Protest against coronavirus restrictions turns violent in Brussels

BRUSSELS — Police fired teargas and used water cannons on Sunday to disperse protesters pelting officers with cobblestones and fireworks as a demonstration in Brussels over government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions turned violent.

A few thousand protesters marched peacefully through the center of the Belgian capital to the neighborhood which hosts the headquarters of European Union institutions, where the demonstration reached its endpoint.

In the EU quarter, a group of protesters wearing black hoods and chanting "liberte" (freedom) started to throw stones at the police, who reacted with teargas and water cannons, according to footage and reports from Reuters journalists present.

Demonstrators were protesting rules imposed in October that oblige people to show COVID-19 passes to access bars and restaurants.

"I can't bear discrimination in any form, and now there's the vaccine pass which is discriminatory, sanctions for (unvaccinated) carers which are discriminatory too, there's mandatory vaccination which is heading our way," one protestor, martial arts teacher Alain Sienaort, said.

"That's all discrimination, so we have to fight it. We don't want a dictatorship."

The protest followed new measures announced on Friday to curb one of Europe's highest infection rates, including mandatory mask wearing for most primary school children and a lengthening of the school holidays.

In late November, a much larger number of demonstrators clashed violently with the police in Brussels. That led to dozens of arrests, injuries among police officers, and widespread property damage. 

(Reporting by John Cotton, Sean Carter, and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Jan Harvey)

-reuters-

Thai police fire water cannon, tear gas at latest democracy rally

BANGKOK - Thai police on Tuesday fired water cannon and tear gas on pro-democracy protesters attempting to get close to parliament, where lawmakers were debating possible changes to the military-scripted constitution.

Thailand has seen months of student-led demonstrations demanding reform to the constitution and monarchy, and for the current prime minister to quit.

Several thousand took to the streets around the parliament building Tuesday, where riot police had blocked off roads with concrete and barbed wire.

Police fired water cannon at protesters trying to dismantle a barricade, and later used water laced with irritant, sending demonstrators scrambling to wash their eyes.

Some sheltered behind giant inflatable rubber ducks which protesters had planned to float along the river behind parliament as lawmakers debated inside.

"What are police thinking by firing water cannon at people? The police are serving a dictator," one protest leader said over a loudspeaker. 

At one point police were forced to retreat when protesters threw tear gas canisters back into their lines. Five people were taken to hospital for treatment, medical officials said.

Student-led rallies have rocked Thailand since July, demanding the removal of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha -- who took power in a 2014 coup -- and reform of the military-scripted constitution.

Some in the movement have also called for reforms to the monarchy -- a once-taboo subject -- sending shockwaves through the Thai establishment.

As police and protesters clashed, lawmakers were considering whether to debate seven possible constitutional amendments.

They include a proposal to replace the present military appointments in the Senate with directly elected representatives.

But any constitutional change in Thailand is expected to take a long time and the junta-appointed Senate is unlikely to vote itself out of power.

Protesters insisted they just wanted to listen to the parliamentary debate.

Several opposition lawmakers came out of parliament to observe the protest and try to urge the police not to crack down hard on demonstrators.

Taopipop Limjittrakorn, an MP from the pro-reform Move Forward Party said police were ignoring pleas to de-escalate the situation.

"Police should not be overly violent and threaten them," he told reporters.

One group of protesters confronted several hundred ultra-royalist supporters who were staging their own rally, with the two sides throwing bottles and other objects at each other.

The royalists are against all proposals to change Thailand's 2017 constitution, saying they would undermine the monarchy.

Parliament is expected to vote on Wednesday on which constitutional amendments bills will be debated.

Agence France-Presse

Trump's actions rattle the military world: 'I can't support the man'

Erin Fangmann grew up in a military family, has been married to a captain in the Air Force for 18 years and has voted Republican all her life, including for Donald Trump. But as with a number of other veterans, troops and military family members who have watched the president with alarm, her support has evaporated.

“He has hurt the military,” said Fangmann, who lives in Arizona, one of several states in play this November with a high percentage of veterans and active-duty service members. “Bringing in active-duty members to the streets was a test to desensitize people to his future use of the military for his personal benefit. I think the silent majority among us is going to swing away.”

Since 2016, Trump has viewed veterans as a core slice of his base; in that year’s presidential election, about 60% voted for him, according to exit polls, and swing-state counties with especially high numbers of veterans helped him win. Many veterans and members of the military stuck with him even as he attacked the Vietnam War record of Sen. John McCain, disparaged families of those killed in combat and denigrated generals whom he fired or drove from government service. Some conservative rank-and-file enlisted members silently agreed with Trump.

But the president’s threat last week to use active-duty troops on U.S. streets against largely peaceful protesters and his flirtation with invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act have rattled the military world, from its top leaders to its youngest veterans. If they break in significant numbers, they could carry political weight in key battleground states like Arizona, North Carolina and Ohio.

“I have always been a swing voter,” said Amy Rutkowske, an Army veteran and spouse who lives in North Carolina and is volunteering on a House race, the first time she has ever volunteered in politics. “My fundamental understanding is that the president is the commander in chief and that the office demands respect. But I have never wanted a different commander in chief more.”

Some members of the military — who are not permitted to speak about politics publicly — and their families have been posting critically on social media about the president and policies of his that they once supported. Others, who have never been excited about Trump as their commander in chief, have begun to speak out, join protests and volunteer for progressive causes.

They say that Trump has politicized the armed forces — which pride themselves as being above politics and discourage partisan discourse in their ranks — and has threatened the Constitution, both of which they deem last straws.

Of course, many veterans and military personnel still support Trump. Quality recent polling on their views is scant, but some have embraced his America-first campaign message, his focus on military spending and his creation of a new Space Force that has been unexpectedly well-received after initial scoffing.

In the 2018 congressional elections, when support for Democrats surged, 58% of military voters continued to vote for members of Trump’s party, according to exit polls. And those who do turn away from the president now will not automatically support his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden.

