Hong Kong is a "police state" where officers -- once dubbed "Asia's finest" -- are conducting abuses in the service of the city's pro-Beijing leadership, prominent voices in the global financial hub's weeks-long protest movement told AFP Saturday.
The comments came as riot police and demonstrators in Hong Kong fought brief skirmishes Saturday near the Chinese border.
They were the latest clashes during more than three months of demonstrations to protest stuttering freedoms in the semi-autonomous territory.
"Within these three-and-a-half months, we have seen the police in Hong Kong getting totally out of control," activist and pop star Denise Ho said in an interview with AFP.
"Hong Kong has become a police state where the government is hiding behind the police force and refusing to find solutions to the present crisis." She and other well-known figures in the leaderless protest movement have visited the US, Germany, Taiwan and Australia to raise awareness.
"Our police system has been ..

Hong Kong a 'police state', prominent protesters tell

PTI Automatic

Thousands of people protested in the Swiss capital Bern Saturday over the roll-out of a 5G wireless technology across the country, which they fear could damage people's health.
The protesters, many carrying placards, gathered in front of the Swiss parliament building, in a bid to stop the construction of more 5G-compatible antennae.
"The fact that so many people turned out today is a strong sign against the uncontrolled introduction of 5G," said Tamlin Schibler Ulmann, co-president of Frequencia, the group that organised the rally.
The tiny principality of Monaco became the first country in Europe to inaugurate a 5G mobile phone network in July based on technology from Chinese firm Huawei, which is seen by the US as a major security risk.
But critics in Switzerland argue that the electromagnetic radiation the new system emits poses unprecedented health and environmental risks compared to previous generations of mobile technology.
Online petitions have helped persuade several Swiss ...

Thousands of Swiss protest 5G wireless over health fears

Albania was rattled by its strongest earthquake in decades Saturday, officials said, sending people fleeing into the streets in several cities, damaging buildings and triggering power cuts in the capital.
The epicentre of the shallow 5.6-magnitude quake, was near Durres, less than 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of the capital Tirana, according to the US Geological Survey.
Albania's defence ministry said it was the "strongest earthquake in the country in the last 20 to 30 years".
"There are no deaths," defence ministry spokeswoman Albana Qajaj said.
Some 80 people sought medical help in both Tirana and Durres, 21 of whom were hospitalised due to injuries caused by falling objects or parts of walls as well as for panic attacks, Health Minister Ogerta Manasterilu said.
Qajaj told AFP that houses and buildings in Tirana had been damaged but were still standing and that the ministry was accessing damage in other towns and villages.
Prime Minister Edi Rama cancelled his scheduled trip to the 

Strong earthquake in Albania damages buildings and sends residents fleeing

Manchester City powered to their record Premier League win as the champions scored five times in the first half of an incredible 8-0 thrashing of Watford, while Leicester enjoyed a VAR-assisted 2-1 victory over Tottenham on Saturday.
Inspired by Bernardo Silva's hat-trick, Pep Guardiola's side ripped woeful Watford to pieces at the Etihad Stadium, eclipsing a 7-0 success against Norwich in 2013 which stood as their previous biggest top-flight win.
Although City fell one goal short of equalling the biggest Premier League margin of victory -- Manchester United's 9-0 demolition of Ipswich in 1995 -- their swaggering display was the perfect way to erase the bitter taste from last weekend's shock defeat at Norwich.
Second-placed City move to within two points of leaders Liverpool, who face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
"When you shoot on target five times for five goals -- the quality of players we had made the difference," Guardiola said.
"What I like the most is normally when ...

Man City hit eight in Watford demolition, Spurs rocked by Leicester

Roger Federer edged out Nick Kyrgios in a super tie-break to give Europe a 5-3 lead after the opening session of the second day of the Laver Cup in Geneva on Saturday.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who won his first match alongside Alexander Zverev in Friday's doubles tie, beat Australian Kyrgios 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 10-7 to the delight of his 17,000-strong home crowd.
"The crowd could feel it, I could feel it. I needed to get some energy going but you can't do that if you don't play any good shots and Nick was playing very well," said Federer.
"I was just trying to stay focused. If you can turn the momentum, the crowd gets back into it and I need some earplugs next time, it was just phenomenal."
Bjorn Borg's holders had seen Team World draw level earlier with John Isner's victory over Zverev.
The 38-year-old Federer had won his last two matches against Kyrgios in straight sets, but dropped the opener in a tie-break.
But he hit back to level the match with a break in game 11 of the ...

