LIMA: Hundreds of anti-government protesters clashed with police in the Peruvian capital Lima on Saturday, throwing stones and sticks as officers fired tear gas on the demonstrators, AFP journalists reported.
The protest, organized by a youth collective called "Generation Z", is part of growing social unrest in Peru against organized crime, corruption in public office, and a recent pension reform.
"Today, there is less democracy than before. It's getting worse... because of fear, because of extortion," said 54-year-old protester Gladys, who declined to give her last name.
Around 500 people gathered in the city center, under heavy police presence.
"Congress has no credibility, it doesn't even have the approval of the people... It is wreaking havoc in this country," said protester Celene Amasifuen.
The clashes broke out as demonstrators tried to approach executive and congressional buildings in Lima.
The radio station Exitosa said that its reporter and a cameraman were hit by pellets, commonly fired by law enforcement.
Police said at least three officers were wounded.
Approval ratings for President Dina Boluarte, whose term ends next year, have plummeted amid rising extortion and organized crime cases.
Several opinion polls show the government and conservative-majority Congress are seen by many as corrupt institutions.
This week, the legislature passed a law requiring young adults to join a private pension fund, despite many facing a precarious working environment.
Peru anti-government protesters clash with police
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Peru anti-government protesters clash with police
UK to cut protections for refugees under asylum ‘overhaul’
- PM Starmer announced the cuts amid mounting pressure in the face of soaring support for the hard right
- More than 39,000 people, many fleeing conflict, have arrived this year in the UK
LONDON: Britain will drastically reduce protections for refugees under plans to overhaul its asylum system, the Labour government said on Saturday.
The measures were announced as Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces mounting pressure over irregular migration in the face of soaring support for the hard right.
“I’ll end UK’s golden ticket for asylum seekers,” interior minister Shabana Mahmood declared in a statement.
Presently, those given refugee status have it for five years, after which they can apply for indefinite leave to remain and eventually citizenship.
But Mahmood’s ministry, known as the Home Office, said it would cut the length of refugee status to 30 months.
That protection will be “regularly reviewed” and refugees will be forced to return to their home countries once they are deemed safe, it added.
The ministry also said that it intended to make those refugees who are granted asylum wait 20 years before applying to be allowed to live in the UK long-term, instead of the current five.
The Home Office called the proposals the “largest overhaul of asylum policy in modern times.”
Starmer, elected last summer, is under pressure to stop migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats from France, something that also troubled his Conservative predecessors.
More than 39,000 people, many fleeing conflict, have arrived this year following such dangerous journeys — more than for the whole of 2024 but lower than the record set in 2022.
The crossings are helping fuel the popularity of Reform, led by firebrand Nigel Farage, which has led Labour by double-digit margins in opinion polls for most of this year.
Asylum claims in Britain are at a record high, with some 111,000 applications made in the year to June 2025, according to official figures.
