London pro-Palestinian march passes off peacefully, police clash with far-right protesters

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Updated 12 November 2023
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London pro-Palestinian march passes off peacefully, police clash with far-right protesters

  • Government ministers had called for Saturday’s march to be canceled since it falls on Armistice Day
  • Protest is latest in a series of rallies in London to show support for the Palestinians

LONDON: Pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched peacefully through central London on Saturday, even as right-wing counter-protesters clashed with police, after a week of angry debate over whether to permit the event on a day when Britain honored its war dead.
The day unfolded in a backdrop of tensions fueled by Home Secretary Suella Braverman who earlier this week characterized pro-Palestinian demonstrations as “hate marches” and called for Saturday’s event to be blocked out of respect for Armistice Day events marking the end of World War I.
The skirmishes between police and counter-protesters carrying the Union flag of Great Britain and the red-and-white flag of England appeared to confirm the concerns that Braverman’s comments would attract right-wing elements looking for an excuse to confront the pro-Palestinian marchers.
Braverman, who oversees law enforcement in Britain, must now resign, said Humza Yousaf, the first minister of Scotland.




Counter-protesters react in front of police officers on the day of a demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. (Reuters)

“The far-right has been emboldened by the Home Secretary,” Yousaf said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “She has spent her week fanning the flames of division. They are now attacking the Police on Armistice Day. The Home Secretary’s position is untenable.”
London police arrested 82 people at one location to prevent a breach of the peace. The force said they were part of a group of counter-protesters trying to reach the main protest march. Another 10 arrests were made throughout the day, on charges including possession of a knife and attacking an emergency worker.
Police described the counter-protesters as mostly soccer “hooligans” from around the UK who spent the day confronting officers who tried to prevent them from attacking the march. Nine officers were injured, including two who were hospitalized.
“The extreme violence from the right-wing protesters toward the police today was extraordinary and deeply concerning,″ Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said in a statement. “They arrived early, stating they were there to protect monuments, but some were already intoxicated, aggressive and clearly looking for confrontation. Abuse was directed at officers protecting the Cenotaph, including chants of ‘You’re not English any more.’″
 




Police officers detain a man in the street close to the 'National March For Palestine' in central London on November 11, 2023, as counter-protest groups are monitored by police. (AFP)

Twist said the march was the largest in London since the start of the conflict. Police estimated that some 300,000 people took part, snaking their way through the city from Hyde Park to the US Embassy about 3 miles (5 kilometers) away.
More than 2,000 officers, some called in from surrounding forces, are on the streets of the capital this weekend to make to ensure marchers obey the law and to prevent potential confrontations with counter protesters, the Metropolitan Police Service said.
Police are also taking steps to reassure the Jewish community, which has been targeted by a surge in antisemitic incidents since Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and Israeli forces responded with strikes and sending troops into the Gaza Strip.
“We know the cumulative impact continued protest, increasing tensions, and rising hate crimes are having across London and the fear and anxiety our Jewish communities in particular are feeling,” the police said in a statement. “They have a right to feel safe in their city, knowing they can travel across London without feeling afraid of intimidation or harassment.”
The law enforcement operation comes after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley resisted pressure from political leaders to ban the march.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Braverman have also expressed concern that the protests could spill over into Sunday, when King Charles III and the prime ministers of Commonwealth nations will lay wreaths at the national war memorial, known as the Cenotaph.
The commemoration events are “sacred” to Britain and should be a time for unity and “solemn reflection,” Sunak said in a statement before Saturday’s events got underway.
“It is because of those who fought for this country and for the freedom we cherish that those who wish to protest can do so, but they must do so respectfully and peacefully,” he said.
While Sunak and Braverman’s comments were directed at pro-Palestinian protesters, critics had said they risked sparking confrontations between the marchers and far-right groups.




