News
UK grapples with worst riots in 13 years
By Francesca Hangeior
UK authorities faced growing pressure Sunday to put an end to England’s worst rioting in 13 years after disturbances linked to child murders and involving far-riot agitators flared across the country.
Unrest related to misinformation about a mass stabbing that killed three young girls last week spread to multiple towns and cities on Saturday as anti-immigration demonstrators clashed with police.
The violence is posing a major test for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was elected only a month ago after leading Labour to a landslide win over the Conservatives.
About 90 people were arrested after skirmishes broke out at far-right rallies in numerous places including Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Blackpool and Hull, as well as Belfast in Northern Ireland.
In some instances, rioters threw bricks, bottles and flares at police — injuring several officers — looted and burnt shops, while demonstrators shouted anti-Islamic slurs as they clashed with counter-protesters.
The violence is the worst England has seen since the summer of 2011, when widespread rioting took place following the police killing of a mixed-race man in north London.
“We’ve had riots and clashes of this nature, but they have been pocketed in particular areas of the country. We’re now seeing it flooding across major cities and towns,” said Tiffany Lynch of the Police Federation of England and Wales.
The government said the police have “all the resources they need” to deal with the disorder as officers warned of more demonstrations on Sunday, leading to fears the unrest could spread further again.
Forces have drafted in extra officers while justice minister Shabana Mahmood has insisted “the whole justice system is ready to deliver convictions as quickly as possible”.
The government’s policing minister, Diana Johnson, told BBC News Sunday that the rioting would “not be tolerated”, vowing “penalties and consequences” for the disorder.
Saturday’s skirmishes marked the fourth day of unrest in several towns and cities following Monday’s frenzied knife attack in Southport, near Liverpool on England’s northwest coast.
They were fuelled by false rumours on social media about the background of British-born 17-year-old suspect Axel Rudakubana, charged with several counts of murder and attempted murder over the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party.
Rudakubana is accused of killing Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, and injuring another 10 people.
Police have blamed the violence on supporters and associated organisations of the English Defence League, an anti-Islam organisation founded 15 years ago whose supporters have been linked to football hooliganism.
Agitators have targeted mosques in Southport and in the northeastern English city of Sunderland, leading to hundreds of Islamic centres to bolster security amid fears for its worshippers’ safety.
The rallies have been advertised on far-right social media channels under the banner “Enough is enough”.
They have seen protesters waving English and British flags while chanting slogans like “Stop the boats” — a reference to irregular migrants travelling to Britain from France.
Anti-fascist demonstrators held counter-rallies in many cities, including Leeds where they shouted, “Nazi scum off our streets”, as the far-right protesters chanted, “You’re not English any more”.
Not all of Saturday’s estimated 30 gatherings turned violent and some participants claimed to have legitimate grievances.
“People are fed up with being told you should be ashamed if you’re white and working class but I’m proud white working class,” 41-year-old Karina, who did not give her surname, told AFP in Nottingham.
Commentators have suggested that the demonstrators, spurred on by online influencers, may feel emboldened by the political ascendancy of anti-immigration elements in British politics.
At last month’s election, the Reform UK party captured 14 percent of the vote — one of the largest vote shares for a far-right British party.
Starmer has accused “thugs” of “hijacking” the nation’s grief to “sow hatred” and has announced new measures to allow the sharing of intelligence, wider deployment of facial-recognition technology and criminal behaviour orders to restrict troublemakers from travelling.
Policing Minister Johnson said the government will do “whatever it takes” to ensure people are brought to justice, including the possibility of courts sitting overnight as they did during the riots in 2011.
By Mario Deepromoter
Ukraine on Friday restricted the use of Telegram for its government, military and security officials, citing “threats” to national security on the app founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov.
“The National Security and Defence Council decided to restrict the use of Telegram in government agencies, military formations and critical infrastructure facilities,” the council said in a statement on Facebook, saying it was a “matter of national security.”
By Mario Deepromoter
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Thursday, announced the commencement of the 2024 Olojo Festival, revealing the event’s ancestral and spiritual significance.
Ogunwusi spoke at his palace during a news conference on the 2024 Olojo Festival with the theme “Evolving Transformationaly Domestic Tourism With Community Festivals.”
According to him, the festival is significant because of the spiritual exercises that characterise it and the testimonies it attracts.
He said the celebration of the revered cultural event was held annually in the ancient city to celebrate the day of the first dawn.
The Ooni said the festival was in remembrance of “Ogun,” god of iron, who is believed to be the first son of Oduduwa, progenitor of the Yoruba people.
He added that the festival marked the birth of the “Aare Crown”.
Ooni said that several prayers rendered to Olodumare through the iconic “Aare crown” during the Olojo festival had been answered with so many testimonies.
He stated, “Olojo is the festival of dawn and the birth of the crown, “Ade Aare”, the crown of all crowns. The crown that gave birth to all crowns all over the world with all the colours of the rainbow. It is called the spectrum of rainbow crowns.
