Countries toughen stand protests against economic inequality

London | Milan | Sydney: British police sealed off routes to the London Stock Exchange and Italian officers conducted nationwide raids following protests against economic inequality on four continents. Officers carrying batons and gas sprays manned steel barriers close to St Paul's Cathedral in London, blocking supporters of the Occupy London Stock Exchange group from approaching the LSE. At least 25 police vans with wire-mesh screens and carrying additional officers were parked in side streets.

A board placed on Paternoster Square, home to the LSE, said the area is private land and that "any licence to the public to enter or cross this land is revoked forthwith."

Italian police, meanwhile, launched raids in cities including Rome and Milan, according to the Ansa news agency, while gas masks and balaclavas were seized in Florence.

Chicago police arrested about 175 protesters in Grant Park around 1 a.m. local time on Sunday after they refused to disperse, the Chicago Tribune reported. More than 800 people have been arrested in New York since the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations began on September 17, mostly for disorderly conduct, as demonstrators solidified their hold on Zuccotti Park, which has become the de facto epicenter.

The protests then spread to Europe and Asia, with more than 100 people injured in Rome after as many as 200,000 people gathered on October 15, a day the organizers termed a "global day of action against Wall Street greed."

In Hong Kong, protests extended for a second day on Sunday after about 40 demonstrators slept overnight in a foyer beneath the Asian headquarters of HSBC Holdings Plc in the central financial district. Demonstrations were also held in Seoul and Taipei.

In Zurich, an estimated 1,200 protesters at the weekend occupied the Paradeplatz, home of Credit Suisse Group AG, the Swiss Social Democratic Party's youth organization said in a press release. Over 60 people stayed overnight, until police asked them to leave this morning. Protests have now moved to the nearby Lindenhof, overlooking Zurich's old town.

In Australia, about 30 people gathered in front of the central bank in Sydney. Tokyo, Toronto and other cities also saw protests.