THE CO-FOUNDER of the fascist group National Action has been convicted of being a member of a proscribed organisation.
Alex Davies, 28, had advocated the deportation of ethnic minorities to establish an “overwhelmingly white Briton”.
National Action was jointly founded by Davies in 2013 and it joined the list of extremist groups proscribed by the government in December 2016 after it openly celebrated the murder of Jo Cox MP.
Nick Price, head of the counter-terrorism division of the Crown Prosecution Service, said Davies secretly set up a new right-wing terror group after the ban on National Action and had a leading role in recruiting people to join the group.
He was a willing and important member of the National Action and worked to avoid the ban and keep the racist and hateful views of the group alive. This included travelling thousands of miles to meet new members, Price said.
Davies had told Winchester Crown Court during his trial that his goal of a “white Britain” could be achieved by compulsorily deporting ethnic minorities from the UK “along the lines of the Conservative government's Rwanda policy".
Davies, from Swansea, Wales, had said, "if we were to take power, our aim is to have an overwhelmingly white Britain as it more or less has been for centuries”.
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Rushdie attack trial begins as jurors shown graphic details
Feb 11, 2025
JURORS heard how a knife attack on novelist Salman Rushdie unfolded in a matter of seconds at a 2022 New York talk and how close he came to death, in the prosecutor's opening statement on Monday (10) at the trial of the man accused of trying to murder the author.
A poet introducing the talk, on the subject of keeping writers safe from harm, was barely into his second sentence when defendant Hadi Matar bounded onto the Chautauqua Institution open-air stage and made about 10 running steps towards a seated Rushdie, Chautauqua District Attorney Jason Schmidt told the jury.
"Without hesitation, upon reaching Mr Rushdie, he very deliberately and forcefully and efficiently at speed plunged the knife into Mr Rushdie over and over and over and over and over and over again," Schmidt said.
Rushdie was stabbed about 15 times: in the head, neck, torso and left hand, blinding his right eye and damaging his liver and intestines.
Rushdie is due to testify about his injuries at the Chautauqua County Court in Mayville, New York, a few miles (km) north of the Chautauqua Institution, a rural arts haven.
Matar, 26, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault.
The latter charge is for wounding Henry Reese, the co-founder of Pittsburgh's City of Asylum, a non-profit group that helps exiled writers, who was conducting the talk with Rushdie that morning. Reese is also due to testify.
Jurors will see videos of the attack, which some 1,000 audience members witnessed, and Matar's arrest, and will hear from the Erie trauma surgeon who treated Rushdie after he had lost catastrophic volumes of blood, Schmidt said.
Matar said "Free Palestine, free Palestine," as he walked past the public gallery after entering the courtroom, dressed in a blue shirt and dark pants, before the jury was brought in.
His lead defence lawyer, Nathaniel Barone, has been hospitalised with an illness, Barone's colleagues told the court, but Judge David Foley denied their request to delay proceedings.
Rushdie, who has faced death threats since the 1988 publication of his novel The Satanic Verses, has published a memoir about the attack and his lengthy recuperation in which he imagines a conversation with his assailant.
He has said he believed he was going to die on the Chautauqua Institution's stage.
After the attack, Matar told the New York Post that he had travelled from his home in New Jersey after seeing the Rushdie event advertised because he disliked the novelist, saying Rushdie had attacked Islam. Matar, a dual citizen of his native US and Lebanon, said in the interview he was surprised that Rushdie survived, the Post reported.
Matar's trial has been delayed twice, most recently after Barone, his defence lawyer, unsuccessfully tried to move it to a different venue, saying Matar could not get a fair trial in Chautauqua. The trial is being held in Mayville, a lakeside town of about 1,500 people near the Canadian border.
If convicted of attempted murder, Matar faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Matar also faces federal charges brought by prosecutors in the US attorney's office in western New York, accusing him of attempting to murder Rushdie as an act of terrorism and of providing material support to the armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, which the US has designated as a terrorist organisation.
Matar is due to face those charges at a separate trial in Buffalo.
(With inputs from AFP)
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Immigration arrests up 73 per cent in January
Feb 11, 2025
UK immigration enforcement teams made more than 600 arrests in January, a 73 per cent increase on the same period a year ago, as part of the Labour government's plan to tackle undocumented migration and people smuggling gangs, officials said on Monday (10).
The 609 arrests, compared to 352 in January 2024, were made during visits to 800 premises including nail bars, restaurants, car washes and convenience stores, a government statement said.
On taking office last year Labour prime minister Keir Starmer immediately scrapped his Conservative predecessor Rishi Sunak's plan to deter undocumented migration to the UK by deporting new arrivals to Rwanda.
Instead, he pledged to "smash the gangs" to bring the numbers down.
Home secretary Yvette Cooper said employers had for too long been able to "exploit illegal migrants and too many people have been able to arrive and work illegally with no enforcement action ever taken".
