C.z. Will further raise tensions in the region Tiran is still holding a British vessel the stand in para it detained in response to the U.K.'s involvement in the earlier of a tanker carrying a rainy an oil of the 2 Bruta Britain has refused any suggestion that the 2 ships could be released in an exchange representatives of the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban are meeting today in Qatar the Taliban's insistence the Afghan government is absent but the possible accord would see the militants committed to negotiations among Afghans and a cease fire there would be a phased withdrawal of u.s. Forces who have been in the country for 18 years World News from the b.b.c. . Police in Hong Kong have fired tear gas to disperse pro-democracy protesters on their 9th consecutive weekend of demonstrations protesters were seen throwing stones and eggs at a police station Steve McDonald reports at the police complex windows facing the street have been smashed in dozens of militant pro-democracy activists 3 bricks at the building which they had removed from an adjacent footpath hundreds more protesters cheered as projectiles hit the police station and the blast rains down from above overnight at least 20 demonstrators were arrested following more street classes with riot. Calls political crisis has moved into its 3rd month with no sign of slowing down protests will continue today at various locations and the strike is planned for tomorrow 40 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by German charity have been taken to Malta on a naval vessel the charity c r I had picked up the migrants of Libya on Wednesday but Italy turned the ship away Malta will let the refugees land after getting assurances from Germany and all the e.u. Countries that they'll take all of them in. A French inventor has succeeded in crossing the channel between France and England on a jet powered Hove aboard Frank is a party to call from Sangatte new colony he stopped halfway in the boats to refill his fuel tank with kerosene a maneuver he had failed to complete on his 1st attempts 10 days ago these people gathered near Dover to watch the 40 year old arrive I really didn't think he would make it I was hoping and just to see him in the distance my little but not this was just amazing I didn't know what to expect I thought of a historical thing that really high tech magnificent That's the latest b.b.c. World news. Hello and welcome to News Hour from the b.b.c. World Service for coming to you live from London I'm James Tamara saw me Ohio in the American Midwest and Texas in the American south are very different states in their sizes swagger and subtle real choices but today 2 of their cities are united in the kind of grief that comes from a numbingly commonplace tragedy in the United States a pair of mass shootings which took place within hours of each other and which have taken at least $29.00 lives 20 of the victims were killed in El Paso Texas the most Mexican of American cities at a giant Wal-Mart department store according to eyewitness reports a gunman spent several minutes moving through the aisles shooting at people with a powerful rifle this man who was at a nearby shopping center when the shooting took place spoke to c.b.s. News employees they were coming in. And they would they would tell me that they heard some gunshots and people just started holding straight into the store in order to get to get to cover I mean meantime why to try to stay calm but I was freaking out internal Victoria bell around was also at the mall with her parents when the police evacuated them the best place I mean I've always felt so safe and it's hollow and so just the reactions any just now it's starting to hit me all that's happening to people is a large number and it's so sad to know that he's people are my people these people were targeted and ages it breaks my heart when his suggestion they have targeting followers reports of the 21 year old man who surrendered to police and he's been taken into custody had posted a white nationalist document online in which he referred to a Hispanic invasion of Texas the El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen spoke about that at a news conference. Right now we have a manifesto from this individual that indicates to some degree a has a nexus to potential hate crime. We have to validate for certain certainty that this was the manifesto from this individual that we've arrested so with that in play we still have to be aware of the fact that this person is still entitled to a fair process as far as the law or a should pocket is a journalist from El Paso He's been covering the day's events I went to the family reunification center not the scene of the crime which was a Wal-Mart near a shopping center by then everything was over and what I saw was an incredible amount of dignity among the people who had lined up there they were there to find out the fate of loved ones whether they were missing or dead or wounded and they. Stood calmly and there was a Catholic priest who came out to check with people and make sure they were in the right spot he kept reassuring them they were in the right place you're in the right place there are helicopters overhead cops of every kind fire and violence e.m.t. These are Red Cross workers but the scene was not chaotic it was an eerily calm thing either we as Americans have become used to it or people meet these instances with tremendous dignity amid dot com know people clearly desperate the looking full Yes family members that's correct and I want to striking up a conversation with a gentleman who touched me on the elbow is an older man about 70 and he showed me a picture on his cell phone and there were 2 small children one aged 5 girl and one aged 2 a little boy the little boy was in the hospital and. The little girl was missing and their mother aged only 25 years old had already been confirmed dead. So he and I spoke for a few minutes and he was incredibly kind and dignified when he got up he thanked me before I could thank him but that was the way the day unfolded and it was sweltering heat it was 100 degrees of Paso as a city in the middle of one of the largest deserts in the world and people in the city could driving in it dropping off cold water and ice which frankly is about the only thing you can do in a situation like this it was handled with tremendous grace despite the sort of outburst of hatred and violence and rage only moments earlier and then as the news began filtering through about this online manifesto which is believed to have been posted by the person who killed so many people will be your thoughts really