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Failure to pursue line of inquiry ‘which may have been relevant’ now being investigated by police watchdog Counter-terrorism police investigating the death of Ann Widdecombe say they have re-opened an old investigation into an attempted burglary last year.The incident at an address in Greater London was reported in April 2025. Continue reading...

Delays to sexual assault charges and failures to report past convictions in court hearings gave Simon Levy chance to attack more womenCatastrophic errors left a prolific and proven sex offender free before he murdered two women in London, it can be revealed.On Friday an Old Bailey jury found Simon Levy, 40, guilty of murdering Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo in March 2025 and Sheryl Wilkins five months later.The CPS admitted errors at three court hearings in May, June and August 2025, which ended in Levy remaining free. It would not specify publicly what those were, but a source authorised to speak for the organisation said they included failing to mention he had been arrested for Valencia-Trujillo’s murder, and that it could find no record or mention of Levy’s past sexual assault convictions, nor that he was a suspect in a 2024 rape. The CPS said: “We accept there was relevant information regarding bail that was not provided to the court when bail applications were being considered. Our actions fell short of the standards that victims, families and the public are entitled to expect … We could and should have taken a more robust approach to representations about bail.” By May 2025, police wanted Levy remanded, fearing he posed a “high risk of reoffending” with his crimes “escalating”.Levy failed to attend three crown court hearings for the train attacks, and the CPS accepts there is no evidence of a warrant being sought for his detention. For two he claimed illness, for the other that he was not informed. His final non-appearance in crown court was on 11 August 2025. A fortnight later he murdered Wilkins. A CPS source said individuals involved in the Levy case had been disciplined.The assaults on the London tube network and trains were investigated by BTP. Officers arrested Levy, who was travelling on a stolen Oyster travel card, but handed it back to him, unaware it was stolen. With it he travelled to south London to commit his first murder, and carried out further sexual assaults on trains.BTP admitted the charging of Levy for his sexual assaults on trains in November 2024 was held up because of a delay in holding an identification parade after his arrest. It meant his bail was extended and during this delay he attacked and raped another woman and murdered Valencia-Trujillo, a mother of two.BTP identified him as a suspect and charged him but never searched his home. Peter Fulton, BTP’s head of crime, said: “There’s a fine line between going fishing and breaching someone’s human rights.” He said that every woman who reported Levy for attacking them on a train saw him charged and convicted. When the Met, which investigated the murders, searched Levy’s home, evidence was found about his attack on the prison officer.The police watchdog has placed two Met officers under investigation over whether Levy was supervised correctly as a person on the sex offender register. A constable is under investigation for gross misconduct, meaning he could be dismissed. The other officer, under investigation for misconduct, is a detective sergeant.BTP said it had not referred its errors to the police watchdog. Instead it has moved one officer, who it says delayed the holding of the ID parade, out of investigations, and given a supervisor words of advice. Continue reading...

Programme aiming to stop people turning to terrorism sees 39% rise in referrals in year to September 2025 – the highest number on recordA record number of people have been referred to the government’s anti-terror programme, with a 39% rise over the last year, including a 20% rise in referrals for extreme rightwing ideology, according to official data released on Thursday.A total of 10,293 referrals – up from 7,408 – were made to the Prevent programme in the year to September 2025, which is the highest number since records began 11 years ago. Continue reading...

• The UN Security Council met on Wednesday to evaluate the ongoing threat posed by ISIL (Dae’sh) to global peace and security. • Briefings highlighted that ISIL, Al Qaeda, and their affiliates remain "adaptive and resilient" despite international counter-terrorism efforts. • A key concern is the groups' adoption of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to enhance recruitment, mobilize resources, and expand their operational reach.

• Australia and Russia are intensifying their efforts to target Telegram as part of a broader global trend of governments implementing age checks and source code restrictions to control online speech. • In a separate legal development, an Italian appeals court upheld a ruling holding journalist Fabio Butera civilly liable for comments posted by third parties on his Facebook page. • These actions highlight a growing international shift toward stricter state oversight of digital platforms and the increasing legal vulnerability of social media users and publishers.

Federal police say those who vandalised a defence manufacturer and torched nearby cars could face life imprisonmentGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnti-weapons protesters who vandalised a defence manufacturer and set nearby vehicles alight could face life imprisonment after police said the incident was being investigated as an act of terrorism by “far-left extremists”.The Australian federal police, their Victorian counterparts and spy agency Asio are examining whether the incident at Melbourne-based Lovitt Technologies on 5 July 2025 was potentially perpetrated by “far-left extremists, motivated by anarchist and revolutionary ideologies”, a joint statement said. Continue reading...

