Workers join May Day protests in Manila, elsewhere

Manila (AFP) - Millions of people in the Philippine capital hunkered down Monday as a major storm churned towards the megacity, after killing at least two people and destroying thousands of homes on remote islands.

ATHENS/MADRID — Trains and ferries were cancelled and hospital staff walked off the job in Greece on Wednesday and thousands were due to demonstrate across Spain as May Day triggered protests against harsh government spending cuts. Separately, Turkish riot police fired water cannon and tear gas to disperse crowds gathering in central Istanbul for a rally on what has become a traditional labour holiday.

Lima (AFP) - Thousands of people marched in central Lima against Earth's exploitation Wednesday, urging ministers haggling over a world climate deal to ensure a global switch to 100-percent clean energy by 2050.

Manila (AFP) - Pope Francis will on Thursday immerse himself in the Catholic Church's passionate and chaotic Asian heartland as he lands in the Philippines for a five-day trip that is tipped to attract a world-record papal crowd.

Filipinos and Vietnamese residents in the Philippine capital staged a joint protest Friday against “destabilizing” China’s incursions into South China Sea territories claimed by their countries. The Philippine government on Thursday released military surveillance photos of Chinese land reclamation on a reef claimed by Manila in the South China Sea that it said showed Beijing violated a regional agreement not to escalate territorial disputes.