Fearful of China's new security law, Hong Kongers scramble for safe havens
Many Hong Kong residents are scouring for new jobs and homes overseas, fearful that a new national security law imposed by Beijing will crush coveted rights not enjoyed on the mainland and herald a new authoritarian era for China's freeest city.
Beijing bypassed the city's legislature to approve the law directly this week, heightening anxiety over its impact on the former British colony of 7.4 million people that is a global financial hub and gateway for capital flows in-and-out of China.
Immigration lawyers and consultants, property agents and recruitment groups from Australia to Canada all told Reuters they were inundated with enquiries from Hong Kong residents.
Hong Kong's financial rival Singapore is generating high interest too.
US, China left out as England slashes coronavirus quarantine list
Travellers from more than 70 "low-risk" countries and territories will no longer have to self-isolate when arriving in England, the British government said on Friday in a major easing of its coronavirus quarantine scheme.
The list of exemptions mostly covers Europe - but not Portugal - and the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand, although the United States and mainland China are notably omitted.
The changes, which come into effect on July 10, represent a significant lifting of the mandatory 14-day self-quarantine imposed one month ago to stop new infections from abroad.
Jamal Khashoggi murder trial hears oven was lit after killing
A Saudi consulate worker in Istanbul told a Turkish court on Friday he had been asked to light a tandoor oven less than an hour after Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered the building where he was killed.
Zeki Demir, a local technician who worked for the consulate, was giving evidence on the first day of the trial in absentia of 20 Saudi officials over Khashoggi's killing, which sparked global outrage and tarnished the image of Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler.
Demir said he had been called to the consul's residence after Khashoggi entered the nearby consulate to seek his papers.
Suicide attempts, fights aboard rescue boat carrying 180 migrants
After suicide attempts, fights erupting on board, and migrants jumping into the sea, charity SOS Mediterranee launched an emergency alert on Friday, demanding to be allowed to immediately disembark at a safe port.
The humanitarian group, whose vessel the Ocean Viking has been at sea for over a week with 180 migrants aboard, said it could no longer guarantee the safety of the migrants or crew and called a state of emergency in an unprecedented step.
The boat, which has been in limbo in the Mediterranean south of Sicily, has been waiting for over a week for permission from Italy or Malta to offload the migrants at a safe port.
Formula One: Hamilton makes a statement as F1 gets back on track
Formula One got back on track in changed circumstances but familiar fashion at the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix on Friday, with Mercedes and six-times world champion Lewis Hamilton picking up where they left off last year.
The Briton and team mate Valtteri Bottas responded to the "new normal" resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic by finishing one-two in both free practice sessions on the latest start to a campaign.
Hamilton, wearing a "Black Lives Matter" helmet in a black Mercedes with "End Racism" written on it, set a best time of one minute 04.304 after also going fastest in opening practice with a time of 1:04.816.