Large tabby cat that wiped out dozens of rare pāteke, or brown teal, has been killed after eluding trappers with its ‘very erratic’ behaviourA notorious feral cat given the name “Nine Lives” because it eluded trappers for three years has been caught and killed in New Zealand, ending its devastating rampage against one of the country’s rare duck populations.The cat, a large grey tabby, is estimated to have killed dozens of New Zealand’s rarest mainland duck – or 1% of its population – plus a host of kiwi chicks, native geckos and other native wildlife during the three years it was known to be roaming the Purerua peninsula, near the top of the North Island. Continue reading...

After years of building lives in UK, potentially hundreds of thousands of EU citizens are being told they have no right to remain The UK Home Office has started stripping some EU citizens of their post-Brexit residency rights, in a move that has raised concerns about Britain’s compliance with its withdrawal agreement with Europe.The UK internal affairs authority has told at least 100 people that they were given residency rights “in error”, disrupting their lives just as they come to the end of their five-year “pre-settled status” and prepare to upgrade to the permanent “settled status”. Continue reading...

• Two migrant workers were killed in a terror attack in Kashmir, marking another surge in regional violence. • MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal urged the international community to hold Islamabad accountable for the "ruthless" use of force against peaceful protesters in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). • These clashes are occurring amidst ongoing elections for 45 contesting seats in the PoK legislative assembly.

Artist Michael Zavros says he was inspired by a deep respect for Alex Ryvchin’s leadership, as well as an uncanny likeness between the two menAn artist’s portrayal of a Jewish leader produced just weeks after the Bondi massacre has won the Archibald people’s choice category.Michael Zavros won the $5,000 prize for his portrait of Alex Ryvchin, the co-head of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, who Zavros called an “unmistakably and unashamedly Jewish” leader.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...

FSB puts Pavel Durov on international wanted lists and says his messaging app is used for sabotage and murderRussian officials have charged Pavel Durov, the founder and chief executive of the messaging app Telegram, with aiding terrorism.The charges against the 41-year-old Russian-born billionaire, who lives in the Gulf, are the latest step by the Kremlin to bring the internet and digital communications under its control after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Continue reading...

Australian banks ‘not getting the basics right’, regulator says after review of more than 200,000 home loansGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAsic has accused banks of “not getting the basics right”, after the regulator found faulty mortgage offset accounts meant borrowers were being overcharged tens of millions of dollars in extra interest payments.In a new report, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission showed lenders repaid $55m to hundreds of thousands of customers over two years for offset failures, and warned this figure would climb higher as remediation continued. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Judge intends to consider ‘terrorist connection’ after convicting five for damage to Barclays in BurnleyFive Palestine Action activists face being sentenced as terrorists for breaking windows and throwing red paint at a branch of Barclays Bank in Lancashire.Brendon O’Hagan, 28; Amanda Kelly, 31; Humeera Atiqnisar, 31; Mohammed Malik, 28; and Alma Yaniv, 70, were found guilty of causing £212,000 of damage during a direct action protest in Burnley in August 2024. They targeted the bank because it held shares in the Israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems. Continue reading...

Hunt ongoing for main suspect, named as Abdul Ballout, 21, after fatal attack in Tiergarten park close to LGBTQ eventA deadly van ramming and knife rampage near Berlin’s Pride festival was an Islamist terrorist attack, German authorities have said, with a hunt ongoing to find the main suspect.One person was killed and 29 were injured after a man drove a minivan into a crowd of pedestrians, then stabbed people with what appeared to be a machete. The attack took place in the Tiergarten park near the Brandenburg Gate at around 10pm local time on Saturday, close to one of Europe’s biggest LGBTQ celebrations. Continue reading...

The men were convicted over alleged plan to stage coup and organise deadly demonstrations over fuel prices last yearTwo Russian men have been found guilty by an Angolan court of terrorism and spying, after being accused of planning a coup and helping to organise deadly demonstrations in the southern African country last year.Lev Lakshtanov and Igor Ratchin were sentenced to eight and 11 years in jail respectively. They had denied the charges, claiming they were in Angola for cultural and business activities. Continue reading...

• The Rampur Development Authority has issued a notice to demolish 38 out of 40 buildings at Mohammad Ali Jauhar University. • The order, sent on July 15, gives the institution until August 5 to comply, sparing only the academic block and medical college. • This action threatens to virtually shut down the university, which was founded by senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan.

Hadi Matar, already serving 25 years for attempted murder, denies federal charges that could bring a life sentenceThe man who stabbed Salman Rushdie in the eye on stage in 2022 is standing trial for a second time – this time facing terrorism charges after being found guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison last year.Hadi Matar’s federal trial begins in Buffalo, New York on Wednesday, about 70 miles from the venue where Rushdie was due to speak about writers in political exile in August 2022, when he was stabbed more than a dozen times. Continue reading...

