UK police warn far-right fueled street violence affects resources needed to investigate other crimes

UK police warn far-right fueled street violence affects resources needed to investigate other crimes
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Police officers face off with protesters during the 'Enough is Enough' demonstration called by far-right activists in Bristol on August 3, 2024. Far-right protesters clashed with British police during tense rallies as unrest linked to disinformation about a mass stabbing that killed three young girls spread across the UK. (AFP)
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Updated 04 August 2024
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UK police warn far-right fueled street violence affects resources needed to investigate other crimes

UK police warn far-right fueled street violence affects resources needed to investigate other crimes

LONDON: Police warned Sunday that efforts to deal with the violence that has erupted across towns and cities in recent days in the wake of a stabbing rampage at a dance class that left three girls dead and several wounded means that other crimes may not be investigated fully.
The warning comes a day after dozens of people were arrested as far-right activists faced off with anti-racism protesters across the UK, with violent scenes played out in many locations across the UK, from the Northern Ireland capital, Belfast, to Liverpool in the northwest of England and Bristol in the west. Further arrests are likely as police scour CCTV, social media and body-worn camera footage.
In just one incident on Saturday, Merseyside Police said about 300 people were involved in violent disorder in Liverpool, which saw a community facility being set on fire. The Spellow Lane Library Hub, which was opened last year to provide support for one of the most deprived communities in the country, suffered severe damage to the ground floor. Police said rioters tried to prevent firefighters from accessing the fire, throwing a missile at the fire engine and breaking the rear window of the cab.
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said the attack was not just on the building but “on our very community” and “an insult to those families still grieving and survivors still struggling to make sense of Monday’s attack.”
Further gatherings are scheduled Sunday and police will continue to mount a significant security operation, deploying thousands more officers onto the streets, many in riot gear. Police have also made more prison cells available and are using surveillance and facial recognition technology.
“We’re seeing officers that are being pulled from day-to-day policing,” Tiffany Lynch from the Police Federation of England and Wales told the BBC. “But while that’s happening, the communities that are out there that are having incidents against them — victims of crime — unfortunately, their crimes are not being investigated.”
The violence erupted earlier this week, ostensibly in protest of Monday’s stabbing attack in Southport. A 17-year-old male has been arrested.
False rumors spread online that the young man was a Muslim and an immigrant, fueling anger among far-right supporters. Suspects under 18 are usually not named in the UK, but Judge Andrew Menary ordered Axel Rudakubana, born in Wales to Rwandan parents, to be identified, in part to stop the spread of misinformation.
Police said many of the actions are being organized online by shadowy far-right groups, who are mobilizing support online with phrases like “enough is enough,” “save our kids” and “stop the boats.” Counter-protests are also anticipated with the organization Stand Up To Racism.
Calls for protests have come from a diffuse group of social media accounts, but a key player in amplifying them is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, a longtime far-right agitator who uses the name Tommy Robinson. He led the English Defense League, which Merseyside Police has linked to the violent protest in Southport on Tuesday, a day after the stabbing attack. The group first appeared around 2009, leading a series of protests against what it described as militant Islam that often devolved into violence.
The group’s membership and impact declined after a few years, and Yaxley-Lennon, 41, has faced myriad legal issues. He has been jailed for assault, contempt of court and mortgage fraud and currently faces an arrest warrant after leaving the UK last week before a scheduled hearing in contempt-of-court proceedings against him.
Nigel Farage, who was elected to parliament in July for the first time as leader of Reform UK, has also been blamed by many for encouraging — indirectly — the anti-immigration sentiment that has been evident over the past few days. While condemning the violence, he has criticized the government for blaming it on “a few far right thugs” and saying “the far right is a reaction to fear … shared by tens of millions of people.”
Far-right demonstrators have held several violent gatherings since the stabbing attack, clashing with police Tuesday outside a mosque in Southport — near the scene of the horrific stabbing — and hurling beer cans, bottles and flares near the prime minister’s office in London the next day. Many in Southport have expressed their anger at the organized acts of violence in the wake of the tragedy.
The attack Monday on children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer dance class shocked a country where knife crime is a long-standing and vexing problem, though mass stabbings are rare.
Rudakubana has been charged with murder over the attack that killed Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6. He has also been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder for the eight children and two adults who were wounded.
Britain’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, has blamed the violence on “far-right hatred” and vowed to end the mayhem. He said police across the UK would be given more resources to stop “a breakdown in law and order on our streets.”
Policing minister Diana Johnson told the BBC that there is “no need” to bring in the army to help police in their efforts to confront the violence.
“The police have made it very clear that they have all the resources they need at the moment,” she said.


