Police fire tear gas as large crowds defy Hong Kong mask ban

Hong Kong police fired tear gas at pro-democracy protesters on Sunday after tens of thousands hit the streets once more to defy a ban on face masks despite half the city's subway stations remaining closed.

Large crowds marched through torrential rain in unsanctioned rallies on both sides of Victoria Harbour Sunday afternoon.

Clashes soon erupted as police fired tear gas at protesters blocking roads and building barricades in at least three different locations.

Protesters have staged unsanctioned flashmob rallies across the strife-torn city in recent days -- some vandalising subway stations and shops -- after Hong Kong's leader outlawed face coverings at protests, invoking colonial-era emergency powers not used for half a century.

Pro-democracy lawmakers went to the High Court Sunday morning seeking an emergency injunction against the ban, arguing the emergency powers bypassed the legislature and contravened the city's mini-constitution.

But a senior judge dismissed their case.

The law