Hong Kong has refused to renew a work visa for the Asia news editor of the Financial Times, sparking concerns from the UK government. Victor Mallet is also vice-president of the city's Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC), which upset local and Chinese authorities by hosting a separatist speaker in August. Hong Kong did not explain its visa decision. China is highly sensitive about the territory's sovereignty. The former British colony was handed back in 1997 on condition it would retain "a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs" for 50 years. China operates a "one country, two system" agreement, with freedom of speech and press freedom among the key liberties that set Hong Kong apart from the mainland. The UK Foreign Office says it has asked Hong Kong's authorities for an "urgent explanation" of the visa rejection. Mr Mallet was acting president at the FCC when the event featuring young independence activist Andy Chan was held. China's ministry of foreign affairs urged the club to cancel it and Hong Kong's top official, Carrie Lam, criticised the talk as "regrettable and inappropriate". Pro-Beijing groups rallied outside the FCC, calling for the organisation to "get out of Hong Kong". However, the club defended its decision and the talk went ahead. What is the media like in Hong Kong? How Chinese authorities censor your thoughts Mr Mallet has been running the Financial Times' Asia operations for almost two years. "This is the first time we have encountered this situation in Hong Kong. We have not been given a reason for the rejection," the news organisation said in a statement. The FCC said: "Hong Kong rightly prides itself on its reputation as a place where the rule of law applies and where freedom of speech is protected by law. In the absence of any reasonable explanation, the FCC calls on the Hong Kong authorities to rescind their decision." In August, Hong Kong's former leader CY Leung addressed an open Facebook letter to Mr Mallet, saying the FCC talk had "nothing to do with press freedom" "Press freedom is a core value that Hong Kong treasures so much that the government of Hong Kong leased the Club [the FFC] at a token rent the building on Ice House Street in Central," he wrote. He expressed concerns that after Mr Chan's talk the club could also invite Taiwanese separatist speakers. China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and will not accept talk about its independence. Last month, Hong Kong banned the Hong Kong National Party (HKNP), saying that it posed a threat to national security. It was the first time that the territory has banned a political party since Hong Kong was returned to China from the UK.

At least 50 people have died after an oil tanker collided with a car on a major road in the west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The incident occurred near the city of Kisantu, between the capital Kinshasa and the port of Matadi. One hundred people suffered second-degree burns, Atou Matabuana, the governor of Kongo Central region said. "The flames spread rapidly engulfing nearby houses," the UN's Okapi radio reported. Roads in the central African nation have often been neglected after years of war. In 2010, 220 people were killed when an overturned oil tanker exploded and set fire to parts of a village in the country. The city of Kisantu is about 75 miles (120km) south-west of Kinshasa. Matadi, at the other end of the highway, is on the Atlantic Ocean and is the DR Congo's sole port.

A highly venomous green mamba snake that escaped from its presumed owner on Tuesday after biting her in the Czech capital, Prague, has been caught. The snake had gone into hiding in a Prague district and residents were placed on alert and warned to keep an eye out for the reptile. The woman, who had not registered the snake, is in an induced coma at a city hospital after receiving an antidote. The snake was caught in a tree near its home on Friday. On Wednesday, police and paramedics were called to a house in Hlubocepy district in the south of the city where the woman was found unconscious. The house was evacuated, and herpetologists (zoologists who specialise in the study of snakes) were called in to help locate the reptile. Children at a nearby kindergarten were kept inside as a safety measure. It was thought the snake was unlikely to leave the house because of the recent cool weather, but in the end it was found on a tree about 200 metres (656 ft) from its home. "Mamba found! And caught!" Miroslav Bobek, head of the Prague zoo whose employee caught the mamba, tweeted. He said that the mamba may have left its hiding place inside the house on the day of its capture after the weather warmed up. "I would like to know when the snake set out on the trip, but yesterday's [Thursday] warm afternoon and a nearly subtropical Friday made it easier," he added. The woman who found it in her garden wrapped around a tree said she was still in shock and added that the snake appeared to have "had enough" too, reports say. Experts say the green mamba's venom spreads fast, and its bite can be fatal in as little as 30 minutes.