Martin Sepulveda, a former commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve who lives in Arizona, said of Trump, “I can’t support the man.” But he added, “Am I a Biden guy? No. I don’t know what I will do. I have been a registered Republican for years.”

But the recent condemnations of Trump from high-level military veterans like Jim Mattis, the former defense secretary and a retired four-star Marine Corps general, have in some cases fortified the shifting views among military members. “The Mattis statement has changed people in some amazing ways,” said Chelsea Mark, a Marine veteran in Florida who works for a veteran service organization. “I went on a veteran hike recently, and I saw someone wearing a Donald Trump T-shirt, and that same person this week was posting anti-police-brutality things on her Instagram.”

On June 5, the same day the Marines issued a ban on displays of the Confederate battle flag at its installations, a retired Marine in dress uniform stood solo in front of the Utah state Capitol in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, with black duct tape across his mouth that read, “I can’t breathe.”

Trump’s moves to use the military against American protesters and looters came after several months of other highly unorthodox moves by his administration involving the military, including the clearing of three members of the armed services accused of war crimes; the firing of Capt. Brett Crozier after he raised alarms about the coronavirus on the aircraft carrier he commanded; the calling back of West Point students during a pandemic so the president could address them for a graduation, which he is set to do Saturday; and the diversion of funds from military projects to pay for a border wall, a move that followed the deployment of troops to the border just before the 2018 midterm elections.

“This is the culmination of all those metronomic choices that have intruded into the military chain of command and culture,” said Kori Schake, director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, who served as a foreign policy adviser on McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. “I do think it is likely to chip away among veterans, just as I believe it will chip away at support with Republicans more broadly.”

Trump’s ordering of the killing of a top Iranian general, which briefly appeared to bring the United States to the edge of war with Iran early this year, was a disappointment to the many veterans and service members who had supported him in part for his promise to end U.S. involvement in overseas conflicts.

“The news of wanting to deploy the military domestically has caused a huge sense of outrage among most families I know,” said Sarah Streyder, director of the Secure Families Initiative, a group that calls for the withdrawal of troops from abroad. “A lot of military families live on Facebook. Social media is very important for this transient community.”

Numerous military spouses concurred. “From what I see from my friends communicating online, spouses have grown much more vocal in opposition to policies,” said Kate Marsh Lord, a Democrat who is married to a member of the Air Force and lives in Virginia but votes in Ohio. “I have seen more spouses speak out on issues of race and lack of leadership than in my entire 15 years as a military spouse.”

Roughly 40% of active-duty service people and reserves are people of color, underlining how the current moment has affected military families.

“People took offense that they were using the military to calm peaceful protests by people of color who were out on the streets,” said Jerry Green, who served in the Army until 1998 and now lives in Tampa, Florida. “When I saw that whole thing unfold, for me, personally, it was awful. I was really distraught.” Green, who is black, will not be supporting Trump, whom he once found interesting, he said.

In North Carolina, Cal Cunningham, a Democrat and a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve who is challenging Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican, is working to capitalize on the military and veteran vote in his state, where Trump recently diverted millions of dollars for military installments to pay for a wall at the Mexican border after Congress blocked its funding.

“Cal’s profile as a military veteran is quite powerful in a state with so many veterans and military members,” said Rachel Petri, a spokeswoman for Cunningham, “not only in communicating with them but also with independent and swing voters who see the military and veterans as part of the state’s DNA.”

Other Democratic groups around the nation are also seeking leverage with the military vote. “We believe that Trump’s support within the military, with military families and with veterans, is soft and receding,” said Jon Soltz, a founder of VoteVets, which has been increasingly successful in electing Democratic veterans. “Our plan for the fall is simple: We’re putting together the most comprehensive, data-driven veteran and military family get-out-the-vote operation the Democratic Party has ever seen, and we will deploy it to ensure Donald Trump is a one-term president.”

-The New York Times-

Russian chefs in naked lockdown protest after virus strips them of income

MOSCOW - Russian restaurant owners stripped of their income by the coronavirus lockdown are campaigning for their businesses to be allowed to reopen by posting pictures of themselves naked on social media.

Hundreds of bar, restaurant and cafe employees have posted photographs of themselves naked with carefully positioned plates, cups, saucepans, bottles, bar stools and napkin holders.

Their demand is for authorities to allow them to start serving clients as the country gradually eases measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

"We are naked because we are left with nothing," said Arthur Galaychyuk, owner of the Relab Family bar chain in the city of Kazan, whose 20 employees took part in the campaign.

Restaurants in Kazan will be allowed to open their summer terraces on June 11 after more than two months of lockdown.

"We don't want to stage a strip show or to fool around, we only want one thing - to work!" said Pavel, a chef from the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, in a post with a group picture of his colleagues wearing only masks and holding kitchenware.

"We don't pose more of a risk than supermarkets, shopping malls, hair salons or public transport," the post said.

Authorities in Novosibirsk have not announced when local restaurants can open.

President Vladimir Putin ordered strict lockdown measures at the end of March shutting all businesses except food stores and pharmacies. The country's regions were allowed to adjust the measures depending on the situation on the ground.

Moscow is in the process of lifting the lockdown and many businesses, including shopping malls, book stores and beauty salons have reopened.

The Russian capital plans to allow cafes and restaurants to open their outside terraces later in June before reopening fully from June 23. Indoor restaurants and bars remain closed in other parts of Russia. 

-reuters-

As protests and violence spill over, Trump shrinks back

WASHINGTON — Inside the White House, the mood was bristling with tension. Hundreds of protesters were gathering outside the gates, shouting curses at President Donald Trump and in some cases throwing bricks and bottles. Nervous for his safety, Secret Service agents abruptly rushed the president to the underground bunker used in the past during terrorist attacks.

The scene Friday night, described by a person with firsthand knowledge, kicked off an uneasy weekend at the White House as demonstrations spread after the brutal death of a black man in police custody under a white officer’s knee. While in the end officials said they were never really in danger, Trump and his family have been rattled by protests near the Executive Mansion that turned violent for a third night Sunday.

