LONDON: The number of people referred to the UK government’s counter extremism program has jumped amid concerns over increased radicalization among young people.
Cases involving Islamist extremism increased by 6 percent from 1,404 to 1,487. The numbers, which represent individuals of concern referred to the Prevent scheme between April 2019 and March 2020, mark the first year-on-year increase for Islamist cases since 2016.
While far-right cases remained steady compared to the previous year at 1,388, overall the number of people referred to the program rose 10 percent.
The rise in Islamist cases comes after a recent surge of attacks across Europe. Last month a school teacher was beheaded by an extremist after he had shown his class cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in a freedom of speech discussion. Days later, three people were killed in a terrorist attack at a church in Nice.
In the UK, three people were killed in a knife attack on London Bridge almost a year ago.
The UK’s Prevent program is part of its wider counter-terrorism strategy and aims to safeguard people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.
The most serious cases are referred to a panel known as “Channel,” which then decides what further action to take. Of the 697 cases that reached the panel, most were related to the far-right (302), while 210 were linked to Islamist extremism.
More than half of all referrals were aged under 20.
Security Minister James Brokenshire said the Prevent strategy was an essential strand to the UK’s counter-terror strategy.
“It is about supporting vulnerable individuals, steering them away from terrorism, and protecting our communities,” he told the Royal United Services Institute on Thursday.
Last week the head of counter-terror policing in the UK, Neil Basu, said that while Islamist terrorists remained the greatest threat to Britain, the far right is growing faster.
He said COVID-19 had created a “perfect storm” with young and vulnerable people spending more time alone and online.
UK sees rise in Islamist extremist cases referred to counter radicalization program
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UK sees rise in Islamist extremist cases referred to counter radicalization program
- Cases involving Islamist extremism increase for first time in four years
- Program aims to spot people who could go on to commit terrorist acts
Ukraine’s Zelensky: Front line ‘very, very difficult,’ must do what we can in autumn
- Russia’s defense ministry said on Monday that its forces had captured the village of Nelipivka, south of the city of Toretsk, one of Moscow’s targets in the area
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that the situation on the front line of the war against Russia was “very, very difficult,” and Ukraine’s forces had to do everything they could over the autumn period.
“Reports on each of our frontline sectors, our capabilities, our future capabilities and our specific tasks: The situation is very, very difficult,” he said in his nightly video address, referring to a more than 2-1/2 hour meeting with top commanders.
“Everything that can be done this autumn, everything that we can achieve must be achieved,” he said.
It was the second time in less than a week that Zelensky referred to the need to act quickly in the coming months in terms of military action.
Ukrainian military bloggers have reported in recent days that Russian forces have been advancing on the hilltop town of Vuhledar, which Ukrainian forces have defended over the course of the war, in the south of the Donetsk region.
The popular blog Deepstate quoted Russian reports as saying Russian forces were shelling the town and “their infantry was moving in the city and among high-rise blocks. The Russians have raised their flag in western districts of the city.”
Russian forces have also been advancing slowly for months further north, with the aim of capturing the entire Donbas region, made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Russia’s defense ministry said on Monday that its forces had captured the village of Nelipivka, south of the city of Toretsk, one of Moscow’s targets in the area.
Ukraine’s General Staff made no acknowledgement of the village changing hands, but said Russian forces had launched 10 attacks in and around it.
Zelensky made similar comments about the need for fast military action after meeting US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in New York on Friday.
Zelensky has taken great care to steer clear of controversy and suggestions of preference in the US presidential election and made no reference to the poll in his calls for fast action.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party candidate, has pledged continuing steadfast support for Kyiv.
Zelensky said in an interview with Fox News after his meeting with Trump that he received “very direct information” from Trump that the former US president would support Ukraine if re-elected.
Trump has questioned US spending on Ukraine’s war effort. During Zelensky’s visit to the United States last week, he repeated earlier statements that he would find a rapid resolution to the conflict if he won the election, without providing details.
Startling video shows Russian fighter jet flying within feet of US F-16 near Alaska
- The video release of the close encounter Sept. 23, with the US pilot under the direction of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, comes after a series of Russian incursions into the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone
ANCHORAGE, Alaska: Military officials have released new video of a startling encounter between a Russian fighter jet flying near Alaska and a US Air Force F-16 sent to intercept it.
In the video released Monday, the Russian plane comes from behind the camera and swoops by the US jet, just feet from the aircraft.
The video release of the close encounter Sept. 23, with the US pilot under the direction of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, comes after a series of Russian incursions into the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone just beyond US sovereign airspace.
The interaction drew condemnation from NORAD’s top officer and one of Alaska’s US senators.
“The conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all – not what you’d see in a professional air force,” said Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander, NORAD and US Northern Command. The NORAD aircraft flew “a safe and disciplined” routine to intercept the Russian aircraft, he added.
A message sent to the Russian Embassy Monday seeking comment was not immediately returned.
The close pass of the Russian jet comes just weeks after eight Russian military planes and four of its navy vessels, including two submarines, came close to Alaska as China and Russia conducted joint drills.
None of the planes breached US airspace. However, about 130 US soldiers were sent along with mobile rocket launchers to Shemya Island, about 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage. They were deployed to the Aleutian island for a week before returning to their bases.
In July, Russian and Chinese bombers flew together for the first time in international airspace off Alaska, a sign of cooperation that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said raised concerns.