GCC expects India free trade talks to start in 2025

GCC expects India free trade talks to start in 2025
Updated 4 sec ago
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GCC expects India free trade talks to start in 2025

GCC expects India free trade talks to start in 2025
  • Secretary general was a key speaker at Kochi Dialogue in Kerala
  • Forum is co-organized by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs

NEW DELHI: The Gulf Cooperation Council looks forward to starting free trade negotiations with India this year, its secretary general said, as he outlined the bloc’s cooperation efforts at the Kochi Dialogue diplomacy conclave this week.

Themed “India’s Look West Policy in Action: People, Prosperity and Progress,” the forum was hosted on Jan. 16-17 by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the Centre for Public Policy Research think tank in Kochi, southern Kerala state.

The event brought together government officials and business leaders from India, as well as delegates from the GCC countries — Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — along with diplomats from Australia, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka.

GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi, who was one of the forum’s key speakers, highlighted the significance of India relations for the Gulf bloc and plans to move cooperation forward, including by engaging in long-awaited free trade agreement talks.

“Expanding free trade negotiations will pave the way for economic integration, removing trade barriers, expanding cooperation in digital economies, and transforming industries. I also hope that we hold our first round of FTA negotiation this year, 2025,” Al-Budaiwi told Kochi Dialogue participants.

Economic cooperation plays a crucial role in the GCC’s relations with India, with the value of annual trade exchanges reaching more than $160 billion last year.

Exports from GCC countries to India amount to about $90 billion, representing 71 percent of the bloc’s total exports.

“This underscores the significant importance of this cooperation,” the GCC secretary-general said.

“Trade between the two sides includes a diverse area of industrial and agricultural products, contributing to economic integration and creating opportunities for growth and market expansion.”

GCC investment in India exceeded $5.7 billion across various projects, which according to Al-Budaiwi reflected “promising opportunity” on both sides.

“These investments have enabled us to achieve significant economic benefits, including job creation and enhanced economic growth, making India, our friendly India, key trading partner for GCC countries,” he said.

So far, India has a free trade deal with only one GCC country, the UAE, with which it signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in 2022.

India has been pursuing a free trade pact with the whole bloc for the past two decades. A Framework Agreement on Economic Cooperation was signed in 2004 but two rounds of negotiations — in 2006 and 2008 — were inconclusive.

The agreement would give India access to a large and affluent market for its goods, as well as concessions on visas in a region that is a second home for about nine million Indian expat workers.

 


South Korea plane crash investigators find feathers in engines

South Korea plane crash investigators find feathers in engines
Updated 17 January 2025
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South Korea plane crash investigators find feathers in engines

South Korea plane crash investigators find feathers in engines
  • Jeju Air crash was the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil
  • South Korean and US investigators are still probing the cause of the crash

SEOUL: Investigators probing the Jeju Air crash that killed 179 people last month have found feathers in both engines, according to South Korean media reports, with a bird strike being examined as one possible cause.
The Boeing 737-800 was flying from Thailand to Muan, South Korea, on December 29 carrying 181 passengers and crew when it belly-landed at Muan airport and exploded in a fireball after slamming into a concrete barrier.
It was the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil.
“Feathers were found in both engines,” the government-linked National Institute of Biological Resources told South Korean broadcaster MBN, without specifying who gave them the information.
“We have completed the analysis of a total of 17 samples, including feathers and blood,” it said.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport declined to confirm the report when asked by AFP.
South Korean and US investigators are still probing the cause of the crash, which prompted a national outpouring of mourning with memorials set up across the country.
Investigators have pointed to a bird strike, faulty landing gear and the runway barrier as possible issues.
The pilot warned of a bird strike before pulling out of a first landing attempt. The plane crashed on its second attempt when the landing gear did not emerge.
Lead investigator Lee Seung-yeol told reporters last week that “feathers were found” in one of the plane’s recovered engines but cautioned that a bird strike does not lead to an immediate engine failure.
“We need to investigate whether it affected both engines. It is certain that one engine has definitely experienced a bird strike,” he said.
The investigation was further clouded on Saturday when the transport ministry said the black boxes holding the flight data and cockpit voice recorders for the crashed flight had stopped recording four minutes before the disaster.
Authorities have raided offices at Muan airport, a regional aviation office in the southwestern county, and Jeju Air’s office in the capital Seoul as part of the investigation.
The land ministry has extended Muan airport’s closure until January 19.


