London

London’s bridges are falling apart

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An old fear of Londoners is becoming real. High traffic, lack of maintenance, climate change, and crumbling structures threaten the famous bridges over the Thames River, according to a BBC report that said many bridges have reached the limit of their capacity and in need of “immediate repair work.”

According to the BBC, more and more signs are appearing that prohibit people from even walking across a bridge. At the famous Tower Bridge one recent day the wheels jammed, leaving the raised deck stuck and causing chaos in traffic. Last year both the London Bridge and Vauxhall Bridge were shut down for repairs due to complaints from civil engineers, said the report.

Among bridges reported by the BBC as “problematic” are the Westminster Bridge in front of Parliament, Chiswick Bridge, and the historic Hammersmith Bridge in West London on which no motorized traffic is now allowed, and not even rowboats below are permitted to approach, with security guards keeping everyone away from the bridge 24/7.

It could take six years before the bridge is repaired, according to calculations by the London School of Economics (LSE). Of the different authorities responsible for the bridges, the Hammersmith and Fulham Town Councils say they do not have the money for such a mammoth repair, reported the BBC, and that the Bridge House Estate, a City of London asset holder also responsible for the bridges has said it is considering tariffs to cover repair costs.

“There are obviously structural problems with bridge supervision, with government responsibility, with politics,” wrote Professor Tony Travers, LSE transportation expert, commenting on the crumbling infrastructure.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Teresa May Says Internet Must Now Be Regulated, Following Violent Muslim Attacks

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The British PM called the internet a safe space for ideas to breed, and, she said, we cannot allow that:

“We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed – yet that is precisely what the internet, and the big companies that provide internet-based services provide.”

Therefore, and in the wake of the recent violent Muslim attacks in the UK, democratic governments should work together to “reduce the risks of extremism” by making new international agreements to regulate the internet, May said.

However, during the same speech, she noted that the three recent attacks were not linked by “common networks” but were “bound together by the single evil ideology of Islamic extremism.”

Coordinated Attacks in London

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The UK capital saw 3 notable attacks Saturday. including on London Bridge, at Borough Market, and at Vauxhall. London authorities are currently saying that the London Bridge and Borough Market are connected and are being treated as “terrorist” actions, but the Vauxhall is currently considered separate.

The attacks include a vehicle hitting pedestrians and stabbings.

There were fatalities in addition to many people being injured.

The use of vehicles as the weapon of choice for violent Muslim attackers in Europe is of a special concern as it doesn’t even require the special and somewhat technical knowledge and supplies as do explosives, the other go-to weapon.

The last big attack in London was a week and a half ago (May 23) at the Ariana Grande concert. England has been on “serious” threat level of an Islamist attack for a long time now, but after the concert bombing the threat level was raised to “critical” because authorities feared attacks on public and cultural sites may be imminent. It was then reduced to “serious” again.

UK security officials have spoken about the phenomena, and the general tone is that they already stop a lot of attacks each year, but they can’t stop them all.