After days in which the empathy he expressed for George Floyd, the man killed, was overshadowed by his combative threats to ramp up violence against looters and rioters, Trump spent Sunday out of sight, even as some of his campaign advisers were recommending that he deliver a nationally televised address before another night of possible violence. The building was even emptier than usual as some White House officials planning to work were told not to come in case of renewed unrest.

Thousands of protesters demonstrated peacefully near the White House during the day, but by nightfall, with hundreds still in the streets, the scene turned more volatile as crowds surged forward against lines of riot police with plastic shields as the two sides vied for control of Lafayette Square across from the White House. Protesters threw water bottles, set off fireworks and burned a pile of wood and at least one car.

One of the fires on H Street NW a block from the White House may have spread because soon afterward flames erupted in the basement of St. John’s Episcopal Church, the iconic “church of presidents” attended at least once by every chief executive going back to James Madison, but were soon doused by firefighters. Businesses far away from the White House boarded up to guard against vandalism, and Mayor Muriel E. Bowser ordered an 11 p.m. curfew. The White House turned off at least some of its exterior lights.

Trump remained cloistered inside, periodically sending out Twitter messages like “LAW & ORDER!” until the evening, when he went quiet. While some aides urged him to keep off Twitter, Trump could not resist blasting out a string of messages through the day berating Democrats for not being tough enough and attributing the turmoil to radical leftists.

“Get tough Democrat Mayors and Governors,” he wrote. Referring to his presumptive Democratic presidential opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, he added: “These people are ANARCHISTS. Call in our National Guard NOW. The World is watching and laughing at you and Sleepy Joe. Is this what America wants? NO!!!”

The president said his administration “will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization,” referring to the shorthand for “anti-fascist,” and scheduled a meeting with Attorney General William Barr for Monday morning. But antifa is a movement of activists who dress in black and have used tactics similar to those of anarchists, not an organization with a clear structure that can be penalized under law. Moreover, American law applies terrorist designations to foreign entities, not domestic groups.

By targeting antifa, however, Trump effectively paints all the protests with the brush of violent radicalism without addressing the underlying conditions that have driven many of the people who have taken to the streets. Demonstrations have broken out in at least 75 cities in recent days, with governors and mayors deploying the National Guard or imposing curfews on a scale not seen since the aftermath of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

While Trump has been a focus of anger, particularly among the crowds in Washington, aides repeatedly have tried to explain to him that the protests were not only about him, but about broader, systemic issues related to race, according to several people familiar with the discussions. Privately, Trump’s advisers complained about his tweets, acknowledging that they were pouring fuel on an already incendiary situation.

“Those are not constructive tweets, without any question,” Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only black Republican in the Senate, said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” “I’m thankful that we can have the conversation. We don’t always agree on any of his tweets beforehand, but we have the ability to sit down and dialogue on how we move this nation forward.”

Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor and supporter of Trump, said the president, with election looming in five months, is focused on catering to his core supporters rather than the nation at large. “Trump is far more divisive than past presidents,” Eberhart said. “His strength is stirring up his base, not calming the waters.”

But Trump’s absence rankled the Democrats he was criticizing.

“What I’d like to hear from the president is leadership,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta said on “Meet the Press” on NBC. “And I would like to hear a genuine care and concern for our communities and where we are with race relations in America.”

Some campaign advisers were pressing for a formal address to the nation as early as Sunday. But White House officials, recalling Trump’s error-filled Oval Office address in March about the spread of the coronavirus, cautioned that it was not necessary. Trump quizzed advisers throughout the day Sunday about whether he should give an Oval Office address.

Trump already tried to recalibrate by ripping up his speech at the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday after the launch of the new crewed SpaceX rocket and adding a long passage about Floyd. In the speech, Trump repeated his calls for law and order, but in more measured terms and leavened by expressions of sympathy for Floyd’s family, whom he had called to offer condolences.

Aides were disappointed that the remarks, delivered late Saturday afternoon as part of a speech otherwise celebrating the triumph of the space program, did not get wider attention, but they said they hoped they would break through. Several administration officials said Trump was genuinely horrified by the video of Floyd’s last minutes, mentioning it several times in private conversations over the last few days.

After Trump returned to the White House from Florida on Saturday, he found a White House again under siege. This time, security was ready. Washington police blocked off roads for blocks around the building, while hundreds of police officers and National Guard troops ringed the exterior perimeter wearing helmets and riot gear and holding up plastic shields.

The scene was similar Sunday night as well. Protesters shouted “no justice, no peace,” and “black lives matter” as well as chanting expletives at Trump. Washington icons like the Hay-Adams Hotel and the Oval Room restaurant, damaged from the night before, were boarded up.

Graffiti was spray-painted for blocks, including on the historic Decatur House a block from the White House: “Why do we have to keep telling you black lives matter?”

-Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman, The New York Times-

Truck driver arrested after Minneapolis protest scare

MINNEAPOLIS - A tanker driver was arrested in the US city of Minneapolis Sunday after driving his vehicle at speed on a bridge packed with protesters taking part in an anti-racism march, officials said.

Although there were no immediate reports of protesters being hurt, the driver himself was taken to hospital after being hauled from his vehicle, the governor of Minnesota told reporters. 

"I don't know the motives of the driver at this time but at this point in time, to not have tragedy and many deaths is simply an amazing thing," Tim Walz said.

Television footage showed that several hundred protesters were on the bridge which had been closed to traffic when the truck suddenly appeared. It was not immediately clear if the truck had breached a barricade or had been given permission to enter.

Although he did not drive straight at the bulk of the crowd, the driver showed little sign of slowing down and some of the protesters could be seen desperately running to the side of the road before the truck eventually came to a halt.

In a statement, the local police department said that the unnamed truck driver had been taken to hospital "with non-life threatening injuries".

"He is under arrest. It doesn’t appear any protesters were hit by the truck," it added.

