HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's embattled leader, Carrie Lam, leaves for a visit to Japan on Monday as the Chinese-ruled city struggles to recover from a night of violence in which tens of thousands took to the streets, with further protests planned later in the day. However, a more radical faction of mainly young protesters later clashed with riot police. In one instance, a water cannon fired a jet towards the front gate of the Kowloon mosque, Hong Kong's most important Islamic place of worship. The mosque incident is the first time the protests have affected religious groups, but the unrest has hammered much of Hong Kong's business, retail and tourism sectors. The government was trying its best to support small and medium sized enterprises as the economy has been hit hard, Hong Kong's financial secretary Paul Chan said on Sunday.

Source: The Star October 21, 2019 02:26 UTC