By day, the small commercial kitchen in a Hong Kong industrial building produces snacks. At night, it turns into a secret laboratory assembling a kit for pro-democracy protesters seeking to detox after repeated exposure to tear gas.Volunteers seated around a kitchen island sort and pack multicolored pills into small resealable bags. At another table, a woman makes turmeric pills by dipping gelatin capsules into a shallow dish of the deep orange spice.“Police have used so much tear gas and people are suffering,” said the owner of the kitchen, speaking on condition of anonymity because she fears repercussions for her business. “We want to especially help frontline protesters, who have put their lives on the line for the city.”FILE – Workers pack multicolored supplement pills in small resealable bags at an industrial building in Hong Kong, Dec. 1, 2019.10,000 canisters of tear gasHong Kong police have fired more than 10,000 tear gas canisters to quell violent protests that have rocked the city for six months. The movement’s demands include fully democratic elections and an investigation into police use of force, including tear gas.Its heavy and prolonged use in Hong Kong — one of the world’s most densely populated cities and known for its concrete jungle of high-rises — is unusual and has sparked health fears.While there’s no evidence of long-term health effects, it’s also largely untested territory.“I don’t think there have been circumstances where there has been this level of repeated exposure for people to tear gas. What’s going on in Hong Kong is pretty unprecedented,” said Alistair Hay, a British toxicologist from the University of Leeds.Police have fired it in cramped residential areas and near hospitals, malls and schools, affecting not only protesters but also children, the elderly and the sick.FILE – Pro-democracy protesters react as police fire tear gas at Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, Nov. 17, 2019.Fears of exposureSome worry that tear gas residue could stick for days or weeks to asphalt, walls, ventilation ducts and other places. Parents, schools and various community groups have demanded to know the chemical makeup of the gas, which police won’t divulge, so they can clean up properly.In the absence of official information, some parents have stopped taking their kids to parks, and online tips urge mothers to refrain from breastfeeding for a few hours if they are exposed the gas. Many avoided fresh fruits after a wholesale market that supplies half of the city’s supply was gassed last month.New daily rituals include using a baking soda solution to bathe, wash clothes and clean surfaces. Tips shared by protesters include not bathing in hot water after exposure as it is believed it will open pores and let the chemicals seep in.The kitchen owner making detox kits said she wants to help protesters, who often avoid seeking treatment at hospitals to hide their identity and avoid possible arrest.The kits contain capsules that include vitamins and other natural ingredients and are packed into a small pouch with 10 bottles of a cloudy caramel-colored drink that contains an antioxidant said to be an immune-system booster. They come with instructions for a 10-day detoxification program that includes no alcohol and no smoking.It has not been scientifically tested for treating tear gas symptoms, but the kitchen owner claimed that feedback was positive from a first batch distributed to frontline protesters through a clandestine network of first-aid and social workers.Hay, the toxicologist, said that excessive concentrations of CS gas, a common tear gas component, and residue that persists in the environment could cause prolonged symptoms and health complications for vulnerable groups.Protesters sickenedA survey in August by a group of doctors of some 170 reporters covering the protests found most of them had difficulty breathing, persistent coughing or coughed up blood, skin allergies and gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea or vomiting, according to Hong Kong media reports.Further spooking residents are reports that the tear gas could emit dioxin, a cancer-causing substance. Hay said he wasn’t aware of any cases of tear gas producing dioxin, although it could in theory be released if the canister burns above 250 degrees Celsius (480 degrees Fahrenheit).Government officials say that any toxin found could come from the many street fires set off by protesters. They refuse to reveal the components of the gas, citing operational sensitivities.The Chinese University of Hong Kong, where more than 1,000 rounds of tear gas were fired on a single day last month, hired an independent laboratory to test air, water and soil samples. Preliminary tests reportedly showed no harmful substances.Nonetheless, a high school near the campus hired professional experts to decontaminate its grounds.FILE – A worker blends supplement drinks at an industrial building in Hong Kong, Dec. 1, 2019.A 17-year-old volunteer helping make the detox kits said he has joined many protests and often experienced stomach cramps, nausea and rashes for days after being gassed. During a rally in June, he said couldn’t breathe and thought he was going to die.Another volunteer said she can see clouds of tear gas in the streets below her apartment in Mongkok, a hot spot for protests, and smell it even with her windows closed.She doesn’t have the courage to join the protests, she said, but feels she must contribute.Both spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing retribution in a city that has become starkly divided by the violent protests.
 
