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Counter-terrorism police also questioned a UK national, days after five others were arrested and released on bail.

A man with dual UK-Iranian citizenship has been arrested in connection with an alleged security incident at an airbase in southwest England over the weekend.

British counter-terrorism police said on Thursday that a “27-year-old man, a dual UK/Iranian national, was arrested” in central London.

He was detained “on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts” as part of an investigation into the events Sunday near RAF Fairford.

A second man, 26 – a UK national – was also “questioned under caution”, the police statement added.

The RAF base 160km west of London has been used by US bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East, including the US and Israel’s war on Iran, which began in February.

On Sunday, five men, all in their 20s and from London, were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and “terrorism” over the incident at RAF Fairford. They have since been released on bail.

“The investigation into circumstances surrounding events in Gloucestershire is hugely complex, and our specialist teams are interrogating multiple lines of enquiry,” Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing for the Metropolitan Police, said in a statement.

“As we’ve made clear, we’re looking at all possible angles – including possible foreign state involvement.”

Earlier, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications” that Iran played a role in an alleged security incident.

Iran, however, strongly denied any involvement in the incident and the country’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, hit back at Burnham’s allegations.

More to come…

CHICAGO — The U.S. can deport the leader of Wisconsin’s largest mosque — an outspoken advocate of Palestinian rights — on the grounds that he is a threat to national security, an immigration judge ruled Wednesday.

Salah Sarsour was detained in Milwaukee in March by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. A federal judge ordered Sarsour’s release in June, saying he raised a “substantial” claim that the Trump administration was targeting him for speaking out against Israel and advocating for Palestinian rights.

Sarsour called the ruling “deeply disappointing,” but said he intends to appeal.

“I will continue fighting to defend the right to free speech and to stay in the country I have called home for more than three decades,” Sarsour said in a statement.

Government attorneys say Sarsour’s decades-old convictions in Israel make him a threat to national security and accuse him of lying on his green card application. Judge Jayme Salinardi, with the Chicago Immigration Court, found him removable on foreign-policy grounds but tossed out the government’s claim that Sarsour lied to immigration authorities.

Sarsour says he fears for his life if he is deported to the West Bank

Sarsour, who was born in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, was imprisoned in Israel in 1988 after confessing to throwing a Molotov cocktail and stones at Israeli military personnel. In 1995, he was convicted of attempting to possess weapons. Sarsour denies committing those crimes. His attorneys say he was tortured and coerced into confessing in both instances.

Sarsour, the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, does not have a criminal record in the U.S., where he has lived since 1993. His attorneys say the U.S. government has known about Sarsour’s convictions in Israel since he arrived.

Deportation to the West Bank “means the end of my life,” Sarsour told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

One of his attorneys, Patrick Taurel, told the AP that Sarsour’s earlier treatment by Israeli authorities is “probably a good indicator of what awaits him” if he is deported.

At a status hearing Wednesday, Taurel pressed the judge to specify that Sarsour can only be deported to Israel or the Palestinian territories. Jordan, a country to which Sarsour has no connection, is listed as a possible destination on the order of removal.

Sarsour was instructed by immigration officers to list Jordan as his home country on an immigration form because his preferred entry — “Palestine” — is not a fully independent, unified state. But he “has no right to reside in Jordan,” Taurel said.

Salinardi declined, calling it an issue to be addressed on appeal.

Attorney says Sarsour will fight deportation

Taurel said Wednesday that Sarsour is being unfairly targeted.

“If Salah can be deported for his speech in support of Palestinian rights, anyone can face the same fate,” he said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a memo in June 2025 invoking a rarely used immigration provision saying Sarsour could be deported on the same grounds as Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi, both advocates for Palestinian rights whom the Trump administration has tried to expel, according to court documents.

Before the judge’s ruling, Taurel said Sarsour would need to demonstrate on appeal that he could be tortured again if he were deported.

