to process transactions in favor of North Korean companies that they would otherwise not have been able to process.

“We are delighted that Mun has been extradited and will be on trial for the crimes alleged in the indictment,” Channing Phillips, acting US attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement.