Reasons you don’t want to meet the People’s Armed Police

China’s internal suppression troops have plans for Hong Kong [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( Protesters in Hong Kong are in a self-proclaimed revolution demanding for free speech and fair elections. But mainland Chinese officials call the protesters terrorists and Xi Jinping could use a security force called the People’s Armed Police against the demonstrators. House lawmakers investigating President Trump are hoping to find out what Vice President Mike Pence new about Trump’s interest in Ukraine. And Nigeria's first-ever Oscar submission has too much English for the Oscars. (We’re still beta-testing this newsletter and we've just updated the design. Let us know your thoughts on that more generally about this newsletter by replying to this email.) --------------------------------------------------------------- In the news today China’s internal suppression troops have plans for Hong Kong [An anti-government protester throws a Molotov cocktail during a protest.]( Credit: Tyrone Siu/Reuters Chinese President Xi Jinping has a message to those hoping to wrench away any part of China from government control. First, they’ll “perish” and then “their bodies will be smashed and their bones ground to powder.” Hong Kong is in the throes of a self-proclaimed “revolution.” Its adherents say they are simply fighting for basic rights such as free speech and fair elections. But Chinese officials call them separatists and budding “terrorists.” So, is Xi going to send in the army like during the Tiananmen Square event? Probably not. But, he has an entirely different division [devoted to quashing any perceived separatists and terrorists](. It’s called the People’s Armed Police. Also: [Former Twitter employees charged with spying for Saudi Arabia]( China and US make agreement on tariffs China and the US [have agreed to cancel in phases]( the tariffs imposed during their months-long trade war, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday, without specifying a timetable. Tariff cancellation is an important condition for any agreement, ministry spokesman Gao Feng said, adding that both must simultaneously end some tariffs on each other's goods to reach a "phase one" trade deal. Also: [Europeans look to China as global partner, shun Trump’s US]( Ukraine remains split over how to achieve peace in contested Donbas region Last month, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a public announcement that sparked nationwide confusion and then — anger: He stated that he agreed with Russia on a strategy to bring the five-year conflict in Eastern Ukraine to an end. Among other provisions, a “special status” of autonomy would be granted to the Ukrainian territories currently controlled by Russia-backed separatist groups, in exchange for the region’s return to Ukrainian rule. Tired of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, [citizens remain split on the path toward peace]( — and how much Ukraine should give up to achieve it. Also: [In Ukraine, US support no longer taken 'at face value']( How much did Pence know? Lawmakers conducting the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump are [due to hear today from a top adviser to Vice President Mike Pence](, one of the last witnesses to testify behind closed doors before public hearings start next week. The House committees have called Jennifer Williams, a career foreign service officer and special adviser to Pence on Europe and Russia, to testify about how much Pence knew about efforts by Trump and those around him to pressure Ukrainian officials to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Also: [Attorney General William Barr declined to hold a news conference saying Trump broke no laws in Ukraine call]( DR Congo’s ‘Terminator’ sentenced for war crimes The International Criminal Court [sentenced former Congolese military leader Bosco Ntaganda]( on Thursday to 30 years in prison for atrocities including murder, rape and conscripting child soldiers. Ntaganda, nicknamed "Terminator," was found guilty in July on 18 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for acts committed when he was the military chief of a militia in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002-2003. Attack on Canadian mining company leaves 37 dead Dozens of people are feared still missing after [an ambush on workers near a Canadian-owned mine in Burkina Faso]( killed at least 37 and wounded 60. Montreal-based gold miner Semafo said five of its buses with a military escort came under fire on the road leading to its Boungou mine, an open-pit gold mine in the eastern part of the country. Wednesday’s assault was the third deadly attack in 15 months against Semafo. Nigeria's first-ever Oscar submission has too much English for the Oscars [Genevieve Nnaji stars in the Nigerian film "Lionheart."]( Credit: Netflix This year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences renamed the Oscar category of best foreign-language film to best international feature film, but it didn’t change the rules for qualification: Nominated movies still have to be mostly in non-English dialogue. So, Nigeria's first-ever Oscar submission, “Lionheart” has [been disqualified because it’s mostly in English](. Nigerian actress Genevieve Nnaji, who [funded the movie and stars in it and directed it,]( objected in a [tweet](, saying “Lionheart” represents the way Nigerians speak. “We did not choose who colonized us,” she wrote, adding that English acts as a bridge between hundreds of native languages. Many of Nigeria’s biggest film productions have primarily English dialogue. --------------------------------------------------------------- Morning meme Please enjoy [this video of a beluga whale playing rugby](. (And if you don’t follow the sport, South Africa won the world championship in Japan last week and hard-drinking rugby fans [almost broke Japan’s bars and restaurants](.) --------------------------------------------------------------- Promotion Like what you read in TOP OF THE WORLD? When you make [a gift]( to support our work, your donation will be matched. [[Support](] --------------------------------------------------------------- In case you missed it on The World - [Turning manure into electricity]( - [Admitting fewer refugees]( - [US embassy in Kyiv is a ‘snake pit,’ transcript says]( - [Designing cities for women]( - [Trade update]( - [Hong Kong protesters under threat]( - [Tunnel 29]( - [Enes Kanter and Turkish food]( - [Iraqi protests target Iranian influence]( - [Protesters in Iraq are not going anywhere]( Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX](, [WGBH](, and the [BBC](.