Six In The Morning Sunday October 14

Jamal Khashoggi: UK and US 'could boycott' Saudi conference

Britain and the US are considering boycotting a major international conference in Saudi Arabia after the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the BBC has learned.

Mr Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government, vanished on 2 October after visiting its consulate in Istanbul.

The authorities in Istanbul believe he was murdered there by Saudi agents - claims Riyadh has dismissed as "lies".

Donald Trump has said he would "punish" Saudi Arabia if it was responsible.

A number of sponsors and media groups have decided to pull out of this month's investment conference in Riyadh, dubbed Davos in the Desert, as a result of concerns over Mr Khashoggi's fate.

'Sinicisation' of Muslims in Xinjiang must go on, says Chinese official

Official warns of ‘infiltration of religious extremism’ amid crackdown on region’s large Muslim population

Staff and agencies

Sun 14 Oct 2018 03.34 BST

The “sinicisation” of religion in China’s troubled north-western region of Xinjiang must be upheld to promote ethnic solidarity and religious harmony, a senior Communist party official has said.

China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted You Quan, the head of the “united front work department”, which oversees ethnic and religious affairs, while on a visit this week to Xinjiang, home to a large Muslim population.

“The party’s leadership over religious work must be upheld,” You said, adding that “the infiltration of religious extremism must be guarded against”.

Irish students save their classmate from deportation to Nigeria

'I am really looking forward to my future here in Ireland,' says 14-year-old Nonso Muojeke

Josh Gabbatiss @josh_gabbatiss

Irish students have successfully campaigned to save their classmate from being deported to Nigeria.

Nonso Muojeke, 14, is a student at Tullamore College in County Offaly, where he has lived with his family for the past 11 years.

His mother was reportedly forced to flee Nigeria after her husband died in 2006, but after their application for asylum was denied the family faced deportation.

Operation MekongChina Solidifies Its Influence in Southeast Asia

China has always wielded significant influence in Southeast Asia. Lately, though, as the West turns its attention elsewhere, Beijing has been seeking to solidify its economic and political clout in the region.

By Bernhard Zand

Southeast Asia's longest river winds 4,300 kilometers (2,672 miles) before spilling into the Pacific Ocean, flowing from high up on the Tibetan Plateau to the coastal lowlands of Cambodia and Vietnam. In China it is known as Lancang; in the countries downriver, it's called the "Mother of Water," or Mekong, the source of life for the entire region. It is used to water rice fields and mango groves and it provides millions of people with drinking water, food and energy.

In the West, the word Mekong evokes both exotic images and painful historic memories. European colonists. American soldiers. The temple at Angkor Wat. The streets of Saigon. The jungle warfare of the 1960s. Helicopters and patrol boats.

Tens of thousands march in France to demand action on climate change

Tens of thousands of people marched in Paris and other major cities across France on Saturday to call for greater action on climate change.

Around 80 demonstrations were scheduled to be held nationwide on Saturday, from the northern city of Lille to Marseille, in the south of France.

The protests came a week after the United Nations published a report calling for urgent global action to avoid a climate catastrophe.

In Paris, an estimated 14,500 people marched from the central Opéra district to the historic Place de la République, according to the Occurrence research institute. The Paris police put the number much higher at 18,500, while organisers said that 50,000 people had turned out.

The Chinese phone giant that beat Apple to Africa

Story by Jenni Marsh, CNN Business
Video by Luke Rotzler & Laurie Frankel, CNN Business

One of China's biggest smartphone makers has never sold a handset in the country. Yet thousands of miles away, it dominates markets across Africa. Unknown in the West, Transsion has left global players like Samsung and Apple trailing in its wake in a continent that's home to more than a billion people.

In cities like Lagos, Nairobi and Addis Ababa, busy streets are awash with the bright blue shopfronts of Transsion's flagship brand, Tecno. In China, the company doesn't have a single store, and its towering headquarters in the southern megacity of Shenzhen goes largely unnoticed among skyscrapers bearing the names of more famous Chinese tech firms.