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South Korean actor Cha In-ha was found dead in his home, police said on Wednesday, the country’s third young celebrity to die in the past two months amid growing debate about the intense social pressures artists face.While South Korea’s pop culture mostly projects a wholesome image on stage and screen, it has recently been marred by a series of untimely deaths and criminal cases that revealed a darker side of the industry.A police official told Reuters Cha, 27, was found dead on Tuesday and that the cause of the death was not immediately known.Cha, whose real name is Lee Jae-ho, made his film debut in 2017 and was previously a member of the five-member boy band Surprise U, which released two albums.The singer-actor had left an Instagram post the day before he was found dead, telling his fans to take care in the cold winter.His talent agency Fantagio in a statement expressed “the deepest mourning for his passing” and asked the public and the media to refrain from spreading stories about his death.Cha’s death comes after a K-pop singer, Koo Hara, 28, was found dead at her home last month. She had been subjected to personal attacks on social media.Her death followed the apparent suicide of a fellow K-pop idol star, Sulli, a former member of girl group f(x), in October. Sulli, 25, had spoken out against cyber bullying.The cases have cast a dark cloud over the K-pop craze, one of South Korea’s most successful soft power exports, and brought a renewed focus on personal attacks and cyber bullying of young stars that goes largely unpunished.The industry has also been hit by a series of sex scandals.Last week, two male former K-pop band members were convicted of sexual assaults and sentenced to prison terms. 
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Despite Washington’s efforts to maintain a dialog with Pyongyang, chances for a diplomatic breakthrough leading to the denuclearization of North Korea are fading away, said experts, as the two nations remain locked in their position.“At some point, there needs to be a determination that diplomacy is yielding diminishing returns,” said Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.After almost two years of diplomacy, North Korea has been repeating an ultimatum more frequently that the United States has until the end of this year to present a new proposal for denuclearization. As the Pyongyang-imposed deadline approaches, the regime has increased threats to change Washington’s stance.Washington has been demanding North Korea conduct full denuclearization. Pyongyang wants the U.S. to relax sanctions and cease regularly held joint military exercises with South Korea, which it claims as a threat against its regime, before denuclearizing. Those positions have remained unchanged for months, despite the publicly affectionate relationship between North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump.Christopher Ford, assistant secretary of state for International Security and Nonproliferation, said on Monday that the U.S. is still seeking “the final and fully verified denuclearization” of North Korea.On Tuesday, Ri Thae Song, North Korea’s vice minister of Foreign Affairs, released a statement, reminding the U.S. that “drawing nearer is the year-end time limit the DPRK set for the U.S.” to change its position. The DPRK stands for North Korea’s official English name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.Song said, “The U.S. is keen on earning time needed for it, talking about the ‘sustained and substantial dialogue,’” but “far from acting in response to the measures taken by the DPRK first.”He continued, “What is left to be done now is the U.S. option and it is entirely up to the U.S. what Christmas gift it will select to get,” presumably referring to more missile tests.The statement follows a test of two projectiles North Korea conducted on Thanksgiving Thursday.  Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Friday it tested a “super large multiple rocket launcher.”  It is North Korea’s 13th missile test since May.In response, the U.S. on Monday called on North Korea to “avoid provocations” and “return to sustained and substantial negotiations to do its part to achieve complete denuclearization,” in an email message that a State Department spokesperson sent to VOA’s Korean Service.Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. has “the most powerful military” and “Despite the lack of progress made on reaching a denuclearization deal, experts think talks could continue if Trump feels they could serve his political future and because North Korea does not want to end diplomacy despite threats it raised.“President Trump has a large personal investment in his North Korean policy and his bromance with Kim Jong Un,” said Manning.  “I think it would be difficult in an election year to admit failure of a signature policy. As long as talks or talks about talks are going on, Trump will continue to say his policy is working.”Gause said, “What North Korea doesn’t want to do is step over any red line that’s going to slam the door shut on relations, potential diplomatic relations with the United States.”He continued, “I suspect they will try to keep their tests to short-range and maybe medium range tests. But if they start to get into ICBM [Intercontinental Ballistic Missile] tests and another nuclear test, then that means North Korea probably has made the calculation that the Trump administration cannot be dealt with.” Baik Sung-won and Kim Young-gyo of VOA’s Korean Service contributed to this report.
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The founder of Huawei says the Chinese tech giant is moving its U.S. research center to Canada due to American sanctions on the company.In an interview with Toronto’s Global and Mail newspaper, Ren Zhengfei said the move was necessary because Huawei would be blocked from interacting with U.S. employees.Huawei Technologies Ltd. is the No. 2 global smartphone brand and the biggest maker of network gear for phone carriers. U.S. authorities say the company is a security risk, which Huawei denies, and announced curbs in May on its access to American components and technology.The Trump administration announced a 90-day reprieve on some sales to Huawei. The government said that would apply to components and technology needed to support wireless networks in rural areas.
