. Earth Science News .




.
TRADE WARS
China questions Olympics security after UK riots
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Aug 11, 2011

China's state media has questioned the ability of London's embattled police to "maintain social order" for the 2012 Olympics after Britain suffered its worst riots in decades.

More than 1,100 people have been arrested since violence erupted on Saturday in the north London district of Tottenham and then spread to other British cities, leaving three people dead.

"In less than a year, London will hold the Olympics, but will British society be able to maintain stability and will British police be able to maintain social order?" the state-run China National Radio said on its website.

A news website that comes under China's State Council, or cabinet, took a similar line, saying police now faced the added pressure of civic unrest on top of traditional threats such as terrorism.

"Although officials such as London Mayor Boris Johnson still express their faith in security at the Olympics after the riots, many unfavourable factors exist that make it hard for people to relax," said www.china.com.cn.

Beijing hosted China's first Olympics in 2008, impressing the world with sparkling new facilities and seamless organisation.

But there was also widespread international criticism of China's destruction of the city's traditional neighbourhoods and of a major crackdown on freedom of speech ahead of the games.

The official Xinhua news agency said the violence in London, which erupted two days after police shot a man dead, revealed a "worrisome social mentality" in the aftermath of the global economic downturn.

"Given the painful economic distress and the virtual absence of any good way out of the trouble, a sizable segment of the public, especially the young, have become disillusioned, making them just a spark away from becoming anarchistic troublemakers," it said in a comment piece.

China is no stranger to social unrest, experiencing thousands of outbreaks every year.

At least 13 people died in the restive, northwestern region of Xinjiang at the end of July, in two separate knife attacks perpetrated by members of the mainly Muslim Uighur minority.

The Global Times newspaper used the riots to take a dig at Britain's media, accusing it of double standards.

"No human rights organisations expressed their concerns about the conditions residents of north London are experiencing," it said in an editorial, alluding to western nations' criticism of China.

Activist groups regularly raise concern about how China deals with domestic unrest, and have in the past accused authorities of violence against protesters or suspects, and of not respecting the rule of law -- a charge Beijing denies.

Last year, New York-based Human Rights Watch said Chinese security forces brutally beat and even shot dead some protesters during unrest in Tibet in 2008, basing its findings on interviews with more than 200 witnesses.

Amnesty International has also accused Chinese security forces of "excessive use of force, mass arrests, enforced disappearances, torture and ill treatment" of prisoners during a crackdown after 2009 riots in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi.




Related Links
Global Trade News

.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries






. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



TRADE WARS
News Corp. board backs Murdoch after hacking scandal
San Francisco (AFP) Aug 10, 2011
Rupert Murdoch claimed boardroom backing Wednesday to remain at the helm of News Corp. as he worked to shift attention from the phone-hacking scandal to his media behemoth's healthy bottom line. "The job won't be open in the near future," the 80-year-old media mogul quipped when asked during an earnings conference call whether the board was considering replacing him as head of the global ope ... read more


TRADE WARS
Japan to ease residence curbs around nuclear plant

Demands to grow for UN peacekeepers, says outgoing chief

Demands to grow for UN peacekeepers, says outgoing chief

Raytheon Successfully Links P25 Mobile Radio With Zetron's Dispatch Console System

TRADE WARS
Samsung, Apple battle goes to Dutch court

Samsung appeals Europe tablet sale ban

No charges for iPhone 4 prototype bloggers

HP cuts tablet price in bid to challenge iPad

TRADE WARS
New paper examines future of seawater desalinization

Cold snap triggered massive coral die-off

Human impact on the last great wilderness of the deep sea

Better desalination technology key to solving world's water shortage

TRADE WARS
The last 3 million years at a snail's pace

Large variations in Arctic sea ice

Arctic melting brings benefit

Australia's Antarctic claim at risk: study

TRADE WARS
China awash with counterfeit vintage wine

Carbon hitches a ride from field to market

Research helps breeders really know their onions to enhance global food security

Tokyo rice exchange starts amid radiation scare

TRADE WARS
US scientists predict eruption of undersea volcano

Tropical storm causes losses of $480m: China

Eastern China braces for Typhoon Muifa

China widens evacuations as typhoon nears

TRADE WARS
Somali government offers amnesty to Shebab rebels

Rioting hits northern Nigerian town after woman shot

Mogadishu residents flee Somali rebel clashes

Nigerian soldiers accused of killing girl in restive city

TRADE WARS
Study: Some are born with math ability

Six Million Years of African Savanna

Forest or grassland: where did humans learn to walk?

Put the brakes on using your brain power


Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News
.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2011 - Space Media Network. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement