UK police urged to protect mosques ahead of far-right rallies

UK police urged to protect mosques ahead of far-right rallies
Police in the UK have been asked to increase protection for mosques amid fears they could be targeted by the far right. (AFP/File)
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Updated 02 August 2024
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UK police urged to protect mosques ahead of far-right rallies

UK police urged to protect mosques ahead of far-right rallies
  • Mosques targeted after false information online blamed stabbing of 3 children on Muslim asylum-seeker
  • Tell Mama director: ‘We ask communities to keep calm, look out for each other and to remain vigilant’

LONDON: Police in the UK have been asked to increase protection for mosques amid fears they could be targeted by the far right.

It comes after mosques were targeted by mobs in Southport and Hartlepool in the north of England earlier this week, and violence flared in other cities across the country.

The violence broke out after three children were stabbed to death in Southport on Monday. Information circulated online falsely claimed that the perpetrator had been a Muslim asylum-seeker.

He was later identified by a court on Thursday as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, born in Wales to Rwandan parents.

The judge hearing the case, Andrew Menary KC, said reporting restrictions on Rudakubana’s identity due to his age should be lifted to stop people “who are up to mischief to continue to spread disinformation in a vacuum.”

However, fears abound in communities across the country that the spread of misinformation has already gone too far, putting more mosques, as well as asylum-seekers, at further risk.

Iman Atta, director of Tell Mama, an organization that studies Islamophobia in the UK, told The Guardian: “We absolutely need to see the police organize and step up their patrols around mosques and asylum-seeker accommodation.

“It would be good to see neighborhood teams change their patrol times to provide additional reassurance to the communities.”

Subsequent demonstrations in Manchester and Aldershot saw migrant accommodation targeted by protesters holding signs saying “deport them, don’t support them” and “no apartments for illegals.”

Meanwhile, in London at least 110 people were arrested after flares were thrown at a protest near Downing Street.

Shaukat Warraich, a director at Mosque Security, told The Guardian that his company had been contacted by numerous people in recent days for advice, and that its online security recommendations had been downloaded by “hundreds” due to “the false anti-Muslim narrative being peddled following the Southport murders.”

The Guardian also reported that it believes 19 far-right rallies will take place in the coming days across England, with counter-demonstrations also planned in London and Liverpool.

Atta told the newspaper: “Last week has demonstrated how the far right can organize online and promote hate and misinformation toward Muslim communities, refugees and asylum-seekers. We ask communities to keep calm, look out for each other and to remain vigilant.”

Nahella Ashraf, of Stand Up to Racism Manchester, said: “Before the election, with all the attacks on asylum-seekers, it’s not surprising we’re seeing this unleashed.

“We’ve had years where people are feeling angry and neglected and the cost of living crisis feeds into it. It’s the climate the politicians have set.”


Pakistan searches for missing German Olympic biathlon champion Dahlmeier after rockfall

Updated 2 sec ago
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Pakistan searches for missing German Olympic biathlon champion Dahlmeier after rockfall

Pakistan searches for missing German Olympic biathlon champion Dahlmeier after rockfall
PESHAWAR: Rescue teams on Wednesday continued to search for missing German biathlete and double Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier, who was seriously injured in Pakistan after being struck by a rockfall while climbing, a provincial government spokesperson said.
The accident occurred on Monday when Dahlmeier was hit by a landslide in Hushe Valley in the northern mountain range in Gilgit-Baltistan province, while attempting to summit the 6,094-meter Laila Peak.
A helicopter conducted a search operation on Laila Peak on Tuesday evening but “found no signs of life,” spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said.
“She is missing. We are searching. No one knows where she is,” he said.
Two teams of expert climbers from Germany and the United States have been deployed, he said. Faraq added that a helicopter rescue operation was not possible due to adverse weather conditions. “Nothing is visible down there,” he said.
The accident occurred around noon on July 28, at an altitude of approximately 5,700 meters at Laila Peak, said the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
Dahlmeier, 31, was climbing with her mountaineering partner when a sudden rockfall hit her, resulting in significant injuries, it said in a statement.
The provincial government spokesperson identified the climbing partner as Marina Eva Krauss.
Krauss successfully descended to base camp and is reported to be in good health, he added.
Dahlmeier retired from biathlon in 2019, aged 25, a year after becoming the first female biathlete to achieve a sprint and pursuit double at the same Olympics.
Her management did not respond to an emailed request for comment from Reuters.
Pakistan’s northern mountainous regions have experienced heavy flooding and landslides, killing several local tourists during the current monsoon spell of rains.
Flooding and other rain-related accidents have killed 288 people in Pakistan since the monsoon season began in late June, says the country’s National Disaster Management Authority.

South Sudan offers to accept more US deportees, Politico reports

South Sudan offers to accept more US deportees, Politico reports
Updated 7 min 40 sec ago
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South Sudan offers to accept more US deportees, Politico reports

South Sudan offers to accept more US deportees, Politico reports

South Sudan has told the administration of President Donald Trump it is willing to consider accepting more migrants deported from the United States, Politico reported on Wednesday.

The African country has also urged Washington to lift sanctions imposed on one of its top officials, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter and diplomatic correspondence.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.