More than 1,600 scientists have so far signed a statement condemning the remarks of the Italian researcher who stated that physics was "built by men". Prof Alessandro Strumia presented an analysis to an audience of predominantly young female physicists which he claimed "proved" women were less capable at the subject than men. The statement at particlesforjustice.org says Prof Strumia's talk was "fundamentally unsound" and was "followed by open discrimination and personal attacks". In response, Prof Strumia told BBC News that the high-energy physics community was about 100 times bigger than the number that have so far signed the statement. He said that the signatories "mostly come from those countries more affected by political correctness, which I indicated as the problem. This is what leads to academicians that want (to get) others fired for having 'morally reprehensible' ideas". The Pisa University-affiliated researcher made his comments - first reported by the BBC - during a workshop at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Cern) - the lab on the Franco-Swiss border that discovered the Higgs Boson. Cern has since suspended his participation from any activities at the lab. Physicists from across the world are continuing to add their names to the statement. "Strumia's arguments are morally reprehensible," it reads. "Belittling the ability and legitimacy of scientists of colour and white women scientists using such flimsy pretexts is disgraceful, and it reveals a deep contempt for more than half of humanity that clearly comes from some source other than scientific logic." The workshop at which Prof Strumia was speaking was aimed at helping women to become particle physicists. But the audience of early career researchers was upset and angered by his analysis of published research papers from an online library. He told them that his analysis showed that physics was not sexist against women. He produced a series of graphs which, he claimed, demonstrated that women were hired over men whose research had been cited more highly in publications - an indication of higher quality. Prof Strumia also presented data that he claimed showed that male and female researchers were equally cited at the start of their careers before men then overtook women as their careers progressed. In addition, he highlighted behavioural research that he said indicated that the "assumption that men and women have identical brains is an ideology". The statement at particlesforjustice.org forensically examines each of the claims and dismisses them. "Strumia claimed to be proving that there is no discrimination against women, [but] his arguments were rooted in a circumscribed, biased reading of the data available, to the point of promoting a perspective that is biased against women," it states. "The origin and validity of the data he presented have not yet been corroborated, but even if we take it at face value in all cases there are obvious alternative explanations that … are directly in contradiction with his conclusions." Professor Strumia denied that his use of data was biased. He told the BBC: "The data about citations and hirings show that women are not discriminated (against) in fundamental physics. We reward merit, irrespective of gender." The University of Pisa has said that it is considering a disciplinary review of his actions.

