Cyprus arrests British man on suspicion of terror-related plot, police say

Update Cyprus arrests British man on suspicion of terror-related plot, police say
Cyprus police said they arrested an individual on espionage and terror charges on Saturday, with local media reporting the suspect had ties to Iran. (AFP/File)
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Updated 21 June 2025
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Cyprus arrests British man on suspicion of terror-related plot, police say

Cyprus arrests British man on suspicion of terror-related plot, police say
  • The man appeared before a district court on Saturday
  • Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a post on X that an Iranian attempt to attack Israeli citizens in Cyprus was thwarted

NICOSIA: Police in Cyprus have arrested a British man on suspicion of terror-related offenses and espionage, authorities said on Saturday, with Israel accusing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards of trying to attack Israeli citizens on the island.

The man appeared before a district court on Saturday, which ordered an eight-day detention pending inquiries.

Police gave no further details, citing national security.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a post on X that an Iranian attempt to attack Israeli citizens in Cyprus was thwarted, “thanks to the activity of the Cypriot security authorities, in cooperation with Israeli security services.”

He gave no more details about the nature of the attack, and there was no immediate comment from Iranian authorities.

A spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign Office confirmed the individual’s nationality, saying it was in contact with local authorities.

“We are in contact (with) the authorities in Cyprus regarding the arrest of a British man,” the spokesperson told Reuters.

Several Cypriot news outlets reported the suspect was a man of Azeri ethnic descent and had been arrested in the Zakaki suburb of the coastal city of Limassol. The suspect was thought to have had a British RAF military base in nearby Akrotiri under surveillance, as well as Cyprus’s own Andreas Papandreou Air Base in the western region of Paphos since mid-April, Cyprus’s ANT1 news portal reported.

Cyprus lies very close to the Middle East and has in recent days been used as a transit point for people either leaving or going to the region amid the conflict between regional foes Israel and Iran.

Terror-related offenses on the island are very rare.


Israel acknowledges Palestinian civilians harmed at Gaza aid sites, says ‘lessons learned’

Israel acknowledges Palestinian civilians harmed at Gaza aid sites, says ‘lessons learned’
Updated 6 sec ago
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Israel acknowledges Palestinian civilians harmed at Gaza aid sites, says ‘lessons learned’

Israel acknowledges Palestinian civilians harmed at Gaza aid sites, says ‘lessons learned’
  • United Nations says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed while seeking handouts of aid

GAZA: The Israeli military acknowledged on Monday that Palestinian civilians were harmed at aid distribution centers in the Gaza Strip, saying that new instructions had been issued to Israeli forces following “lessons learned.”
Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume, the United Nations says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed while seeking handouts of aid.
“Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
It said incidents in which Gaza civilians were harmed were under review.
A senior UN official said on Sunday that the majority of people killed were trying to reach aid distribution sites of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of deliveries which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral.
But many Gazans say they have to walk for hours to reach the sites, meaning they must start traveling well before dawn if they are to stand any chance of receiving food.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that a US-backed aid operation in Gaza is “inherently unsafe,” adding: “It is killing people.”
Israel and the United States want the UN to work through the GHF, but the UN has refused, questioning its neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarising aid and forcing displacement.
“Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarised zones is inherently unsafe. It is killing people, Guterres told reporters.
Responding to Guterres on Friday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said its military never targets civilians and accused the UN of “doing everything it can” to oppose the GHF aid operation.
“In doing so, the UN is aligning itself with Hamas, which is also trying to sabotage the GHF’s humanitarian operations,” it posted on X.
A GHF spokesperson said on Friday there had been no deaths at or near any of the GHF aid distribution sites. Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of stealing aid from the UN-led operations, which the Palestinian militants deny.
The war erupted after Hamas-led militants in Gaza took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in an October 7, 2023 attack, Israel’s single deadliest day.
Israel’s military campaign has since killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the coastal enclave.


More than 15,000 Syrian refugees return home from Jordan in May

More than 15,000 Syrian refugees return home from Jordan in May
Updated 30 June 2025
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More than 15,000 Syrian refugees return home from Jordan in May

More than 15,000 Syrian refugees return home from Jordan in May
  • UNHCR reported that the figure represents a 45 percent increase compared to April
  • Jordan has received about 628,000 Syrian refugees, according to UNHCR figures as of December 2024

LONDON: More than 15,000 Syrian refugees registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees have returned to their home country from Jordan since May.

The UNHCR reported that the figure represents a 45 percent increase compared to April, when nearly 10,500 Syrian refugees entered the country through Jordan’s Jaber border crossing.

