Birmingham roundabouts vandalised to look like England flags
England and union flags being flown across parts of Birmingham were being taken down, which the authority said last week was to allow for maintenance works.In recent weeks, the Union Jack and St George's Cross have been hung in the Weoley Castle and Northfield areas of the city, which locals said they were doing in an act of patriotism.But the city council issued a safety plea to residents attaching the flags to lampposts and other street furniture. It said it was upgrading streetlights to energy-efficient LED lighting and had so far removed about 200 banners and flags.
Some people in the Weoley Castle and Northfield areas of Birmingham told the BBC they supported flags being flown. One woman said: "It's patriotic, so I think it's lovely. It represents us doesn't it, Great Britain?"Another woman stated: "I think they're great, [they] put a smile on people's faces. "They're not doing any harm just flying in the wind, representing England, which is where we are, obviously."
Another woman said it would "nice to see all different flags up" to show how multicultural the city was. While a man told the BBC if the sentiment behind it was "anti-immigration", he was "totally against" the flags being put up. "That's not a very nice thing to do," he said.
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Glasgow Times
an hour ago
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Defending Betro, Paul Lewis KC said she would find custody in the UK difficult because her loved ones are still in the US and urged the judge to give her credit for the 198 days she had spent on remand in Armenia awaiting extradition before her trial. He said: 'She has apparently been a model prisoner on remand. She is likely to find incarceration particularly difficult because all her family and friends are in America and she has had very few visits except for her lawyers.' Speaking to Betro, Judge Drew said: 'So far as mitigation is concerned, I take into account your antecedent history, your age, the fact that you will serve some or all of your sentence in a UK prison, far away from home, and the contents of your letter in which you express remorse for your actions.'
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an hour ago
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