The footage evoked memories of the murder in 2017 of an anti-racism protester in the city of Charlottesville who was killed when a white supremacist drove his vehicle into a crowd.

Minneapolis has been the scene of large-scale protests since last Monday when a black man called George Floyd died while being arrested by a white police officer who pinned his knee on his neck for around eight minutes.

Agence France-Presse

Burning Minnesota

Protesters gather to watch an apartment building burning near the Minneapolis Police third precinct on Wednesday as protests erupt in the aftermath of a police brutality case in Minnesota, United States. A white police officer was caught on a bystander's video pressing his knee into the neck of African-American man George Floyd, who later died at a hospital. 

-reuters-

Meanwhile, in the United States

Two men hold signs as they protest against the state's extended stay-at-home order to help slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as hundreds gather to demonstrate at the Capitol building in Olympia, Washington, U.S. on Sunday. The protesters believe their rights as free citizens are more important than the restrictions being imposed to counter the spread of the disease. 

-reuters-

7 killed, 150 injured in riots in Indian capital

NEW DELHI - At least 7 people were killed and around 150 were injured in clashes between opposing groups in the Indian capital, a police official told Reuters on Tuesday, the deadliest riots in the city since protests against a new citizenship law began over 2 months ago.

"Seven persons, including one head constable of Delhi police, have died," said Anil Mittal, a police officer, adding around 150 persons were injured in the violence on Monday.

The clashes erupted in a northeastern district of the city between thousands of people demonstrating for and against the new citizenship law. Police used tear gas and smoke grenades, but struggled to disperse the stone-throwing crowds that tore down metal barricades and set vehicles and a petrol pump alight.

"Some of the people brought in had gunshot wounds," said Dr Rajesh Kalra, additional medical superintendent at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in New Delhi.

Tensions in parts of the city remained high on Tuesday with schools remaining shut in some areas amid news reports of fresh clashes. At least 5 metro stations in the city were closed.

A fire department official told Reuters that its teams were responding to reports of at least 8 separate cases of arson on Tuesday, linked to fresh protests in the city. One department vehicle was also torched by protesters on Monday, and a small number of firemen were injured in the violence, he added.

The violence on Monday began just as US President Donald Trump began his maiden visit to India. Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are set to meet for talks on Tuesday at a venue located a few miles away from where the clashes occurred.

At a press conference early on Tuesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed for people to maintain peace. "Whatever problems people have can be resolved peacefully," he said. "Violence will not help find a solution."

India's Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to meet Kejriwal and police officials on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the situation.

India's capital has been a hotbed of protests against the new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which eases the path of non-Muslims from 3 neighboring Muslim-dominated countries to gain Indian citizenship.

This has led to accusations that Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are undermining India's secular traditions. The BJP denies any bias against India's more than 180 million-strong Muslim minority, but objectors have been holding protests and camping out in parts of New Delhi for 2 months.

The violence erupted even as Trump was praising India as being a tolerant country.

"India is a country that proudly embraces freedom, liberty, individual rights, the rule of law, and the dignity of every human being," Trump said while addressing a rally of more than 100,000 people in Modi's home state of Gujarat. "Your unity is an inspiration to the world."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

German cabin crew union threatens Lufthansa strikes after 'failed' talks

BERLIN - German cabin crew union UFO said arbitration talks with Lufthansa on Sunday had failed and its members could stage strikes any time from now on, though they would spare passengers industrial action on Dec. 24, 25 and 26.

In addition to a dispute over pay and pensions, UFO has been at odds with Lufthansa for months over the union's legal status. Lufthansa has said the union's leadership team that took office earlier this year was not elected in a way that met legal requirements.

"Even though we have agreed not to disclose the contents of these talks, unfortunately we must state that there was no solution ... so we failed," UFO spokesman Nicoley Baublies said in a statement after Sunday's talks.

"Industrial action must be expected again any time from now," he added. "The only thing we can disclose to our passengers is that we will leave out the Christmas holidays - specifically December 24, 25, 26."

Industrial action on Monday, Dec. 23, could not be ruled out, he said.

Lufthansa said separately that arbitrators had proposed a further meeting with UFO for early January.

"Lufthansa continues to expect that good solutions can be found for the 22,000 cabin crew members with regard to the arbitration issues," the airline said in a statement. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Hong Kong siege turns campus into scorched battleground

A modern city-center campus disfigured by fire and strewn with debris, its windows smashed and graffiti covering the red-brick walls -- a Hong Kong university has become the epicenter of the city's nearly six-month crisis.

Cornered and increasingly desperate, a hard core of young pro-democracy protesters found themselves holed up at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) late Monday, running out of supplies and options, with police waiting outside.

The English word "freedom" was spray-painted in cursive letters on a walkway, where a discarded piece of clothing lay after some protesters had changed their black attire and made a dash for escape.

Many were arrested by riot police who dragged those they caught along a footbridge, striking out with batons and, in incidents filmed and shared on social media, appearing to stamp on the necks of some prone protesters.

What began as an energetic, well supplied and tightly organized campus occupation -- with a stocked and staffed canteen, yoga mats and blankets to sleep on, and a defiant spirit of volunteerism -- gave way to despair as the siege wore on.

Facing arrest or a crackdown and with nowhere to go, the mood among protesters inside the campus was increasingly desolate as night fell on Monday.

Some slumped on chairs, exhausted from two days of running battles. Others cried, consoled by friends.

"There is no way we can get out of the university safely now," said one 19-year-old, without giving a name.

Supplies of bottled water and fresh food were dwindling, while warnings issued by authorities outside were turning increasingly stark.

Calls were made on phones with depleted batteries throughout the day to family, friends and lawyers. One man sitting alone in a canteen broke off from his lunch and sobbed.

Hong Kong's protests started in June in opposition to a now-shelved bill that would have allowed extraditions to China.

But the demonstrations quickly spun out into a wider pro-democracy struggle, and angry calls for police accountability.

