Hundreds of people were detained in central Moscow on Wednesday as protesters rallied to demand that charges be brought against the police officers who planted drugs on Ivan Golunov, an investigative journalist whose arrest sparked widespread public anger. Ovd-info, a website that tracks arrests, said at least 423 people had been detained
Continue reading...Category Archives: Protest
Street protesters dig in for Hong Kong’s ‘last battle’
The demonstrators are less idealistic than in 2014, and the police respond more forcefully
At the end of pro-democracy protests that paralysed central Hong Kong for 79 days in 2014, demonstrators left behind glitter bombs and stickers with the outline of an umbrella and the message: “We’ll be back.”
More than four years later, they have made good on that promise. Since Tuesday evening, thousands of protesters have poured into the streets, surrounding their government. They blocked roads, built barricades, and occupied many of the same areas that were under siege during the Occupy protests, also known as the “umbrella movement”, a campaign for “genuine democracy” in elections. Like in 2014, they have clashed with riot police and suffered rounds of teargas.
Continue reading...Hundreds arrested in Moscow during protest over Ivan Golunov
Protesters call for charges to be brought against police officers who arrested journalist
Hundreds of people have been detained in central Moscow as protesters demanded charges be brought against the police officers who planted drugs on Ivan Golunov, an investigative journalist whose arrest sparked widespread public anger.
Alexei Navalny, a prominent Kremlin critic, was among those arrested when police, some clad in riot gear, moved in on 1,500 peaceful protesters who were attempting to reach the headquarters of the interior ministry that oversees police work. The protest, which was not approved by the authorities, took place on Russia Day, a national holiday in honour of the country’s independence from the Soviet Union.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protesters shut down city centre over extraditions bill – in pictures
Debate on bill temporarily abandoned after tens of thousands surround Legislative Council building
Continue reading...Hong Kong: tens of thousands of protesters gather as extradition debate looms
Major roads blocked and citywide shutdown expected on Wednesday as hundreds of businesses call for a boycott
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have gathered in Hong Kong, blocking major roads and sporadically clashing with police as politicians prepared to debate extradition legislation that critics fear would let China spirit its critics across the border.
Protesters gathered around the legislative council building, dismantling and pushing down barricades set up by police and chanting “retract, retract!” Large numbers of riot police have been deployed, using pepper spray on protesters and holding up signs warning they were prepared to use force on the crowds.
Continue reading...Sudanese doctors say dozens of people raped during sit-in attack
Hospitals in Khartoum record more than 70 cases of rape in aftermath of attack on protest
Doctors believe paramilitaries carried out more than 70 rapes during an attack on a protest camp in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, a week ago.
More than 100 people were killed and as many as 700 injured in the attack last Monday on a sit-in and clashes afterwards, as paramilitaries from the Rapid Support Forces spread through the city to quell sporadic unrest.
Continue reading...What are the Hong Kong protests about?
A series of mass protests has shaken the city. We look at the motivations behind them
Hong Kong has been rocked by a series of protests by hundreds of thousands of people in recent weeks, many of which have ended in violent clashes between police and pockets of demonstrators.
The protests were initially focused on a bill that that would make it easier to extradite people to China from the semi-autonomous city. But the authorities’ harsh policing of the protests, coupled with a refusal by Hong Kong’s leader to completely withdraw the bill, mean protesters have returned to the streets time and again.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protests: Carrie Lam vows to push ahead with extradition bill
Leader of government refuses to withdraw the bill, which critics fear could lead to abuse by Beijing
The leader of Hong Kong’s government has said she remains determined to pass a controversial extradition bill, despite an estimated one million people marching against the legislation on Sunday.
The huge march, which stretched for more than two miles, was peaceful until midnight, when police and demonstrators clashed after attempts to disperse some remaining protesters from the area outside the legislative offices.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protests – in pictures
An estimated 1 million people took to the streets of Hong Kong to demonstrate against the controversial extradition bill, with multiple other demonstrations occurring globally in support, including in Tokyo, Vancouver and Los Angeles
Continue reading...Police use batons and pepper spray on Hong Kong protesters – video
Police have clashed with protesters on the streets of Hong Kong after after hundreds of thousands of people marched through the city in protest against a proposed extradition law critics say will let Beijing pursue its political enemies. A largely peaceful rally on Sunday outside the parliament and government headquarters changed dramatically in the early hours of Monday as police wearing riot gear moved in with batons and pepper spray on protesters who hurled bottles and metal barricades. Chinese state-run newspapers have blamed the unrest on unnamed 'foreign forces'.
