London: Mohd Asyraf Haziq, 20, a Malaysian student in London who was was victim of the riot last week was invited to the Westminster.
Haziq was invited to Parliament by Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Keith Vaz today that is investigating the London Riots.The Malaysian student was on his bicycle was targeted by rioters and received a broken jaw in the attack. A fund to help the student has since raised more than £22,000.
Asyraf Haziq (Courtesy: BBC)
Haziq was joined on the tour of the Palace of Westminster by his father Rossli, mother Maznah, and seven-year-old brother Fitri who flew in from Ampang, near Kuala Lumpur. He will stay back in UK to continue is studies. Speaking at parliament he said: “I’m very honoured, it’s great to be here and I like it very much.”On Sunday, Mr Haziq, a keen cyclist, was given VIP treatment at the Badminton World Championships at Wembley Arena.
Asyraf became the symol of humanity in the wake of widespread looting, arson and chaos. There was an outpouring of sympathy which turned into anger when his so-called saviours, apparently from the same gang who attacked him, ransacked his backpack and took away his PSP. Unknown to him and his attackers, the incident was filmed by someone from a nearby building and it was posted on YouTube and repeated many times on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Sky TV.
The one-minute-15-second video clip was ironically as powerful as the tweets and SMSes that the likes of his perpetrators had employed to plan their mindless attacks and carnage throughout London and cities across Britain.Abdul Hamid, who filmed the attack, wrote a caption under his clip: “Footage I captured of some men using the riots as an excuse to just harm and humiliate an innocent person. I hope to get in touch with the victim and I am also trying to raise money for him.”
Reece Donovan, 20, of Chadwell Heath, Romford, Essex, is accused of robbing Mr Haziq. He will appear at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday for a plea and case management hearing.
LONDON, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) — British Prime Minister David Cameron Monday promised to mend Britain’s “broken society” during his first set-piece speech since the riots which struck London and other English cities last week.
Cameron vowed an “all-out war on gang culture” in the face of “a wake-up call” for the country after “social problems that have been festering for decades exploded in our face.”
(Courtesy: Xinhua/Reuters)
He also confirmed that his government would review the relating policies over the next few weeks in a bid to tackle the causes of the violence.
Speaking in his parliamentary constituency of Witney, in Oxfordshire, Cameron admitted that the riots were caused by many social and cultural problems, not least the anti-social and irresponsible behavior of rioters.
He placed the blame on “children without fathers; schools without discipline; reward without effort; crime without punishment; rights without responsibilities; communities without control.”
Cameron also criticized the policies of past governments which had pulled back from tough policing and extended the already extensive welfare system.
“Some of the worst aspects of human nature have been tolerated, indulged –sometimes even incentivized–by a state and its agencies that in parts have become literally demoralized,” the Prime Minister said.
In the speech, Cameron put pro-family policies at the heart of future government domestic policies, saying “if we want to have any hope of mending our broken society, family and parenting is where we’ve got to start.”
Arrests were continued in the wake of the riots with police saying there have now been nearly 3,000 arrests. Courts have been working around the clock to cope with the cases. About 1,300 people have been charged, of which 1,000 have stood in court.
In Birmingham, where serious violence broke out last Monday and Tuesday, a peace rally was held Sunday. The rally was in memory of three Asian men who were killed when a car was driven across their bodies as they stood on the pavement protecting their community. Police have arrested and charged two men with murder in relation to the incident.
LONDON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) — Riots again hit Britain on Tuesday evening for the fourth night in succession, with significant violence in the northern industrial city of Manchester as well as minor violence in London.
A police officer is seen near a burnt building in Croydon, south London. (Courtesy: Xinhua)
Police had posted 16,000 officers on the streets of London to prevent a repeat of Monday night’s scene of arson, looting, muggings and assaults that took place as hundreds of rioters clashed with police in many parts of the city.
In Manchester city center police were engaged in running battles through the early and mid-evening with a crowd which eyewitnesses said was about 2,000 strong. Shop windows were smashed and a women’s clothes shop was petrol-bombed, and several businesses — including a jeweler’s and clothes shops — were looted.
Earlier police had clashed with a much smaller group of youths in the neighboring city of Salford, where a community building was set on fire and several businesses attacked.