High stakes

PolyU, which boasts a Zaha Hadid-designed tower and a reputation for advancing working-class students, has in the past two days staged the most sustained and intense clashes seen in nearly half a year of unrest.

Sporadic fires flared throughout Monday around the campus entrances, lit by protesters as defensive barriers.

The stakes for those inside are high.

Police, who have declared the scene a riot zone, on Monday reiterated their threat to charge anyone found inside without good reason with rioting -- which can carry up to 10 years in jail.

Local police commander Cheuk Hau-yip urged protesters to surrender and face the law, warning police would use live rounds if confronted with dangerous weapons.

"Don't press our bottom line," he said in a press conference on Monday.

"I did not do anything that can prove I was involved in the riot," the unnamed 19-year-old student said. 

"But I am afraid they will use extreme violence against the people in here."

On Sunday police said an officer was struck in the leg by an arrow. Protesters had seized sports bows from university storerooms and fashioned homemade catapults to fire bricks at police lines from PolyU's rooftop, each successful hit greeted with cheers.

Families of besieged protesters kept up an emotional vigil on a footbridge leading to the campus, many holding placards reading "save the children" and urging the public to help stop the siege.

But for those who escaped through a gauntlet of baton-wielding riot cops on Monday, the fear is that the police are in a mood to press home their advantage.

"They want to grab this chance to catch all the radical protesters," Isaac, 18, who escaped on Monday told AFP.

"We are afraid that if we lose this battle... we lose the whole revolution."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Protesters set fire to hold off police at Hong Kong campus

HONG KONG, China- Pro-democracy demonstrators holed up in a Hong Kong university campus set the main entrance ablaze Monday after police surrounding the building warned they may use live rounds, deepening fears over how nearly 6 months of unrest across the city will end. 

The violence extended a dangerous new phase of the crisis, which over the past week has seen schools shut down, roads barricaded and Chinese soldiers briefly leave their local barracks to clean up streets. 

China has refused to budge on any of the protesters' key demands, which include free elections for the city of 7.5 million people.

China has instead repeatedly warned it will not tolerate any dissent, and concerns are growing it could intervene militarily to quell the unrest.

On Monday several loud blasts were heard around dawn before a wall of fire lit up an entrance to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), AFP reporters said, as what appeared to be a police attempt to enter the campus was repelled by protesters determined to hold their ground.

Police said they had fired 3 live rounds in the early hours of Monday at a protest site near the university but that no one appeared to have been hit.

INTENSE CLASHES

Intense clashes on Sunday, which saw a police officer hit in the leg by an arrow and protesters meet police tear gas with volleys of petrol bombs, rolled overnight across the Kowloon district, as a call went out to defend the besieged campus.

There, protesters had hunkered down under umbrellas from occasional fire from police water cannon and hurled Molotov cocktails at an armored vehicle, leaving it ablaze on a flyover near the campus.

Police declared the campus a "riot" scene -- rioting is punishable by up to 10 years in jail -- and blocked exits as spokesman Louis Lau issued a stark warning in a Facebook live broadcast.

"I hereby warn rioters not to use petrol bombs, arrows, cars or any deadly weapons to attack police officers," he said.

"If they continue such dangerous actions, we would have no choice but to use the minimum force necessary, including live rounds, to fire back."

Hong Kong police routinely carry sidearms, but until now they have only used them in isolated incidents during running street clashes with protestors. Three people have been shot, none of them fatally. 

Faced with large groups throwing bricks and Molotov cocktails, the police have mostly relied on tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets as dispersal tools, but the new warning suggests a more active use of live rounds to counter the unrest.

'HELPLESS'

Fear gripped protesters still inside the campus -- whose occupation is a twist in tactics by a leaderless movement so far defined by its fluid, unpredictable nature.

One 19-year-old, who gave her name as "K", said there was desperation among the 200 demonstrators she estimated remained.

"Some people were crying badly, some were furious, some agonizing because they felt hopeless as we were left no way out of the campus.

"We don’t know when the police will storm in."

A few hundred meters from the campus, protesters erected barricades in the Tsim Sha Tsui and Jordan areas.

One 16-year-old, who gave his name as Joshua, said it was an attempt to draw police attention away from the university.

'BLOSSOM EVERYWHERE'

The nearly 6 months of unrest has rocked previously stable Hong Kong, tipping the international financial hub into recession and frightening off tourists.

What began as a series of mostly peaceful demonstrations against a now-shelved bill to allow extradition to the Chinese mainland has morphed into wider calls for democracy and an inquiry into alleged police brutality.

Violence has worsened this month, with two men killed in separate incidents. 

Demonstrators last week engineered a "Blossom Everywhere" campaign of blockades and vandalism, which forced the police to draft in prison officers as reinforcements, shut down sections of Hong Kong's transport network and closed schools and shopping malls.

Chinese President Xi Jinping last week issued his most strident comments on the crisis, saying it threatened the "one country, two systems" model under which Hong Kong has been ruled since the 1997 handover from Britain.

Chinese state media remains robustly hostile to the demonstrations, and frequently urges Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam to brook no compromise.

On Saturday dozens of soldiers from Chinese People's Liberation Army briefly left their Hong Kong barracks to help clean-up the streets.

It was a rare and symbolic operation, as the troops are normally confined to barracks and are meant to be only called out in a time of emergency.

Chinese defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian on Monday defended the clean-up operation, as he repeated warnings from Beijing that the military had the capabilities to quell the unrest.

"Ending violence and restoring order is the most pressing task we have in Hong Kong," Wu said in Bangkok.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

It's Bolivia's turn

A supporter of former President Evo Morales holds a Bolivian flag during clashes with police in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday. Bolivia's new interim president Jeanine Anez faces the challenge of stabilizing the nation and organizing national elections within three months at a time of political disputes that pushed Morales to fly off to self-exile in Mexico after 14 years in power.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Chile's middle class takes to streets over crushing debt

It is not poverty that is driving Chile's middle class into the streets to join massive protests: it is debt, brought on by sky-high private health and education costs that have created an economic fragility many find unbearable.

