UK: A Muslim group has paused plans to convert the East End’s last purpose-built synagogue into a mosque after the century-old building was granted Grade II listed status.
Nelson Street Synagogue in Whitechapel was listed by Historic England for its historical and architectural significance, including its “distinctive” ark and “high quality” bimah.
The Ashaadibi community group, which exchanged contracts with the Federation of Synagogues in February to buy the building for £2.35 million, said it was “disappointed” by the decision, saying its plans had been drawn up without “restrictive conditions”.
The group, which serves Whitechapel’s Somali community, said it had “paused the conversion project” and was considering legal action.
The group has already paid a £235,000 deposit and raised £2.05 million in donations and loans towards the purchase, with full payment due in two months. (JC)
UK: MI5 has admitted that it gave three courts evidence based on lies and that senior officers were repeatedly dishonest while defending its handling of a violent neo-Nazi informant.
The admission was made on behalf of the Security Service during a High Court hearing today, after MI5 had previously strongly denied allegations first uncovered by the BBC.
Three senior judges are now considering what action to take, including whether to begin contempt of court proceedings against individual MI5 officers or MI5 itself.
UK: Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband reportedly ignored warnings from senior diplomatic and intelligence figures over plans to impose sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank ahead of Israel’s October election.
According to a report, National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell and Britain’s ambassador to Israel, Simon Walters, advised against the timing of the measures, amid concerns they could strengthen Benjamin Netanyahu’s government politically. MI6 also reportedly warned that the move could put UK-Israel intelligence sharing at risk.
One security source is quoted as saying: “Ed wants to get rid of Netanyahu and the Smotrich/Ben-Gvir lot [Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners]. He was explicitly told that would be less likely if he did this.”
Iran: UN-appointed human rights experts say there are “reasonable grounds to believe” the US committed war crimes in two strikes on civilian sites in Iran in February.
The fact-finding mission said a strike on a primary school in Minab, which Iranian authorities say killed more than 150 people including around 120 children, and a strike on a sports centre in Lamerd constituted indiscriminate attacks.
The US has previously denied striking Lamerd and has not released the findings of its investigation into the Minab strike.
The same UN investigation also found that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during their crackdown on anti-government protests, including unlawful killings, torture and arbitrary detention.
US: President Donald Trump says he is approaching a “big decision” on whether to resume large-scale US attacks on Iran.
“I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It’s a big decision. Anything could happen with me,” Trump told Axios.
Trump is due to meet the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman in New York on Tuesday, saying he wants to hear their positions before deciding on the next stage of the war.
UK: King Charles has warned leading AI executives of the “existential dangers” posed by artificial intelligence falling into the wrong hands, saying safeguards are needed before it becomes “too late”.
Speaking to bosses from Nvidia, Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Anthropic and other companies at an AI summit in Scotland, the King warned that AI could develop “darker capacities – perhaps even to take life”.
However, he also acknowledged AI’s “immense capacity to improve and save life”, particularly in science and medicine, saying the technology must remain “firmly in the service of humanity, community and the natural world”.
Europe: The Conference of European Rabbis has welcomed Germany’s new 10-point plan to combat Islamist terrorism, with its president, Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, calling on other European countries to use it as a model.
Rabbi Goldschmidt stated: “The German government is demonstrating decisive action at a time when Jews across Europe no longer feel safe.
“Better monitoring of individuals considered a security threat, and above all curbing terrorist financing, are urgently needed measures – not only in Germany, but across Europe. The threat of attacks emanating in particular from Iran and its proxies is growing.
“We hope that other countries and the European Union will take this plan to heart and use it as a model.”
Europe: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has welcomed a proposal for Canada to become the EU’s first “associate member”, during an address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
The unprecedented status was proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as the two sides seek closer ties on defence, technology, energy and trade.
US President Donald Trump called the proposal “laughable” and threatened “very serious tariffs” or restrictions on trade with Europe if he considers the move hostile to the US.
UK: The man suspected of being the notorious “Putney Pusher” has been found dead at his west London home, nine years after a woman was pushed into the path of a bus on Putney Bridge.
Banker Nicholas Brandram, 44, was arrested in June on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm in connection with the 2017 incident, but had not been charged and was released under investigation last week.
The Metropolitan Police said Brandram was found unresponsive at his home in Chiswick on Tuesday evening. His death is being treated as “unexpected” but is not believed to be suspicious, the Met added.
Kurdistan: An Israeli-Canadian Jew named Binyamin Chasin has been freed after spending more than a decade imprisoned in Iraqi Kurdistan, where he had faced a death sentence over the 2015 killing of a taxi driver.
Chasin, who had reportedly travelled to Kurdistan and joined Kurdish forces fighting ISIS, maintained that he shot the driver in self-defence after being threatened with being handed over to the terror group.
He was sentenced to death in 2020, but the sentence was overturned last year following an extensive pidyon shvuyim campaign and a financial reconciliation agreement with the victim’s family.
London: A security incident in the Edgwarebury Lane area has been resolved after reports of an individual with a firearm prompted a precautionary lockdown earlier this afternoon, Shomrim NW London says.
Metropolitan Police officers attended the scene and determined that the item was an imitation toy gun.
Shomrim says there is no ongoing threat to the public and all precautionary measures have now been lifted.
US: Vice President JD Vance says the US cannot allow its “Middle Eastern foreign policy to be subservient to the State of Israel,” saying that the US will pursue its own interests even when they differ from Israel’s.
Vance said Israel remains an important partner in military technology and intelligence sharing, but argued that President Donald Trump has been more willing than any US president in the past 40 years to “part ways” with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when their interests differ.
“We’re gonna work with people when we work with them, we’re gonna disagree when we disagree. And we’re gonna pursue America’s interests,” Vance said.
UK: Inflation rose to 3.1% in August, up from 2.9% in July and reaching its highest level in five months, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics this morning.
The ONS said the increase was driven particularly by higher petrol and diesel prices.
A fundraising campaign has been launched for the family of Yitzchak Elmkies, a London father of seven who was found dead in a wooded area near Uman during Rosh Hashanah. Please help support his family by donating generously!
Gaza: The IDF and Shin Bet confirm killing the commander of Hamas's Rafah Brigade in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip this evening.
Nael Abu Obeid was a "central figure" in Hamas, heading both the Rafah Brigade and the terror group's operations division, the military and security agency say in a joint statement.
According to the IDF, Abu Obeid took over the role of Rafah Brigade commander following the killing of the brigade's previous chief, Muhammad Shabana, on May 13, 2025, in a strike that also killed Hamas leader Mohammad Sinwar.
