European leaders urge calm amid virus protests

Riot police use a water canon against protestors in Brussels on Sunday (Olivier Matthys/AP)

Authorities across Europe were pleading for patience, calm and a willingness to get vaccinated as infections spike upwards again and in face of demonstrations protesting against fresh Covid-19 measures in recent days.

And to those who abused the protests to foment violence, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte called them “idiots”.