London attacker not on Saudi security radar, says Saudi embassy

A handout photograph released by the Metropolitan Police shows a mugshot of Khalid Masood. (REUTERS/Metropolitan Police/Handout)
Updated 25 March 2017
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London attacker not on Saudi security radar, says Saudi embassy

LONDON: The man who killed four people near Britain’s Houses of Parliament on Wednesday had spent time working in Saudi Arabia but did not have a criminal record there or attract the attention of the security services, the Saudi Embassy in London said on Friday.
Khalid Masood had been in the kingdom for two one-year periods, from November 2005 and April 2008, when he worked as an English teacher, and also visited briefly in March 2015.
“During his time in Saudi Arabia, Khalid Masood did not appear on the security services’ radar and does not have a criminal record in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the embassy said in a statement on its Twitter account.
The embassy said King Salman had spoken to Prime Minister Theresa May to express his condolences over Wednesday’s attack, adding: “At such a time, our ongoing security cooperation is most crucial to the defeat of terrorism and the saving of innocent lives.”
Masood was shot by police on Wednesday after a rampage through Westminster.
At least 50 people from 12 different countries were injured when Masood ploughed his rented car into crowds of people walking along the pavement on Westminster Bridge, before crashing the vehicle into the fence outside parliament.
Three people on the bridge died after being hit by the speeding car, then the attacker leapt out and fatally stabbed a police officer just inside the gates of the Houses of Parliament before being shot dead.

History of violence
Police said the 52-year-old Briton was found to have a history of violent offenses but no terrorist convictions.
A passport-style photo of Masood, released by police, shows a black man with a shaved head and a beard. He also used the names Adrian Elms and Adrian Russell Ajao among other aliases.
Long before his short stints in jail turned into years behind bars, Masood was known as Adrian Elms, with a reputation for drinking and an unpredictable temper.
At least twice he was convicted of violent crimes, well before he stabbed a police officer to death Wednesday in London with a motion that one horrified witness described as “playing a drum on your back with two knives.”
Masood, who at 52 is considerably older than most extremists who carry out bloodshed in the West, had an arrest record dating to 1983. The violence came later, first in 2000 when he slashed a man across the face in a pub parking lot in a racially charged argument after drinking four pints, according to a newspaper account.
The victim, Piers Mott, was scarred for life, said his widow, Heather.
Masood’s last conviction was in 2003, also involving a knife attack. It’s not clear when he took the name Masood, suggesting a conversion to Islam.
Heather Mott said Masood appeared to come out of jail “even worse.” She said she got chills when she learned the identity of the London attacker.
“What a pity they didn’t realize he was a nutter,” she said.

Search for clues
Police are combing through “massive amounts of computer data” and have contacted 3,500 witnesses as they look for clues as to why the British-born man launched the deadly attack.
“Clearly that’s a main line of our investigation is what led him to be radicalized: Was it through influences in our community, influences from overseas or through online propaganda? Our investigations and our arrests will help in that, but the public appeal will make a big difference if people come forward with more information,” said Britain’s top counterterrorism officer, Mark Rowley.
Prime Minister Theresa May said Masood was “investigated in relation to concerns about violent extremism” years ago. But she called him “a peripheral figure.”
The Daesh group described Masood as “a soldier,” claiming responsibility for the attack. Rowley said police are investigating whether he “acted totally alone inspired by terrorist propaganda, or if others have encouraged, supported or directed him.”
People made arrests across the country as they investigate whether anyone else helped Masood prepare his attack. Six people were released without charge Friday night, leaving four in custody on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts.
Detectives have searched 21 properties in London, Brighton, Wales, Manchester and the central English city of Birmingham in one of Britain’s biggest counterterrorism operations in years. Wednesday’s attack was the deadliest in Britain since suicide bombers killed 52 commuters on London’s transit system on July 7, 2005.