“It’s a very high bar, although I think we can meet it in this case, given what Salah has already experienced, and given the government of Israel’s treatment” of others like him, Taurel said.

A notice of appeal is due within 30 days. Salinardi did not schedule a new hearing and announced he is retiring and that Judge Craig Defoe will oversee the case going forward.

Sarsour says he was tortured and coerced into confessions

Jawad Boulos, who represented Sarsour when he was convicted in Israel, testified in August that Sarsour was coerced into confessing and that he wasn’t convicted of any charge tying him to a terrorist organization. He said Sarsour was tortured by Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency.

The Department of Homeland Security challenged Boulos about the torture allegations, questioning how he could know it was true.

Sarsour’s current defense team has asked why U.S. authorities waited until this year to detain him. Taurel said the government has known about Sarsour’s imprisonment in Israel for decades and that he has not concealed that from immigration authorities.

Experts on forced confessions and the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons also testified in Sarsour’s defense. Israeli military courts have faced repeated scrutiny over allegations of limited due process and the high conviction rate of Palestinians. Israel rejects the claims.

In June, U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon ordered Sarsour released from ICE custody saying he could have a case arguing the U.S. government detained him in retaliation for protected speech. Further, Hanlon said, government attorneys had not explained why Sarsour was suddenly considered a threat after decades as a lawful permanent resident.

The Trump administration has appealed Hanlon’s ruling.

Sarsour, who has Type 2 diabetes, lost more than 30 pounds while detained by ICE, and his blood sugar levels were checked only once a month, putting him at risk of organ failure or death, his attorneys said.

An investigation by KFF Health News and the Associated Press found that hundreds of detainees in at least 33 states have filed federal lawsuits with similar allegations of medical neglect.

Mayes-Osterman writes for the Associated Press.

The vote marks the first time the far-right party gained enough seats to form its own caucus.

France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party and its allies have secured a record 14 seats in the Senate, effectively quadrupling its number in the 348-seat chamber just months before a presidential election.

Sunday’s indirect election ⁠of senators marked the first time Marine Le Pen’s party won enough seats to form its own caucus.

“The results have exceeded our expectations,” Le Pen, the party’s leader and presidential candidate, said in a post on X.

“This is a historic victory, and a major milestone with the formation for the first time of a group in the Senate.”

RN entered the Senate for the first time with two seats in 2014, when it was known as the National Front, and won three seats in 2023.

It emerged as the single largest party in the lower-house National Assembly after President Emmanuel Macron called snap polls in 2024, though it fell well short of a majority.

Le Pen is preparing to run in next year’s presidential election when centrist Macron steps down.

RN president Jordan Bardella said the party’s senators would form an alliance with the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR).

The right, centre and left-wing Socialists looked set to remain the three major forces in the upper house, according to initial results.

The move comes after the EU lifts sanctions on oligarchs following what diplomats described as pressure from Baku.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has pardoned Martin Ryan, a French national who was serving a 10-year prison sentence on spying charges.

The move on Wednesday came a day after the European Union lifted sanctions on Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov following what diplomats described as pressure exerted by Baku.

Ryan, who was arrested in 2023 and sentenced in March, was among 20 people pardoned by Aliyev’s office, alongside Azerbaijani, Turkish, Russian-Israeli and Pakistani nationals, Reuters news agency reported.

Aliyev’s website said the president took into account their “personalities, state of health, family circumstances” and other reasons in deciding to grant pardons.

France welcomed “with relief the decision to grant clemency” to Ryan, calling it “a humanitarian gesture”, according to a French Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement. “This decision is the result of patient and exacting dialogue with the Azerbaijani authorities.”

It remained unclear whether Ryan had been released.

Spying charges

Prosecutors alleged Ryan gathered information on Azerbaijan’s military ties with Turkiye, Iran and Pakistan, as well as on companies linked to Russia and China.

