United Kingdom 01 (Dec 10 to Jan 12)

[kennynah]

on sat, 26Mar2011, at 645pm singapore time, a huge protest campaign will happen in london... some 1 million people are expected to participate in the march...this rally is legally organised by their TUC (Trade Union Congress) to protest price hikes of general public services...

i was invited to join in, but i politely declined....

[winston]

Hi K - got some nice pictures or not ?

Hundreds arrested after anti-cuts demo by Danny Kemp

Police clashed with bottle-throwing protesters in London early Sunday, overshadowing a peaceful march by more than 250,000 people against government spending cuts.

At least 214 people were arrested and 84 people were hurt when a small group of "criminal" demonstrators broke free from Saturday's main rally, the biggest in the capital since protests against the Iraq war in 2003.

A group of several hundred masked rioters attacked the iconic Ritz Hotel, occupied a luxury food store, smashed up shops and banks and started a bonfire in Trafalgar Square before police finally contained them.

"I think it's a game of two halves. Two hundred and fifty thousand people came to central London and protested peacefully," said Commander Bob Broadhurst of Scotland Yard, who led the police operation.

"But what we have had unfortunately is a group of criminals, nothing to do with that march, have decided to -- on their own steam -- attack buildings in central London and attack police officers," he told Sky News.

Several hundred black-clad protesters covering their faces with scarves hurled fireworks, petrol bombs and paint at police, AFP reporters saw.

Thirty-one police officers and 53 members of the public were injured in the violence, police said. Sixteen members of the public and 11 police needed hospital treatment.

The 214 arrests were for public order offences, criminal damage, aggravated trespass and violent disorder, said police.

About 4,500 police officers were deployed for the protest after several British student rallies descended into chaos last year, with one culminating in protesters damaging the car carrying Prince Charles and his wife Camilla.

It was the largest protest in London since one million people marched against the Iraq war in February 2003.

After coming to power in May, the coalition announced cuts worth £81 billion ($131 billion, 92 billion euros) over five years to slash a record public deficit it blames on the previous Labour government.

The cuts involve most government departments, with the loss of 300,000 public service jobs and pay freezes for civil servants.


Source: AFP European Edition

[kennynah]

i didn't go anywhere near this rally...i knew something outrageous will happen and it did without surprise..

was in church earlier and i didn't see the solicitor, a fellow congregation, who extended the invitation...hope she wasn't among those rounded up for obstreperous behaviour...

[kennynah]

and by the way.... as of 27mar@12am, the clocks countrywide are moved forward by 1 hour.... the daylight saving is officially over...

so, singapore is now only 7 hours ahead of UK, even though, it remains GMT +8

[kennynah]

and i always wondered why PRCs and Asians so steam to come over to london, uk ?? (i'm asking myself )

and this horrendous crime was committed within 6km radius of central london...

i sense this is not a safe place...

***********

30 March 2011, 13:14

Five-Year-Old Girl Shot In South London

Police are searching for several youths after a five-year-old girl was shot and injured in a south London shop.

The girl was hit in the chest, and a 35-year-old man also found at the Stockwell Food & Wine shop in Lambeth, was shot in the face.

The two victims are in a critical but stable condition in hospital. The five-year-old was visiting relatives who owned the shop and the man lived above the premises.

Police said two black youths were believed to have run into the shop shortly before the shots were fired.

"The youths had been chased from Broom Grove Road, across Stockwell Road, and into the shop by three other black youths on bicycles," a statement said.

"Once the youths on bikes were outside the shop, one of them fired shots into the shop front."

Officers believe the two intended targets then ran from the shop to chase the three on bicycles, heading back towards the Stockwell Park Estate.

Detective Chief Inspector Tony Boughton: "This is a terrible incident where an innocent child has been seriously injured. We want to hear from the local community, who might have seen these youths cycling around the estate between 9pm and 10pm.

"I appeal to those who have information or were involved in this shooting to come forward and assist us with this investigation.

"These criminals have seriously injured two innocent bystanders and must face the consequences of their actions."

Sky reporter Jane Dougall, in Stockwell, said a local man was saying "he came out of his house and saw what he described as five youths - aged between 13 and 15 - on bikes.

