3 Charged after Attempted Arson at Iran International Office in London

A Police van is parked outside of a warehouse park housing offices of a the Persian-language TV station, Iran International, in Wembley, northwest London on April 16, 2026. (Photo by Henry NICHOLLS / AFP)
A Police van is parked outside of a warehouse park housing offices of a the Persian-language TV station, Iran International, in Wembley, northwest London on April 16, 2026. (Photo by Henry NICHOLLS / AFP)
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3 Charged after Attempted Arson at Iran International Office in London

A Police van is parked outside of a warehouse park housing offices of a the Persian-language TV station, Iran International, in Wembley, northwest London on April 16, 2026. (Photo by Henry NICHOLLS / AFP)
A Police van is parked outside of a warehouse park housing offices of a the Persian-language TV station, Iran International, in Wembley, northwest London on April 16, 2026. (Photo by Henry NICHOLLS / AFP)

British police said on Friday they had charged three people over an attempted arson attack on offices linked to television station Iran International in northwest London earlier this week.

The three, two men and a teenager and all British, are accused of arson with intent to endanger life after an ignited container was thrown towards the premises of the parent company of Iran International, Volant Media, on Wednesday evening, landing in a car park.

The fire immediately put itself out, causing ⁠no damage nor injuries, Reuters reported.

Iran ⁠International, a London-based television station critical of Tehran's government, said a suspicious vehicle was denied entry to its London site shortly before the incendiary devices were thrown.

Oisin McGuinness, 21, Nathan Dunn, 19, and a 16-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal ⁠reasons, are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court later on Friday. McGuinness was also charged with dangerous driving.

Police said a vehicle fled the scene and crashed after being pursued by an armed response unit which was in the area.

The incident came a day after police arrested two suspects following an attempted arson attack on a synagogue, also in north London.

Last month, several ambulances belonging to the Jewish volunteer emergency ⁠service ⁠Hatzola were set alight while parked near a synagogue in the Golders Green area of north London.

None of the incidents have been linked but Matt Jukes, a deputy commissioner for London's Metropolitan Police, said he understood why conflict overseas and heightened tensions in Britain would be "deeply worrying".

"London’s Jewish communities and the Iranian diaspora in London have, in recent years, been increasingly targeted by individuals, groups and hostile states intent on spreading fear, hate and harm," Jukes said.



Denmark Aims to Send Rejected Migrants to ‘Return Hubs’ by 2027

Denmark's then Defense Minister Morten Bodskov speaks ahead of a NATO Defense Ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, February 16, 2022. (Reuters)
Denmark's then Defense Minister Morten Bodskov speaks ahead of a NATO Defense Ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, February 16, 2022. (Reuters)
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Denmark Aims to Send Rejected Migrants to ‘Return Hubs’ by 2027

Denmark's then Defense Minister Morten Bodskov speaks ahead of a NATO Defense Ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, February 16, 2022. (Reuters)
Denmark's then Defense Minister Morten Bodskov speaks ahead of a NATO Defense Ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, February 16, 2022. (Reuters)

Denmark said Friday it was ready to send rejected asylum seekers to 'return hubs' as of 2027, as it hosted talks with four EU countries on the creation of migrant detention centers outside Europe.

"On the Danish side, we expect to be ready to send the first foreigners to a partner country by the end of next year," Danish Migrations Minister Morten Bodskov said in a statement.

He was meeting with his German, Dutch, Austrian and Greek counterparts on Friday in Copenhagen on the creation of deportation centers outside the European Union.

"This is an important step towards a more efficient asylum and migration system," Bodskov said.

"We do not accept that foreigners staying illegally in Denmark should be rewarded because of our difficulties in returning them."

In June, the European Parliament approved tougher migration rules granting authorities much broader detention powers, and allowing for the creation of 'return hubs'.

The idea has been severely criticized by human rights groups.

The partner country or countries have not been disclosed, but Uganda and Rwanda in particular are seen as possibilities.

Britain abandoned a scheme to deport undocumented migrants to Rwanda, while Italian-run facilities to process migrants in Albania have faced legal challenges and a slow uptake.


Cyprus Ferry Toll Rises to 12 as Two More Bodies Found

Motor boats take part in a search operation for people missing two days after a ferry disaster off the coast of Cyprus, near the port of Kyrenia in the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (AP)
Motor boats take part in a search operation for people missing two days after a ferry disaster off the coast of Cyprus, near the port of Kyrenia in the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (AP)
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Cyprus Ferry Toll Rises to 12 as Two More Bodies Found

Motor boats take part in a search operation for people missing two days after a ferry disaster off the coast of Cyprus, near the port of Kyrenia in the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (AP)
Motor boats take part in a search operation for people missing two days after a ferry disaster off the coast of Cyprus, near the port of Kyrenia in the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (AP)

The death toll from a ferry accident off northern Cyprus rose to 12 on Friday after rescuers found the bodies of two women, with another 16 people still missing, officials said.