"We are boosting enforcement to record levels alongside tough new legislation to smash the criminal gangs that undermine our border security and who have been getting away with it for far too long," she said.
Undocumented migration by people who take small, perilously unsafe boats across the English Channel from northern France to southern England was a major issue at last July's general election which Labour won.
Regular migration, which is currently running at historically high levels, estimated at 728,000 for the year to June 2024, was also a hot button issue at the polls.
Starmer needs to reduce both legal and undocumented migration to fend off growing support for Nigel Farage's anti-immigration Reform UK party, which won roughly four million votes during the July 4 poll - an unprecedented haul for a far-right party.
Some 36,816 people were detected in the Channel in 2024, a 25 per cent increase from the 29,437 who arrived in 2023, provisional figures from the Home Office showed.
As part of his plan to reduce undocumented migration, Starmer has also set up a new Border Security Command and strengthened cooperation with European partners, including Europol.
Britain has signed joint action plans with Germany and Iraq aimed at tackling the smuggling gangs. They build on earlier agreements signed under the previous Conservative government, including with France and Albania.
The government also points to an increase in the return of irregular migrants to their countries of origin, the highest since 2017.
Its new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is designed to give law enforcement officials "counter-terror style powers" to break up gangs bringing irregular migrants across the Channel.
(AFP)
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Modi meets Macron and JD Vance in Paris
Feb 11, 2025
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi was welcomed by French president Emmanuel Macron at a dinner at the Élysée Palace in Paris. Macron greeted Modi with a hug as they met on Monday.
"Delighted to meet my friend, President Macron in Paris," Modi posted on X.
At the dinner, Modi also met US vice president JD Vance, who is in France for the AI Summit. The meeting marked Modi’s first interaction with a senior official from the Trump administration ahead of his visit to the US.
During their conversation, Modi congratulated Vance on his electoral victory. "Congratulations. Great, great victory," he said while shaking hands with the US vice president.
"PM @narendramodi interacts with President @EmmanuelMacron and USA @VP @JDVance in Paris," the prime minister's office posted on X.
Earlier in the day, Modi arrived in Paris on the first leg of his two-nation visit, which will also include the US. During his three-day stay in France, he will co-chair the AI Action Summit with Macron, hold bilateral talks, and meet business leaders.
Here are highlights from the memorable welcome in Paris yesterday. pic.twitter.com/lgsWBlZqCl
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 11, 2025
As he landed in Paris, Modi received a welcome from the Indian diaspora. "A memorable welcome in Paris! The cold weather didn't deter the Indian community from showing their affection this evening. Grateful to our diaspora and proud of them for their accomplishments," he posted on X.
A memorable welcome in Paris!
The cold weather didn’t deter the Indian community from showing their affection this evening. Grateful to our diaspora and proud of them for their accomplishments! pic.twitter.com/rrNuHRzYmU
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 10, 2025
Modi and Macron will also hold discussions in restricted and delegation-level formats and address the India-France CEO’s Forum.
Before his departure, Modi said that the visit would provide an opportunity to review progress on the 2047 Horizon Roadmap for the India-France strategic partnership with Macron.
On Wednesday, Modi and Macron will visit the Mazargues War Cemetery in Marseille to pay tribute to Indian soldiers who served in World War I. They will also inaugurate the newest Consulate General of India in Marseille.
This is Modi’s sixth visit to France.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Harshita Brella’s family seeks answers as fundraiser launched
Feb 11, 2025
AN ASIAN solicitor and businessman has set up a fund in memory of Harshita Brella, who was found murdered in east London in November last year.
The Harshita Brella Memorial Fund, organised by Amrit S Maan OBE JP, aims to support her family as they seek answers about her death.
The body of the 24-year-old was discovered in the boot of a car in Ilford, east London, on November 14 last year.
Weeks earlier, she had told her family that her husband, Pankaj Lamba, "was going to kill her," according to her mother, Sudesh Kumari.
The investigation has identified Pankaj Lamba as the prime suspect, and Brella’s family in Delhi believe he is in India. (Photo: Northamptonshire Police)
The murder investigation has identified Lamba as the prime suspect. Brella’s family, who live in Delhi, believe he is in India, but claimed local authorities have been unresponsive.
Maan told Eastern Eye that Harshita’s family is struggling with the uncertainty. "They got the body in December, the cremation took place, but they want to know what happened, they need answers. They want to know hard answers, right answers. They have been kept in the dark," he said.
The Northamptonshire police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to their previous dealings with Brella. "The police had issued a domestic violence order against the suspect," Maan said.
"Harshita’s family are in Delhi. They're scared. They believe that the suspect is in India."The Delhi high court has directed India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to appoint a nodal officer to liaise with the petitioner and UK investigation agencies, to facilitate the exchange of information and provide updates on the case.
Brella, an Indian citizen, moved to the UK after her marriage. Following her death, her family revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage just weeks earlier and had described her life in the UK as one of control and abuse.
