Category Archives: Protest

World watches as landmark Jimmy Lai trial set to begin in Hong Kong

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Territory’s global reputation on the line as media mogul and democracy activist finally tried over alleged national security crimes

Hong Kong’s global reputation will be tested this week when the long-delayed trial of the pro-democracy activist and former media mogul Jimmy Lai gets under way.

Lai, who turned 76 in jail this month, is charged with colluding with foreign forces under the national security law, as well as sedition. If convicted, which experts say is highly likely, the British national faces spending the rest of his life in prison.

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Thousands call for Gaza ceasefire on central London march

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Police say 13 protesters arrested during march from Bank Junction to Parliament Square

Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters gathered in Parliament Square, London, on Saturday to call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The protesters marched from Bank Junction to Westminster, with many holding signs with the words “Free Palestine” and “End the siege”. Some protesters chanted: “One, two, three, four, occupation no more, five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state.”

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Dozens attend protest in Tel Aviv against Israeli bombardment of Gaza

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Demonstration is first time abductees’ families have come together with other activists

Dozens of people attended a noisy fringe protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday night outside the Israeli military’s headquarters, protesting against the renewed bombardment on Gaza that they blame for the halt in the release of the estimated 130 hostages still held by Hamas.

The group gathered after the regular weekly rally demanding the release of all the hostages held by Hamas, and marched around the Israel Defense Force’s Kirya military base demanding an urgent meeting with the country’s war cabinet and pressing for a ceasefire.

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Cop28 officials fail to clarify if protesters are safe to protest in Dubai

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Thousands of activists attending climate conference in UAE, which has a poor record for demonstrations

Cop28 organisers and the UN body that oversees the annual climate conference have failed to clarify whether activists in Dubai are safe to demonstrate outside the conference area, putting civil society at risk in a country where protest is normally prohibited.

At least 80,000 people are registered to attend the conference, including thousands of activists and members of civil society, who normally hold protests around the conference area.

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Pro-Palestine protests continue around UK for eighth weekend

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Local rallies and vigils organised as alternative to centralised marches that have seen hundreds of thousands out in London

Pro-Palestine demonstrations in the UK continued into their eighth successive weekend on Saturday, as protesters gathered in cities and towns across the country to demand a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

The protests were part of a day of smaller, local actions organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), an alternative to the larger marches seen in previous weeks. Last Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people marched through central London in protest at the Israeli bombing of Gaza.

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Protests against Israel-Hamas war expected in 13 London boroughs over weekend

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Smaller marches will take place instead of single larger event and will be policed locally

Police said protests are expected “in around 13 boroughs” in London on Saturday after the seven-day Israel-Hamas ceasefire ended.

There are no plans for any major central London demonstrations of the sort that have been seen over the past two months, but a number of smaller events are planned, the Metropolitan police said.

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Activist on trial for damaging UK sites of Israeli arms maker says he was justified

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Palestine Action’s Richard Barnard and co-defendants say alleged actions against Elbit Systems were aimed at stopping bombings

A co-founder of Palestine Action on trial with others for damaging an Israeli arms manufacturer’s UK sites has said they were justified because they were trying to stop people being bombed.

Richard Barnard, 51, and seven other defendants are accused of charges relating to actions against Elbit Systems Limited, which he said Palestine Action aims to “shut down”.

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Forty years on, can legacy of pioneering anti-racism march help a divided France?

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After recovering from being shot by police in 1983, Toumi Djaïdja led a protest historians say must be written into the nation’s narrative

When Toumi Djaïdja, a 20-year-old youth worker, was shot by police as he helped a teenager who had been bitten by a dog, he did not know it would change the course of French history.

It was 1983, when France was plagued by numerous racist murders of people of north African background, amid anger on housing estates and allegations of police violence. Already, Djaïdja, from an Algerian family on the Minguettes housing estate in Vénissieux outside Lyon, had held a sit-in and a hunger-strike for equal rights and an end to clashes between police and youths.

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‘What do we want? £15!’ Hundreds join Amazon picket line for Black Friday strike

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Trade unionists from US and Europe stand with staff at Coventry hub over local pay dispute amid global day of action

Hundreds of strikers outside Amazon’s Coventry warehouse were joined on Black Friday by trade unionists from Europe and the US as part of a global campaign calling for better working conditions at the internet retailer.

Wearing orange beanie hats branded with the GMB union logo, activists from Germany, Italy and California, on strike at their respective Amazon workplaces, expressed solidarity with the Coventry strikers, who have taken 28 days of industrial action since January.

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Irish police chief warns of further disruption by far right after Dublin riot

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Drew Harris says radicalised people exploited ‘terrible crime’ of knife attack to unleash mayhem on streets

Ireland’s police chief has warned that far-right radicalisation will continue to disrupt the country after a night of arson, rioting and looting left parts of Dublin resembling a war zone.

The capital was tense on Friday as significant numbers of police remained on the streets and Dublin counted the cost of an anti-immigrant protest that turned into anarchy, leaving the political establishment shocked.

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Melbourne school students defy education minister and strike in support of Palestine

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Hundreds rally in CBD to call for an end to the war in Gaza and for Australia to stop military aid to Israel

Amid chants of “free, free Palestine”, hundreds of Victoria school students have walked out of classrooms to call for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and for Australia to stop military aid to Israel.

Students gathered at the steps of Flinders Street station in the Melbourne CBD on Thursday afternoon, rallying for Palestine. The crowd spilled out on to the road, bringing traffic to a standstill at the busy Flinders and Swanston Street intersection.

