Today's Newsletter

• Daily Telegraph reports antisemitism by a pupil “in and of itself” should not warrant a referral to the Prevent programme, according to government guidance for teachers. The Department for Education (DfE) document, released last month, urges teachers to refer pupils to the anti-extremism scheme only if anti-Jewish beliefs are expressed as part of a “broader extremist world-view”. Read More.

• The banning of Palestine Action has led to a "crisis in confidence" in the UK's anti-terrorism laws and triggered unprecedented civil disobedience from law-abiding protesters, the Supreme Court has been told, several sources report. Opening a major legal challenge to the group's proscription last year, lawyers for co-founder Huda Ammori said that no other protest organisation had been treated the same way. Read More.

• The Guardian reports more than 900 academics have voiced their opposition to the government’s decision to block the climate academic Andreas Malm from entering the UK. Malm, an associate professor at Lund University in Sweden and an internationally recognised climate academic, said he had been “kept in the dark” by the UK’s immigration authorities over the reasons for his electronic travel authorisation being revoked, but said he suspected it was because of his plans to appear on a panel alongside Huda Ammori from Palestine Action. Read More.

• The Guardian reports Iran this week unveiled a billboard and banners over Enqelab Square in central Tehran pledging in English: “We will kill Trump.” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf added: “If the US government betrays the public will in order to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our ‘no’ comes with a nightmare.” Read More.

• Associated Press reports two Uighur men held in Thailand for more than a decade are pleading to not be sent back to China, fearing abuse or torture. The two men, ages 26 and 35, told the Office of the National Human Rights Commission on Wednesday that they do not want to be sent back to China, according to a source with direct knowledge of the meeting who requested anonymity for fear of retribution. Read More.

• PA Media reports Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon are “concerned” about a “ridiculous narrative” that they will be sent to fight alongside the Israel Defence Forces against Hizballah, the Defence Minister has said. The Fine Gael minister said she had to “push back on” an “absolutely ridiculous narrative” that Government would be sending Irish troops to fight with the IDF against Hizballah after the removal of the triple lock system for approving overseas deployments. Read More.

Do not refer all anti-Semitic children to Prevent, teachers told

(£) Daily Telegraph, 04/11/2026

Antisemitism by a pupil “in and of itself” should not warrant a referral to the Prevent programme, according to government guidance for teachers. The Department for Education (DfE) document, released last month, urges teachers to refer pupils to the anti-extremism scheme only if anti-Jewish beliefs are expressed as part of a “broader extremist world-view”. Sources close to Lucy Powell, the Education Secretary, insisted it was the correct advice for staff with responsibility for safeguarding in schools, colleges and universities. They said antisemitic views on their own were not necessarily a matter for Prevent. Leading British Jewish groups criticised the guidance, released after a rise in antisemitic attacks, as “discriminatory”, and called for it to be amended or withdrawn.

Palestine Action ban undermined confidence in anti-terror laws, Supreme Court told BBC News, 04/11/2026

The banning of Palestine Action has led to a "crisis in confidence" in the UK's anti-terrorism laws and triggered unprecedented civil disobedience from law-abiding protesters, the Supreme Court has been told. Opening a major legal challenge to the group's proscription last year, lawyers for co-founder Huda Ammori said that no other protest organisation had been treated the same way. They told the five justices that the UK's highest court had never before had to consider whether banning a group under terrorism legislation was compatible with freedom of speech and protest. Twenty-seven protesters were arrested outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday as the hearing took place, the Metropolitan Police said.

Also: PA Media, (£) Reuters, (£) The Times

More than 900 academics urge UK to reverse decision to bar Andreas Malm

The Guardian, 04/11/2026

More than 900 academics have voiced their opposition to the government’s decision to block the climate academic Andreas Malm from entering the UK, warning that the move represents “a grave violation of academic freedom and freedom of expression”. Malm, the author of How to Blow Up a Pipeline and a leading climate scholar, was prevented from entering the UK last week by the Home Office after being told that his presence in the UK “may not be considered to be conducive to the public good”. He had been due to attend an academic conference on Wednesday, appear on the BBC, and participate in a public discussion organised by the publication Tribune alongside Huda Ammori, a co-founder of the proscribed organisation Palestine Action.

