BEIRUT (AP) — As 2019 gave way to 2020 in a cloud of tear gas, and in some cases a hail of bullets, from Hong Kong to Baghdad, from Beirut to Barcelona and Santiago, it seemed civil disobedience and government crackdowns on protests would dominate the international landscape.

Global stock markets plunged extra Friday on spreading fears over the influence of the present coronavirus, with some indexes location to shut out their worst week for the reason that depths of the monetary disaster in 2008.