Early today, the occupiers and the police were still locked in the standoff at Hong Kong Polytechnic University that began Saturday night, and smoke billowed from the grounds. The clashes were the culmination of the most disruptive week of the monthslong protests, a period that has focused a global spotlight on the growing desperation of the pro-democracy activists and the aggressive efforts by the police to suppress them. Looking ahead: Schools across Hong Kong were canceled today, and the unrest showed no signs of abating ahead of local elections scheduled for Nov. 24. Go deeper: We went inside the territory’s battle-ready campuses last week, where some protesters prepared Molotov cocktails on assembly lines.

Source: New York Times November 18, 2019 05:29 UTC