Protests continued in Noumea and other parts of New Caledonia against the sale of nickel mines to a Brazilian megacorporation, with French loyalists breaking the headlines. A blockade was set up of the Païta road in a suburb of Noumea, with vigilantes guarding it with hunting rifles and waving the French flag, raising many concerns about civil war.
After the Polish Supreme Court ruled that abortion due to fetal defects was ‘unconstitutional’, providing a cassus belli to almost completely ban the practice, women’s rights activists took to the streets in spontaneous protest across Poland. A confrontation took place in Warsaw, with unarmed protesters being beaten and pepper-sprayed by police.
Protesters in Glasgow gathered and dropped a banner in solidarity with the hunger strike of Dimitris Koufontinas, a former member of the 17N revolutionary group demanding his transfer to the Korydallos prison in Athens which would give him better medical care and the ability to see visitors.
Protesters continue to take to the streets to turn out the vote for a national plebiscite to change the constitution that remains since Pinochet created it. Many protests and clashes occurred in Plaza Dignidad, with police using water cannons and frequently fighting with protesters.
Dozens of motorcyclists in northwest Miami participated in a traditional anniversary event in honor of Martin Luther King Day, venerating the civil rights activist assassinated by the FBI.