That is why so many have taken part in two weeks of social upheaval, protesting against the economic policies of Chile's ruling elite.

Chile has an economic record that is the envy of Latin America: poverty has never been lower, dropping from 40 percent to less than 10 percent in 30 years, and transforming this country of 18 million into one where middle class citizens are the majority.

But for many, the ultra-liberal economic model inherited from the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship (1973-90) -- which privatized water, health, education and pensions -- has generated a "permanent worry" about unexpected expenses.

Nicolas Achondo, 33, was forced to close his restaurant.

After paying bills, wages and taxes, he had nothing left for private health insurance.

A motorbike accident left him owing thousands of dollars for treatment.

"I couldn't pay, they put me on the debtors list. That closes all doors to you: you can no longer get a bank loan or rent an apartment," he said.

"I no longer had access to credit and my business started generating debts. It's very unfair."

Thanks to help from his family, he managed to pay off his debts but has no capital to relaunch his restaurant business. He now wants to emigrate to Canada.

"We don't get state subsidies. The only thing we can do is access bank loans to pay for housing, health, education, clothing," said Achondo.

His parents suffered the same fate. They owned a video store in the 1980s-90s but fell victim to evolving technology.

They managed to pay for their two eldest children's private education without needing loans, but could not afford the same for their younger two children, both of whom are in the vastly inferior public school system.

- 'With or without uterus' -
Marisol Berrios, a social worker, took out loans to pay for her two children's higher education.

"Now they're both university professors but they have insecure contracts. They receive the minimum wage and have no health care."

In a model with minimal state intervention, profitability is king.

As is often is the case, women are the hardest hit. They have to pay up to three times as much as men for health insurance when they want children.

"There are 'with uterus' contracts and 'without uterus' contracts that are cheaper. You pay a higher percentage when you're fertile," said Berrios.

Women also pay more in old age, says the 59-year-old, who admits to fearing retirement.

"I will retire in one year and my pension will be 170,000 pesos ($230)," said Berrios, who currently earns 1.2 million pesos ($1,620) a month.

"I went into depression about it this summer."

Health, education and pensions may be the biggest worries but on top of that are increases in electricity costs, a proliferation of motorway tolls around Santiago and an unregulated medication market.

For fed-up Chileans, it's this accumulation of expenses that weighs so heavily.

It was against this backdrop that a seemingly innocuous 3.75 percent hike in the price of a metro ticket lit a fuse under decades of pent-up frustration.

In a bid to douse the flames of discontent, conservative President Sebastian Pinera announced a raft of social measures: suspending a 9.2 percent hike in electricity bills and an annual 3.5 percent increase in toll charges.

But that didn't calm the public.

"Chile has awoken," has become one of the main slogans of anti-government protesters since October 18.

"We've woken up to the brutality of the system," said Berrios.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

As Hong Kong fights to keep its rights, OFWs in crossfire face losing jobs

HONG KONG—As Hong Kong entered its 20th weekend of anti-government demonstrations, triggered by the now-withdrawn fugitive bill, some Filipino domestic workers say they are facing termination as their employers have decided to relocate overseas.

Hong Kong on Wednesday, Oct. 23, formally announced the withdrawal of the extradition bill that would have allowed the transfer of criminal suspects it does not have an extradition treaty with such as Macau, Taiwan, and mainland China. The demands of the protests have since grown, among them an independent probe into alleged police brutality, amnesty for arrested protesters, categorizing the protests as riots as those convicted could face a hefty jail term of up to 10 years, and universal suffrage.

Among those preparing for her termination is "Roberta" (not her real name), a Filipino domestic worker who has been with her Indian employers for eight months. 

Her employers are due to relocate to Singapore within the year, as their family would often find themselves caught in the crossfire between police and protesters in Kowloon. Roberta has been working in Hong Kong for eight years. She is due to return to the Philippines this month for a two-week vacation and will then break the news to her family. Her employment ends on Nov. 24.

"Actually mga June ganyan, nag-uusap na mga amo namin. Maglilipat na sila ng lugar kasi tinanong na rin nila ako kung nakapunta na ako ng Singapore. Sabi ko, hindi," said Roberta. "Nagbigla din ako kasi nagsabi siya na pupunta na daw silang Singapore, na humanap na daw ako ng bagong amo," she added.

(Actually it was around June when my employers talked about it. They're going to move, because they asked me if I've ever been to Singapore and I told them I've never been. I was taken aback when they said they would move to Singapore, that I needed to start looking for a new employer.)

Despite the current political and economic climate in Hong Kong, Roberta is hopeful she will be able to find new employers here. Singapore, for her, is not an option as domestic workers are paid higher in Hong Kong at 4,520 Hong Kong dollars while Singapore does not have a minimum wage set for maids.

The situation is a double-edged sword for Libeth A.C. and Marie M. who arrived in Hong Kong in May and July, respectively. 

Libeth and Marie are colleagues who work for a British-Chinese man, who is a lawyer, and Hong Kong Chinese woman hotelier, a married couple in their 80s. 

The couple, who owns a 4,500 square-foot house in Clear Water Bay in the New Territories, has told Libeth and Marie's other colleague that they are due to relocate to the United Kingdom this January. The couple employs three maids and two Chinese drivers. They are unaware of the fates of their male colleagues.

While the Filipinos have avoided much of the weekend mayhem, as their rest days are usually on weekdays, but with no fixed day, they consider the termination a blessing because they have complained of abuse from their elderly employers.

"Minsan nanduduro ’yung mga amo namin, hinahagis ’yung plato na aluminum. Nagdadabog. ’Pag may mga basura itatapon sa amin," Libeth told ABS-CBN News.

(Sometimes they would point their fingers at us, throw aluminum plates at us. They would throw tantrums. When there's trash, they would throw it in front of us.)

Marie added: "Masaya po (ako) para makalayo sa kalupitan."

