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China has formally adopted a controversial security law, giving it new powers over Hong Kong and deepening fears for its freedoms. It is set to criminalise secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces, but will also effectively curtail protests and freedom of speech.The move follows increasing unrest and a widening pro-democracy movement.Pro-democracy organisation Demosisto reacted to the news by announcing it was ceasing all operations.Earlier Joshua Wong, one of Hong Kong's most prominent activists, said he was leaving the group, which he had spearheaded.But some other veteran activists have said they will join a key march on Wednesday, despite the risk of arrest under the new law.China's state news agency, Xinhua, confirmed that President Xi Jinping had now signed the security law. It has been added to Hong Kong's Basic Law, the 50-year mini-constitution agreed when the territory's sovereignty was returned to China by the UK in 1997.Its terms are not yet clear, meaning residents still do not know the measures they will have to abide by. The law could be implemented as early as Wednesday.UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab expressed "deep concern" at the reports the law had been passed, saying: "This would be a grave step."The law has sparked demonstrations in Hong Kong since it was announced by Beijing in May. China says it is needed to tackle unrest and instability and rejects criticism as interference in its affairs. The law went through unanimously in a session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in Beijing.It comes a day before the 23rd anniversary of the handover from Britain to China - a date usually marked by pro-democracy protests.It will make criminal any act of secession, subversion of the central government, terrorism and collusion with foreign or external forces.A new office in Hong Kong would deal with national security cases, but would also have other powers such as overseeing education about national security in Hong Kong schools.In addition, the city will have to establish its own national security commission to enforce the laws, with a Beijing-appointed adviser.Hong Kong's chief executive will have the power to appoint judges to hear national security cases, a move which has raised fears about judicial independence.Importantly, Beijing will have power over how the law should be interpreted. If the law conflicts with any Hong Kong law, the Beijing law takes priority.For many, the law undermines the freedoms that set Hong Kong apart from the rest of China and helped define its character.People in Hong Kong prize civil liberties such as free speech, the right to protest and an entirely independent and robust judiciary, as permitted in the Basic Law.In recent years, Hong Kong has seen waves of protests demanding more rights. Last year, rallies over a now-scrapped bill permitting extraditions to the mainland turned violent and fuelled a broad pro-democracy movement.In a video address to the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said crimes under the new law would be clearly defined.She said the law would only target a "small minority" and would not undermine Hong Kong's autonomy, adding: "We respect differences in opinion."Hong Kong's sweeping new security law is a frighteningly open-ended tool to suppress political agitation. Like similar laws on the Chinese mainland it appears that it can be mani[CENSORED]ted to meet the needs of the Communist Party as required to crush almost any action deemed threatening.Unlike elsewhere in China, Hong Kong has an independent judiciary. For this reason, the Party's leadership was not going to leave interpretation of this law in the hands of just any old judges.No. Those who will be allowed to preside in these matters will be hand-picked by Carrie Lam, the city's leader who was effectively installed by Beijing.So, prior to the new security bill, which actions by activists - no matter how subversive - could not be dealt with under existing laws? What were "extremists" getting away with to warrant this new legislation?Bomb making? No. Smashing up buildings? No. Meeting with international NGOs to talk about the city's deteriorating freedoms? Ahhhh. Perhaps. Publicly advocating Hong Kong independence? Almost certainly.The more that Beijing, under Xi Jinping's leadership, has sought to control Hong Kong, the more it has driven residents into the pro-democracy camp.But he is playing a long game. Sure, handover promises to the UK were made but he was not going to let some Western attachment to liberty trump loyalty to the motherland. Not on his watch. Enter the security law.Democratic Party leader Wu Chi-wai said he would defy a police ban on Wednesday's "handover day" march.He will be joined by Figo Chan, of the Civil Human Rights Front, who urged people to take to the streets, saying: "We are aware of the risks of being prosecuted. But we insist on taking the lead, as we want to tell Hongkongers not to fear."Police plan to have 4,000 riot officers on standby, the South China Morning Post reports.Announcing that it would "dissolve and stop all meetings", the Demosisto group said that the fight against "totalitarian oppression" would have to continue in a "more flexible manner" and on "different fronts".Joshua Wong said the law marked "the end of Hong Kong that the world knew before".President of the European Council Charles Michel said on Tuesday the law risked seriously undermining Hong Kong's autonomy, adding: "We deplore this decision."Taiwan even warned its citizens of risks in visiting Hong Kong.Washington on Monday began moves to end Hong Kong's special status trade relationship with the US.On Tuesday, China said it would respond to the removal with unspecified "countermeasures".The UK earlier said it would change its immigration rules and offer millions of people in Hong Kong "a route to citizenship" if China went ahead with the legislation.

