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International News Title: Students In London Storm Conservative Party Headquarters During Rally To Protest Tuition Hikes Tens of thousands of people joined forces in England Wednesday to protest a proposed plan to boost university tuition fees. Hundreds of protesters attending a London rally to oppose the plan later turned riotous and stormed the headquarters of Britain's Conservative Party, smashing windows, clashing with police and bringing chaos to what began as a peaceful demonstration. Nearly 50,000 people gathered for a march organized by Britain's main student and academic unions, the NUS and UCU, to protest the government's plans to allow universities to charge between $9,600 and $14,400 per year in tuition fees. Tuitions are currently capped at $5,264, according to The New York Times. The proposal, announced last month, would also cut public spending by around $130 billion by 2015, the Times reported. Britain's current government, a coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, said tuition hikes are needed to fill a gap left by cuts to university teaching grants. The demonstrations kicked off peacefully, but trouble erupted when hundreds of people veered off to stampede the Conservative Party offices. Chanting "Tory Scum!," the angry mob traded punches with cops in riot gear, set off flares, shattered windows and lit a fire in the courtyard of the building, Britain's Gaurdian reported. Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan police commissioner, said the police were unprepared for the rioting. "It is not acceptable," Stephenson said. "It's an embarrassment for London and for us." London's mayor, Boris Johnson, said: "I am appalled that a small minority have today shamefully abused their right to protest. This is intolerable and all those involved will be pursued and they will face the full force of the law." As the violence escalated, police wielded batons, while the crowd threw placards, eggs and bottles at them, according to reports. Part of the mob, which a witness told The Gaurdian was made up of mostly students and a few "old school anarchists," managed to climb onto the roof, while others used a fire hose to flood the building's stairwells. YouTube, Flikr, Twitter and other social media sites have been flooded with videos and photos documenting the chaos. A video posted on Flikr shows a swarm of protestors and what appears to be a smoke bomb set off near a group of guards. A separate video posted on YouTube shows activists gathered on a roof who allegedly hurled a fire extinguisher at a crowd of riot police below. As of late evening in London, more than 30 people had been arrested and 14 people taken to the hospital, The Gaurdian reported. Around 200 people occupied the political offices and, as night approached, hundreds more gathered around fires outside the building, The Gaurdian reported. By mid-afternoon, police had formed a barrier around the building, effectively containing the mob. Organizers of the rally condemned the rioting, saying the violence undermined their message. "Proud of the 50,000 students who have come to protest peacefully," Aaron Porter, the president of the NUS, wrote on Twitter. "Shame on those who are here to cause trouble." "Disgusted that the actions of a minority of idiots are trying to undermine 50,000 who came to make a peaceful protest," he wrote. As night fell, it appeared as though many in the crowd had begun to lose steam, and police began allowing some people to leave. "We've been kettled in and people are getting desperate here." Leila Khaled, a 22-year-old student told The Gaurdian. "It's freezing and all we want is to go home. We're not here to cause any trouble." With Wire News Services
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
American Students: "You can do that?" LMFAO 8D
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