Six In The Morning Sunday 16 June 2019

Hong Kong extradition bill: Large-scale march under way

Thousands of people are marching on government buildings in Hong Kong over a controversial extradition bill, despite a government climb-down.

The bill, which would have allowed extradition to mainland China, prompted hundreds of thousands to demonstrate in the past week.

Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Saturday that the plans had been "suspended" for the time being.

Protest leaders, however, are demanding it be permanently scrapped.

Some have urged Ms Lam to resign over the unrest.

By early Sunday afternoon, large crowds had gathered in the city's Victoria Square, many wearing black or carrying white flowers.

Saudi crown prince tells Iran: 'We won't hesitate to deal with any threat'

Mohammed bin Salman speaks publicly for first time about latest tanker attacks amid fears of regional conflict

Staff and agencies

 

Sun 16 Jun 2019 05.57 BSTLast modified on Sun 16 Jun 2019 05.59 BST

Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has spoken publicly for the first time since a second attack on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, blaming arch-rival Iran and vowing that the kingdom “won’t hesitate to deal with any threat” to its interests.

According to an interview for pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, published on Sunday, the crown prince said: “We do not want a war in the region ... But we won’t hesitate to deal with any threat to our people, our sovereignty, our territorial integrity and our vital interests.

“The Iranian regime did not respect the presence of the Japanese prime minister as a guest in Tehran and responded to his [diplomatic] efforts by attacking two tankers, one of which was Japanese.”

The Voice of BeijingChina's Expanding Media Dominance in Africa

Chinese state television is gaining influence in Africa. But while the media outlets involved officially claim their journalism is independent, those who work for the companies tell a different story.

By Bartholomäus Grill

An interview? Or perhaps just a discussion on background? "We have no interest in speaking with you," Liao Liang writes in an email. And, thank you for understanding, but a visit to his television broadcaster in Nairobi isn't possible either, he writes. Indeed, the rejection is so complete, it's as though he is protecting a state secret.

Yet Liao Liang's mission in the Kenyan capital is hardly confidential: As a senior editor of the China Global Television Network (CGTN), a subsidiary of Chinese state television, his task is that of shining a positive light on his country's ambitious activities -- particularly those in Africa, where China's reputation has suffered as its footprint has grown.

The $450 million question: Where is Leonardo da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi'?

Written byOscar Holland, CNN

When bids for Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi" hit $200 million there was an audible gasp in the auction room. At the $300 million mark, onlookers broke into applause.

By the time the painting sold for $450.3 million, Christie's in New York had witnessed one of the most dramatic moments in recent art history. Once dismissed as a copy and sold for just £45 ($57) in the 1950s, this mysterious depiction of Christ had become -- by some considerable margin -- the most expensive artwork ever to appear at auction.

And the drama didn't stop there.

Saudis say Shia teenager will not be executed: Report

Murtaja Qureiris reportedly faced execution for offences including participating in protests when he was 10 years old.

A young man from Saudi Arabia's minority Shia Muslim community who was arrested at the age of 13 will not be executed and could be released by 2022, a Saudi official told Reuters news agency after reports of his pending execution.

Murtaja Qureiris, who was detained in September 2014, received an initial 12-year prison sentence with time served since his arrest and four years suspended for his young age, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Mexico releases the full text of Trump’s immigration “deal”

It is less a deal and more an agreement to discuss a future agreement.

By Rachel Withers 

The Mexican government has released a copy of a deal Donald Trump waved in front of reporters this week that he called “the agreement that everybody says I don’t have.” According to the president, the document detailed previously unannounced immigration concessions agreed to as part of a deal between the US and Mexico that was negotiated both in order to reduce the number of South American immigrants arriving at the US border and to keep the Trump administration from levying tariffs on Mexico.

The text of the letter reveals a commitment to begin discussions for a future agreement — essentially making it an agreement to negotiate an agreement — and is, as many expected, not a “deal.” It does, however, point to a future deal that could contain a win for Trump.