Arrests rise to 19 after two nights of unrest in Northern Ireland
Nineteen people, including a teenager, have been arrested following rioting in Belfast, while officials call for calm ahead of anti-racist protests in Belfast and Glasgow.
Police in Northern Ireland reported that 19 individuals, among them a 16-year-old, have been detained after two nights of disorder that followed a knife attack earlier in the week. The unrest escalated after far-right activists urged demonstrations, and participants set fire to vehicles and homes, blocked roads and clashed with police using rocks and petrol bombs. Police employed plastic bullets and water cannon on the second night.
A parliamentary committee warned that the government has not sufficiently addressed the rapid spread of misinformation online. > "Unrest in Belfast shows that the government hasn’t done enough to tackle the scale and speed of the algorithmic amplification of misinformation online," said Chi Onwurah, chair of the science, innovation and technology committee. Onwurah added that previous reports had identified gaps in the Online Safety Act and called for regulators to require social-media platforms to curb the viral spread of harmful content during crises.
The Police Service for Northern Ireland said the situation had calmed on Thursday, describing the disturbances as lower-level compared with the previous nights. Assistant chief constable Ryan Henderson said police would remain on duty over the weekend to maintain public order.
The victim of the knife attack, Stephen Ogilvie, remains in an induced coma but is reported to be improving. A Sudanese man, Hadi Alodid, has been charged with attempted murder.
Anti-racism rallies are scheduled in Belfast and Glasgow. Police Scotland and the PSNI have appealed for peaceful demonstrations and warned that any illegal behaviour will be met with a strong police presence. > "There must be no repeat of the disorder and violence seen in the city earlier this week," said Police Scotland assistant chief constable Alan Waddell. Lawyer Aamer Anwar, speaking at a pre-rally event, described the upcoming Saturday gathering as a celebration of the city’s diversity and said those seeking to cause mayhem would not be welcome.
