The news that parts of Britain have descended into lawlessness has been reported in every corner of the world. But although the same pictures of burning buildings and lines of riot police appeared across the board, the accompanying words represented differing interpretations and concerns.
Germany. Die Welt splashes the headline: "This is the uprising of the working class", taken from a comment by self-professed British anarchist, 28-year-old Bryan Phillips.
France. The riots invoke "the ghost of the race riots of the 80s", according to Liberation. The left-wing paper says the causes are various, but include the "economic crisis, impoverished populations, and a disorganised police force".
Spain. Prime minister David Cameron "must evaluate if the social conditions in some areas of London, aggravated by the public spending cuts, constitute a risk as well as an insupportable injustice", says an editorial in El Pais.
United States. Both the New York Times and the Washington Post raise concerns over the proximity of the Olympics. The Times say that Britain must prove "there is no major risk of the Games being disrupted, or ruined, by a replay of the rioting", while the Post feels the riots are "an enormously damaging blow" with just a year to go. The Post says events are "taking root mostly in the powder keg of poorer neighbourhoods", and the Times pointed out that such violence raises "new questions about the political sustainability of the Cameron government's spending cuts, particularly the deep cutbacks in social programs".
Iran. The ISNA news agency reports that Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has called for the Metropolitan police to exercise "restraint" in dealing with "protesters" and suggested the British government examine the "demands of the demonstrators".
India. The Times of India voices similar concerns over whether the city will be "safe enough to stage next year's Olympic Games", adding that "fresh violence in Hackney, close to the main Olympic stadium in East London, seemed ominous".
China. The People's Daily, otherwise known as the /Renmin Ribao/, points to the problems now facing the Metropolitan Police: "With insufficient manpower and financial resources they will inevitably be overwhelmed with problems in maintaining social order".
United Arab Emirates. Dubai-based English language website The National was one of the few news sources to bring up the recent events in the Middle East, quoting a man who compared the two. "In the Arab Spring, people were trying to get their freedom," a British man called Chris told them. "What are they trying to get here when they attack their own and steal trainers and TVs?"
Russia. The most popular article on the website of Pravda this morning was entitled: "London riots: Divine intervention?". It draws parallels with Britain's military intervention in Libya, asking, "does it not provide a perfect answer from God, underlining the sheer hypocrisy with which western governments view and conduct policy"?
Australia. The use of BlackBerry messenger (BBM) services, commented on throughout the world, is seized upon by the Sydney Morning Herald, which writes that BBM "appears to be the favoured method of planning the unrest that has swept across London".