Ren gave no details but Huawei confirmed in June it had cut 600 jobs at its Silicon Valley research center in Santa Clara, California, leaving about 250 employees. A Huawei spokesman said the company had no further comment.The research and development center will move from the United States, and Canada will be the center,'' Ren said in a video excerpt of the interview on the Globe and Mail website.According to the U.S. ban, we couldn’t communicate with, call, email or contact our own employees in the United States.”Huawei, China’s first global tech brand, is scrambling to preserve its business in the face of possible loss of access to U.S. components, which threatens to damage its smartphone business.
Huawei, headquartered in the southern city of Shenzhen, also operates research and development centers in Germany, India, Sweden and Turkey.In November, Huawei started selling a folding smartphone, the Mate X, made without U.S.-supplied processor chips or Google apps. The company also has unveiled its own smartphone operating system it says can replace Google’s Android if necessary.
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North Korea issued its latest warning Tuesday that its end-of-year deadline for the United States to offer concessions in nuclear talks is approaching.In a statement carried by state media, Ri Thae Song, North Korea’s vice minister of foreign affairs handling U.S. affairs, said it is “entirely up to the U.S. what Christmas gift it will select to get.”Ri also criticized U.S. efforts to conduct more talks with North Korea, saying such dialogue is only a “foolish trick” for political purposes.The negotiations have been stalled since February with North Korea seeking sanctions relief before giving up any of its nuclear capability, a path the United States has so far rejected.Tuesday’s warning was the latest in veiled statements made by North Korean officials ahead of the deadline set by leader Kim Jong Un.Last week, North Korea conducted its fourth launch this year of what it called a “super-large, multiple-rocket launch system,” and warned it may soon launch a “real ballistic missile” in the vicinity of Japan.North Korea last tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017, and conducted a nuclear test in September 2017.In April 2018, Kim announced a self-imposed moratorium on ICBM and nuclear tests, saying North Korea “no longer need(s)” those tests.Recently, North Korean officials have issued reminders that North Korea’s pause on ICBM and nuclear tests was self-imposed and can be reversed.
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As world leaders gather in Spain to discuss how to slow the warming of the planet, a spotlight falls on China — the top emitter of greenhouse gases.China burns about half the coal used globally each year. Between 2000 and 2018, its annual carbon emissions nearly tripled, and it now accounts for about 30% of the world’s total. Yet it’s also the leading market for solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles, and it manufactures about two-thirds of solar cells installed worldwide.”We are witnessing many contradictions in China’s energy development,” said Kevin Tu, a Beijing-based fellow with the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. “It’s the largest coal market and the largest clean energy market in the world.”That apparent paradox is possible because of the sheer scale of China’s energy demands.FILE – A solar panel installation is seen in Ruicheng County in central China’s Shanxi Province, Nov. 27, 2019.But as China’s economy slows to the lowest level in a quarter century — around 6% growth, according to government statistics — policymakers are doubling down on support for coal and other heavy industries, the traditional backbones of China’s energy system and economy. At the same time, the country is reducing subsidies for renewable energy.At the annual United Nations climate summit, this year in Madrid, government representatives will put the finishing touches on implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement, which set a goal to limit future warming to 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Nations may decide for themselves how to achieve it.China had previously committed to shifting its energy mix to 20% renewables, including nuclear and hydroelectric energy. Climate experts generally agree that the initial targets pledged in Paris will not be enough to reach the goal, and next year nations are required to articulate more ambitious targets.Hopes that China would offer to do much more are fading.Recent media reports and satellite images suggest that China is building or planning to complete new coal power plants with total capacity of 148 gigawatts — nearly equal to the entire coal-power capacity of the European Union within the next few years, according to an analysis by Global Energy Monitor, a San Francisco-based nonprofit.Separately, investment in China’s renewable energy dropped almost 40 percent in the first half of 2019 compared with the same period last year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a research organization. The government slashed subsidies for solar energy.Last week in Beijing, China’s vice minister of ecology and environment told reporters that non-fossil-fuel sources already account for 14.3% of the country’s energy mix. He did not indicate that China would embrace more stringent targets soon.”We are still faced with challenges of developing our economy, improving people’s livelihood,” Zhao Yingmin said.China is alternately cast as the world’s worst climate villain or its potential clean-energy savior, but both superlatives are somewhat misplaced.FILE – A man wears a mask on Tiananmen Square in thick haze in Beijing, Jan. 29, 2013.As a fast-growing economy, it was always inevitable that China’s energy demands would climb steeply. The only question was whether the country could power a sufficiently large portion of its economy with renewables to curb emissions growth.Many observers took hope from a brief dip in China’s carbon emissions between 2014 and 2016, as well as Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s statement