Protesters blocking roads around Hong Kong's parliament must disperse and obey the law, a top government figure warned Wednesday, in the first official reaction to the latest protests sparked by plans to allow extraditions to China.
Matthew Cheung, the city's chief secretary, called on demonstrators to unblock key arteries and withdraw.
"I also urge citizens who have gathered to show restraint as much as possible, disperse peacefully and do not defy the law," he said in a video message.

Protesters must disperse, 'not defy law': top Hong Kong official

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Hong Kong football fans booed the Chinese national anthem and held signs opposing government plans to allow extraditions to the mainland at a home match against Taiwan on Tuesday night.
The fan protest came as the international hub is rocked once more by huge anti-government protests with record marches over the weekend and demonstrators seizing major highways on Wednesday morning.
The latest protests have been sparked by a proposal to allow criminals to be rendered to China for the first time.
Many are fearful the proposed law will drag people into the mainland's opaque courts in politically motivated trials and hammer Hong Kong's reputation as an international business hub.
Footage posted on social media from Hong Kong's 0-2 defeat by Taiwan on Tuesday night showed fans booing loudly as China's
"March of the Volunteers" anthem was played.
Fans have booed the national anthem for years but it has become much more commonplace ever since huge pro-democracy protests in 2014 failed to win 

Hong Kong football fans boo China anthem as protests swell

A group of 65 Rohingya Muslims have been found on a shipwrecked boat off the coast of southern Thailand, Navy officials said Wednesday as authorities investigated whether they had been trafficked.
The boat was discovered early Tuesday in the Tarutao Marine National Park in southern Thailand, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the border of Myanmar.
Some 740,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar since a brutal military crackdown in 2017 against the stateless minority in the Buddhist-majority country.
Most have escaped into overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh, while others have fallen prey to human trafficking rings as they seek better lives in Malaysia or Thailand.
A Thai Navy spokesman said there were 31 women and five children among the Rohingya on the shipwrecked boat.
One Thai man and five Burmese citizens were also in the group. The men said they were fishing in the area and had no link to the Rohingyas.
The six men "were detained for questioning because of their suspicious ...

65 Rohingyas found shipwrecked in Thailand

Inflation in China rose to its highest level in more than a year in May driven by surges in pork and fruit prices caused by the African swine fever epidemic and bad weather, official data have shown.
But while prices are increasing, demand remains weak because of the trade war with the United States and economic uncertainty.
The consumer price index (CPI) -- a key gauge of retail inflation -- hit 2.7 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, compared with 2.5 percent in April and the highest since February 2018.
The data was in line with a forecast of analysts polled by Bloomberg News.
The rise was "largely the result of renewed acceleration in food price inflation", and pork supply disruptions caused by African swine fever, Capital Economics said in a note.
Millions of pigs have been culled recently as the disease cuts through China and beyond, devastating global food chains and impacting pork prices from the food markets of Hong Kong to US dinner tables.
The price of ...

China inflation hits highest level in 15 months

A journalist was murdered Tuesday in southeast Mexico, her former employer and other news outlets reported.
Norma Sarabia was a correspondent for the newspaper Tabasco HOY for 15 years and most recently worked for other media outlets in Tabasco state, the newspaper said in its report of her death.
Sarabia is the sixth journalist slain this year in Mexico.
Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for reporters: more than 100 have been murdered here since 2000, amid a wave of violence linked to drug trafficking and political corruption.
The vast majority of those killings remain unpunished.
Reporters Without Borders ranks the country as the third most dangerous in the world for the press, after war-torn Afghanistan and Syria.
In May, crime reporter Francisco Romero was murdered in a resort town on Mexico's Caribbean coast after receiving threats.
Romero, who was enrolled in the Mexican government's protection program for journalists and human rights activists, was ...

Journalist killed in Mexico: reports

A 20-year-old man pleaded guilty Wednesday to raping and killing a young Arab-Israeli student in Melbourne, one of a spate of attacks that sparked fears about women's safety in Australia's second biggest city.
The body of Aya Maasarwe, 21, was found by passers-by near a tram stop on an early January morning, hours after she was attacked on her way home while she was speaking on the phone with her sister in Israel.
Codey Herrmann was arrested and charged by police with the attacks several days later.
He pleaded guilty to one charge of rape and one charge of murder in the Supreme Court of Victoria state. His sentencing hearing is due to take place in early October.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets calling for an end to violence against women after Maasarwe's killing.
There have been several violent attacks against women in Melbourne in recent years, fuelling concerns that authorities are not doing enough to improve safety in Australia's major cities.

