Violent clashes broke out in Bristol in south-west England on Sunday at a protest against a government bill proposing new policing powers to restrict demonstrations.
Thousands of people converged on the city centre, defying Covid-19 restrictions and ignoring a police appeal to stay away.
What started as a non-violent demonstration turned ugly after hundreds of protesters converged on the New Bridewell police station.
Demonstrators launched fireworks at officers and knocked over a police van, a witness said. Others said officers tried to repel protesters by using batons and shields.
Damage was also caused to the police station.
Two police officers were seriously injured in the skirmish, suffering broken ribs and an arm.
A clean-up operation is now under way to remove broken glass, debris and graffiti from the streets.
It is understood the police operation has cost around £1 million ($1.3m).
Protesters carried placards with slogans such as 'The Day Democracy became Dictatorship' and 'We Can't be Silenced that Easy'.
Avon and Somerset Police chief constable Andy Marsh said on Monday more arrests were expected. Seven people have already been taken into custody on Sunday.
He said police decided against making more arrests on the night to avoid further antagonising the crowd.
"They were looking for a trigger to provoke a violence response," he told the BBC.
He said police would be releasing "hours of CCTV footage" to identify potential protesters.
"We will be asking for the people of Bristol to identify these thuggish citizens so we can bring them to justice," he said.
Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said the "self-indulgent" thuggery would be used to justify the legislation in question.
"I have major concerns about the bill myself, which is poorly thought out and could impose disproportionate controls on free expression and the right to peaceful protest," he said.
“Smashing buildings in our city centre, vandalising vehicles, attacking our police will do nothing to lessen the likelihood of the bill going through.
“On the contrary, the lawlessness on show will be used as evidence and promote the need for the bill. This is a shameful day in an incredible year for Bristol.
“We have faced times of great confrontation particularly surrounding Black Lives Matter and the events that followed.
“We have had numerous protests. Our police, city representatives and I have been able to point out with pride that we have faced these moments of conflict without the physical conflict that others have experienced.
“Those who decided to turn the protest into a physical confrontation and smash our city have robbed us of this.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel tweeted: “Unacceptable scenes in Bristol tonight. Thuggery and disorder by a minority will never be tolerated.
“Our police officers put themselves in harm’s way to protect us all. My thoughts this evening are with those police officers injured.”
Sue Mountstevens, Avon and Somerset's police and crime commissioner, added that the behaviour was "completely unacceptable" and the protest had been "hijacked by criminals".
"It's disgraceful that these men and women who started their days expecting a normal day of policing have all returned battered and bruised," she said.
"These people have shown reckless disregard of the lives and safety of our communities in central Bristol and our officers.
"Whether you agree or disagree with the bill these men and women did not deserve to face the level of violence directed at them. Nothing can justify such actions."
The government's police, crime, sentencing and courts bill, which is still before Parliament, would give police new powers to impose time and noise limits on street protests.
That has angered activists, particularly after a heavy-handed police response to a London vigil for Sarah Everard on March 13 drew widespread criticism.
The serving police officer was charged with Everard's murder and the case has highlighted violence against women and girls.
Although it is yet to be passed as legislation, the government bill was introduced before the Everard case and covers a wide range of matters including policing protests.
But the two became connected in many people's minds because the bill was up for debate in Parliament two days after the London vigil.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up
Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm
On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm
The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm
Romang, June 28 at 6pm
Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm
Underdog, June 29 at 2pm
Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm
A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm
UAE's final round of matches
- Sep 1, 2016 Beat Japan 2-1 (away)
- Sep 6, 2016 Lost to Australia 1-0 (home)
- Oct 6, 2016 Beat Thailand 3-1 (home)
- Oct 11, 2016 Lost to Saudi Arabia 3-0 (away)
- Nov 15, 2016 Beat Iraq 2-0 (home)
- Mar 23, 2017 Lost to Japan 2-0 (home)
- Mar 28, 2017 Lost to Australia 2-0 (away)
- June 13, 2017 Drew 1-1 with Thailand (away)
- Aug 29, 2017 v Saudi Arabia (home)
- Sep 5, 2017 v Iraq (away)
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
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The five pillars of Islam
Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
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1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
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India team for Sri Lanka series
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Profile of RentSher
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Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
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HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
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A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Scores
Oman 109-3 in 18.4 overs (Aqib Ilyas 45 not out, Aamir Kaleem 27) beat UAE 108-9 in 20 overs (Usman 27, Mustafa 24, Fayyaz 3-16, Bilal 3-23)