Ryan, who also holds British citizenship, denied the charges. France said the allegations against him were false and had called for his immediate release, arguing he had been caught in the crossfire of diplomatic tensions.

The delisting of Usmanov ⁠and fellow Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman was the first time the EU removed sanctions on the wealthiest members of Russia’s billionaire elite who had not publicly condemned the war on Ukraine.

Usmanov, who once held a minority stake ⁠in Arsenal football club, graduated from the same prestigious diplomatic school in Moscow as the presidents of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan and knows them personally.

Diplomatic response

European diplomats told Reuters and AFP news agencies that France had privately indicated Baku was using Usmanov’s sanctions status to pressure Paris over its detained citizens.

A second Frenchman, Anass Derraz, an employee of the French water company Saur who was sentenced to 12 years on corruption charges, was not included in the pardons.

An Azerbaijani diplomat rejected suggestions of a pressure campaign as “categorically unfounded”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the move reflected Russian efforts “to break the West’s unity”, while his Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Moscow was “celebrating, because it got what it wanted: a sense of impunity, the humiliation of the EU, and division among Europeans”.

Latvia abstained from the vote and said it would impose its own sanctions on the two men, with Foreign Minister Baiba Braze calling the EU decision “dangerous”.

Slovakia initially called for Usmanov’s removal, with France later backing the move.

Relations between Baku and Paris have long been strained by France’s support for Armenia, even as ties between Moscow and Baku have also deteriorated since the accidental downing of an Azerbaijani passenger jet by Russian forces in December 2024.

President’s move clears hurdles to long delayed election and raises concern he can now wield unchecked power.

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has dissolved the country’s transitional unity government and appointed a caretaker administration as the country prepares for its first-ever national elections.

The decree on Tuesday ended a power-sharing arrangement set up under a 2018 peace deal that halted years of civil war, and raised concerns that Kiir could now wield unchecked power.

The decree, read out by the national broadcaster, said all vice-presidents, ministers and local administrators have been removed and that the national and state assemblies have been dissolved.

The judiciary and security institutions remain in place, while Kiir will stay in office “during the election period until the next elected president assumes office”, it said.

The decree came a day after the parliament approved changes to the National Elections Act that allowed Kiir to stay in power during the election period, while removing all vice presidents, who were appointed under the 2018 peace deal.

The changes mean that South Sudan can move towards elections scheduled for December 22, without first completing a permanent constitution or census – two processes that were previously tied to the transition.

The main opposition alliance has rejected the changes.

Elections were initially expected in 2022 but have been postponed twice.

Tasks still outstanding under the 2018 peace deal include drafting a permanent constitution, registering voters and unifying the armed forces loyal to rival parties.

That agreement followed five years of civil war that killed about 400,000 people and displaced millions, according to the United Nations.

Amnesty International, a prominent rights group, called Kiir’s decree a “decisive step” towards the country’s first-ever elections. But Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, urged the authorities to “ensure that a conducive environment exists for people to vote and stand in elections”.

Analysts meanwhile warned that the changes offered Kiir unfettered control.

“Kiir will be the only person in power, without vice-presidents, without the executive, without the parliament,” Michael Wani, a lawyer and former member of the constitution drafting committee, told the AFP news agency.

Independent analyst Machot Amuom told AFP there was a lot of “ambiguity” in the legal changes. “The new law gives the president full powers … He can decide even not to go for elections for another year or another two years,” Amuom told AFP.

Last week, Kiir also replaced the head of the elections commission without giving a reason. South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) said the new chief, Gabriel Bol Deng Majok, had been given a “fresh mandate” to oversee preparations for the polls.

The preparations come as Kiir’s longtime rival Riek Machar, who leads the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), remains under house arrest. He is on trial on charges including treason and murder, which he denies.

The transition is also taking place under tight security.

AFP reported checkpoints and road closures around the government complex in the capital, Juba, while security personnel were ordered to remain on heightened alert for three days.

