Britain Latest: Quieter in London but Trouble Elsewhere (The Guardian)
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at 6:20UPDATE 0640 GMT: We have followed claims overnight that at least two men, reportedly defending their neighbourhood amidst unrest, were killed in north Birmingham when they were hit by a car.
The BBC now reports that police have begun a murder inquiry. A third man was critically injured in the incident.
Video taken by frightened foreign students in Birmingham
Central Manchester and Salford saw serious looting and disorder as gangs waged running battles with police, ransacking dozens of shops. Similar, if less widespread, trouble flared in Birmingham and elsewhere in the West Midlands.
The most serious disorder came in Manchester. Groups of young people consistently evaded police attempts to stop them from the late afternoon onwards, breaking into a series of upmarket shops and setting a branch of the Miss Selfridge clothing chain ablaze. As evening fell, up to 200 youths raided an off-licence and other shops in the main shopping precinct of Salford, a couple of miles to the west.