In 2022, a US Coast Guard ship about 85 miles (137 kilometers) north of Alaska’s Kiska Island in the Bering Sea came across three Chinese and four Russian naval vessels sailing in single formation.
US Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican member of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, said the close pass of the Russian jet is another reason to build America’s military presence in Alaska and the Arctic.
“The reckless and unprofessional maneuvers of Russian fighter pilots — within just a few feet of our Alaska-based fighters — in Alaska’s ADIZ on September 23 put the lives of our brave Airmen at risk and underscore the escalating aggression we’re witnessing from dictators like Vladimir Putin,” Sullivan said in a statement.
Austria faces uncertainty after far-right historic election win
VIENNA: Austria entered uncharted territory Monday after the far right scored a historic national election win, with parties facing an uphill task to form a new government.
The far-right Freedom Party, also known as FPOe, under Herbert Kickl has rapidly regained ground lost in a string of corruption scandals, winning 28.8 percent in Sunday’s vote, according to preliminary projections.
The FPOe beat the ruling conservative OeVP into second place and the left-wing Social Democrats, also known as SPOe, into third on 21.1 percent.
But all other parties have refused to work with Kickl because of his radical proposals.
“Winner — and what now?” said the daily Kurier’s main headline with a photo of Kickl giving a thumbs-up.
A vocal critic of the EU and its sanctions against Russia for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Kickl’s abrasiveness has left him isolated among Austrian lawmakers — and beyond.
Uncertainty over what would happen next dominated the Alpine country, as Kickl’s FPOe could end up being sidelined like some of its far-right allies in Europe.
“Times are changing,” Dutch far-right firebrand Geert Wilders posted on the X social media platform after Austria’s election results were announced, listing 11 European countries where nationalist parties were “winning.”
In neighboring Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban hailed the FPOe victory as “another win for the #Patriots.”
With Sunday’s victory ahead of the OeVP, Kickl surpassed results bagged by his predecessors Joerg Haider and Heinz-Christian Strache.
But apart from a few hundred protesters, the far-right win did not trigger major demonstrations.
“We were expecting it, so we’re neither totally shocked nor delighted,” Isabella, a Vienna woman who declined to give her surname, said.
Austria’s powerful Kronen Zeitung tabloid noted that “something revolutionary hangs in the air,” adding that coalition talks would be “tough, long and turbulent.”
Ex-UK lawyer pleads guilty to fraud relating to Iraq abuse claims
- Phil Shiner, 67, pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud relating to applications made in 2007 for public funding for legal action
- Following the legal challenge led by Shiner, Britain launched a public inquiry into allegations of atrocities by British troops in 2004
LONDON: A former British lawyer who became known for bringing lawsuits on behalf of Iraqi civilians accusing British soldiers of ill-treatment pleaded guilty on Monday to fraud, Britain’s National Crime Agency said.
Phil Shiner, 67, pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud relating to applications made in 2007 for public funding for legal action against the Ministry of Defense, the agency said.
Following the legal challenge led by Shiner, Britain launched a public inquiry into allegations of atrocities by British troops in 2004, after a battle at the Danny Boy checkpoint in southern Iraq.
Shiner and his firm Public Interest Lawyers, however, were widely criticized and the inquiry ultimately concluded in 2014 that allegations British soldiers executed captured Iraqi prisoners and tortured or seriously abused others were untrue.
The charges to which Shiner pleaded guilty related to his failure to disclose, when applying for public funding, that he had asked a middleman to approach potential claimants and had paid for referrals, which breached his firm’s contract, the NCA said.
“This conviction is a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex domestic and international investigation,” said Andy Kelly, head of the NCA’s International Corruption Unit, in a statement.
“Shiner’s actions resulted in untold pressure and anxiety on members of the British Armed Forces, pursuing legal challenges funded through dishonest actions.”
Shiner will be convicted at London’s Southwark Crown Court in December.
Pakistani court denies imprisoned former premier Khan and his wife bail in graft case
- Imran Khan is embroiled in more than 150 cases since 2022, when he was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in parliament
- Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi are accused of allegedly retaining and selling state gifts in violation of government rules
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court denied on Monday a bail application by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife in a graft case, their lawyer said. It’s another blow to the popular opposition leader, who has been in prison for more than a year after being convicted on multiple charges.
Khan is embroiled in more than 150 cases since 2022, when he was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in parliament after several political allies deserted him.
He has accused the military and his archenemy and current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of ousting him under a US plot. Charges which they denied.
He faced new charges, including the graft case, in July after a court overturned the convictions and seven-year sentences of the couple in a case questioning the legality of their 2018 marriage, giving way for their release.
Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi are accused of allegedly retaining and selling state gifts in violation of government rules while he was in power. Pakistan allows government officials to buy gifts received from foreign dignitaries but they have to declare their sales as it adds to their income. Khan is charged with undervaluing such proceeds
The couple’s lawyer Intizar Hussain Panjutha denounced the court’s decision. The bail application was heard at Adiala prison where Khan and his wife are held in separate cells.
Oct. 2 is set for the couple’s indictment in the case.
On Monday, Khan’s spokesman Zulfiqar Bukhari claimed on X that Bibi was being mistreated in jail, with officers storming her cell in the middle of the night, being forced to remove her hijab, the Islamic headscarf, and having water thrown on her mattress. “These violations of human and prisoner rights must be reported and stopped,” he wrote.
There was no immediate comment from authorities on his claims.
Recently, some prison officials were fired on charges of violating prison rules to help Khan. It was unclear how they aided him.
