British man arrested on suspicion of spying and terrorism offences in Cyprus
A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'We are in contact with the authorities in Cyprus regarding the arrest of a British man.'
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer visited Akrotiri in December (Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA)
RAF Akrotiri is the UK's most important airbase for operations in the Middle East.
The Philenews website said the man was arrested on Friday following intelligence he was planning an imminent terrorist attack.
He is alleged to have lived in a flat in Zakai, Limassol, close to Akrotiri and was observed near the base carrying a camera with a long lens and three mobile phones.
Local reports suggested he was Azerbaijani but the UK Foreign Office said they were working with the authorities over the arrest of a Briton.
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Reuters
20 minutes ago
- Reuters
UK's Starmer to hold urgent talks over Gaza 'humanitarian catastrophe'
LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would hold an emergency call with France and Germany over the situation in Gaza, which he described as an "unspeakable and indefensible" humanitarian catastrophe. In a strongly worded statement late on Thursday, Starmer said he would discuss with partners "what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need," and called on Israel to allow aid into the Palestinian enclave. "The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible. While the situation has been grave for some time, it has reached new depths and continues to worsen. We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe," Starmer said. "We all agree on the pressing need for Israel to change course and allow the aid that is desperately needed to enter Gaza without delay," he added, referring to France and Germany. Gaza's health authorities have said over 100 people have died from starvation, most of them in recent weeks. More than 100 organisations, including Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Refugees International, have said mass starvation is spreading in Gaza even as tons of food and other supplies sit untouched just outside the enclave. Israel, which cut off all supplies to Gaza from the start of March and reopened the flow with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing aid in but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by militants. Starmer said he supported U.S., Qatari and Egyptian efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. "A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution," he said.
The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
Starmer to hold emergency talks on Gaza with France and Germany
The Prime Minister has said he will hold emergency talks with France and Germany on Gaza, as he condemned the 'suffering and starvation' unfolding there as 'unspeakable and indefensible'. Sir Keir Starmer said the situation has been 'grave' for some time but has 'reached new depths'. It comes as aid groups warn of starvation in the Gaza Strip and the US said it was cutting short ceasefire talks. Sir Keir is also under increasing pressure to fulfil Labour's promise to recognise Palestine as a state. The Prime Minister said: 'The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible. 'While the situation has been grave for some time, it has reached new depths and continues to worsen. We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe. 'I will hold an emergency call with E3 partners tomorrow, where we will discuss what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need, while pulling together all the steps necessary to build a lasting peace. 'We all agree on the pressing need for Israel to change course and allow the aid that is desperately needed to enter Gaza without delay.' He said it is 'hard to see a hopeful future in such dark times' but called again for all sides to engage 'in good faith, and at pace' on a ceasefire and the release of all hostages. 'We strongly support the efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to secure this,' he said. Weeks of talks in Qatar to try to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have yielded no major breakthroughs. Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration's special envoy, said on Thursday the US was cutting short Gaza ceasefire talks and sending home its negotiating team after the latest response from Hamas 'shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza'. The deal under discussion is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Aid supplies would be ramped up and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting truce. Sir Keir said on Thursday that a ceasefire would provide a pathway to recognising a Palestinian state, as he faces calls to do so immediately. 'We are clear that statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people. 'A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis,' he said. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said earlier that the Government was 'deeply committed' to recognition but that such a move would need to be 'meaningful'. Mr Reynolds told LBC Radio: 'Now, at the minute, there is not a Palestinian state there. There is no political agreement between the two principal Palestinian territories in the West Bank and Gaza.' He pointed to steps the UK has taken to ramp up pressure on Israel, including sanctioning two Israeli cabinet ministers and ending trade talks with Israel. 'And we do want to see Palestine recognised. I want that to be meaningful. I want that to be working with partners, other countries around the world.' French President Emmanuel Macron pressed for recognition of Palestinian statehood in a recent address to the UK's Parliament, saying it was the 'only path to peace'. Labour's London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has piled pressure on Sir Keir to 'immediately recognise Palestinian statehood' and said the UK 'must do far more to pressure the Israeli government to stop this horrific senseless killing'. The Trades Union Congress also called for formal recognition of Palestine 'not in a year's time or two years' time – but now'. 'Recognition is not a symbolic gesture. It is a necessary and practical step towards a viable two-state solution that delivers equal rights and democracy, this is the only credible path to a just and lasting peace, ending decades of occupation, violence, and displacement,' the TUC said. Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has called for the Royal Air Force to carry out airdrops of aid into Gaza. 'Aid delivered by the air is no substitute for the reopening of supply routes by land,' he said. 'But the extent of the humanitarian catastrophe we are now witnessing requires us to leave no stone unturned in our efforts to get aid to Gazans.' More than 100 organisations, including Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children, have put their names to an open letter in which they said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, 'waste away'. It comes as the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, described the situation in Gaza as 'a stain on the conscience of the international community'. He said: 'With each passing day in Gaza, the violence, starvation and dehumanisation being inflicted on the civilian population by the government of Israel becomes more depraved and unconscionable.' Hamas-led militants based in Gaza abducted 251 people in the October 7 attack in 2023 that triggered the war and killed about 1,200 people. Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.