Federer beats Kyrgios to put Europe ahead in Laver Cup

Liverpool paid Manchester City a ?1 million ($1.25 million) settlement after their Premier League rivals complained their scouting system had been hacked, according to reports on Saturday.
The Times claimed the confidential agreement took place in September 2013 after City employed computer-espionage experts to see if the system had been spied on.
City were said to have alleged their login was used on the Scout7 system on a number of occasions by several Liverpool employees.
The settlement came a year after three former City scouts moved to Liverpool.
Two of them were alleged by City to have been involved in accessing their database on the Scout7 system on hundreds of occasions over an eight-month period.
The Premier League were reported to be unaware of the settlement at the time.
It is claimed Liverpool made the payment without the club or any of the individuals accepting any liability or wrongdoing, with the allegations never tested in court.
A Liverpool club spokesperson told the .

Liverpool paid settlement to City over scouting hack: reports

Saudi Arabia gave a cautious response Saturday to an unexpected offer from Yemen's Huthi rebels to halt all attacks on the kingdom as part of an initiative to end their country's devastating war.
The Huthi announcement Friday came on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the start of the conflict and after a wave of drone strikes on Saudi oil installations a week ago knocked out half of the kingdom's production.
The Iran-backed Huthis claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Riyadh's ally Washington has condemned them as an "act of war", placing the blame on Tehran and announcing new sanctions against the Islamic republic.
Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs Adel al-Jubeir took a sceptical position to the announcement from Mehdi al-Mashat, head of the Huthis' supreme political council, of a "halt of all attacks against the territory of Saudi Arabia".
"We judge other parties by their deeds, actions and not by their words, so we will see (whether) they actually do this or not," 

Saudi Arabia cautious over Huthi offer to halt attacks

A strong earthquake hit Albania Saturday afternoon, forcing residents into the street in several cities, causing power cuts in the capital and collapsing some buildings in a nearby village.
The epicentre of the quake, with a magnitude of 5.6 and a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), was near Durres, less than 40 kilometres west of the capital Tirana, according to the US Geological Survey.
According to early media reports, at least two people were lightly injured and a dozen houses collapsed in the village of Helmes some 10 kilometres from Tirana.
Windows broke and fissures appeared on buildings in Durres, as well as in the capital, local media reported.
Electricity and telephone lines were cut off in Tirana and a number of other towns and villages, media reports said.

Strong earthquake hits Albania, damage reported

Thousands of volunteers wielding nets and bin bags scoured coasts, parks and riverbanks across the globe Saturday, in a litter-picking drive highlighting the vast quantity of trash dumped worldwide, a day after mass international climate protests.
Campaigners took part in World Cleanup Day from Manilla to the Mediterranean, as hundreds of thousands of people across the world take part in demonstrations and activities calling for urgent action on the environment.
Young people have been at the forefront of the movement, with masses of children skipping school on Friday for a global climate strike, which teen activist Greta Thunberg said was "only the beginning".
Some four million people filled city streets around the world on Friday, organizers said, in what was billed as the biggest ever protest against the threat posed to the planet by rising temperatures.
The World Cleanup Day -- an initiative that has got millions into the streets and cleaning up litter across the globe since it ...

Environmental activists get down and dirty on mass cleanup day

South Korea's An Byeong-hun held onto a two-stroke lead after Saturday's completion of the darkness-halted second round of the US PGA Sanderson Farms Championship.
An, who turned 28 on Tuesday, fired his second consecutive six-under par 66 on Friday to lead on 12-under 132 after 36 holes at the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi.
Storms on Thursday pushed back the end of the first round to Friday morning, a delay that forced the final 60 players in the field to finish their second rounds on Saturday morning.
Americans George McNeill and Scottie Scheffler finished their rounds on Saturday to match US first-round co-leaders J.T. Poston and Tom Hoge on 134.
Australia's Cameron Percy was sixth on 135 after completing his last seven holes on Saturday.
The back-nine starter opened with a birdie on the par-5 third hole, sinking a 14-foot putt, but found a greenside bunker at the par-4 sixth hole and made bogey.
Percy sank a 21-foot birdie putt at the eighth but stumbled again on his ...

