protest

Netanyahu under pressure from US, Israeli protests grow

Further pressuring the Israeli leader were images unseen for years in Tel Aviv where police fired stun guns and scuffled with Israeli protesters on a main road during a national "day of disruption" over government plans to overhaul the judiciary.

Reuters reports the head of a pro-settler party in Netanyahu's nationalist-religious coalition, Smotrich made the comments at a conference on Wednesday amid a spate of deadly Palestinian attacks and Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

Afghan woman activist released after arrest in January

Tamana Zaryabi Paryani was detained on 19 January at her apartment in Kabul's Parwan 2 area after taking part in a women's rights protest.

Her state of health remains unknown, said two sources.

On Sunday, the United Nations said a further three women had also been released.

Parwana Ibrahimkhel went missing alongside Ms Paryani, while Zahra Mohammadi and Mursal Ayar disappeared weeks later, according to the AFP news agency.

Solomons police overrun, Australia deploying support personnel

RNZ Pacific correspondent in Honiara, Elizabeth Osifelo, said exhausted police were overwhelmed as more people swarmed into town in defiance of a 36-hour lockdown.

Shops in Chinatown which had survived the earlier unrest were ransacked and burned. On the eastern side of town the Ranadi branch of Bank South Pacific was torched as was locally owned and operated hardware store, Island Enterprise.

Osifelo said police were doing everything they could to try and get control of the situation but they were outnumbered.

Solomon Islands PM calls for calm after looting and protests

Prime minister Manasseh Sogavare said those behind yesterday's scenes of destruction in Honiara would be held accountable.

He gave a national address following the protests, which led to crowds breaching parliament's precinct and burnt a building next to the main chamber.

It was followed by looting and burning of properties in town, including a school and a police station.

Sogavare announced a full lockdown until Friday, and assured the public of their safety.

US state capitals see few protesters after bracing for violent demonstrations

More than a dozen states have activated National Guard troops to help secure their capitol buildings following an FBI warning of armed demonstrations, with right-wing extremists emboldened by the deadly attack on the US Capitol in Washington on January 6.

Security officials had eyed Sunday as the first major flashpoint, as that is when the anti-government "boogaloo" movement made plans weeks ago to hold rallies in all 50 states.

Capitals in battleground states, where Trump has directed his accusations of voter fraud, were on especially high alert.

Iran curbs internet before possible new protests: reports

Social media posts, along with some relatives of people killed in unrest last month, have called for renewed protests and for ceremonies to commemorate the dead to be held on Thursday.

State media, meanwhile, said intelligence ministry agents had seized a cache of 126 mostly U.S.-made guns smuggled to the central city of Isfahan from abroad.

The protests were initially sparked in November by hikes in gasoline prices but demonstrators quickly expanded their demands to cover calls for more political freedom and other issues.

Killing of Bangladesh student triggers protests

The body of Abrar Fahad, 21, was found in a dormitory days after he posted comments criticising the government.

Several members of the student wing of the governing Awami League have been detained in connection with the death.

The killing has shocked Bangladesh and shone a light on the culture of violence in public universities.

The Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the Awami League, has been widely accused of using torture and extortion against students.

Safety concerns in Fiji as aviation controllers protest over pay

Islands Business Magazine reported the majority of the country's air traffic controllers at both of Fiji's international airports have not been reporting to work since Monday this week.

A statement sent to the magazine from the protesting workers claimed around 80 percent of traffic control officers have taken various forms of leave in protest over pay and working conditions.

It said only five officers have remained at their posts and are working around the clock at the Nadi and Nausori airport towers. It said normally there are 17 officers on duty.

Exxon monitors peaceful protest

A spokesperson informed this newsroom following Komo-Margarima MP, Manasseh Makiba’s recent statement in parliament that the airport was shut down due to claims of outstanding land use compensation.

The spokesperson said ExxonMobil respects the right of individuals to protest but unlawfully preventing access to important infrastructure is not the way to constructively resolve issues. 

“We encourage everyone to work together to resolve this situation promptly and in an amicable manner. 

Pacific midwives in NZ join protest for better conditions

The midwives said they are overworked, stressed and underpaid.

Just over two percent of the country's midwives are of Pacific descent but the workload is often heavier because Pacific mothers tend to experience more complicated births.

One of two Pasifika representatives on the national College of Midwives, Trish Taihia, said they end up working many more hours to offer appropriate cultural care, but their pay doesn't adequately recompense them.