Police in the West Midlands reported trouble in Birmingham city center, where there had been trouble on Monday night, and also in the town of West Bromwich and the nearby city of Wolverhampton, which had both been spared violence on earlier nights.
In Birmingham, a 200-strong gang of youths with sticks was confronted by riot police amid reports of attacks on shops and a car being set on fire.
Police in Wolverhampton had made 20 arrests by mid-evening. In West Bromwich hooded youths blocked a road and set fire to dustbins but later dispersed after burning two vehicles.
In the east London area of Canning Town, some youths were reported to have built barricades and stoned passing vehicles.
Also in London, theaters in riot-hit areas such as the Battersea Arts Center, the Dalston Arcola and the Greenwich Playhouse, cancelled their evening’s performances, and shops in many parts of London closed earlier than usual. Many office workers left earlier to avoid being in the city if rioting began again.
India will look to revive themselves in the backdrop of riot-affected Birmingham when they take on England in the third test at Edgbaston on Wednesday.
Trailing 2-0 in the four match Test Series, Team India are in serious danger of losing their status of being a no.1 side in the Test ranking.
Things are deteriorating for team India, having lost the two test matches, visitors also lost a 2-day practice game against Northamptonshire. The team is beset by injury problems with their spearhead pacer Zaheer Khan has been ruled out for four months, who is to be replaced by another left arm seamer R.P.Singh,he makes his comeback to the fold after a gap of two years.
Courtesy: AP
Yuvraj and Harbhajan Singh have also been ruled out as they also have been down with fitness issues.
The familiar sight of Sehwag and Gambhir opening the innings will come as a relief for the visitors.
Dravid has been as usual solid staying as a wall. Laxman and Tendulkar have got the starts and a couple of half centuries but are yet to score a big one to put the English under pressure. Indians have failed to get pass 300 mark in last four innings. That is a worrying aspect for the team.
The no.6 spot proves a challenge for both Raina and Mukund.As Raina looked quite classy with his stroke making in the second test but Mukund’s century in the tour game and Raina’s inability to cope up with the short balls might edge in favor of Mukund.
Skipper Dhoni’s form is also an annoying feature. He with the lower order has contributed nothing in the batting like the England tail have done.
Harbhajan’s replacement has posed some problems with both Mishra and Ojha are in the contention. But Mishra should make it to the playing 11 owing to England’s problem in handling the leg spinner.
Surprisingly the seam department has done well despite the absence of Zaheer Khan.
Praveen Kumar, Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma have all done up reasonably well. Therefore, R.P. Singh is unlikely to get a berth in playing 11.
The Home side is on cloud 9, they are just one win away from taking over the first test ranking spot from team India. Strauss men have played exceedingly awesome after their 196-run win in Lord’s followed by an emphatic victory in Nottingham.
England will go into the test confident of continuing their dominance against the visiting teams.
Tremlett has been ruled out of the third test, which means the think tank does not have to ponder much in picking up their second test hero Tim Bresnan.
The batting have just suffered a setback as their most prolific scorer Jonathan Trott has been ruled because of his chest injury that he picked up in the second test. Ravi Bopara takes his place.
Except for these changes, the England squad is same. The openers have not been a major threat though both of them have been run machines but Cook and Strauss have failed to get a good score.
Kevin Pietersen is returning back to his best with Morgan has showed some capability in his previous innings.Ian Bell’s century has silenced his critics by scoring heavy runs and will look forward to make most of it as he returns to his Warwickshire home ground.
Matt Prior and the tail have contributed significantly with the bat and have masked the failures of regular batsmen.
Graeme Swann’s form is the only the concern for the England, he has been cantered by the Indians but he will look to bounce back in the helping conditions at Edgbaston.
The pace battery is firing all cylinders with Broad and Anderson in top form, ripping apart the Indian batsmen.
The surface has been green but some of the grass has been taken off, there should still be plenty to encourage the seamers.Theforecast, meanwhile, is mixed with rain interruptions on all the days.
The return of Sehwag might do wonders for Indian and they just hold on to their top raking but the England are on a roll and it is very difficult to stop the three lions who are clearly becoming the most dominating team in test arena.
Possible 11-
India – MS Dhoni(wk/cpt), V.Sehwag, G.Gambhir, S.Tendulkar, R.Dravid, VVS Laxman, A.Mukund, AMishra, I.Sharma, P.Kumar, Sreesanth
