Four pro-Palestinian activists charged over UK military base break-in
FILE PHOTO: An activist from Palestine Action sprays a military aircraft engine with red paint at RAF Brize Norton, to damage it, in Carterton, Britain, June 20, 2025, in this still image obtained from handout video. The group's action was in protest of British military assistance to Israel, claiming that they, \"interrupted Britain's direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East\", stating on their website. Palestine Action/Handout via REUTERS/File photo
Four pro-Palestinian activists have been charged after breaking into a military air base in central England last month and damaging two planes in protest against Britain's support for Israel.
Counter-terrorism police said the charges were for conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK, and conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
The four, aged between 22 and 35, remain in custody and are due to appear in a London court on Thursday. Police said they will present evidence to court linking the offences to terrorism.
The campaign group Palestine Action has said it was behind the incident on June 20, when the air base in Oxfordshire in central England was broken into and red paint was sprayed over two planes used for refuelling and transport.
British lawmakers voted on Wednesday to ban Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. The group has condemned the decision as an "abuse of power" and announced plans to challenge it in court.
The police statement said those charged had caused 7 million pounds ($9.55 million) worth of damage to the two aircraft at the Brize Norton Royal Air Force base.
Palestine Action has routinely targeted companies in Britain with links to Israel, including Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems. REUTERS
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore $500 in Child LifeSG credits, Edusave, Post-Sec Education Account top-ups to be disbursed in July
Singapore Man to be charged after he allegedly damaged PAP campaign materials on GE2025 Polling Day
Singapore Scoot launches flights to Da Nang, Kota Bharu and Nha Trang; boosts frequency to other destinations
Asia 4 dead, 30 missing after ferry sinks on way to Indonesia's Bali
Singapore Electrician who bit off part of coworker's ear during fight gets 6 months' jail
Singapore $1.46b nickel-trading scam: Ng Yu Zhi's bid for bail midway through trial denied by High Court
Asia Thai opposition to hold off on no-confidence vote against government
Business Singapore six-month T-bill cut-off yield tumbles from 2% to 1.85%
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
23 minutes ago
- Straits Times
US imposes fresh sanctions targeting Iran oil trade, Hezbollah
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump?s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo WASHINGTON - The U.S. imposed sanctions on Thursday against a network that smuggles Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi oil, and on a Hezbollah-controlled financial institution, the Treasury Department said. A network of companies run by Iraqi-British national Salim Ahmed Said has been buying and shipping billions of dollars worth of Iranian oil disguised as, or blended with, Iraqi oil since at least 2020, the department said. "Treasury will continue to target Tehran's revenue sources and intensify economic pressure to disrupt the regime's access to the financial resources that fuel its destabilizing activities,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. The U.S. has imposed waves of sanctions on Iran's oil exports over its nuclear program and funding of militant groups across the Middle East. Reuters reported late last year that a fuel oil smuggling network that generates at least $1 billion a year for Iran and its proxies has flourished in Iraq since 2022. Thursday's sanctions came after the U.S. carried out strikes on June 22 on three Iranian nuclear sites, including its most deeply buried enrichment plant Fordow. The Pentagon said on Wednesday the strikes had degraded Iran's nuclear program by up to two years, despite a far more cautious initial assessment that had leaked to the public. The U.S. and Iran are expected to hold talks about its nuclear program next week in Oslo, Axios reported. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Seller's stamp duty rates for private homes raised; holding period increased from 3 years to 4 Singapore 193ha of land off Changi to be reclaimed for aviation park; area reduced to save seagrass meadow Business More Singapore residents met CPF Required Retirement Sum when they turned 55 in 2024 Singapore PAP questions Pritam's interview with Malaysian podcast, WP says PAP opposing for the sake of opposing Sport 'Pedal to the metal' for next 2 years, says Singaporean powerlifter Farhanna Farid Singapore 1 in 4 appeals to waive HDB wait-out period for private home owners approved since Sept 2022 Sport A true fans' player – Liverpool supporters in Singapore pay tribute to late Diogo Jota Singapore Healthcare facility planned for site of Ang Mo Kio Public Library after it moves to AMK Hub Said's companies and vessels blend Iranian oil with Iraqi oil, which is then sold to Western buyers via Iraq or the United Arab Emirates as purely Iraqi oil using forged documentation to avoid sanctions, Treasury said. Said controls UAE-based company VS Tankers though he avoids formal association with it, Treasury said. Formerly known as Al-Iraqia Shipping Services & Oil Trading (AISSOT), VS Tankers has smuggled oil for the benefit of the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is designated by Washington as a terrorist organization, it said. The sanctions block U.S. assets of those designated and prevent Americans from doing business with them. VS Tankers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Iran's mission in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. also sanctioned several vessels that are accused of engaging in the covert delivery of Iranian oil, intensifying pressure on Iran's 'shadow fleet,' it said. The Treasury Department also issued sanctions against several senior officials and one entity associated with the Hezbollah-controlled financial institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan. The officials, the department said, conducted millions of dollars in transactions that ultimately benefited, but obscured, Hezbollah. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
