A weekend of protests around the world

Protestors took the streets around the world this weekend — over cronyism in Japan, the detention of separatist leaders in Spain, authoritarianism in Hungary, rape scandals in India and airstrikes in Syria.

The bigger picture: The U.S. isn't the only country living through a period of protest and political unrest.

• Tokyo, Japan: Tens of thousands of protestors demonstrated outside of Japanese parliament this weekend to urge Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to resign over cronyism scandals, per Bloomberg.
• Barcelona, Spain: Hundreds of thousands of Catalans demonstrated this weekend to call for the release of 9 separatist leaders, who were detained for holding a referendum on independence from Spain in October, per the BBC.
• Budapest, Hungary: Tens of thousands of Hungarians took to the streets Saturday over what they consider a flawed election, and the increasingly authoritarian direction of the country under Viktor Orbán, per Reuters.
• Across India (Mumbai, Puducherry, Goa, Bengaluru, Kolkata): Thousands have been protesting across India after a series of high-profile rape cases in the country, including the rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl in Kashmir, CNN reports. Some held vigils for the victim, while others rallied in support of the men accused of the crime.
• Major cities in Iraq (Baghdad, Basra, Najaf): Thousands protested the U.S., French, and British airstrikes in Syria this weekend, NPR reports. The protests were led by Muqtada Sadr, a powerful Shiite cleric.