and those of the people around you I have feared this moment for some 3 or 4 years since Donald Trump announced his candidacy by announcing that Mexicans were rapists El Paso is my hometown I grew up here I am of Mexican ancestry myself my mother is an immigrant from Mexico and I have always feared this moment would come I was shocked that it came in El Paso because Paso is almost 90 percent Hispanic on the u.s. Side as a border city I can practically throw a rock across into Mexico if I want to there are 2300000 people who live here every Wal-Mart is full of either Latino Americans or Mexican citizens every Saturday or almost any day shopping frankly that the killer reportedly has told police that he wanted to kill as many Mexicans as possible and quite tragically and sadly he came to the right place is then in many ways that the most shocking thing about this that you expected it yes I think that's exactly right unfortunately. You know whether it's Jews in America African-Americans Asians and now Hispanics it's pretty clear that not all of the president's supporters but a good many of them do support his racist politics and very few of them will go to deadly means to achieve what can be done it's a terrible the to the bold cliche sounding sentiment comes out off every mass shooting I guess what do you think can be done 2 things have to be disentangled The 1st is I'm a Texan and I'm a gun owner myself I respect firearms for the purpose of hunting and for some people for the purposes of shooting sports but the fact is that we are a nation awash in guns we have over 300000000 firearms in a country of just as many people most of those firearms are concentrated amongst 30 percent of the population Texas unfortunately for the Republican Party here is going to have this debate and they're going to have now a gun toting state is about to face up to the costs of wide open guns particularly these kinds of guns for everyone and then secondly to your question the reality is that the trumpet ministrations policies have steadily dish human eyes do not merely immigrants to this country they have stigmatized people of different faiths they have incarcerated children who happen to be Latino and so we cannot disentangle the gun problem now from the official acts of the hatred What do you think the the show it's a medium term impact will be on the city of El Paso of this shooting. Very good question I think in that sense El Paso will be like every other American city that has undergone this kind of tragedy in that it will be forgotten by the nation soon but I cannot help but think of that 70 year old man that I interviewed there are hundreds if not thousands of people in the city tonight who had a whole ripped in their lives because a loved one went shopping at Wal-Mart of all places and happened to be as panic. And that wound is not here we talk easily those of us in the in the press rebuilding in the strength of communities and that's all very nice but losses like that leave scars and they are very deep and I think that the city will have to live with all scars El Paso journalist there Richard Parker and we'll be hearing later on in the program about the shootings in Dayton Ohio. The sound there of a 9th weekend of protests in Hong Kong the demonstration in the main waterfront area of Kalu County loon one of the 2 much is planned for the territory today where the public anger that was brought on by plans for a bill allowing extraditions to Mainland China has failed to dissipate even after Hong Kong's chief executive Kerry Lampung the idea of sporadic clashes on Saturday between police and protesters there were 20 more arrests overnight for offenses including unlawful assembly and assault graffiti has appeared encouraging Hong Kong is to take part in a general strike there on Monday Emily Lau is a former member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council and Council and former chair person of the Democratic Party. Situation goes on if it's really going to hurt I think it will cut across the country towards this parents if it goes on you say but it shows no sign of stopping at the moment does it No sadly I think there is a consensus that a government should come out I carry lead to chief executive it should come out to rule what Scribner was a terrible extradition of Britain which the threat is that our people want her to say a proper legal proceeding with great completely I don't also to set up a commission of inquiry with me but if such a commission is set up in the not structure of the protest. Immediately I think probably well who done although there is a sense that this is gone beyond the extradition bill into something bigger Well that's true of course people are going universe or suffrage you have to write well as. Well members of the legislature and d.c. None have been better for more than 20 years meanwhile a general strike is planned for Monday is not likely to focus minds at the top I hope so now this strike is organized by people who are saying no we don't support violence we just want to contest the peace the way I am if it's widely supported it was also I can show you that there are many people who were in favor of the government responding to the demands what can be done from abroad to bring some kind of conclusion to all of this do you think I'm very grateful to the international community for speaking out on home call and communal ask the administration to withdraw the bill I mean when I knew that when the central government decided to suck every last says spending but what they said because there were 67 statements issued I think my government so why shouldn't you international public opinion that's met we haven't talked about Beijing mainland China and its reaction to all of this what's your sense are they getting nervous when I think banking is can set and I had and of course people ask them about the possibility of applying the People's Liberation Army but I think making well run to take such a classic step should that happen that would be the end of one country 2 systems you're calling for a commission of inquiry for everything to be come down. Own Is there a danger though that if nothing changes things might deteriorate Of course many people of Britain could say that some people will get seriously injured I mean. That should have some through escalate very quickly the Hong Kong politician Emily Lau that you're listening to the b.b.c. World Service this is News Hour coming to you live from London with James Kim our sun. Coming up later on in the program we'll hear from the French inventor who has become the 1st person to cross the English Channel on a jet