Remains of at least 50 people found at Mexico farm: authorities

Human remains discovered last month at a farm outside the city of Guadalajara have been confirmed as belonging to at least 50 people, authorities in Mexico’s west-central state of Jalisco reported.

Jalisco state prosecutors said recovery work at the farm in Tlajomulco de Zuniga, which began Nov. 22 after the initial discovery, concluded Friday as experts determined there was no more evidence to be gathered from the scene.

China cbank to issue 10 bln yuan of bills in Hong Kong on Dec 20

SHANGHAI, Dec 16 (Reuters) – China’s central bank said on Monday it will issue 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) worth of 6-month yuan-denominated bills in Hong Kong on Dec. 20.

The auction in Hong Kong is aimed at improving the yuan yield curve in the financial hub, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement on its website.

China’s November industrial output ticks up

BEIJING–China’s industrial production and consumption expanded at a faster-than-expected pace in November, indicating a possible rebound in activity after Beijing moved to arrest an economic slowdown in the country.

Value-added industrial output in China rose 6.2% last month from a year earlier, accelerating from a 4.7% year-over-year increase in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday.

November’s increase also exceeded the median forecast for a 5.0% increase in a Wall Street Journal poll of 15 economists.

Retail sales climbed 8.0% in November from a year earlier, compared with October’s 7.2% increase and beating a median forecast for 7.6% growth.

Fixed-asset investment in China’s urban areas rose 5.2% in the first 11 months from a year earlier. Growth in the closely watched indicator of construction activity matched the 5.2% increase recorded in the January-October period and the growth rate expected by polled economists.

–Liyan Qi

Hong Kong police fire tear gas at protesters ahead of leader’s meeting in Beijing

Police fired tear gas against protesters in Hong Kong before meetings Monday between the territory’s leader and Communist Party officials in Beijing, ending a lull in what have become regular clashes between riot squads and demonstrators.

Police said they fired the choking gas after unrest erupted Sunday night in the Mongkok district of Kowloon.

Protesters threw bricks at officers and tossed traffic cones at a police vehicle, police said. They also set fires, blocked roads and smashed traffic lights with hammers.

Video footage showed truncheon-wielding riot officers squirting pepper spray at a man in a group of journalists and ganging up to beat and manhandle him.

The violence and scattered confrontations in shopping malls earlier Sunday, where police also squirted pepper spray and made several arrests, ended what had been a lull of a couple of weeks in clashes between police and protesters.

The uptick in tension came as Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam was in Beijing on Monday to brief President Xi Jinping on the situation in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

Hong Kong’s protest movement erupted in June against now-scrapped legislation that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts in mainland China.

It has snowballed into a full-blow challenge to the government and Communist leaders in Beijing, with an array of demands, including that Hong Kong’s leader and legislators all be fully elected.

Japan government spokesman hopes Japan, South Korea study North Korean issue with rigor

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s top government spokesman on Monday said he hopes Japan and South Korea study the North Korean issue “with rigor” as tensions with Pyongyang rise after it conducted a series of weapons tests and a war of words with the United States.

U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, in Seoul for talks with officials prior to visiting Japan, said Washington is willing to discuss “all issues of interest” and that the United States wants to reopen negotiations with Pyongyang.

This week on ‘Focus Montreal’: Dec. 15, 2019

This week on Focus Montreal, Global takes a look at the risks associated with giving gambling gifts to minors, the Quebec government’s priorities for the youth and the rare heart complication called a Ventricular Septal Rupture, also known as a VSR.

South Korea unveils tougher housing rules to curb price surge

SEOUL (REUTERS) – South Korea on Monday (Dec 16) unveiled a fresh set of property curbs, including lending restrictions, aimed at cooling red-hot home prices.

The proposed rules include banning mortgage lending on properties valued over 1.5 billion won (S$1.7 million), and lowering the maximum amount of mortgage lending on those valued at 900 million won or higher but less than 1.5 billion won, the government said in a statement.

The government may also take additional steps to curb housing prices in the first half of 2020, the statement added.

US special envoy for North Korea calls on Pyongyang to respond to calls for talks

• U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, called on Pyongyang to return its offer of talks, saying Washington is willing to discuss "all issues of interest."
• Biegun, speaking at a joint news conference in Seoul with his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon, said the United States did not have a "deadline" but wanted to reopen negotiations.
• "It is time for us to do our jobs. Let's get this done. We are here, and you know how to reach us," Biegun said.

U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, called on Pyongyang to return its offer of talks, saying Washington is willing to discuss "all issues of interest."

Biegun, speaking at a joint news conference in Seoul with his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon, said the United States did not have a "deadline" but wanted to reopen negotiations.

"It is time for us to do our jobs. Let's get this done. We are here, and you know how to reach us," Biegun said.

Tension has been rising in recent weeks as Pyongyang has conducted a series of weapons tests and waged a war of words with U.S. President Donald Trump, stoking fears the two countries could return to a collision course that they had been on before launching diplomacy last year.