Global protests

There are many forms of protest, many ways to express an objection to particular events, situations, policies, and even people.  Protests can also take many forms - from individual statements to mass demonstrations - both peaceful and violent. In the last 30 days, there have been numerous protests across the globe in many countries.  The following post is a collection of only some of those protests, but the images convey a gamut of emotions as citizens stand up for their political, economic, religious and lifestyle rights.  -- Paula Nelson (51 photos total)

As protesters sleep in Zuccotti Park, N.Y. police officers receive instructions. A group of activists calling themselves Occupy Wall Street targeted the Financial District for more than a week of demonstrations in late September. The group said they sought to bring attention to corporate malfeasance, social inequality, and the yawning gap in income between America's rich and poor. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

A protester shouts slogans from a police van during a protest in front of the Russian Election Committee building in Moscow on Sept. 26. Several demonstrators have denounced as undemocratic the announcement by President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to swap positions. The move would keep Putin in a position of power well into a second decade. (Sergey Ponomarev/Associated Press) 

Police subdue a Bolivian from the Isiboro Secure indigenous territory after he and dozens of other protesters blocked an airport runway on Sept. 26. The demonstrators had been on a 370-mile protest march from Trinidad in the northern lowlands to the government seat in La Paz in an attempt to draw attention to the government's plan to build a highway through their territory. President Evo Morales ordered police to stop the march. As police were herding the protesters onto a plane at Rurrenbaque airport to return them home, a large group broke away and blocked the runway with burning wood and tires. (David Mercado/Reuters) 

An Indonesian, wearing a hat adorned with chili peppers and tomatoes, joins a demonstration denouncing rising prices and corruption outside the presidential palace in Jakarta on Sept. 26. About 500 protesters also demanded President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono step down. (Romeo Gacad/AFP/Getty Images) 

Contending that it's time for Utah to strip away its "uptight" laws, people jog and walk in their underwear from the Gallivan Center to the Capitol in Salt Lake City. Undie Run coordinator Nate Porter says the goal of the event on Sept. 24 was to organize people frustrated by the conservative nature of state politics. (Djamila Grossman/The Salt Lake Tribune/Associated Press) 

A man and his daughter skirt a protest in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens on Sept. 25. For Greeks, their summer of discontent may have changed seasons but the rallies and protests continue. The nation's economy is buffeted by staggering debts, with the government unable to meet its obligations without help from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. To receive that help, the government must reduce its generous benefits for workers and retirees. In this protest, police used tear gas to disperse about 3,000 protesters who were denouncing the austerity measures. (Kostas Tsironis/Associated Press) 

Activists place banners at the Bank of Greece headquarters facade during a global day of action "against the dictatorship of markets'' in Athens on Sept. 17. Eurozone nations decided to postpone until October a decision on whether to hand over the next piece of an emergency loan package to Greece, worth $11 billion. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images) 

Police officers clash with demonstrators outside Thessaloniki's International Trade Fair during a protest against austerity measures on Sept. 10. Police fired dozens of tear-gas canisters during violent clashes in Greece's second-largest city. The debt-laden Greek government has vowed to stay the course of austerity, sending a message to its increasingly frustrated lenders it will do everything it takes to avoid a bankruptcy that could further roil world markets. (Yannis Behrakis/Reuters) 

A woman yells at riot police officers during a rally against pilgrimage of Hassidic Jews in the town of Uman, 125 miles south of Ukraine's capital Kiev on Sept. 25. Some 30,000 Hasidic Jews from around the world were expected in Uman to mark the Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashana, at the tomb of Rabbi Nachman, the great grandson of the founder of Hasidism. (Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press) 

Members of Rome's Sikh community protest proposals in several countries that could lead to the outlawing of the turban, an integral part of Sikh identity. The protest, on Sept. 25, was one of a string of similar demonstrations in European capitals. (Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images) 

Syrian protesters continue to take to the streets in the face of a brutal crackdown by President Bashar Assad's forces. Hundreds have died in the past months as protesters seek peaceful means to topple the government and usher in democratic reforms. In a protest in Palmyra, a demonstrator holds up a banner with the Arabic writing "Friday of International Protection, Palmyra city, September 9, 2011" during a nightime protest. (Georges Hinot/AFP/Getty Images) 

