The widespread racism and anti-immigrant sentiment across the United Kingdom in the past decades have fueled the recent protests and riots across the country, said an anti-racism protester during a protest on Wednesday.
Recently, large-scale protests against the government's immigration policy have erupted in many parts of UK since July 30, sparking riots in some areas. According to police, more than 480 have been arrested and over 100 charged since the riots broke out.
Anti-racism protesters gathered in London on Wednesday to condemn the wave of violence brought by far-right groups, holding placards with messages in support of refugees and voicing their anger over the hate being spread by far-right extremists.
"Racism that has been whipped up in this country over the last 14 years against asylum seekers and refugees has what's led us to what's been going on in the UK, particularly over the last week because the levels of racism have been so great and so appalling," said Cathy Cross, a local resident.
Among the protests held at various locations on Wednesday evening, anti-racism protesters were in the majority. These protests largely remained peaceful and did not result in large-scale disturbances.
The British government forecast more protests in the coming few days. To deter the exacerbation of the riots, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who took office a little over a month ago, announced on Thursday to continue to deploy additional police forces and severely punish rioters.
Widespread racism fuels recent riots in UK: anti-racism protester
Widespread racism fuels recent riots in UK: anti-racism protester
Widespread racism fuels recent riots in UK: anti-racism protester
Widespread racism fuels recent riots in UK: anti-racism protester
Emergency crews in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan has been making progress in recovery efforts following the devastation caused by Typhoon Yagi, with power restored to most major urban areas, essential utilities, and hospitals as of Monday, according to officials.
Speaking at a press conference in Hainan, the officials from the province's emergency command center for Typhoon Yagi said that in addition to the ongoing process of restoring power, crews were also working on restoring communication services and reopening provincial and national highways to two-way traffic.
Authorities said the provincial power grid operator had been maintaining a top-level emergency response to address ongoing challenges. Repair teams are working to restore extensive damage to over 10,000 utility poles and 2,500 kilometers of 10kV power lines. Despite the obstacles, the teams are dedicated to ensuring that educational institutions and businesses can quickly resume work.
The storm knocked out about 29,370 telecommunications base stations across Hainan, with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology sending support teams from neighboring provinces to aid in repairs. Service from more than 10,000 damaged stations has resumed so far.
"We have adjusted the operational parameters of unaffected communication base stations to expand coverage and restore basic services in areas that previously had no signal," said Chen Xingwu, deputy director of Hainan's communication administration.
Two-way traffic had been restored on provincial and national highways by Monday afternoon, while county and township roads have been mostly cleared. Public transportation services across the province are gradually resuming operations.
Yagi, the 11th typhoon of the year, made landfall twice on Friday, first striking Hainan Province and later the neighboring Guangdong Province.
Repairs on Hainan's infrastructure proceeding at pace after Typhoon Yagi