People demonstrate on Vauxhall Bridge during a protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. (Reuters)

Of most concern were Braverman’s comments suggesting that London police had been more lenient toward pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Black Lives Matter supporters than right-wing protesters or soccer hooligans. Braverman said the Metropolitan Police force was ignoring lawbreaking by “pro-Palestinian mobs.”
On Saturday, fights broke out near the Cenotaph between police and right-wing protesters chanting “England till I die.″ Police used batons to stop the protesters, and ceremonies at the memorial weren’t interrupted. Other clashes took place in other parts of the city, including Chinatown and near the Houses of Parliament.
Following the confrontation near the Cenotaph, police said the counter-protesters were not a single group and officers were tracking them as they moved away into other parts of London. If they attempted to attack the pro-Palestinian march, “we will use all the powers and tactics available to us to prevent that from happening,” police said.
Organizers of the pro-Palestinian demonstration say they have taken steps to ensure it doesn’t conflict with Armistice Day events. The march moved off just after midday, more than an hour after the nation observed a two-minute silence, following a route from Hyde Park to the US Embassy that doesn’t go near the Cenotaph.
Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said the marchers are calling for an end to the bombing of Gaza, and he criticized Braverman for characterizing the protesters as extremists who were going to desecrate the Cenotaph. The group has sponsored marches every Saturday in London since the war began.
“We said to the police we did not want to be anywhere near Whitehall on Nov. 11; we did not want to disrupt preparations for the commemoration of remembrance on the Sunday,” Jamal told the BBC. “It is inconceivable, unless she doesn’t speak to the police, that the home secretary did not know that when she made her remarks.”




Counter-protesters react in front of police officers on the day of a demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. (Reuters)

In an effort to prevent confrontations, police declared an exclusion zone around the Cenotaph and stationed a 24-hour guard around the memorial. Protesters were also barred from the streets around the Israeli Embassy, near the start of the march, and some areas next to the US Embassy.
While the march was largely peaceful, protesters continued to use language that has sparked concern among many Jewish groups and those who see Israeli actions in Gaza as legitimate acts of self-defense.
Marchers carried signs accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza and chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.’’ While Palestinian supporters say the chant is a call for freedom for everyone living in the area between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean, many Jews see it as a call for the destruction of Israel.
Such language strikes fear into the Jewish community, Lee Harpin, the political editor of the Jewish News, told Sky News. Even though he supports the right to protest, he said, the images from the demonstrations often have fringe elements spouting violent views.
“It’s fair to say, I mean, for most of the Jewish community, looking on, looking at social media, seeing some of the banners, the hateful slogans being chanted, the headbands that look like they are Hamas-related at the very least, it’s very frightening to, to, to witness mass demos taking place on the streets of London,” he said. “That’s not to say everybody on these demos ... is violent or hateful. But there’s definitely a fringe on these demos every single week.”

Disrespectful
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has criticized the pro-Palestinian rally on Armistice Day as disrespectful.
While previous PSC marches have been generally peaceful, there have been more than 100 arrests for offenses including showing support for Hamas, which is banned as a terrorist organization in Britain, or holding placards with offensive slogans.




Former Labout party leader Jeremy Corbyn (C) joins protesters with placards and flags taking part in the 'National March For Palestine' in central London on November 11, 2023, calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Since Hamas’s assault in southern Israel on Oct. 7, there has been strong support and sympathy for Israel from Western governments, including Britain’s, and many citizens. But the Israeli military response has also prompted anger, with weekly protests in London demanding a cease-fire.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman, the minister in charge of policing, has courted controversy by calling the protesters “hate marchers,” and Sunak has come under pressure from his own lawmakers to sack her after she accused the police of double standards over how they treated “pro-Palestinian mobs.”
Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf on Saturday called for her to resign, blaming her for emboldening the far-right protesters.
“She has spent her week fanning the flames of division,” he said on X.


Pope Leo to take charge of Catholic Church at grandiose inaugural Mass

Updated 11 sec ago
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Pope Leo to take charge of Catholic Church at grandiose inaugural Mass

  • Sunday’s Mass will feature prayers in several languages, in a nod to the global reach of the 1.4-billion member Church, including Latin, Italian, Greek, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Polish, and Chinese

