NEWS OF THE DAY

1 Hong Kong protests: A vigil was held Saturday night for a Hong Kong woman who fell to her death last week, one of three apparent suicides linked to protests over fears that freedoms are being eroded in the semiautonomous Chinese territory. Before falling from a shopping mall last Sunday, the 29yearold woman left a message that wished for the protesters’ success but said she could not carry on, Hong Kong media have reported. The three deaths have raised concerns about the possibility of copycat suicides among other disaffected people. Protesters are planning to march Sunday to a highspeed train station that connects Hong Kong to Guangzhou, Beijing and other destinations in mainland China.

2 Britain politics: Members of Britain’s Conservative Party have started receiving their postal ballots in the contest to choose the country’s next prime minister, but concerns emerged Saturday that some have been sent more than one voting paper. About 160,000 members of the governing party are choosing Britain’s next leader. They are deciding between Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and his predecessor in that job, Boris Johnson. The BBC reported that more than 1,000 people had received multiple voting forms. Most were registered with more than one local Conservative association or had changed their names. The party said in a statement that “the ballot holds clear instructions that members voting more than once will be expelled.” The winner of the postal vote is due to be announced July 23 and will replace Theresa May as party leader and prime minister the following day.

3 Human trafficking: Eight people originally from Poland have been convicted in what British prosecutors call one of country’s largest modernday slavery rings. Prosecutors said more than 400 victims were forced to work for minuscule wages while their masters earned some 2 million pounds ($2.5 million). The group preyed on the homeless, former convicts and alcoholics in Poland and lured them to Britain with false promises of wellpaid work. Five men and three women were convicted in Birmingham of modern day slavery offenses and money laundering.

4 Sudan unrest: Prodemocracy leaders abandoned plans Saturday for marches this week, after they reached a powersharing deal with the ruling military council following a protracted standoff over the role of the army in the transition. Both sides agreed on Friday to form a joint military and civilian sovereign council to lead the country during a transition period of three years and three months, sparking street celebrations in the capital of Khartoum and other cities. Rebel groups, however, slammed the deal as a “betrayal of the revolution” that led to the military ouster of autocratic President alBashir in April amid nationwide protests against his nearly three decades of rule.

5 Egypt economy: The government has hiked fuel and cooking gas prices in another round of subsidy cuts designed to overhaul the country’s ailing economy and meet the requirements of a large bailout from the International Monetary Fund. The move is expected to further squeeze the country’s poor and middle class, which have seen their purchasing power shrink under the current reforms. The new prices were announced in Egypt’s official Gazette last week and came into effect Friday morning. The price of gas increased by about 18% to nearly 22%. In 2016, Egypt had agreed to slash a range of energy subsidies and economic reforms in exchange for the $12 billion IMF loan.