in 2017 that China had “taken a driving seat in international cooperation to respond to climate change.”Renewed focus on coalToday the country’s renewed focus on coal comes as a disappointment.”Now there’s a sense that rather than being a leader, China is the one that is out of step,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air in Helsinki. He notes that several developed countries — including Germany, South Korea and the United States — are rapidly reducing their reliance on coal power.Fossil fuels such as coal, gasoline and natural gas release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, trapping heat and changing the climate. Coal is the biggest culprit.Last year, coal consumption in the United States hit the lowest level in nearly 40 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.One place to consider the rise, pause and rise again of China’s coal sector is Shanxi province — a vast mountainous region in central China.Shanxi is the heart of China’s traditional coal country, dotted with large mines, but also the site of some of the country’s largest solar and wind-power projects, according to state media.During most of the past 30 years of rapid economic growth, the coal business boomed in Shanxi and nearby provinces. As China’s cities and industries expanded, coal supplied much of that power, and China surpassed the U.S. as the world’s top carbon emitter in 2006.FILE – Smoke and steam rise from a coal processing plant that produces carbon black, an ingredient in steel manufacturing, in Hejin in central China’s Shanxi Province, Nov. 28, 2019.But after climbing sharply for two decades, China’s emissions stalled around 2013 and then declined slightly in 2015 and 2016, according to Global Carbon Budget, which tracks emissions worldwide. This dip came as Chinese leaders declared a “war on pollution” and suspended the construction of dozens of planned coal power plants, including some in Shanxi.At the same time, the government required many existing coal operators to install new equipment in smokestacks to remove sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide and other hazardous substances. About 80% of coal plants now have scrubbers, said Alvin Lin, Beijing-based China climate and energy policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit.As a result, the air quality in many Chinese cities, including Beijing, improved significantly between 2013 and 2017. Residents long accustomed to wearing face masks and running home air-filter machines enjoyed a reprieve of more “blue sky days,” as low-pollution days are known in China.Annual levels of PM 2.5 — a tiny but dangerous pollutant — dropped by roughly a third across China between 2013 and 2017, from 61.8 to 42 micrograms per cubic meter, according to scientists at Beijing’s Tsinghua University and other institutions. They made the report in November in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed journal.”That’s a big improvement, although in terms of safe air quality, we’re still not there yet,” Lin said. China’s pollution levels are still well above standards set by the World Health Organization.While these retrofitted coal plants emit fewer pollutants that harm human health, the scrubbers do not reduce greenhouse gases. “The new plants are good for air quality, but you still have all that carbon dioxide that goes into the atmosphere,” Lin said.Carbon emissions risingIn the past three years, China’s carbon emissions have begun to rise again, according to Global Carbon Budget.That trend was evident in the first half of 2019, when China’s carbon emissions from fossil fuels and concrete production rose 4%, compared with the same period last year, according to Myllyvirta’s preliminary analysis of Chinese government data.FILE – People ride along a street on a smoggy day in Daqing, Heilongjiang province, China, Oct. 21, 2013.The coming winter in Beijing may see a return of prolonged smog, as authorities loosen environmental controls on heavy industry — in part to compensate for other slowing sectors in the economy. Cement and steel production remain both energy intensive and heavily polluting.Permits for new coal plants proliferated after regulatory authority was briefly devolved from Beijing to provincial governments, which see construction projects and coal operations as boosts to local economies and tax bases, said Ted Nace, executive director of Global Energy Monitor.”It’s as though a boa constructor swallowed a giraffe, and now we’re watching that bulge move through the system,” said Nace. In China, it takes about three years to build a coal plant.In November, Premier Li Keqiang gave a speech to policymakers emphasizing the importance of domestic coal to energy security.But because China’s coal-power expansion is growing faster than energy demand, overcapacity “is a serious concern now,” said Columbia University’s Tu.And once new infrastructure is built, it’s hard to ignore.”It will be politically difficult to tear down a brand-new coal plant that’s employing people and supporting a mining operation. It will make it more difficult for China to transition away from coal,” Nace said.Reliance on ChinaThe world has already warmed by 1 degree Celsius. All scenarios envisioned by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for holding planetary warming to around 1.5 degrees Celsius involve steep worldwide reductions in coal-power generation.In that effort, other countries rely on China to manufacture most of the solar panels installed worldwide, according to an analysis in the journal Science co-authored by Jonas Nahm, an energy expert at Johns Hopkins University.”If we have any chance to meet climate targets, we have to do a lot by 2030 — and we won’t be able to do it without China’s clean-energy supply chain,” Nahm said.China’s manufacturing helped bring down the cost of solar panels by 80% between 2008 and 2013. Prices for wind turbines and lithium-ion batteries also dropped significantly, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.”China has a really mixed record. On the one hand, it’s seen rapidly rising emissions over the past two decades,” Nahm said. “On the other hand, it’s shown it’s able to innovate around manufacturing — and make new energy technologies available at scale, faster and cheaper.”
 
