LONDON: A 15-year-old boy on Thursday became the first person to be charged with rioting following a wave of violent unrest that swept across the UK
The teen, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, appeared at South Tyneside Youth Court on Thursday but his case was adjourned for two weeks. He was charged following disorder in Sunderland in northern England on Aug. 2, and had pleaded guilty to separate charges of violent disorder and burglary.
“This defendant is one of a number of individuals who we expect will be charged with riot,” said Gale Gilchrist, chief crown prosecutor for northeast England.
Hundreds of people have been arrested and charged since riots erupted on July 30 after misinformation spread online that the suspect in a knife attack that killed three children was a Muslim asylum-seeker.
Protesters fueled by far-right activists attacked a mosque in the town of Southport, where the girls were killed, and the violence soon spread to more than a dozen cities and towns across the country. Some of the worst unrest centered around hotels housing asylum-seekers, with protesters hurling bricks and storming some hotels and clashing with riot police.
Many have since been charged with violent disorder and sentenced, but no one else had so far been charged with rioting, a more serious offense that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Also on Thursday, a man was jailed for three years and two months in the city of Manchester for punching and kicking a Black man in the face during disorder in the city. Another man who threw bricks at police outside a hotel housing asylum-seekers was sentenced to two years and 10 months.
Last week, a 26-year-old man who used social media to encourage people to torch hotels that house asylum-seekers was sentenced to more than three years in prison.
15-year-old boy becomes first to be charged with rioting following recent UK unrest
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15-year-old boy becomes first to be charged with rioting following recent UK unrest
- The teen appeared at South Tyneside Youth Court on Thursday but his case was adjourned for two weeks
- “This defendant is one of a number of individuals who we expect will be charged with riot,” said Gale Gilchrist, chief crown prosecutor for northeast England
Trump removes nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial positions
- All of them had taken up their posts in the Biden administration but had survived an initial purge in the early months of Trump’s second term that targeted mainly political appointees
- Africa is the continent most affected by the removals, with ambassadors from 13 countries being removed: Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia and Uganda
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial and other senior embassy posts as it moves to reshape the US diplomatic posture abroad with personnel deemed fully supportive of President Donald Trump’s “America First” priorities.
The chiefs of mission in at least 29 countries were informed last week that their tenures would end in January, according to two State Department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal personnel moves.
All of them had taken up their posts in the Biden administration but had survived an initial purge in the early months of Trump’s second term that targeted mainly political appointees. That changed on Wednesday when they began to receive notices from officials in Washington about their imminent departures.
Ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the president although they typically remain at their posts for three to four years. Those affected by the shake-up are not losing their foreign service jobs but will be returning to Washington for other assignments should they wish to take them, the officials said.
The State Department declined to comment on specific numbers or ambassadors affected, but defended the changes, calling them “a standard process in any administration.” It noted that an ambassador is “a personal representative of the president and it is the president’s right to ensure that he has individuals in these countries who advance the America First agenda.”
Africa is the continent most affected by the removals, with ambassadors from 13 countries being removed: Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia and Uganda.
Second is Asia, with ambassadorial changes coming to six countries: Fiji, Laos, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam affected.
Four countries in Europe (Armenia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovakia) are affected; as are two each in the Middle East (Algeria and Egypt); South and Central Asia (Nepal and Sri Lanka); and the Western Hemisphere (Guatemala and Suriname).
Politico was the first to report on the ambassadorial recalls, which have drawn concern from some lawmakers and the union representing American diplomats.
