Latest Protests and demonstrations News

Voter turnout plunges below 30% in Hong Kong election after rules shut out pro-democracy candidates

Dec. 10, 2023 21:23 PM EST

HONG KONG (AP) — Voter turnout plunged below 30% in Hong Kong’s first district council elections since new rules introduced under Beijing’s guidance effectively shut out all pro-democracy candidates, setting a record low since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. ...

Hong Kong holds first council elections under new rules that shut out pro-democracy candidates

Dec. 10, 2023 13:37 PM EST

HONG KONG (AP) — Residents went to the polls on Sunday in Hong Kong's first district council elections since an electoral overhaul was implemented under Beijing's guidance of “patriots” administering the city, effectively shutting out all pro-democracy candidates. Turnout is...

Iran bans Mahsa Amini's family from traveling to accept the European Union’s top human rights prize

Dec. 10, 2023 08:43 AM EST

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian authorities banned members of the late Mahsa Amini's family from traveling to accept the European Union’s top human rights prize on her behalf, a civil rights monitor reported. Amini's death while in police custody in 2022 sparked nationwide protests...

Bangladesh opposition party holds protest as it boycotts Jan. 7 national election amid violence

Dec. 10, 2023 04:30 AM EST

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Hundreds of opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party supporters protested Sunday to mark International Human Rights Day, as the country gears up for a general election on Jan. 7 that the opposition says should be held under a non-partisan, caretaker government. ...

Protests at UN climate talks, from cease-fire calls to detainees, see 'shocking level of censorship'

Dec. 09, 2023 20:13 PM EST

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Activists designated Saturday a day of protest at the COP28 summit in Dubai. But the rules of the game in the tightly controlled United Arab Emirates at the site supervised by the United Nations meant sharp restrictions on what demonstrators could say, where...

Polish truck drivers are blocking the border with Ukraine. It's hurting on the battlefield

Dec. 09, 2023 16:20 PM EST

KORCZOWA, Poland (AP) — Pickup trucks and tourniquets bound for Ukraine’s battlefield are among items stuck in a mileslong line at the border with Poland. Components to build drones to fight off Russian forces are facing weeks of delays. Ukrainian charities and companies...

Observers see OPEC 'panicking' as COP28 climate talks focus on possible fossil fuel phase-out

Dec. 09, 2023 14:13 PM EST

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Veteran negotiators at the United Nations climate talks Saturday said that the push to wean the world from dirty fossil fuels had gained so much momentum that they had poked a powerful enemy: the oil industry. Late Friday, multiple news sources...

Arkansas man sentenced to 5 1/2 years for firebombing police cars during 2020 protests

Dec. 08, 2023 18:15 PM EST

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The ringleader of a group who admitted to firebombing several police cars in Arkansas during the 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd has been sentenced to five and a half years in federal prison, while three of his co-defendants were sentenced to 18 months...

Russia puts prominent Russian-US journalist Masha Gessen on wanted list for criminal charges

Dec. 08, 2023 15:37 PM EST

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian police have put prominent Russian-American journalist and author Masha Gessen on a wanted list after opening a criminal case against them on charges of spreading false information about the Russian army. It is the latest step in an unrelenting...

2 journalists are detained in Belarus as part of a crackdown on dissent

Dec. 08, 2023 15:07 PM EST

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Two journalists were detained in Belarus on Friday, a Belarusian journalist association reported, the latest step in a crackdown against dissent in recent years. Chief editor of the Ranak television channel, Yulia Dauletava, and correspondent Lyudmila...