From Foreign Waters

    Roads leading to the Green Zone, the seat of key government offices, Parliament and foreign embassies as well as residences of senior politicians , were also blocked. Concrete blast walls were erected on Al Jumhuriya Bridge leading to the fortified zone, with security personnel stationed top, behind sand bags. On Friday, security forces conducted door-to-door search operations in the nearby Karrada neighbourhood where many activists live and operate. Posters of politicians with crosses on their faces and flyers were confiscated. Protesters waved Iraqi flags or draped them over their shoulders as they gathered on Saturday, with many carrying photos of loved ones who were killed by security forces during the protests. “Whether you kill ten or one hundred we will not abandon our cause,” they chanted, repeating one of the popular slogans of 2019 protests. "We are out today against the agents who have been ruling Iraq for more than 20 years now without any l...

    Mahsa Amini, 22, from the Iranian -Kurdish town of Saqez, was arrested this month in Tehran due to her “unsuitable attire” by the morality police, which enforces the country's strict dress code for women. Her death has sparked the first big show of opposition on Iran's streets since authorities crushed protests against a rise in petrol prices in 2019.  “At least 83 people including children are confirmed to have been killed in [the] #IranProtests,” Iran Human Rights , a Norway-based group, said on Twitter. Despite the growing death toll and a fierce crackdown by authorities, videos posted on Twitter showed demonstrators calling for the fall of the clerical establishment in Tehran, Qom, Rasht, Sanandaj, Masjed-i-Suleiman and other cities.

Public sector workers in Greece went on strike on Tuesday to protest against the pension reduction "policy" imposed during the crisis until now with the new Government, according to the strong Adidi Syndicate.  Municipal and provincial workers also participate to demonstrations, as well as public transport workers. The protests in the central square of Athens really affected the traffic in the capital. Maritime traffic was disturbed as well by the maritime union strike. Reporters stopped working for three hours in the early afternoon and protests were expected to take place at noon in central Athens as the government says the pension reform bill that Parliament will vote on by Friday aims to ensure the continuity of the Greek pension system until 2070. Despite union opposition, the Hellenic Government included in the project the pension’s increases of some professional groups and reduction for retirees who continue to work. Greece has implemented s...