• The U.S. State Department is hosting a meeting with international officials to discuss the threat of left-wing terrorism. • Counterterrorism experts argue that the Trump administration's specific focus on the far left fails to provide necessary context regarding the broader spectrum of political extremism. • This shift in focus is significant as it highlights a potential imbalance in how the government identifies and prioritizes domestic and international security threats.

Vice-president tells Joe Rogan administration botched handling and should have released all documents from startJD Vance, the US vice-president, agreed with criticism that the Trump administration botched the handling of the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, telling podcast host Joe Rogan that “we absolutely screwed up the comms”.The Department of Justice’s repeated moves to delay the release of documents related to the convicted sex offender drew bipartisan disapproval last year. The files have been one of the most significant political liabilities to Donald Trump since his second term began. Continue reading...

‘Documents of concern’ found at child’s home in the capital, with no other suspects soughtA 14-year-old boy from south London has been charged with an offence linked to “extreme rightwing terrorism” after a police search uncovered an alleged plot to target two mosques.The boy was arrested on 9 July on suspicion of criminal damage to a vehicle, but officers dispatched to his address found “a number of documents of concern” during a search, according to the Metropolitan police. Continue reading...

Home Office announces ban on support for Iranian military group in escalation of diplomatic tensions with TehranThe UK will list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, ministers have announced, in a major escalation of the diplomatic tensions with Tehran.The Home Office said on Monday it would ban support for the IRGC, a central branch of the Iranian military, after years of political division over the issue. The move is equivalent to proscription, though not legally identical. Continue reading...

Officers say decision made after ‘new information and evidence has come to light’Counter-terrorism police are now leading the investigation into the death of the the former MP and Reform spokesperson Ann Widdecombe after “new information and evidence has come to light”, counter-terrorism policing south east said.Widdecombe’s body was found with “serious injuries” by the ambulance service at her home in Haytor, Devon, at 11.40am on Thursday, Devon and Cornwall police said. Continue reading...

In triggering an entirely optional byelection, Nigel Farage has given opponents weeks to repeat the claims about his financesTo some, Nigel Farage appears to be in a trap of his own making, fighting for re-election in single combat with a giant bin before potentially having to do it all again against the other political parties. But inside Reform UK, the mood is upbeat. As one insider said of the prospect of a double byelection: “Bring it on.”This is not just braggadocio. Farage is an enthusiastic and highly skilled campaigner, and is clearly relishing the idea of going to his electorate with a “Clacton versus the establishment” message, although doing so twice within weeks might test even his commitment – especially when the Reform UK leader is forced to argue that the establishment is embodied by an anthropomorphised bin. Continue reading...

Residents in Bandar Abbas and Sirik regions describe communities in fear and ‘feeling abandoned’ after US launch fresh strikes over two-day periodResidents in southern Iran have described two nights of fear this week after explosions shook coastal communities as the US launched fresh strikes on targets including the port cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik.US Central Command confirmed the attacks, saying they were carried out to “further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the strait of Hormuz”. Continue reading...

‘Highly unprecedented anomaly’ meant 135 people given incorrect scores and wrongly informed of promotionsThe air force has canceled the promotions of dozens of service members after discovering what it said was a grading error in a test of their security knowledge.The “isolated and highly unprecedented anomaly” was announced in a press release on Tuesday, which said 135 airmen and women had been awarded incorrect scores on the security forces specialty knowledge test (SKT) and been wrongly informed they had earned promotion. Continue reading...

• Investors are increasingly shifting toward lower-tracking-error and systematic investment strategies as global equity markets become more concentrated. • AllianceBernstein's Monappa notes a dramatic increase in quantitative approaches, driven by narrow AI-led rallies in the US, Taiwan, and Korea. • This trend matters because traditional active management is struggling to deliver consistent excess returns in highly concentrated environments.

• An analyst warns that Donald Trump's potential strategic outreach to Pakistan could lead to costly errors by repeating historical geopolitical mistakes. • The report suggests that Pakistan's renewed strategic importance may allow the country to avoid international scrutiny regarding its human rights record and domestic governance. • This development matters as it highlights the tension between pursuing short-term security goals and maintaining long-term diplomatic standards for democratic accountability.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi met during the Japanese leader's visit to India to condemn terrorism in all forms and manifestations. • The two nations signed a key Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and enhancing global cooperation. • Both leaders emphasized the need for sustainable peace in West Asia, specifically highlighting the importance of securing free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and maintaining stable energy supply chains.