Riot

The three members of the Russian musical-protest collective Pussy Riot on trial for a bit of political theater in February gave  closing statements Aug. 8, each of which is a remarkable document from a trial -- on charges of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" after performing an impromptu set at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow in February. The performance, where the band commandeered the altar during services to perform its single "Mother of God, Drive Putin Out," has transfixed Russia, the punk community and activist groups around the world.

PARIS - French President Francois Hollande said Tuesday that his government would use "all means" necessary to quell violence after overnight rioting in northern France left more than a dozen police officers injured and several buildings damaged or destroyed. Hollande, who was elected in May, pledged that public security would be a priority for his fledgling Socialist administration. French police said rioting youths opened fire on them amid violent clashes Monday evening on the outskirts of Amiens, troubled by high rates of unemployment and crime.

Karl Fleming, a former Newsweek reporter who helped draw national attention to the civil rights movement in the 1960s - and risked his life covering it with perceptive stories about its major figures and the inequalities that fueled it - died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 84. The cause was related to a number of respiratory ailments, said his son Charles Fleming. Born and bred in the Jim Crow South, Fleming worked his way through small North Carolina newspapers to become chief of Newsweek's Atlanta bureau in 1961.

Despite hovering tensions in downtown Los Angeles and concerns that Occupy L.A. protesters might clash with LAPD officers, Thursday night's Art Walk unfolded with no incidents. Attendance was down, with many joking that there seemed to be more police on bicycles and motorcycles than gallery-goers. The crowd could have been reduced by worries about clashes between police and the protesters. At last month's Art Walk, there was a near riot as police officers tried to control Occupy L.A. members who were scrawling slogans and drawings on the sidewalks to protest downtown gentrification.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. I spent this past week at a little-known gem down in South L.A. Its past is long and winding. After a police stop turned violent, sparking riots that tore through Watts in 1965, a group of churches transformed an old furniture store on a fire-charred street. They created the Watts Happening Coffee House, and amid an explosion of pride and creativity that rooted in this corner of the city during the '60s, it became a smoke-filled community hub. "It's one of the only decent things we have in Watts," a young man is quoted telling city officials in a Times' story published in 1966.

A recent art exhibition in Tunisia that some claim was insulting to Muslims has provoked new riots in the streets of the capital city of Tunis this week. The provocative exhibition was the annual Le Printemps des Arts, the Northern African country's largest visual arts show, which took place in the Tunis suburb of La Marsa. The exhibition featured a work that spelled out the word "Allah" with a string of ants, as well as other pieces that depicted the city of Mecca, according to reports from the BBC News and Reuters.

Twenty years ago in April, widespread rioting revealed the limitations of the Los Angeles political system. But that year also brought something to celebrate: voter passage of historic police reform on June 2, 1992. The beating of Rodney King on March 3, 1991, changed the way the city felt about the Los Angeles Police Department - and about its controversial chief, Daryl F. Gates. More fundamentally, the beating pointed out serious structural problems in the governance of the department.

A privately-run prison for low-security inmates in Mississippi remained locked down Monday while officials investigated what triggered a riot at the Adams County Correctional Center a day earlier. One guard died, and 16 employees were injured -- as were three inmates -- in the riot that began Sunday afternoon. The prison was back under control at 2:45 a.m. Monday, Emilee Beach, a prison spokeswoman said in a telephone interview Monday morning. The cause for the incident was not immediately known, Beach said.

Re "An intersection's forgotten victim quietly moved on," Column, May 6 I, of course, have heard of Reginald Denny. I remember being absolutely horrified at his senseless beating. It was a scene straight out of a horror movie, and to me, it was akin to the end of the world - Armageddon, indeed, at Florence and Normandie. I was unaware of Fidel Lopez's plight. Steve Lopez's article about him was intriguing yet painful to read. The hopeful aspect of this story, which lifted my heart, was the appearance of a guardian angel in the form of the Rev. Bennie Newton, who stopped Lopez's attackers.

They had names like Rebuild L.A., Community Coalition, the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance. Their goals were nearly identical: provide new jobs and services to an underserved community. Improve neighborhoods. Build better relationships. The aftermath of the 1992 riots was a galvanizing moment for community activism, spawning groups formed out of City Hall, churches and local nonprofits. Some have endured over the last two decades, shifting their priorities as the city changed.