Supporters of the slain former president Burhanuddin Rabbani chant slogans during a protest against the Taliban and Pakistan in Faizabad, Afghanistan, on Sept. 24. A Taliban suicide bomber assassinated Rabbani, who was seeking to engage the Taliban in reconciliation talks. Thousands of mourners buried Rabbani on Sept. 23 amid chaotic scenes that undercut calls from President Hamid Karzai to continue talks with elements of the Taliban. (Qais Usyan/AFP/Getty Images) 

An anti-government protester waves a Bahraini flag and chants during a peaceful march on Sept. 9 in Muqsha, Bahrain, west of the capital of Manama. The harsh crackdown on anti-government protests has failed to silence people's demand for greater rights, a senior Shi'ite cleric in the Gulf kingdom said as thousands of opposition supporters rallied on the outskirts of the capital. Bahrain, a close ally of the United States and home of its fifth fleet, is a Sunni Muslim monarchy. Most of the population, however, is Shi'ite. (Hasan Jamali/Associated Press) 

Members of the Palestinian community in Nicaragua take part in a protest outside the United Nations offices in Managua on Sept. 23. Hundreds of members of the Palestinian community in Managua joined worldwide efforts to demand recognition of the state of Palestine. Palestinian leaders asked the United Nations last week to recognize the state, a request the United States and Israel strenuously reject. Officials in those nations insist independence must only come about through negotiations. (Elmer Martinez/AFP/Getty Images) 

Union laborers, demanding increased pensions and salaries, protest outside the Labor Ministry in Buenos Aires on Sept. 23. (Victor R. Caivano/Associated Press) 

An Egyptian police officer joins demonstrators in chanting slogans during a protest in Cairo on Sept. 23. Holding posters that read, in Arabic, "Islamic Egypt," a group of Salafi Muslims protest emergency laws in front of the interior ministry. Salafis, who had not been politically active before the ouster of Hosni Mubarak as president, insist upon a government built upon Islamic laws. (Khalil Hamra/Associated Press) 

A Moldovan Orthodox nun attends a protest outside the United Nations in Chisinau, Moldova, on Sept. 23. The Orthodox church in Moldova has strongly criticized the comments of Heiner Bielefeldt, the UN envoy for religious freedom. who declared the church has too much influence on Moldovan society. The Moldovan government recently recognized Islam as a religion and has made moves to help end discrimination against homosexuals, both of which the church has opposed. (John McConnico/Associated Press) 

Demonstrators rally outside the UN headquarters in Manhattan against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad before he is scheduled to speak at the General Assembly on Sept. 22. Former Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge and former UN ambassador John Bolton were among the speakers at the event. Demonstrators hold pictures of dissidents, including Massoud Rajavi, president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, and his wife, Maryam Rajavi. (John Minchillo/Associated Press) 

A protester, her face painted with a call to free political prisoners, joins a rally near the Presidential Palace in Manila on Sept. 21 to call attention to the 39th anniversary of the imposition of martial law by the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos. Until the oppressive law was lifted, Marcos ruled another 20 years. (Bullit Marquez/Associated Press) 

Registered nurses strike outside of the Mills-Peninsula hospital in Burlingame, Calif., on Sept. 22. Tens of thousands of registered nurses held a one-day strike at more than 30 Sutter Health and Kaiser Permanente hospitals in northern and central California to protest proposed cuts to benefits and other concessions sought by hospital management. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) 

A Bangladeshi armored vehicle passes a motorcycle set afire by Jamaat-e-Islami activists during riots in Dhaka on Sept. 19. Bangladeshi police detained about 300 members of the activists, members of the nation's largest religious party, after clashes injured about 150 across the country. The group had called for rallies to demand the release of their top leaders. (Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images) 

A boy holds a banner to protest in the village of Zupce near the town of Zubin Potok, Sept. 28, 2011. NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo brought in more troops to a contested border crossing in Kosovo's ethnic Serb north, a day after a clash that left more than a dozen soldiers and civilians hurt. (Marko Djurica/Reuters) 

Supporters of Haiti's former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier hold portraits of former Haitian dictator Francois Duvalier, also known as "Papa Doc," and his son Jean-Claude Duvalier, also known as "Baby Doc," as they protest outside a hotel. The group interrupted a press conference by Amnesty International in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sept. 22, 2011. Amnesty International was expected to reveal new testimony from victims of the dictatorship and their relatives. (Dieu Nalio Chery/Associated Press) 