Jolly before the attack
Once Masood’s identity became known, police and the media began tracing his final hours.
The manager of the Preston Park Hotel in the beachside city of Brighton where Masood stayed the night before the attack said he seemed unusually outgoing and mentioned details about his family, including having a sick father.
“He was normal, in fact friendly, because we spent possibly five or 10 minutes talking to him about his background and where he came from,” Sabeur Toumi told Sky News. He was “laughing and joking, telling us stories about where he lived.”
Police raided the room, searching for clues about Masood.
Masood’s mother lives in rural Wales, according to a website on which she sells handmade cushions and handbags. The listings on Folksy by Janet Ajao have been taken down, but in an archived version of the site, she describes living in “rural west Wales with my husband, border collie and a few chickens.” Calls to the home in remote Trelech, Wales, went unanswered Friday.
When Masood was in school, he took his stepfather’s name, Ajao. He was athletic and popular in high school, known as someone who liked to party, according to Stuart Knight, a former classmate, who said the young man was one of only two black students in the school of 600.
“I am in shock — that is not sympathy for what he has done — he was a nice guy and I’m surprised he turned and did what he did,” Knight said.

Not from Muslim neighborhood
In one of the last places Masood lived, a home in Birmingham, neighbors recalled him as a quiet man whose wife was veiled and who wore traditional Muslim clothing. But the neighborhood is not among one of the city’s many Muslim enclaves, suggesting he was not deeply embedded in its religious community.
Moazzam Begg, a former Guantanamo prisoner born and raised in Birmingham, said the details emerging of the attacker’s life raised questions about where he was radicalized.
“He did not live in a Muslim neighborhood. In my mind, in my analysis, he was probably a drifter,” said Begg, adding that no one he knew in the community had met Masood. “I’d also be surprised if he had any connection with a mosque, because sadly they are places where you can no longer discuss politics or air grievances.”
Since British authorities began cracking down on mosques, many people are instead being radicalized online, Berg added.
Cultural and religious alienation can fuel such violence, he added.
Begg helps run a group called Cage that has encountered extremists who spoke of their alienation before they committed attacks. While in prison, Begg said he saw others who succumbed to radicalism. He said groups like Daesh can exploit people’s weaknesses and criminality.
Late Friday, the British government honored a lawmaker who battled to save the life of the police officer slain in the Parliament attack, giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
May’s office said Tobias Ellwood has been named to the Privy Council, a committee of senior lawmakers, judges and others that advises Queen Elizabeth II. The institution dates back a millennium.
Security Minister Ben Wallace, who helped coordinate the government response to Wednesday’s attack, was also named to the council.


Dubai crown prince arrives in India on first state visit

Updated 5 sec ago
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Dubai crown prince arrives in India on first state visit

  • With over $3 billion in foreign direct investment, India was Dubai’s top investor in 2024
  • Dubai crown prince will also take part in a business roundtable meeting in Mumbai 

NEW DELHI: The crown prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday for his first state visit to India, where he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and members of his cabinet.

Sheikh Hamdan is on a two-day visit to New Delhi and Mumbai, leading a delegation of ministers, senior government officials and business leaders. 

India’s economic ties with Dubai have been growing rapidly, following the 2022 UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which has eliminated trade barriers, lowered tariffs and eased business operations, making it easier for companies in both countries to access each other’s markets.

“Dubai has played a key role in advancing the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This special visit reaffirms our deep-rooted friendship and paves the way for even stronger collaboration in the future,” Modi said on X after the meeting. 

Trade volume between Dubai and India was worth around $45.4 billion in 2023, up from $36.7 billion in 2019, data from the emirate’s media office showed. 

India was Dubai’s top investor in 2024, with over $3 billion in foreign direct investment across various sectors, such as business services, software and IT services, consumer products, food and beverages, and real estate. 

As of last year, more than 70,000 Indian companies have joined the Dubai Chamber of Commerce. 

The most populous of the UAE’s seven emirates is also home to the majority of India’s 4.3 million diaspora in the country. 

“It was a pleasure meeting the Prime Minister Narendra Modi today in New Delhi,” Sheikh Hamdan wrote on X. 

“Our conversations reaffirmed the strength of UAE–India ties, which is built on trust, shaped by history, and driven by a shared vision to create a future full of opportunity, innovation, and lasting prosperity.”

Sheikh Hamdan, who serves as UAE’s Defense Minister, also held meetings with both his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. 

On the sidelines of his visit, representatives of the Dubai Chambers were presiding over a business forum in Mumbai to explore “new trade and investment prospects” with around 200 industry leaders, the Dubai Media Office said in a statement. 

After Delhi, Sheikh Hamdan will continue his trip to Mumbai, where he will take part in a roundtable meeting with top business leaders from India and Dubai.