Both domestic workers have children they left behind in the Philippines. They are hopeful they will still find luck in Hong Kong. Prior to Hong Kong, Libeth worked for some years in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, while Marie had spent some three years in the Middle East and two years in Malaysia.

If worse comes to worst, both domestic workers are eyeing Singapore as their next destination. 

"Gusto ko sana du’n na lang sa Pilipinas ulit pero wala pong budget. Negosyo mag-umpisa sana kahit sa maliit pero wala pang ipon," said Libeth.

Marie added: "Sa Pilipinas? Mahirap doon. Walang makukunan ng pagtustusan."

For long-time domestic worker Aurora Villahermosa, a mother of one who has been working in Hong Kong for 27 years, the situation has not affected her French employer of 12 years. But she empathizes with friends who have lost their jobs and are no longer in Hong Kong because their expat employers were forced to migrate elsewhere due to the unrest.

"Napakarami dito na affected talaga. Marami na nga nag-ano . . . ’yung mga expat . . . Dami ng mga kaibigan ko nawalan ng trabaho. Mga iba Korean ang amo at Japanese. Mostly Korean," said Villahermosa. 

(Many are affected. I have many friends who've lost their jobs, some have Korean employers and Japanese. Mostly Korean)

Villahermosa told ABS-CBN News she also has siblings working for Chinese employers. But all appeared to be well with them, too.

" ’Yung mga kapatid ko Chinese mga amo nila s’yempre nag-uusap kami araw-araw. Napag-uusapan ’yang ganyan bagay. Wala naman. ’Yung amo nila wala naman sinasabi sa kanila na sooner or later," said Villahermosa.

(My siblings have Chinese employers. Of course, we speak with each other every day. We talk about these things, but there's nothing. Their employers have not said anything about losing their jobs sooner or later.)

For Rowena Libunao, an OFW in Hong Kong for 19 years now, says she has been with her employer for 12 years. They've also discussed developments in Hong Kong, but are not letting go of her just yet. 

"Sabi niya (employer), if comes things worse (sic), maybe 5 to 10 years, no more helper. But I don't know kung ano totoo. Basta sabi niya, we are safe still. Sabi niya don't worry. You have family here because you stay here for so long. You are my family," Libunao told ABS-CBN News.

(My employer said if things worsen, maybe in five to 10 years, there'd be no more helpers. But I don't know what's true. My employer says we're safe. She said don't worry. You have a family here because you've stayed here for so long. You are my family.)

"’Pag ayaw pa ni amo at sabihin safe ako, stay pa rin dito kasi walang . . . Ewan ko kung may trabaho roon sa Pilipinas na naghihintay. Kung meron, why not, di ba?" Libunao said.

(If my employer doesn't want me to leave yet and I am safe, I'll still stay here. I don't know if there's work waiting for me in the Philippines. But if there is, why not, right?)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Angry over Brexit, thousands to gather in London demanding new referendum

LONDON - The battle over Brexit spills onto the streets of London on Saturday when many thousands of people are expected to march through the city to demand a new referendum just as parliament decides the fate of Britain's departure from the European Union.

After more than three years of tortuous debate, it is still uncertain how, when or even if Brexit will happen as Prime Minister Boris Johnson tries to pass his new Brexit deal and plots a way out of the deepest political crisis in a generation.

The protesters from around the United Kingdom, will gather at Park Lane near Hyde Park at midday and walk down to parliament as lawmakers prepare to vote in the first Saturday session since the 1982 Falklands war.

James McGrory, director of the People’s Vote campaign, which organized the march, said the government should heed the anger of pro-Europeans and hold another referendum on Brexit.

"This new deal bears no resemblance to what people were promised and so it is only right that the public deserve another chance to have their say," he said.

"There can be no better demonstration of the changing will of the people than hundreds of thousands of people on the streets demanding they are listened to as politicians inside parliament take a decision that will affect us for generations."

While Brexit has divided families, parties, parliament and the country, both sides agree that Saturday could be one of the most important days in recent British history: a juncture that could shape the fate of the United Kingdom for generations.

Campaigners are confident that the number of people on the streets will rival a similar demonstration held in March, when organizers said 1 million people took to the streets.

A rally this size would be among the largest ever in Britain.

More than 170 coaches from around Britain are due to arrive in London to take people to the march. Nine coaches left Scotland on Friday evening and 4 left from Cornwall on England’s western tip in the early hours of Saturday.

BREXIT REVERSED?

While such an explicit show of discontent is unlikely to change the course of Brexit, the protest frames the drama in parliament and shows there is still significant support for another EU referendum.

In 2016, 17.4 million voters, or 52 percent, backed Brexit while 16.1 million, or 48 percent, backed staying in the bloc.

Some opinion polls have shown a slight shift in favor of remaining in the European Union, but there has yet to be a decisive change in attitudes and many voters say they have become increasingly bored by Brexit.

Since July 2017 there have been 226 polls asking people whether they support Leave or Remain, according to a poll of polls by YouGov published last week. Of those, 204 have put support for remaining in the EU ahead, 7 have given a lead to leave and a few have been tied.

However, other evidence suggests most voters have not changed their mind: 50 percent of the public want to respect the referendum result, 42 percent want Britain to remain in the EU and 8 percent said they don't know, the largest Brexit poll since 2016 carried out by Comres found.

Supporters of Brexit have repeatedly ruled out holding another referendum, saying it would deepen divisions and undermine support for democracy.

A group of lawmakers in the main opposition Labor Party have put forward an amendment calling for approval of any deal to be put to a second referendum, although this will only be debated if Johnson's agreement is voted down.

The challenge for pro-referendum forces is finding enough support in parliament. In April, when the government held a series of votes on the various Brexit options, a second referendum was the most popular one, but fell short of a majority losing 292 to 280.

Even if another referendum were agreed, it would take months to organize, there would be disputes about the question - and the result would be impossible to predict. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Facebook's Zuckerberg criticizes TikTok for censoring protesters

WASHINGTON - Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday attacked the rapidly growing Chinese short-video app, saying it censored political protest, including in the United States.

