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British police on Sunday said eight people, including seven Iranian nationals, were arrested in two separate counterterrorism probes.In one operation, five men — four of them Iranian — were arrested on suspicion of “preparation of a terrorist act”, London’s Metropolitan police said in a statdment.The arrests were carried out in London, Swindon and the Greater Manchester area on suspicion of “terrorism offences”. The men, aged between 29 and 46, were detained by Counter Terrorism Police on Saturday in relation to “a suspected plot to target a specific premises” — which was not named — and remain in custody.The four Iranian men were arrested under the Terrorism Act, while the fifth man, whose nationality was still being established, was detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.Interior minister Yvette Cooper said these were “serious events” part of the UK’s response to “national security threats”.”This is a fast-moving investigation and we are working closely with those at the affected site to keep them updated,” said Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism chief Dominic Murphy.”The investigation is still in its early stages and we are exploring various lines of enquiry to establish any potential motivation as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public linked to this matter,” he added.Meanwhile, three other men, all Iranian nationals, were arrested in London in a separate Counter Terrorism Police operation on Saturday.The Met police confirmed that the three London arrests “are not connected to the arrest of five people yesterday”.The men, aged 39, 44 and 55, were arrested under the National Security Act — which gives law enforcement greater powers to disrupt “state threats” including foreign interference and espionage.- ‘Serious events’ -Cooper thanked the police in a statement early Sunday.”These are serious events that demonstrate the ongoing requirement to adapt our response to national security threats,” Cooper told the PA news agency.”The government continues to work with police and intelligence agencies to support all the action and security assessments that are needed to keep the country safe.”The arrests come amid heightened concerns about Iranian involvement on UK soil. In March, Iran became the first country to be placed on an enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, which aims to boost the UK’s national security against covert foreign influences.The measures, due to come into place later this year, will mean that all persons working inside the UK for Iran, its intelligence services or the Revolutionary Guard would have to register or face jail.Last October, the head of Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence service revealed that since 2022 the UK had uncovered 20 Iran-backed plots posing “potentially lethal threats”.

British police on Sunday said they had arrested five men, including four Iranians, on suspicion of “preparation of a terrorist act”.The arrests were carried out in London, Swindon and the Greater Manchester area, with all five arrested on suspicion of “terrorism offences”, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.The men aged between 29 and 46 were detained by Counter Terrorism Police on Saturday in relation to “a suspected plot to target a specific premises” — wich was not named — and remain in custody.The nationality of one of the men is still being established, police said. “This is a fast-moving investigation and we are working closely with those at the affected site to keep them updated,” said Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism chief Dominic Murphy.”The investigation is still in its early stages and we are exploring various lines of enquiry to establish any potential motivation as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public linked to this matter,” he added.Meanwhile, three other men, all Iranian nationals, were arrested in London in a separate Counter Terrorism Police operation on Saturday.The men, aged 39, 44 and 55, were arrested under the National Security Act — which gives law enforcement greater powers to disrupt “state threats” including foreign interference and espionage — the Met Police said in a statement on Sunday.Interior minister Yvette Cooper “thanked” the police in a statement.”These are serious events that demonstrate the ongoing requirement to adapt our response to national security threats,” Cooper told the PA news agency.”The Government continues to work with police and intelligence agencies to support all the action and security assessments that are needed to keep the country safe.”

Voters have handed Singapore’s long-time ruling party a landslide election victory, offering Prime Minister Lawrence Wong a clear mandate to navigate the trade-orientated Southeast Asian nation through economic upheaval sparked by looming US tariffs.Wong’s People’s Action Party took all but 10 seats in the 97-seat unicameral legislature with a total of 65.57 percent of the …