Since the collapse of the Assad regime in December, 75,000 Syrian refugees have returned home from Jordan alone, which is more than one percent of the estimated six million Syrians who fled the country during the civil war that began in 2011.

As of March, the UN estimated that nearly 1.2 million Syrian refugees and internally displaced people have returned home following the change in power in Damascus.

The UNHCR announced the transfer of thousands of refugees from Jordanian communities and refugee camps to Syria in May, marking a significant increase from April, according to the SANA news agency.

Jordan has received about 628,000 Syrian refugees, according to UNHCR figures as of December 2024.


UAE and Jordan condemn terror attack on Pakistani military convoy that killed 13 soldiers

UAE and Jordan condemn terror attack on Pakistani military convoy that killed 13 soldiers
Updated 2 min 10 sec ago
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UAE and Jordan condemn terror attack on Pakistani military convoy that killed 13 soldiers

UAE and Jordan condemn terror attack on Pakistani military convoy that killed 13 soldiers
  • A further 24 people were injured, 14 of them civilians, when a car bomb exploded near a bomb-disposal vehicle in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday
  • Emirati Foreign Ministry sends condolences to families of the victims and the people of Pakistan following the ‘cowardly attack’

LONDON: Authorities in the UAE and Jordan have strongly condemned a terrorist attack on a military convoy in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan in which 13 soldiers were killed and at least 24 people were injured.

The Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent its condolences to the families of the victims, and all the people of Pakistan, following the “heinous and cowardly attack,” along its best wishes for a speedy recovery of those who were injured.

It added that the UAE firmly rejects all forms of terrorism and violence that undermine security and stability.

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry similarly condemned the attack and expressed its solidarity with Pakistan during this terrible time.

A suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into the military convoy on Saturday and it detonated near a bomb disposal vehicle. Of the 24 people who were injured, 14 are civilians.

Armed group Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. It was one of the deadliest, single-day incidents in recent months targeting security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.


Qatari emir, Spanish king meet on sidelines of UN investment conference in Seville

Qatari emir, Spanish king meet on sidelines of UN investment conference in Seville
Updated 30 June 2025
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Qatari emir, Spanish king meet on sidelines of UN investment conference in Seville

Qatari emir, Spanish king meet on sidelines of UN investment conference in Seville
  • King Felipe expressed his desire to strengthen relations and support joint investments with Qatar
  • He reiterated Spain’s solidarity with Qatar and condemned the Iranian attack on Al-Udeid Air Base last week

LONDON: Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, met King Felipe VI of Spain in Seville on the sidelines of a UN-organized international investment conference.

The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development began on Monday and will continue until July 3, bringing together global leaders to discuss urgent reforms necessary for financing sustainable development.

King Felipe expressed his desire to strengthen relations and support joint investments through small and medium-sized enterprises following the recent economic agreements between Qatar and Spain.

He also reiterated Spain’s solidarity with Qatar and condemned the Iranian attack on Al-Udeid Air Base last week, praising Doha’s role in facilitating a ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel.

Sheikh Tamim emphasized Qatar’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with Spain across cultural, educational and security fields to serve the common interests of both countries, the Qatar News Agency reported.


Israeli settlers hold wedding ceremony inside Al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection

Israeli settlers hold wedding ceremony inside Al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection
Updated 30 June 2025
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Israeli settlers hold wedding ceremony inside Al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection

Israeli settlers hold wedding ceremony inside Al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection
  • The Jerusalem Governorate deemed the move ‘provocative and humiliating’

LONDON: Israeli authorities permitted a wedding engagement ceremony for Jewish settlers within the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied Old City of East Jerusalem on Monday.

The Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governorate deemed the move “provocative and humiliating,” describing it as a transformation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque into what resembles a public hall for celebrations by extremist settlers.

“(This is) a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the mosque, a serious provocation of the feelings of Muslims, and a deliberate attempt to impose a new reality that erases the Islamic identity of the site and paves the way for its division temporally and spatially,” the Jerusalem Governorate said.

On Monday, settlers, accompanied by Israeli police, toured the Al-Aqsa compound. Police prevented Palestinians from approaching the settlers to disrupt the ceremony, according to the Wafa news agency.

The Jerusalem Governorate said that Israeli policies aim to impose sovereignty on Al-Aqsa Mosque, stressing that these repeated provocations contradict international law and the 2016 UNESCO resolution, which recognized Al-Aqsa Mosque as an Islamic heritage site and called for its preservation.

Since 1967, the Jerusalem Endowments Council, which operates under Jordan’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, has been the legal authority responsible for managing and regulating the affairs of Al-Aqsa.

However, this status quo has been challenged in recent years by extremist settlers who regularly tour the site under the protection of Israeli police and are often accompanied by government officials and far-right ministers and activists.