Iran is facing an escalating crisis as its leadership struggles to contain public anger over the military's shooting down of a commercial airliner with 176 people onboard. Footage on social media shows several people apparently wounded, including a woman lying on a blood-soaked pavement near Azadi Square in Tehran during anti-government protests on Sunday
Continue reading...Category Archives: Protest
Drag queen storytime at Brisbane library disrupted by rightwing student group
Protesters from University of Queensland Liberal National Cub – disendorsed by the LNP – yell at performers, leaving children in tears
A rightwing University of Queensland student group has been caught on film attacking a drag queen storytelling event at a Brisbane library.
In videos posted online on Sunday, the small group of students can be heard yelling “Drag queens are not for kids” at the event at the Brisbane Square library on Sunday morning. The event was organised with Rainbow Families Queensland and was hosted by two drag performers, Queeny and Diamond.
Continue reading...Protests and teargas as Iran faces public anger over aircraft downing
Authorities break up second day of demonstrations that continued into the evening
Iran was facing a renewed crisis on Sunday night with authorities using teargas to break up a second straight day of protests in Tehran and demonstrations spreading to other cities, as the nation’s leadership struggled to contain public anger over the Iranian military’s shooting down of a commercial airliner with 176 people on board.
Britain also found itself caught up in the furore as pro-regime protesters set alight a union jack flag in front of the UK embassy in Tehran after the British ambassador was briefly detained the night before and accused of coordinating protests, which he denies. Chanting “death to Britain”, up to 200 protesters including members of a pro-regime paramilitary organisation rallied outside the mission calling for it to be closed a day after Rob Macaire was arrested. He was later summoned by the Iranian foreign ministry.
Continue reading...Anti-government protests in Tehran after Iran admits it shot down Ukrainian jet – video
A vigil in front of Tehran's Amikabir University for the victims of flight 752 that Iran said it accidentally downed turned into an anti-government protest on Saturday. Demonstrators called for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, chanting 'death to the dictator'
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- Donald Trump warns Iran against 'another massacre' amid airliner protests
- ‘They killed our sons and daughters’: anger rises in Iran over flight 752
- Iran must take full responsibility for 'horrific' act, says Trudeau
Australia bushfires: towns face anxious wait as strong winds drive fires
Alpine areas of Victoria and NSW among those most under threat, while climate protesters take to the streets in major cities
Thousands of climate protesters flooded the streets of Australian state capitals on Friday night as fire authorities warned of another dangerous night ahead in four states.
Firefighters in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia continued to battle fires, with gusty winds expected to create hazardous firefighting conditions late into the night.
Continue reading...Hong Kong: nearly a third of adults report PTSD symptoms – study
Research also finds heavy use of social media to follow socio-political events appears to increase risk on mental health
Nearly one in three adults in Hong Kong reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder during months of often violent social unrest in the city, according to a study published in the Lancet medical journal on Friday.
Related: Portraits of Hong Kong's masked protesters – in pictures
Continue reading...Brazilian judge orders Netflix to remove ‘gay Jesus’ comedy
Rio judge’s ruling follows complaint that the ‘honour of millions of Catholics’ was hurt by The First Temptation of Christ
A Brazilian judge on Wednesday ordered Netflix to stop showing a Christmas special that some called blasphemous for depicting Jesus as a gay man and which prompted a bomb attack on the satirists behind the programme.
The ruling by a Rio de Janeiro judge, Benedicto Abicair, responded to a petition by a Brazilian Catholic organisation that argued the “honour of millions of Catholics” was hurt by the airing of The First Temptation of Christ. The special was produced by the Rio-based film company Porta dos Fundos, whose headquarters was targeted in the Christmas Eve attack.
Continue reading...One year to save the planet: a simple guide to fighting the climate crisis in 2020
Veganism might help and it’s always good to avoid flying. But the answer to Earth’s emergency must involve political, collective action – and there are countless ways to get active
The impact of the climate crisis is all too visible. Bushfires have killed more than 20 people in south-eastern Australia and forced thousands more to flee their homes. Floods and storms have left hundreds dead and many more destitute in Argentina, Uruguay, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi. And in the UK, record temperatures were seen last summer and this winter.
Last year, people across the world took to the streets to demand goverments act to slash greenhouse gas emissions. Did you watch and wonder what you could do to help the global climate movement?
Continue reading...India campus attack: police fail to make arrests but charge injured student
Student leader beaten with iron bar during attack charged with two offences for prior incident
Police in Delhi have faced criticism for failing to arrest any members of a violent mob that stormed the campus of the Jawarharlal Nehru University (JNU) in the Indian capital, while at the same time charging a student leader beaten over the head with a metal bar with two offences.
Police have been accused of failing to intervene when about 50 masked men went on the rampage on Sunday evening, attacking students and academic staff, and vandalising buildings and property. More than 30 people were injured.
