Hong Kong: Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday said a widely loathed proposal to allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland "is dead" — but again stopped short of protester demands to withdraw the bill. The finance hub has been plunged into its worst crisis in recent history following a month of huge marches as well as violent confrontations with police involving a minority of hardcore protesters.

"There are still lingering doubts about the government's sincerity or worries (about) whether the government will restart the process with the Legislative Council," she said in a press conference. "So I reiterate here, there is no such plan. The bill is dead." The rallies were sparked by a now-suspended law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China. But they have since morphed into a wider movement calling for democratic reforms.