Susan Wilkens speaks into three microphones as she protests by blocking a downtown Seattle intersection, Sept. 21, 2011. Wilkens was among nine arrested after some protesters sat down on the street during a demonstration outside a nearby Chase bank. It was part of a day of action from groups around the state calling on lawmakers to end tax breaks for some corporations. (Elaine Thompson/Associated Press) 

A Palestinian man protests against US interference in the Palestinian bid for statehood recognition at the United Nations, Sept. 21, 2011 at Jerusalem's Damascus Gate. Palestinians want to become the 194th member of the United Nations despite US and Israeli opposition. (Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images) 

Soldiers stand guard as Israeli settlers participate in a protest march against Palestinian statehood, Sept. 20, 2011 from the West Bank Jewish settlement of Itamar to the Palestinian town of Nablus, West Bank. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wants full membership for a Palestinian state following his speech at the UN General Assembly in New York City. (Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) 

Members of the Canadian Union for Public Employees (CUPE), representing flight attendants from Air Canada, protest labor disputes at the Toronto Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Sept. 20, 2011. The CUPE, which represents Air Canada's 6,800 flight attendants, organized rallies at airports across Canada, some 14 hours ahead of a possible strike. (Mark Blinch/Reuters) 

Brooms stand on the sand during a protest against corruption at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sept. 19, 2011. The protest was organized by the Brazilian NGO 'Rio de Paz', whose members placed 594 brooms representing the number of Brazilian lawmakers. (Felipe Dana/Associated Press) 

Teachers take part in a demonstration against proposed budget cuts in public education in central Madrid September 7, 2011. (Juan Medina/Reuters) 

An activist from the "All India Youth Federation" pulls motorcycles as several shout anti-government slogans during a protest against petrol price hikes in New Delhi, Sept. 16, 2011. India's central bank raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point in its 12th hike since March last year to combat near double-digit inflation. State-owned energy firms hiked petrol prices by five percent to stem losses from high crude prices, leading to condemnation from opposition parties which called the move "inflationary. (Raveendran/AFP/Getty Images) 

Turkish Muslims take part in an anti-Israeli protest, Sept. 15, 2011, before the Europa League Group E soccer match at Inonu stadium, in Istanbul. About 300 anti-Israel protesters gathered in central Istanbul as Turkish football team Besiktas took on Maccabi Tel Aviv in a Europa league match. (Armend Nimani/AFP/Getty Images) 

An animal rights activist sits inside a cage to protest against Spanish zoos in central Madrid, Sept. 15, 2011. The placard reads, "Zoos cause sufferings". (Andrea Comas/Reuters) 

Carrying stones, people run away from clouds of tear gas during a protest against the UN mission in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sept. 14, 2011. Protesters calling for the withdrawal of U.N. peacekeepers from Haiti clashed with police outside the earthquake-damaged Haitian National Palace. (Ramon Espinosa/Associated Press) 

Villagers argue with police over the arrests of San Pedro Jocopilas during a protest where the villagers blocked the road leading to the village in the Quiche region, 170 km (106 miles) from Guatemala City, Sept. 14, 2011. The villagers are protesting against the fifth re-election of the Mayor of San Pedro Jocopilas Fredy Armando Lopez of the UNE-GANA political party. The villagers are claiming he cheated in the past elections. (Jorge Dan Lopez/Reuters) 

Israeli soldiers disperse demonstrators during a protest at an Israeli army checkpoint in the centre of the divided West Bank city of Hebron, Sept. 14, 2011. (Hazem Bader/AFP/Getty Images) 

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) secretary-general Jean-Francois Julliard and other activists are surrounded by riot policemen during a protest in front of the Ritz Hotel in Paris, Sept. 13, 2011. The activists were protesting against the visit of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame. (Charles Platiau/Reuters) 

Riot policemen guard a road connecting San Borja and Yucumo, in northeastern Bolivia, Sept. 12, 2011 to avoid possible clashes between natives marching against a road project through a nature preserve and others in favor of the construction. Hundreds of indigenous Bolivians from the country's low-lying Amazon basin inlands were marching towards La Paz in protest of the road project. (Aizar Raldes/AFP/Getty Images) 

