Beijing Winter Games flame lit in Greece amid protests

Coordinated global demonstrations drew thousands of mostly young people calling for climate leadership under the motto "People not Profit." In Germany, the war in Ukraine and bans on Russian fossil fuels were in focus.

Thousands of Ukrainian refugees have entered Greece, where they enjoy international protection. For non-Ukrainian refugees, however, the situation remains tense and frustrating.

Sri Lanka's cabinet ministers have resigned from their posts as an economic crisis deepens in the country. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksahas has yet to step down, despite growing demands for his resignation.

Sri Lanka's government said restrictions on access to social media platforms came a day after protesters defied a nationwide curfew to demand government accountability.

Sri Lanka's president said a nationwide state of emergency was necessary to ensure order in the country, a day after protesters clashed with the police. Sri Lanka is in the throes of a financial crisis.

Protesters have called for the naming of the white police officer who killed Patrick Lyoya. It comes after police release footage showing the officer shoot the him in the head.

The president has warned against "racial and religious disharmony." Police have received orders to use live ammunition against protesters deemed to be participating in violence.

On May 15, parliamentary elections will take place nationwide in Lebanon. The Lebanese diaspora, estimated to be double the size of the domestic population, already cast their ballots last week. Around 60 percent of people across 58 countries turned out, slightly more than in 2018. We bring you a special edition of Middle East Matters on Lebanon's first elections since the mass protests of 2019.

Pro-choice demonstrators are rallying across the US in opposition to the Supreme Court's draft opinion that could scrap the right to abortion. Protesters say it is only the beginning of their fight against the decision.

In 2020, Thai youth sparked the largest wave of anti-government protests since the 2014 military coup. But human rights activists say persecutions and systematic harassment have weakened the pro-democracy movement.

Following the second-deadliest school shooting in US history, protesters faced off with gun enthusiasts at an NRA convention in Texas this weekend. But both sides doubt that reforms will happen.

Anti-Rwanda protests hit Congolese cities, accusing Kigali of backing the M23 rebel group. Two Rwandan soldiers have however been released in peace talks mediated by Angola. Also, hundreds of Sudanese protesters have demanded the dismissal of the United Nations mission chief, who is working to resolve a political crisis sparked by last year's military coup. And Pritzker Prize winner Diebedo Francis Kéré is given a hero's welcome on a trip back to Ouagadougou.