MAY DAY MARKED BY DEMOS AROUND THE WORLD 22:43 Tuesday 1 May 2001 May Day has brought thousands of demonstrators to the streets across the world In Berlin, police used water cannon to break up burning street blockades, arresting several dozen left wingers. In Sydney, two police were taken to hospital and 28 others injured as police fought with hundreds of anti-globalisation protesters. In Brisbane, about 35 activists were arrested and several people injured as protesters tried to storm the stock exchange. In Istanbul, 20,000 people marched in parades, with thousands calling on the government to compromise with leftist inmates who are staging a month-long hunger strike over prison conditions that has already led to 20 deaths. In Russia, hundreds of thousands of people joined marches and rallies. In China, May Day marks the start of one of the year's biggest travel seasons. The government requires employers to give employees the rest of the week off, in part to try to stimulate the economy by encouraging travel. Some 1,000 workers from North and South Korea sang and danced together at Diamond Mountain, a scenic North Korean resort area. The festivities were the first joint May Day celebration since the division of the Korean Peninsula in 1945. In Colombo, Sri Lanka, more than 1,000 armed policemen shut many roads to traffic and lined the streets as political parties and trade unions began rallies and meetings. In Phnom Penh, over 2,000 people, mostly young women workers, defied a city order and marched for improved conditions for Cambodia's estimated 150,000 garment factory workers. © Ananova