Australian pleads guilty to rape, murder of Arab-Israeli student

Syrian air defence shot down a number of Israeli missiles targeting the south of the country early Wednesday, the official Sana news agency said.
The attack was launched around 2 am local time (2300 GMT Tuesday) against the Tall al-Hara sector located near the Golan Heights, according to Sana, which said there had been no casualties.
The agency did not specify what had been targeted in the strikes.  Sana also accused Israel of conducting an "electronic war" and "jamming" Syrian radar.
Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, targeting  forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad and the regime's allies Iran and Hezbollah.
Earlier this month, Israel struck multiple positions held by regime forces over a period of 24 hours, killing 15 combatants according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
In January it launched strikes on Iranian positions in Syria in what it said was a response to an Iranian missile strike from inside the ...

Syrian air defence downs Israeli missiles: state media

Australian pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood admits he is barely watching the World Cup as his disappointment at not being selected continues to cause him pain.
The 27-year-old was overlooked after being out of action since January with a back injury, as selectors preferred him to focus on getting ready for the Ashes Test series in England, which begins in August.
Hazlewood is currently in camp at Brisbane with the Australia A squads -- along with the likes of Peter Handscomb, Travis Head and Marcus Harris -- ahead of their departure for England on Friday for a seven-week tour.
Now fully fit, he said he had was trying to avoid the World Cup and direct his energies elsewhere.
"I'm trying to focus on what I'm doing up here," he told cricket.com.au Wednesday.
"I'll sit down at night and watch a couple of overs but I'm trying to steer clear of it a little bit.
"The more you watch something, the more you probably miss it. So I'm just trying to pretend it's not on, to a degree." Instead his ...

Aussie reject Hazlewood finds World Cup too painful to watch

The United States began their trophy defence in scintillating style with 13-0 Women's World Cup thrashing of Thailand in a ruthless demonstration of strength to potential quarter-final opponents and hosts France, who return to action on Wednesday against Norway.
Three-time champions USA scored 10 goals in the second half in Reims on Tuesday as they eclipsed Germany's 11-0 win over Argentina in 2007 and shattered their own previous tournament best of 7-0.
Alex Morgan starred with five goals, Rose Lavelle and Samantha Mewis netted twice each and Lindsey Horan, Megan Rapinoe, Mallory Pugh and Carli Lloyd also got on the scoresheet in an embarrassingly one-sided Group F encounter watched by more than 18,000.
The Americans hit back after at suggestions they could have eased up and saved 34th-ranked Thailand from complete humiliation.
"This is a world championship so every team that is here has been fantastic to get to this point. To be respectful to opponents is to play hard against ...

USA thrash 13 past Thailand ahead of France return to action

Women's cricket in Australia received a boost Wednesday when the Twenty20 Women's Big Bash League moved to its own window away from the men.
Until now, the tournament has been played in tandem with the men from December to February, but this year's fifth instalment will have its own timeslot from October 18 to December 8.
Cricket Australia's head of fan engagement Anthony Everard called it "monumental for the women's game", as it allows the focus to rest entirely on female cricketers.
"It's something we've been building towards and last year's final series has proved that the WBBL is ready to stand on its own two feet," he said.
Televised content nearly doubled last season with 23 matches broadcast on free-to-air and pay-TV.
To build on this, this year seven consecutive family-friendly "festival weekends" will be broadcast live, with all remaining matches streamed on cricket.com.au.
Each of the eight city-based franchises will play 14 matches with the final hosted by the top-ranked ...

Bigger bash: Australia's women's BBL gets own timeslot

Tens of thousands of protesters paralysed central Hong Kong on Wednesday, blocking major roads in a defiant show of strength against government plans to allow extraditions to China.
Black-clad demonstrators, most of them young people and students, surrounded government offices, bringing traffic to a standstill as they called on authorities to scrap the Beijing-backed plan.
Rows of riot police were far outnumbered by protesters -- many of whom wore face masks, helmets or goggles -- just hours ahead of a scheduled debate in the city's legislature.
By late morning, with crowds continuing to swell, officials in the Legislative Council (Legco) said they would delay the second reading of the bill "to a later date".
In scenes echoing the Occupy movement in 2014 that shut down swathes of the city for months, people flooded major roads and junctions in the heart of the city, dragging barricades onto highways and tying them together. Some plucked loose bricks from pavements.
Police used water ..

