Occupy Wall Street movement spreads across the globe

PanARMENIAN.Net - Protesters worldwide geared up for a cry of rage on Saturday, October 15, against bankers, financiers and politicians they accuse of ruining global economies and condemning millions to poverty and hardship through greed, Reuters reports.

Galvanized by the past month's Occupy Wall Street movement, the global protest began on a sunny spring day in New Zealand and is due to ripple round the world to Alaska via Frankfurt, London, Washington and New York.

Riot police prepared for any trouble - cities such as London and Athens have seen violent confrontations this year - but it was impossible to say how many people would actually turn out despite a rallying call across social media websites.

In Sydney, about 2,000 people, including representatives of Aboriginal groups, communists and trade unionists, protested outside the central Reserve Bank of Australia.

Hundreds marched in Tokyo, including anti-nuclear protesters. Dozens in Manila, capital of the Philippines. In Taiwan, over 100 people gathered at the Taipei 101 skyscraper, home to the stock exchange.

The protests are billed as peaceful. But in a sign of what may happen, a group of students stormed Goldman Sachs's offices in the Italian city of Milan.

In Britain, demonstrators aim to converge on the City of London - a leading international financial center - under the banner "Occupy the Stock Exchange."