A white police officer who killed a black teenager four years ago in Chicago has been found guilty of second-degree murder. Jason Van Dyke shot Laquan McDonald 16 times, seconds after arriving on the scene, saying he feared for his life as the 17-year-old had a knife. Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder, but has been convicted of the lesser charge. Chicago was braced for protests. The 20 October 2014 shooting sparked outcry. What happens now? Van Dyke was also found guilty on all 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm - one count per shot fired. The jury found him not guilty of official misconduct. His bail was revoked and he was taken into custody following the verdict. Van Dyke now faces a minimum of six years in prison and a maximum of over 15 years, with the possibility of probation. The jury of eight women and four men - one African-American, seven white, one Asian-American and three Hispanic - started deliberations on Thursday afternoon. Three other Chicago officers were charged last year with allegedly conspiring to cover up the fatal shooting, and they will be tried later this year. How did the shooting unfold? Mr Van Dyke was arrested in 2015 after dashcam footage appeared to show him fatally shooting Mr McDonald as he moved away from officers, contradicting official accounts. He was the first Chicago officer to be charged with first-degree murder since 1980. According to prosecutors, Mr McDonald was holding a knife with a 3in (7.6cm) blade when he was stopped by police. Police said he had slashed a tyre on a patrol car, resulting in a stand-off between the teenager and officers. Van Dyke was not among the first officers to arrive - the officer who reached the scene first told prosecutors he saw no need to use force on Mr McDonald. Prosecutors say Van Dyke proceeded to open fire on Mr McDonald less than six seconds after he exited his patrol car, and he was the only officer to use his weapon. Mr McDonald still had a pulse when paramedics arrived, but was declared dead in hospital. What happened at the trial? Van Dyke pleaded not guilty, with his defence arguing that had the teenager dropped his weapon, the officer would not have opened fire. When he took the stand, he told the jury the teenager had been "advancing" on him with the knife, with "no expression" on his face and eyes "bugging out of his head". Van Dyke said he continued to shoot "at the knife" after Mr McDonald was on the ground, because he "just wanted him to get rid of that knife". During the three-week trial, the officer was still a member of the Chicago Police Department, though he was suspended without pay pending the outcome. The trial heard from a truck driver, Rudy Barillas, who said he called police after Mr McDonald tried to stab him when he caught the teenager breaking into vehicles. But another witness, Jose Torres, told the court that as he watched Mr Van Dyke open fire on the teenager, he thought to himself: "Why the eff are they still shooting him when he was on the ground?" What's the political fallout? Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement following the jury's verdict: "As we absorb their decision, let us continue to hear each other and partner with each other." A judge ordered police to release the dashcam footage in November 2015 after the Democratic city leader's administration fought to withhold the video for a year. The clip resulted in mass protests, culminating with the dismissal of the police chief and a Department of Justice investigation into the Chicago Police Department's use of force. The justice department issued a report last year that found the police had routinely violated the constitutional rights of the city's residents. Police superintendent Garry McCarthy was ousted and the county's top prosecutor, Anita Alvarez, lost her re-election bid amid harsh criticism of her investigation into the incident. In September, ahead of Mr Van Dyke's trial, Mayor Emanuel announced he would not run for re-election.

