assists.

Saman spoke exclusively to the Tehran Times reporter in Qatar, discussing the highlights of the game and his excellent performance.

“We respect all the teams and all the teams are here for a reason. We respect them, they will make it difficult for us so we would like to play as good as possible,” he said about Palestine and also about Iran’s next opponents Hong Kong.

Asked him what did the coach say after the game, Ghoddos said, “Nothing special, to be honest. We will talk probably when we go to the hotel and tomorrow we will have a meeting but right now after the game we didn’t speak so much about the game.

Are Iran the main favorites of the tournament?

“There are too many games left that we don’t need to think about them now. We just need to focus on our next game which is against Hong Kong and then we’ll see where we go.

“I don’t see myself as a star, I just see myself as a team player, where there are other stars of the team which I rely on them. We have a very good squad. We have a couple of superb stars in the team. I’ll try to play as good as possible for them and they need to win the game for us and I will try to make them to win the game for us,” Ghoddos concluded.

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China’s currency and stock markets steadied in choppy trade after anxiety over the coronavirus hit the Yuan on Monday and erased some $400 billion in market value from Shanghai’s benchmark index.

Macau, the world’s biggest gambling hub, said it had asked all casino operators to suspend operations for two weeks to help curb the spread of the virus, Reuters reported.

More foreigners were evacuated from China’s locked-down central city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and thousands of people were stranded on a Japanese cruise ship after a passenger tested positive for the virus.

The Hong Kong fatality brought the total death toll from the virus to 427, including a man who died in the Philippines last week after visiting Wuhan. Chinese authorities said the toll in China rose by a record 64 from the previous day to 425, mostly in Hubei province of which Wuhan is capital.

New cases were reported in the United States including a patient in California who was infected through close contact with someone in the same household who had been infected in China.

It marked the second instance of person-to-person spread of the virus in the United States after another such case was reported last week in Illinois.

“We expect to see more cases of person-to-person spread,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The total number of infections in China rose by 3,235 to 20,438, and there were at least 151 cases in 23 other countries and regions.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the flu-like virus a global emergency and experts say much is still unknown about the pathogen, including its mortality rate and transmission pathways.

Such uncertainties are leading some countries to take extreme measures to stem the spread. Australia sent hundreds of evacuees from Wuhan to a remote island in the Indian Ocean, while Japan ordered the quarantine of a cruise ship carrying more than 3,000 people after a Hong Kong man who sailed on it last month tested positive for coronavirus.

In Hong Kong, hospital staff said the 39-year-old male victim had a pre-existing chronic illness and had visited Wuhan in January before falling ill.

Hundreds of medical workers in the former British colony held a second day of strikes to force the government to completely close the city’s borders with mainland China, a day after embattled leader Carrie Lam left three remaining checkpoints open.

The Asian financial center has confirmed 15 cases of the coronavirus and its public hospital network is struggling to cope with a deluge of patients and measures to contain the epidemic.

Hong Kong was badly hit by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), another coronavirus that emerged from China in 2002 and killed almost 800 people around the world. According to WHO figures, SARS killed 299 people in Hong Kong during that outbreak.

Chinese data suggest that the new virus, while much more contagious than SARS, is significantly less lethal, although such numbers can evolve rapidly.

In Wuhan, authorities started converting a gymnasium, exhibition center and cultural complex into makeshift hospitals with more than 3,400 beds for patients suffering from mild cases of the infection, the official Changjiang Daily said.

The United States said on Friday it would block nearly all foreign visitors who have been to China within the past 14 days, joining Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Vietnam and others who have imposed similar restrictions.

China accused the United States on Monday of scaremongering and said on Tuesday it would welcome its help to fight the outbreak.

“China has noted that the United States has repeatedly expressed its willingness to provide assistance to China, and hopes that the relevant assistance will be provided soon,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement on the ministry’s website.

The White House said China had accepted its offer to have US experts as part of a WHO mission to study and help combat the virus.

Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province, escalated its war of words over the island’s exclusion from the WHO, saying “vile” China was preventing it from getting timely information about the outbreak.

With Wuhan and some other cities in virtual lockdown, travel severely restricted and China facing increasing international isolation, fears of wider economic disruption are growing.

Sources from the OPEC oil cartel said producers were considering cutting output by almost a third to support prices.

Airlines around the world have stopped flights to parts of China. A suspension by the United Arab Emirates on Monday will affect the Persian Gulf airlines Etihad and Emirates.

Some economists predict world economic output will shrink by 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points due to China’s lockdown.

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According To Iran News, More than 1,000 people rallied in the rain in a park in Hong Kong’s financial district on Sunday, chanting slogans for democracy as they huddled under a sea of umbrellas.

The crowd, a mix of young and elderly people, wore black and turquoise surgical masks to hide their identities as they listened to organizers speaking on a makeshift stage.

“There may be fewer people. We all know that no matter how many people come out or how many times, the government ignores you,” said a 30-year-old woman in black clothing surnamed Wong, who works in the legal sector.

“Hong Kongers will never stop. We see unfairness, injustice. It contradicts our fundamental beliefs,” she said, Reuters reported.

Hong Kong has been convulsed by more than six months of protests, triggered by a now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, where courts are controlled by the Communist Party.

The demonstrations have since evolved into a broader pro-democracy movement and have again became more confrontational over recent days with police clashing with protesters at several shopping malls and busy tourist areas.

On Saturday, riot police arrested about a dozen protesters and used pepper spray to break up a gathering aimed at disrupting retail business near the border with mainland China.

More protests are planned in the next few days, including a countdown to New Year’s Day and a march on Jan. 1 that could attract a big crowd.

Protesters are angry about what they see as increased meddling by Beijing in freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

China denies interfering, saying it is committed to the “one country, two systems” formula put in place at that time, and blames foreign forces for fomenting unrest.

A 20-year old university student who gave his name as Malcolm said it was becoming harder to remain optimistic about the prospect of change.

“More realistic people know there’s no way for us to win but now is not the time for us to be pessimistic,” he said, adding that he would continue to push for full democracy for Hong Kong.

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According To Iran News, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday US legislation supporting protesters may damage business confidence in the financial hub, as she announced a fourth round of relief measures to boost the city’s battered economy.

Lam told reporters the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act signed into US law last week was “wholly unnecessary”, as the former British colony grapples with its first recession in a decade.

The act requires the US State Department to certify at least annually that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to justify favorable US trading terms, and threatens sanctions for human rights violations.

“The impact currently is on confidence … Because corporates will be worried about the actions the US government may take in the future after they review this legislation,” Lam said, Reuters reported.

Lam did not specify what additional measures would be taken to boost economic activity, saying details would be announced in the near-term. The government has previously offered relief of about HK$21 billion ($2.7 billion) to support the economy, particularly the transport, tourism and retail sectors.

The unrest has hammered retail sales which fell by their steepest on record in October as protests scared off tourists and hit spending.

In more bad news for the economy, China on Monday banned US military ships and aircraft from visiting Hong Kong – a rest and recreation stop for the US Seventh Fleet – in retaliation for the US legislation.

Lam said approvals for such port visits were a matter for China’s Foreign Ministry.

Hong Kong has been rocked by six months of sometimes violent unrest in the biggest challenge to Chinese stability since the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.

The protesters’ demands include universal suffrage, an investigation into alleged police brutality and an end to Beijing’s perceived efforts to undermine democratic freedoms promised when the former British colony was handed back to China in 1997.

China denies interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs and says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” formula enshrined at the handover and guaranteeing the territory a high degree of autonomy. Beijing blames foreign countries including the United States for inciting unrest.

Activists have pledged to hold lunch-time rallies throughout the week after a mass demonstration over the weekend when police fired tear gas to disperse crowds of protesters.