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Adviser warns UK government against tightening laws on glorifying terrorism

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Independent reviewer says change could harm freedom of speech and further strain overtaxed security services

No 10 should not implement plans to amend the law on glorifying terrorism after the pro-Palestine marches as it would do “no favours” to police, MI5 or the probation service, a government adviser has said.

In a 15-page report submitted to the Home Office, Jonathan Hall KC, the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said there was no need to respond to the marches with new terrorism legislation, adding that there was “good reason for caution” given both the risk of unintended consequences and the drain on limited state resources.

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Rift widens between NSW and federal Labor as Chris Minns demands state’s ‘fair share’

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Ahead of national cabinet, NSW premier waits for answers from Albanese government on protest policing and infrastructure funding

Tensions between the New South Wales and federal Labor governments are rising ahead of the final planned national cabinet of the year, with the state’s premier, Chris Minns, insisting he was not “whingeing” as he demanded more funding for police and infrastructure.

Minns said the federal government had so far failed to respond to his request for help paying the bill for policing the frequent protests sparked by the Israel-Hamas war, or for the “disappointing” infrastructure cuts unveiled last week.

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Australia news live: ‘hunger for justice’ has swept the world, Assange’s father tells Melbourne pro-Palestine rally

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Organisers of Sydney pro-Palestine rallies say they have been attended by 30,000 people, as thousands gather in cities around the country. Follow today’s news updates live

Julian Assange’s father to address pro-Palestinian rally in Melbourne

A pro-Palestine rally will be addressed by the father of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, with organisers confident a large crowd is set to attend.

The Australian public are disgusted at the Albanese government’s refusal to call for ceasefire.

We’ve had people come who have never before been to a rally and the following week they return with their relatives and friends.

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Hundreds march through Keir Starmer’s constituency in Gaza ceasefire protest

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Protesters march through Camden and gather outside Labour leader’s office amid anger over failure to call for ceasefire

Hundreds of people marched through Keir Starmer’s constituency and protested outside his Camden office on Saturday over the Labour leader’s failure to call for a ceasefire.

The action was organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which planned more than 100 local demonstrations across the country on Saturday rather than holding a national march in the capital.

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More than 100 pro-Palestine rallies to take place across UK, say organisers

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Groups behind ceasefire protests attended by hundreds of thousands say local action will replace London march this week

Organisers of the pro-Palestine marches that have drawn hundreds of thousands of people to London’s streets have planned smaller action in villages, towns and cities rather than holding a national march in the capital this Saturday.

More than 100 pro-Palestine events demanding a ceasefire in Gaza are due to take place across the UK.

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Local action to replace London march for Palestine this week, say organisers

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Groups behind ceasefire protests attended by hundreds of thousands say there will be events across UK

More than 100 pro-Palestine events demanding a ceasefire in Gaza are due to take place across the UK this weekend, but there will be no large-scale national march in London, according to organisers.

Organisers of the pro-Palestine marches that have drawn hundreds of thousands of people to London’s streets have planned smaller action in villages, towns and cities rather than holding a national march in the capital this Saturday, citing the challenges of coordinating weekly national protests and growing support across the country. The next large national march in central London would be held on 25 November, they said.

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Australia news live: school strike for climate protests draw huge crowds in Melbourne and Sydney; Albanese says Apec leaders ‘very interested’ in Tuvalu deal

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‘A ceasefire is where we need to get to,’ Zoe Daniel says

Asked by RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas if she supports calls for a ceasefire, Zoe Daniel says:

If you call for a ceasefire, you’re letting down the Jewish community, if you don’t you’re allowing death and destruction to happen in Gaza.

At the end of the day, if I say to you right now, yes, I support ceasefire, that will make zero difference to what is happening in in Gaza.

I’m a former foreign correspondent. I know the logistics of this, of course, a ceasefire is where we need to get to, but you have a terrorist organisation in the middle of this. If there’s just a ceasefire, and there’s no capacity there to try to dismantle Hamas, does that allow Hamas to regroup? What does that actually lead to? That said, I’ve said to you before, very clearly, and I still stick to the position that the Israeli government has to adhere to international law and the rules of war, and I think, in some ways, has not been.

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No 10 says it will produce ‘emergency’ bill to show Rwanda safe country ‘in coming weeks’ – as it happened

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Downing Street says legislation will make clear ‘Rwanda is safe’ and will address court’s concerns after policy ruled unlawful. This live blog is closed

At his Institute for Government Q&A Sir Mark Rowley, commissioner of the Metropolitan police, refused to say what he felt about Lee Anderson, the Conservative party deputy chair, declaring yesterday that ministers should just ignore the supreme court judgment saying the Rwanda police was unlawful. Asked to respond, Rowley just said:

Politicians hold me to account, I don’t hold them to account.

Starmer travelled north of the border just hours after a revolt within his party over a ceasefire in Gaza resulted in the resignation of eight of his frontbenchers.

The Labour leader highlighted what he described as the “failure” of the UK government to negotiate a trade deal with India, a key exporter for Scotch whisky.

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Not illegal for Gaza protesters to climb on war memorial, says Met chief

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Home secretary says demonstration at Royal Artillery Memorial ‘deeply disrespectful’ and he is looking at giving police new powers

The actions of pro-Palestinian protesters who climbed on to a war memorial were “inflammatory” but not illegal, the Metropolitan police commissioner said on Thursday, as the government said it would consider giving police new powers to prevent “offensive” demonstrations.

Video footage appears to show at least two pro-Palestinian protesters clambering on the Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner, central London, on Wednesday evening, timed to coincide with a vote on calls for a ceasefire in Gaza in the Commons.

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