Category Archives: Protest

Hong Kong protests: Australia issues travel alert as China warns of worst crisis since 1997

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Australia tells tourists there is a risk of violence between protesters and police or ‘criminally linked individuals’

Australians travelling to Hong Kong have been warned to exercise a “high degree of caution” as China said Hong Kong was facing its worst crisis since the former British colony was handed back in 1997.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) said: “There is a risk of violent confrontation between protesters and police, or criminally linked individuals, particularly at unauthorised protests.” Ireland, the UK, and Japan have all issued Hong Kong travel warnings since July.

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Hong Kong’s peace prospects recede amid teargas and smoke

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As protests intensify it is hard to see how deadlock can end without death or serious injury

Over the last few weeks, protesters in Hong Kong have taken to spraypainting traffic barriers, bridges, police stations and more with the words: “If we burn, you burn with us.”

On Monday, much of the city burned under clouds of teargas, hails of rubber bullets, and fires lit by angry protesters facing off against riot police. Protesters and a group of men brawled on the street, hitting each other with wooden rods and traffic cones. In another neighbourhood, two people were knifed. Three cars rammed through crowds of protesters, injuring one person.

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Hong Kong protesters hold ‘first civil press conference’ – video

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Masked Hongkongers have staged their first press conference, calling for the return of power to the people. 'We are Hong Kong citizens from different positions from the movement,' one masked man said. 'This is the first civil press conference of Hong Kong – by the people, for the people.' The city's chief executive, Carrie Lam, had announced this week that the police force would be holding daily press conferences. In response, a group of protesters have 'initiated a citizens' press conference to bring the people’s unheard voice to the public'. 

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Masked Hongkongers dismiss government warnings amid fresh fears of China thugs

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Hongkongers stage first press conference to challenge government’s ‘empty rhetoric’ on protests after fresh clashes

Masked Hongkongers have staged their first press conference, calling for the return of power to the people and the pursuit of democracy, as protest groups and authorities attempt to control the narrative of the events that have shaken the city for more than two months.

“Netizens have initiated the citizens’ press conference, to bring the people’s unheard voice to the public and to highlight the repeated condemnations and empty rhetoric presented by the HKSAR [Hong Kong special administrative region] government,” said an unidentified speaker wearing a yellow hard hat, which has become a symbol of the protest movement, accompanied by a sign language translator.

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Hong Kong protesters clash with police and group of armed men

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Citywide general strike descends into chaos as officers fire teargas and rubber bullets

Hong Kong protesters have clashed with police and fought off a group of men armed with poles as political unrest continues to roil the city.

A citywide strike accompanied by rallies in seven districts devolved into chaos on Monday evening as thousands of protesters fanned out across the city, occupying roads, disrupting traffic, and vandalising police stations and other public buildings.

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Environmental activist murders double in 15 years

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Death toll almost half that of US troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001, data shows

Killings of environmental defenders have doubled over the past 15 years to reach levels usually associated with war zones, according to a study that reveals how murders of activists are concentrated in countries with the worst corruption and weakest laws.

At least 1,558 people in 50 states were killed between 2002 and 2017 while trying to protect their land, water or local wildlife, says the analysis, which calculates the death toll is almost half that of US troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.

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Hong Kong protests: fights break out and police fire teargas – video

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Chaos erupted on the streets of Hong Kong on Monday as the city entered its ninth consecutive week of anti-government protests. In North Point, protesters clashed with a group of men carrying sticks, while riot police deployed teargas in various parts of the city to disperse demonstrators

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Violence, strikes and chaos as protests sweep Hong Kong – in pictures

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For the ninth consecutive weekend pro-democracy protesters rallied on the streets of Hong Kong against a controversial extradition bill. As clashes between protestors and police became more violent, Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, apologised for introducing the extradition bill and declared it ‘dead’. However protesters – who are calling for Lam’s resignation and for the complete withdrawal of the bill – continued to draw huge crowds

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Hong Kong protesters use flashmob tactics to evade police

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Mass demonstrations continue ahead of city-wide strike and protests in seven districts

Protesters have taken to the streets of Hong Kong for another round of mass anti-government demonstrations as political unrest continues to roil the city.

Ahead of a city-wide strike and simultaneous protests in seven districts, on Sunday night protesters evaded and frustrated the police by holding flashmob demonstrations. Groups of protesters scattered, switching locations at the last minute and disappearing before riot police were able to arrive en masse.

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Hong Kong protests: police arrest more than 20 after violent clashes

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Tense standoffs follow peaceful march with police resorting to teargas and pepper spray on third consecutive day of mass protest

Demonstrators in Hong Kong have clashed with riot police as the city entered its third consecutive day of mass protests.

On Sunday, the police said they had arrested 20 people during Saturday’s clashes for offences including unlawful assembly and assault.