Parts of the Indian capital, Delhi, have been placed on alert after a swarm of locusts invaded a suburban area. Correspondents say it is the first time the suburb city of Gurgaon (Gurugram) has seen a locust invasion.Footage on social media showed tens of thousands of the insects flying over buildings and landing on rooftops.India is witnessing its worst locust invasion in decades. The swarms, which originate in the Horn of Africa, have devoured crops in several states.On Saturday, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai asked district authorities in the south and west of the city to remain on high alert, the Times of India reported.Residents in Gurgaon were told to make loud noises with pots and pans or drums to try to drive the locusts away.Pilots flying into and out of Delhi's international airport, which borders Gurgaon, have been told to take extra care, according to ANI news agency.How a single locust becomes a plagueIndia combats locust attack amid pandemicAgriculture ministry official KL Gurjar said the swarm appeared to be headed towards the city of Palwal, south of Delhi."The swarms moved from west to east. They entered Gurugram around 11.30am," he told PTI news agency.If not controlled, desert locusts destroy food supplies and can cause famine.According to the UN, the current infestations can be traced back to the cyclone season of 2018-19 that brought heavy rains to the Arabian Peninsula. That allowed at least three generations of "unprecedented breeding" that went undetected. Swarms have since spread out into East Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

Coronavirus infections across the United States have passed 2.5 million, with record numbers of cases reported in the states of Florida and Texas. The surge in cases in southern states comes after businesses were allowed to re-open in recent weeks.On Saturday, Florida reported more than 9,500 new cases, up from almost 9,000 on Friday, the previous record.The spike has led state officials to tighten restrictions on business again - as Texas also did on Friday.The leading US government adviser on coronavirus, Dr Anthony Fauci, said last week that the country had a "serious problem".More than 125,000 Covid-19 patients have died nationwide - more than in any other country.Speaking at the first White House coronavirus task force briefing in two months, Dr Fauci said on Friday that the current rises were due to regions "maybe opening a little bit too early" and to people themselves not following guidance."People are infecting other people, and then ultimately you will infect someone who's vulnerable," he said.On Saturday morning, the state reported 9,585 coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours. It has set records for new cases almost daily since mid-June.The total number of cases in Florida so far is over 132,000. More than 3,300 people with Covid-19 have died.Many other southern and western states have reported record spikes as they moved to re-open and people from other areas poured in in recent weeks.Last week, Texas, Florida and Arizona put re-opening plans on pause in an effort to tackle the outbreak.But on Friday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis imposed new restrictions, ordering bars in the state to stop serving alcohol on their premises - although it was not clear how the new measures would affect restaurants, the Miami Herald reported. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told the BBC on Saturday that the "sheer numbers are so high" that they are putting a huge strain on the city's healthcare system."Right now we are penalising those who don't wear masks," Mr Suarez said, adding that he was looking at potentially implementing new measures: "We may have to, at some point, implement a stay at home order."And in Texas, which has also seen record numbers of cases this week, Governor Greg Abbott told bars to close and limited restaurants' indoor seating capacity to 50%.In the Texan town of Galena Park, east of Houston, the mayor imposed an overnight curfew on Saturday and warned that hospitals could soon be overwhelmed.On Saturday, Johns Hopkins University said the total number of cases in the country had risen to 2,505,593.While some of the rise was down to more extensive testing, the rate of positive tests in some areas is also increasing.Health officials estimate the true number of cases is likely to be 10 times higher than the confirmed total. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said up to 20 million Americans may have been infected.The surge in cases was being driven by young people - those aged between 18 and 34 - testing positive, especially in the south and west of the US, said the head of the CDC, Dr Robert Redfield.The White House has stressed that the situation is stabilising in most of the country.During Friday's coronavirus briefing, Vice-President Mike Pence hailed the Trump administration's "truly remarkable progress in moving our nation forward", highlighting improvements in job figures and retail sales.

