Police used water cannons to drive back hundreds of anti-globalisation demonstrators who defied a protest ban today and tried to march against the World Economic Forum (WEF) business summit in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
Police in riot gear used vehicles and steel barricades to surround about 200 protesters - some carrying signs saying "Justice, Not Profits" and chanting "Wipe out the WEF" - and ordered them to disperse before blasting a few of them with water.
In Landquart, police used tear gas to break up round 300 demonstrators who were prevented from heading for Davos. They briefly blocked the tracks before boarding a train for Zurich.
Others staged a sit-down strike on a local highway.
Police have mounted the biggest security operation Switzerland has seen in decades to try to prevent protesters from disrupting the conference of about 3,000 political and business leaders.
Opponents of the World Economic Forum say it is undemocratic for hundreds of world leaders and company chief executives to gather behind closed doors to debate issues crucial to the world's future.
Forum organisers have tried to address the criticism by inviting 36 grassroots organisations, including the heads of Greenpeace and Amnesty International, to attend.
Debate over globalisation has been a key theme of countless working groups and discussion groups inside the forum.
Reuters