Hundreds of office workers gathered in Hong Kong’s business district on Monday in support of the pro-democracy movement after it scored a resounding victory in district polls last month.

Lam has renewed her appeals for peace but her administration has failed to offer any concessions to the protest movement despite the election results.

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According To Iran News, Secondary-school students and retirees joined forces to protest in Hong Kong on Saturday, the first of several weekend rallies planned across the city, as pro-democracy activists vowed to battle what they say are police brutality and unlawful arrests.

A top Hong Kong official said the government was looking into setting up an independent committee to review the handling of the crisis, which has seen increasingly violent demonstrations since starting more than five months ago.

Hong Kong has seen relative calm since local elections last week delivered an overwhelming victory to pro-democracy candidates. Still, activists appear keen to maintain the momentum of their movement.

“I came out for the peaceful protest in June when there was more than one million people, but the government did not listen to our demands,” said a 71-year-old woman in Hong Kong’s Central district, who only gave her name as Ponn.

She brought her own plastic stool to join a cross-generational protest of a few hundred people at the city’s Chater Garden. Elderly Hong Kongers, some with visors and canes, stood not far from young, black-clad protesters. All listened to pro-democracy speakers in a gathering marked by a festive mood.

“I have seen so much police brutality and unlawful arrests. This is not the Hong Kong I know. I came today because I want the government to know that we are not happy with what they have done to our generation,” said Ponn, who attended with her daughter and son-in-law.

Demonstrators are angered by what they see as Chinese interference in freedoms promised when Britain returned Hong Kong to Beijing in 1997.

But China denies interfering, and says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” formula put in place at that time. It has blamed foreign forces for fomenting unrest.

On Saturday, citing authorities, the Communist party newspaper of the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou said police had arrested a Belizean citizen for allegedly colluding with people in the United States to meddle in Hong Kong affairs.

Separately, the newspaper said a Taiwanese man, Lee Meng-Chu, was arrested by police in nearby Shenzhen on Oct. 31, for allegedly stealing state secrets for foreign forces after he made a trip to Hong Kong in August to support “anti-China” activities.

In Hong Kong, the city government is looking into setting up an independent committee to review the handling of the crisis, Matthew Cheung, Chief Secretary for Administration, told reporters when asked about an independent review committee.

“We are looking for relevant candidates and we have already started preparatory work, so we hope we will make some progress in the short term,” Cheung said.

Cheung’s comment came in response to a question that did not specify police or government handling, but one of the protesters’ demands is for an independent inquiry into allegations of police brutality. Some critics on social media have said that such a committee would fall short of the independent investigation they have been demanding.

In an opinion piece in the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post newspaper on Saturday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, also called for an investigation into allegations of excessive police force.

“I appeal the government to take important confidence-building measures, including a proper independent and impartial judge-led investigation into reports of excessive use of force by the police,” Bachelet wrote.

In Saturday’s first rally, at one point the crowd in the park rose to sing “Glory to Hong Kong”, which has become the unofficial anthem of protests. Many of them put their hands in the air with five fingers outstretched, a symbol of the pro-democracy movement.

“My mum asked me to come and protect her. So I came with my husband. It has been quiet after the district elections and that is unexpected,” senior citizen protester Ponn’s 26-year-old daughter told Reuters.

“We should not stop there, I came today because we have to keep fighting.”

Some of the young protesters waved American flags, a sign of appreciation after US President Donald Trump this week signed into law bills that back the protesters and threaten China with possible sanctions on human rights.

A 70-year-old retiree in a blue aviator sunglasses and a grey tracksuit, who gave his name as Ko, said seniors could offer guidance to the younger protesters.

“Starting from day one I have been involved in this movement and there is no reason to stop now,” said Ko.

“Today is a cross-age group meeting and there are a lot of middle school students … We are here to give them advice and moral support. I think they need it.”

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Hong Kong leader vowed Monday to “listen humbly” to voters after the opposition camp scored a landslide victory in community-level elections that revealed broad public support for a protest movement that has stirred months of violence.

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