On 5 November 2023, UK Day will focus on:
● The British government plans to designate more "extremists" and some Muslim organizations are censored
● Pro-Pakistan demonstrations broke out in London for four consecutive weeks, and protesters staged a sit-in that paralyzed traffic
● Labour's shadow cabinet is considering a robotics tax on businesses that use AI
● Storm Ciaran swept across the coast of the United Kingdom, and the "Bonfire Night" celebrations had to be cancelled
The British government plans to designate more "extremists," and some Muslim organizations are censored
According to documents obtained by the British media outlet The Observer on November 4, the British government plans to expand the definition of "extremism" to include anyone who weakens the British system and values as "extremists".
This spring, the Secretary of State for Community Development, Michael Gove, began a review of nonviolent extremism and listed a number of organisations with extremist tendencies, including the British Muslim Council (MCB), Palestine Action and Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend), among others, which are at risk of being listed as extremists.
A document with the words "officially sensitive" states: "Extremism is the promotion or advancement of any ideology aimed at overthrowing or undermining the democratic institutions, institutions and values of the British Parliament." ”
It is reported that officials from the Department of Community Development have been deliberating with the Department of Home Affairs and Downing Street about this definition. Once this definition is adopted, more individuals may be barred from expressing their voices or officially flagged as suspected extremists; The activities of more political or environmental groups may be banned.
The new definition has been strongly opposed by a group of government officials, who believe it is too broad and fear that legitimate groups and individuals will be labeled extremists. At the same time, some civil rights groups have warned that it could "criminalize dissent" and severely suppress free speech.
Pro-Pakistan demonstrations broke out in London for four consecutive weeks, and protesters staged a sit-in that paralyzed traffic
Yesterday (4 November), tens of thousands of protesters gathered in central London for the fourth week in a row for a pro-Palestinian march organised by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign.
Earlier in the day, protesters gathered outside the BBC's London headquarters holding banners and waving Palestinian flags, followed by sit-ins at Charing Cross station and Oxford Street, which paralyzed traffic at one point.
The protesters chanted slogans such as "Free, Free Palestine", "Long live Palestine", "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free".
According to the Metropolitan Police, four police officers were injured when protesters set off fireworks at Trafalgar Square, the terminal of the march, to demonstrators and police.
At least three people have been arrested at Piccadilly Circus and eight others elsewhere, London police said.
In addition to London, other cities in the UK – Manchester, Newcastle and Belfast – saw large demonstrations and sit-ins in large numbers.
Labour's shadow cabinet is considering a robotics tax on businesses that use AI
According to British media reports, members of the Labour Party's shadow cabinet are considering imposing a "robot tax" on companies that use AI to replace employees.
In October, Alex Davies-Jones, Labour's shadow cabinet secretary for technology and the digital economy, publicly made the proposal at a meeting organised by the think tank Demos. She said that having a tax system in place could be used to stop AI-related layoffs.
A spokesperson for the Labour Party denied this: "This event is not about Labour's policies. Labor has no plans to tax businesses that use AI, and our policy is to harness the potential of AI to provide better public services and drive economic growth. ”
The rapid development of AI may lead to the automation of many sectors of the economy in the future. Goldman Sachs, an investment bank, predicted earlier this year that AI could replace 300 million jobs globally.
Storm Ciaran swept across the British coast, and the "Bonfire Night" celebrations were forced to be canceled
According to British media reports, Storm Ciaran swept across the coast of the United Kingdom over the weekend, causing the "bonfire night" event in hundreds of places in the United Kingdom to be cancelled.
Storm Ciaran reached speeds of 104 miles per hour, leaving 127,000 British homes without power, destroying large numbers of homes, knocking down trees and paralyzing parts of the transport system, and people were told not to go out as much as possible before this Sunday.
Engineers are currently working to restore electrical transmission to more than 20,000 homes, including more than 9,000 in Devon and Cornwall, 6,500 in Surrey and 1,600 in Sussex.
The head of the Lincolnshire Aviation Centre in the east of England said the rains over the past two weeks had made the car park and grass landing strip unsafe, with fireworks and night gliding being cancelled and refunds available to spectators who bought tickets.
Meanwhile, the local authority of Chesterfield in the north of England tweeted: "The fireworks show scheduled for Friday has been cancelled due to unsafe conditions on the park's grounds. ”