Terrorism Watch

Officers made arrests after crowds, waving placards expressing support for the group, gathered in Parliament Square The government banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base LONDON: Police in London arrested at least 200 people Saturday for supporting Palestine Action at the latest and largest protest backing the group since the government banned it last month under anti-terror laws. The UK capital’s Metropolitan Police said it expected to make further arrests at the demonstration in Parliament Square, as organizers claimed only a “fraction” of the hundreds who turned out had been detained. “That claim simply isn’t true,” the Met said in a statement, noting some of those there were onlookers or not visibly supporting Palestine Action. “We are confident that anyone who came to Parliament Square today to hold a placard expressing support for Palestine Action was either arrested or is in the process of being arreste...

Statement gave preliminary toll of six soldiers killed and others wounded “while an army unit was inspecting a weapons depot and dismantling its contents” BEIRUT: Lebanon’s army said a blast at a weapons depot near the Israeli border on Saturday killed six soldiers as a military source said troops were removing munitions from a Hezbollah facility. Under a truce that ended a recent war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, the army has been deploying in south Lebanon and dismantling the militant group’s infrastructure there. The deaths come as Lebanon tackles the thorny issue of disarming Hezbollah, with the cabinet this week tasking the army with developing a plan to do so by year end and the Iran-backed group pushing back. Iran said Saturday it opposed the Lebanese government’s decision. An army statement gave a preliminary toll of six soldiers killed and others wounded “while an army unit was inspecting a weapons depot and dismantling its contents in Wadi Zibqin,” in the Tyre dis...

The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has  revealed  alarming data on ‘Love Jihad’ cases in the State Assembly. Between January 2020 and July 15, 2024, as many as 283 cases were registered across the state, 73 of the victims were minors. The highest number of cases emerged from the Malwa-Nimar region, once a hotbed of the now-banned terror outfit SIMI. Indore, part of this very region, has recently seen multiple cases where a so-called “Muslim gang” allegedly targeted Hindu girls. The data also reveals a disturbing trend: in many cases, victims are unable to withstand societal and legal pressure, often turning hostile during trial or being coerced into “settlements.” Of 86 such cases so far, 50 have ended in acquittals, only 7 in convictions, while one was closed after a compromise. Even major cities with Police Commissionerates, like Indore and Bhopal, have not been spared. Indore city alone has recorded 55 cases, with the district total hitt...

While global hunger has shown signs of gradual decline over the past three years, Africa stands as a painful exception to this trend. A newly released UN report, “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World,” reveals that hunger worldwide has been decreasing for a third consecutive year — falling from 8.7 percent in 2022 to 8.2 percent in 2024. However, this progress has not only bypassed Africa but left the continent further behind. Africa continues to suffer a disturbing rise in food insecurity. Across the African continent, the crisis has reached a critical threshold. In 2024, more than one in five people in Africa — over 307 million individuals — were chronically undernourished. This means millions of people are not getting enough food to maintain a healthy and active life, with children particularly vulnerable to stunted growth, cognitive impairment, and increased risk of death. The number is not merely a statistic; it reflects daily suffering, malnutrition, and the eros...

DAVE DAVIES, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Dave Davies. Our guest, veteran journalist Anne Applebaum's new cover story in The Atlantic is based on her recent trips to Sudan, the African nation that is, again, torn by conflict, this time between the country's army and a powerful paramilitary group. Her story is about the consequences of civil war and ethnic conflict fueled in part by foreign governments, providing arms and money to chosen combatants. The effects are predictable and heartbreaking - death, injury, starvation and the displacement of millions of people. But Applebaum's story is also about what happens when the international community of nations, nonprofits and networks such as the United Nations, which normally intervene to help in conflict zones, falls away or becomes ineffective. The Trump administration's dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the president's skepticism of foreign aid are part of that story, but there are ...