Truckers’ Convoy Protests Around the World
Canada
Last Saturday, police cleared the last remaining protesters from a truckers’ protest that had blocked downtown Ottawa for three weeks. Close to 200 people were arrested and nearly 80 trucks and other vehicles were towed.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used a special rule to give police greater emergency powers. These included freezing the bank accounts of people or groups tied to the protests. Mr. Trudeau ended those emergency powers on Wednesday.
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Last Saturday, police cleared the last remaining protesters from a truckers’ protest that had blocked downtown Ottawa for three weeks. Above, police walk down the cleared street in front of Parliament on Sunday.
Police plan to continue studying videos of the protests. They expect to arrest more people for their actions over the last few weeks. Though the trucks and protesters are gone from the Canadian capital, many people think the protest movement may continue in other places.
For more background on the Canadian truckers’ protest, see these articles:
• Canadian Truckers Protest Against Covid-19 Rules
• Canada Truckers’ Protest Continues, Gets Copied
New Zealand
A similar protest has been going on near Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand since February 6. Many people are protesting against Covid-19 rules. But, as in Canada, some protesters also have more extreme ideas, and are strongly against the government.
As the protests have continued, they’ve gotten more violent. Many local people are angry about having their lives upset by the protests. Police and government leaders have been criticized for allowing the protests to continue.
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As the protests have continued in New Zealand, they’ve gotten more violent. Police and government leaders have been criticized for allowing the protests to continue. Above, police try to hold back protesters to protect the parliament building.
United States
There are efforts to create a similar protest in the US. Trucks are headed toward Washington, DC from different parts of the country. Like the other convoy protests, the US protest has links to groups with extreme views, and includes many supporters of Ex-US President Donald Trump.
Some truckers hope to arrive in Washington on March 1. Others may arrive later. The US plans to send 700 National Guard soldiers to Washington to help keep the peace.
US Women’s National Soccer Team Wins $24 Million Case
On Monday, the US women’s national soccer team (USWNT) finally settled a court case with US Soccer over fair pay. The US women’s soccer (football) team has been one of the most successful teams in the world. It has drawn more attention and larger crowds than the US men’s team. But for the last six years, the USWNT has been fighting US Soccer because they were paid far less than the men’s team.
(Source: US Soccer Women’s National Team, via Instagram.)
Under the new deal, which isn’t quite final, the players from the USWNT will get $24 million. Most of that money will go to make up for pay that players should have gotten in the past. US Soccer has promised that in the future, the pay will be the same for men and women.
16-Year-Old Player Beats World Chess Champion
On Monday, a 16-year-old chess whiz from India defeated World chess champion Magnus Carlsen in a game of online rapid chess. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, who goes by the name of Pragg, shocked the chess world by beating Carlsen in 39 moves. The win makes Pragg the youngest person to beat Carlsen, who’s been the world champion since 2013.
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On Monday, 16-year-old Pragg shocked the chess world by defeating World chess champion Magnus Carlsen in a game of online rapid chess. Above, Pragg at age 12 in 2018, when he became the world’s second youngest chess grandmaster.
Carlsen, 31, said he’d been having trouble focusing, since he’s recovering from Covid-19. But Pragg also faced challenges. Because of the time difference, Pragg was forced to play in the middle of the night. After the match, when he was asked how he planned to celebrate, Pragg replied, “I think it’s about just going to bed.” It was 2:30 in the morning.