Romanians are deciding this weekend whether a family should revolve around a married man and woman. The two-day vote on changing their constitution has been portrayed by supporters of the referendum as a way of protecting the status of the "traditional" family. Opponents warn it will come at the expense of same-sex couples, single parents and children too. And there are accusations that the whole exercise is a sideshow to distract from a corruption case involving the leader of the ruling party. What would a Yes vote do? Romania does not recognise gay marriage or civil unions, and the referendum does not change that. Instead, it is about clarifying the language in the constitution. Article 48 says the family "is founded on the freely consented marriage of the spouses". A Yes vote would change that to "marriage between a man and a woman". "We want to protect, at a constitutional level, the definition of marriage - between one woman and one man," says Mihai Gheorghiu, president of the pro-referendum Coalition for Family. That definition is already enshrined in the civil code, but his group wants "another level of protection" in the constitution. Mr Gheorghiu - a former government minister - is adamant that same-sex couples would not lose out. "In respect of LGBT rights and needs, there will be no change," he says. Homosexuality in Romania was decriminalised in 2001. Will Romanians back change? The proposal certainly has plenty of support. Mr Gheorghiu's coalition collected three million signatures to start the process, in a population of under 19 million. The Romanian Orthodox Church backs the campaign and as many as 85% of Romanians consider themselves Orthodox Christians. But while Romanians are expected to vote yes, the No campaign's strategy is to boycott the vote and hope the turnout falls below the 30% needed to be valid. Romania has seen referendums invalidated in the past because of a low turnout. The 2016 general election saw under 40% of the electorate cast a vote. The vote is a battle for hearts and minds, says Katrin Hugendubel of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA). She accuses the Yes campaign of framing the vote around gay marriage when "what it's actually trying to do is change the definition of family". "It's a broad attack on family rights." Romania continues to have one of the lowest rates of acceptance towards LGBTI rights, she says, with no legal protection for same-sex couples, either in partnerships or marriage, and high rates of "homophobic and transphobic hate" - especially in rural areas. Who will be affected by change? Critics argue that defining family as based on a marriage between a man and a woman would mean that constitutional protection would no longer apply to single parents, partners with children or grandparents raising children. Neither is uncommon in a country where working-age parents can earn more abroad and send money home to support their family. The Coalition for Family argues that the rights of these groups are already protected elsewhere in Romanian law. "Speaking from a legislation point of view and from a constitutional point of view, the situation is balanced," says Mihai Gheorghiu. A group of 47 MEPs wrote to Romania's prime minister ahead of the vote warning that redefining the family had the potential to harm children in all families. Romania's current approach to "non-traditional" family relationships remains unclear. At the end of September, the constitutional court ruled that gay couples should have the same rights as heterosexuals. It followed a June 2018 ruling by the European Court of Justice in favour of a Romanian man, Adrian Coman, who had married his American partner in Belgium. His partner had been denied a spousal visa when the pair had tried to move to Romania. Why have a vote now? Many believe the referendum has been designed to divert attention from corruption scandals, according to Prof Dennis Deletant of Georgetown University, the author of several books on Romania. "Most of Romania's political elite doesn't seem to be able to respect the principles of democracy," he says, adding that the ruling Social Democrats (PSD) are the butt of most criticism. Thousands of Romanians have taken to the streets to protest at recent political moves seen as weakening anti-corruption powers. And on Monday PSD leader Liviu Dragnea will appeal against a three-and-a-half year jail sentence in a fake jobs for party workers case. Critics see the court appearance a day after the vote as no coincidence. Prof Deletant believes a surge of post-church voters could not only sway the vote but help push turnout over the required 30%. "The urban voter realises this is a ploy on the part of the PSD to maximise the turnout," he says, but beyond the big cities Romanians are less concerned. For Mr Gheorghiu and his coalition, all this is a distraction as almost every party voted for the referendum in parliament. "I don't think the boycott will be massive," he says. Polls close at 21:00 on Sunday (18:00 GMT) - with preliminary results later in the evening.

