NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Hong Kong unrest: Many of the protesters who had barricaded themselves in a university this week began to leave Friday after demanding that the government commit to going ahead with local elections on Nov. 24. The president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Rocky Tuan, urged everyone to leave, saying the situation was out of control and that the campus may need to seek government help. The district council elections are seen as a barometer of public sentiment in the semiautonomous Chinese territory, which has been riven by antigovernment protests for more than five months. Prodemocracy activists say the government may use the escalating violence as a pretext to cancel the elections.
2 Australia fires: The death toll for wildfires raging across Australia’s most populous state has risen to four as authorities warned of worsening weather conditions. A male body was found in a scorched forest near the town of Kempsey in northeast New South Wales, police said. About 60 fires are burning around New South Wales, with 27 uncontained while being battled by more than 1,000 firefighters, the Rural Fire Service said. U.S. Ambassador to Australia Arthur Culvahouse Jr. said firefighting Tanker 911, a converted McDonnell Douglas DC10 jet that can drop 9,400 gallons of fire retardant, was on its way from New Mexico to the Australian east coast to help. A weeklong state of emergency was declared for New South Wales because of the extraordinary fire danger.
3 Syria fighting: President Bashar Assad said in remarks broadcast Friday that the American presence in Syria will lead to armed “resistance” that will eventually force the U.S. troops to leave his country. Assad said Americans should remember the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and that “Syria will not be an exception.” U.S. officials said this week that Washington will leave about 600 troops in Syria to fight the Islamic State group. That followed President Trump’s decision last month to withdraw the bulk of roughly 1,000 American troops from Syria, drawing bipartisan condemnation. Assad also criticized Kurdish groups seeking to set up an autonomous region inside Syria. “We shall never accept any separatist propositions under any circumstances,” he said. 4 Climate change: Germany’s parliament approved a bill Friday to introduce a price for carbon emissions in the transport and heating sectors as part of a broader package of measures designed to tackle climate change. The three parties in government have pushed through the measures quickly since agreeing on them two months ago. Scientists and economists consider carbon pricing to be an effective way of steering companies and consumers away from heavily polluting sources of energy such as coal, oil and natural gas. To balance the increased costs, the bill includes tax breaks for commuters and people who invest in improving their home insulation.
5 Fuel rationing: Many Iranians reacted with anger Friday after authorities abruptly raised fuel prices by up to 50% and imposed rationing without any prior warnings to the public. Across the capital, Tehran, long lines of cars waited for hours at pumping stations following the overnight changes in energy policy. In several locations, Iranian police were seen deployed near gas stations. The U.S. withdrew from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers last year, and reimposed crippling trade sanctions that sent the Iranian economy into freefall. According to Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, the country is facing its “most difficult” time in decades.