Hong Kong has entered a second day of protest against a government ban on the wearing of facial coverings—an emergency measure intended to curb four months of anti-government unrest that has met with a disastrous reception.

On Saturday afternoon, hundreds began marching through downtown Hong Kong chanting “Fight for freedom! Stand with Hong Kong!” and “I have the right to wear a mask.” Marchers occupied major streets and most wore facial coverings in defiance of the ban, which applies to all public gatherings and renders violators liable to a year in jail.

Along Chater Road, beside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, protesters unfurled massive banners reading “I Want Glory for Hong Kong” and “Murderous Hong Kong Police.” Protests also broke out in the tourist district on the Kowloon peninsula and in the northern town of Sheung Shui, where the shuttered storefronts of businesses with mainland Chinese connections were attacked and vandalized. Police were nowhere to be seen.

Thirty-one peopl..

(PARIS) — New York-based pop artist Jeff Koons unveiled his long-awaited, giant sculpture titled “Bouquet of Tulips” in Paris on Friday, commemorating the victims of terror attacks that rocked France in 2015 and 2016. The 12.6-meter (41-foot) sculpture, fashioned from polychromed bronze, stainless steel, and aluminum, portrays a hand clasping a bouquet of balloon-like tulips.

At an inauguration ceremony attended by some families of the November 2015 Paris terror attacks, Koons called the flowers “a symbol that life moves forward.” He said the “inflatable flowers represent loss, rebirth, and the vitality of the human spirit.”

“I did, as a citizen in New-York, experience 9/11 and the depression that hung over the city and it really took years for the city to be able to come to life again”, Koons said.

Patricia Correia, whose daughter was killed in the Bataclan concert hall attack, thanked Koons for his tribute. “It’s a very strong testament between the two countries and for me it repr..

(WASHINGTON) — Microsoft said Friday that hackers linked to the Iranian government targeted an undisclosed U.S. presidential campaign, as well as government officials, media targets and prominent expatriate Iranians.

Overall, the hackers attempted to penetrate 241 accounts — four successfully — though none of those penetrated was associated with presidential campaigns or current or past U.S. officials, Microsoft said. A company spokeswoman declined to identify those targeted, citing customer privacy.

The announcement is the latest sign that foreign governments are looking for ways to potentially disrupt the 2020 presidential election. U.S. intelligence officials have sounded the alarm about the risks for months.

Russia’s hacking of the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign, as well as the subsequent leaks of emails during the 2016 election roiled the DNC, hurt the Clinton campaign and was a focal point in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.

Foreign hackers have..

(CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.) — The first all-female spacewalk is back on, six months after a suit-sizing flap led to an embarrassing cancellation.

NASA announced Friday that the International Space Station’s two women will pair up for a spacewalk later this month. Astronauts Christina Koch and the newly arrived Jessica Meir will venture out Oct. 21 to plug in new, upgraded batteries for the solar power system. It will be the fourth of five spacewalks for battery work.

Koch was supposed to do a spacewalk with another female crewmate in March. But NASA had to scrap the plan just a few days in advance because there wasn’t enough time to get a second medium-size spacesuit ready. The second medium was put together on board in June.

NASA’s deputy chief astronaut Megan McArthur told reporters the all-female spacewalk will be a milestone. But she noted that women are so integrated at all levels at NASA now that they don’t tend to dwell on gender. “I’m sure that they’ll sit back and reflect on it,..