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV will formally take up his role as leader of the global Catholic Church on Sunday, with a Mass in St. Peter’s Square that will draw tens of thousands of well-wishers, including dozens of world leaders and European royalty.
Crowds are expected to cram the Square and surrounding streets in Rome for the formal celebration, which starts at 10:00 a.m. (0800 GMT) and includes the first ride in the white popemobile by Leo, the first pope from the United States.
Born in Chicago, the 69-year-old pontiff spent many years as a missionary in Peru and also has Peruvian citizenship, meaning he is also the first pope from that South American nation.
Robert Prevost, a relative unknown on the world stage who only became a cardinal two years ago, was elected pope on May 8 after a short conclave of cardinals that lasted barely 24 hours.
He replaces Pope Francis, from Argentina, who died on April 21 after leading the Church for 12 often turbulent years during which he battled with traditionalists and championed the poor and marginalized.
US Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert who clashed with Francis over the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies, will lead a US delegation alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Catholic.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will also attend and would be happy to meet other leaders, a top aide has said, as he did at Francis’ funeral when he had face-to-face talks with US President Donald Trump in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Zelensky last met Vance in February in the White House, when the two men clashed fiercely in front of the world’s media.
Also expected at the Vatican ceremony are the presidents of Peru, Israel and Nigeria, the prime ministers of Italy, Canada and Australia, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Many European royals will also be in the VIP seats near the main altar, including Spanish King Felipe and Queen Letizia.

FOCUS ON PEACE
In various sermons and comments since his election as pope, Leo has praised Francis repeatedly but has not offered many hints about whether he will continue with the late pontiff’s vision of opening the Church up to the modern world.
His homily on Sunday is likely to indicate some of the priorities for his papacy, having already made clear over the past 10 days that he will push for peace whenever possible.
His first words in an appearance to crowds in St. Peter’s Square on the night of his election were “Peace be with you all,” echoing words Catholics use in their celebrations.
In a May 14 address to officials of the eastern Catholic Churches, many of whom are based in global hot spots such as Ukraine and the Middle East, the new pope pledged he would make “every effort” for peace.
He also offered the Vatican as a mediator in global conflicts, saying war was “never inevitable.”
Sunday’s Mass will feature prayers in several languages, in a nod to the global reach of the 1.4-billion member Church, including Latin, Italian, Greek, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Polish, and Chinese.
As part of the ceremony, Leo will also formally receive two items as he takes up the papacy: a liturgical vestment known as a pallium, a strip of lambswool which represents his role as a shepherd, and a special band known as the fisherman’s ring.
The ceremonial gold signet ring is specially cast for each new pope and can be used by Leo to seal documents. It features a design of St. Peter holding the keys to Heaven and will be broken after his death, marking an end to his papacy.


UK PM Starmer to agree deal to strengthen EU partnership, his office says

Updated 18 May 2025
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UK PM Starmer to agree deal to strengthen EU partnership, his office says

  • Brexit has grown increasingly unpopular with the British electorate

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to agree a deal next week to strengthen the country’s post-Brexit partnership with the European Union and to facilitate trade in some food products, his office said on Saturday.
Starmer will welcome EU leaders to London on Monday to help reset relations with the bloc, with both sides aiming to secure progress in specific areas while others will remain off-limits.
Britain left the EU in 2020, but Starmer has been trying to boost ties with the country’s biggest trading partner since his center-left Labour Party won last year’s national election.
The summit will result in a deal, his office said, though it provided few details beyond saying it would improve the situation for British producers currently facing checks on products or unable to export, and also that it would ease matters for families facing higher bills and queues when traveling.
“This week, the Prime Minister will strike yet another deal that will deliver in the national interest of this country. It will be good for growth, good for jobs, good for bills, and good for our borders,” Starmer’s 10 Downing Street office said in a statement.
Starmer on Friday raised the prospect that a youth mobility deal with the European Union would be struck at the summit.
Brexit has grown increasingly unpopular with the British electorate, opinion polls suggest, with the economy faring poorly in recent years and international trade a particular weak spot.


Bomb at fertility clinic in California kills one

Updated 18 May 2025
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Bomb at fertility clinic in California kills one