South Korea's An keeps lead after Sanderson Farms second round

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc secured pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday as he looks to claim a stunning hat-trick of wins after triumphs in Belgium and Italy.
The Monegasque will be joined on the front row by championship leader Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes, with Leclerc's teammate Sebastian Vettel rounding out the top three, ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas.
Despite winning the last two races on power-friendly tracks, Ferrari had been given little chance of competing under the floodlights at the demanding 23-turn layout in Singapore.
But Leclerc, 21, and Vettel tore up the script to gatecrash what was expected to be a Mercedes and Red Bull party.
"I'm extremely happy about today. It was a good lap but I lost it a few times," Leclerc said after completing a 1:36.217 second final lap.
"I have to thank the team. We brought some new bits that worked properly. I worked hard after a bad Friday and today it paid off," added Leclerc, who recorded his ...

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc on pole for Singapore Grand Prix

Young off-spinner Afif Hossain claimed two wickets for nine to help Bangladesh limit Afghanistan to 138-7 in Saturday's tri-nation Twenty20 international in Chittagong.
Hazratullah Zazai took 47 off 35 balls in a 75-run opening stand with Rahmanullah Gurbaz before Afif's double strike in the tenth over swung the match to the hosts.
Shafiqullah was unbeaten on 23 off 17 balls after a blitz through the visitors' middle order.
Mohammad Saifuddin, Shafiul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman all claimed a wicket each for Bangladesh.
Both teams have already qualified over Zimbabwe for next week's final in Dhaka after each winning two of three matches in the tournament.

Bangladesh keep Afghanistan to 138 in tri-nation T20

Organisers of a climate march in Paris on Saturday urged protesters to call it quits after violent clashes between police and radical activists who authorities said had infiltrated the rally.
"Take no risks and leave the march for the climate. The conditions for a non-violent march are not in place," Greenpeace, a co-organiser of the event, said on Twitter.
Another co-organiser, Youth for Climate, also told demonstrators to go home.
The rally in the French capital was part of a global climate change action, which has also involved mass cleanups and striking school children across the world.
The Paris march took place on the same day as protests by the "yellow vest" movement which has been demonstrating weekly, and sometimes violently, against French government policies.
Police said around 1,000 activists belonging to the radical "black blocs" wing had infiltrated the climate march seeking to provoke clashes with security forces.

Paris climate march organisers calls for protest end after clashes

Zinedine Zidane believes he has the backing of Real Madrid but admits he would leave if he ever felt he had lost the club's support.
Zidane has come under scrutiny after enduring his worst ever defeat as Madrid coach on Wednesday, a 3-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
The result also followed an underwhelming start in La Liga, which has seen Madrid claim two wins and two draws from games against Celta Vigo, Real Valladolid, Villarreal and Levante.
After returning from Paris, Zidane gave his players the day off on Thursday, which surprised those high up at the club, according to reports in the Spanish press.
Asked if he felt like his methods were being questioned, Zidane said in a press conference on Friday: "No, not at all, the opposite. I think the club helps us all to be strong and supports all the people that work here.
"If it's ever not like that it would probably be best to leave." On his decision to give the players a day off, Zidane added: "It's not a ...

Zidane would quit Real Madrid without backing

Paris Saint-Germain's injury problems worsened on Saturday as forwards Mauro Icardi and Pablo Sarabia were ruled out of Sunday's Ligue 1 game at Lyon.
Star striker Kylian Mbappe has also failed to recover from a thigh injury suffered in August, leaving PSG coach Thomas Tuchel without five attacking players, with Edinson Cavani and Julian Draxler also still sidelined.
"It's still too risky (to play Mbappe)," said Tuchel.
"He's very close (to playing again), but it (his recovery) is not over."
Winger Sarabia, a close-season signing from Sevilla, picked up a knock in Wednesday's 3-0 Champions League victory over Real Madrid, while Icardi, on loan from Inter Milan, is still yet to reach peak fitness.
The French champions will likely start with a front three of Neymar, Angel Di Maria and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting at the Groupama Stadium.
Lyon were widely tipped to be PSG's closest challengers for the league title this term, but Sylvinho's men sit eighth in the early table, four points ...

