Tag: unrest

Police swoop as Hong Kong protesters try to flee

    by Anthony Wallace / Catherine Lai  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong riot police swooped on pro-democracy protesters trying to flee a university they had set ablaze Monday, in one of the most violent confrontations seen in nearly six months of unrest. Hundreds of demonstrators clashed throughout the day with police who had threatened to use deadly force, as protests also flared in other parts of the city. Monday’s events were part […]

Hong Kong protesters fire arrows at cops and choke city for fourth day

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Pro-democracy protesters challenging China’s rule of Hong Kong on Thursday choked the city for a fourth straight working day, firing arrows at police, barricading roads and disrupting transport links, as schools and businesses closed. The territory has entered its sixth month of protests, which have morphed from mass rallies into a “blossom everywhere” campaign of debilitating disruption by groups of black-clad mainly student demonstrators. Key arterial roads were clogged by […]

Mainland China students flee Hong Kong over protest violence fears

  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Mainland Chinese students have begun fleeing Hong Kong campuses over security fears, police and university officials said Wednesday, as the city’s seething political crisis saw some of its worst violence this week. The most intense clashes on Tuesday occurred at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where pitched battles were fought with the police firing tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets and protesters throwing petrol bombs and bricks, […]

Chaos in Hong Kong as pro-democracy protests ‘blossom everywhere’

  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Pro-democracy protesters Wednesday stepped up a “blossom everywhere” campaign of road blocks and vandalism across Hong Kong that has crippled the international financial hub this week and ignited some of the worst violence in five months of unrest. The new phase in the crisis, which has forced schools and shopping malls to close as well as the shutdown of large chunks of the vital train network, prompted police to […]

Police shoot protester, man set on fire in day of Hong Kong fury

  by Jerome Taylor and Su Xinqi Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — A police officer shot a masked protester in an incident shown live on Facebook and a man was set on fire Monday during one of the most violent days of clashes in Hong Kong since pro-democracy unrest erupted more than five months ago. Protesters, who had already begun a city-wide day of action aimed at paralyzing the international financial hub, […]

Bolivia’s President Morales resigns after losing backing of security forces

  by Francisco JARA Agence France Presse LA PAZ, Bolivia (AFP) — Bolivian President Evo Morales has resigned, caving in following three weeks of sometimes-violent protests over his disputed re-election after the army and police withdrew their backing, sparking wild celebrations in La Paz. “I resign my post as president,” the leftist Morales said Sunday in a televised address, capping a day of fast-moving events in which many ministers and senior officials quit as support […]

Hong Kong student’s death triggers fresh outrage

  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — A Hong Kong student who sustained head injuries when he fell during clashes with police died on Friday, triggering a fresh wave of outrage from the pro-democracy movement and fears of more violent unrest. Alex Chow, a 22-year-old computer science undergraduate, was certified dead on Friday morning, according to the hospital where he was being treated. Chow was taken unconscious to hospital early on Monday morning following late-night clashes […]

Four tourists among 8 wounded in Jordan stabbing

AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) — Eight people, including four tourists, were wounded in a knife attack on Wednesday at the famed archeological site of Jerash in northern Jordan, a security spokesman told AFP. Four tourists — three Mexicans and a Swiss woman — were wounded, along with a Jordanian tour guide and a security officer who tried to stop the assailant, public security directorate spokesman Amer Sartawi said. “The assailant was immediately arrested,” the security directorate […]

15 killed in suspected rebel attacks in Thailand’s south

  by Tuwaedaniya MERINGING with Thanaporn PROMYAMYAI in Bangkok Agence France Presse YALA, Thailand (AFP) — At least fifteen people were gunned down in an ambush by suspected Muslim militants in Thailand’s violence-wracked south, an army spokesman said on Wednesday, one of the bloodiest days in the 15-year insurgency. Thailand’s three southernmost provinces have been in the grip of a conflict that has killed more than 7,000 people, as Malay-Muslim militants fight for more autonomy […]

Thousands defy police in latest Hong Kong march

  by Su Xinqi and Catherine Lai HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Thousands of protesters hit the streets of Hong Kong on Saturday, defying police with an unsanctioned march as the democracy movement shows no signs of abating after nearly five months. Crowds of black-clad protesters, many wearing face masks despite a recent ban, filled Causeway Bay, a popular shopping district, as tensions built with riot police who had flooded the area. The march came […]

Chile launches fresh talks to calm deadly unrest

  by Paulina ABRAMOVICH Agence France Presse SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) — Chile’s government met with opposition leaders Thursday in a fresh bid to end deadly protests that forced the country to abandon hosting two major economic and climate summits, but leftist parties poured scorn on the efforts. The unrest started with protests against a rise in transport tickets and other austerity measures and descended into vandalism, looting, and clashes between demonstrators and police. Protesters are […]

China warns it won’t tolerate dissent in Hong Kong

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — China warned Friday it would not tolerate any challenge to Hong Kong’s governing system, as it laid out plans to boost patriotism in the city and change how its leader is chosen or removed after months of pro-democracy protests. The unrest in the semi-autonomous city was an important topic at a major, four-day meeting of the Communist Party chaired by President Xi Jinping this week in Beijing, said Shen Chunyao, […]