London’s Metropolitan Police (Met) yesterday launched a hard-hitting poster campaign to combat escalating knife crime which has claimed the lives of 15 teenagers in the British capital so far this year.
Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair, describing the level of knife crime as “unacceptable,” said ordinary kitchen knives were most commonly used in attacks.
He said more than 200 people had been arrested and almost 200 weapons seized in 4,000 stop-and-search operations over the past two weeks, in which arch metal detectors and handheld scanners were used to spot knife carriers.
“The most common knife involved in these deaths is a knife from the kitchen and we must have conversations about knife crime with teenagers,” Blair said as the Met unveiled its haul of weapons.
“To parents it is tough love time,” he said. “In addition to conversations about drink, drugs and relationships there are now conversations about knives.”
The Met will spend £3 million (US$6 million) over the next three years on a poster campaign showing graphic images of injuries caused by knives.
The ads, which will be run on radio, Web sites and mobile phones, will warn youngsters about the harsh physical and emotional consequences of knife crime. The campaign was developed and written by young people who have themselves been affected by knife crime.
Another series of ads aims to encourage mothers to talk about the issue with their children.
“I am in no doubt about the importance of tackling knife crime and this is even starker following recent tragic events,” Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said. “We know that many young people carry a knife because they are fearful and these adverts tell powerful stories about the dangers of going down that path.”
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
‘DISCRIMINATION’: The US Office of Personnel Management ordered that public DEI-focused Web pages be taken down, while training and contracts were canceled US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday moved to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off. The moves follow an executive order Trump signed on his first day ordering a sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs. Trump has called the programs “discrimination” and called to restore “merit-based” hiring. The executive order on affirmative action revokes an order issued by former US president Lyndon Johnson, and curtails DEI programs by federal contractors and grant recipients. It is using one of the