men

Cambridge won a fourth consecutive Men’s Boat Race as Oxford claimed their first victory in the women’s race since 2016.

The Cambridge men came in as strong favourites for the 171st event but Oxford did well to stay with them for much of the race in tricky and blustery conditions along the 4.3-mile course from Putney to Chiswick.

But the class of the Light Blues came through in the final third as they pulled clear to triumph by 11.02 seconds for a seventh win in eight years.

In the 80th edition of the women’s race, Oxford made a blistering start and Cambridge were unable to respond as the Dark Blues stayed strong to win by 9.4 seconds and celebrate their 31st overall success.

March 25 (UPI) — British counter-terrorism police made two arrests early Wednesday in connection with an arson attack that destroyed four Jewish volunteer ambulances parked outside a synagogue in London.

The men, aged 47 and 45, were arrested in dawn raids at addresses in northwest London and central London on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and taken to a London police station, where they are being held in custody, the Metropolitan Police said in a news release.

The Met said it was continuing to work to identify another suspect, one of three captured on CCTV pouring accelerant onto the ambulances in the Golders Green area of north London before igniting it in the early hours of Monday.

The fires caused oxygen cylinders inside the vehicles to explode, shattering windows in nearby residential properties and forcing the evacuation of at least 34 people, but no one was injured.

Calling it an “appalling attack,” Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said officers had been working the case around the clock.

“This appears to be an important breakthrough in the investigation, but we’re also mindful that CCTV footage of the incident suggests there were at least three people involved. We fully recognise the local community will still be concerned and our investigation very much remains active and we will continue to work to identify and seek to arrest all of those who may have been involved,” Flanagan said.

More than 260 additional police officers, backed by firearms teams, have been deployed on the streets of Golders Greens and other areas of London with sizable Jewish populations to provide protection and reassurance to those communities.

Police do not routinely carry guns in the United Kingdom.

“We know that community concerns remain heightened and I want to reassure the community that an enhanced, bespoke policing plan and activity, which is particularly focused around vulnerable areas right across London, will continue over coming days and weeks,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams.

“This includes specialist officers and capability being deployed alongside local officers to help protect certain locations and will also involve highly visible armed police patrols to serve as a deterrent to anyone seeking to cause our communities harm. I must stress that these are precautionary and not in response to any specific threat, and we continue to work alongside our colleagues in Counter Terrorism policing to support their investigation,” added Williams who is responsible for policing north west London.

The incident is being treated as an anti-Semitic hate crime, not terrorism, but the Met is investigating a claim made online by an Iranian-linked Islamist group that it carried out the attack.

Speaking during a visit to Washington on Monday, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned of what he said was the “rapid growth” of threats from the Iranian regime but said it was “too early” to place the blame on Tehran.

Sir Mark said police were pursuing several leads, including “an online claim of responsibility by an Islamist group who have claimed other attacks across Europe and have potential Iranian state links.”

The ambulances belonged to Hatzola Trust, a non-profit volunteer-run Jewish community group providing first responder medical care and hospital transportation free of charge to residents of north London of all religions.

Hatzola works alongside about 2,000 ambulances and support vehicles operated by the London Ambulance Service which is part of the free National Health Service.

KEVIN Spacey has settled with three men who accused him of sexual assault over a 13-year period.

The Oscar-winning actor was due to go on trial at the High Court later this year after the complainants brought a civil case against him.

But Spacey has now reached an out-of-court settlement with the men, which has now frozen the legal proceedings.

It comes after the Usual Suspects star was cleared of nine sexual offence charges at a criminal trial in 2023.

Spacey has always denied any wrongdoing – claiming the accusations against him were motivated by “money, money and then money”.

Two of the men who accused the Hollywood actor during the star-studded trial then filed civil cases at the High Court.

One man, known only as LNP, claimed that Spacey “deliberately assaulted” him on around 12 occasions between 2000 and 2005.

The second – referred to as GHI – alleged he “suffered psychiatric damage and financial loss” as a result of an assault in 2008.

He claimed he met Spacey through a workshop at London’s Old Vic theatre, where the star was artistic director of the Old Vic between 2004 and 2013.

The third man, Ruari Cannon, who has waived his right to anonymity, claimed Spacey groped him in 2013 during a party at the theatre.

Spacey said the allegation was “ridiculous and it never happened”.

The court was told previously Cannon had reached a settlement with the Old Vic.

Spacey – who won Oscars for The Usual Suspects and American Beauty – was one of the most high-profile scalps during the Me Too movement.

The allegations caused his Oscar-winning career to crumble around him as he faced claims from multiple men in the UK and US.

He was stripped of an International Emmy Award in the wake of the claims and was edited out of Sir Ridley Scott film All The Money In The World.

His central character in acclaimed Netflix series House of Cards was also killed off after he was axed from the show.

Speaking in November, Spacey claimed he lost his house due to the financial fallout caused by the expensive lawsuits.

He said he put all his belongings in storage facilities – and has been forced to live in hotels and Airbnbs.