A member of the right-wing English Defence League (EDL) scuffles with police officers after shouting at Islamist demonstrators leaving a protest outside the US embassy in London, Sept. 11, 2011. Around 50 people brandished anti-US banners, chanted slogans and burnt a small piece of paper with a picture of the US flag on it. (Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images) 

Conspiracy theorists protest outside St. Paul's church during ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, in New York Sept. 11, 2011. (Hugh Gentry/Reuters) 

A protester takes part in a march in Tokyo Sept. 11, 2011, to mark exactly six-months since the March 11 quake and tsunami. Thousands of protesters gathered in central Tokyo to protest the government's handling of the nuclear crisis and tsunami aftermath since the disaster. (Issei Kato/Reuters) 

Animal-rights activists stage a protest Sept. 11, 2011 in the central Spanish town of Tordesillas two days before the "Toro de la Vega festival." The festival is one of the oldest in Spain with roots dating back to the fifteenth century. The bull has to be enticed across the river from the village to the plain 'Vega' before it can be killed to honour the 'Virgen de la Pena'. (Pedro Armestre/AFP/Getty Images) 

People stand outside the house of Rom local patriach Kiril Rashkov, dubbed "King Kiro" that was set on fire during a protest in the village of Katunitsa, some 160 km south-east of Sofia, Sept. 24, 2011. One person died and five were hurt as Bulgarian and Roma communities clashed in a southern village in the wake of a fatal road accident involving relatives of a Roma clan leader Rashkov. (Nikolay Doychinov/AFP/Getty Images) 

A woman watches Czech riot police from her window, Sept. 10, 2011 during an anti-Roma demonstration in the North Bohemian town of Varnsdorf. About 1,000 far-right protestors and local residents gathered in Vansdorf to protest against the Roma population and rising crime levels in north Bohemia after local Romas were accused of commiting two violent attacks on locals. (Michal Cizek/AFP/Getty Images) 

People wear masks during the "Freiheit Statt Angst" (Freedom instead of Fear) protest calling for the protection of digital data privacy in Berlin, Sept. 10, 2011. The masks were handed out by the organizers who asked participants of the rally to wear them to symbolize what they were calling the individual's right to remain anonymous on the internet. (Thomas Peter/Reuters) 

Egyptian Al Ahly soccer team "ultras" fans, who had clashed with policemen during a match two days ago, chant slogans against the interior ministry during a protest at Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Sept. 9, 2011. Thousands of Egyptians were demonstrating against the pace of reform under the country's military rulers. (Khalil Hamra/Associated Press) 

A Palestinian protester protects himself from tear gas fired by Israeli security officers during clashes at a protest near a part of the controversial Israeli barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin near Ramallah, Sept. 9, 2011.(Mohamad Torokman/Reuters) 

San Francisco Police officers don helmets at the Powell Street BART and MUNI station following a protest, Sept. 8, 2011 in San Francisco. Police arrested about 25 people during the standoff at Bay Area Rapid Transit's Powell Street station, during the evening commute. A group calling itself "No Justice, No BART" organized the protest to call attention to the fatal July 3 shooting of a 45-year-old man whom BART police said was wielding a knife. (Beck Diefenbach/San Francisco Chronicle/Associated Press) 

A student protests in front of a group of riot policemen during a march in Bogota, Sept. 7, 2011. Thousands of students and teachers marched in a nationwide protest against the government's reform of public universities. (Jose Miguel Gomez/Reuters) 

A refugee from Somalia with his temporary ID card for foreigners during a protest on the Federal Square outside the Swiss parliament building in Bern, Sept. 6, 2011. Several hundred protesters gathered to demonstrate for the official acceptance of their refugee status in Switzerland. (Pascal Lauener/Reuters) 

A Tea Party supporter holds a sign in protest against former Massachusetts governor and republican candidate for president Mitt Romney during a Tea Party Express rally, Sept. 4, 2011 in Concord, New Hampshire. Mitt Romney spoke to a crowd of about 200 Tea Party members during a Labor Day weekend rally. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) 

Camila Rivera, 11, joins postal workers in a national day of protest against plans to close thousands of post offices, eliminate Saturday delivery, close mail processing facilities, cut service, and lay off 120,000 employees, in Los Angeles, California, Sept. 27, 2011. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)