International

UK: Protesters loot shops amid escalating riot

Published

8 months ago

August 5, 2024

UK: Protesters loot shops amid escalating riot

In the latest wave of unrest in United Kingdom, rioters hurled bricks, bottles, and flares at police officers, resulting in several injuries.

The chaos included looting and arson of shops, with demonstrators shouting anti-Islamic slurs as they clashed with counter-protesters.

During a rally in Rotherham, anti-immigration protesters broke a window at a migrant hotel and ignited a fire outside.

The altercations with police occurred around 2 PM on Sunday.

Some protesters were seen breaking into the hotel, while others set fire to a bin nearby. Despite police efforts to control the situation, the fire continued to burn.

Supporters of far-right activist Tommy Robinson were also present, chanting in his favour. Some masked demonstrators threw objects at police officers at the Holiday Inn in South Yorkshire, injuring at least one officer.

UK leader Keir Starmer addressed the nation, warning far-right protesters that they would “regret” their actions, marking England’s worst rioting in 13 years. The unrest, linked to the murder of three children earlier in the week, has spread across the country for the fifth consecutive day.

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Misinformation about a mass stabbing in Southport has fueled the violence, leading to clashes between anti-immigration protesters and police. Starmer condemned the “far-right thuggery” and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The riots initially erupted in Southport following a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party. The suspect, 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, is accused of killing three children and injuring ten others. False rumors about Rudakubana’s background circulated on social media, exacerbating the unrest.

Supporters of the English Defence League, an anti-Islam organization, have been implicated in the violence. Attacks on at least two mosques have prompted the UK interior ministry to offer emergency security measures for Islamic places of worship.

The rallies, promoted under the slogan “Enough is enough,” have seen participants waving British flags and chanting “Stop the boats,” referring to irregular migrants crossing from France. Anti-fascist groups have organized counter-rallies, including one in Leeds where they chanted, “Nazi scum off our streets.”

While many protests have turned violent, some, like a peaceful rally in Aldershot, have remained calm. Participants there held signs reading “Stop the invasion” and “We’re not far right, we’re just right.”

A protester in Nottingham expressed frustration, stating, “People are fed up with being told you should be ashamed if you’re white and working class, but I’m proud to be white working class.”

UK: Protesters loot shops amid escalating riot

AFP

International

EU approves 1st retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports

Published

1 day ago

April 9, 2025

Trends Admin

U.S President Donald Trump

EU approves 1st retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports

EU member states on Wednesday approved initial retaliatory tariffs of 10 per cent to 25 per cent on U.S. imports, which the European Commission says will be implemented next week.

This includes special levies on items such as jeans and motorcycles from the United States, while U.S.-made whiskey and other alcoholic beverages were removed from the commission’s proposed list.

Further counter-tariffs are due to be imposed in mid-May and at the end of the year, affecting products including beef, poultry and citrus fruits such as oranges or grapefruit.

Additional tariffs on nuts and soybeans are planned for early December.

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The tariffs approved on Wednesday are in response to the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium imports imposed about a month ago.

According to EU calculations, the U.S. measures affect exports worth 26 billion euros (28.8 billion U.S. dollars).

The measures being imposed by Brussels target goods worth approximately 21 billion euros, according to EU sources.

The EU has stressed its preference for negotiations rather than escalating the trade dispute.

Work is still under way on a further package of measures in response to the tariffs on cars and almost all other EU exports to the U.S. more recently announced by President Donald Trump.

Trump’s tariff policy aims to correct alleged trade imbalances and shift production to the United States, while partially offsetting tax cuts promised during his election campaign.

EU approves 1st retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports
dpa/NAN

International

Israeli strikes kill 20 in fresh attack on Gaza

Published

1 day ago

April 9, 2025

Trends Admin

Israeli strikes kill 20 in fresh attack on Gaza

Gaza’s civil defence agency said an Israeli strike on a residential building in the Shujaiya area of Gaza City killed at least 20 people on Wednesday, as the military said they were looking into the attack.

The agency’s spokesman, Mahmud Bassal told AFP the strike resulted in “20 martyrs and more than 40 injured” and the search for bodies in the rubble was ongoing.

Israel resumed intense strikes on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. Efforts to restore the truce have so far failed.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said on Wednesday that at least 1,482 Palestinians have been killed in the renewed Israeli operations, taking the overall death toll since the start of the war to 50,846.

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Hamas’s October 2023 attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Hossam Badran, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, told AFP on Tuesday that it was “necessary to reach a ceasefire” in Gaza.

He added that “communication with the mediators is still ongoing” but that “so far, there are no new proposals”.

Badran said Hamas “is open to all ideas that would lead to a ceasefire and stop the genocide enacted against our Palestinian people”.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that new negotiations were in the works aimed at getting more hostages released from captivity in Gaza.

Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas’s attack on Israel, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israeli strikes kill 20 in fresh attack on Gaza

AFP

International

Dominican Republic: At least 98 die in club roof collapse

Published

2 days ago

April 9, 2025

Trends Admin

Dominican Republic: At least 98 die in club roof collapse

A nightclub roof collapse in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday claimed at least 98 lives and left another 160 others injured.

Hundreds of people along with VIPs had been attending a meringue concert at an iconic nightclub when the collapse took place.

Crews were on Tuesday searching for potential survivors under the rubble at the one-story Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo.

What the rescuers said “We presume that many of them are still alive, and that is why the authorities here will not give up until not a single person remains under that rubble,” said Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Center of Emergency Operations.

Among the victims was Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern Montechristi, as was former Major League baseball player Octavio Dotel.

Reports in the country say merengue singer Rubby Perez, who was performing at the venue, died as a result of the collapse, but Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the Emergency Operations Center, said forensics experts had “not confirmed that they found the body.”

Legislator Bray Vargas was among those injured.

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“It was sudden. I thought it was an earthquake, so I threw myself to the ground and covered my head,” said Enrique Paulino, manager of the singer.

“One of our saxophonists is dead, we tried to get to the area where Rubby was but there was too much debris there,” he said.

Local media said there were between 500 and 1,000 people in the club when the disaster happened.

‘Main objective is to save lives’ Dominican President Luis Abinader posted on the X social media platform that all rescue agencies are “working tirelessly” to help those affected.

“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub. We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred,” he wrote.

“All relief agencies have provided the necessary assistance and are working tirelessly in the rescue efforts. Our prayers are with the affected families.”

Abinader visited the scene and hugged people looking for friends and family, some with tears streaming down their faces. He did not speak to reporters.

“The main objective is to save lives… We are deeply affected,” he said on his arrival.