Anti-Trump protesters clash with riot police in Washington

Protesters and an Associated Press photographer say police fired rubber projectiles at them during demonstrations against U.S.President Donald Trump in downtown Washington.

An AP photographer says he was hit three times by projectiles once on his left shin and twice on his right while covering demonstrations Friday.

A photo of a spent canister appears to show the bottom part of a "rubber sponge." The foam-nosed projectile is launched at high-speed by police as a form of less lethal force.

District of Columbia police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said police did not use rubber bullets but would not comment on whether they used rubber sponges. He said he will "gladly provide" a comprehensive after-action report once the demonstrations wrap up.

Demonstrations broke out across theU.S. as Trump was sworn in as America's45thpresident on Friday.

Black-clad anarchists smashed windows and clashed with police in Washington, D.C.,less than akilometre from whereTrump took the oath of office, smashingstore and car windows and fightingwith officers in riot gear who responded with pepper spray and stun grenades. Police said at least 200 people have been arrested.

About 500 people, some wearing masks and kerchiefs over their faces, marched through the city's downtown, breaking thewindows of a Bank of America branch, a McDonald's outlet and aStarbucksshop, all symbols of the American capitalist system.

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The crowd, which carried banners and at least one sign thatread "Make Racists Afraid Again," largely dispersed after policeresponded in force.

D.C. police saidtwo uniformed officers sustained "minor injuries" in the altercationsand that numerous arrests had been made and suspects charged with rioting.

Shortly after, workers were on the scene cleaning up the broken windows and debris.

In San Francisco, around 3,000 people staged a protest on the Golden Gate Bridge. Demonstrators say it was a symbol of love rather than an anti-Trump event and held hands as a show of unity. Eight people were arrested.

Hundreds gathered in Houston where immigrant communities and labour groups came together and marched through downtown after gathering in Sesquicentennial Park. Organizers described the event, attended by a range of groups including interfaith Justice Coalition and Planned Parenthood, as "the start of the resistance movement"to keep communities safe, free and thriving.

Similarly, hundreds gathered in Denver and Phoenix carrying anti-Trump signs. Both were peaceful and didn't result in any arrests.

Protests around the world

On his inauguration day, Trump faced protests not just at home but in cities from Toronto to Sydney, Addis Ababa and Dublin over his politics, which critics say are divisive and dangerous.

Protesters in Montreal burned an American flag and an effigy of Trump in the first of several planneddemonstrations against the new U.S. president.

About 200 people marched through downtown, waving signs andchanting slogans, most commonly "No Trump, No Hate, America wasNever Great!"

They stopped outside the offices of the U.S. Consulate,where they set fire to a cardboard replica of Trump as a dozen police officers guarded the door.

Organizer Nicole LeBlanc said despite the focus on Trump, theprotest was less about him than the values he stands for.

"We want to start a conversation about the fact that the sexist,anti-immigrant,Islamophobic, xenophobic policies that Trumprepresents are not just limited to Trump," she said. "There are far-right groups with very similar policies operatinghere in Quebec."

A lone Trump supporter who showed up wearing a shirt reading "Hillary for Prison" was chased andknocked to the ground before police intervened.

'Build bridges not walls'

A banner reading "Build Bridges Not Walls"was draped across London's Tower Bridge Friday. Protesters on the iconic bridge held up pink letters reading "Act Now!"soon after sunrise, while others unfurled the banner over the railings and a speedboat with a black flag reading "Build Bridges Not Walls" raced down the River Thames.

The protest in London was organized by the campaign group also called Bridges not Walls, in reference to Trump's pledge to build a wall on the Mexican border.

Hundreds marched in Madrid, making their way the city's Opera House to the emblematic Sol Square, wavingplacards calling Trump a racist andhomophobic, and hundreds more gathered in protest in central Brussels, lighting candles in defence of women's rights in the bitter cold on Friday evening.

"It's as important as anything is important, to have respect for everyone. Because women are oppressed and have been oppressed and will continue to be oppressed unless we do something about it,"said U.S. citizen David Berstein, who lives in the Belgian capital.

Along with demonstrations in other parts of Europe, protests erupted in Latin American countries includingBolivia, Peru and Mexico.

Massive protest actions against Trumpincluding a Women'sMarch on Washingtonare planned for Saturday and are expected to draw more than a hundred thousand participants.

U.S. embassies and consulates in at least 10countriesin Asia, Europe and Latin America were warning of potentially violent protests through the weekend, as well.

Security notices posted by U.S. diplomatic missions in Chile, Denmark, France, Greece, Haiti, Italy the Netherlands, Paraguay, Portugal and the Philippines advised American in those countries to steer clear of embassies and consulates on Friday and, in some cases, on Saturday and Sunday, due to the possibility of unrest and clashes with police.

The notices saidthe planned demonstrations are either focused on "U.S. politics" or are "inauguration-related."

'Great moment in history'

Ahead of the inauguration, Trump supporters flooded into the American capital, many sportingshirts and hats bearing his "Make America Great Again" campaignslogan.

Carl Beams, 36, from Howell, New Jersey, stood in line withthousands of Trump supporters waiting to enter the National Mallto view the midday inauguration.

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"This is a great moment in history. I wanted to be able tosay I was here first-hand," said Beams, who runs a martial-artsschool.