Huge crowds of pro-democracy protesters defy government calls to go home, bringing city's key districts to a standstill. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters have turned parts of Hong Kong into a massive street party on Monday night, with the mood turning festive just a day after riot police fired tear gas in ugly clashes. The huge crowds defied government calls to go home after Sunday's chaotic scenes, bringing key districts of the Asian financial hub to a standstill as they vowed to stay put until the Chinese government grants them free elections. Sunday's violence saw riot police fire clouds of tear gas as they struggled to control the protesters, in one of the biggest ever challenges to Beijing's rule of the semi-autonomous city. The anger gave way to a lighter atmosphere on Monday night as riot police retreated, leaving huge masses of protesters in control of at least four major thoroughfares around the city. Although there were few police on the scene, some protesters feared a repeat of Sunday's clashes, donning goggles and masks to protect themselves against tear gas. The demonstrators are furious over last month's announcement by Beijing that while it will allow the city's next leader to be elected in 2017, it will insist on picking the candidates, with critics branding the move a "fake democracy". Public anger over rampant inequality is also at its highest in years in a city once renowned for its stability. 'Umbrella revolution' Cantonese pop music filled the air during the second day of what some are dubbing the "umbrella revolution", as protesters have been using the canopies as shields against tear gas and the scorching sun alike. One British sympathiser won huge cheers as he set up a barbecue and began handing out hamburgers and sausages to the protesters. "I saw everybody was just standing around and just eating bread and bananas and I thought, 'These guys have been here for 24 hours now, and everybody needs cooked food'," Daniel Shepherd, a finance broker by day, told AFP news agency. "Firing tear gas at students that are unarmed, I think, seems a bit excessive," added the 32-year- old. The crowds hoisted up a makeshift copy of the "goddess of democracy" statue that graced the 1989 protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, while lamp posts were adorned with yellow ribbons - which, like the umbrella, have become a symbol of the movement. But many Hong Kongers expressed frustration at the huge disruption the protests have caused, with the crowds blocking key junctions in the busy Causeway Bay and Mongkok shopping districts as well as the biggest protest site in Admiralty. There was chaos on the transport network, shuttering many businesses, with schools in two central districts set to close for a second day on Tuesday. Some social workers and teachers also went on strike after the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) and the Professional Teachers' Union (PTU) called for members to take action, the South China Morning Post reported. Political headache for China Analysts said the protests put the Chinese government in an extremely difficult position. Communist authorities are worried that dealing with the protests too softly could encourage wider protests for greater freedoms on the mainland. But a heavy-handed response could spark an international outcry. "It has the potential to be such a major crisis," said Christopher Hughes, a China expert at the London School of Economics. He warned that Hong Kong could see a repeat of China's violent crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests. "If they did decide to send in the tanks, who could stop them?" he asked. "They did it in 1989 and got away with it and they're a lot more powerful now. There would be some negative impact, some business confidence, but how long will that last?" The United States urged Hong Kong's leaders to "exercise restraint". Former colonial power Britain also expressed concern, calling for "constructive" talks to end the standoff. Beijing moved swiftly to wipe mentions of the protests from Chinese social media - blocking photo-sharing service Instagram altogether - and reiterated its hardline stance, opposing the demonstrators' "illegal" actions. Al Jazeera's Adrian Brown, reporting from Beijing, confirmed the outage saying "many photos from the protests were being posted on the app, and it seems that China wants to starve this story of oxygen". He added that other blogs that mention the words "occupy" and "central" were also having problems

Israel's prime minister describes Iran, ISIL and Hamas as part of a single team, and compares them to Germany's Nazis. Israel's prime minister has warned the United Nations that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a far greater threat than the armed group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which he compared to the Palestinian group Hamas. Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu described Iran, ISIL and Hamas as part of a single team, and compared them all to Germany's Nazis in World War II. "The Nazis believed in a master race, the militant Islamists believe in a master faith," Netanyahu said. "They just disagree who among them will be the master of the master faith." "Make no mistake, [ISIL] must be defeated," Netanyahu added. "But to defeat [ISIL] and leave Iran as a threshold nuclear power is to win the battle and lose the war." He also said that ISIL and Hamas are "branches of the same poisonous tree" and likened Israel's deadly bombings of Gaza to US-led airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq and Syria. Iran, which is negotiating with Western powers to end economic sanctions, has rejected allegations that it is developing the capability to produce atomic weapons, and wants those sanctions lifted as part of any nuclear deal. Netanyahu is expected to raise the same concerns when he meets with US President Barack Obama on Wednesday. 'Dismantle nuclear capabilities' In his speech, Netanyahu said "Iran's nuclear military capabilities must be fully dismantled" adding that the goal of a charm offensive by Iran's "smooth talking president and foreign minister" was to get international sanctions lifted "and remove the obstacles to Iran's path to the bomb". He twice referred to the "Islamic State of Iran," which would appear to be a deliberate play on the country's official name - the Islamic Republic of Iran - and Islamic State, which is often referred to as ISIL or ISIS. Netanyahu referred mockingly to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's speech to the 193- nation General Assembly last week, in which he accused the West and its allies of nurturing ISIL. Rouhani said he supported efforts to combat ISIL, a Sunni armed group that views predominantly Shia Iran as heretical, though he said it should be handled by the region, not countries outside the Middle East. Israel-Palestine talks On the topic of the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, Netanyahu said he supports a "historic compromise" with the Palestinians that would bring peace and stability for the Israeli people and the region, but offered no new details of what such a compromise would envisage. An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire in late August ended a 50-day war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas that controls Gaza. Israel began an offensive on July 8 with the stated aim of halting cross-border rocket salvoes by Hamas and armed groups, killing more than 2,100 Palestinians, mostly civilians. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Riyad Mansour, Palestinian Authority ambassador to the UN, said the Israeli leader, "came to the General Assembly with a bunch of lies". Mansour said that Netanyahu is trying to brand Hamas as "terrorist organisation" to prevent a unity government between Hamas and Fatah, and stop the creation of an independent Palestinian state