10 things you need to know today: July 21, 2019

(Image credit: Billy H.C. Kwok/Getty Images)

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1. Hong Kong protests continue for 7th weekend
2. Iranian ambassador warns U.K. against escalating tensions following tanker seizure
3. Pompeo to meet with Mexican foreign minister ahead of immigration deal deadline
4. British chancellor to resign if Boris Johnson becomes prime minister
5. South Korean official says U.S.-South Korea joint exercise will go on as planned
6. Zelenskiy expected to be a big winner in Ukrainian parliamentary elections
7. Exit polls show Japan's Abe holding onto power
8. Marvel teases MCU's 'Phase Four' at Comic-Con
9. Ireland's Shane Lowry looks to close out Open Championship for first major title
10. Rivera, Halladay, among six Cooperstown inductees in sterling class

published 21 July 2019

1. Hong Kong protests continue for 7th weekend

Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched through Hong Kong's streets for a seventh weekend, with demonstrations showing no signs of slowing down despite the death of a controversial extradition bill. The marchers gathered outside police and government headquarters demanding an inquiry into police brutality and a full withdrawal of the aforementioned bill. Sunday's protest follows an eventful Saturday in the city, which saw pro-police demonstrators take to the streets, as well as what is believed to be Hong Kong police's largest seizure of explosives ever. A bomb squad reportedly found pro-independence materials amid a cache of bombs and other weapons in a warehouse. It is unknown if the case is connected to the protests.

Iran's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Hamid Baeidinejad, warned the U.K. against escalating tensions following Tehran's seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker, the Stena Impero, in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. Baeidinejad said British political voices calling for action were "quite dangerous and unwise at a sensitive time in the region." He added that "Iran is firm and ready for different scenarios." In a recording of radio exchanges between a British Royal Navy frigate and Iranian armed forces vessels, the Iranian forces can reportedly be heard telling a ship, likely the Stena Impero, "if you obey you will be safe," while the British navy reportedly tells the ship that its passage must not be impeded. Tehran said the Stena Impero crew was in "good health."

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet with Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard on Sunday to discuss trade and migration ahead of a deadline on a deal that removed tariff threats on Mexican exports. President Trump backtracked on the threats in June after Mexico agreed to stem the flow of migrants heading toward the U.S.'s southern boarder from Central America by July 22. If the U.S. determines that Mexico has not done enough to curb migration by Monday, the two countries are expected to begin talks over changing rules that would make most asylum seekers apply for asylum in Mexico instead of the U.S. Mexico has maintained it is not prepared to sign a "safe third country" agreement with the U.S.

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond confirmed on Sunday he will quit the government if Boris Johnson becomes prime minister. That outcome seems likely, as Johnson is the heavy frontrunner to replace Prime Minister Theresa May in Westminster. Hammond said he never signed up for a no-deal Brexit, which Johnson is open to. Hammond was asked during a television appearance if he expected to get fired after May's departure, but the treasury chief said he would resign before that could happen. "It's very important that the prime minister is able to have a chancellor aligned with him in terms of policy and I therefore intend to resign to Theresa May before she goes to the palace to tender her own resignation on Wednesday," Hammond said.

Choi Jong-kun, the South Korean secretary for peace planning, said on Saturday that a joint U.S.-South Korea military exercise would go ahead as planned in August, despite protestations from North Korea, which claims it will jeopardize nuclear talks. Pyongyang says the exercise would breach an agreement made between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during last year's Singapore summit, which was reaffirmed during Trump's spontaneous visit to the demilitarized zone in June. Trump reportedly promised the U.S. would halt joint exercises. Choi, however, said that, as far as he knows, Trump did not cancel the upcoming exercise. Instead, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to scale back on large-scale exercises, and would only hold those on a smaller-scale, like the one planned for next month.

Ukranians are heading to the polls on Sunday in a vote that is considered a an indicator of recently-elected President Volodomyr Zelenskiy's popularity two months into his term. Zelenskiy, a political outsider and comedic actor who played Ukraine's president in a television show, has brought a reformist agenda to Kiev and pre-election polls are predicting a resounding victory for his Servant of the People Party on Sunday. The party could reportedly receive more than 40 percent of the vote, well ahead of its competitors, who are polling at 12 percent or below. Some polls even have Zelenskiy's party within striking distance of an outright parliamentary majority, which would be a novel scenario since Ukraine gained independence in 1991. One of Zelenskiy's first acts as president was to call for these elections, moving them up three months.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears to have emerged victorious following the country's "lackluster" national elections on Sunday. Exit polls indicated that Abe's ruling coalition appeared certain to hold onto a majority in Japan's upper house of parliament and that Abe could even close in on the super-majority needed to propose constitutional revisions, though Abe did not focus on the issue during his campaign. Instead, he promised to secure the country's finances and emphasized his strong relationship with President Trump. Voter turnout was reportedly uninspiring and The New York Times reports that the five major opposition parties struggled to gain a foothold during the campaign because of "marketing and identity" problems, boosting Abe's Liberal Democratic Party.

Major announcements about the Marvel Cinematic Universe's "Phase Four" were made on Saturday evening at San Diego Comic-Con. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige led a marathon presentation, unveiling storyline and casting secrets about the next phase's first two years. Natalie Portman will return to the Thor franchise, reprising her role as Jane Foster, but with a potential twist: her character is expected to become Thor in the next movie, as she does in the comics. Other announcements included the casting of newcomer Simu Liu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Angelina Jolie as the character Thena in The Externals, and Mahershala Ali as the titular character in a Blade reboot, which was perhaps the most unexpected news of the evening.

The Open Championship will conclude on Sunday at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Portrush, Northern Ireland. Ireland's Shane Lowry was leading the field at the time of publication, at 17-under through the first five rounds of the final 18 holes. England's Tommy Fleetwood was sitting at six back. His fellow countrymen Lee Westwood and Danny Willett and American Rickie Fowler rounded at the top five at seven, seven and eight back, respectively. The 32-year-old Lowry has one PGA tour win to his name, but he has never won a major. His best finish to date in that regard is second place at the 2016 U.S. Open.

Six players in a loaded class will enter the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, on Sunday. Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera, and the late Roy Halladay will all be immortalized in the museum after being voted in by the Baseball Writers' Association of America earlier this year. Two other players — Lee Smith and Harold Baines — will join them after the Today's Game Era committee voted them in. All five living players will give a speech, as will Halladay's wife, Brandy. The induction ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. on MLB Network and will be streamed live on MLB.com

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.