A US professor has established a rock used as a doorstop is actually a meteorite worth thousands of dollars. Mona Sirbescu from Central Michigan University was asked by a local man to inspect the object he had kept for 30 years after finding it on a farm. The 22lb (10kg) meteorite was the biggest the geologist had been asked to examine in her career. The rock, which came down on farmland in Edmore, Michigan, in the 1930s, could be worth $100,000 (£77,000). Most meteorites typically consist of approximately 90-95% iron. What makes the meteorite found in Michigan unique is that it is 88% iron and 12% nickel. "A piece of the early solar system literally fell into our hands," Dr Sirbescu said in a video made by the university to promote its discovery. Dr Sirbescu sent a sample of the rock to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, which confirmed her findings. The renowned science centre is now interested in buying the rock, Central Michigan University said. Meanwhile, the university has been using the meteorite as a teaching material. The meteorite's anonymous owner is promising to donate 10% of sale proceeds to the university.

It's not hard to find the spot from where an alleged Russian spy set out to launch a cyber-attack in The Hague. Alexei Morenets kept the receipt for his taxi to the airport. At the address marked on it, there's a young soldier in uniform guarding the entrance. When I ask whether it's a base for Russian military intelligence agency, the GRU - a cyber-warfare hub as Western intelligence agencies claim - the soldier makes a call and then tells me to leave the premises immediately. I don't hang around. But the suspected GRU agents just uncovered in the Netherlands left a trail of evidence online as well as on paper. Of the four men caught trying to hack the wifi network of the chemical weapons watchdog, the OPCW, the BBC found two giving defence ministry buildings as their address on official documents. One of those documents is a vehicle registration database. The Bellingcat online investigations team later found 305 cars listed there, linked to the same military facility. That suggests an extraordinary security breach for a supposedly secret service. "They could have used their home addresses but they wanted privileges - not to pay fines for violating traffic rules," Alexander Gabuev of the Carnegie Moscow Centre explains. He calls it a symbol of "endemic corruption". "If you actually see the evidence [from Dutch intelligence], it doesn't matter whether you support Putin or not, you are just embarrassed by the incompetence," he argues. As relations with the West have plummeted, Russia's secret services have stepped up their activities. But GRU operations have been exposed, and failed, the most. "I don't think we should see them as the 'Keystone Cops' of spy craft," argues long-time security analyst Mark Galeotti, referring to the hapless fictional police characters. "The GRU has been extremely active, and inevitably some of those operations are going to be blown. That doesn't mean they are fools," he adds, suggesting that in the world of modern technology and security cameras, Russia accepts that keeping cover is difficult. "Clearly the guidance they are getting is, within bounds, it doesn't really matter. Don't worry too much about the fallout," Mr Galeotti says. That approach partly explains the stray taxi receipt. "Our driver certainly wrote that receipt," Benjamin Shaginyan, the boss of the taxi firm, confirmed to the BBC. "He can't recall the exact journey as it was a long time ago. But it's genuine." Some took to social media to mock the man who had clung on to such incriminating evidence. "Accounting for money on work trips is a nightmare!" one user said. Led by the foreign ministry, officials here have brushed off the latest accusations in traditional style, as "spy mania". They claim the co-ordinated allegations coming from Britain, the US and the Netherlands reveal a "stage-managed" campaign against Russia. That's also the line taken by retired Lt Gen Yevgeny Buzhinsky, even with four men caught red-handed in The Hague. "You say this is evidence. It's not evidence to me," he insists, particularly annoyed by talk of GRU incompetence. "Russian intelligence was believed to be among the best in the world. Now you want to present a bunch of fools, absolutely incompetent, absolutely stupid, non-professional idiots? It's insulting," Yevgeny Buzhinsky says. But some of the men just exposed have a considerable presence online for secret agents. Two are listed as players in an amateur Moscow football league along with their photographs. A team-mate at Radiks said the club once boasted multiple members of the security services. "It was like that at the start, but times change," Alexei Baklykov told me, claiming he had never met either suspect in person. Another of the accused, Artyom Malyshev, sold several items online last year including an old acoustic guitar and a smartphone. Listed as "wanted" by the FBI this week for hacking, he has also registered on a dating website along with a profile photograph winking at the camera and some sporty action shots. By naming these men, Western officials hope to halt further Russian attacks. But at a street market near the military complex housing Unit 26165 - the supposed command centre of cyber-warriors - public reaction to the accusations was mixed. "I don't know who to believe. It's confusing," said Valery at a stall stacked with pots of golden honey. "It's all nonsense," a woman shopper protested. "Do you think our spies are total idiots? I think they're wonderful." So Russia looks set to ride this shame-storm out - uncomfortable, perhaps, but unlikely to change tack. "Putin is not losing any sleep over this. The question is whether it moves beyond embarrassing stories, to more sanctions," Mark Galeotti points out. "We are at war, and losing a battle doesn't mean you surrender. I think that's very much the view in the Kremlin," Alexander Gabuev adds. "Yes, we were defeated in this battle. But we go home, learn our lessons - and then continue."

Firaxis' XCOM reboots are obviously a touchstone for Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden, but I'm reminded more of the surprisingly good Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom adventure. Both games segue between third-person exploration and turn-based tactical combat, and both feature animals with guns. There is more going on here. We get to see the stealth systems, and see some post apocalyptic scenery. Strategy mastermind and PC Gamer UK editor in chief Samuel Roberts is the only human to have beaten the demo (as far as I know and I haven't looked carefully) , which was shown to the press at Gamescom in August. Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is due out on December 4. Find out more on the official site.

I tend to enjoy Warhammer 40,000 game trailers more than the games themselves, but this faithful take on the Space Hulk tabletop game could be legit. Above we see a tableau of terminators locked in close combat with Tyranid genestealers as sad opera plays, and we learn that the opera is sad because the Space Hulk they are fighting for is about to kill a planet. It's just spare change in the Emperor's grand plan. In the video below we learn more about Space Hulk: Tactics' sharing features. You can build maps, set special conditions, write some sweet lore, and then share the mission with the entire Space Hulk: Tactics playerbase. The editor looks easy enough to use, so hopefully there will be little risk of running out of user-created battles to play. We've noted before that the genestealers look more threatening than they tend to in game adaptations of the universe. They, too, are playable, and more than capable of eating a squad of the Emperor's finest, even if they have flamethrowers. Space Hulk: Tactics is out next week, on October 9.

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