PARIS – As in 1848, 1968, 1989, and 2010-2012, a wave of popular protests has taken the world by surprise. Ongoing mass revolts-in Beirut, Santiago, Hong Kong, Algiers, Baghdad, and other cities—are gaining strength and wrong footing governments. But although the temptation to seek historical comparisons is understandable, the 2019 uprisings also have a distinct flavor of their own.

HONG KONG, Nov 2:  Hong Kong police fired tear gas into a park to break up thousands of anti-government protesters who fled to the Central business district, setting fire to street barricades and metro stations in some of the worst violence in months of unrest.Central, its streets lined with banks and top-end jewellery and fashion stores, became a battlefield after night fell, with running clashes between police and black-clad, masked activists.