Here’s what people are protesting about today

GlobalPost

In Spain it's a high-speed railway. In Brazil it's the price of soccer tickets. And the G8 summit always draws a dissenting crowd.

Here's what people are protesting about today:

1) Spain — Protesters gathered outside the launch of the AVE Alicante-Madrid high-speed rail link as Spain's prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, and a Spanish prince joined its maiden voyage.

Many Spaniards, who have endured budget cuts in recent years, do not welcome the $2.5-billion project, even if it does reduce travel time between Madrid and Alicante. Anti-austerity protests occur in Spain on a daily basis these days.


Protesters in Alicante, Spain. @Elba_Celo/NewsPoint

2) Brazil — Protesters marched outside Rio de Janeiro's Maracana soccer stadium on Sunday evening, following violent protests in Sao Paulo over the weekend.

Protesters were angry about the high cost of the Confederations Cup tournament and the upcoming 2014 World Cup in a country still lacking in public services, according to the BBC.

3) Turkey — Police prevented thousands of people — who were protesting in Istanbul as part of a general strike called by unions — from reaching Taksim Square and Gezi Park as they processed through the city on Monday.

More from GlobalPost: Raw feed: Turkey's protesters talk sex, booze and human rights

Marches also took place in the Turkish capital, Ankara, and in other cities and towns across the country on Monday.


Police officers in riot gear hold their shields across streets surrounding the square and the park. Turgay Yildiz/NewsPoint

4) Germany — Thousands demonstrated in solidarity with Turkish protesters in Wuppertal. People in the United States and the United Kingdom have also held solidarity protests with Turkey.

Dêrik McFly/NewsPoint

5) Northern Ireland — The G8 summit has long been a scene rife with protesting. While this year's gathering in Northern Ireland is far from the most raucous, it's holding its own. Word on the street is that there will be more demonstrators by Monday evening.


G8 protesters in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. Paul Reilly/NewsPoint

6) Indonesia Thousands poured onto the streets in Jakarta on Monday evening, as legislators there debated a price hike for subsidized gasoline. The World Bank has urged Indonesia to abandon fuel subsidies altogether in order to funnel more money toward social programs and infrastructure. But working class Indonesians complain that paying more for fuel will mean they pay more for lots of other things too, like clothes and food.


Protesters in Jakarta. Ed Wray/AFP/Getty Images

7) London — A small protest was held outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in West London on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's entry to the embassy in his bid to seek asylum and avoid extradition to Sweden and the United States.

WISEUpAction/NewsPoint

8) Bulgaria — People in Bulgaria are peeved. They have been protesting for three days straight against the appointment of a media tycoon to a top security position.

From the Sofia Globe: "A revolt of a different kind was in evidence in the rain-drenched streets of the Bulgarian capital, as a protest mobilized in a few hours on social network Facebook resulted in thousands gathering outside the Cabinet office building, chanting 'goodbye,' 'resign,' 'Red rubbish,' and 'we do not want a government of the energy mafia.'"

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