[custom_adv] Iran is experiencing its deadliest political unrest since the Islamic Revolution 40 years ago, with at least 180 people killed — and possibly hundreds more — as angry protests have been smothered in a government crackdown of unbridled force. [custom_adv] Russian police on Sunday arrested a dozen protesters, including several opposition candidates who were barred from running in Moscow's parliamentary election. Some 2,000 people took to the streets to protest the electoral commission's decision to disqualify several independent candidates, saying it represented an attempt to remove independent candidates from the race. [custom_adv] Venezuela’s embattled president, Nicolás Maduro, faced challenges on multiple fronts Saturday, as massive anti-government rallies choked the streets, a top general defected and the opposition urged European powers to join the international alliance against him. [custom_adv] Hong Kong's pro-democratic parties swept the board in highly anticipated local elections seen as a barometer of public opinion after nearly six months of increasingly violent protests that have polarised the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. [custom_adv] A previous manifestation of the present turmoil occurred nearly a decade ago. Thanks in large part to a new program offering government-backed student loans, in 2007, 70 percent of students in Chile’s expanding higher education system were the first generation of their families to reach college. [custom_adv] Bolivia's opposition launched a general strike Wednesday over disputed election results suggesting another term for President Evo Morales, who likened the stoppage to a right wing coup. [custom_adv] Thousands of students have taken to the streets in Indonesia to protest against a “disastrous” draft criminal code that would include outlawing extramarital sex and a controversial new law that could weaken the nation’s anti-corruption body. [custom_adv] Yellow vest protesters are staging nationwide demonstrations this weekend in a bid to prove their movement is still a force to be reckoned with, a year after the first giant demonstration on November 17, 2018. [custom_adv] High spending within the sector has pushed up wages and other costs to unsustainable levels, not just for the oil and gas industry but for all sectors, and that is now acting as a drag on further energy investment. Norwegian firms outside oil have struggled to pick up the slack in what has been, for at least a decade, almost a single-track economy. [custom_adv] Iraqi protesters burned tires on three bridges Saturday in the southern city of Nasiriyah, despite the prime minister's announcement that he will step down from office. Adel Abdul-Mahdi said Friday he will submit his resignation to the country's parliament, following weeks of deadly protests. [custom_adv] Amid public concerns over Cambridge Analytica’s use of Facebook data and a subsequent movement to encourage users to abandon Facebook, there is a renewed focus on how social media companies collect personal information and make it available to marketers. [custom_adv] The issue of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has long been a major source of dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, and most of the international community. The Trump administration has now, however, stated that settlements are not inconsistent with international law. [custom_adv] The government of Ecuador reached an agreement on Monday with leaders of the protests that have rocked the country for the last two weeks. The deal, which included the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), is a retreat for the government of President Lenín Moreno and a victory for the protesters. [custom_adv] In one of the largest youth-led demonstrations in history, millions of people from Manhattan to Mumbai took to the streets around the globe on Friday, their chants, speeches and homemade signs delivering the same stern message to world leaders: do more to combat climate change — and do it faster. [custom_adv] Thursday’s performance brought together thousands of women, including older chilenas who lived through the dictatorship and their younger counterparts protesting today.
