The Wire: Hong Kong protests; Afghan inauguration; UVA case break; fragrant ... - San Jose Mercury News

A masked student protester lines cones to redirect traffic from occupied main streets in the central business district of Hong Kong late Monday. (Vincent Yu/AP Photo)

Hong Kong protests escalate as police pull back

Hong Kong police defended their use of tear gas on pro-democracy protesters but softened their tactics Monday as mass rallies continued for a fourth 2ay. Several hundred staged a "mobile light" vigil, waving their glowing cellphones as they chanted calls for the city's unpopular leader, Chief Exective Leung Chun-ying, to resign. The government canceled a fireworks display planned for Wednesday, celebrated as National Day. Police said they used 87 rounds of tear gas Sunday in what they called a necessary response to demonstrations. "Police cordon lines were heavily charged, by some violent protesters. So police had to use the minimum force in order to separate the distance at that moment between the protesters and also the police," said Cheung Tak-keung, the assistant police commissioner for operations. Riot police withdrew from the protest areas late Sunday, and on Monday exhausted-looking officers manned barricades, blocking access to some buildings but otherwise not intervening.

Ashraf Ghani looks on during his swearing in ceremony as the country's new president at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on Monday. (Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images)

Afghan inauguration paves way for U.S. pact

Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai was sworn in Monday as president of Afghanistan and told the nation, "We are tired of war. Our message is peace, (but) this doesn't mean we are weak." After taking the oath of office, Ghani Ahmadzai swore in the man who challenged him for the presidency, Abdullah Abdullah, in the newly created post of chief executive. A senior adviser to President Barack Obama said the transition of power would pave the way for a security pact that will allow U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan after the end of this year. Ghani Ahmadzai congratulated outgoing President Hamid Karzai for a peaceful transition of power, and he thanked Abdullah for making the national unity government possible. He also promised to confront the country's culture of corruption. "We want to be held accountable," he said. "I am your leader but I am no better than you. If I make mistakes, you should hold me accountable."

UVA case arrest leads to break in another killing

Police say they have a break in the case of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, 20, who was killed in 2009. (Virginia State Police)

Virginia State Police have confirmed that forensic evidence links Jesse L. Matthew Jr., who is suspected in the disappearance of a University of Virginia student, to the unsolved death in 2009 of another college student. "For the past five years, the Virginia State Police has been aggressively pursuing the investigation into the disappearance and death of 20-year-old Morgan D. Harrington of Roanoke, Va.," state police said in a written statement. "Last week, the arrest of Jesse L. Matthew Jr., 32, of Charlottesville, Va., provided a significant break in this case with a new forensic link for state police investigators to pursue." Matthew is expected to make a court appearance Thursday to face a charge of abduction with intent to defile.

Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr. suspected in the Sept. 13 disappearance of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham. (FBI)

He is suspected in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, 18, who has been missing since Sept. 13. Harrington, a student at Virginia Tech, disappeared after leaving U.Va.'s John Paul Jones Arena during a Metallica concert on Oct. 17, 2009. Her remains were found in January 2010 in a hayfield in Albemarle County.

Man busted thanks to his cologne

A probation violator in Oregon managed to outrun police in a high-speed chase but then he got busted because of his cologne. Charles V. Agosto gave officers the slip Sunday before dawn by driving 100 mph in a red Honda Prelude -- whose hood flew off. But when he ditched the car, officers spotted it and conducted a search by foot. Police caught a "strong scent of cologne" in the darkness and found their man hiding in the shrubbery. Officers said he told them he regretted using cologne.

The Wire, a summary of top national and world news stories from the Associated Press and other wire services, moves weekdays. Contact Karl Kahler at 408-920-5023; follow him at http://ift.tt/1dwAzix.

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