Protesters angry at Sri Lanka’s offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels broke into and vandalized the Indian embassy in central London on Monday, police said.
A similar move against the Sri Lankan embassy near London’s Hyde Park was thwarted, but the capital’s Metropolitan Police said two officers were injured in the clashes. Six protesters were arrested at both locations.
MISSILES
“They pushed through [police] and entered the reception area. Some of the building’s windows were damaged and missiles thrown at the building itself,” a police spokeswoman said, describing the protest at India House, home to the Indian High Commission.
Police said on Monday afternoon that the 250 or so protesters outside the Sri Lankan embassy had dispersed, while the 175 people or so people gathered outside the Indian embassy left later in the evening as workers moved in to fix the damage.
PROTESTS ABROAD
Tamils and their supporters across the world have mounted a series of demonstrations demanding an immediate end to fighting between Sri Lankan forces and Tamil Tiger separatists after the government largely cornered the rebels in a small strip of land along the northeast coast.
The move puts the Sri Lankan government in a position to defeat the Tigers and end the country’s quarter-century civil war, but the UN says thousands of civilians have been killed in the fighting over the past three months.
HUNGER STRIKES
In Britain, the former colonial power in Sri Lanka, protests included a mass march by at least 100,000 people on April 11, as well as hunger strikes and at least two attempts by protesters to set themselves on fire.
A group of Tamil supporters has been camped outside parliament since April 6.
India, home to a large population of ethnic Tamils, has sent envoys to try to demand a halt to the fighting, but Sri Lanka still rejects talk of ceasefire.
The pledge by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to “work, work, work, work and work” for her country has been named the catchphrase of the year, recognizing the effort Japan’s first female leader had to make to reach the top. Takaichi uttered the phrase in October when she was elected as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Many were initially as worried about her work ethic as supportive of her enthusiasm. In a country notorious for long working hours, especially for working women who are also burdened with homemaking and caregiving, overwork is a sensitive topic. The recognition triggered a
A plan by Switzerland’s right-wing People’s Party to cap the population at 10 million has the backing of almost half the country, according to a poll before an expected vote next year. The party, which has long campaigned against immigration, argues that too-fast population growth is overwhelming housing, transport and public services. The level of support comes despite the government urging voters to reject it, warning that strict curbs would damage the economy and prosperity, as Swiss companies depend on foreign workers. The poll by newspaper group Tamedia/20 Minuten and released yesterday showed that 48 percent of the population plan to vote
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RELAXED: After talks on Ukraine and trade, the French president met with students while his wife visited pandas, after the pair parted ways with their Chinese counterparts French President Emmanuel Macron concluded his fourth state visit to China yesterday in Chengdu, striking a more relaxed note after tough discussions on Ukraine and trade with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) a day earlier. Far from the imposing Great Hall of the People in Beijing where the two leaders held talks, Xi and China’s first lady, Peng Liyuan (彭麗媛), showed Macron and his wife Brigitte around the centuries-old Dujiangyan Dam, a World Heritage Site set against the mountainous landscape of Sichuan Province. Macron was told through an interpreter about the ancient irrigation system, which dates back to the third century
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