LONDON — Ireland will boycott the Eurovision Song Contest for a second year over Israel’s participation, the country’s national broadcaster said Thursday.

RTÉ said it will not send an act to the 2027 competition in Bulgaria and will not broadcast the show because of the “appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.”

Ireland was one of five countries — along with the Netherlands, Iceland, Slovenia and Spain — to skip Eurovision this year to protest Israel’s inclusion in the pan-continental music contest.

Eurovision Director Martin Green said organizers regretted RTÉ’s decision but “fully respect” it.

“All broadcasters decide on an annual basis to participate in the following year’s contest. We will remain in dialogue with RTÉ and hope to welcome them back to the contest in the future,” Green said.

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS announced last month it will also boycott next year, calling Eurovision a “platform for division.”

“AVROTROS will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027 because the event can no longer be considered neutral, with a participating country still involved in a large-scale military conflict,” it said.

Next year’s competition is due to take place in Bulgaria’s Black Sea resort of Burgas in May, after Bulgarian singer Dara won the 2026 event with her infectious party anthem “Bangaranga.”

The contest was founded in 1956, in part to help unite a shattered continent after World War II. It pits acts from dozens of countries against one another for the continent’s musical crown.

Israel has taken part in Eurovision since 1973, one of a few non-European countries to compete. But calls for Israel to be kicked out have swelled over the conduct of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza.

The 2024 Eurovision contest in Malmo, Sweden, the 2025 in Basel, Switzerland and this year’s contest in Vienna saw pro-Palestinian protests and heightened security.

RIYADH: Trade can grind to a halt before ports close or shipping lanes are blocked. Disruption can begin elsewhere, when cargo or vessels become too costly or difficult to insure, or when markets are unable to provide adequate coverage for war-related risks.

Against a backdrop of rising geopolitical risks in the region and their spillover into maritime traffic, insurance and reinsurance markets, Saudi Arabia is moving to establish a national framework to help keep trade flowing even in a highly volatile maritime environment.

In response, the Cabinet approved the establishment of the “Saudi War Risks Insurance Pool for Cargo and Vessels,” a step aimed at building domestic insurance capacity to address risks that could drive up transportation and trade costs or constrain global insurers’ ability to provide coverage.

The initiative is also intended to help ensure the continuity of goods flows and support businesses involved in transportation and logistics.

The move is particularly significant for Saudi Arabia as it expands its role as a trade and logistics hub. The competitiveness of ports and distribution centers depends not only on cargo-handling speed and transport costs, but also on companies’ ability to price and manage risks when geopolitical conditions change abruptly.

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said after the Cabinet approved the mechanism that the Saudi marine insurance pool was a specialized national mechanism designed to support the continuity of trade and supply chains through a public-private partnership.

He said the pool would directly enhance the technical preparedness of the domestic insurance market and expand its capacity to provide the necessary coverage under rules and frameworks set by the Insurance Authority.

He added that the initiative would strengthen the resilience of the national economy and help safeguard its stability amid regional and international crises and challenges.

Industry specialists who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat said the pool’s economic value would be most evident during crises, when insurance premiums surge or insurers and reinsurers tighten their acceptance of risks associated with particular regions.

They said a stable insurance safety net could give transport companies, importers and exporters greater room to plan and continue operating.

A stable insurance environment

Logistics specialist Nashmi Al-Harbi said rising shipping risks in the Red Sea and the Gulf had prompted some insurers to tighten their conditions for covering vessels linked to the region.

That makes the establishment of the Saudi pool particularly timely for domestic transport and logistics companies, he said, as it would help reduce one of the main sources of uncertainty affecting international shipping contracts.

Al-Harbi told Asharq Al-Awsat that international companies doing business with Saudi Arabia, or whose cargo passes through its ports, would also benefit from greater clarity and stability in the insurance environment.