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Dozens of structural engineers from Europe and elsewhere are heading to Albania to help rebuild the country after a devastating earthquake last month killed 51 people and destroyed thousands of buildings, officials said Monday.
                   
The European Union and the United Nations are coordinating international efforts to assist Albania after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Nov. 26, affecting more than half of the country’s population.
                   
An EU team is leading the damage assessment and distribution of aid. Six EU member states have sent 50 structural engineers, with more to come, to assess the damage together with the local counterparts.
                   
“In the midst of sorrow, grief and fear, this week has shown the unfailing links between Albanians and their friends in the EU,” said Luigi Soreca, the EU ambassador to Albania.
                   
The U.S. Agency for International Development also has deployed structural engineers from the Fairfax County and Los Angeles County fire departments to assist with damage assessments.
                   
Albanian Defense Minister Olta Xhacka praised the international response so far, saying the 780 rescuers who rushed to the country right after the quake helped to prevent more deaths.
                   
The quake that hit Albania’s Adriatic coast also injured more than 3,000 people. Authorities give preliminary figures of 7,900 damaged buildings countrywide and more than 6,000 homeless sheltered in hotels, public buildings, tents and with relatives, while neighboring Kosovo has provided shelter to others.
                 
The quake has affected about 1.9 million people out of the country’s 2.8 million population, according to the EU office in the capital of Tirana.
                   
The worst-hit areas were the port town of Durres, a popular beach vacation spot for Albanians 33 kilometers (20 miles) west of Tirana and the nearby northern town of Thumane.
                   
U.S. singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha visited Bubq village, 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of the capital Tirana, to hand out aid.
                   
Rexha, who is of ethnic Albanian origin, said she raised money through her fans to build two homes and is hoping to raise more.
                   
“It’s really sad what’s happening here. That’s why I came here,” she said.
                   
Prosecutors have started an investigation into possible illegal construction and violations of construction regulations.
                   
Poor construction, building code violations and corruption are considered among the main reasons for the quake damage.
                   
Albania’s government has called on the international community for financial aid and expert assistance, saying it is incapable of doing it alone.
                   
“The hardest part of this situation starts now because the material damage is really great,” said Xhacka before leaving for the NATO summit in London where Albania will also look for help.
                   
Soreca said Monday that Brussels will look into how it will help Albania rebuild itself with a mid- to long-term perspective.
                   
On Thursday, the new European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, who started his post Monday, visits Tirana to talk about the reconstruction planning.
                 
