irritant

Public debate about the massacre has long been an irritant for South Korean conservatives, who have at times sought to downplay the government’s role or promoted conspiracy theories that the protests were an act of North Korean subterfuge.

And Trump left some Western leaders nonplussed when he offered up Hungary’s Viktor Orban — who has worked systematically to undermine his own country’s democracy and is a major irritant to almost every other member of the EU — as a character reference.

While Hasina’s stay in India remains an irritant, a recent interview by Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus also took India by surprise.

Protesters, meanwhile, accused officers of being heavy-handed - using flashbang grenades and irritant sprays to control the crowds.

By contrast, protestors said officers were heavy-handed and responded with flashbang grenades and irritant sprays to control the hostile crowd.