The news in the US has been dominated by anti-racism protests in recent weeks, but coronavirus is now back in the headlines.Several states have seen a record number of cases this week, leading to fears that the country is experiencing a second wave of infections. But Vice-President Mike Pence said those fears were "overblown" and accused the media of using "grim predictions" to scare the American people.So what is going on in the US?The number of infections is going upWith about 2.5 million coronavirus cases, the US has the highest number of confirmed infections in the world - about a quarter of the global total.The situation got really bad in late March but by May, cases were declining and most states had begun to ease restrictions put into place to halt the spread of the virus.The number of new cases rarely fell below 20,000 though, because as some states were bringing their outbreaks under control, others were only just beginning to see flare-ups.For this reason, the top US health official for infectious diseases, Anthony Fauci, sees the current situation as a continuation of the initial outbreaks."People keep talking about a second wave," he told a reporter recently. "We're still in a first wave."Spikes in those new hotspots mean the number of daily cases has been higher twice this week than previous record back in late April, according to data compiled by the COVID Tracking Project.But it's important to note that the number of tests being carried out now is about double what it was in April and May so it's likely the true scale of that outbreak wasn't fully captured.How our brains are processing the pandemicThere are big regional differencesThe North East has been by far the worst-hit region, with about a quarter of all US cases and more than a third of all US deaths occurring in the states of New York and New Jersey. But in recent weeks, the region has brought its outbreaks under control.The South and West of the country, on the other hand, have seen a big rise in the number of infections. The Midwest is also starting to see an increase. There's no debate over whether cases are going up again, but there is over why.President Donald Trump blames it on increased testing, telling the Wall Street Journal he thinks "testing is overrated" because "in many ways, it makes us look bad."The US has conducted more tests than any other country - about 30 million so far - so that does go some way to explaining why it has the highest number of cases in the world, although international comparisons are difficult to make for a number of reasons.But there's plenty of evidence to suggest the recent rise in infections is down to more than just a higher number of people being tested.Can you compare different countries?Four reasons why this was a bad week for TrumpThe rise in cases isn't just down to more testingIn recent days, Arizona, California, Florida and Texas have seen more new cases on their own than the entire nine-state North East region and that's not just down to increased testing.This is clear when you look at the rate of coronavirus tests that are coming back positive.If lots of tests are being done and the spread of the virus has been reduced, then the positive case rate would go down too. If the virus is still being spread widely, it goes up.The World Health Organization recommends that countries have a positive case rate at or below 5% for 14 days before they ease restrictions on movement. The US was at or below this point for a few days in the middle of June, but the national rate is currently about 6%.That increase nationally is because more than a third of states are now above that level, as the chart above shows, and all of them have reopened to some extent over the last month.One state that has seen an increase in cases since reopening is Texas, where bars have now been told to close their doors again by Governor Greg Abbott in a bid to slow the infection rate. An easing of restrictions has also been paused in Florida.Much of the recent surge in the South and the West has been driven by younger people "newly mobile after months of lockdowns," according to Robert Redfield, the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).He said many of these infections would have gone undiagnosed earlier on in the outbreak because fewer tests were being carried out.Deaths are trending downwards - for nowAmid all of the fears about new hotspots, the most positive news in the US at the moment is that daily deaths continue to fall.They peaked back in May when the outbreaks in the Northeast were at their most intense, with New York state alone registering around 1,000 a day. That figure has been below 50 in recent days.However, deaths is a metric that lags behind cases and hospitalisations because it can take several weeks for those who are worst-hit to die from the disease. That means the consequences of the current spikes in cases won't be seen for a couple of weeks at least.If we do see the number of deaths edging up, there will likely be some pressure on governors to reintroduce restrictions but Dr Fauci doesn't think that will happen."I don't think we're going to be talking about going back to lockdown," he said last week. "I think we're going to be talking about trying to better control those areas of the country that seem to be having a surge of cases."Researchers are racing to produce a vaccine but it's clear that Americans, and the rest of the world, are going to be living with the virus until next year at the earliest.So far, the US has recorded about 125,000 coronavirus deaths - the highest death toll in the world.But one forecasting model run by experts at the University of Washington, says the US is on course to hit 180,000 by October - a month before the election.The toll could be kept below 150,000 by that point, the experts said, if 95% of people started wearing facemasks or coverings in public. A survey of more than 4,000 Americans carried out by the CDC in May found 74% of them always or often wore one while in public.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci has been accused of war crimes by a special international prosecutor in The Hague. Mr Thaci and nine others "are criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders", torture and enforced disappearances, the prosecutor said.The accusations - covering Kosovo's independence war against Serbia in 1998-1999 - have to be confirmed by a judge at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers before formal charges are announced.Mr Thaci has denied all charges.In its announcement, the Special Prosecutor's Office (SPO) said that, on 24 April, it had filed a 10-count indictment with the KSC "for the Court's consideration". It has not released details about the alleged war crimes."The Indictment is only an accusation. It is the result of a lengthy investigation and reflects the SPO's determination that it can prove all of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt," it said.The statement also said Mr Thaci and another of the accused, Kosovo politician Kadri Veseli, have sought to "obstruct and undermine" the SPO's work "in an attempt to ensure that they do not face justice".A pre-trial judge now has six months to decide if the court will issue charges.Allegations of organ-trafficking against the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) - the rebel movement that Mr Thaci led - were first set out by a former Hague war crimes prosecutor, Carla del Ponte in 2008. The EU-backed court was set up to investigate the claims.Kosovo's government has angrily denied the allegations, calling them "baseless and defamatory" ahead of the publication of a report in 2010.Mr Thaci has been in power in Kosovo since the end of the war - most recently as president of Kosovo.The independence war in 1998-1999 cost more than 10,000 lives and only ended after a Nato air campaign.Kosovo declared its independence in 2008, something Serbia still does not recognise.Mr Thaci was due to travel to Washington DC for planned talks with Serbia's leadership in the White House on Saturday.He has now cancelled the trip.The Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) has suddenly broken its silence in the most dramatic manner. It has not just revealed that Kosovo's president is the subject of an indictment for war crimes and crimes against humanity, but also accused him of "repeated efforts… to obstruct and undermine the work" of the court.For anyone who has ever attempted to get information from the KSC, this is a staggering development. The court has revealed virtually nothing about its work since it was established in 2016. Even when Kosovo's former Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, said that he had been questioned as a suspect last year, there was no confirmation from the KSC.The fact that the prosecutor has indicted Hashim Thaci is actually less surprising than the manner of the court's announcement. The KSC was set up to examine the allegations in a 2011 Council of Europe report which named Mr Thaci as the leader of a criminal offshoot of the Kosovo Liberation Army involved in drug, gun and human organ trafficking.At the time, Mr Thaci said the Council report contained "baseless allegations" and threatened to sue the author, Swiss senator Dick Marty.

