
Families concerned as London's Grenfell Tower to be dismantled
LONDON — The UK government has decided to dismantle Grenfell Tower, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told a meeting with bereaved relatives and survivors.Seventy two people died when the tower block in west London caught fire in June 2017.The decision follows several years of debate over the future of the 24-story tower, with some hoping it would remain in place as a lasting reminder of the tragedy and others wanting it replaced with a new memorial.A spokesperson for Grenfell United, a group which represents bereaved families and survivors, said "no-one" at the meeting supported Rayner's decision to "demolish the tower" and people "had been ignored".Separately, the head of a local residents' association told Radio 4's The World Tonight he and "the overwhelming majority" supported the decision to take down the tower.A formal announcement by the government is expected to be made on Friday.The spokesperson for Grenfell United said Rayner had refused to confirm how many bereaved and survivors had been spoken to in the "recent, short four week consultation"."Today's meeting showed just how upset bereaved and survivors are about not having their views heard or considered in this decision," they said in a statement."Ignoring the voices of bereaved on the future of our loved ones' gravesite is disgraceful and unforgivable."Kimia Zabihyan, from Grenfell Next of Kin, which also acts for some of the bereaved families, told the BBC she had attended the meeting with Rayner where she said the tower would be deconstructed down to the ground level.She described the meeting as "charged", but said Rayner appeared to have come along with the "best of intentions"."The deputy prime minister was very clear that she has taken this decision very seriously, that it is a serious responsibility and that it is a very sensitive decision to make, but it is one that she felt she had to make," said Ms Zabihyan, adding that Rayner said she had made the decision based on what engineers had recommended.The government has previously been warned the structure may be unsafe due to the extent of the fire damage.Ms Zabihyan said she understood the government's rationale for the decision, but said many people were very unhappy.She said that at the meeting, one person had told Rayner: "No-one cares about this more than me, because I had just bits of bone to bury of my mother so that building means a lot to me. That is where her soul is, where her ashes are. It's in that building."Following the meeting, a government spokesperson said: "The priority for the deputy prime minister is to meet with and write to the bereaved, survivors and the immediate community to let them know her decision on the future of the Grenfell Tower."This is a deeply personal matter for all those affected, and the deputy prime minister is committed to keeping their voice at the heart of this."Mushtaq Lasharie, a local resident and chairman of Lancaster West Estate Residents Association, told Radio 4: "We were waiting over seven and a half years for a closure and I hope this decision will bring a closure."When we surveyed a few years back the overwhelming majority wanted to take it out and the reason is, number one, it is dangerous, number two, it reminds us every day."Emma Dent Coad, who was Labour MP for Kensington at the time of the Grenfell fire and is now an independent councillor on Kensington and Chelsea Council, said a lot of the bereaved and families were "absolutely distraught".She said: "We've been told the work will start after the 8th anniversary which is this coming June and will be gone by the 10th so that may take two years to deconstruct as they're calling it."She said while there were concerns from the local community about public health issues some of the bereaved wanted the tower to stay — " a lot of people regarded it as a sacred site".The fire on 14 June 2017 was originally caused by a faulty fridge in a fourth-floor flat and quickly spread around the block because it was covered in highly flammable cladding.A public inquiry concluded in September the disaster had been the result of numerous government failures, and failure of the construction industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.The west London tower block was covered in combustible cladding because of the "systematic dishonesty" of firms who made and sold it, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said.Many bereaved families have called for criminal action to be brought against some of those implicated in the inquiry but police and prosecutors have said that no decision will be made on potential charges until the end of 2026.In a 2023 report, the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission set out a series of recommendations for a "sacred space", designed to be a "peaceful place for remembering and reflecting".It said the space should include a garden, monument and dedicated space for the private expression of grief and mourning for the families who lost loved ones.