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Hong Kong protesters start fire outside police station – video

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Protesters light a fire on the steps outside a police station in Hong Kong as anti-government discontent continues. Police said a large group of protesters had marked the police station, in one of Kowloon's shopping districts, with paint and damaged a vehicle inside. The police said officers had told demonstrators 'to stop their illegal act at once and disperse peacefully'. Riot police could be seen outside the police stations in Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok.

Hong Kong police fire teargas in clashes with protesters

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Hong Kong civil servants protest in defiance of loyalty order

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Mass walkout from government offices at start of four days of mass demonstrations

Thousands of civil servants in Hong Kong have protested against the government in a rare display of defiance as the city braces for four consecutive days of mass demonstrations.

The public servants, who are normally politically neutral, defied a government order to remain “totally loyal” to Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, and crowded into a public park near government offices.

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Russian protesters threatened with jail on eve of planned rally

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Move follows police violence during last week’s protests over forthcoming Moscow elections

Russian authorities have threatened protesters in Moscow with lengthy jail sentences in an attempt to dampen an unexpected surge in protest mood before a planned rally on Saturday.

Last weekend police detained a record number of people, some of them violently, for taking part in a peaceful protest in central Moscow over access for opposition candidates to local elections in September.

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Taking Macron down: climate protesters strip French town halls of portraits

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More than 100 portraits of president removed in symbolic civil disobedience movement

It was a quiet Monday afternoon in the picturesque town hall of Lingolsheim, outside Strasbourg. The school summer holidays had started and it was exceptionally hot. But at 4pm something extraordinary happened.

Eleven people calmly walked in, politely greeted the receptionists, then headed to the room usually reserved for council meetings. They carefully unhooked the picture of the French president, Emmanuel Macron – the type of portrait that hangs in all local administration buildings – gently placing it in a special protective pouch, and then walked out.

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Hong Kong protests: China releases dramatic army propaganda video

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Chinese military garrison chief in Hong Kong says army is determined to protect China’s sovereignty, stoking fears of intervention

China has released a dramatic video showing off its army’s capabilities as the head of the armed forces in Hong Kong said the unrest in the province had seriously threatened the life and safety” of the people and should not be tolerated.

The commander of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) garrison in Hong Kong warned it was “determined to protect national sovereignty, security, stability and the prosperity of Hong Kong”.

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Obscene texts and corruption: the downfall of Puerto Rico’s governor – podcast

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Mass protests triggered by leaked text messages have led to the resignation of Ricardo Rosselló. Oliver Laughland discusses his time on the island. And: Larry Elliott on why sterling is at a 28-month low

Hundreds of thousands of people have lined the streets of Puerto Rico over the past couple of weeks in some of the largest demonstrations in the US territory’s history. They began in response to hundreds of pages of leaked text messages between the governor, Ricardo Rosselló, and 11 members of his inner circle, which made homophobic and sexist jokes and mocked the victims of Hurricane Maria.

However, the problems go further back than July. The Rosselló administration has been plagued by allegations of corruption and mismanagement during the response to Hurricane Maria. Shortly before the messages were leaked, the FBI arrested five former government officials and contractors accused of misappropriating millions of dollars in federal funds given to the island after the disaster.

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Hong Kong police officer threatens protesters with shotgun – video

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Police have clashed with protesters outside Kwai Chung police station where dozens of demonstrators are being held. Protesters gathered outside the police station after authorities announced that 44 arrested protesters would appear in court. One officer was seen brandishing a shotgun at the protesters. On the other side of Hong Kong, at least 10 people were injured after a vehicle launched fireworks at pro-democracy protesters in Tin Shui Wai. The crowd at Tin Shui Wai police station were also calling for the release of three protesters. A black Toyota reportedly shot fireworks at the crowd in the early hours of the morning


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Hong Kong protesters charged with rioting as violence flares

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Supporters gather outside court where accused appeared, chanting ‘liberate Hong Kong’

More than 20 people have appeared in court in Hong Kong charged with rioting, as hundreds of supporters gathered outside the building chanting “revolution of our time” and “liberate Hong Kong”.

The hearings marked the first time authorities have resorted to the serious charges of rioting since the beginning of a wave of unrest that has plunged the former British colony into its biggest political crisis since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.

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Mexico president accused of hypocrisy for backing tough anti-protest laws

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Andrés Manuel López Obrador – who made his name as a protester – backs laws that could see activists jailed for 20 years

Mexico’s president – a man who made his name blockading Pemex petroleum installations in southeastern Tabasco state – has been criticised over his support for a state law prohibiting protests.

On Monday, Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s partisans in Tabasco approved legislation that metes out stiff punishment for protests, including prison sentences of up to 20 years for blocking access to businesses and 13 years for impeding work on public works projects.

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Alexei Navalny: Russian opposition leader may have been poisoned, says doctor

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Politician was taken to hospital from jail where he was detained over call for protests

The Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny remains in hospital after being rushed there on Sunday morning with symptoms that one of his doctors said could indicate poisoning.

Navalny was taken to hospital from jail, where he was serving a 30-day sentence after being arrested last week for calling people to attend an anti-government protest.

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