Discreet Professional Protection
Four men have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences during raids in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
Three of them, aged 22, 36 and 41, were arrested by counter terrorism officers at addresses in Sheffield. A fourth man, aged 31, was arrested in Chesterfield. A neighbour near one of the addresses reported hearing “an enormous bang”, which shook her house as the raid took place.
Iranian state TV has broadcast what it says is the confession of a Sweden-based Iranian national in jail in Iran.
The 17-minute programme purports to show 46-year-old Ahmadreza Djalali admitting he spied on Iran’s nuclear programme for Israel.
Mr Djalali, an emergency medicine specialist, was sentenced to death on the charges in October.
Appearing relaxed in the footage, Mr Djalali says he was involved in an important defence project. He says the project brought him into contact with Iran’s top nuclear scientists, and that he regrets having betrayed their trust.
At least four Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated on the streets of Tehran between 2009 and 2012, and the documentary suggests that Mr Djalali was responsible for identifying at least two of them.
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Unknown gunmen have killed the mayor of Libya’s port city Misrata after reportedly chasing his car and kidnapping him.
Mayor Mohamad Eshtewi’s body was found dumped in the street not long after returning to the city from an official visit to Turkey.
Libya’s third-largest city is reputed to be safer and more stable than most in the conflict-ridden country. But the mayor had faced growing opposition earlier this year.
Mr Eshtewi was abducted by unknown assailants after leaving the airport in the city. A Libyan official, Abubakr Alhraish, said that the mayor had chosen not to have his usual protection. “The mayor normally travels with security but he opted out after his arrival from Istanbul because he said his brother was picking him up from the airport.”
Police in Lebanon have arrested a man in connection with the murder of a British diplomat in Beirut.
The body of Rebecca Dykes, who worked at the British Embassy in the city, was found by a motorway on Saturday.
Police sources said the suspect was a taxi driver and Ms Dykes had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Her family said in a statement: “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. We are doing all we can to understand what happened.” They added: “We request that the media respect our privacy.”
Ms Dykes, who is believed to have been 30, had been working in Beirut as the programme and policy manager for the Department for International Development since January 2017.
It is thought she had spent Friday evening at a going-away party for a colleague in the popular Gemmayzeh district of Beirut. After leaving the bar at about midnight it appears she was abducted. Her body was found close to a motorway on the outskirts of the city.
Iraq says it has hanged, in a mass execution, 38 jihadist militants convicted of terrorism offences.
The justice ministry said they were all members of so-called Islamic State (IS). The death sentences were carried out in a prison in the southern city of Nasiriyah.
However, international advocacy groups have repeatedly criticised Iraq’s use of the death penalty and how terrorism charges are brought.
It was the largest mass execution since 25 September when 42 militants were hanged.
Amnesty International said the latest mass executions had “tainted” the celebrations following Iraq’s declaration of victory over IS.
“The victims of IS deserve justice, not mass executions carried out after deeply flawed and hasty trials,” said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty’s Middle East director.
Human Rights Watch recently accused the justice system of “failing to distinguish” between doctors who protected lives under IS rule and “those responsible for crimes against humanity”.