Britain is to establish its first permanent military base in the Middle East since it formally withdrew from the region in 1971. The base, at the Mina Salman Port in Bahrain, will host ships including destroyers and aircraft carriers. The UK said it was an “expansion of the Royal Navy’s footprint” and would “reinforce stability” […]
2 Britons sentenced for 12 years in Prison After Return From Syria
Two Britons who fought in Syria and were arrested upon returning to Britain after their families cooperated with the police were sentenced to long prison terms on Friday. The case has provoked debate over how to reduce the risk posed by returning jihadists without discouraging their families from cooperating with the authorities. The two men, […]
Islamic State crisis: UK gives £20m to Lebanon to keep it safe
The Lebanese army’s Brig Gen Ali Mourad got a WhatsApp message from the Islamic State (IS). It was short and to the point. “We are the heroes of Qalamoun,” it said, referring to the mountains on Syria’s border with Lebanon, “and we’re going to kill you.” Gen Mourad has a robust attitude to this threat. […]
Secret British role in halting ISIL ‘massacre’ in Lebanon
A British team has secretly saved a Christian town in Lebanon from advancing Isil forces by constructing a network of watchtowers, The Telegraph can disclose. The clandestine British squad worked at speed to coordinate the huge effort to build 12 towers — with more planned — along the border with Syria to prevent the forces […]
British brothers sentenced for training in Syria rebel camp
Two British brothers who travelled to Syria apparently with the intention of attending a rebel training camp have been jailed, becoming the first to be sentenced for such offenses in the UK. Mohommod Nawaz, 30, was handed a four-and-a-half year prison term and his younger brother Hamza Nawaz, 23, was given three years at London’s […]
Islamic State video fuels concerns about foreign jihadis
Several of the jihadis appearing in a new Islamic State video of the beheadings of a dozen captives, including American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, appear to be French and British. The European residence of the jihadis is likely to add further pressure on European governments to crack down on their citizens fighting in the Middle […]
UK’s Cameron compares Russia to Nazi Germany on eve of Putin meeting
British PM David Cameron has compared Russia to Nazi Germany because of its actions in Ukraine on the eve of a tense meeting with Vladimir Putin. Mr Cameron will on Saturday night challenge Mr Putin about Russia’s continued acts of aggression in Ukraine as it supplies heavy weapons and tanks to the separatists. In a […]
Britain denounces Assad speech as ‘beyond hypocritical’
Britain denounced President Bashar al-Assad’s speech on Sunday calling for a conference of national dialogue to end the Syrian conflict as “beyond hypocritical”. Foreign Secretary William Hague said Assad’s first speech to the nation since June was full of “empty promises” and would “fool no-one”.
Oil may be behind renewed tension over the Falklands
More than 30 years after Argentina’s unsuccessful invasion of the Falkland Islands, a fresh war of words has broken out over the sovereignty of the British territory, a rocky archipelago about 8,000 miles from London but harboring outsize importance to both countries. The latest bout of controversy erupted after Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner
Assange lashed out at Obama for ‘persecuting’ WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, speaking via a choppy video feed from his virtual house arrest in London, lashed out at U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday for supporting freedom of speech in the Middle East while simultaneously “persecuting” his organization for leaking diplomatic cables.