Police detain suspect in stabbing of Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan

Police detain suspect in stabbing of Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan
Updated 17 January 2025
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Police detain suspect in stabbing of Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan

Police detain suspect in stabbing of Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan
  • Police were seen escorting a man wearing a white T-shirt, whom the media identified as the suspect
  • Khan, one of Bollywood’s most bankable stars, was taken to hospital Thursday in blood-soaked clothes

MUMBAI: Indian television channels said on Friday police in the financial capital of Mumbai had detained, and were questioning, a suspect in a late-night stabbing attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, but police did not confirm any detention. Khan, 54, was stabbed six times during a burglary attempt at his home in an upscale neighborhood early on Thursday. Doctors who operated on him for wounds to his spine, neck and hands have said he was out of danger.
The India Today channel, among others, showed police escorting a man wearing a white T-shirt into a police-station and identified him as the suspect.
However police officer Dikshit Gedam did not confirm the detention, saying instead there had been no major development.
“There’s no update from yesterday regarding what we said,” Gedam, the senior investigating officer, told Reuters.
The previous day police said they had identified the perpetrator of the apparent robbery attempt, and launched a search for him.
Khan, 54, one of Bollywood’s most bankable stars, who has appeared in many films and television series, had walked into the hospital in blood-soaked clothes, accompanied by his six-year old son, Taimur.
“If the knife had penetrated any further, there would have been an injury to the spine,” Niraj Uttamnani, one of the doctors who treated Khan, told reporters, adding that the actor had escaped by a distance of just 2 mm (0.08 inch).
“He is very fortunate.”
Another doctor, Nitin Dange, added, “He is able to walk, and he is stable.” The attack on Khan, who is the son of India’s former cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and actress Sharmila Tagore, shocked the film industry and residents of the city, many of whom called for better policing and security.
In a statement on social media, Khan’s wife, Kareena Kapoor Khan, asked media to stop speculating about the case.
“It has been an incredibly challenging day ... and we are still trying to process the events,” the 44-year-old actor said on her Instagram profile.
The couple have two boys, in addition to Khan’s two children from a previous marriage.


Kyiv says Ukraine missiles hit army radars in Russia

Kyiv says Ukraine missiles hit army radars in Russia
Updated 17 January 2025
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Kyiv says Ukraine missiles hit army radars in Russia

Kyiv says Ukraine missiles hit army radars in Russia
  • Kyiv has stepped up its cross border drone and missile attacks on Russian territory
  • Moscow in turn has been targeting Ukrainian energy facilities

KYIV: Ukraine said Friday it had launched a missile strike one day earlier on the western Belgorod region targeting air defense systems and damaging military radars.
Kyiv has stepped up its cross border drone and missile attacks on Russian territory and said this week it had launched its largest barrage of the war on military sites and energy installations over the border.
The Ukrainian General Staff wrote on social media that missile units had carried out “precision strikes” on Russian military targets in Belgorod, which borders Ukraine.
It said it had attacked air defense systems under the 568th anti-aircraft missile regiment and claimed that an S-400 radar had been damaged alongside equipment linked to another brigade.
There was no immediate response from Moscow to the claims, which could not be verified by AFP.
Moscow in turn has been targeting Ukrainian energy facilities and this week launched dozens of missiles and drones at sites mainly in western Ukraine near the border with Poland.
Kyiv said Friday that its air defense systems had shot down 33 Russian drones over 11 Ukrainian region at night.


German prosecutor says currently ‘no prospect’ of charges against Madeleine McCann suspect

German prosecutor says currently ‘no prospect’ of charges against Madeleine McCann suspect
Updated 17 January 2025
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German prosecutor says currently ‘no prospect’ of charges against Madeleine McCann suspect

German prosecutor says currently ‘no prospect’ of charges against Madeleine McCann suspect
  • Christian Brueckner was formally identified in 2020 as a suspect in the case of Madeleine McCann
  • British toddler disappeared from her bedroom in 2007 during a family holiday in Portugal
LONDON: The German prosecutor investigating the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann has said there is currently no prospect of charges being brought against the main suspect in the case, Sky News reported on Friday.
Christian Brueckner was formally identified in 2020 as a suspect in the case of Madeleine McCann, who disappeared from her bedroom in 2007 during a family holiday in Portugal. He denies any involvement.
Brueckner, a convicted child abuser and drug trader, is currently serving a seven-year prison term in Germany for raping a woman in the part of Portugal’s Algarve region where McCann went missing. His sentence runs until September 2025.
In October, Brueckner was acquitted of unrelated charges of rape and sexual abuse of children by a German court, raising the possibility that he will be released from jail this year.
“There is currently no prospect of an indictment in the Maddie case,” German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said in an interview published by Sky News on Friday. He added that as things stand Brueckner would be released in early September.
McCann, then aged 3, disappeared from her bedroom during a family holiday in the resort town of Praia da Luz while her parents were dining with friends nearby. Her fate remains a mystery and no body has ever been found.
German police said in June 2020 that McCann was assumed dead and that Brueckner, in his 40s, was likely responsible for it,
The prosecutor said he could apply for a new arrest warrant for Brueckner to remain in custody beyond September. One of Brueckner’s lawyers, cited by Sky News, said the defense team would oppose such appeal.