A shortlist of five potential design teams was announced last month, and a winning design team is set to be selected this summer. — BBC

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Saudi Gazette
29-04-2025
- Saudi Gazette
Spain and Portugal scramble to restore power as officials chase cause of outage
MADRID — A sweeping power outage left millions of people in Spain, Portugal and parts of France without electricity on Monday, leading to chaotic scenes and widespread disruption. A problem with the power connection between France and Spain was a contributing factor to the outage, the head of a trade body that represents Europe's power industry said. Kristian Ruby, of Eurelectric, told the BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight a "specific incident with an interconnector between France and Spain" occurred on Monday. Ruby said this "meant the Spanish grid was disconnected from the broader European grid". He added that the interconnector incident was unlikely to have caused the outage on its own and that there were "likely to have been other elements in this equation". A day of widespread disruption saw trains canceled and evacuated in some regions, and traffic lights stop working as delays mounted at airports. As of Monday evening, 11 trains remained stranded, Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente said. With shops, homes and restaurants plunged into darkness - and some people stuck in lifts - Spain's electricity network said by mid-afternoon that restoring power could take several hours. By Monday night, 50% of power had been restored across Spain, according to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. While Portuguese energy provider REN said electricity had been restored to 750,000 customers. But a state of emergency remained in place, with regions able to request the special status. Sánchez said the cause of the outage was still being investigated and warned against speculation, while Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said there was "no indication" of a cyber attack. The first reports of an outage began around midday (10:00 GMT) on Monday and its impact quickly escalated. As the scale of the disruption became clear, residents of Madrid were warned to stay put, keep off the roads and not to call emergency services unless "truly urgent". A Spanish operator said power restoration would take up to 10 hours, while Portugal's power firm REN said getting back to full power could take up to a week. Queues formed at cash machines as card payments were affected by the outage, and there were reports that some petrol stations are closed. When the blackout hit the Madrid metro station network, commuters were left confused and panicking. One resident, Sarah Jovovich, described the sense of confusion underground when the lights went off in a metro station. People were "hysterical" and "panicking", she told the BBC. "It was quite chaotic really." Mobile phones had stopped working and nobody had any information, she said. When she left the metro station and emerged into the streets, she found the roads gridlocked with heavy traffic. "No one understood anything. Businesses were closed and buses were full," she said. The outage also left a number of people stuck in lifts. Emergency workers were called to 286 buildings to free people trapped inside elevators in the Madrid region, the head of the regional government, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, told the television station Antena 3. Spanish media reported that some hospitals had implemented emergency plans, including halting routine work, news agencies reported. By early evening and after several hours of blackouts, residents in some parts of the country reported the lights were back on. Power was being restored "in several areas of the north, south and west of the [Iberian] peninsula", the Spanish grid operator said. The authorities in Spain and Portugal were on Monday night still trying to work out what caused the power cuts. "There are no indications of any cyberattack" at this point, the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, said. As panic spread earlier in the day, residents of Madrid were warned to stay off the roads. In a video on social media, the mayor of the Spanish capital, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, told residents to "keep their movements to an absolute minimum and, if at all possible, to remain where they are. We want to keep all roads clear." People should only call emergency services if it is "truly urgent", he said. "If emergency calls go unanswered, go to the police and the fire stations in person, where they will try to deal with all the emergencies." The country's nuclear power plants automatically stopped when the blackout hit, and the Spanish oil company Moeve said it halted operations at its oil refineries. People were left stranded on trains in difficult-to-access areas, with Transport Minister Puente saying there were issues with coupling locomotives. Speaking to the BBC, Gabriela Chavez said she had been traveling between Seville and Madrid via train when the power went out and the AC and toilets stopped working. "They have let everyone off the train but we have no idea how long we will have to wait for," she told the BBC on Monday. "People at the top of the hill have flagged down cars who have dropped off water and crisps for us, which is kind [and] people from the village have come to drop off supplies for us." Flights were also impacted, with delays and cancellations at some airports. EasyJet said it was experiencing some disruption to operations at Lisbon and Madrid. It said the situation was "fluid" and told customers to check local advice. As of Monday evening, aviation data company Cirium said 96 flights departing from Portugal -- and 45 from Spain -- had been canceled. Businesses have been severely affected. Some Ikea branches in Spain switched to backup generators and stopped customers from entering its stores. The Madrid Open Tennis organizers have decided to cancel Monday's event. Elsewhere, Andorra and parts of France were also hit, but the Balearic and Canary Islands were not affected. — BBC