LOS ANGELES: An explosion outside a California fertility clinic Saturday killed one person in what the local mayor described as a bomb attack.
The blast ripped through downtown Palm Springs, badly damaging the clinic and blowing out the windows and doors of other nearby buildings, in what the city’s police chief said appeared to have been a deliberate act.
“The blast appears to be an intentional act of violence and the blast extends for blocks with several buildings damaged, some severely,” Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills said.
“There has been one fatality, the person’s identity is not known.”
Eyewitnesses told local media they had seen human remains near the American Reproductive Centers clinic, which appeared to have been badly damaged in the blast.
A statement posted on social media by the clinic said no staff had been hurt when the blast went off.
“This morning, an unexpected and tragic incident occurred outside our Palm Springs facility when a vehicle exploded in the parking lot near our building,” it said.
“We are heartbroken to learn that this event claimed a life and caused injuries, and our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.
“We are immensely grateful to share that no members of the ARC team were harmed, and our lab — including all eggs, embryos, and reproductive materials — remains fully secure and undamaged.”
Reproductive care, including abortion and fertility services, remain controversial in the United States, where some conservatives believe the procedures should be outlawed for religious reasons.
Violence against clinics providing such services is rare, but not unheard of.
US Attorney Bill Essayli said his office was aware of the blast.
“FBI is on scene and will be investigating whether this was an intentional act,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The local ABC affiliate, which cited an unnamed law enforcement source, reported five people were injured in the explosion and the person who died was a suspect in the blast.
Video posted online by witnesses showed debris scattered in the street in front of the clinic and windows shattered at multiple businesses in the area.
People living nearby reported feeling the shaking from the blast throughout the city.
Matt Spencer, who lives in a nearby apartment complex, told the Palm Springs Post he ran outside as soon as he heard the blast, and was confronted with the sight of the burned out car and what appeared to be a body in the middle of the road.
“In front of the building [the car] was blown clear across four lanes into the parking lot of [Desert Regional Medical Center],” he told the paper.
“I could see the back of the car still on fire and the rims, that was the only thing that distinguished it as a car.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom had been briefed on the explosion, his office said.
President Donald Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi said federal agents were working to determine exactly what had happened.
“But let me be clear: the Trump administration understands that women and mothers are the heartbeat of America. Violence against a fertility clinic is unforgivable,” she said in a statement on social media.


Five dead in helicopter collision in Finland, police say

Updated 18 May 2025
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Five dead in helicopter collision in Finland, police say

Five people were killed on Saturday when two helicopters collided and crashed in a wooded area near Eura Airport in southwestern Finland, police said.
Police said the mid-air collision occurred shortly after noon near the town of Kauttua, with the wreckage falling some 700 metres  from the Ohikulkutie road.
"Five people have died in a helicopter accident near Eura Airport on Saturday," Detective Chief Inspector Johannes Siirilä of the National Bureau of Investigation said.
According to flight plans, there were two people aboard one helicopter and three in the other, police said, adding that both helicopters were registered outside Finland.
One helicopter was registered in Estonia, the other in Austria, according to an Estonian Public Broadcasting  report, citing Finland's Helsingin Sanomat newspaper. Both belonged to Estonian companies. One was owned by NOBE and the other by Eleon, the report added.
The helicopters were reportedly en route to a hobby aviation event, according to the Pori Aviation Club, Yle News reported.
The National Bureau of Investigation is leading a joint probe with local police, and Finnish and Estonian authorities are cooperating.


Severe weather leaves at least 27 dead, including 18 in Kentucky

Updated 18 May 2025
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Severe weather leaves at least 27 dead, including 18 in Kentucky