A US soldier has been charged with terrorism offences for planning a deadly ambush on his unit by sending information to a neo-Nazi group. Ethan Melzer, 22, stands accused of sending sensitive details about his unit to the Order of Nine Angles.The US Department of Justice calls it an "occult-based neo-Nazi and racially motivated violent extremist group".He was allegedly planning for information to be passed to jihadists, who would then carry out an attack.His plan was thwarted late last month by the FBI and the US army. He was arrested on 10 June.Private Melzer has been charged with conspiring and attempting to murder US nationals, conspiring and attempting to murder military service members, providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and conspiring to murder and maim in a foreign country.Private Melzer enlisted in the US Army in December 2018 and began his active service in June 2019.What is the Order of Nine Angles?Also known as the ONA, or O9A, the Order is an occult group founded in the UK, with roots dating back to the 1960sIt describes itself as Satanic and its writings are widely shared in Neo-Nazi communitiesThe Order calls for the overthrow of the West's Judeo-Christian order, and it encourages members to isolate themselves from society, commit crimes and embrace political extremismNew followers must spend at least six months in "insight roles," a practice of infiltrating and subverting other religious groups or organisations like the police and armyThe group maintains a decentralised structure, so it is hard to estimate the true size and influence. But its ideology is having a resurgence in Europe and the US, partly due to the online proliferation of its literature."As alleged, Ethan Melzer, a private in the US Army, was the enemy within," said Audrey Strauss, acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, in a statement."Melzer allegedly attempted to orchestrate a murderous ambush on his own unit by unlawfully revealing its location, strength, and armaments to a neo-Nazi, anarchist, white supremacist group."He is accused of planning to provide information intended to be conveyed to jihadist terrorists, she added. He allegedly exchanged communications regarding passing information about an anticipated deployment of his unit to a purported member of al-Qaeda.Order of Nine Angles should be outlawed, campaigners urgeWhat is the Order of Nine Angles?Members of the Order of Nine Angles, also known as O9A, have expressed admiration for both Nazis, such as Adolf Hitler, and Islamic jihadists, such as Osama Bin Laden, the statement said."Melzer declared himself to be a traitor against the United States, and described his own conduct as tantamount to treason. We agree," said FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr."He turned his back on his county and his unit while aligning himself with members of the neo-Nazi group ONA. Today, he is in custody and facing a lifetime of service - behind bars - which is appropriate given the severity of the conduct we allege today."UK anti-racism campaigners Hope Not Hate used its annual State of Hate report to call for the Order of Nine Angles to be banned.

The deepening cold war between the US and China will be a bigger worry for the world than coronavirus, according to influential economist Jeffrey Sachs. The world is headed for a period of "massive disruption without any leadership" in the aftermath of the pandemic, he told the BBC.The divide between the two superpowers will exacerbate this, he warned.The Columbia University professor blamed the US administration for the hostilities between the two countries."The US is a force for division, not for cooperation," he told me in an interview with BBC's Asia Business Report."It's a force for trying to create a new cold war with China. If this takes hold - if that kind of approach is used, then we won't go back to normal, indeed we will spiral into greater controversy and greater danger in fact."Tensions growMr Sachs's comments come as tensions between the US and China are continuing to grow on several fronts - not just trade.This week President Trump signed legislation authorising US sanctions against Chinese officials responsible for the repression of Muslims in Xinjiang province.And in an interview with the Wall Street Journal President Trump said he believed China might have encouraged the international spread of the virus as a way to destabilise competing economies. The Trump administration has also targeted Chinese companies, in particular Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, which Washington says is being used to help Beijing spy on its customers. China denies this, as does Huawei.But President Trump's tough stance on China and Huawei may have all been part of a political ploy to get himself re-elected - at least according to a new book by former National Security Advisor John Bolton.Professor Sachs agrees that targeting Huawei was never simply a security concern."The US lost its step on 5G, which is a critical part of the new digital economy. And Huawei was taking a greater and greater share of global markets."The US concocted in my opinion, the view that Huawei is a global threat. And has leaned very hard on US allies... to try to break the relations with Huawei," he said.Tensions flareThe US is not the only country that China has been locked in conflict with.This week tensions have flared at the India-China border, with at least 20 Indian soldiers killed in some of the worst violence the two sides have seen in almost fifty years.Meanwhile, China has been actively funding economic projects in Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal - India's closest neighbours - which have rankled fears in Delhi that Beijing is trying to cut off its influence in the region.Mr Sachs admitted that China's rise is of concern to its neighbours in Asia - especially if it doesn't do more to assuage fears that it is trying to grow in a peaceful and cooperative way."Do I believe that China could do more to ease fears which are very real? I do," he told me."The big choice frankly is in China's hands. If China is cooperative, if it engages in diplomacy, regional cooperation and multilateralism, in other words - soft power - because it is a very powerful country…. then I think that Asia has an incredibly bright future."