While delivering an address on free speech at Georgetown University in Washington, Zuckerberg said Facebook social media platforms like WhatsApp were used by protesters and activists everywhere because of its encryption and privacy protection.

But "on TikTok, the Chinese app growing quickly around the world, mentions of these same protests are censored, even here in the US," he said.

TikTok denied China censors its content, saying it is "not influenced by any foreign government."

Facebook competes directly with TikTok, especially among younger audiences. The app enable users to create and share short singing and dancing videos that are set to well-known songs, with numerous special effect filters.

Zuckerberg, in a recently leaked recording of him speaking with company employees, noted that TikTok was the first successful Chinese internet product worldwide. "It's starting to do well in the US, especially with young folks."

Zuckerberg's Thursday comments came just 2 weeks after Senator Marco Rubio asked a US national security panel to review TikTok owner Beijing ByteDance Technology Co Ltd's acquisition of Musical.ly Inc, arguing TikTok is used by the Chinese government to censor politically sensitive content.

In a letter requesting the review, Rubio noted that despite Hong Kong protests dominating international headlines for months, "the app only had a few videos" of the protests.

Rubio said Chinese-owned apps "are increasingly being used to censor content and silence open discussion on topics deemed sensitive by the Chinese Government and Communist Party."

ByteDance is one of China's fastest growing startups. It owns the country's leading news aggregator, Jinri Toutiao, as well as TikTok, which has attracted celebrities like Ariana Grande and Katy Perry along with legions of US teenagers.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

French police fire teargas, water cannons at protesting firefighters

PARIS — French police fired teargas and water cannons at thousands of firefighters protesting in central Paris on Tuesday over a lack of resources and professional recognition.

The demonstration started off noisily but peacefully, with whistles, smoke and sirens, before the situation got heated and firefighters scuffled with police as they attempted to block a main road.

The police resorted to firing teargas and water cannon at their fellow emergency services professionals.

Dozens more protesters assembled outside the parliament building, dispersing hours later after a stand-off with police

Some brandished banners with slogans such as "Do more with less, welcome to the fire service", while others hit out at what they described as "political contempt" for their cause.

The interior ministry spoke of "isolated" incidents leading to 6 arrests and 3 police officers injured.

"Our numbers are falling, but we're overwhelmed by the number of call-outs. We're being asked to do everything, even replace ambulances. At some point, we just can't do it any more," Mathias Gosse, a 53-year-old firefighter from southwest France, told AFP.

Firefighters' trade unions are demanding higher premiums for fighting fires, to bring them in line with the equivalent bonuses for police.

The firefighters hailed the demonstration a success, putting the number of protesters at between 7,000 and 10,000. Paris police put it at 7,400.

Professional firefighters represent just 16 percent of a total 247,000 throughout France, the vast majority of whom are volunteers.

During their demonstration the firefighters received support from doctors, nurses and ambulance workers, who also denounced shortages in their own services.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Iraq cut the internet, and the economy suffered

When anti-government demonstrations shook Iraq, authorities cut the internet to disconnect protesters and slow sharing of bloody images -- a digital clampdown estimated to have cost the economy nearly a billion dollars.

Officials say 110 people died in the violence in the first week of October, mostly protesters killed by gunshots.

From the second day of unrest, the internet was restricted and the day after authorities ordered it cut entirely.

A fortnight later, while calm has returned to the streets, social media websites are still blocked. The only way around the restriction is to use a virtual private network (VPN) application, which connects to networks outside the country, or via expensive satellite connections.

But for enterprises whose business is conducted online, these workarounds have not prevented heavy losses.

Online sales hit

One online delivery company incurred more than 50 percent losses daily after it lost access to the locations of its clients, businesses and couriers, its finance director told AFP.

Scheduled deliveries were possible using offline maps but the delays cost them customers, the manager said, asking to remain anonymous.

And when they started using the telephone instead of the internet for communicating with clients, bills shot up, compounding losses, he added.

Cyber security NGO NetBlocks estimated the total losses to the Iraqi economy at $951 million (864 million euros).

But this only took into account the seven days of total blackout. Restrictions that continue 12 days later on the 3G mobile network and social media platforms continue to cost the economy an estimated $10 million daily. 

Worst hit are the start-ups that are just starting to flourish in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq -- where online shopping and services are still in their infancy.

Iraq has more than 15,000 digital storefronts on Facebook and Instagram, said an IT professional familiar with the country's digital economy.

"Online sales were totally stopped for 12 days because they are hosted on social networks," the expert said, asking to remain nameless to discuss a sensitive topic.

Normally, each of these pages might make "10 to 15 sales a day for an average of $40 per purchases," he said, estimating losses already into the tens of millions of dollars.

Virtual unemployment, salary cuts

The cuts have also had a social impact in the conservative country, where many find work in the informal economy.

"Many women can't work outside the home," the e-commerce expert noted, adding that working online offered a way to support their families without breaching social norms.

Couriers have also been affected. "According to estimates, more than 400 motorcyclists and 5,000 delivery drivers have been out of work for 12 days," he said.

And travellers who might otherwise make reservations online are calling travel agents to make arrangements.

At one travel company in Baghdad, an employee told AFP they were losing $15,000 in commissions daily.

To retain clients, the agency was making reservations via companies in Iraqi Kurdistan -- the autonomous region where internet is unaffected. 

"We're not making anything on the transaction," the travel agent said. "But at least we're keeping their loyalty for later." 

But while the company was retaining clients, employees were leaving. 

"Four colleagues quit because of the blackout," she said. "They were worried about having no salary at the end of the month and left to look for work elsewhere."

Already, she said, most travel agencies have announced salary cuts of 30 percent.

For now the digital blackout may continue, despite the telecommunications ministry announcing Friday that connections were restored.

Internet service providers however have told their clients they do not know when they will get orders to reconnect the network.

source: news.abs-cbn.com