LONDON, Kentucky: At least 27 people have been killed by storms systems that swept across part of the US Midwest and South, with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announcing Saturday that 18 of the deaths came in his state and 10 others were hospitalized in critical condition.
A devastating tornado in Kentucky damaged homes, tossed vehicles and left many people homeless. Seventeen of the deaths were in Laurel County, located in the state’s southeast, and one was in Pulaski County: Fire Department Maj. Roger Leslie Leatherman, a 39-year veteran who was fatally injured while responding to the deadly weather.
Parts of two dozen state roads were closed, and some could take days to reopen, Beshear said. He also said the death toll could still rise.
“We need the whole world right now to be really good neighbors to this region,” the governor said.
State Emergency Management Director Eric Gibson said hundreds of homes were damaged,
Kayla Patterson, her husband and their five children huddled in a tub in their basement in London, the county seat, as the tornado raged around them.
“You could literally hear just things ripping in the distance, glass shattering everywhere, just roaring like a freight train,” she recalled Saturday. “It was terrible.”
The family eventually emerged to the sounds of sirens and panicked neighbors. While the family’s own home was spared, others right behind it were demolished, Patterson said as the sound of power tools buzzed in the background. The neighborhood was dotted with piles of lumber, metal sheeting, insulation and stray belongings — a suitcase, a sofa, some six-packs of paper towels.
Rescuers were searching for survivors all night and into the morning, the sheriff’s office said. An emergency shelter was set up at a local high school and donations of food and other necessities were arriving.
The National Weather Service hadn’t yet confirmed that a tornado struck, but meteorologist Philomon Geertson said it was likely. It ripped across the largely rural area and extended to the London Corbin Airport shortly before midnight.
Resident Chris Cromer said he got the first of two tornado alerts on his phone around 11:30 p.m. or so, about a half-hour before the tornado struck. He and his wife grabbed their dog, jumped in their car and scrambled to the crawlspace at a relative’s nearby home because the couple’s own crawlspace is small.
“We could hear and feel the vibration of the tornado coming through,” said Cromer, 46. A piece of his roof was ripped off, and windows were broken, but homes around his were destroyed.
“It’s one of those things that you see on the news in other areas, and you feel bad for people — then, when it happens, it’s just surreal,” he said. “It makes you be thankful to be alive, really.”
The storm was the latest severe weather to cause deaths and widespread damage in Kentucky. Two months ago, at least 24 people died in a round of storms that swelled creeks and submerged roads. Hundreds of people were rescued, and most of the deaths were caused by vehicles getting stuck in high water.
A storm in late 2021 spawned tornadoes that killed 81 people and leveled portions of towns in western Kentucky. The following summer, historic floodwaters inundated parts of eastern Kentucky, leaving dozens more dead.
Missouri pounded by storms, with deaths confirmed in St. Louis
About 1,200 tornadoes strike the US annually, and they have been reported in all 50 states over the years. Researchers found in 2018 that deadly tornadoes were happening less frequently in the traditional “Tornado Alley” of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas and more frequently in parts of the more densely populated and tree-filled mid-South area.
The latest Kentucky storms were part of a weather system Friday that killed seven in Missouri and two in northern Virginia, authorities said. The system also spawned tornadoes in Wisconsin, brought a punishing heat wave to Texas and temporarily enveloped parts of Illinois — including Chicago — in a pall of dust on an otherwise sunny day.
“Well that was.....something,” the weather service’s Chicago office wrote on X after issuing its first-ever dust storm warning for the city. Thunderstorms in central Illinois had pushed strong winds over dry, dusty farmland and northward into the Chicago area, the weather agency said.
In Missouri, St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said five people died, 38 were injured and more than 5,000 homes were affected in her city.
“The devastation is truly heartbreaking,” she said at a news conference Saturday. An overnight curfew was to continue in the most damaged neighborhoods.
Weather service radar indicated a likely tornado touched down between 2:30 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. in Clayton, Missouri, in the St. Louis area. The apparent tornado touched down in the area of Forest Park, home to the St. Louis Zoo and the site of the 1904 World’s Fair and Olympic Games the same year.
Three people needed aid after part of the Centennial Christian Church crumbled, St. Louis Fire Battalion Chief William Pollihan told The Associated Press.
Stacy Clark said his mother-in-law, Patricia Penelton, died in the church. He described her as a very active church volunteer who had many roles, including being part of the choir.
John Randle said he and his girlfriend were at the St. Louis Art Museum during the storm and were hustled into the basement with about 150 other people.
“You could see the doors flying open, tree branches flying by and people running,” said Randle, 19.
At the Saint Louis Zoo, falling trees severely damaged the roof of a butterfly facility. Staffers quickly corralled most of the butterflies, the zoo said on social media, and a conservatory in suburban Chesterfield is caring for the displaced creatures.
A tornado struck in Scott County, about 130 miles  south of St. Louis, killing two people, injuring several others and destroying multiple homes, Sheriff Derick Wheetley wrote on social media.
Forecasters say severe weather could batter parts of the Plains
The weather service said that supercells are likely to develop across parts of Texas and Oklahoma Saturday afternoon before becoming a line of storms in southwest Oklahoma and parts of Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas on Saturday night.
The biggest risks include large to very large hail that could be up to 3.5 inches  in size, damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes.
These conditions were expected to continue on Sunday across parts of the central and southern Plains as well as parts of the central High Plains.
“Be prepared to take action if watches and warnings are issued for your area,” the weather service said.