Protest on the grounds of the Michigan State Capital
Raw video of the Take A Stand protest on the grounds of the Michigan State Capital.
Raw video of the Take A Stand protest on the grounds of the Michigan State Capital.
Protests by Israel’s reserve forces took an unusual turn over the weekend as navy veterans donned wetsuits and tried to reach Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private seaside villa by rowing.
South Africa's leftwing opposition launched rallies under heavy security on Monday in a bid to force out President Cyril Ramaphosa over his handling of the country's sickly economy and crippling energy crisis.- Troubled country - The party is demanding Ramaphosa quit over his handling of the economy, chronic electricity shortages and high unemployment.
At least three Kenyan legislators and several protesters have been arrested in protests in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, organized by the opposition demanding the resignation of President William Ruto. Hundreds of demonstrators spread across the city have not managed to reach the designated meeting point in the central business district as police dispersed them with teargas through the morning. The opposition called for protests against Ruto who they say was not validly elected in the August 2022 elections.
Protesters gathered in central Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday, March 20, after the country’s opposition leader called on his supporters to take to the streets to demand transparency on the election of President William Ruto.Footage recorded by @BarrenThoughts shows protesters running down a street in Nairobi’s downtown on Monday afternoon.Local media reported that tear gas was used to disperse protesters in the capital.Raila Odinga, the Kenyan opposition leader, had called on his supporters to take to the streets, after rejecting the election victory of President William Ruto in August last year.The protests were deemed illegal by police on Sunday, but this did not prevent unrest in the capital. Credit: @BarrenThoughts via Storyful
Supporters of opposition stalwart Raila Odinga claim the election was stolen and rally against rising costs.
A group of Israelis describing themselves as reservists in elite military and intelligence units said they would not turn up for some duties from Sunday, escalating protests at the hard-right government's planned judicial overhaul. Members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, which wields a Knesset majority, say they want bills that would limit the authority of the Supreme Court to be written into law by April 2. The plan has stirred concern for Israel's democratic health at home and abroad.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday he hoped his bitterly contested pensions reform plan, forced through parliament without a vote, could complete "its democratic journey", a day before crucial votes in parliament.The controversial legislation, which has led to months of protests in parliament and on the streets, will be adopted in parliament Monday unless either of two motions of no-confidence in the government passes."After months of political and social consultation and more than 170 hours of debate which resulted in the vote of a compromise text between the (two parliamentary chambers)...", Macron expressed his wish "that the text on pensions can go to the end of its democratic journey with respect for all".His words came in a statement issued by the president's office to AFP.If passed, Macron's reform would raise the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 as well as increasing the number of years people must pay into the system to receive a full pension.The government's decision last week to resort to Article 49.3 of the constitution to force the bill through parliament without a vote has prompted anger in the streets after weeks of mostly peaceful protests.Two leading members of the right-wing Republicans party, whose leader has said they will not support no-confidence motions, reported threats and intimidation against them Sunday.Monday's two no-confidence motions have been filed by a small group of centrist MPs and the far-right National Rally.If the no-confidence motions fall, as most observers expect will happen, left-wing deputies have said they will appeal to the Constitutional Council, to challenge the way the government forced through the reform."There will be no majority to bring the government down, but it will be a moment of truth," Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said of the two efforts to unseat the cabinet planned for Monday afternoon.- 'Growing resentment' -The government's decision last week to resort to Article 49.3 of the constitution -- which allows for the forcing of a bill through parliament without a vote -- led to a fourth consecutive day of protests on Sunday."I'm overwhelmed with a feeling of immense anger," Isabelle Desprez, a 54-year-old maths teacher demonstrating in the northern city of Lille, told AFP.Laurent Berger, head of the moderate CFDT union, told Liberation newspaper: "We went from the feeling of being despised to a feeling of anger, in particular because we deprived employees of the result of their protests"."The growing resentment and anger must serve the demonstrations in a peaceful framework and not be politically exploited," he added.A ninth day of strikes and protests is planned for Thursday.Police on Saturday closed Paris' Place de la Concorde opposite parliament for demonstrations following two successive nights of clashes.Some 122 people were arrested as some set rubbish bins on fire, destroyed bus stops and erected improvised barricades around a 4,000-strong demonstration in the capital.On Sunday, police arrested another 17 people as protesters invaded the Les Halles shopping complex in central Paris.Away from the streets of major cities, the CGT said Saturday that workers would shut down France's largest oil refinery in Normandy, warning that two more could follow on Monday.So far, strikers have only prevented fuel deliveries from leaving refineries but not completely halted operations.Industrial action has also halted rubbish collection in much of Paris, with thousands of tonnes of waste now on the streets, even as the government forces some binmen back to work using requisition powers.The government says the pensions reforms are needed to avoid crippling deficits in the coming decades linked to France's ageing population."Those among us who can will gradually need to work more to finance our social model, which is one of the most generous in the world," Le Maire said.But opponents of the reform say the law places an unfair burden on low earners, women and people doing physically wearing jobs, and polls have consistently showed majorities opposed to the changes.On Monday over half a million high school students will begin the first day of the 2023 Baccalaureat exams, against a backdrop of strike threats by supervisors. burs-ea/jj