powered hoverboard. I'm feeling lucky and it's just an amazing moment for me so proud for my and so happy for my knife and many remind of our headlines at this hour there have been 2 mass shootings in the United States 20 people were killed by a suspected white supremacist in El Paso in Texas several hours later 19 people were shot dead in Dayton Ohio a deal paving the way for civilian rule has been initialed in Sudan it's intended that a transitional government with a civilian majority will be named later this month and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards in Iran say they're holding a foreign oil tanker in the Gulf including its crew of 7 sailors. You're listening to the b.b.c. World Service this is News Hour coming to you live from London with James Kumaraswamy. There have been conflicting signals from and about Afghanistan in recent days a country of course in the grip of war for the best part of 4 decades last month with the deadliest for more than 2 years there with at least $1500.00 Afghan civilians being killed but on Saturday the u.s. Envoy for Afghan reconciliations are made that sound this rather hopeful sounding tweet the Taliban a signaling they would like to conclude an agreement we are ready for an agreement while he is in Doha where the United States and Taliban are engaged in a throne of negotiations as is news hours least he said in Doha that is not engaged in the negotiations although you have been to briefings today what can you tell us . Yes we've been talking both to the American side and the Taliban side and it is seems very clear that they are very very close they're within striking distance of a deal between the United States and the Taleban on what would be a phased withdrawal of u.s. Surge troops which would to be in exchange for Taliban guarantees that Afghanistan would not be used as a safe haven again for groups like Al Qaida and now in Islamic sate and that this would be this part of the deal with and lead to talks among Afghans and eventually a ceasefire but as always with mediation when these kind of very difficult deals when you get down to the law tend to put say last 10 percent there are some really really naughty issues Taliban are still asking for a quicker pullout of u.s. Troops they're still resisting spelling out which of the extremist groups you know they don't want they have had relations in the past with Al Qaida they don't want to spell out which group it is that they're going to be moving against if they signed this deal with the United States so they're not they're quite there yet but there have been about an hour and a half they're going to go back into full negotiations again and they're hoping that before the next festival which is in about a week's time they will be able to say that they've reached a deal remind us why this is all happening in and. Who was where the Taleban were able to establish many years ago their 1st face which was the For them the 1st step on the path to greater legitimacy acknowledgment of them that they're not just of you know a fighting group in the minds of some people they're militants others call them terrorists others call them nationalists but it was the 1st step toward they find themselves today the Taliban travel around the world you know they were just in Indonesia they're met by the deputy president they need foreign ministers around the world foreign ministers come here to Doha. To meet them and so it became the obvious place for them to hold talks with the United States once the United States decided that instead of meeting the Taliban once a year in secret talks they will meet them time and again to try and reach that elusive deal to get American troops out and to get Afghanistan back on the road to peace with all the cows yet so that final 10 percent that you've outlined what is it that has got these 2 sides so close to an agreement look at Afghanistan look at a country which has been this last phase of the war the last kind of war is in the last 18 years since the Taliban. Was ousted from Afghanistan a new u.s. Led invasion but Afghanistan has been at war for 40 years one generation after the next living with this death and destruction last year was it a year of record civilian casualties you know I heard from from one of the negotiators that both sides are anxious to have an agreement everyone understands that you can't have a war fight to the finish but getting to a negotiated finish is still going to be very hard Lisa thanks very much these are there in Doha. Mushroom lane may be one of Lebanon's best known rock bands for their growing international profile but they have not been able to perform at a major music festival in their home country this year the organizers of the big last festival say that they cancelled my concert to prevent bloodshed after church leaders accused the band of blasphemy and the band began to receive death threats later say they're the victims of a vicious smear campaign as our Beirut correspondent Martin patience reports. This is. The Lebanon's biggest wrong band with fans across the world mushroom Layla's lead singer is a Muslim and openly gay he sings about relate gin politics and sexuality all hugely sensitive topics in the Middle East where here outside the gates of the American University of Beirut and it was here a decade ago that the band was formed so what do people here make of the decision to cancel the concert but on is not gone through or freedom of speech is protected and everyone should respect. What others think about the issue still there. And a place that they don't accept this thing I think that being most of this country. I think they are just kids that want to say that often you know I think it's not more than that they are making it bigger than ballots it should be just for political reasons maybe Liben and has always prided itself on being freer than the Rashed of the Arab world but church leaders here said mushroom Layla's lyrics violates he'd religious values the band say as they were. Smear campaign run lying and fabrications that couldn't be farther from the truth for us we are the luckiest the barracks of Christians in the Middle East we cannot really allow such things to happen now gee Hi It is a political activist who was involved in the social media campaign against the band Christians 100 percent feel under assault in this country and see the popular reaction about look at what happened to us in all the neighboring countries Christians have been kicked out of Iraq they have been slaughtered in Syria people would be surprised to hear the Lebanese Christians around or see each It's not as if you're being attac