Rioters in Hong Kong clashed with police on Tuesday amid violent scenes during the three-day Chinese New Year holiday. As rioters set fires and threw bricks at cops, police fired warning shots in the Mong Kok district in order to contain the crowds. Bloomberg.com reports: Forty-four officers were injured, with 24 people arrested. A government statement said there were several hundred rioters involved. “The situation ran out of control and became a riot,” Yau said. “As police officers saw their lives under serious threat, without any other alternatives, two gunshots were fired as a warning.” Mong Kok is in Kowloon on the north side of Victoria Harbour. The riot broke out late Monday after police were called to assist in a clampdown on illegal hawking in Mong Kok, a densely-populated area covering less than a square mile which is linked to organized crime and vice. Batons and pepper spray initially failed to stop protesters from blocking part of Nathan Road, a main thoroughfare. Journalists were also attacked, the police said, without giving further details. MTR Corp., operator of the city’s subway, said Mong Kok station had now reopened. The Hong Kong government issued a statement condemning the violence and urging [...]