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Citizens speak out. Among the calls being made by people across the globe are those
for greater opportunity, human rights and democratic principles as they gather in countries
including Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, United Kingdom, Ukraine, United States, and Yemen.
UNITED KINGDOM - Leaders such as Prime Minister David Cameron, Home Secretary Theresa May
and London Mayor Boris Johnson all returned immediately from holidays in response to the
crisis of unprecedented riots, looting and arson that have spread across London and into
Birmingham, Liverpool and Bristol in the past few days. As of Tuesday, August 9, at least
450 people had been arrested and hundreds of citizens as well as police injured. The
unrest was originally sparked by the fatal wounding by police of Mr. Mark Duggan last
Thursday. While calling for a full investigation into his death, Mr. Duggan's family members
have spoken out against the riots, appealing for calm. An emergency government meeting
was called on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Cameron saying he would do everything necessary
to restore order as he deployed 16,000 police officers in an effort to quell the violence.
While there has been discussion of arming police with batons and water cannons, Home
Secretary May stated on Tuesday, "The way we police in Britain is not through use of
water cannon. The way we police in Britain is through consent of communities."
UNITED STATES, ITALY & GLOBAL MARKETS - In the wake of concerns over a downgrade of US
creditworthiness and Italy's financial stability, European Central Bank (ECB) President Jean-Claude
Trichet stated Tuesday that although global financial markets were experiencing their
worst crisis in more than 50 years, decisions by international leaders to coordinate stabilizing
efforts has prevented the situation from worsening further. This includes an ECB pledge to restart
a program of purchasing Spanish and Italian bonds to ease fears that the Eurozone debt
crisis might spread.
UKRAINE - As a judge on Monday denied the release of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko,
who was jailed last Friday during her court trial, thousands demonstrated against both
the trial and her detention. Russia Today reported that many countries and leaders expressed
concern over her arrest, including European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton,
German Deputy Foreign Minister Werner Hoyer, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and the
Russian Foreign Ministry, while the Poland-based Warsaw Business Journal stated that the Polish
Foreign Ministry and US Department of State had similarly questioned both the fairness
of the court proceedings and her treatment.
LIBYA - The activists' Transitional National Council dissolved its own cabinet on Monday,
citing improper administrative procedures that led to the arrest and killing of General
Abdul Fattah Younes, a former interior minister under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi who had defected
to assist the revolutionaries. A proposal for new cabinet members will be made in the
coming days.
YEMEN - President Ali Abdullah Saleh was discharged from a Saudi hospital on Sunday, where he
had been receiving treatment for injuries sustained in an explosion at the presidential
palace June 3. He is reported to be continuing his recuperation in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile,
China-based Xinhua news reported that activist members of the Joint Meeting Parties coalition
on Monday denied any responsibility for the attack as they called for an independent investigation.
SYRIA & LEBANON - On Monday, some 800 people in Lebanon protested in solidarity with the
Syrian people the brutal crackdown they have been subjected to over the past five months
in response to their calls for political reform, which according to the UK-based Guardian has
resulted in over 2,000 deaths. The demonstration included Lebanese intellectuals, writers,
journalists and activists who also called upon their government to speak out against
the bloodshed.
As we grieve the loss of precious life and the suffering of the injured and oppressed,
we pray that the turmoil in all nations may subside and that citizens everywhere can choose
lives of safety, dignity and freedom as a peaceful world