South Korean military fire warning shots after North Korean soldiers cross the border

Updated 08 April 2025
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South Korean military fire warning shots after North Korean soldiers cross the border

  • South Korea’s military said it is closely monitoring North Korean activities
  • Bloodshed and violent confrontations have occasionally occurred at the Koreas’ heavily fortified border

SEOUL: South Korea’s military fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers crossed the rivals’ tense border on Tuesday, South Korean officials said.
South Korea’s military said in a statement that about 10 North Korean soldiers returned to the North after South Korea made warning broadcasts and fired warning shots. It said the North Korean soldiers violated the military demarcation line at the eastern section of the border at 5 p.m.
South Korea’s military said it is closely monitoring North Korean activities.
Bloodshed and violent confrontations have occasionally occurred at the Koreas’ heavily fortified border, called the Demilitarized Zone. But when North Korean troops briefly violated the border in June last year and prompted South Korea to fire warning shots, it didn’t escalate into a major source of tensions. South Korean officials assessed that the soldiers didn’t deliberately commit the border intrusion and the site was a wooded area and military demarcation line signs there weren’t clearly visible. South Korea said the North Koreans were carrying construction tools.
The motive for Tuesday’s border crossing by North Korean soldiers wasn’t immediately clear.
The 248-kilometer (155-mile) -long, 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) -wide DMZ is the world’s most heavily armed border. An estimated 2 million mines are peppered inside and near the border, which is also guarded by barbed wire fences, tank traps and combat troops on both sides. It’s a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Animosities between the Koreas are running high now as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues to flaunt his military nuclear capabilities and align with Russia over President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. Kim is also ignoring calls by Seoul and Washington to resume denuclearization negotiations.
Since his Jan. 20 inauguration, US President Donald Trump has said he would reach out to Kim again to revive diplomacy. North Korea has not responded to Trump’s remarks and says US hostilities against it have deepened since Trump’s inauguration.
South Korea, meanwhile, is experiencing a leadership vacuum after the ouster of President Yoon Suk Yeol last week over his ill-fated imposition of martial law.


Bangladesh police arrest former prosecutor for attempted murder

Updated 08 April 2025
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Bangladesh police arrest former prosecutor for attempted murder

  • The case is the latest in a string of detentions of people who had held senior positions during Hasina’s rule
  • Tureen Afroz was arrested on Monday night on charges of attempted murder

DHAKA: Bangladeshi police said Tuesday they arrested a lawyer who served as a senior prosecutor at a court that sentenced Islamist leaders to death under the rule of ousted hard-line prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The case is the latest in a string of detentions of people who had held senior positions during Hasina’s rule, who is herself wanted on charges of crimes against humanity for the killing of hundreds of protesters during the unrest that toppled her government last August.
Tureen Afroz was arrested on Monday night on charges of attempted murder, in a case linked to the student-led uprising, said Muhidul Islam, police deputy commissioner in the capital Dhaka.
The case against Afroz was filed by Mohammed Jabbar, 21, who was shot last August as security forces sought to quash protests.
“She has several co-accused in this particular case, but none are as prominent as she is,” Muhidul told AFP.
Afroz was a prosecutor at Bangladesh’s domestic International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), which was set up by Hasina in 2010 to probe atrocities during the country’s 1971 war of independence against Pakistan.
The ICT sentenced numerous prominent political opponents to death over the following years and became widely seen as a means for Hasina to eliminate her rivals.
Afroz played a prominent role in the cases of at least six Islamist leaders, including several from the Jamaat-e-Islami party, who were sentenced to hang. All except Ghulam Azam were executed.
This is the first time a former ICT prosecutor has been arrested on such charges.
Hasina has defied extradition requests from Bangladesh to face charges — at the same ICT court she set up — after she fled to old ally India as crowds stormed her palace.
The court’s current chief prosecutor, Tajul Islam, previously served as a defense counsel representing several of those accused of 1971 war crimes.


