According to Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Berlin, fearing that the demonstrations violated regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control, the Berlin court ordered a ban on organising demonstrations under the "Querdenker" movement.
However, starting from noon on August 1, thousands of people gathered in many spots and marched through the streets.
About 2,200 police were deployed to respond. They also formed barricades to prevent marches by protesters.
Radical protesters tried to dismantle the police barricades to continue their march, prompting the police to use tear gas to disperse protesters.
According to a Berlin police spokesman, most of the protesters did not keep a safe distance, did not wear masks, and even attacked security forces on duty, prompting the police to use tear gas and professional skills to control the violence.
By the evening of August 1, more than 600 protesters had been arrested and about 10 police officers were injured in clashes in Berlin.
Previously, the protest organisers wanted to register about 22,500 people in inner Berlin, but despite being banned by the court, there were still more than 5,000 people participating in protests in many locations across Berlin, mainly in the inner city and the western district of Charlottenburg.
The "Querdenker" movement emerged in Germany last year, consisting mainly of opponents to anti-epidemic measures. Protests often attract large numbers of participants but are usually dispersed quickly because the majority of protesters violate epidemic prevention rules.
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany's domestic intelligence service, announced in April that it had placed several key members of the movement on a watch list for possible links to right-wing extremism.
Australia tightens COVID curbs as Brisbane extends lockdown, army patrols Sydney
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Australian Defence Force personnel and New South Wales police are deployed in Sydney. (Photo: Getty Images)
On Monday (August 2), Australia's Queensland state extended a COVID-19 lockdown in Brisbane, while soldiers began patrolling Sydney to enforce stay-at-home rules as Australia struggles to stop the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.
Queensland said it had detected 13 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours - the biggest one-day rise the state has recorded in a year. The lockdown of Brisbane, Australia's third-biggest city, was due to end on Tuesday but will now stay in place until late on Sunday.
The rising number of new cases in two of the country's biggest cities comes as disquiet grows on how the government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison is handling the pandemic.
Although Australia's vaccination drive has lagged many other developed economies, it has so far fared much better in keeping its coronavirus numbers relatively low, with just under 34,400 cases. The death toll rose to 925 after a man in his 90s died in Sydney.
Australia is going through a cycle of stop-start lockdowns in several cities after the emergence of the fast-moving Delta strain, and such restrictions are likely to persist until the country reaches a much higher level of vaccination coverage.
Prime Minister Morrison has promised lockdowns would be "less likely" once the country inoculates 70% of its population above 16 years of age - up from 19% at present. Morrison expects to hit the 70% mark by the end of the year.
Meanwhile the lockdown of Brisbane and several surrounding areas comes as Sydney, the biggest city in the country, begins its sixth week under stay-at-home orders.
New South Wales state, home to Sydney, said on Monday it detected 207 COVID-19 infections in the previous 24 hours as the daily rate of new cases continues to linger near the 16-month high recorded late last week.
The state has recorded more than 3,500 infections since the outbreak begun in June, when a limousine driver contracted the virus while transporting an overseas airline crew and has asked for military personnel to aid efforts to enforce the restrictions.
Some 300 army personnel, who will be unarmed and under police command, began door-to-door visits on Monday to ensure that people who have tested positive are isolating at their homes. They also accompanied police officers patrolling the areas of Sydney where most COVID-19 cases have been recorded.
