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Showing posts with label Manchester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Manchester. Show all posts

Friday, 6 July 2012

Flooding disrupts Yorkshire road and rail

A little under two weeks since Yorkshire last suffered significant flooding, heavy rain has once again brought disruption to the county's road and rail network. Rail services have been disrupted between Sheffield and Leeds, with flooding in the Outwood area of Doncaster causing delays. On the Calderdale route between Leeds and Manchester, flooding near Walsden has led to the introduction of a replacement bus service to shuttle passengers between stations.

A number of roads have also been affected by flooding, with the Rotherham Advertiser reporting that Station Road in Wath has been closed, and also listing a number of other routes that have been closed or disrupted by flash flooding, including the A630 at a number of locations. As of 17:55, the Environment Agency had issued 36 flood warnings for its Northeast region which includes Yorkshire. Currently, much of the county - South Yorkshire in particular - is enjoying a respite from the rain, and the worst for many may be over for today, although parts of North Yorkshire appear set to endure more heavy rain this evening. The focus of flooding concern now switches to the West Country, which looks set to bear the brunt of the rainfall this evening and overnight. Some thunderstorms are expected across Yorkshire tomorrow, and more rain for all is forecast for the coming the week. When will it stop? The Met Office long-term forecast is equivocal, offering no opinion as to whether the latter part of the month and the remainder of the summer will bring more of the same, or some much-needed dry weather and warmth.

To date, the flooding has not been as bad as during the summer of 2007, and hopefully it will stay that way. Residents of Mytholmroyd and Hebden Bridge will certainly be anxious to avoid a repeat of their recent experience of flooding, but will the rain abate in time?

Tuesday, 9 August 2011

Riots hit Manchester

A fourth night of riots witnesses the first significant disorder in Manchester, which so far as can be gleaned from current reports, is following the opportunistic pattern of wanton vandalism and attempted looting witnessed in many other urban locations. Channel 4 News reports that Miss Selfridges on Market Street in Manchester city centre has been set alight and the police are advising people to stay out of the area. Let’s hope that this act of arson so early in the evening does not presage a turbulent night to come. This district was of course regenerated in the wake of a massive IRA bomb planted in Corporation Street in 1996, and it would be tragic if the people of Manchester should once again be compelled to pick up the pieces following another destructive act aimed at the heart of their city. 

The Daily Mirror also reports that several hundred riot police have clashed with hooded 'youths' in Piccadilly Gardens. Other reports state that arsonists have hit a community centre in Salford and that there have been 'skirmishes' between police and approximately 20 'youths', and the Metro claims that rioters have been attempting to break into the Arndale Centre and smashing shop windows across the city centre. A later update from the Mirror claimed that up to 2,000 'thugs' had taken to the streets of Manchester, which by any reckoning is a disturbingly high number. Shops ransacked included Bang and Olufsen, Diesel and High and Mighty.

The Daily Telegraph remarks upon the tender age of a number of those involved, with some as young as 9, 10 and 11 taken to the streets with scarves drawn across their faces or wearing balaclavas. These children, it claims, have been used by organised crimincal gangs as lookouts during their looting spree. 


The video below features a BBC report on events in the city this evening. 







Monday, 16 November 2009

Manchester Muslims arrested in Police Terror Swoop

Another day, another arrest of a group of suspected fifth columnists planning to commit acts of terror against British targets overseas. A story befitting lead billing on the BBC News website you might think? No. Instead we see “Officer ‘abused Iraqi prisoners”. So, where precisely do you think it might be located? Second billing? In the top stories section? Headlining the regional news portal? Well no actually. It’s not even featured on the BBC News frontpage. The story is instead relegated to the Manchester regional page under the heading of “Five arrested during terror raids” [1].

What does the BBC say about these five? Does it give us some clues as to their identities or backgrounds? Yes. Apparently they were men aged between 21 and 62. That’s it. No other details. Why?

Thankfully, other news outlets have been slightly less coy in their treatment of the story. The Times timorously edges towards the truth when it almost casually mentions that “properties in inner-city areas [of Manchester] with large Muslim populations have been sealed before a lengthy search.” Furthermore, “Neighbours spoke of front doors being knocked and shouting at around 4am. One described a man of Pakistani origin being led away.” [2] The Daily Telegraph homed in on the truth a little further when it reported on “a 62-year-old man arrested at his home on Willows Lane, Deane, Bolton, [who] taught the Koran at a number of mosques across the region. "I'm surprised. He carries out spiritual sessions twice-a-week. He is very spiritual," said one source within the Muslim community.” [3]

“Surprised”? Why was the source “surprised”? The “source” stated clearly that the man “is very spiritual”, which is Muslim code for describing someone who is a rabid kufr hater. This elderly fellow is said to have preached at a number of mosques in the Northwest, so we can be rest assured that if indeed he proves to have been involved in a terror plot, he will have been spreading his ‘spiritual’ message widely and freely to all of those wonderfully ‘moderate’, ‘spiritual’ and ‘devout’ people in his congregations. How very reassuring. Over now, to a message from Greater Manchester Police:



References:

[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8361758.stm
[2] http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6918663.ece
[3] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/6582086/Raids-on-suspected-terrorist-recruitment-network.html