"As soon as the gunshots had happened he saw them fleeing into the estate across the road.

"It has been reported that other local people have said that five youths had an argument with the shopkeeper and the shopkeeper had banned them from his shop."

Peter Robbins, one of three Lambeth councillors who represent the area, said: "There is a fairly well-known problem with gangs and guns in Lambeth, it is something that the council and the police are working together incredibly hard to solve.

"Obviously, there is always more you can do and incidents like this really bring that home."

Mr Robbins said the local community was "numb and horrified, and rightly so".

No arrests have been made and the investigation is continuing.

Witnesses or anyone with any information are asked to call the Operation Trident incident room on 0208 247 4553 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

:: Meanwhile, at least 22 people have been arrested during a police operation aimed at cracking down on drug gang violence across Wandsworth, Merton, Sutton, Kingston, Waltham Forest, Lambeth and Croydon.

Police seized sums of cash amounting to around £10,000, drugs, various drug dealing paraphernalia such as scales, numerous mobile phones and jewellery believed to be stolen.

[kennynah]

just like in Singapore, UK citizens are also feeling the pressure of europeans coming into their country and taking away their jobs..

their PM has been constantly whacked by public from every corner...and an effective opposition in parliament...and

as a result, they are now looking at allowing ONLY about 200,000 foreigners to enter UK for work.

remember, they are a country of 60million and they only allow 200K foreign workers....

Singapore has 3.5mil Singaporeans and we have allowed 2 million into Singapore over the years... and this number will eventually increase to 4 million foreigners in the years ahead...

[kennynah]

i guess Singaporeans are more involved and concerned with our coming GE to notice that Apr29, is when william and kate will marry...

i know i wont be jamming with all these loyal subjects, now lining all along the route leading to West Minster Abbey and Buckingham Palace, to have a glimpse of their future king and queen

what we'll be doing is to visit these places today, a day before their big day, just to walk by and perhaps shoot some shots of the people who have been camping over the last 2 nights to secure their "front row" view along the streets

[winston]

Who's paying for all this ? The royal family themselves or the British tax-payers ?


Wait nearly over as British royal wedding dawns

LONDON (Reuters) - The wait is nearly over for Prince William and Kate Middleton, who are to marry at Westminster Abbey on Friday in a dazzling display of royal pomp and pageantry set to draw a huge audience at home and abroad.

For others, it was an event to avoid, reflecting divided public opinion about the biggest royal occasion for nearly a decade and one which supporters hope heralds a renaissance for a monarchy that, following the divorce and death of Princess Diana, had seemed at peril from calls for a British republic.

"It's just a wedding," said 25-year-old Ivan Smith. "Everyone is going mad about it. I couldn't care less."

A series of scandals involving senior royals, Britain's economic difficulties and Diana's death in 1997 aged 36 in a car crash after her divorce from Prince Charles led many to question the future of an institution rooted in the imperial past.

A Daily Mail survey showed 51 percent of people believed the wedding would strengthen the monarchy in Britain, compared with 65 percent who said the marriage between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005 would weaken it.

However, while Queen Elizabeth, 85, exercises limited power, and is largely a symbolic figurehead in Britain and its former colonies, critics question the privileges she and her family enjoy, particularly at a time when the economy is so weak.

The monarchy officially costs the British taxpayer around 40 million pounds ($67 million) a year, while anti-royalists put the figure at closer to 180 million pounds.

Some estimates say the cost of deploying some 5,000 police officers on the streets on Friday, not to mention intelligence and military personnel, could exceed 10 million pounds.

"I personally think it's a waste of money," said Ollie Sam, a 26-year-old London artist.

About 5,500 street parties will be held across Britain, in keeping with tradition, although they will be more common in the more affluent south of England than in the poorer north.


Source: Reuters US Online Report Top News

[iam802]

Will just lump it with the Royal Wedding... (in case there's people who wants to get the ring)

--
Chinese manufacturer capitalizes on the Royal Wedding
http://www.panasianbiz.com/asia/china/c ... l-wedding/

[iam802]

Glencore float will create five new billionaires

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comm ... aires.html

- it will also be fast tracked into FTSE 100 at the end of the first trading day