The FiloJet ferry was carrying 267 people when it capsized shortly after departing from Kyrenia port on the northern shore of the divided island around midday on Sunday.

Rescuers managed to pull 239 people to safety, giving an initial count of eight dead and 20 missing with officials saying they believed they had gone down with the ship.

Round-the-clock rescue efforts have since recovered the bodies of four more victims, the latest two on Friday morning, raising the toll to 12, according to authorities in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognized by Ankara.

"The bodies of two more people have been recovered," TRNC prime minister Unal Ustel wrote on X, indicating both were women.

"Search operations are continuing 24/7 in order to reach our 16 missing people," he said as a team of specialist divers and naval drones probed the wreckage which is lying at a depth of 514 meters (1,686 feet).

Since Wednesday morning, two specialist Turkish naval vessels equipped with underwater drones have been working to find the remaining victims.

Before the latest bodies were found, officials said the eight dead were all Turkish nationals, indicating that 18 of the 20 missing were also Turkish while the last two were from northern Cyprus.

They have not given any further details about the nationalities of the two four bodies recovered since Wednesday night.

So far, investigators have been unable to retrieve the ferry's voyage data recorder (VDR) -- its "black box" -- which should give a clearer indication of what led to the ferry capsizing.

The ferry's captain and eight others were remanded in custody on Monday on charges of negligent homicide, and returned to the court in Kyrenia -- Girne in Turkish -- for a second hearing on Thursday.

At that hearing, police investigators said the catastrophe could have been avoided had the captain reduced speed and carefully turned back to port when the ferry started taking on water, media reports said.


Davutoglu Investigated for ‘Insulting’ Turkish President

Davutoglu speaks in the Turkish parliament. (File photo - Future Party on X)
Davutoglu speaks in the Turkish parliament. (File photo - Future Party on X)
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Davutoglu Investigated for ‘Insulting’ Turkish President

Davutoglu speaks in the Turkish parliament. (File photo - Future Party on X)
Davutoglu speaks in the Turkish parliament. (File photo - Future Party on X)

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into former Turkish Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on suspicion of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The prosecutor’s office said Thursday it launched the investigation on its own initiative under Article 299/1 of the Turkish Penal Code over remarks deemed insulting to the president that circulated on social media.

An old video resurfaced Wednesday showing Davutoglu speaking with villagers while he was leader of the opposition Future Party, which announced on July 30 that it would dissolve and withdraw from politics. Insulting the president is punishable by up to four years in prison under Turkish law.

In the video, Davutoglu criticized Erdogan without naming him.

“Unlike the ministers who came after me, I did not earn a single penny illicitly,” he said. “I told them not to make illicit gains, but they did. They added billions to their billions, amassed ill-gotten gains and enriched their entourage.”

He added: “He appointed his son-in-law [Berat Albayrak, former energy and natural resources minister and treasury and finance minister] as a minister, enriched his relatives and handed Türkiye over to five contractors.”

A political science academic known as “the professor” within the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Davutoglu served as an adviser to former President Abdullah Gul and later to Erdogan when he was prime minister before becoming foreign minister.

He succeeded Erdogan as AKP leader after Erdogan was elected president in 2014, when Türkiye’s parliamentary system barred presidents from belonging to political parties. Davutoglu resigned as party leader in 2016 amid differences with Erdogan over the management of the party and country.

He left the AKP in 2019 as their differences deepened and founded the Future Party. On July 30, he unexpectedly announced plans to dissolve it and withdraw from party politics, citing Türkiye’s “corrupt political climate.”

Davutoglu said the decision was “not a surrender or an abandonment of politics,” but an attempt to maintain an “ethical distance” from the political sphere.

He criticized Türkiye’s presidential system, citing a weakened separation of powers and ineffective checks and balances, and identified corruption, lack of merit, polarization and declining trust in the judiciary among the country’s main problems.

Davutoglu also warned that anger over authoritarianism, corruption, income inequality, restrictions and violations of the law could produce a “retaliatory counter-government” as polarization spreads from politics into society.

The Future Party was formally dissolved at a general congress on August 22. Political circles in Ankara said Davutoglu’s decision followed failed merger talks with the right-wing New Welfare and Felicity parties.