Metro
21 minutes ago
- Metro
Jay Slater's friend reveals final panicked texts from doomed teen at inquest
Jay Slater's friends have spoken of his final panicked moments as he realised he was lost in the mountains as he attempted a 14-hour walk home, an inquest has heard. The 19-year-old had taken ecstasy, cocaine, alcohol and possibly ketamine the evening of his disappearance in Tenerife, his friend said. Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, vanished after attending NRG music festival last June. He is thought to have gone to an Airbnb with convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim, 31, and fellow Briton, Steven Roccas before he disappeared. He was reported missing on June 18 and his remains were found near the village of Masca 29 days later. The disappearance captivated millions on social media, with TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X flooded with a mix of conspiracy theories about drug cartels and claims about Jay's past. His friend Lucy Law, who launched the search, called Jay around 8.30am and had sent him a message saying: 'Go back to wherever the f**k you just came from before it gets boiling.' She said on the call she asked him: 'What on earth are you doing? 'Where are you? 'He was just, 'I'm in the middle of the mountains'.' She asked him what he could see, and he replied: 'Nothing. Literally nothing. There's literally just mountains.' Mr Slater also said he needed a drink and asked if cacti are poisonous. Ms Law added: 'By this stage, I'm panicking.' Another friend Bradley Geoghegan, who was on holiday with Jay, spoke to the inquest into his death about the final night the 19-year-old was seen alive. Jay had been kicked out of a club because he was so drunk, but decided against going back to the apartment he was sharing with Geoghegan. Instead he went to an Airbnb miles away with two men he met on holiday. Geoghegan told Preston Coroner's Court heard that he got a video call from Jay the next morning, who was walking along a road 'under the influence'. Geoghegan said: 'I said put your maps on to see how far you were. It was like a 14-hour walk or an hour drive. I said, 'Get a taxi back', then he just goes, 'I will ring you back'.' Jay likely did not have any money on him, with taxis in Tenerife insisting on payment before taking a ride, the witness added. When asked if the teenager had appeared 'threatened' or 'under duress', Geoghegan said no. 'I think he probably got there and thought, 'Why am I here?', sobered up and decided to come back,' he added. Evidence heard during the inquest suggested Jay had attempted to walk back from his own apartment after failing to get a taxi. He then fell from a height into a ravine, with a huge search discovering his body on July 15. During the hearing in May, toxicology expert Dr Stephanie Martin said there were difficulties checking for the presence of drugs or alcohol in a body so severely decomposed. But she said analysis of Jay's body showed traces of the presence of MDMA and MDA, commonly known as ecstasy along with cocaine and alcohol. Dr Martin said because of the limitations of the analysis, she could not say exactly how much or how soon before death the drugs had been taken. Home Office pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd said his post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as head injuries. He added that Jay's body had no signs of restraint or assault. Data from the teenager's phone had also been analysed by police, Lancashire Constabulary's Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Higson told the hearing. The next witness was Ayub Qassim, who told the court about meeting Jay on a night out with his friend Steven Roccas. He said he had been in a different venue before later meeting Slater and Geoghegan and getting food after clubs closed. Qassim described Jay as: 'On a buzz. Chilled, happy. Mingling in'it.' Jay then asked to go back to his and Roccas' apartment. Qassim told the hearing: 'I did say, 'Bro, oh mate, it's so far away from the strip.' There's nothing happening there other than scenery. I said I would drop him off in the morning. He rolled with us.' The coroner asked Qassim about messages sent by Jay describing a possible watch theft. A video in May seemingly show Jay at the back of a car en route to the remote village of Masca after having been kicked out of a rave. In the 6am videos, he appears to brag about stealing a watch in the Snapchat posts. He says: 'Just took a 12k Rolly (Rolex) off some c*** with this Maili (Somalian) kid. Off to get 10 quid (thousand) for it. Off my undies ha, ha, ha.' Qassim, however, described how he saw a man take a watch from another person on the strip in Tenerife and tried to sell it to him and Jay. But Qassim insisted: 'Jay did not steal no watch. I can say one hundred per cent.' When asked if he was involved in a watch theft, he replied: 'No. And neither was he.' More Trending Trying to explain the social media posts, Jay said: 'He could be boasting to his friends. He's on a buzz, so maybe it could be that. Sometimes people do exaggerate. The coroner then asked: 'But so far as you are concerned, none of that is true?' Qassim replied: 'No. One hundred per cent. I didn't see a watch. At this point he's just firing off messages.' Once back at the remote apartment, Jay was then given a blanket and a pillow at the Airbnb to sleep on the sofa, the witness added. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. 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