Continue reading...Masked mob storms top Delhi university, injuring staff and students – video
Students have protested in cities across India after a masked mob attacked students and teachers with weapons including sledgehammers, iron rods and bricks, injuring more than 30 people. Opposition parties and injured students blamed Sunday night’s violence on a student organisation linked to Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party, which has increasingly targeted the institution
Continue reading...Dozens held in Hong Kong after violence at parallel trading march
Protests target mainlanders’ practice of bulk-buying goods to sell at profit in China
Petrol bombs have been thrown at a Hong Kong police station and dozens of people arrested after a march against parallel trading near the Chinese border.
The Democratic party said about 10,000 people marched peacefully in Sheung Shui district on Sunday, but violence erupted after police ordered protesters to disperse.
Continue reading...India citizenship law: 100,0000 attend Hyderabad protest
Demonstration was organised by umbrella group of Muslim and civil society organisations
More than 100,000 protesters have taken part in a peaceful march in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, chanting slogans against Narendra Modi’s new citizenship law.
The protest, labelled the Million March, was organised by an umbrella group of Muslim and civil society organisations. More than 40% of Hyderabad’s estimated population of nearly 7 million people are Muslims.
Continue reading...Hundreds arrested at huge New Year’s Day rally in Hong Kong
Police detain 400 and fire teargas as anti-government protests continue into 2020
A huge New Year’s Day march in Hong Kong has ended in mass arrests and street clashes as the anti-government movement – now in its eighth month – continued into 2020.
Police detained about 400 people on charges including illegal assembly and possession of offensive weapons after the rally on Wednesday, which organisers said was attended by more than a million people. It was one of the largest numbers of arrests in a single day since the unrest began.
Continue reading...Hong Kong braces for huge New Year’s Day march after night of unrest
Marchers begin to gather after New Year’s Eve violence saw police fire teargas and activists set fire to barricades
Thousands have gathered in Hong Kong to take part in a what is expected to be a huge New Year’s Day march, hours after police fired teargas on pro-democracy protesters marking the start of 2020.
The city has been battered by more than six months of unrest with marches attended by millions, as well as confrontations in which police have fired teargas and rubber bullets – and protesters have responded with petrol bombs.
Continue reading...Embassy protesters in Iraq deal symbolic blow to US prestige
Washington humiliated as hundreds storm American compound chanting slogans in support of pro-Iranian militias
Protesters in Iraq have dealt a symbolic blow to US prestige after they stormed the American embassy compound in Baghdad, trapping diplomats inside while chanting “death to America” and slogans in support of pro-Iranian militias.
In a humiliating day for Washington, hundreds of supporters of Iraqi Shia militia, many wearing military fatigues, besieged the US compound, at one point breaching the main gate and smashing their way into several reception rooms. They lit fires, battered down doors, and threw bricks at bulletproof glass.
Continue reading...Hong Kong braces for fresh protests during new year festivities
Official issues stark warning to protesters planning to target shopping and business districts
Hong Kong will end 2019 with multiple protests planned for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day aimed at disrupting festivities and shopping in the Asian financial hub, which has seen a rise in clashes between police and protesters since Christmas.
Events dubbed “Suck the Eve” and “Shop with You” are set for New Year’s Eve on Tuesday in areas including the party district of Lan Kwai Fong, the picturesque Victoria Harbour, and popular shopping malls, according to notices on social media.
Continue reading...Protests, climate crisis and Ebola: a tumultuous 2019 – in pictures
Around the world people took to the streets in pro-democracy protests, while extreme weather, disease and violence wreaked havoc in some of the most vulnerable communities. But amid disaster, new grassroots leaders came to the fore, women fought to claim their rights and radical treatments for diseases were trialled
Continue reading...2019: the year in US protests – in pictures
Tens of thousands of teachers walked off the job in Los Angeles, American women gathered for their third annual march in Washington, Iowans protested abortion bans, Texans declared Donald Trump ‘not welcome’ in El Paso and students in New York City rallied around Greta Thunberg in calling for action on climate change
Continue reading...Macron forced to step in to defuse crisis over pension changes
French president to address 25-day strike and widespread protests in new year speech
Emmanuel Macron will be forced to speak out on France’s ongoing pensions strike in his televised new year address on Tuesday as transport stoppages look likely to continue into a fifth week, causing major disruption over the holiday period and into January.
The centrist French president, who made overhauling the country’s pensions system a key election pledge, has until now refrained from intervening personally, leaving his prime minister, Edouard Philippe, to deal with the day-to-day response to the crisis.
Continue reading...Hong Kong police use pepper spray against people in ‘shopping protest’ – video
Police used pepper spray and batons against protesters in a village on the border with mainland China and arrested dozens of people. More than 100 protesters marched through a shopping centre in rural Sheung Shui, part of a series of demonstrations intended to disrupt business that have been taking place since Christmas Eve
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