Category Archives: London

Could this one man have been behind terrorist attacks on Jewish communities across Europe?

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Legal papers, expert investigations and social media posts tell story of how a 32-year-old Iraqi appeared to run ‘proxy’ campaign

On Monday, a slightly dishevelled Iraqi man, shackled and dressed in beige prison overalls, was ushered into a Manhattan courtroom.

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, pleaded not guilty to a series of terrorism-related offences, then gestured toward the judge and prosecutors. “I’m a prisoner of war. I’m not a threat,” he told them. “Children and women are being killed by your rockets.”

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Two men convicted of wounding journalist in London ‘on orders of Iran’

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Pouria Zeraati of Iran International TV was stabbed three times outside his London home in attempt to ‘silence’ him

Two men have been found guilty of involvement in a targeted knife attack on an Iranian journalist in London said to have been carried out on behalf of the regime in Tehran.

Pouria Zeraati, a British journalist of Iranian origin, was working for Iran International, a Farsi-language dissident broadcaster, when he was stabbed in the leg outside his west London home in 2024.

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Sadiq Khan vows to overrule residents’ group’s objections to Soho bars and restaurants

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London mayor says Soho Society’s decision to challenge all new licensing applications is ‘bad’ for city

Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, has suggested he will overrule a residents’ society that has vowed to challenge all new applications for pubs and restaurants in Soho.

The Guardian revealed last week that the Soho Society, a residents’ group established in 1972 aimed at “preserving the character of Soho”, voted for a new licensing mandate, meaning it will challenge all new applications for bars and restaurants in the area, including renewals of existing licences.

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Young Britons feel disconnected and locked out of creative arts, charity says

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Research for Roundhouse in London shows 87% of 18- to 30-year-olds believe they have fewer artistic opportunities

Rising costs, the disappearance of third spaces and reduced access to artistic opportunities are causing young people to feel “disconnected, isolated and locked out of creativity”, according to research commissioned by a youth arts charity.

The Roundhouse, a multi-arts venue in north London that reopened in 2006 with a focus on running youth programmes, has released the findings to coincide with the publication of its 20-year impact report on Monday.

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‘Happy either way’: Arsenal fans find zen attitude to Champions League final

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Supporters filling north London pubs said they were already gratified by Premier League win

The streets of Holloway, usually bustling with families and trolly-dragging shoppers, were uncharacteristically quiet on Saturday afternoon. But shortly after the clock struck 5pm, loud roars echoed through the north London high street, located a short walk away from the Emirates stadium, as Arsenal walked on to the pitch for the Champions League final.

While the team, still basking in the glory of their Premier League win last week, were in Budapest for their final showdown against Paris Saint-Germain, Gunners – or Gooners, as they are colloquially known – came out to support the team on their home turf.

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Ian McKellen joins march for LGBTQ+ equality in Commonwealth countries

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Actor among protesters in central London highlighting laws in 29 countries where same-sex relationships remain illegal

Ian McKellen has joined a march against the criminalisation of LGBTQ+ people in Commonwealth countries, calling it an “appalling situation”.

The Lord of the Rings star and activist joined protesters in central London on Saturday to highlight laws in 29 Commonwealth countries where same-sex relationships remain illegal.

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Tenderness and Rage: how groups affected by HIV found power, comfort and joy in Aids activism

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London exhibition explores how care and protest improved rights and dignity of those living with disease

From photos of a mass “die-in” by Aids activists in Trafalgar Square, London, in the 1990s to plushie breasts, lips and vulvas hand-stitched by HIV-positive women, a new exhibition explores how care and protest have improved the rights and dignity of those living with the disease.

The show, Tenderness and Rage, at the Wellcome Collection, London, reflects how different groups affected by HIV, including gay men, women of colour, and refugees in the UK and around the world have found power, solidarity, comfort and joy in Aids activism and support services.

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Opposition divided: battle among Iranian regime’s opponents plays out on London streets

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Supporters of Reza Pahlavi, exiled son of the late shah, are clashing with those who oppose a return of monarchy

Wearing a bucket hat, a blue Adidas hoodie and khaki shorts, Tony Mohraz, also known as 021kid, chest-bumps a friend in front of a memorial wall in Golders Green, in north London.

Photographs can be seen behind him of those who were killed protesting against the Iranian regime. As a large lion and sun flag used in Iran before the Islamic revolution is waved overhead, Mohraz starts to rap.

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GLA considering investigation into Zack Polanski over houseboat council tax

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Official assessing formal complaint into Green party leader’s potential ‘breach of conduct’ as assembly member

London assembly officials are weighing up whether to launch an investigation into Zack Polanski after he admitted he may have failed to pay the correct council tax while living on a houseboat in the capital.

The Green party leader has faced questions over whether the houseboat, moored in east London, was his primary residence. A spokesperson for his party had described the situation as an “unintentional mistake” and said Polanski had “immediately taken steps” to pay any tax owed.

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‘We’ve done it’: euphoria as Arsenal win first Premier League in a generation

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The Emirates erupted as the Gunners were crowned champions – with expats, drivers and a boy in pyjamas out to celebrate

‘Twenty-two years,” said the father to his son, shaking his head reflectively. “Twenty-two effing years.” Standing outside the Emirates Stadium among an ever-growing crowd, he was not alone in trying to get a handle on his feelings. Arsenal had just won their first league title in a generation, after all.

From the moment Eli Junior Kroupi gave Bournemouth a first-half lead over Manchester City, the red part of north London was preparing to party. Arsenal’s only rivals for the title had to win to take their duel to the final day. A half-time deficit was not a good start. The landlord of the gridlocked Gunners pub on Blackstock Road had a glass of champagne in his hand, though it may have been something to do with the prospective takings.