Arab News
04-03-2025
- Arab News
Starmer ‘laser-focused' on peace after US Ukraine aid pause: deputy PM
LONDON: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is 'laser-focused' on securing peace in Ukraine after US President Donald Trump suspended military aid to Kyiv, Britain's deputy prime minister said Rayner said the pause was 'a matter for' the United States and it had not changed Starmer's approach toward trying to find a suitable ceasefire to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.'He's laser focused on getting peace. He won't be derailed by announcements,' Rayner told BBC Radio after being asked for her reaction to Trump's added that the British Labour government was 'focused on support for Ukraine' and 'bringing the US around the table alongside our European partners and Ukraine.''We've put our money where our mouth is and stepped up our support for Ukraine through air defense, through military capabilities, and through the military aid we give year upon year,' Rayner is seeking to tread a fine line between backing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and keeping Trump onside as Europe seeks security guarantees in the event of an end to the war.'He won't be bounced by particular announcements overnight,' Rayner told ITV television.'He will continue to work with our strong allies to get the peace for Ukraine and for Europe,' she added, describing the UK as an 'honest broker.'The UK's main opposition leader, Kemi Badenoch, said Britain and Europe must 'rearm faster' following Trump's announcement.'The news overnight that America is halting military aid to Ukraine is profoundly worrying,' she wrote on X.'It is clear that Britain and Europe must rearm much faster if we want to provide Ukraine with more than just warm words of support.'We must work to keep America in, and Russia out.'


Arab News
07-02-2025
- Arab News
London's Grenfell Tower to be taken down after deadly 2017 fire
The move has angered some survivors and families of those killed in the massive inferno'Grenfell Tower will be carefully taken down to the ground,' the government saidLONDON: London's Grenfell Tower — where 72 people died in 2017 in Britain's worst residential fire since World War II — is to be demolished, the UK government confirmed on move, which is expected to take two years, has angered some survivors and families of those killed in the massive inferno, which destroyed the 24-story block in the west of Britain's capital.'Grenfell Tower will be carefully taken down to the ground,' the government said in a statement, confirming what victims' groups said Thursday they had been work will start after the eighth anniversary of the blaze on June 14 and will be done carefully to ensure that materials can be included in any future memorial, the statement government said safety was the primary reason for the demolition.'It remains stable because of the measures put in place to protect it, but even with installation of additional props, the condition of the building will continue to worsen over time,' the statement said.'Engineers also advise it is not practicable to retain many of the floors of the building in place as part of a memorial that must last in perpetuity.'The fire started in a faulty freezer, spreading rapidly due to highly combustible cladding fixed to the building's public inquiry last year found the 72 deaths were 'all avoidable' and blamed the 'systematic dishonesty' of building also revealed decades-long government and regulatory the inquiry and report, victims' groups have criticized the government for failing to implement fire safety recommendations swiftly enough, including removing similar cladding from other have also condemned the delay in bringing criminal charges against those blamed for the disaster in the decision to demolish the building divided victim United, which represents some of the survivors and families, said on Thursday the decision as 'disgraceful' and that victims were ignored by a short Grenfell Next of Kin said it was a 'sensitive decision' which 'came after a thorough engagement process' and was informed by 'safety concerns' surrounding the structural integrity of the scaffolded remains of the government insisted that deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, who also holds the housing brief, has offered the community several discussions online and in-person.'It is clear from conversations it remains a sacred site. It is also clear that there is not a consensus about what should happen to it,' the government said in its statement.'Being able to see the tower every day helps some people continue to feel close to those they lost. For others it is a painful reminder of what happened and is having a daily impact on some members of the community.'