Kenyan riot police fired tear gas Monday to disperse demonstrators gathered in Nairobi for a day of action called by the opposition to protest the country's punishing cost of living crisis, AFP correspondents said. The government of President William Ruto has vowed to take a tough stance over the demonstrations, which opposition leader Raila Odinga vowed would go ahead despite not receiving police authorisation.Demonstrators also hurled rocks at anti-riot police outside government offices in the capital, while about two dozen people were arrested, including two opposition MPs, correspondents at the scene said."We will be here until they run out of tear gas," said one protester, Markings Nyamweya, 27. In one part of Nairobi's biggest slum Kibera, demonstrators also set tyres alight, AFP journalists said."I want Kenyans to come out in large numbers and show the displeasure of what is happening in our country," Odinga, who narrowly lost last year's election to Ruto, told supporters on Sunday.Kenyans are suffering from surging prices for basic necessities, as well as a sharp drop in the local shilling against the US dollar and a record drought that has left millions hungry."We came here peacefully but they tear gassed us," said Charles Oduor, 21."They lie to us everyday. Where is the cheap maize flour they promised? Where are the jobs for the youth they promised? All they do is hire their friends."Nairobi police chief Adamson Bungei said on Sunday that police received requests to hold two demonstrations only late Saturday and early Sunday, when normally three days' notice is required for public rallies."For public safety, neither has been granted," he said.- 'Skyrocketing' cost of living -Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki warned on Sunday that anyone inciting public disorder or disturbing the peace would be prosecuted."Day of showdown," was the headline in Kenya's The Standard newspaper on Monday.Many businesses in Nairobi were shut ahead of the demonstrations, with some employers telling their staff to work from home.Odinga said he called the demonstrations to protest the "skyrocketing" cost of living and the "stolen" election last August."Since Mr Ruto was sworn in six months ago, he has continued to run the country with a lot of contempt," he said, highlighting the high cost of basics such as fuel, cooking oil, school fees and electricity.Odinga, leader of the Azimio la Umoja party, has long protested that the August election was fraudulent and denounced Ruto's government as "illegitimate".According to official results, Odinga -- who was making his fifth bid for the presidency -- lost to Ruto by around 233,000 votes, one of the closest margins in the country's history.The Supreme Court dismissed his appeals, with its judges giving a unanimous ruling in favour of Ruto, finding there was no evidence for Odinga's accusations.Ruto for his part declared that he would not be intimidated by the opposition demonstrations, saying: "You are not going to threaten us with ultimatums and chaos and impunity.""We will not allow that," he said, calling on Odinga to act in a "legal and constitutional manner".bur-txw/amu/jm
Police used tear gas to disperse protesters in Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday, March 20, local media reported, as supporters of the country’s opposition leader took to the streets.Footage recorded by Beldeen Waliaula shows crowds running from a cloud of tear gas on a street in Nairobi’s downtown.Raila Odinga, the Kenyan opposition leader, had called on his supporters to take to the streets, after rejecting the election victory of President William Ruto in August last year.The protests were deemed illegal by police on Sunday, but this did not prevent unrest in the capital. Credit: Beldeen Waliaula via Storyful
NAIROBI (Reuters) -Kenyan police tear gassed the leader of the opposition on Monday and arrested senior lawmakers in his parliamentary faction, as protesters took to the streets to march against President William Ruto and the high cost of living. The convoy of Raila Odinga, who was defeated by Ruto last year in his fifth straight election as the runner up, was repeatedly sprayed with tear gas as he addressed supporters from the sunroof of his car. Odinga has called for nationwide protests as he attempts to harness dissatisfaction with the president.
Emmanuel Macron “regrets nothing” after short-circuiting parliament to ram through a deeply unpopular pension reform, say aides, as fresh protests on Saturday raised fears of a new “yellow vest” protest movement. Demonstrations took place in cities including Bordeaux in the southwest, Compiegne in the north, Nantes in the west and Saint-Etienne in central France.
France's government on Sunday held its ground over a bitterly contested pension reform rammed through parliament without a vote, a day before it faces crucial no-confidence motions.- The government's Thursday decision to resort to Article 49.3 of the constitution -- which allows ramming a bill through parliament without a vote -- has prompted anger in the streets after weeks of mostly peaceful protests and strikes against the plans.
France on Saturday banned protests opposite parliament after a second night of unrest sparked by President Emmanuel Macron imposing an unpopular pension overhaul without a parliament vote.Paris police on Saturday banned crowds at the capital's Place de la Concorde across the Seine river from parliament, after spontaneous gatherings there the two previous nights led to clashes between some demonstrators and security forces.
Protesters have demanded French President Emmanual Macron resign after announcing he would ram through a change in the country's pension requirements without a parliamentary vote.
Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy combat pilot, compared the drone incident to the "incompetence that we see on the battle field every day in Ukraine."
The couple's New York home offers a lesson in curb appeal – beginning with this versatile (and eternally stylish) neutral
No evidence has emerged that Russia or the Wagner Group have given its soldiers drugs. But it's not the first time Ukrainian soldiers have wondered about it.
We'll have what she's having.
"He probably watches my movies on repeat which may be why he has so many typos. (Slippery fingers from lube and KFC)," she said of Trump.
GAELEN MORSERep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) cautioned MAGA-diehards who plan to protest against Donald Trump’s possible indictment after the former president repeatedly called on his supporters to take to the streets.In a rare move, the MAGA-loving congresswomen split from Trump’s call for nationwide protests, worried that such events could be hijacked and turn violent.“There are a lot of concerns about protests because of people like Ray Epps and Scaffold Commander,” Greene told The Daily Be