Advocates and militia members gather in Virginia’s state capitol to protest potential gun control measures
Continue reading...Category Archives: Protest
‘Hong Kong is at a crossroads’: inside prison with the student who took on Beijing
Political activist Joshua Wong was 20 when he was sentenced in 2017 to six months for his role in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy ‘umbrella movement’
The last words I said before I was taken away from the courtroom were: “Hong Kong people, carry on!” That sums up how I feel about our political struggle. Since Occupy Central – and the umbrella movement that succeeded it – ended without achieving its stated goal, Hong Kong has entered one of its most challenging chapters. Protesters coming out of a failed movement are overcome with disillusionment and powerlessness.
Continue reading...Greenpeace included with neo-Nazis on UK counter-terror list
Exclusive: Extinction Rebellion and Peta also named in anti-extremism briefing alongside Combat 18 and National Action
A counter-terrorism police document distributed to medical staff and teachers as part of anti-extremism briefings included Greenpeace, Peta and other non-violent groups as well as neo-Nazis, the Guardian has learned.
The guide, produced by Counter Terrorism Policing, is used across England as part of training for Prevent, the anti-radicalisation scheme designed to catch those at risk of committing terrorist violence.
Continue reading...Iran’s ambassador to UK summoned over Tehran envoy arrest – as it happened
Follow the latest updates as ambassador summoned to see UK’s Middle East minister
- Iranian police fired live rounds to disperse protesters, say witnesses
- A visual guide to the Iran plane crash
This was an unacceptable breach of the Vienna convention and it needs to be investigated. We are seeking full assurances from the Iranian government that this will never happen again. The FCO has summoned the Iranian ambassador today to convey our strong objections.
In a series of viral tweets, the head of a Canadian packaged meat company has lashed out at Donald Trump, suggesting the US president bears culpability for Iranian missiles that brought down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 last week. Most of the 167 passengers on board were bound for Canada.
“U.S. government leaders unconstrained by checks/balances, concocted an ill-conceived plan to divert focus from political woes. The world knows Iran is a dangerous state, but the world found a path to contain it; not perfect but by most accounts it was the right direction,” wrote Michael McCain, the chief executive of Maple Leaf Foods, calling Trump a “narcissist”who has destabilised the Middle East.
I’m Michael McCain, CEO of Maple Leaf Foods, and these are personal reflections. I am very angry, and time isn’t making me less angry. A MLF colleague of mine lost his wife and family this week to a needless, irresponsible series of events in Iran...
Continue reading...Iranian police fired live rounds to disperse protesters, say witnesses
Several people wounded during demonstrations in Tehran over plane deaths
Iranian authorities fired live ammunition to disperse protesters in Tehran, wounding several people, according to witness accounts provided to the Guardian and footage circulating on social media.
Hundreds of protesters on Sunday defied a heavy security presence in the Iranian capital to hold vigils and demonstrations throughout the day and march in the evening on Azadi Square in the centre of the city.
Continue reading...Anti-government demonstrations erupt in Iran over downed plane – video report
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...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'
- Dominic Raab warns Iran of 'pariah' status after ambassador arrest
- 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.
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