News brief: Big stories of the day

Fire, Tear gas, petrol bombs as Hong Kong centre engulfed by chaos

Chaos engulfed Hong Kong's financial heart on Saturday night as police fired tear gas and water cannon at petrol-bomb-throwing protesters, who defied a ban on rallying -- and mounting threats from China -- to take to the streets for a 13th straight weekend.

'Our sister hasn't been returned,' says brother of abducted Sikh girl

Surendra Singh, the brother of the 19-year-old Jagjit Kaur, who was allegedly abducted and forcibly converted to Islam, on Saturday said that her sister has not been returned yet.

Messaging app Telegram moves to protect the identity of Hong Kong protester

Telegram, a popular encrypted messaging app, will allow users to cloak their telephone numbers to safeguard Hong Kong protesters against monitoring by authorities, according to a person with direct knowledge of the effort.

Sudan court charges Omar al-Bashir with illegal use of foreign funds

A Sudanese court on Saturday charged ousted president Omar al-Bashir, on trial for corruption, with illegal acquisition and use of foreign funds. 

Brazil steps up environmental enforcement; agents raid illegal miners in Amazon

Federal agents in Brazil exchanged gunfire with illegal miners in the Amazon state of Para on Friday, according to witnesses, in a dramatic example of how Brazil has stepped up environmental enforcement in the wake of rainforest fires.