Fifa game developer EA Sports promises that the next-generation version of Fifa 21 will feature new technology to make it the most realistic yet. Next year's entry will release for both existing consoles and the new Xbox Series X and Playstation 5.But EA says the newer consoles will take advantage of more advanced technology.The Fifa series remains one of the most po[CENSORED]r video game franchises in the world.Despite regular criticism that the annual game is often very similar to the previous year's entry, it had sold over 260 million copies as of 2018.EA says its newest title will feature more life-like player movements, which it says will be "the most authentic character behaviours ever seen in sports video games".The next-generation editions will feature significantly reduced loading times, with the PS5 version taking advantage of haptic feedback on the console's Dual Sense controller. New rendering and lighting techniques will also help to increase the overall realism of the game, EA promises.And fans within the stadium will also be more interactive, even participating in celebrations.Last of Us 2: Gaming 'just grew up'Call of Duty download fix causes more headachesFifa 21 will be released worldwide in October, before the new consoles launch.The PS5 and Xbox Series X versions, with their advanced features, will be available later - but EA is offering a free upgrade path to players who buy the game on the previous generation early.However, Nintendo Switch gamers will not get to experience any of the franchise's new models or game play innovations.The lower-powered portable console will instead get a "legacy edition" release that will include only new kits and teams and an updated menu and overlay system.But EA's promise to deliver its most realistic experience yet could disappoint some fans after some critics suggested Fifa 20's new level of realism had made the game less enjoyable.Details about the game's career mode or five-a-side Volta mode have yet to be announced.However, EA has promised to reveal more about the game in the coming months.

Italian scientists say sewage water from two cities contained coronavirus traces in December, long before the country's first confirmed cases. The National Institute of Health (ISS) said water from Milan and Turin showed genetic virus traces on 18 December.It adds to evidence from other countries that the virus may have been circulating much earlier than thought.Chinese officials confirmed the first cases at the end of December. Italy's first case was in mid-February.In May French scientists said tests on samples showed a patient treated for suspected pneumonia near Paris on 27 December actually had the coronavirus.Meanwhile in Spain a study found virus traces in waste water collected in mid-January in Barcelona, some 40 days before the first local case was discovered.In their study, ISS scientists examined 40 sewage samples collected from wastewater treatment plants in northern Italy between last October and February.Samples from October and November came back negative, showing that the virus had not yet arrived, ISS water quality expert Giuseppina La Rosa said. Waste water from Bologna began showing traces of the virus in January.The findings could help scientists understand how the virus began spreading in Italy, Ms La Rosa said.However she said the research did not "automatically imply that the main transmission chains that led to the development of the epidemic in our country originated from these very first cases".Italy's first known non-imported virus case was a patient in the town of Codogno in the Lombardy region. The town was closed off and declared a "red zone" on 21 February. Nine other towns in Lombardy and neighbouring Veneto followed and the entire country went into lockdown in early March.The ISS said the results confirmed the "strategic importance" of sewage water as an early detection tool because it can signal the virus's presence before cases are clinically confirmed. Many countries are now using the technique.The institute says it aims to begin a pilot project monitoring waste water at tourist resorts in July with a view to setting up a nationwide waste water monitoring network later this year.Nearly 35,000 people have died with Covid-19 in Italy, a tally from Johns Hopkins University shows.

A university student in Malaysia who went out on a limb to ensure she had a good internet connection to sit her exams online has impressed many with her resourcefulness. Eighteen-year-old Veveonah Mosibin lives in Sabanalang Pitas village, in a remote part of the eastern state of Sabah, where broadband services are limited.There is no electricity or running water in her house and Ms Mosibin has said she charges her mobile phone at the houses of relatives and neighbours who do have electricity.She had prepared for her tests a fortnight previously by building a small shelter on a hill where 3G reception for the area is good.On the day of the exam, however, she found the hut had blown down, so decided the next best place to ensure a strong connection would be in a tree.Ms Mosibin, who also looks to be an aspiring YouTuber, filmed her experience, and posted it on a channel she set up in May, which features a handful of other videos of life on her family's farm.Armed with a mosquito net, power bank and meals of rice wrapped in leaves, Ms Mosibin completed her exams uneventfully, save for the intrusion of a hornet during a meal. By her own account, her night in the tree was not particularly restful because of the noise of the jungle and the cold. And she faced a visibly unimpressed mother the next morning, who demanded to know why she had not returned home the evening before.'Without a single complaint'But her escapade, which has been viewed and shared hundreds of thousands of times since she posted it this week, earned the admiration of many others."A strong independent modern girl who gets the job done no matter what the obstacles are! (And without a single complaint despite her hardship)," said one comment on her video."Great determination! However it reflects poorly on us as a nation. After 57 years of being part of Malaysia, the rural areas of Sabah and Sarawak continue to suffer deprivation," said a Facebook commentator.Several also pointed out how her experience highlighted the disparity in internet access in the country."As a teacher I must say this is very heartbreaking," said another comment on her channel. "Internet connection should be reliable in all across our country."Her video prompted the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to say it would install a new telecommunications tower nearby to improve connectivity and upgrade coverage in the area to 4G.

