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250,000 protest in UK against govt cuts

Updated: 2011-03-28 10:35

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Up to 250,000 people from every corner of Britain took part in a huge march and rally in London on Saturday against UK government cuts.

Holding placards which read "No cuts", teachers, students, nurses, librarians, ambulance crews, pensioners, parents, grandparents and children were among those taking part in the demonstration.

They called on Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne to think again about cuts to the nation's public services totaling 81 billion pounds ($129 billion).

Many banners also called on the government to "leave Libya alone" and "cut war not welfare".

"Twenty billion pounds ($32 billion) has been spent on unjustified wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now the government is conducting military intervention in Libya," Atthar Butt, a member of the Stop the War Coalition, told China Daily.

"Why not spend money on public services? They should spend here,"

Butt said, adding that intervention in Libya can only prolong, not end, the civil war, and "no-fly zones" will not be able to halt the conflicts and will lead to more bloodshed, not less.

A teacher from Leeds said that although the government would cut many nurseries, schools and libraries, it had enough money to launch air strikes against Libya.

"It would have been much better to spend the money to help Japan, as the country is still struggling with its nuclear crisis and post-disaster reconstruction," she added.

Like her, many people from communities across the country wanted to show their anger at the government's deep spending cuts.

The cuts may result in the loss of more than 170,000 jobs in local government, a further 50,000 across other areas of the public sector, and cuts and closures of services, including libraries and youth clubs.

The rally was billed as the largest in the United Kingdom since the anti-war march in 2003 and the biggest union-organized event for more than 20 years.

The march started by the River Thames and passed the Houses of Parliament and Downing Street before ending at a rally in Hyde Park addressed by opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband.

Most people marched peacefully, but several hundred masked protesters clashed with police, attacked shops and occupied a top store in London.

About 4,500 police officers struggled to control escalating violence in London's main shopping district, where a breakaway group of demonstrators went on the rampage.

Over 200 people were arrested, and branches of HSBC and Topshop were among those to have their windows smashed, according to media reports.

Questions:

1. What is the value of the cuts the protests are against?

2. How many police were dispatched to control the crowd?

3. How many were arrested?

Answers:

1. 81 billion pounds.

2. 4,500.

3. 200.

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Todd Balazovic is a reporter for the Metro Section of China Daily. Born in Mineapolis Minnesota in the US, he graduated from Central Michigan University and has worked for the China Daily for one year.