Thousands rally in UK in solidarity with Palestinians --- kuwait times

LONDON: Tens of thousands of people rallied Saturday in London and other UK cities at pro-Palestinian demonstrations, amid police warnings that anyone showing support for the militant group Hamas could face arrest. Protesters marching through the heart of the British capital were shadowed by a heavy police presence of more than 1,000 officers. Similar rallies took place in Manchester in northern England, Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, and other UK cities. In London, demonstrators massed neared BBC News’ headquarters before an afternoon rally near Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Downing Street office and residence. Parts of the entrance to the building in central London’s Portland Place, where the rally started, were left splattered with red paint thrown by protesters from the Palestine Action group. The broadcaster has been criticized by supporters of both Zionists and the Palestinians. Some held Palestinian flags and placards – bearing slogans such as “Freedom for Palestine”, “End the massacre” and “Sanctions for Zionists”. Chants of “Rishi Sunak, shame on you” could be heard. “I think all just people around the world, not just in Britain, must stand up and call for this madness (to end),” Ismail Patel, chairman of the Friends of Al-Aqsa campaign, told AFP at the demonstration in the capital. “Otherwise, in the next few days, (we) might see a catastrophe unfolding.” ‘Without issue’ The rallies come as Zionist entity intensifies its war to destroy Hamas, relentlessly pounding the Gaza Strip and deploying tens of thousands of soldiers nearby ahead of an expected ground offensive. That follows last Saturday’s attack by Hamas, which saw hundreds of its fighters cross the border to take hostages and kill more than 1,300 people on the streets, in their homes and at a rave party. London’s Metropolitan Police Service said it deployed more than 1,000 officers Saturday, as the events thousands of miles away reverberate in Britain and elsewhere. In its latest update, the force said the rally passed “without issue”, with seven arrests made. It added there were eight further arrests during “small pockets of disorder and unacceptable criminality” in nearby Trafalgar Square afterwards. They related to suspected assaults on emergency workers, allegedly setting off fireworks in public places and suspected public order offences. Nine officers were treated for minor injuries. Police and the government had earlier noted a spike in UK anti-Semitic crime and incidents since the Hamas assault. Officers in Sussex, southeast England, arrested a 22-year-old woman Friday suspected of having made a speech backing Hamas. A banned terrorist organization in Britain, its members – or those found guilty of inviting support for it – can be jailed for up to 14 years under UK law. The Met said this week that general expressions of support for Palestinians, including flying the Palestinian flag, were not criminal offences but reiterated that supporting Hamas was a crime. Ferouza Namaz, 34, a student from Uzbekistan, joined the London protest, arguing that civilians in Gaza were “absolutely innocent”. “Just being Palestinian does not give the rights to kill them. These appalling atrocities have been taking place for so many years,” he added. Zionist entity insists it does not deliberately target civilians in the Gaza Strip or other Palestinian territories. Jeremy Corbyn, ex-leader of the main opposition Labor party – who was accused of allowing anti-Semitism to flourish during his four-year party tenure – addressed the London rally. “If you believe in international law, if you believe in human rights, then you must condemn what is happening now in Gaza by the army,” the now-independent lawmaker said. But reiterating his unwavering support for Zionist entity, Sunak said Saturday that Britain stands with the country “not just today, not just tomorrow, but always”. “No words can begin to describe the horror and barbarism unleashed a week ago,” he added.- AFP 13 hours ago

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more