Step down or face more protests, HK leader warned

[HONG KONG] Thousands of pro-democracy protesters thronged the streets of Hong Kong on Wednesday, some of them jeering National Day celebrations, and students threatened to ramp up demonstrations if the city's pro-Beijing leader did not step down.

There was little sign of momentum flagging on the fifth day of the "Occupy Central" protest, whose aim has been to occupy sections of the city, including around the Central financial district, in anger at a Chinese decision to limit voters' choices in a 2017 leadership election.

Many had feared police would use force to move crowds before Wednesday's celebrations marking the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Those fears proved unfounded, and police stayed in the background.