Injury-hit PSG without Icardi, Sarabia for Lyon trip

Tottenham's long wait for an away win in the Premier League continued as Leicester came from behind to beat last season's Champions League finalists 2-1 at the King Power on Saturday.
Harry Kane's great improvisation handed Spurs a first-half lead and Mauricio Pochettino's men thought they had doubled that advantage when Serge Aurier fired home.
However, the goal was ruled out by the finest of margins for offside after a VAR review and Leicester compounded Spurs' pain by equalising two minutes later through Ricardo Pereira.
James Maddison's fine long-range strike five minutes from time then capped Leicester's comeback as they moved above Manchester City into second in the Premier League, for a few hours at least.
By contrast, Spurs have now won just two of their first seven games of the season in all competitions and have still not won away from home in the Premier League since January.
Leicester are aiming to break the glass ceiling of the Premier League top six for the first time ...

Leicester hit back to shock Spurs with help from VAR

Airbus has sharply criticised Madrid for choosing defence systems specialist Indra to coordinate Spain's participation in a Franco-German project to develop a new-generation fighter jet, in which the aviation giant is deeply involved.
The decision, which was taken by the defence ministry in late August, saw Indra chosen to coordinate Spain's work on a stealth fighter whose development is being led by Airbus and France's Dassault Aviation.
Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury told online business journal El Confidencial the group "didn't see the decision coming" as it was expected to be selected.
He said that Indra was a sensors and equipment producer but had no capabilities in airplanes, drones nor satellites.
"You don't want someone who makes wheels or computers designing your car. You want a carmaker," he told El Confidencial on a visit to Spain to convince the government to rethink its decision.
Indra is a Spanish technology and defence group which had sales of 3 billion euros ...

Airbus irked by Spain's choice of fighter jet partner

Tunisia's former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was buried in the Muslim holy city of Medina on Saturday, witnesses said, after he died in exile in Saudi Arabia.
Ben Ali, who died Thursday in the city of Jeddah, was laid to rest at Al-Baqi cemetery next to the Prophet Mohammed's mosque and a place of great reverence for Muslims.

Tunisia ex-president Ben Ali buried in Medina: Witnesses

A drone was shot down on Saturday in Quneitra province in southern Syria, the second such incident in 48 hours, state media said.
Authorities "dismantled a drone" after it was shot down on the edge of Jaba al-Sheikh in the countryside of Quneitra province, southwest of Damascus, state news agency SANA reported.
The drone was loaded with bombs and C4 explosive, it said.
The origin of the drone was not specified, though SANA reported it "came from the west".
On Thursday, another drone was downed by Syrian anti-aircraft defences over the village of Aqraba, south of Damascus, SANA reported, also without specifying the origin of the drone.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the downing of the drone on Saturday but was not able to confirm if it was hit by forces of the Syrian regime, or its ally, the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.
Hezbollah and regional Shiite power Iran, both enemies of Israel, back the Damascus government in Syria's conflict.
On August 24, Israel ...

Damascus says second drone downed in 48 hours over south Syria

A powerful typhoon hit Japan's southern Okinawa islands Saturday, cutting power to more than 15,000 homes and grounding hundreds of flights.
Tapah -- packing wind gusts of up to 180 kilometres (110 miles) per hour -- is now moving north and is expected to progress through the sea separating South Korea and western Japan.
The country's weather bureau issued warnings of heavy rains, floods and high tides, while the Okinawa prefectural government issued an evacuation advisory to some 334,000 people.
At least 18 people were injured, according to officials, while local utility company Okinawa Electric said some 9,200 households were still without power as of 7:45 pm (1045 GMT), down from 17,000 homes earlier in the day.
Tapah follows on the trail of Typhoon Faxai, which barrelled through Tokyo earlier this month, packing record winds that brought down power lines, brought travel chaos and disrupted Rugby World Cup preparations.
It resulted in a lengthy blackout on the outskirts of Tokyo ...

Powerful typhoon triggers blackout in southern Japan

The last reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania was finally shut down Friday, marking the end of the operation of the site of the worst civilian nuclear accident in US history.
The plant's first reactor -- which went online in September 1974 -- was shut down at noon local time (1600 GMT), according to the plant's owner Exelon, and the site will be dismantled in the coming weeks.
On March 28, 1979, the second reactor experienced a cooling problem that -- coupled with a human error -- resulted in the partial melting of the reactor and the evacuation of 14,000 people.
There were no casualties, but the incident led to the definitive closure of the reactor and reopened the debate on the potential danger of civilian nuclear power.
Pennsylvania officials had unsuccessfully attempted a bailout, but Exelon decided to close ahead of the end of the license because the plant had been in deficit for many years.
"At a time when our communities are demanding more clean .

AFP

AFP

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