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China said Monday it will suspend U.S. military ship and aircraft visits to Hong Kong and sanction several American pro-democracy and human rights groups in retaliation for the signing into law of legislation supporting anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous territory.While the nature of the sanctions remained unclear, the move followed Chinese warnings that the U.S. would bear the costs if the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act was approved.The steps are “in response to America’s unreasonable behavior,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in Beijing, adding that the legislation seriously interfered in China’s internal affairs.The law, signed last Wednesday by President Donald Trump, mandates sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials who carry out human rights abuses and requires an annual review of the favorable trade status that Washington grants Hong Kong.The legislation was backed by U.S. lawmakers who are sympathetic to the protesters and have criticized Hong Kong police for cracking down on the pro-democracy movement.Police say their use of tear gas, rubber bullets and other force is a necessary response to escalating violence by the protesters, who have blocked major roads and thrown gasoline bombs back at officers in riot gear.Hong Kong has been living with almost nonstop protests for six months. The movement’s demands include democratic elections and an investigation into the police response. More fundamentally, the protesters and others in Hong Kong fear that China is eroding the rights and freedoms they have under a “one country, two systems” framework.A pro-democracy supporter waves a flag during a rally by the advertising industry in Hong Kong, Dec. 2, 2019.Hua said China would sanction organizations including the National Endowment for Democracy, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, Human Rights Watch, the International Republican Institute, Freedom House and others that she said had “performed badly”in the Hong Kong unrest.“China urges the United States to correct its mistakes and stop any words and deeds that interfere in Hong Kong and China’s internal affairs,”she said, adding that China could take “further necessary actions”depending on how matters develop.Hua accused the groups of instigating protesters to engage in “radical violent crimes and inciting separatist activities.”“These organizations deserve to be sanctioned and must pay a price,” Hua said.China has long accused foreign groups and governments of fomenting the demonstrations in Hong Kong, singling out the U.S., former colonial overlord Britain, and democratic, self-governing Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary.Among the groups to be subject to the unspecified sanctions, the National Endowment for Democracy receives funding directly from Congress, while others generally draw their running costs from a mixture of private and public grants.Derek Mitchell, the president of the National Democratic Institute, said in Hong Kong last week that accusations it was colluding with protesters were “patently false.”The institute has no role in the current protests, and “to suggest otherwise spreads misinformation and fails to recognize the movement stems from genuine grievances,”he said.China has in the past suspended U.S. military visits, the sanctions on the various groups could bring conditions for civil society in Hong Kong one step closer to those in mainland China.Beijing imposes restrictions on non-governmental organizations, and is particularly concerned about those involved in humanitarian causes, gender equality, the environment or minority rights.In Hong Kong, several hundred people who work in advertising started a five-day strike Monday to show support for the anti-government protests. They said they would not go to work, respond to work emails or take part in conference calls.Some held up signs with protest slogans at an early afternoon rally to launch the strike in Chater Garden, a public square in the central business district.Antony Yiu, an entrepreneur in advertising and one of the organizers, said they want other business sectors to join them.“The government seems to be still ignoring the sound of the majority of the people,”he said. The advertising industry wants “to take the first step to encourage other businesses to participate in the strike to give more pressure.”More than 10,000 people marched on Sunday to try to pressure the government to address the demands after pro-democracy candidates won a landslide victory in district council elections one week earlier.Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has said she’ll accelerate dialogue but hasn’t offered any concessions since the elections.The protests are blamed for driving the economy into recession. Tourism, airline and retail sectors have been hit particularly hard, with retail sales down about 20%.“The willingness of tourists coming to Hong Kong has been significantly affected,”the city’s financial secretary, Paul Chan, said Monday.He said the government will run a budget deficit for the first time in 15 years because of falling tax revenues and greater spending to try to offset the economic slowdown. 