“The crown does everything humans do, it is a very spiritual crown, very sacred. I am a living example and witness. I have actually charged the crown, I have prayed with it, that I want this done, this particular time.
“This is my ninth year on the throne, going to my tenth year by the grace of God, I have seen a lot of testimonies.
“I will pray with the crown worn on my head, I pray to the almighty God, Olodumare through the crown. I have never seen any failure in it. It is our strong heritage, our strong culture and tradition and we will continue to uphold it forever.
He added that they were not idol worshipers, but rather custodians of their ancestors’ legacy, which continued to benefit them.
“These are things we should not joke about, It is our heritage, we should not compromise it with anything. It is created by nature, by God Almighty who is the supreme being,” he said.
Explaining the nature of the “Ade Aare”, Ooni described the crown as a sacred, mysterious being which bears the nature of humans.
According to him, the crown functions like humans.
He said, “Olojo is the time when the crown comes out for blessings. This is a crown that has life in it till date, right from time immemorial.
“The crown changes the weather, it does not see the atmosphere except once in a year, during Olojo festival.
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“In the crown, we see everything complete, we see the day, night, four corners of the world, the northern, southern, eastern and western poles.
“The birth of the crown is actually the first dawn pathfinded by Ogun, which is linked to our celebration.”
The Ooni added, “Olojo is the main new year celebration and this dovetails to everybody’s new yam festival all over because what is used to bring out yams are cutlasses and hoes made with iron.
“This is the time we get beautiful harvests, the time we get wallnuts, bitter kola. For us in Ile-Ife, we still uphold our heritage and that is why we celebrate the first dawn.”
Ogunwusi appreciated the sponsors for the festival.
“I want to appreciate you all, our sponsors, for everything you have been doing. For always responding to my calls. May God bless you and may our ancestors guide you all. I appreciate the state government as well,” he added.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Osun, Abiodun Bankole-Ojo, appealed to sponsors of the Olojo festival to look into the possibility of developing some tourism sites within the state, like the Oranmiyan Groove.
“Please corporate bodies, stop giving us monetary and material gifts, come and develop the Oranmiyan site as a tourist site. Government will not be able to do it all,” he said.
The Olojo Festival Chief Consultant, Ayo Olumoko, urged Nigerians and international tourists to grace the festival.
NAN reports that the Grand Finale for the 2024 edition of the annual Olojo Festival in Ile-Ife, will be held between September 26 and September 30.
On September 26, there will be Ayo Olopon Traditional Game, Festival Cultural Talent Hunt (Audition) and Olojo Festival Colloquium.
On September 27, there will be Ojo Ilagun, Iwode Ile-Ife (Community cleansing) and Oonirisa’s terrestrial message to the world.
September 28 is the festival’s grand finale official ceremony, Ojo Okemogun, and the Aare cultural procession.
September 29 is Ojo Ajoyo (Asekagba), Grand Royal Reception – Invitational, Adire Oodua Cultural Exchange Exhibition and Oonirisa’s Ife Award for Community Service, 2024.
September 30 would be for the Ojo Ibile (Oonirisa’s ancestral traditional propitiation) and cultural talents hunt.
By Mario Deepromoter
Trump expressed concern about his polling numbers among Jewish voters, lamenting his current standing compared to Harris, the Democratic candidate.
President Donald Trump suggested that Jewish-American voters could bear some responsibility if he loses the upcoming presidential election to Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump expressed concern about his polling numbers among Jewish voters, lamenting his current standing compared to Harris, the Democratic candidate.
Reuters reports that Trump claimed that Israel could face extinction within two years if Kamala Harris wins the election, suggesting that Jewish voters who support Democrats would share some responsibility for that outcome.
Speaking to a crowd, Trump stated, “If I don’t win this election, the Jewish community will play a significant role in that. If 40% or even 60% of people are voting for the enemy, Israel, in my opinion, will cease to exist within two years.”
He referenced a poll indicating that Harris had 60% support among American Jews.
Although he didn’t specify which poll he was citing, a recent Pew Research survey showed American Jews favouring Harris over Trump by 65% to 34%.
Trump also expressed disappointment over winning less than 30% of the Jewish vote in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.
Trump reiterated similar sentiments earlier at a summit in Washington aimed at combating antisemitism in the U.S.
The Trump campaign has prioritised appealing to Jewish voters in critical battleground states, where even a small shift in support could influence the election outcome.
In Pennsylvania, for instance, there are over 400,000 Jewish residents, and Biden won the state by just 81,000 votes in 2020.
In response to Trump’s comments, Morgan Finkelstein, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, criticised him for his past associations with individuals accused of antisemitism.
Trump has consistently denied allegations of antisemitism, noting his Jewish son-in-law during his speeches on Thursday.
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