India's prime minister has said the deaths of at least 20 soldiers in a fight with Chinese troops in a disputed Himalayan border area "will not be in vain". Narendra Modi said India would be "proud that our soldiers died fighting the Chinese" in the clash in the Ladakh region on Monday.Soldiers reportedly brawled with sticks, bats and bamboo sticks studded with nails. No shots were fired.Both sides blamed each other.It is the first deadly clash between the two sides in the border area, in the disputed Kashmir region, in at least 45 years. Some Indian soldiers are still believed to be missing.India's army said China also suffered casualties but Beijing has given no details.The Indian statement notes that injured soldiers were "exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain".As each side traded accusations, India said China had tried to "unilaterally change the status quo". Beijing accused Indian troops of "attacking Chinese personnel".The two armies later held talks to try to defuse tensions.The fighting occurred in the precipitous, rocky terrain of the strategically important Galwan Valley, which lies between China's Tibet and India's Ladakh.Indian media say soldiers engaged in direct hand-to-hand combat, with some "beaten to death". During the fight, one newspaper reported, others fell or were pushed into a river. The Indian army initially said a colonel and two soldiers had died. It later said that "17 Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty" and died from their injuries, taking the "total that were killed in action to 20"."I understand that some [further] Indian soldiers went missing. The Indian side is still working to release them from the Chinese custody," defence analyst Ajai Shukla told the BBC.Indian forces appear to have been massively outnumbered by Chinese troops.A senior Indian military official told the BBC there were 55 Indians versus 300 Chinese, who he described as "the Death Squad"."They hit our boys on the head with metal batons wrapped in barbed wire. Our boys fought with bare hands," the officer, who did not want to be named, said.His account, which could not be verified, tallies with other reports in the Indian media detailing the savagery of the combat. The clash has provoked protests in India, with people burning Chinese flags.Addressing the confrontation for the first time in a televised address on Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi said: "India wants peace but when provoked, India is capable of giving a fitting reply, be it any kind of situation."The country will be proud that our soldiers died fighting the Chinese."He said he wanted to "assure the nation" the loss of the soldiers would "not be in vain". "For us, the unity and sovereignty of the country is the most important," he added.China has accused India of crossing the border onto the Chinese side. Its foreign ministry said on Wednesday it wanted to avoid further clashes but gave no further details.It has not confirmed how many of its personnel died or were injured. The BBC's Robin Brant in Beijing says that China has never given contemporaneous confirmation on military deaths outside of peacekeeping duties.Our correspondent adds that on this occasion China's propagandists may not want to fan nationalist flames at home by making much of any loss, or admit to a significant and demoralising loss.This is not the first time the two nuclear-armed neighbours have fought without conventional firearms on the border. India and China have a history of face-offs and overlapping territorial claims along the more than 3,440km (2,100 mile), poorly drawn Line of Actual Control (LAC) separating the two sides.

At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese forces in Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir region, Indian officials say. The incident follows rising tensions, and is the first deadly clash in the border area in at least 45 years.The Indian army initially said three of its soldiers had been killed, adding that both sides suffered casualties.But later on Tuesday, officials a number of critically injured soldiers had died of their wounds.India's external affairs ministry accused China of breaking an agreement struck the previous week to respect the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley.Early on Tuesday the Indian army said three of its soldiers, including an officer, had died in a clash in the area.Later in the day, it released a statement saying the two sides had disengaged.It added that "17 Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty" and died from their injuries, taking the "total that were killed in action to 20".China did not confirm any casualties, but accused India in turn of crossing the border onto the Chinese side.Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said India had crossed the border twice on Monday, "provoking and attacking Chinese personnel, resulting in serious physical confrontation between border forces on the two sides", AFP news agency reported. Local media outlets reported that the Indian soldiers had been "beaten to death" but there was no confirmation from the military. China's Global Times newspaper reported that "solemn representations" had been made with India.The LAC is poorly demarcated. The presence of rivers, lakes and snowcaps means the line can shift. The soldiers either side - representing two of the world's largest armies - come face to face at many points.Both sides insist no bullet has been fired in four decades, and the Indian army said on Tuesday that "no shots were fired" in this latest skirmish.But there have been tense confrontations between the two nuclear powers along the border in recent weeks.India has accused China of sending thousands of troops into Ladakh's Galwan valley and says China occupies 38,000sq km (14,700sq miles) of its territory. Several rounds of talks in the last three decades have failed to resolve the boundary disputes.The two countries have fought only one war so far, in 1962, when India suffered a humiliating defeat.In May, dozens of Indian and Chinese soldiers exchanged physical blows in a clash on the border in the north-eastern state of Sikkim. And in 2017, the two countries clashed in the region after China tried to extend a border road through a disputed plateau. There are several reasons why tensions are rising now - but competing strategic goals lie at the root, and both sides blame each other.India has built a new road in what experts say is the most remote and vulnerable area along the LAC in Ladakh. And India's decision to ramp up infrastructure seems to have infuriated Beijing.The road could boost Delhi's capability to move men and materiel rapidly in case of a conflict.India also disputes part of Kashmir - an ethnically diverse Himalayan region covering about 140,000sq km - with Pakistan.Over the past week, Indian media have been reporting that troops from both sides had been gradually moving back from their stand-off positions, and that efforts were under way to de-escalate the tensions. So it will come as a surprise to many to hear of a violent clash in which three Indian soldiers were killed.The last time the two sides exchanged any gunfire along the border was 1975, when four Indian soldiers were killed in a remote pass in north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.The details of the latest skirmish, and the emergency measures being taken to defuse it, are still unclear.Whatever the result, the latest incident is likely to trigger a fresh wave of anti-China sentiments in India.It will also present daunting foreign policy and security challenges to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government, which is struggling to contain a surge of Covid-19 infections and revive an economy which looks headed for recession.

