AFP, BARCELONA, SpainEscalating protest violence is not the way to bring about change, Hong Kong democracy activist Jason Ng said, urging demonstrators to embrace non-violent means in the struggle to throw off a feared tightening of Beijing’s control. However, using violence was a slippery slope, particularly when news outlets became immune to covering repeated stories involving Molotov cocktails and bloodied demonstrators. He returned to Hong Kong in 2005 and went on to serve as president of the local champer of PEN International, a writers’ group that advocates for free speech. Since then, the protest had calmed down a lot, leading many people both at home and abroad to mistakenly think the protest was over — which it is not, he said. “I think taking a break is healthy.

AP, SHREWSBURY, EnglandThe world’s best soccer team is visiting Shrewsbury, a quaint market town near the border of England and Wales, and the local mayor has mixed emotions. It’s not just brilliant for Shrewsbury Town Football Club, but also wonderful for the town as a whole.”Indeed, a couple of generations after The Beatles played in Shrewsbury — the band is believed to have written the No. It was at Gay Meadow where Shrewsbury dealt another Merseyside team, Everton, a shock with a 2-1 win in 2003. The Reds remain the favorites, sure, but this will not be the usual Liverpool team. “Top players produce it game after game,” said Shrewsbury manager Sam Ricketts, a former Premier League player with Hull City and Bolton Wanderers.

The international trade in counterfeit products rose 154 percent, from US$200 billion in 2005 to US$509 billion in 2016, according to the OECD. DHS said in the report that it made nearly 34,000 seizures of fake goods in 2018, a 10-fold increase from 2000. Officials say the proceeds from counterfeit goods may also benefit global criminal networks. The company said it has developed systems to protect intellectual property and has worked with brand name companies, law enforcement, consumers and trade associations to battle the problem. Amazon says it prohibits the sale of counterfeit products and welcomes more coordinated support from law enforcement to stem the problem.

AFP, ELAZIG, TurkeyA powerful earthquake on Friday night has killed at least 21 people and injured more than 1,000 in eastern Turkey, as rescue teams searched through the rubble of collapsed buildings for survivors yesterday. Turkish television showed images of people rushing outside in panic, as well as a fire on the roof of a building. At least 21 people died — 17 in Elazig and four in Malatya — and 1,030 were injured, AFAD said. “My wholehearted sympathy to President @RTErdogan and the Turkish people following the devastating earthquake that has hit Turkey. The Greek prime minister’s office said later that Mitsotakis had spoken by phone to Erdogan, who said “Turkish teams had the situation under control for now.”

Some imports of derivative aluminum products would be subject to an additional 10 percent duty, while some derivative steel products would be slapped with a 25 percent tariff, he said. Argentina, Australia, Canada and Mexico were exempted from the additional aluminum tariffs. As for the steel tariffs, exemptions were allowed for Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Australia, Mexico and South Korea. While imports of aluminum and steel have declined since the Trump administration imposed levies, some derivative products “have significantly increased since the imposition of the tariffs and quotas,” according to Trump’s proclamation. Since the beginning of his administration, Trump has used tariffs — and the threat of them — to affect policy.

AFP, NEW YORKEuropean stocks rallied on Friday while Wall Street equities tumbled as markets weighed the potential impact of a spreading viral illness in China. Chinese authorities expanded a massive quarantine effort in response to coronavirus, while the US confirmed its second case of the SARS-like ailment. US stocks had also opened higher but fell steadily as the session progressed. Tourism-oriented stocks were under pressure amid fears of the virus. United Airlines Holdings Inc sank 3.5 percent, Marriott International Inc lost 2.7 percent and Wynn Resorts Ltd fell 3.1 percent.

AFP, WASHINGTONAn American couple pleaded guilty to running a US$1 billion solar investment scam that they used to finance a luxury lifestyle, including buying Burt Reynolds’ sports car, US authorities announced on Friday. Investors were lured in by the promise of generous federal tax credits for solar power and earnings from leases on the units. NOT REALLY THEREHowever, authorities said at least half of the approximately 17,000 solar generators they claimed the company manufactured did not exist. His wife, Paulette Carpoff, 46, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense against the US and money laundering. Four associates of the couple previously pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges related to the fraud scheme since October.

BloombergYouTube secured the exclusive rights to broadcast some of the biggest e-sports leagues, giving Google a boost in its efforts to push into the lucrative world of video games. YouTube has always been a major destination for watching people play video games, but the company is trying to take even more territory by poaching well-known game players from Twitch. “In 2020 Google is going all out to claim a piece of the US$120 billion games market,” said Joost van Dreunen, managing director of Nielsen’s video game research arm. The deal offers a strong boost to the central thesis of Activision’s e-sports efforts. Selling media rights to companies like YouTube is a central piece of how these leagues make money.

The outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has killed 41 people in China and has infected more than 1,300 globally, most of them in China. The country is facing a “grave situation” where the coronavirus is “accelerating its spread,” Xi told the meeting, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. In addition, Beijing is stopping all inter-province shuttle buses that cross in and out of the capital from today, local media reported yesterday, without saying when bus services would be resumed. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) held emergency meetings with health officials yesterday morning after returning from Davos, Switzerland. Of the five people who have tested positive for the virus in Hong Kong so far, four arrived via a newly built high-speed train terminal that connects with the mainland.

BloombergCrude oil prices posted the worst weekly decline in more than a year on concern that the spread of China’s coronavirus will cripple fuel demand. The Asian virus has spooked traders even as the WHO stopped short of declaring a global health emergency. While this is not the first time global oil markets contend with an epidemic threatening demand, the current supply environment could worsen the situation. Some businesses in China including McDonald’s Corp and Starbucks Corp temporarily shut some stores in efforts to contain the virus. Brent futures fell 6.4 percent this week.

AFP, ADELAIDE, AustraliaAustralia’s Caleb Ewan yesterday won his second stage of the Tour Down Under as Richie Porte’s overall race lead was clipped to just three seconds by defending champion Daryl Impey. Ewan, who won Wednesday’s second stage for Belgian team Lotto Soudal to lead the general classification for a day, sprinted past Irish first-stage winner Sam Bennett to win the fourth stage of the season-opener in Murray Bridge. “I just told my last man to put me on the wheel of Sam Bennett, and that’s what he did. I think we are in a good position.”South African Impey, seeking three consecutive wins in Australia, claimed three crucial bonus seconds in the intermediate sprints and moved to within three seconds of the race leader. “We will need a buffer to try to win the race overall, so any chance we can get, we are going to go for it and we did that today.

You can trust he will do what’s right for Donald Trump,” Schiff added. Over nine hours the Democrats methodically dismantled Republican claims that Trump did nothing wrong. “Donald Trump chose Rudy Giuliani over his own intelligence agencies. Yet, three days into arguments into the trial, there were few signs that any of the Republican majority that Trump commands in the Senate would buy into the evidence and turn against him. “What we heard from the managers yesterday, the day before, it is the same thing, day after day after day,” Republican Senator John Barrasso said.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced its symbolic “doomsday clock” has moved forward to 100 seconds to midnight, the closest to catastrophe that the scientists have judged the world to be at any point since its creation in 1947, at the outset of the Cold War. As long as nuclear weapons are available, it is inevitable they will one day be used, “by accident, miscalculation or design,” she said. Although some thought US President Donald Trump’s unique approach might bring North Korea to the negotiating table, no real progress has ensued, she said. The warning comes as nuclear arms control is in danger of dying out altogether. The Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty lapsed in August after the US accused Russia of cheating and Trump said he would leave the 1987 treaty altogether.

Al-Sadr opposes all foreign interference in Iraq, but has recently aligned himself more closely with Iran, whose allies have dominated state institutions since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Throngs of marchers started gathering early yesterday at al-Hurriya Square in central Baghdad and near around the city’s main university, witnesses said. Main roads in Baghdad were barricaded by security forces and the city’s Green Zone, which houses foreign missions, was blocked off with concrete barriers. Long opposed to the US troop presence, al-Sadr seized on the public anger over the drone strike to call “a million-strong, peaceful, unified demonstration to condemn the American presence and its violations.”The cleric controls parliament’s largest bloc and his followers hold top ministerial positions. Harith Hasan of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut said al-Sadr was trying to sustain his “multiple identities” by backing various protests.

By Dave Carroll / Staff reporter, with Reuters and AFP, MELBOURNEThe Chan sisters yesterday cruised into the third round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while fellow Taiwanese Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the second rounds of the women’s and mixed doubles at the first Grand Slam of the year. Seventh seeds Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan took just 62 minutes to see off the challenge of Kaitlyn Christian of the US and Alexa Guarachi of Chile 6-4, 6-2 on Court 15 at Melbourne Park. The Chan sisters won 79 percent of points on their second serve, converted five of seven break points and hit 13 winners. The Taiwanese and Czech are due to face Lauren Davis of the US and Viktorija Golkubic of Switzerland in the second round today. The former world No.1, who last month announced that the Australian Open would be her final tournament, lost 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 to Ons Jabeur of Tunisia.