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What does Brexit have to do with Vietnam? It seems a strange question, but there are several ways that Britain’s planned divorce from the European Union would be likely to affect the Southeast Asian nation.These effects can be put in three broad categories. First, Vietnam has finished negotiating a trade agreement with the EU, but Brussels appears too preoccupied to ratify the agreement until it has tied up Brexit once and for all. Second, if Britain is out of the EU, then some European products would become more expensive, so British consumers would look for cheaper alternatives, such as from Vietnam. And third, Britain has been looking for new trade agreements to join if it is no longer in the EU bloc, and that includes joining a major agreement already signed by Vietnam.That agreement, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, formerly known as the TPP, includes nations around the Asia Pacific and used to include the United States until President Donald Trump pulled the country out in 2017. When Britain first suggested the idea of joining the TPP, in 2018, it was met with a lot of raised eyebrows — Britain is not a Pacific power, after all. However, the idea subsequently received support from Japan, the TPP member with the biggest gross domestic product, which said it would welcome Britain with open arms. Vietnam is the TPP member with the lowest GDP per capita.It makes sense that Vietnam would want to do more trade with Britain, Frederick Burke, who is the managing partner of Baker & McKenzie, a law firm in Ho Chi Minh City, said at a company conference last month.“It’s a good market, it’s a good opportunity,” he said.Brexit would mean that some European products would no longer have preferential access to the British market, so Vietnam could step in and compete with those products. For instance some British business interests in Vietnam believe Vietnamese tennis shoes and garments would become competitive against Romanian products, Burke said.“The UK is not the same as the American economy but it’s about a third of that, and so it’s very substantial, second biggest economy in Europe,” he said. “So it’s a very good opportunity for Vietnam.”Finally, the third impact may not be quite as favorable to Vietnam. Efforts to finalize the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, or EVFTA, have dragged on for years. The same can be said of Brexit, which was approved in a British referendum in 2016 but has yet to happen. Brussels is far more preoccupied with Brexit than with the Vietnam agreement, so it appears that Hanoi will have to wait.Most recently, analysts expected the vote on the pact with Vietnam to happen this coming January — then again, Brexit has also been pushed to the same month. And if Brexit does not end up taking place in January, it does not look like the Vietnam vote will take place either.“Things could be delayed eventually with the delay of the Brexit, which has been extended to the end of January,” Alain Cany, who is the country chairman of Jardine Matheson Vietnam, a conglomerate that covers areas from restaurants to engineering, as well as a former chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, said. “So it [EVFTA ratification] might be postponed.”
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Australia’s most populous state on Sunday rolled out traffic cameras that can detect a driver using a mobile phone.Andrew Constance, New South Wales’ Minister for Roads said the “world-first” technology would target illegal cell phone use through “fixed and mobile trailer-mounted cameras.”Officials say 45 cameras will be installed across the state over the next three years.Transport for NSW, which manages the state’s transport services, said the cameras will operate round the clock and in all weather conditions.For the first three months, drivers caught illegally using a cell phone will get a warning, after that offenders will receive steep fines and penalty points on their driver’s license.Some 329 people have died this year on New South Wales’ roads, Reuters news agency reports. NSW officials hope to cut the number of road fatalities by 30% by 2021, the report said. 
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Thousands of people took to Hong Kong’s streets Sunday in a new wave of pro-democracy protests, but police fired tear gas after some demonstrators hurled bricks and smoke bombs, breaking a rare pause in violence that has persisted during the six-month-long movement.In the largest of three rallies, a key thoroughfare along the waterfront on the Kowloon side of Victoria Harbour was packed with demonstrators, from hardened masked protesters in all-black outfits to families and the elderly. They chanted “Five demands, not one less” and “Disband the police force” as they marched.That rally followed two other marches earlier Sunday as protesters sought to keep the pressure on city leader Carrie Lam after the recent win by the pro-democracy camp in district council elections and the gaining of U.S. support for their cause.“If we don’t walk out, the government will say it’s just a youth issue, but this is a Hong Kong problem that affects all of us,” Lily Chau, 30, said as she pushed her toddler in a stroller at the march in Kowloon. “If we are scared, the government will continue to trample on our rights.”Police estimated that 16,000 people attended the Kowloon rally.Slogans spray-painted along walls and on sidewalks reminded the crowd that “Freedom is not free” and pledged “Victory at all costs.”The Kowloon march was cut short after riot police fired tear gas and arrested a few people. A police statement said minimum force was deployed after “hundreds of rioters hurled smoke bombs” and bricks.Marchers berated police as they scrambled to flee the tear gas, shouting “Dirty cops” and “Are you trying to kill us?” Some protesters dug up paving stones and threw them on the street to try to slow the police down.More tear gas was fired at night after dozens of hardcore protesters set up roadblocks and vandalized some shops and restaurants linked to China.Hong Kong’s protests have been relatively peaceful during the two weeks around the Nov. 24 elections, but Sunday’s disruption indicated there may be more violence if Lam fails to yield to protesters’ demands.Tensions started Saturday night after police used pepper balls against protesters and a man was hit in the head by an unidentified assailant while clearing the street.Lam has said she’ll accelerate dialogue but has refused to offer any new concessions since the elections. Her government has accepted only one demand – withdrawing extradition legislation that would have sent suspects to mainland China for trial.Elaine Wong, an office worker who was at the Kowloon march, called the recent election win “an empty victory.”
