Wikileaks founder addresses protesters in LondonOctober 16, 2011 - 19:10 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - About 2,000 protesters with the Occupy Wall Street movement marched through New York’s financial district yesterday, Oct 15 ahead of a planned rally in Times Square as demonstrators in cities around the world decried economic inequality. Protests inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement were held in cities in the United States and Canada yesterday. This followed demonstrations that began in New Zealand rippled east to European cities including Rome, where the demonstration turned violent. In Washington, hundreds of protesters turned out, while a couple of thousand people gathered peacefully in Toronto’s St James park, a few blocks from the city’s financial district. The marchers in New York were making their way to Times Square for a rally at 5pm, when the area typically is crowded with tourists and Broadway theatergoers. The protesters say they are upset that the billions of dollars in bank bailouts doled out during the recession allowed banks to resume earning huge profits while average Americans have had no relief from high unemployment and job insecurity. In London, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange joined around 800 people at a heavily policed rally in the city’s financial heart. The demonstrators, some of them masked, were pushed back by police as they tried to march from St Paul’s Cathedral to the London Stock Exchange. Assange, flanked by bodyguards, got a warm reception from the demonstrators as he addressed them from the steps of the cathedral. “One of the reasons why we support what is happening here in Occupy London is because the banking system in London is the recipient of corrupt money,” the Wikileaks founder told demonstrators, AFP reported. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Ruling MPs, Foreign Minister talk Armenia-Azerbaijan processes MOs from the ruling Civil Contract party met with the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the Armenian parliament. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. |