A HONG Kong police officer has been hit in the leg with an arrow fired by protesters of a since-scrapped extradition bill. The activists also set an overhead footbridge on fire as they fought to keep police using tear gas and water cannons from advancing on their university campus stronghold.

Police said the arrow struck a media liaison officer in the calf today and he was taken to a hospital.

Photos on the department’s Facebook page show the arrow sticking out of the back of the officer’s leg.

As riot police moved in from all sides, some protesters retreated inside Hong Kong Polytechnic University while others set fires on bridges leading to it.

The use of bows and arrows, along with petrol bombs launched with catapults, threatened to escalate the violence in the anti-Government movement.

READ MORE: David Pratt: A long day of rage in Hong Kong

MEANWHILE, Sri Lanka’s former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has secured a comfortable victory in the nation’s presidential election.

Elections chief Mahinda Deshapriya announced the official results that Rajapaksa won more than 6.9 million votes in Saturday’s election, 1.3m votes more than his closest rival, Sajith Premadasa who is the housing minister. Rajapaksa’s percentage of the vote was 52.25%, above the 50% plus one vote needed for victory. Sri Lanka’s ruling party presidential candidate, Premadasa, conceded defeat to Rajapaksa, saying he would honour the decision of the people.

The results showcased deep ethnic and religious polarisation.

ELSEWHERE, Belarus’s authoritarian president has brushed off concerns that the country’s parliament election, from which many opposition figures have been excluded, would be regarded as neither free nor fair.

After casting his ballot in a polling station in the capital of Minsk, President Alexander Lukashenko was asked about whether it was important that the election be regarded as valid by Western countries.

“I’m not in the habit of worrying about this matter,” he said, adding that his administration “isn’t playing at some kind of democracy".

READ MORE: Venice centre reopens after floods devastate the area

FINALLY, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant Aramco has announced it will sell a 1.5% stake in the company as it looks to raise as much as £19.8 billion from the sale.

The newly released figures also revealed a valuation for the company that is between £1.2 trillion and £1.3tn. Saudi Aramco is the kingdom's oil and gas producer, pumping more than 10m barrels of crude oil a day, or some 10% of global demand. The oil and gas company netted profits of £86bn last year, more than Apple, Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil combined.