The death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput on Sunday has sparked fresh discussions about mental health. The 34-year-old actor was found dead in his Mumbai home, in what police said appeared to be a case of suicide.The news was met with an outpouring of grief by fans and other Bollywood stars with the conversation soon turning to mental health and depression.Actress Deepika Padukone, who has talked openly of battling depression, said it was important to reach out."Talk. Communicate. Express. Seek help," she wrote on her Instagram account. "Remember, you are not alone. We are in this together. And most importantly, there is hope."Anushka Sharma, who co-starred with Singh in the film PK wrote, "I'm so sad and upset knowing that we lived in an environment that could not help you through any troubles you may have had."Many others talked about how difficult it was to talk about mental health issues in India, due to a lack of understanding about it and the taboos surrounding the topic."The conversation about mental health in India is miles from where it should be. Many people mourning Sushant's death today snigger and gossip when someone known to them sees a shrink," tweeted Rahul Sabharwal, city editor of The Indian Express newspaper.Another social media user, Noreen Wozar said, "Mental health really needs to become more prioritised in Indian households rather than being taboo and the - if you're depressed, "just get over it" mentality."However, Dr Soumitra Pathare, the director of Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy, told the BBC that while it was important to have conversations around depression and suicide, he warned against conflating the two, especially in a country like India."Research data says that in UK and Europe, depression accounts for about 80% of suicides. But data from places like India show that there are many other reasons that someone will take their own life," he said, adding that the demography for suicide in the country was also very different."For instance, suicide is the number one cause of death in younger women. Many are impulsive and we have found that domestic violence is a major cause. Similarly, exam pressure among children under 18 is a leading cause, and of course there are economic causes like those that cause farmers to take their own lives in rural India," he said.Po[CENSORED]r for his acting in both TV and film, Rajput is perhaps best known for MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, where he played the legendary cricketer.His funeral will be held later on Monday.

One of the biggest stars in Bollywood, Sushant Singh Rajput, has been found dead in his apartment in Mumbai. The 34-year-old is believed to have taken his own life, Mumbai police said.Po[CENSORED]r for his acting in both TV and film, Rajput is perhaps best known for MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, where he played the legendary cricketer.Many have been paying tributes to Rajput, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who called him "a bright young actor gone too soon".Rajput's death comes just days after that of his former manager.Born in the eastern state of Bihar, Rajput dropped out of a university course in engineering to pursue a career in acting and dance.His Bollywood breakthrough came in the 2013 film Kai Po Che, which won acclaim at the Berlin film festival.The actor's last film was Chhichhore, which was released last year. The film's director Nitesh Tiwari said he had spoken to Rajput last week."I am at a loss for words. I spoke to him last week over messages. We would text each other on and off. Now this is what I get to hear. He was like a younger brother to me," he told the Press Trust of India (PTI).In his last post to his 10.2 million Instagram followers on 3 June, Rajput posted a picture of late mother, who died in 2002, when he was a teenager, according to PTI.He wrote: "Blurred past evaporating from teardrops".His former manager, Disha Salian, 28, died earlier this week after falling from the 14th floor of a building in Mumbai.In a Instagram story after her death, Rajput wrote: "It's such devastating news. My deepest condolences to Disha's family and friends. May your soul rest in peace."His death will be mourned by Bollywood fans across the globe still reeling from the deaths of legendary actors Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan within days of each other in April.

US President Donald Trump is postponing his first post-coronavirus lockdown election rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma so it does not fall on a holiday commemorating the end of US slavery. He tweeted that the 19 June rally would be held a day later out of respect for the occasion, known as Juneteenth.The choice of date had drawn criticism amid nationwide anti-racism protests.The location was also controversial, as Tulsa saw one of the worst massacres of black people in US history in 1921.Up to 300 people died when a white mob attacked the prosperous black neighbourhood of Greenwood, known as the "Black Wall Street", with guns and explosives. About 1,000 businesses and homes were also destroyed.Juneteenth is not a federal holiday, but is widely celebrated by African Americans.It celebrates the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation to enslaved African Americans in Texas.Texas was the last state of the Confederacy - the slaveholding southern states that seceded, triggering the Civil War - to receive the proclamation, on 19 June 1865, months after the end of the war.President Trump initially defended the timing of his rally, telling Fox News: "Think about it as a celebration. My rally is a celebration. In the history of politics, I think I can say there's never been any group or any person that's had rallies like I do."But critics accused him of disrespecting the date and the significance of Tulsa to US history."This isn't just a wink to white supremacists - he's throwing them a welcome home party," said Democratic Senator Kamala Harris.Explaining the decision to move his rally, Mr Trump tweeted: "Many of my African American friends and supporters have reached out to suggest that we consider changing the date out of respect for this Holiday, and in observance of this important occasion and all that it represents. I have therefore decided to move our rally to Saturday, June 20th, in order to honor their requests..."The "Make America Great Again" rally in Tulsa will be the president's first campaign event since 2 March, when the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to mass gatherings.Mr Trump is seeking re-election in November 2020, but polls show him lagging behind his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.Campaign rallies are seen as a key method of energising his base, and Oklahoma is traditionally a Republican-voting state. The event will proceed against a backdrop of ongoing protests against racial inequality and police brutality, triggered by the death of African American man George Floyd on 25 May. Mr Floyd, who was unarmed, died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a policeman knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.The rally is being held in a 19,000-seat indoor arena, and concerns have been raised about the potential risks.The US has the world's highest official death toll from coronavirus. More than 114,600 people have died there with the virus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, and there have been more than two million confirmed infections.Oklahoma has one of the country's lowest infection rates, and businesses are reopening - but the state's Governor Kevin Stitt has urged residents to keep social distancing and to "minimise time spent in crowded environments".People buying tickets for the Tulsa rally online have to click on a waiver confirming that they "voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to Covid-19" and will not hold the president's campaign responsible for "any illness or injury".Correspondents say that while the virus remains a threat, Mr Trump's campaign considers that large crowds at the recent protests will make it harder for his opponents to criticise his rallies.The president has said he plans to hold further events in Florida, Texas, North Carolina and Arizona.

