LONDON: The “Big Ben” bell in the British parliament’s famous clock tower tolled for the last time on Monday before it ceased its regular bongs for four years while renovation work is carried out.
The bongs will sound for events such as New Year’s Eve celebrations but the four-year length of the outage has caused consternation among British politicians. Prime Minister Theresa May has said the length of the absence “can’t be right.”
The hammers which have struck the 13.7 ton bell every hour for most of the last 157 years will be locked and disconnected from the clock to ensure the safety of those working on the restoration in the tower, with the bell-ringing not returning to normal until 2021.
Hundreds of people stood in silence along Westminster Bridge and Parliament Square to observe the final bongs, breaking into applause once the bells had ceased to ring.
Officially called the Elizabeth Tower, the 96-meter-tall clock tower that houses Big Ben is believed to be the most photographed building in the United Kingdom. Its lower sections are already covered in scaffolding.
The panel of lawmakers responsible for the maintenance of parliament’s buildings has said it will review the arrangements following the backlash, but will still ensure worker safety is prioritized.
Britain’s Big Ben falls silent for four years of renovation work
Britain’s Big Ben falls silent for four years of renovation work
US lawmaker Fine criticized by rights advocates, Democrats after anti-Muslim remarks
- Fine’s past comments include calling for the mass expulsion of all Muslims from the US, labeling of Muslims as “terrorists” and the mocking of the starvation and killing of Palestinians in Gaza, among others
WASHINGTON: Rights advocates and multiple Democrats on Tuesday condemned anti-Muslim comments by Republican US Representative Randy Fine who said on Sunday that “the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”
Fine, whose comments against Muslims have often sparked outrage, has dismissed the criticism and since doubled down on his remarks on social media. The Council on American-Islamic Relations designated the Republican US lawmaker from Florida as an anti-Muslim extremist last year.
“If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one,” Fine said on X on Sunday in a post that had over 40 million views as of Tuesday afternoon.
Some high-profile Democrats including California Governor Gavin Newsom called for him to resign while House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Fine an “Islamophobic, disgusting and unrepentant bigot.”
Jeffries also called for Republicans — who hold a majority in both chambers of Congress — to hold Fine accountable.
“To ignore this is to accept and normalize it,” Democratic US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said. Fine’s past comments include calling for the mass expulsion of all Muslims from the US, labeling of Muslims as “terrorists” and the mocking of the starvation and killing of Palestinians in Gaza, among others. Rights advocates have noted a rise in Islamophobia in the US in recent years due to a range of factors including hard-line immigration policies and white-supremacist rhetoric, as well as the fallout of Israel’s war in Gaza on American society.
