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AFP
Extra stop-and-search powers have been granted to police as the Notting Hill Carnival got under way in west London.
Scotland Yard imposed the Section 60 order from 09:00 BST until midnight following "incidents of violence... across the city over the last week".
Over two days there were five separate shootings while a man was fatally stabbed in Deptford on Saturday night.
One million people are expected at the Carnival over the weekend with Sunday known as family day.
The two-day event is being policed by the highest number of officers in six years with some 13,000 officers deployed.
Knife arches, which are used to detect blades and deter people from carrying them, are also being installed for the first time at "strategic points" across the Carnival.
The event's Gold Commander Dave Musker said the extra powers would "reassure our communities that we are constantly working to protect them".
"It will also send a message to those intent on committing acts of violence that we will robustly target them," he said.
The festivities began on Sunday at 06:00 with the "J'Ouvert" where revellers douse themselves in colourful paints and powders before the parade and official opening ceremony at 10:00.
A 72-second silence will be also held at 15:00 BST on Sunday and Monday in tribute to those who died in the Grenfell Tower blaze, which happened close to the parade route.
One of the Carnival's headliners, singer and DJ Popcaan, has tweeted to say he will no longer be performing at the event due to "unforeseen circumstances".