Video conferencing giant Zoom suspended the account of a group of US-based Chinese activists after they held a meeting on the platform to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown. The Humanitarian China group said its account was shut just days after the event, which was attended by about 250 people including some activists who called in from China.Zoom said the account had been closed to comply with "local laws".The account was later re-activated."When a meeting is held across different countries, the participants within those countries are required to comply with their respective local laws," Zoom said in a statement emailed to news outlets."We aim to limit the actions we take to those necessary to comply with local law and continuously review and improve our process on these matters," the statement said.Zoom, which has seen a sudden and massive increase in users because of coronavirus lockdowns, was already facing heightened scrutiny over its security and privacy measures. Among the problems was so-called "Zoombombing" - where uninvited guests hack into meetings, sometimes posting racist, abusive or explicit content.The Humanitarian China video meeting, held on 31 May, was meant to commemorate the 31st anniversary of China's Tiananmen Square crackdown, which is typically observed on 4 June.According to a report in the South China Morning Post, the speakers included the mother of a slain protester, a Beijing resident imprisoned 17 years for his participation, and several student leaders who had been exiled."The event marked the first time so many high-profile figures with direct ties to the 1989 pro-democracy movement had come together in one space," Zhou Fengsuo, the president of Humanitarian China, who was himself a student leader at the Tiananmen protests, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP)."We had to keep it secret," he said. Humanitarian China's Zoom account was shut down on 7 June, the group said. "I'm very angry that even in this country, in the United States ... we have to be prepared for this kind of censorship," Mr Zhou told SCMP.Another Tiananmen activist said he had been locked out of Zoom since 22 May when he tried to host an online discussion on China's influence around the world. Lee Cheuk-yan told the AFP news agency that his account was suspended before the talk started."I asked Zoom whether this is political censorship but it has never replied to me," said Mr Lee, who is chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance - the organiser of Hong Kong's annual vigil for the victims of the Tiananmen crackdown.He said the group had held two previous talks on Zoom with no issue.The military crackdown on protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in the spring of 1989 came after students and workers occupied the square in a massive peaceful pro-democracy protest. Estimates of the death toll among the protesters range from several hundred to as many as 10,000.The anniversary of the crackdown is a highly sensitive matter in China - arguably the most sensitive day of the year for China's internet. Content related to the anniversary is frequently blocked or censored. Reporting on the event is also heavily censored in China.

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Swedish prosecutors have named the man who they say killed former Swedish prime minister Olof Palme in 1986, ending years of mystery. They said it was Stig Engstrom, a graphic designer known as "Skandia Man" who killed himself in 2000.As a result they were closing the investigation into Palme's death, Chief Prosecutor Krister Petersson said.Palme was shot in the back as he walked home from the cinema with his wife in Stockholm.He had already dismissed his security team for the day. The assassination took place on Sweden's busiest road, Sveavagen, and more than a dozen witnesses saw a man fire the shots before fleeing the scene.Palme's son Marten told Swedish radio that he believed prosecutors had reached the right conclusion and were right to close the case.Thousands of people have been interviewed over Palme's death. A petty criminal was convicted of the killing but the verdict was later dismissed."The person is Stig Engstrom," Mr Petersson told a news conference. "Because the person is dead, I cannot bring charges against him and have decided to close the investigation."The murder weapon has not been found and no new forensic evidence has been uncovered, but prosecutors examining Engstrom's statements to police concluded that his version of events did not add up. "How he acted was how we believe the murderer would have acted," Mr Petersson added.Stig Engstrom had not initially been a focus for the investigation, the prosecutor said, but when investigators looked into his background they found he was accustomed to using weapons, having been in the army, and was a member of a shooting club.In his local area he was also part of a circle of critics of Palme's policies and relatives said he had a negative view of the prime minister.Engstrom also had long running financial problems and a growing problem with alcohol.However investigators still did not have a "clear picture" of Engstrom's motive for killing Palme, Mr Petersson said.Stig Engstrom became known as Skandia Man as he had worked for the Skandia insurance company. He had been working late on the evening of the murder at the the firm's HQ close to the crime scene.Engstrom was known to have been present at the scene of the murder. He was questioned by police several times but was quickly dismissed as a suspect.Mr Petersson said witness descriptions of the gunman correlated with Engstrom's appearance and witnesses also contradicted Engstrom's own account of his movements at the scene.Engstrom lied about the moments after the murder, even claiming he had tried to resuscitate Palme. He eventually killed himself in 2000.He was first identified as a suspect by journalist Thomas Pettersson, and police started looking into Engstrom 18 years after his death.Stig Engstrom's ex-wife told Expressen newspaper in 2018 that she had been questioned by detectives in 2017. At the time she said the suspicion of his guilt was out of the question."He was too much of a coward. He wouldn't harm a fly," she said.