WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Lee Duck-hee became the first deaf player to win an ATP main draw match on Monday, waiting out a rain delay to beat Henri Laaksonen in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The 21-year-old from South Korea was two points from victory when thunderstorms swept through the area.When he and Switzerland's Laaksonen returned some five hours later Lee quickly polished off a 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 victory."I never expected to get through this one," said Lee, who had won the final three po

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -- Twitter and Facebook said Monday they had uncovered a campaign by China to use the social media platforms against pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong."We are disclosing a significant state-backed information operation focused on the situation in Hong Kong, specifically the protest movement and their calls for political change," Twitter said in an online post.Facebook said a tip from Twitter led to the removal of pages, groups and accounts originating in China and

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump on Sunday warned China that carrying out a Tiananmen Square-style crackdown on Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters would harm trade talks between the two countries."I think it'd be very hard to deal if they do violence, I mean, if it's another Tiananmen Square," Trump told reporters in New Jersey. "I think it's a very hard thing to do if there's violence." The months-long trade dispute between the US and China has been blamed for s

HONG KONG (AFP) -- A sea of democracy activists flooded the streets of Hong Kong Sunday in a defiant show to the city's leaders that their movement still pulls wide public support, despite mounting violence and increasingly stark warnings from Beijing.Tens of thousands of protesters carrying umbrellas poured across the heart of Hong Kong island despite torrential rain, closing key roads and flouting a police order not to march from a park where they had gathered earlier for a rally.Ten weeks of

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong democracy activists are hoping to get out a huge crowd later Sunday in a bid to show the city's leaders that their protest movement remains defiant despite increasingly stark warnings from Beijing.Ten weeks of demonstrations have plunged the international finance hub into crisis and communist-ruled mainland China has taken an increasingly hardline tone, including labelling the more violent protester actions "terrorist-like".Clashes have broken out between p

Cathay Pacific said Wednesday two pilots had been sacked, as the Hong Kong carrier comes under huge pressure from Beijing to clamp down on staff supportive of anti-government rallies."One is currently involved in legal proceedings. The other misused company information on Flight CX216/12 August," the airline said in a statement.Hong Kong has been gripped by ten weeks of protests that have seen millions take to the streets, sparked by opposition to a planned law that would have allowed

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Opera legend Placido Domingo faced a growing #MeToo storm Tuesday as the Los Angeles Opera opened an investigation into multiple allegations of sexual harassment against him and two other major venues canceled his upcoming performances. Domingo defended himself after several women, one of whom was identified, accused him of using his position as one of opera's most celebrated singers to pressure them into sexual relationships. Eight singers and a dancer told the Associated Pres

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Flights resumed Tuesday at Hong Kong airport a day after a massive pro-democracy rally there forced the shutdown of the busy international transport hub.Early Tuesday, passengers with luggage were being checked in at the departures hall and information boards showed several flights were already boarding or about to depart. The abrupt shutdown of one of the world's busiest hubs came after thousands of black-clad demonstrators flooded the airport for a peaceful rally.It was a dr

NEW DELHI (AFP) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday his powderkeg move to strip the disputed Kashmir region of its autonomy was necessary to stop "terrorism", as Pakistan voiced further outrage and the UN chief urged "maximum restraint."Modi's Hindu-nationalist government imposed direct rule on the Indian held portion of Kashmir on Monday, setting off a new crisis in one of the world's most volatile security flashpoints.Speaking for the first time since the m

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The US government has approved the sale of $800 million worth of helicopters to South Korea, the Pentagon announced Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trump said Seoul had agreed to pay more for the US military presence in the country.The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the State Department had approved the sale of 12 MH-60R Multi-Mission Seahawk Helicopters and extensive associated radar, communications and weaponry equipment.The helicopters bolster