South Africa's former deputy president Mabuza dies, SABC reports
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Former Deputy President of South Africa David Mabuza poses for a photo as he arrives ahead of the inauguration of South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa as President at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on June 19, 2024. PHILL MAGAKOE/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's former deputy president David Mabuza has died aged 64, the country's public broadcaster reported on Thursday. Mabuza, who served as deputy president from 2018 to 2023, died in a Johannesburg hospital, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported. Analysts say Mabuza helped President Cyril Ramaphosa win the tight 2017 contest to lead the African National Congress that paved the way for Ramaphosa to become head of state in 2018, succeeding scandal-plagued Jacob Zuma. A former schoolteacher and premier of the Mpumalanga province, Mabuza struggled to shrug off allegations - which he denied - of irregular tenders for a 2010 World Cup stadium and links to political killings. He had not been seen much in public recently and had been unwell, SABC said, without disclosing the illness. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Lockdowns and fights: Sean 'Diddy' Combs back in Brooklyn jail ahead of sentencing
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Sean \"Diddy\" Combs, next to his lawyer Teny Geragos, reacts after learning he will not be released on bail, during his sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial in New York City, New York, U.S., July 2, 2025, in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg NEW YORK - Despite being found not guilty on the most serious counts at his sex trafficking trial, Sean "Diddy" Combs will spend months awaiting sentencing at a notoriously understaffed and violent Brooklyn jail where the music mogul has lived through nearly ten months of lockdowns and fights. Combs, 55, has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center since his September 2024 arrest. The facility, which has also held convicted sex traffickers like British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and rhythm and blues singer R. Kelly, is a far cry from the luxurious Los Angeles and Miami mansions Combs called home until last year. After the verdict was read on Wednesday, Combs' lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian to release him on $1 million bond ahead of his sentencing, expected to take place by October. "I understand that you don't, that Mr. Combs does not want to go back to the MDC," the judge said. Combs shook his head. His hopes of returning to one of those homes and the embrace of his family after being cleared of the more serious charges were soon dashed. The judge denied Combs' request for bail, citing evidence of his violent behavior presented during the trial. In recent years, MDC has been plagued by persistent staffing shortages, power outages and maggots in inmates' food. Two weeks after Combs' arrest, prosecutors announced criminal charges against nine MDC inmates for crimes including assault, attempted murder and murder at the facility in the months before Combs arrived. In January of last year, a federal judge in Manhattan declined to order a man charged with drug crimes detained pending trial at the MDC, calling the conditions there an "ongoing tragedy." Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 193ha of land off Changi to be reclaimed for aviation park; area reduced to save seagrass meadow Business More Singapore residents met CPF Required Retirement Sum when they turned 55 in 2024 Singapore PAP questions Pritam's interview with Malaysian podcast, WP says PAP opposing for the sake of opposing Singapore 1 in 4 appeals to waive HDB wait-out period for private home owners approved since Sept 2022 Sport A true fans' player – Liverpool supporters in Singapore pay tribute to late Diogo Jota Singapore Healthcare facility planned for site of Ang Mo Kio Public Library after it moves to AMK Hub Singapore $500 in Child LifeSG credits, Edusave, Post-Sec Education Account top-ups to be disbursed in July Business 60 S'pore firms to get AI boost from Tata Consultancy as it launches new innovation centre here Last August, another judge said he would convert an older defendant's nine-month jail term to home incarceration if he were sent to MDC, citing the jail's "dangerous, barbaric conditions." The U.S. Bureau of Prisons, which operates MDC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The bureau has said it takes its duty to protect inmates seriously. During the eight-week trial, U.S. Marshals transported Combs to and from the courthouse in Lower Manhattan each day from the facility in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood, which has also housed former cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried and Luigi Mangione, accused of killing a health insurance executive. Bankman-Fried has since been moved to a low-security prison in California and is appealing his fraud conviction and 25-year sentence. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to murder charges. A jury found Combs not guilty on Wednesday on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, sparing him a potential life sentence, but convicted him on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution that could land him in prison for several years. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges. Combs' defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo said in court on Wednesday that Combs had been housed in "a very difficult part of the MDC" where there have been fights. His lawyer Alexandra Shapiro said in a November 2024 court filing that frequent lockdowns at the facility had impaired Combs' ability to prepare for trial. On Wednesday, Combs' lawyers praised MDC staff, who they said had facilitated their access to him during the trial. "Despite the terrible conditions at the MDC, I want to thank the good people who work there," defense lawyer Teny Geragos told reporters after the verdict. REUTERS
