Family of detained man rejects Chinese report

BEIJING • The family of an employee of the British consulate in Hong Kong has rejected a "made-up" report by Chinese state media that he was detained in the mainland for visiting prostitutes.

Mr Simon Cheng, 28, disappeared after visiting Shenzhen on Aug 8, and the Foreign Office in London said British officials and his relatives have been unable to speak to him since. A post on a Facebook page by Mr Cheng's family said: "This is a made-up crime of soliciting prostitution, everyone should see it is a joke."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Canada consulate bans staff from official travel

HONG KONG • The Canadian Consulate has banned its locally engaged staff from leaving Hong Kong on official business, but did not say whether the move was related to the detention of a British consulate employee in mainland China.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

YouTube disables over 200 channels

SAN FRANCISCO • Alphabet Inc's Google announced on Thursday that its YouTube streaming video service disabled 210 channels appearing to engage in a coordinated influence operation around the Hong Kong protests.

The move comes days after Twitter and Facebook said they dismantled a similar campaign originating in mainland China.

REUTERS