Police aggressively pushed back protesters in Canada’s besieged capital on Saturday, seizing control of trucks and clearing the streets in front of Parliament, the heart of the protests.
Scores of trucks left under the increasing pressure, raising authorities’ hopes for an end to the three-week protest against the country’s Covid-19 restrictions and the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Authorities took control of the street in front of Parliament Hill which has been occupied by protesters and their trucks since late last month and had been turned into a carnival on weekends.
Ottawa police addressed the protesters in a tweet: “We told you to leave. We gave you time to leave. We were slow and methodical, yet you were assaultive and aggressive with officers and the horses. Based on your behaviour, we are responding by including helmets and batons for our safety,”
Police said one protester launched a gas canister and was arrested as they advanced. Late Saturday morning, authorities were pushing crowds away from Parliament Hill.
By Friday evening, at least 100 people had been arrested, mostly on mischief charges, and nearly two dozen vehicles had been towed, including all of those blocking one of the city’s major streets, authorities said. One officer had a minor injury, but no protesters were hurt, interim Ottawa police chief Steve Bell said.
Those arrested included four protest leaders. One received bail while the others remained jailed.
The crackdown on the self-styled Freedom Convoy began Friday morning, when hundreds of police, some in riot gear and some carrying automatic weapons, descended into the protest zone.
US health regulators are looking at authorising a potential fourth dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in the fall, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The Food and Drug Administration has been reviewing data to authorise a second booster dose of the messenger RNA vaccines from Pfizer and partner BioNTech and vaccines from Moderna, the report added.
The FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The agency last month cut the interval to get a booster dose of Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech as well as from Moderna, in a bid to provide better protection sooner against the Omicron variant.