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‘Come in for one minute’: exhibition showing horrors of 7 October attacks opens in London

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Commemoration of atrocity at Nova music festival confronts those who deny its gravity, says Elkana Bohbot

Two police vans waited expectantly near the front entrance. Officers patrolled the pavements while suited security men with ear pieces stood stern-faced, casting suspicious looks at those approaching. The location in east London had not been disclosed until that morning but no chances were being taken.

It was not for a visiting dignitary or even an embassy of a country in conflict that all this was deemed necessary but the Nova exhibition, a commemoration of the 378 people massacred at a music festival on 7 October along with the 44 taken as hostages and the 19 of those who died in Hamas captivity.

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Jewish man in hospital after attack by group of men in Golders Green

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Victim in his 20s was beaten up in north London street having stepped outside to use his phone

A Jewish man is being treated in hospital for injuries to his face and body after being attacked by a number of men in north London.

Police were called in the early hours of Monday morning following reports that a Jewish man had been assaulted by a number of men outside a property on the Grove in Golders Green.

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Heathrow could be forced to allow other firms to build third runway to cut costs

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Under aviation regulator proposals rival companies would bid to design and build parts of airport expansion

Heathrow could be forced to allow other companies to design and build its third runway and new terminal after the UK aviation regulator argued that rival bids could keep construction costs down.

A long-awaited review by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) proposes changes to the regulatory model that governs how Heathrow runs and covers its costs.

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‘I’ll talk to work on Monday’: what happens when a ‘paper candidate’ actually wins?

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Tyrone Scott, who didn’t think he had a hope in the election, wants to help the Greens rebuild ‘community cohesion’ in Hackney

You would expect most political candidates who pull off a shock win to celebrate their victory, maybe with a glass of bubbly and excitement for the challenges of elected office ahead. But on Friday, as thousands of new councillors celebrated their triumphs, some surprise victors were less than pleased.

Green party handlers apologised to one newly elected councillor in Finsbury Park, north London, put down as a “paper candidate”, who pulled off an unexpected win. “You’re going to be great, we’ll support you,” they said, according to the Islington Tribune.

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Soft armour, pert nipples: how London design team made Kim Kardashian’s Met Gala breastplate

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Whitaker Malem worked with pop art sculptor Allen Jones, visual artist Nadia Lee Cohen and a car bodyshop in Kent

At Monday’s Met Gala, it inevitably fell to Kim Kardashian to deliver the evening’s biggest jolt. One of the few celebrities to straightforwardly interpret the “fashion is art” dress code – which focused on how the dressed and undressed human body is the through-line in most works of art – she decided to forgo her usual role as a walking billboard for a major fashion house and instead arrived in an orange fibreglass breastplate created by a small east London art duo and a car bodyshop in Kent.

“Good art should start conversation, and Kim did exactly that,” says 61-year-old Patrick Whitaker, half of the design practice Whitaker Malem, who made the breastplate just weeks before the gala. “She was very clear on wanting a breastplate, very clear on the car body finish. And I think she was nervous really. She understands the competition.”

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‘Time the rest of us stepped up’: terror survivors’ group writes letter in support of UK Jews

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Letter coordinated by Survivors Against Terror, which includes bereaved relatives, after spate of attacks on Jewish community

Dozens of survivors and bereaved relatives of 19 separate terror attacks have written an open letter of solidarity to the Jewish community, saying: “Standing together in the face of hatred is not just the right thing to do – it’s the most effective way of defeating terrorism.”

The letter was coordinated by the group Survivors Against Terror (SAT), after terror attacks on two Jewish men in north London earlier this week, in what was the latest in a series of attacks on the community in the UK.

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Lost ‘cloud’ of artist who wrapped the Reichstag to be created in UK gallery

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Exclusive: Scale model found in Christo’s studio leads to London realisation of internally lit Air Package on a Ceiling

Christo once wrapped up the Reichstag, suspended a curtain across a Colorado valley and covered up the Pont Neuf in Paris. Now, six years after the artist’s death, a London gallery is to create a monumental installation he designed in 1968, using a detailed scale model and drawings that had been presumed lost until their chance discovery.

Christo had imagined a vast, internally illuminated suspended form, like a cloud, but technical constraints meant the plan was never brought to fruition.

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Brixton drive-by shooting ‘act of indiscriminate violence’, say Met police

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Four people are in hospital, with one 25-year-old man facing life-threatening injuries

A drive-by shooting in Brixton which left four people in hospital on Saturday has been called “an act of indiscriminate violence” by police.

Shots were fired in the early hours on Coldharbour Lane in the south London area, leaving one 25-year-old man in hospital with life-threatening injuries.

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Starmer says Polanski ‘is not fit to lead a political party’ after Golders Green police criticism

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Green leader apologises for sharing post that said officers were ‘repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head’ and says he had did so ‘in haste’

Keir Starmer has condemned Zack Polanski as “disgraceful” and unfit to head a political party after the Greens’ leader shared a social media post critical of the way police tackled the suspect in the Golders Green stabbings.

The prime minister said any criticism of the police involved in the arrest was unfair on officers having to make split-second decisions in a moment of potentially grave danger.

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UK terrorism threat level raised to ‘severe’ after Golders Green attack

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Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre’s assessment means terror attack thought to be ‘highly likely’

The UK terrorism threat level has been raised to “severe” by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre after the Golders Green stabbings, meaning a terror attack is thought to be “highly likely”.

The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, described Wednesday’s attack as a vile act of terrorism. “Today, the national threat level has increased to ‘severe’, which means a terrorist attack is considered highly likely,” she said.

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