Thousands protest over new Hungarian constitution (AP)

Riot police stormed Istanbul's protest square Tuesday, firing tear gas and rubber bullets at firework-hurling demonstrators in a fresh escalation of unrest after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would meet with protest leaders.

SAO PAULO — Protesters massed in at least seven Brazilian cities Monday for another round of demonstrations voicing disgruntlement about life in the country, raising questions about security during big events like the current Confederations Cup and a papal visit next month.

Thousands of protesters demonstrated here Saturday against Hungary's controversial new constitution, to be voted in parliament on Monday, as well as government austerity measures.About 7,000 people gathered at a rally near parliament in Budapest, organised by the Hungarian Democratic Charter, an NGO close to the opposition Socialists and headed by former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, to protest against what they call the "one-party constitution."

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s prime minister issued a “final warning” to protesters on Thursday, demanding that they end their occupation of a park next to Istanbul’s landmark Taksim Square. Sticking to his trademark defiant tone, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also rejected condemnation by the European Parliament over the excessive use of force by Turkish riot police against demonstrators.

HONG KONG — Tens of thousands of people marched in Hong Kong on the first day of 2013 to call for the city’s Beijing-backed leader to step down over allegations he was untruthful about illegal renovations at his mansion and to press for full democracy. Police said 26,000 people joined the march at its peak Tuesday while organizers said 130,000 took part.

Tens of thousands of people protested against France’s new gay marriage law in central Paris on Sunday, and police clashed with right-wing demonstrators. The law came into force over a week ago, but organizers decided to go ahead with the long-planned demonstration to show their continued opposition as well as their frustration with President Francois Hollande, who had made legalizing gay marriage one of his keynote campaign pledges in last year’s election.

A march to mark an anniversary in Quebec’s protest movement was swiftly broken up Friday by a police force that has shown increasing strictness in applying municipal bylaws. Several hundred protesters had gathered to mark the event on a cold, grey afternoon — which was a far cry from a year earlier when, on a scorching summer-like day, tens of thousands of students staged a huge and memorable march. The police response was also different this March 22.