‘Straight pride’ parade organizer has held and attended far-right events
Rallies and protests organized by Mark Sahady have often been small, with attendees vastly outnumbered by opposing groups
Far-right figures associated with a “straight pride” parade in Boston have celebrated the story going “viral” in news media, but with no fixed date and no city permit granted the likely size of the event and chances of it going ahead remain unclear.
Related: 'Straight pride' group removes Brad Pitt as mascot after backlash
Continue reading...African Union suspends Sudan over violence against protestors – video
The African Union has suspended Sudan amid reports more than 100 people were killed when security forces raided pro-democracy camps. The sound of gunfire can be heard in footage filmed during a raid by Sudanese security forces on a peaceful Khartoum protest. More than 40 bodies were pulled from the Nile, medical groups associated with the demonstrators have said. Internet access has been cut, restricting protesters from communicating and sharing video evidence of the incident. There are growing fears that splits among the ruling military regime could lead to civil war
Thousands of people protest against Donald Trump’s state visit – video
Trafalgar Square in central London became the focal point for tens of thousands of anti-Trump protesters on Tuesday. The US president dismissed the demonstrations as 'fake news', saying they were very small, while claiming thousands had lined the streets to cheer him on Monday
Continue reading...Tiananmen Square massacre marked with Hong Kong vigil
More than 100,000 gather for anniversary but many fear for future of commemoration
More than 100,000 people have gathered in Hong Kong for a candlelight vigil to mark the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
The event is the biggest and traditionally the only major commemoration of the incident allowed in China. Taiwan also marked the massacre with a vigil and exhibition on “Tank man” – the man photographed standing in front of tanks on 5 June 1989.
Continue reading...Trump baby blimp lifts off outside parliament – video
A six-metre-high inflatable balloon depicting Donald Trump as a snarling baby flew in Parliament Square, London, on Tuesday before what is expected to be one of the city's largest protests against a foreign leader
Continue reading...Tank Man: what happened at Tiananmen Square? – video explainer
Thirty years ago, a Chinese man, carrying his shopping, stood in front of a column of tanks from the People’s Liberation Army in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Tank Man, as he became known, became an iconic image from the protests. His stand was the culmination of weeks of clashes between Chinese pro-democracy protesters and the government, during which thousands of people are thought to have been killed
• Beijing falls silent as tight security surrounds Tiananmen Square anniversary
Continue reading...Sudan: opposition rejects army’s plan for snap elections
Military council called fresh elections after deadly crackdown on protest sit-in on Monday
Democracy campaigners in Sudan have rejected a plan by military authorities to hold elections within nine months, one day after heavily armed paramilitaries attacked a protest camp in the capital, Khartoum.
More than 35 people are thought to have been killed and several hundred injured at the sit-in, which had been at the centre of a campaign to bring democratic reform to Sudan. The death toll is expected to rise.
Continue reading...Sudan paramilitaries raped and assaulted protesters and medics
Witnesses describe attacks in Khartoum during deadly assault on pro-democracy sit-in
Paramilitaries who killed 35 people when they attacked pro-democracy protesters in Khartoum on Monday also committed multiple sexual assaults, beat up medical staff and volunteers at clinics, looted and destroyed property in hospitals and threatened doctors and medical workers with reprisals if they provided care to the wounded, witnesses have said.
Hundreds were injured in the attack on a sit-in in the centre of the Sudanese capital and in clashes afterwards as the paramilitaries, from the feared Rapid Support Forces (RSF) spread through the city to quell sporadic unrest.
Continue reading...Beijing falls silent as tight security surrounds Tiananmen Square anniversary
Thirty years after bloody crackdown in China, visitors have IDs checked and journalists are warned against taking pictures
China has been marking 30 years since its deadly crackdown on student demonstrators in Beijing with silence and extra security measures.
The government has worked to suppress discussion of one of the darkest chapters in its history, when Beijing deployed tanks and troops to put down a countrywide movement calling for democratic reforms.
Continue reading...Hundreds of opposition members arrested in Cameroon
Security forces take 351 into custody after protesters call for release of their party leader
Hundreds of members of Cameroon’s main opposition party are being held in custody after the country’s security forces carried out mass arrests during a series of anti-government protests over the weekend.
Two people were injured and 351 arrested on Saturday in four regions of the central African country in protests against its octogenarian president, Paul Biya, and his government. Several senior opposition leaders were among those arrested. Only a handful of people have been released.
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