Protests against China extradition bill paralyse Hong Kong

The 119th US Open at Pebble Beach has the makings of a classic as Tiger Woods returns to the scene of a signature triumph to take on a new generation of stars led by two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka.
Koepka, 29, has a chance to do what only one golfer has done before him -- win a third straight US Open title.
It's been more than 100 years since Willie Anderson accomplished the feat, and Koepka says there's no better place to chase history than Pebble Beach, where five prior editions have produced enduring major championship memories.
"It's just such a special place," Koepka said of the scenic course hugging the Pacific coast. "Just the history behind it. You look at the guys that have won here at Pebble, some of the greatest players that have ever played the game." Jack Nicklaus won the first US Open staged at Pebble Beach in 1972. Ten years later it was Tom Watson and in 1992 Tom Kite.
Woods triumphed in 2000 by a crushing 15 strokes -- still a major championship record -- ..

Woods, Koepka ready for classic US Open test

Italy needed a late winner from Marco Verratti to defeat a determined Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-1 in Euro 2020 qualifying Tuesday, while Germany and France piled up the goals in lopsided victories.
Edin Dzeko fired Bosnia in front in Turin, but Lorenzo Insigne equalised shortly after half-time and Verratti curled home on 86 minutes to earn a fourth win in as many attempts for Roberto Mancini's side in Group J.
"I expected the difficulties, but we showed the strength and the conviction to overturn it," said Mancini.
"The important thing is that we are first in the group." World champions France rebounded from last weekend's defeat in Turkey with a trouble-free 4-0 win away to minnows Andorra.
"We reacted well after not playing to our usual level on Saturday against a good Turkey team. It looked easy today and the intensity wasn't the same but we played really well," said France coach Didier Deschamps.
He retained just four of those who began Saturday's 2-0 loss in Konya, handing first ...

Italy edge Bosnia as Germany and France stroll

US President Donald Trump revealed Tuesday that Mexico agreed to take stronger legal action to halt Central American migrants if its initial efforts to stem the flow don't show results in 45 days.
In bright sunshine outside the White House, Trump waved what he said was the text of an agreement Mexican and US officials signed Friday to avert the application of tariffs on their exports to the United States.
Photographs of the document revealed that Mexico appeared to pledge to enact or enforce certain domestic laws if Washington is not satisfied with the results of its first promised efforts -- deploying 6,000 National Guardsmen to reinforce its southern border and expanding its policy of taking back asylum-seekers as the United States processes their claims.
If, after 45 days, the US government "determines at its discretion" that the results aren't enough, the document says, "the Government of Mexico will take all necessary steps under domestic law to bring the agreement into force." ..

Trump inadvertently reveals more of US-Mexico migrant deal

At least 30 Venezuelan migrants are missing after the speedboat they were travelling in sank on its way to Curacao, an opposition lawmaker said.
The vessel left from a village in the northwest on Friday with 30 to 35 people on board, deputy Luis Stefanelli told AFP on Tuesday, quoting family members.
"No one has been in touch with their families, which makes us fear the worst," said Stefanelli.
Authorities have not commented on the report.
The body of a man wearing a life jacket was found near Bullenbaai bay in Curacao, according to a coast guard statement published by media on the Caribbean island.
However, it was not clear if he had been aboard the speedboat that left clandestinely from the Venezuelan village of Aguide in Falcon state.
It's the third such boat carrying Venezuelan migrants to capsize in the last month, with a total of 80 people now missing.
The previous two boats were heading for Trinidad and Tobago.
Another opposition lawmaker, Robert Alcala said on May 19 that 29 ..

