May Day protests highlight financial crisis, worker exploitation
In Dhaka, Bangladesh, a raucous crowd descended on the city center with signs and drums, chanting and waving banners demanding the death penalty for the owner of a factory where more than 400 people died in a building collapse last week.
In Jakarta, Indonesia, some of the tens of thousands of demonstrators marching through the city came dressed as ants - complete with bright red outfits and antennae - to depict the exploitation of workers.
And in Greece, trains, buses, and ferries sat vacant and hospitals nearly empty as thousands of public sector employees walked off the job in a one-day strike.
Each year, May 1, better known as May Day, is marked with labor rallies and strikes around the world. And this year’s holiday came at a particularly prescient moment in many parts of the world.
From Europe, where the bite of austerity has left many facing down unemployment and reduced benefits, to South and Southeast Asia, a region cluttered with precariously-built factories similar to the one that collapsed last week in Bangladesh, demonstrators gathered to vent outrage and demand reform.
More: May Day Protests: From Bangladesh to Europe, Angry Workers Rally in the Tens of Thousands ( Video)