Hundreds of people, some wearing surgical masks and armed with crowbars and cutting tools, tore down protest barriers in the heart of Hong Kong's business district on Monday, scuffling with protesters who have occupied the streets for two weeks.
China has detained a prominent scholar who helped blind dissident Chen Guangcheng flee to the United States two years ago and has banned books by eight writers in an escalating crackdown on dissent.
An Iranian police plane crashed late on Saturday killing four high-ranking officers investigating the deaths of police in a province that borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, state news agency IRNA reported.
The July-August war in Gaza drew international condemnation for a number of reasons, but one episode proved more deadly than any other: an Israeli air and artillery bombardment on Aug. 1 that killed 150 people in a matter of hours.
