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Curfew in Seattle

As protests against a global trade meeting here turned violent, Seattle mayor Paul Schell declared a civil emergency and said he would impose a 7 pm-to-dawn curfew for the city's downtown area.

The move came after day-long protests marked by repeated clashes between protestors and police, in which police fired tear gas, pepper spray and rubber pellets at protestors.

The protests threw the opening day of the World Trade Organisation meeting into chaos.

''People are advised to leave downtown now. Use southern routes if at all possible, and avoid the curfew area,'' Schell said in a statement.

''Only official traffic is authorised in the curfew area,'' the statement added.

The anti-trade protests stopped the WTO from holding its opening ceremony yesterday, saying the organisation's free-trade agenda favoured big business over environment and workers.

UNI

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