Amrit S Maan OBE JP, an Asian solicitor and businessman has set up a fund in memory of Harshita Brella. (Photo: X/@amritmaanldn)
Maan said he was approached by Brella’s family through a third party for the setting up of the fund. "They were thinking about setting up a memorial in the name of Harshita," he said.
"They were looking at ideas, and they knew there were a number of supporters, friends of Harshita. So, they reached out to me."Maan set up the GoFundMe page with the family's permission. "I'm also, just on their behalf, inquiring with the police to find answers for them," he added.
The family has received some support, but remains largely in the dark about the case, Maan said. "When Harshita was found, they had some support from the Northamptonshire police, which was basically meetings, updates online that turned from weekly to monthly. And they just had last week a quick update. But in the update, there's no new information," he said.
"They're just taking it day by day. It's devastating," Maan added, as he described the impact of the tragedy on Brella’s family.
The fundraiser has two main objectives, according to Maan. "Number one is to raise funds for a memorial in Harshita’s name. We must not forget her. That will be the decision of the family - her mother, father, and sister - what they want to do, considering maybe a plaque, or there are diverse options," he said.
"Second, they want to come to the UK. They want speak to the police and to thank their supporters. They want to go to the house where Harshita lived, to the place where the body was found. They want justice, and it's only right."
Maan noted that while there was initial outrage, public attention has faded. "Initially, there was outrage. As the days and weeks, the months have passed by, people have forgotten about Harshita. We raised just under £1,000 in a few days, but we would really want people to donate if they can," he said.
The fundraiser has now reached almost £1,100, and the aim of the memorial fund is to reach £6,500.Maan said all funds will go direct to the family.
"All the money will go straight to the family for their use. But we need more awareness, for sure, because we need to have this conversation, this public debate, about how we are looking after our young people coming from India to the UK."
According to Maan, Brella’s case raises broader concerns. "Harshita had a great future. She got married. The family did their due diligence, they did the inquiry on the boy. Everything was fine. She left her family, left her country, went to the UK, and now she's been found dead. So, we need to find out what happened," he said.
Conversations about women's safety and domestic violence must continue, Maan said.
"We need to have that conversation, that public debate, about how we treat our women and how we handle violence against women and young girls. I believe there has been an element of coercive control. We can't be sending our kids abroad with no safety," he said.
The Harshita Brella Memorial Fund remains open for donations at GoFundMe.
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Protesters rally against China's planned mega-embassy in London
Feb 09, 2025
HUNDREDS of demonstrators protested at a site earmarked for Beijing's controversial new embassy in London over human rights and security concerns.
The new embassy -- if approved by the UK government -- would be the "biggest Chinese embassy in Europe", one lawmaker said earlier.
Protester Iona Boswell, a 40-year-old social worker, said there was "no need for a mega embassy here" and that she believed it would be used to facilitate the "harassment of dissidents".
China has for several years been trying to relocate its embassy, currently in the capital's upmarket Marylebone district, to the sprawling historic site in the shadow of the Tower of London.
The move has sparked fierce opposition from nearby residents, rights groups, critics of China's ruling Communist Party and others.
"This is about the future of our freedom, not just the site of a Chinese embassy in London," Conservative party lawmaker Tom Tugendhat said at the protest, adding that people living in the UK "sadly have been too often been threatened by Chinese state agents".
"I think it would be a threat to all of us because we would see an increase in economic espionage... and an increase in the silencing of opponents of the Chinese Communist Party (in the UK)," the former security minister added.
Housing the Royal Mint -- the official maker of British coins -- for nearly two centuries, the site was earlier home to a 1348-built Cistercian abbey but is currently derelict.
A protestor is detained by the police during a demonstration against the proposed site of the new Chinese Embassy, outside Royal Mint Court, in London. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso.
Beijing bought it for a reported $327 million in 2018.
"It will be like a headquarter (for China) to catch the (Hong Kong) people in the UK to (send them) back to China," said another protester dressed all in black and wearing a full face mask, giving his name only as "Zero", a member of "Hongkongers in Leeds", the northern English city.
"After the super embassy (is built) maybe they will have more people to do the dirty jobs," he added.
The protest comes as prime minister Keir Starmer, elected last July, wants more engagement with Beijing, following years of deteriorating relations over various issues, in particular China's rights crackdown in Hong Kong.
In November Starmer became the first prime minister since 2018 to meet Chinese president Xi Jinping, when the pair held talks at the G20 in Brazil.
A national planning inspector will now hold a public inquiry into the scheme, but communities secretary Angela Rayner will make the final decision.
That has alarmed opponents who fear the Labour government's emphasis on economic growth, and improved China ties, could trump other considerations.
Multiple Western nations accuse Beijing of using espionage to gather technological information.
They have also accused hacking groups backed by China of a global campaign of online surveillance targeting critics.
The US, Britain and New Zealand in March 2024 accused Beijing-backed hackers of being behind a series of attacks against lawmakers and key democratic institutions -- allegations that prompted angry Chinese denials.
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