Two men stand surrounded by police and protesters, after being released from an Immigration Enforcement police van accompanied by lawyer Aamer Anwar and Mohammad Asif, director of the Afghan Human Rights Foundation, in Glasgow, Scotland, Thursday May 13, 2021. Some hundreds of protesters blockaded the street in Glasgow on Thursday in a seven-hour standoff which successfully forced the release of two men detained by U.K. immigration authorities. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)
Two men detained by British immigration officials in Glasgow were released Thursday after a seven-hour standoff between hundreds of protesters and Scottish police.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon slammed the “unacceptable” action by Britain's Home Office to detain the Indian men, especially as it came during celebrations for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, in an area hit by the pandemic.
The Home Office said in a statement that the men were detained "in relation to suspected immigration offences" and had been released on bail.
Sturgeon said in a tweet that Police Scotland officers had been put in an “invidious position” after being called to support the Home Office operation.
“To act in this way, in the heart of a Muslim community as they celebrated Eid, and in an area experiencing a COVID outbreak was a health & safety risk," she said.
Police were first called to Kenmure Street in Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, at about 10 a.m. where the Immigration Enforcement van with the men in it was surrounded by protesters, including neighbors of the men.
One demonstrator climbed under the vehicle to stop it from moving, while others sat in the road. The crowd chanted “Leave our neighbors, let them go” and “Cops go home."
Police Scotland said the decision to finally release the men had been made “to protect the safety, public health and well-being” of all involved.
Videos posted on social media showed cheers going up as the doors of the van were opened and the men emerged.
Protester Mohammad Asif, the director of the Afghan Human Rights Foundation, said the demonstration was a response to the “hostile environment” created by the British government.
Britain’s immigration rules have long been criticized by lawyers and human rights groups, who say they are often harsh and unfairly implemented. Rules have been tightened in the past decade under Conservative governments determined to make the U.K. a “hostile environment” for illegal immigration.
McDonald's missed on both the top and bottom lines in its Q4 earnings, marking the fourth loss for the fast-food giant in the past eight quarters. It comes as higher costs from food to wages ate into the blue-chip company's profits. George Seay, CEO of investment advisor Annandale Capital, joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss the recent numbers and the better-than-expected success of the McPlant burger made with plant-based Beyond Meat. "They're changing with the times, and they have to," Seay noted. "You can just sell a Big Mac to everybody. There's a lot of people who don't want to eat a Big Mac anymore."
Business communication platform Slack, recently released its fifth wave of results from its global workplace survey from its Future Forum consortium, showing that the workforce has already moved to a split between working from home and going to the office. “We are now officially in the hybrid era of work,” Slack Future Forum VP Sheela Subramanian said when discussing the findings. "Hybrid is a work model where people can come into the office as well as work remotely, and what we're seeing is that the majority of knowledge workers are now in this arrangement — and that number is set to grow."
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, founder of Strategy + Rest,
joins Cheddar News to discuss UK's pilot four-day workweek and its impact on workers' mental health.
Ed Gaussen, co-founder and CEO of Mantra Health, and Matt Kennedy, co-founder and COO of Mantra Health, joined Cheddar News to discuss the digital mental health startup's latest funding round and plans for the future.
Charles Platkin, executive director at Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center, joins Cheddar News to discuss how food insecurity affects our mental health.
Actor Sydney Sweeney, who plays Cassie Howard on HBO's "Euphoria, recently addressed how she feels about the stigma attached to nudity in acting for women versus men. Sweeney noted she also made a request to avoid doing unnecessary nude scenes, which was supported by series creator Sam Levinson.
Actor and singer Chrissy Metz, who stars as Kate Pearson in "This Is Us," is partnering with Capital One Auto Navigator to share her story of purchasing her first car to help make car buying easier for others. "For me, I know a car was so important because of course it took me to the auditions to get me to the place I have today," she said. "But it also means empowerment and freedom and accessibility, and I think everybody is deserving and in need of that." Metz also discussed the final season of her hit show, noting that expectations for the finale "will probably be exceeded."