US repatriates a child from sprawling camp in northeastern Syria

US repatriates a child from sprawling camp in northeastern Syria
Updated 59 min 23 sec ago
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US repatriates a child from sprawling camp in northeastern Syria

US repatriates a child from sprawling camp in northeastern Syria
  • The State Department did not give any details about the repatriation, except to say in a statement that the child “has known nothing of life outside of the camps” and will be reunified with their family

DAMASCUS: The United States repatriated an American child separated from their family from a sprawling camp in northeastern Syrian that houses tens of thousands of people with alleged ties to the militant Daesh group, the State Department said Wednesday.

The department estimates that some 30,000 people from 70 countries remain in Al-Hol Camp, most of them wives and children of IS fighters as well as supporters of the extremist group. They include Iraqis as well as nationals of Western countries who traveled to join IS.

Human rights groups for years have cited poor living conditions and pervasive violence in the camp, which the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have administered for years. The SDF are Washington’s key ally in combating IS in Syria and its sleeper cells, and for years have run large swaths of northeastern Syria.

The State Department did not give any details about the repatriation, except to say in a statement that the child “has known nothing of life outside of the camps” and will be reunified with their family.

The US military for years has been pushing for countries to repatriate their citizens from Al-Hol and the smaller, separate Roj Camp. Iraq has taken back an increasing number in recent years, but many other countries have remained reluctant.

“The only durable solution to the humanitarian and security crisis in these displaced persons camps in northeast Syria is for countries of origin to repatriate, rehabilitate, reintegrate, and where appropriate, ensure accountability for their nationals,” the State Department statement read. “The same goes for former Daesh fighters held in detention centers in northeast Syria,” it said, using a different abbreviation for IS.

Despite difficult talks to formally merge with the country’s new rulers under interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, Damascus and the SDF in May reached an agreement to repatriate Syrians in the camp. Since the ouster of Bashar Assad in December, Washington has been pushing for the two sides to implement their deal and unify Syrian territory, which would ultimately put the camp under the control of the government.

The SDF did not immediately comment on the repatriation.


China to hold military drills with Russia in August

China to hold military drills with Russia in August
Updated 2 min 3 sec ago
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China to hold military drills with Russia in August

China to hold military drills with Russia in August
  • Alongside economic and political ties, Moscow and Beijing have deepened military cooperation in recent years as both countries seek to counterbalance what they see as a United States-led global order

BEIJING: China said Wednesday it would conduct joint military drills with Russia in August, including sea and air exercises near Vladivostok and joint naval patrols in the Pacific.

Alongside economic and political ties, Moscow and Beijing have deepened military cooperation in recent years as both countries seek to counterbalance what they see as a United States-led global order.

The drills, named “Joint Sea-2025,” were part of regular bilateral cooperation plans and “not directed against third parties,” Chinese defense ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang told a press conference Wednesday.

After the drills, they will also conduct naval patrols in “relevant waters of the Pacific,” Zhang said.

Last year’s “Joint Sea-2024” exercises were held along China’s southern coast.

The “Joint Sea-2025” drills are due to take place ahead of a planned visit to China by Russian President Vladimir Putin beginning late August.

Putin will attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as well as celebrations, including a military parade, to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

He will also hold talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Relations between the two countries have deepened since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

China has never denounced Russia’s more than three-year military war nor called for it to withdraw its troops, and many of Ukraine’s allies believe that Beijing has provided support to Moscow.

China insists it is a neutral party, regularly calling for an end to the fighting while also accusing Western countries of prolonging the conflict by arming Ukraine.

Xi told Russia’s foreign minister earlier in July that their countries should “strengthen mutual support” during a meeting in Beijing.


France, 14 other nations urge recognition of Palestinian state

France, 14 other nations urge recognition of Palestinian state
Updated 30 July 2025
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France, 14 other nations urge recognition of Palestinian state

France, 14 other nations urge recognition of Palestinian state
  • 15 nations including Spain, Norway, and Finland affirmed their “unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution”

PARIS: France and 14 other Western nations called on countries worldwide to move to recognize a Palestinian state, France’s top diplomat said Wednesday.

The foreign ministers of 15 countries late Tuesday issued a joint statement following a conference in New York, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, aimed at reviving a two-state solution between Israelis and the Palestinians.

“In New York, together with 14 other countries, France is issuing a collective appeal: we express our desire to recognize the State of Palestine and invite those who have not yet done so to join us,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on X.

President Emmanuel Macron announced last week he would formally recognize Palestinian statehood in September, provoking strong opposition from Israel and the United States.

France is hoping to build a momentum around the formal recognition of a Palestinian state.

On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the UK will formally recognize the State of Palestine in September unless Israel takes various “substantive steps,” including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Starmer’s move, paired with Paris, would make the two European allies the first G7 nations to do so.

In the statement, 15 nations including Spain, Norway, and Finland affirmed their “unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution.”

Nine of the signatories which have not yet recognized the Palestinian state expressed “the willingness or the positive consideration of their countries” to do so, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Seventeen countries plus the European Union and Arab League during the conference joined calls for Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza, in a bid to end the devastating war in the Palestinian territory.