South Korea sets snap presidential election for June 3, drawing out contenders

Updated 08 April 2025
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South Korea sets snap presidential election for June 3, drawing out contenders

  • President Yoon ousted last week after December martial law
  • Multiple candidates emerge amid political turmoil

SEOUL: Leading contenders began to throw their hats in the ring on Tuesday as South Korea officially set June 3 for a snap presidential election triggered by last week’s removal from office of impeached leader Yoon Suk Yeol.
The power vacuum at the top of government has impeded Seoul’s efforts to negotiate with the administration of US President Donald Trump at a time of spiralling US tariffs and slowing growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
Yoon was removed on Friday over his short-lived declaration of martial law in December that plunged the key US ally into crisis, triggering a new election that could reshape its foreign and domestic policy.
“The government intends to designate June 3 as the 21st presidential election day,” Acting President Han Duck-soo told a cabinet meeting, citing factors such as the time political parties need to prepare for the event.
Yoon’s labor minister Kim Moon-soo is among a handful of hopefuls who have signalled their intention to run, resigning his post on Tuesday and saying he would launch his campaign.
While not officially a member of Yoon’s People Power Party at the moment, Kim has been polling better than other conservative contenders.
“I tendered my resignation and decided to run because the people want it, people I know want it, and I feel a sense of responsibility to solve national difficulties,” Kim told reporters.
Economic conditions during a “severe national crisis” are hurting people’s livelihoods, he said.
“I thought that all politicians and people should unite to overcome the crisis and work together to help the country develop further,” Kim said.
Ahn Cheol-soo, a PPP lawmaker who was its first to vote for Yoon’s impeachment, also declared his intention to run on Tuesday, saying he was a “cleaner candidate than anyone else.”
He also vowed to secure new economic growth engines including artificial intelligence, to counter Trump’s trade policies.
Ahn fought the last three presidential elections, winning more than 21 percent of the popular vote in 2017, but dropping out and endorsing other candidates in the other two. He is not polling high enough to be included in most recent surveys.
Kim and Ahn will join a wide open field of conservative candidates trying to overcome their party’s second impeachment in as many presidencies.
Conservative Park Geun-hye was impeached, removed from office, and imprisoned in 2017 over a corruption scandal.
Lee Jae-myung, the populist leader of the liberal Democratic Party who lost to Yoon by a razor-thin margin in 2022, is a clear front-runner, but faces legal challenges of his own.
These include multiple trials for charges such as violating the election law and bribery.
Nevertheless, he is expected to step down as DP leader and declare his candidacy as soon as this week.
A Gallup poll published on Friday showed 34 percent of respondents supported Lee as the next leader, while 9 percent backed Kim, 5 percent opted for former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, 4 percent chose Daegu mayor Hong Joon-pyo, and 2 percent plumped for Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon.
Yoon was removed by the Constitutional Court for violating his official duty by issuing a martial law decree on December 3 and mobilizing troops in a bid to halt parliamentary proceedings.
The law requires a new presidential election to be held within 60 days if the position becomes vacant.
Yoon still faces criminal insurrection charges, with arguments in his trial to begin on April 14.
South Korea has faced months of political turmoil since Yoon stunned the country by declaring martial law, triggering his impeachment by parliament and the impeachment of acting leader Han.
Han’s impeachment was later overturned by the Constitutional Court and he will stay in the role of acting president until the election.


US aid cuts a ‘death sentence’ for millions: UN

Updated 08 April 2025
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US aid cuts a ‘death sentence’ for millions: UN

  • The Trump administration has largely gutted USAID, the main US humanitarian assistance organization

UNITED NATIONS, United States: The United States has ended emergency food aid for 14 countries, endangering the lives of millions of hungry or starving people, a United Nations agency said Monday.
The World Food Program (WFP), which was already grappling with a 40 percent drop in funding for this year, said it had been advised of the new American aid halt to 14 countries.
In comments on X, the agency did not name these countries.
“If implemented, this could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger and starvation,” the agency said.
The WFP is not the only UN body hit by US funding cuts, as the United States under President Donald Trump turns sharply inward and stops trying to help other countries around the world as part of an isolationist agenda.
The Trump administration told the UN Population Fund, an agency dedicated to promoting sexual and reproductive health, that it was ending two programs, the organization told AFP Monday.
One of programs was for Afghanistan, while the other involved Syria.
Other countries besides the United States have also announced funding cuts in recent months, causing alarm among NGOs and international organizations.
The Trump administration has largely gutted USAID, the main US humanitarian assistance organization. It previously had a yearly budget of $42.8 billion, which was 42 percent of all aid money disbursed around the world.