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong's unrest spread more widely throughout the financial hub Monday as riot police clashed with pro-democracy protesters at multiple locations and the city's leader warned of a "very dangerous situation".The third consecutive night of police-protester confrontations occurred after a rare strike caused transport chaos.Activists disrupted vital rush-hour commuter train service, held multiple rallies, besieged police stations and launched projectiles at the legisl

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States on Monday formally accused China of manipulating its currency, marking the second major escalation in the two countries' spiraling trade war in just 24 hours.Washington's sudden move came the day China allowed the yuan to fall below 7 to the dollar for the first time in about a decade -- provoking US President Donald Trump's ire and sending global equities markets diving into the red.Wall Street on Monday posted its worst one-day losses of 2019 as hope of an

      US President Donald Trump downplayed on Friday North Korea's missile tests, saying that while they may violate a UN resolution, Kim Jong Un will not want to "disappoint" him because he has "too much to lose."   Underlining his intense personal support for the North Korean leader, Trump fired off three tweets brushing aside the short-range missile launches.   "There may be a United Nations violation, but Chairman Kim

A campaigner who tackles youth suicide in South Korea, two journalists, and a human rights activist were named Friday among the winners of Asia's equivalent of the Nobel Prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award.Kim Jong-ki, whose 16-year-old son took his life after being bullied in school, received the 2019 award for helping South Korea face one of the developed world's highest suicide rates. Kim, 72, was recognised for "his quiet courage in transforming private grief into a mission to protect Kore

PARIS (AFP) -- Mankind will have used up its allowance of natural resources such as water, soil and clean air for all of 2019 by Monday, a report said.The so-called Earth Overshoot Day has moved up by two months over the past 20 years and this year's date is the earliest ever, the study by the Global Footprint Network said.The equivalent of 1.75 planets would be required to produce enough to meet humanity's needs at current consumption rates. "Earth Overshoot Day falling on July 29 means th

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Global trade tensions, continued uncertainty and rising prospects for a no-deal Brexit are sapping the strength of the world economy, which faces a "precarious" 2020, the International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday.Trade conflicts are undercutting investment and weakening manufacturing, and the IMF urged countries to avoid using tariffs to resolve their differences.In the quarterly update of its World Economic Outlook, the IMF trimmed the global forecast issued in

 GWANGJU, South Korea (AFP) - World championship swimmers slammed China's Sun Yang over lurid doping allegations and said competitors were firmly behind Australia's Mack Horton, who snubbed the Olympic star on the podium.    America's Matt Grevers claimed many competitors "don't trust" Sun, while world record-holder Lilly King revealed athletes "erupted in applause" after Horton refused to join his rival on the podium for photos after the 400 metres f

BEIJING (AFP) -- China reacted furiously on Monday to anti-government protesters vandalising the walls of the Beijing representative's office in Hong Kong and defacing the national emblem, branding their actions "absolutely intolerable".Thousands of masked pro-democracy demonstrators briefly occupied the road outside the office in the semi-autonomous city Sunday night and targeted the building with eggs, projectiles, laser lights and graffiti in a stark rebuke to Beijing's rule. Hong K

SINGAPORE (AFP) -- Harry Kane scored a stunning 93rd minute winner from the halfway line as Tottenham Hotspur edged Juventus 3-2 in an entertaining pre-season friendly in Singapore on Sunday.The England captain latched onto Lucas Moura's short pass and launched a first-time shot high over a scrambling substitute keeper Wojciech Szczesny as Spurs rallied past new manager Maurizio Sarri's Italian champions in front of a delighted National Stadium crowd. "It's probably one of the best goals of

SEOUL (AFP) -- North Korea's state media has slammed Japan for its recent trade restrictions against Seoul over wartime slavery disputes, accusing Tokyo of "destroying the trend of peace" on the Korean peninsula.After South Korea's high court ordered Japanese firms that used forced labour to compensate Korean victims, Tokyo earlier this month restricted the export of several chemicals to South Korea that are crucial to its world-leading chip and smartphone companies. South Korea's left