Thousands of people swept into the streets of Hong Kong for a night of violent protests after the government activated sweeping colonial-era powers for the first time in over half a century, using them to ban face masks. After darkness fell, crowds set fire to two metro stations and vandalised shops and businesses considered pro-China, leading riot police to respond with teargas
Continue reading...Category Archives: Protest
Iraq protests: police open fire on demonstrators as death toll rises – video
Security forces in Iraq opened fire on protesters in Baghdad despite the prime minister's plea for calm and promise of reform. The protests, which have been fuelled by rage over poor living standards and alleged corruption, have escalated by the day since they first erupted on 1 October.
On Friday, hundreds of people, including members of the security forces as well as demonstrators, were wounded when police opened fire on protesters. The death toll has now risen to more than 40 dead
- Iraq death toll rises as police open fire on protesters in Baghdad
- Corruption will not be solved by 'wishing it away', Iraqi government warned
Ecuador declares state of emergency over violent fuel price protests – video
Police in Quito have used teargas and horses to quell a violent protest over rising fuel prices, which triggered transport disruption nationwide. Taxi, bus and truck drivers blocked the streets during the demonstration, which was supported by indigenous groups, students and trade union members.
Ecuadorians were angered by President Lenín Moreno's decision to end subsidies for fuel after 40 years. Diesel and petrol prices are expected to more than double
Continue reading...Iraqi cleric appeals for calm as forces face off with protesters
At least 44 dead and hundreds injured after four days of anti-government demonstrations
Protesters have defied nationwide curfews in parts of Iraq, taking to the streets in increasing numbers and facing off with security forces in ever more deadly confrontations that had killed at least 44 people by Friday night.
As the country was paralysed by a fourth day of anti-government demonstrations, the country’s top Shia cleric, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, issued a stark warning to both sides to end the violence “before it’s too late”.
Continue reading...Face mask ban provokes fresh protests in Hong Kong – video
The Hong Kong leader, Carrie Lam, has banned people from wearing face masks during protests and in all public assemblies by invoking rarely used emergency powers, prompting thousands of people to take to the streets against the measure. Pro-democracy demonstrators have used masks to hide their identities in the past four months of escalating tensions with the Chinese government, and officials are hoping a ban may dissuade many from participating
Hong Kong protests: journalist blinded in one eye amid mounting violence
Journalists’ association files judicial review over treatment of media and ‘excessive force’
An Indonesian journalist hit in the face by a rubber bullet during protests in Hong Kong has been permanently blinded in one eye, her lawyer has said, in what is the most serious injury among members of the media since the movement began in June.
There are growing concerns about the threat to journalists from the escalating violence, and an increasingly hostile climate that saw one reporter arrested on Tuesday, after several others were injured by police and one by protesters in a day of chaotic violence. All were wearing high-visibility jackets and “press” markings.
Continue reading...Corruption won’t be solved by ‘wishing it away’, Iraqi government warned
Iraq PM’s adviser claims violent protests can only be addressed by tackling corruption head-on
A head-on confrontation with institutionalised corruption among Iraqi politicians is the only way to address the protests gripping the country, a senior adviser to the country’s beleaguered prime minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, has warned.
But admitting that Mahdi may not have the political capital to fight the corruption, Laith Kubba said: “We have problems with those political groups who have their grip over money, banks and power, and rooted to corruption. It is a problem and there is no real answer to it.
Continue reading...At least seven killed as Iraqi security forces fire on protesters
More violence marked second day of angry rallies against unemployment and corruption
At least seven people have been killed and dozens wounded in clashes across Iraq, as security forces fired live ammunition and teargas for the second day to disperse anti-government protesters demanding jobs, improved services and an end to corruption.
The deaths brought the overall number of protesters killed in two days of violence to nine. Protests on Tuesday had left two dead – one in Baghdad and another in the city of Nasiriyah – and over 200 wounded.
Continue reading...‘This means war’, says Hong Kong protester at school sit-in after teenager shot – video
Hundreds of college students have staged a sit-in in Hong Kong to condemn the police officer who shot a teenager in the chest during protests on China's National Day. At a news conference outside Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial college, where the teenager is a student, a masked protester called for a new government and said 'this means war'
Continue reading...Hong Kong protester shot as China National Day demonstrations intensify – video
Hong Kong police shot an 18-year-old protester in the chest with live ammunition as demonstrations in the city intensified.
The incident came as many Hongkongers defied a ban on demonstrations on the day marking the 70th anniversary of communist rule in China.
Protests called to mark a 'national day of grief' saw tens of thousands of people demonstrate across the city in what was the most widespread show of public anger towards Beijing yet.
