The streets of Tehra, Iran erupted in massive and fiery morning-to-dusk protests Sunday December 27, 2009 as tens of thousands of demonstrators clashed with security forces on the occasion of an important Shiite Muslim holiday — Ashura.

Several witnesses told Los Angeles Times reporters that Iranian security forces opened fire with live ammunition against unarmed protesters near College Bridge in in the capital Tehran. At least five protesters were killed, including Ali Mousavi, the nephew of opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi. A stabbing was witnessed in front of the City Theater in downtown Tehran.

Read the full story

Progress in the climate change summit in Copenhagen was in jeopardy Wednesday night with complex negotiations falling 18 hours behind schedule over failure to overcome disagreements on how to combat global warming. Outside the conference, police clashed with protesters, who broke through a security cordon in a failed to break in to the conference center. Climate secretary, Ed Miliband, warned of a “farce”.

Read the full story