“We have in actual fact not won any concessions for our demands,” she said. “We must continue to stand out to remind the government of our unhappiness.”The two earlier marches Sunday appealed to President Donald Trump for help and demanded that police stop using tear gas.Waving American flags, black-clad protesters marched to the U.S. Consulate to thank Trump for signing into law last week legislation supporting their cause and urged him to swiftly sanction Lam and other officials for suppressing human rights.Some held banners reading “Let’s make Hong Kong great again” – a riff on Trump’s 2016 campaign pledge to make America great again. One showed him standing atop a tank with “Trump” emblazoned on the front and side.At the other small rally, a peaceful crowd of about 200 adults and young children marched to government headquarters in the morning and chanted “No more tear gas.”“A lot of parents are worried that their children are affected, because their children are coughing, breaking out in rashes and so forth,” said social worker and march organizer Leo Kong.In Geneva, China accused the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, of emboldening “radical violence” in Hong Kong.In an opinion piece published Saturday in Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post newspaper, Bachelet called for an “independent and impartial judge-led investigation into reports of excessive use of force by the police.”
She also said that Lam’s government must prioritize “meaningful, inclusive” dialogue to resolve the crisis.China’s U.N. mission in Geneva said the article interferes in China’s internal affairs and exerts pressure on Hong Kong’s government and police, which “will only embolden the rioters to conduct more severe radical violence.”It said Bachelet made “inappropriate comments” on Hong Kong’s crisis and that the Chinese side had lodged a strong protest in response. 
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A huge crowd took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday, some driven back by tear gas, to demand more democracy and an investigation into the use of force to crack down on the six-month-long anti-government demonstrations.Thousands turned out, from hardened youthful protesters in black outfits and face masks to parents with their children.Marching near the waterfront on the Kowloon side of Victoria Harbour, they sought to keep the pressure on city leader Carrie Lam after pro-democracy candidates won district council elections a week earlier.“If we don’t walk out, the government will say it’s just a youth issue, but this is a Hong Kong problem that affects all of us,” Lily Chau said as she pushed her toddler in a stroller. “If we are scared, the government will continue to trample on our rights.”Many held up a hand to indicate the five demands of the movement and shouted “Five demands, not one less” and “Disband the police force.”Pro-democracy protesters raise their hands to symbolize the five demands of the pro-democracy movement during a rally in Hong Kong, Dec. 1, 2019.Riot gear and tear gasPolice in riot gear were out in force for the third march of the day — and the one where violence seemed most likely. They fired pepper spray and tear gas in some areas. Protesters dug up paving stones and threw them in the street to try to slow the police down.Hong Kong’s protests have been relatively peaceful during the two weeks around the Nov. 24 election but could turn violent again if the government doesn’t bend to the demands.Lam has said she’ll accelerate dialogue but has not yielded any ground since the vote. Her government has accepted one demand — withdrawing extradition legislation that could have sent suspects to mainland China for trial — but not the others.Elaine Wong, an office worker, called the recent election an empty victory.“We have in actual fact not won any concessions for our demands,” she said. “We must continue to stand out to remind the government of our unhappiness.”A masked protester holds placards during a “March of Gratitude to the US” event in Hong Kong, Dec. 1, 2019.Early Sunday marchesEarlier marches Sunday appealed to President Donald Trump for help and demanded that police stop using tear gas.A group dressed in black and wearing masks carried American flags as it headed to the U.S. Consulate to express gratitude for legislation aimed at protecting human rights in Hong Kong that Trump signed into law last week.Some held banners reading “President Trump, please liberate Hong Kong” and “Let’s make Hong Kong great again” — a riff on his 2016 campaign pledge to make America great again. One showed him standing atop a tank with “Trump” emblazoned on the front and side.A peaceful crowd of about 200 adults and young children marched to government headquarters in the morning and chanted “No more tear gas.”“A lot of parents are worried that their children are affected, because their children are coughing, breaking out in rashes and so forth,” said march organizer Leo Kong, a 40-year-old social worker.A third march was called for late afternoon in the Tsim Sha Tsui district near Polytechnic University, the site of the last fierce clashes with police two weeks ago.FILE – U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet attends a session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Sept. 9, 2019.China protests Bachelet remarksMeanwhile, China accused the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, of emboldening “radical violence” in Hong Kong by suggesting the city’s leader conduct an investigation into reports of excessive use of force by police.Bachelet wrote in an opinion piece Saturday in the South China Morning Post that Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s government must prioritize “meaningful, inclusive” dialogue to resolve the crisis.She urged Lam to hold an “independent and impartial judge-led investigation” into police conduct of protests. It has been one of key demands of pro-democracy demonstrations that have roiled the territory since June.China’s U.N. mission in Geneva said that Bachelet’s article interferes in the internal affairs of China and exerts pressure on the city’s government and police, which “will only embolden the rioters to conduct more severe radical violence.”It said Bachelet made “inappropriate comments” on the situation in Hong Kong and that the Chinese side had lodged a strong protest in response.
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