Hong Kong protesters rain on China’s anniversary parade
Beijing’s carefully planned celebrations turned into a PR disaster for Xi Jinping
October 1 was meant to be a carefully choreographed showcase of China’s military and economic might on the 70th anniversary of communist rule, and a celebration of the strongman president, Xi Jinping.
But after a picture-perfect parade was beamed around the world from Beijing, the one part of the country that is not under his full control ripped up the playbook, with the people of Hong Kong pouring on to the streets to challenge Xi’s vision for China.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protesters and police exchange blows in China National Day clashes – video
Violent clashes have rocked Hong Kong as riot police forcefully broke up protesters on the day China celebrated the 70th anniversary of Communist party rule.
The event is the country's most important of the year as it looks to project its assurance in the face of mounting challenges, including nearly four months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong and an economy-sapping trade war with the US
Hong Kong protesters use chairs as barricade during riots – video
Demonstrations in Hong Kong on China's National Day escalated into violence as protesters threw petrol bombs at police, who retaliated with teargas and rubber bullets. One group of protesters made a barricade with three linked chairs as they took cover from police fire
- Hong Kong protester reportedly shot in chest as China National Day demos intensify – live
- Xi Jinping warns ‘no force can shake this great nation’
‘Human rights before mining rights’: German villagers take on coal firm
Residents say they will not be ousted by energy firm seeking to expand the Garzweiler mine
A group of villagers living on the edge of one of Germany’s biggest surface coalmines have vowed not sell their properties to the energy company RWE, and to mount a legal challenge against any attempt to oust them from their homes.
The protest alliance is the first coordinated effort in more than 10 years against the expansion of the Garzweiler mine in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which threatens the existence of 12 villages that are home to 7,600 residents. Demolition of the first four villages is scheduled to begin in 2023.
Continue reading...Protesters hit with teargas and petrol bombs in clashes with police in Hong Kong – video
Police in Hong Kong have used teargas and pepper spray against thousands of protesters who gathered for an unsanctioned march in the Causeway Bay shopping district. The city is bracing for days of protests and clashes culminating in anti-government demonstrations on Tuesday, China’s National Day – a politically significant anniversary marking 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China
Continue reading...Police fire teargas and pepper spray as Hong Kong protests continue
Riot officers confront crowds gathered in Causeway Bay shopping district
Hong Kong police have used teargas and pepper spray on thousands of protesters as demonstrations enter the 17th week in the city’s most serious political crisis in decades.
The protest, which was not sanctioned by police, was scheduled to start at 3pm local time (0800 BST) in the Causeway Bay shopping district, but dozens of riot police began guarding the area hours before. They stopped and searched a number of young people dressed in black.
Continue reading...Teargas and water cannon fired at Hong Kong protesters – video
Teargas and water cannon was fired at Hong Kong protesters by police during a large rally marking the fifth anniversary of the umbrella protests on Saturday 28.
Earlier in the day, activists put posters and banners on the 'Lennon wall' a series of messages through the city calling for democracy
Continue reading...‘Hong Kong can’t go back to normal’: protesters keep Umbrella spirit alive
Police fire teargas at rally marking five-year anniversary of pro-democracy movement
Large numbers of police were on the streets of Hong Kong on Saturday night as officers conducted stop and searches on public transit lines and questioned residents wearing black, the colour adopted by protesters, after a mass rally dispersed to mark the fifth anniversary of the pro-democracy “umbrella movement”.
Protesters changed into civilian clothes in alleys and behind walls of umbrellas in districts close to government headquarters, where earlier police fired a water cannon filled with dye and abrasive liquid from behind defensive barriers.
Continue reading...Greta Thunberg meets Justin Trudeau amid climate strikes: ‘He is not doing enough’
Teen has private meeting with Canadian prime minister, who later says he ‘agrees with her completely’
The teen activist Greta Thunberg has urged Justin Trudeau and other world leaders to do more for the environment as she led half a million protesters in Montreal as part of a global wave of “climate strikes.”
The 16-year-old Swede met privately with the Canadian prime minister but later told a news conference with local indigenous leaders that he was “not doing enough” to curb greenhouse gases responsible for global warming.
Continue reading...Egypt’s Tahrir Square on lockdown as regime moves to stifle protests
Security forces patrol Cairo, a week after rare rallies appeared to catch Sisi regime off guard
Egyptian security forces have blocked access to Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the highly symbolic focal point of the 2011 revolution, as part of a wide-ranging crackdown aimed at heading off planned protests against the president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.
Barricades and checkpoints on surrounding streets and the Qasr al-Nil Bridge diverted traffic on Friday afternoon, and three metro stations underneath the square were closed. Security officials stopped and searched pedestrians in the vicinity.
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