At least 30 Venezuelan migrants missing after boat sinks: lawmaker

An inmate armed with a homemade weapon took two guards hostage at a high-security prison in northwest France before one of the hostages was released, a source involved in the incident said.
The inmate was still holding the second hostage, a female trainee, on Tuesday as police special forces arrived by helicopter at the Conde-sur-Sarthe Penitentiary Centre, which holds dangerous or radicalised prisoners and those with serious discipline problems.
The prisoner, armed with the improvised weapon, had taken the guard and the female trainee hostage during prisoner meal time, authorities said.
A justice ministry source said the inmate has a history of psychiatric problems and hostage taking. He has convictions for robbery, rape and for a murder of a prison cellmate.  Elite units had arrived at the prison by three helicopters, an AFP photographer at the scene said.
The Prisons Administration Directorate confirmed a hostage situation without giving any further details. It said the justice ...

One guard freed in French prison hostage standoff: source

The prime minister of Mali visited the site of one of the country's worst massacres on Tuesday, pledging to step up security and reconciliation efforts after an attack that left scores dead and stoked fears for the fragile Sahel country.
The hours-long assault targeted a village in a largely ethnic Dogon enclave in central Mali.
It bore the hallmarks of the violence, much of it driven by ethnic tensions, which has claimed hundreds of lives in the last 18 months.  Ninety-five people were killed, according to an early toll that remained unconfirmed on Tuesday.
Premier Boubou Cisse, who visited the village with other senior ministers, paid tribute to the "innocent victims of the discord and the hate", according to a government statement.
"All the victims of the horror and the barbarism remind us of the responsibility incumbent upon us as leaders to reinforce and accelerate security, economic and political efforts for peace and reconciliation," he said.
The attack on the village of Sobane 

Mali premier visits massacre site as survivors recount ordeal

A Russian investigative journalist walked free late Tuesday after authorities in Moscow dropped drug charges against him in a rare climbdown by law enforcement following a public outcry.
Ivan Golunov, a reporter with independent media outlet Meduza, walked out of the gates of a Moscow police building to cheers from waiting journalist and wept as he thanked supporters.
"This all happened so quickly and thank you for that, that you supported me. I think it somehow influenced the course of events," Golunov said, with tears running down his cheeks.
He said he hoped his case would change police practices and "such situations will not happen again to anyone in this country." The journalist vowed to continue his investigative reporting for Meduza, which is based in EU-member Latvia to allow it to work more freely.
"I will be doing investigations  because I have to justify the trust of those who supported me," he said.
The 36-year-old was detained last week on charges supporters said were ...

Russian journalist walks free as drugs charges dropped after outcry

The Oscars will take place in late February in 2021 and 2022 to accommodate the Olympics, Super Bowl and other events, organizers said Tuesday.
Next year, the 92nd Oscars is set for February 9, but the following ceremonies will be on February 28, 2021 and February 27, 2022 -- the final Sundays of the month.
"Timing of the 2022 Olympics, the Super Bowl and national holidays will keep the 2021 and 2022 dates on the last Sunday in February," the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and US network ABC said.
"The Academy and ABC continue to evaluate dates for future years." The annual Academy Awards ceremony, which recognizes the best in cinema, is broadcast live from Hollywood on ABC and in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Oscar dates shifted in 2021 and 2022 for Olympics, Super Bowl

A five-year-old boy is being treated for Ebola in Uganda, the first case since an outbreak in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo 10 months ago, the World Health Organisation said Tuesday.
"The confirmed case is a 5-year-old Congolese child who traveled from the DRC with his family on 9th June 2019. The child and his family entered the country through Bwera Border post and sought medical care," the WHO wrote on Twitter.
Uganda's health ministry and the WHO have sent a team to the western town of Kasese to trace likely cases, and vaccinate those who may have come into contact with the patient, the post added.
Uganda has been on high alert since the outbreak in the eastern DRC, where more than 2,000 cases of the highly contagious virus have been recorded, two-thirds of which have been fatal.

One case of Ebola confirmed in Uganda: WHO

Protest leaders have agreed to end their civil disobedience campaign launched after a crackdown on demonstrators and resume talks with Sudan's ruling generals, an Ethiopian mediator said Tuesday.
"The Alliance for Freedom and Change agreed to end the civil disobedience (campaign) from today," Mahmoud Drir, who has been mediating since a visit by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last week, told reporters.
"Both sides have also agreed to resume talks soon" on a handover of power to a civilian administration, he said.
The protest movement itself said in a statement that it was calling on people "to resume work from Wednesday".

AFP

AFP

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