He said the pool’s scope would not be limited to vessels based in the kingdom but would extend to activities and companies with Saudi interests, subject to approved eligibility and coverage requirements.

Al-Harbi said providing stable war-risk coverage would make Saudi Arabia more attractive as a regional hub for storage, distribution and re-exporting.

Logistics companies do not consider only port, transport and cargo-handling costs when selecting destinations, he said. They also take into account the costs of risks to goods and vessels throughout their journeys.

The cost of risk

Supply chain and logistics expert Khalid Al-Ghamdi said the importance of the Saudi war-risk insurance pool went beyond providing coverage for vessels and cargo.

It also addressed a deeper challenge facing businesses: the difficulty of predicting risk costs when geopolitical conditions change suddenly.

Al-Ghamdi said a national war-risk safety net would give Saudi logistics companies greater stability when planning voyages, signing contracts and setting prices.

Companies managing thousands of containers need to know more than the cost of fuel, transport and cargo handling, he said.

They also need greater certainty about insurance costs so that insurance risks do not suddenly become a heavy financial burden or an obstacle to keeping voyages in operation.

The decision sends a message to international logistics companies that Saudi Arabia is continuing to build a business environment capable of operating even when shipping is disrupted, he said.

That could become an additional factor in decisions by global companies when choosing ports and distribution and re-export centers.

Al-Ghamdi added that the selection of a logistics hub was based not only on location and transport costs, but also on its ability to absorb shocks and manage risks associated with trade flows.

Strengthening that capacity could improve supply-chain resilience, bolster international companies’ confidence and create opportunities for more effective risk-management partnerships, he said.

Insurance pool arrangements

The initiative establishes a national insurance mechanism bringing together the public and private sectors under the supervision of the Insurance Authority.

It is intended to strengthen the domestic insurance market’s ability to handle war risks associated with maritime transport and mitigate the effects of volatility and rising reinsurance costs in global markets.

The initiative also aims to enhance Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness as a logistics hub at a time when more flexible tools are needed to manage the risks facing trade and transport.

As part of its implementation, the Saudi Reinsurance Company, known as Saudi Re, said that the Insurance Authority had selected it to lead and structure the pool’s arrangements, with participation from insurers operating in the domestic market.

Saudi Re will manage the pool’s technical operations and reinsurance arrangements. Beneficiaries will be able to obtain coverage through participating insurers under approved terms and conditions.

Initiative’s objectives

The Insurance Authority has identified four main objectives for the pool: enhancing the insurance market’s preparedness and capacity to absorb marine insurance risks; supporting the continuity of trade and supply chains; limiting the effects of sharp volatility and higher reinsurance costs in global markets; and strengthening Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness as a major logistics hub.

The pool will cover cargo transported by land, sea and air, as well as marine hull insurance against covered damage and risks.

It will also cover charterers’ liability and provide protection and indemnity coverage, offering broader protection to parties involved in transport and trade.

Eligible beneficiaries include exporters and importers; vessel owners and operators; shipping, freight and maritime transport companies; businesses involved in cargo movements, logistics and supply chains; and Saudi insurers participating in the pool.

International models

Saudi Arabia is not alone in adopting such a mechanism. Other countries have established national pools to address rising war risks and difficulties in obtaining coverage from traditional insurance markets.

India offers a recent example. This year, it launched a marine insurance pool with a total capacity of $1.5 billion, including a $1.4 billion sovereign guarantee, to cover war risks affecting vessels and cargo linked to Indian interests.

India’s experience demonstrated the scale of demand for such coverage. The scheme issued more than 1,600 policies within weeks of beginning operations, while war-risk insurance premiums fell by about 35% to 40% from the peaks recorded during the escalation of regional tensions.

The trend reflects a shift in how countries manage maritime war risks — from relying entirely on global insurance and reinsurance markets to developing domestic capacity that can help keep trade moving when coverage becomes more expensive or private insurers’ appetite for risk declines.