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Roberto Firmino said he was proud of making history with his Saudi club and becoming an Asian Champions League winner, six years after lifting the prestigious European equivalent with Liverpool.The 33-year-old Brazilian forward was an important member of Jurgen Klopp’s side who won the UEFA Champions League in 2019.Firmino was named the AFC Champions League’s most valuable player after inspiring Al Ahli to beat Kawasaki Frontale 2-0 on Saturday as the Jeddah club became Asian champions for the first time.”I’m very happy and very proud of the team,” said Firmino. “Happy to make history here and able to repay the support of the club, family and friends.”I’m very grateful and I feel privileged to be given this talent and opportunity. I always do my best to help my teammates and my team.”Firmino scored six goals en route to the final and was pivotal again in the showpiece.The veteran laid on the pass for fellow Brazilian Galeno to curl a delicious shot into the top corner in the 35th minute before producing a pinpoint cross seven minutes later for Franck Kessie to nod home.”This title win shows us to have a monster mentality,” said Firmino. “We always believed we could be champions and we have done it.”Al Ahli head coach Matthias Jaissle praised the 58,000 home fans at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City Stadium for playing their part in the win.”I’m so proud of the players for how they were doing, how they were performing, how the journey went in this competition,” said the German coach.- ‘A crazy journey’ -“Also the fans who created an amazing atmosphere, which we never take for granted. Together we can achieve special things and that was tonight. It’s nice to give something back to the supporters.”The win was even more remarkable given that just three years ago Al Ahli were relegated from the Saudi Pro League.  “It’s been a crazy journey. Not that long ago, it looked completely different,” said Jaissle. Kawasaki coach Shigetoshi Hasebe conceded that his team had been outplayed.Having knocked out Al Sadd of Qatar after extra time and then upsetting Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi club Al Nassr, Hasebe admitted his tired Frontale players had been unable to hit the heights again in their third tough match in seven days.”They deserved to be champions,” said Hasebe of Al Ahli. “They could show their strength, especially in the first half, and we couldn’t. The key was the second goal.”If we could play as we know we can, we could have won. The last two games were the proof. Tonight it didn’t work and we have to do more in the future.”Hasebe admitted that Frontale’s defensive frailties had cost them, after they had edged both their quarter-final and semi-final 3-2. “Every single game we played here, we conceded two goals and that’s the part we have to improve on for the future.”

On the Doha seashore, rows of wooden dhow boats line a pier, with scores of fish on display — part of a festival seeking to revive the country’s long seafaring tradition.Aboard the boats, men in customary sea gear — a white t-shirt and towel — pay tribute to the age-old tradition of line-fishing in the energy-rich Gulf emirate for the 11th edition of the Senyar festival.”The feeling was amazing,” competitor Mohammed al-Hail told AFP as he returned from four days out at sea to waiting friends and family at the close of the festival in Katara Cultural Village, a hub for arts and heritage preservation in Doha.”As soon as we finished… here and there we saw our friends,” said Hail, a naval officer.Nearby, children dressed in traditional white thobes tried to measure themselves against three hefty fish, their scales glossy in the afternoon sun, strung up for crowds of onlookers.The specimens — each roughly 10 kilograms (22 pounds) — were the largest caught during the week-long competition.This year, 54 teams gathered to catch fish using simple handheld fishing lines, living for days at a time aboard dhows, the wooden boats that criss-crossed the Gulf waters around Qatar for centuries.Competitors are rewarded for the biggest fish, but the most sought-after prize is presented for the number, quality and variety of fish caught using a points-based system that values hamour and kingfish over other local types.- Preserving heritage -Prior to the advent of the oil and gas industries, Qatar’s economy, like many Gulf countries, was dominated by pearl-diving — until artificial pearls began flooding the market in the 1920s — as well as fishing.But while reliance on these practices is a thing of the past, Qataris like Hail and his teammate Mohammed al-Mohannadi are eager to preserve the heritage.”I feel good but I am not very happy about my result because I hoped to take first,” Mohannadi said.”But God willing next competition… we’ll have a good result,” he added.Four days earlier, dozens of boats were scattered across the azure Gulf waters, roughly five kilometres (three miles) off the desert sands south of the Qatari capital.Onboard the “Lusail” boat, Yousuf al-Mutawa explained that his team was setting fishing lines to take advantage of a mid-morning lull in the winds.”When the wind comes down, the big fish come up,” said Mutawa, whose 12-strong team was participating in the competition for the second year in a row.The 55-year-old director of operations for Qatar’s Lusail city explained that his father had been a trader on a small wooden dhow until the 1940s.- ‘100 years back’ -Mutawa said his father used to work on a ship between Qatar and Kuwait, “taking some food from there and bringing it here”.Eventually, though, the boat was wrecked in high winds and his father took a job in Qatar’s nascent oil industry, he explained.If you saw “100 years back how they were eating… it was difficult for them”, Mutawa said.He added that his own sons had competed in previous years and he hoped they would again.Ali Almulla, a Dubai real estate manager, said he had travelled from the United Arab Emirates to join the “Lusail” team for the second year.”I came here to participate in the local traditional fishing. I’d say that’s fun for us. It’s nice to be with friends. It’s good company,” the 35-year-old said.”It’s good to have the younger generations… aware of what our grandfathers did back then,” he added.Almulla said his family also had deep roots in seafaring. “We got that from our father, and my grandfather and so on. My grandfather actually used to dive for pearls,” he said.The competitor said he took part in sports fishing competitions around the Gulf, some using modern techniques and others, like the Senyar festival, more traditional. “Winning is nice, but we are here to enjoy,” he added.