Palestine Action activists used similar tactics to the suffragettes, court told

The Guardian, 04/11/2026

Palestine Action was banned as a terrorist group after using tactics similar to - or less extreme than – the suffragettes, the UK’s highest court has heard. Huda Ammori, a co-founder of Palestine Action, is challenging last year’s decision to proscribe the direct action organisation, placing it alongside groups such as al-Qa’ida and Boko Haram. On the first day of the supreme court hearing in central London, Raza Husain KC, representing Ammori, told the five judges: “Palestine Action never advocated for violence against the person and the home secretary has never advocated – and could not advocate – to the contrary.

Council may withdraw from Israel-linked investments

BBC News, 04/11/2026

Councillors in Birmingham have voted for a proposal to seek to withdraw from any financial investments linked to Israel. The motion was proposed by independent councillor Nosheen Khalid, who is a member of the Better Birmingham Group which is part of the ruling coalition, and the council's cabinet member for health and social care. Despite a ceasefire coming into force in Gaza in October 2025, Israel has continued air strikes almost every day. More than 1,500 people have been killed, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. The conflict was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Also: (£) Daily Telegraph

Green Party leader Zack Polanski is condemned for sharing posts from 'extremist' social media accounts that spread anti-Semitic messages online

Daily Mail, 04/11/2026

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has 'repeatedly' reposted social media accounts found to have hateful content against Jews and Israel, the Daily Mail can reveal.  An investigation by advocacy group Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) found that while the politician did not share the questionable content he has 'amplified' extremist accounts accused of 'peddling antisemitism' to his 206,000 followers. The posts include accusations that 'Israel's Epstein class billionaire backers spend their fortunes on raping, murdering and eating babies', that Zionists are 'not human, they are lower than vermin' and that the sexual violence inflicted by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 was 'a massive rape hoax'.

BBC attempts to reassure Jewish staff after ex-producer says she faced antisemitism

The Guardian, 04/11/2026

The BBC has attempted to reassure Jewish staff that discrimination against them will not be tolerated, after a former producer said she had faced antisemitism while employed at the corporation. Rhodri Talfan Davies, the BBC’s deputy director general, met representatives from the broadcaster’s Jewish staff network on Tuesday after coverage of the case of Lucie Kon. The former commissioning editor for the BBC’s Storyville documentary series was paid £400,000 by the corporation after her departure. Kon said she had faced antisemitism after the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas. The BBC said its internal processes did not uphold her antisemitism claims, but has acknowledged “shortcomings, and the personal impact” on her.

Publicly funded arts venue accused of hosting 'antisemitic' event

(£) The Times, 04/11/2026

A publicly funded arts venue has been accused of hosting an event involving “vile antisemitism” and the appropriation of a controversial slogan. From the Rivers to the Sea, a five-day event that seeks to support Palestine and “unsettle colonialism everywhere”, will take place at Glasgow’s Tramway later this month. The slogan is a slight variation of the phrase “from the river to the sea”, which is regarded by supporters as a call for Palestinian liberation. Critics insist it represents a demand for the elimination of Israel as a Jewish state. The event is described as a “five-day gathering that brings together art, critical thought and grassroots organising”.

Investigation into explosives linked to 'extreme right-wing terrorism'

BBC News, 04/11/2026

The PSNI has said an investigation into explosive devices discovered in Belfast at the weekend, is linked to "extreme right- wing terrorism". On Monday, a 35-year-old man was remanded into custody charged with storing explosives and detonators. Wesley Thomas Fletcher is also accused of having a consignment of Taser stun guns. Police seized the devices during searches at properties on the Shankill Road and Edwina Street over the weekend. A number of residents had to be evacuated from their homes as a precaution while the security operation was carried out. Detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Terrorism Investigation Unit charged Fletcher with three offences linked to the seizures.

Also: The Guardian

PSNI pays damages to relatives of murdered UVF victims

BBC News, 04/11/2026

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has paid undisclosed damages in connection with loyalist shootings in County Tyrone which left four Catholics dead. Relatives of Charles and Teresa Fox and Kevin McKearney sued the police over the alleged involvement of state agents. Along with John McKearney, they were murdered by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in two separate attacks carried out in Moy in 1992. Kevin McKearney's widow, Bernie, said the settlement is "nice", but added: "Nobody is ever going to be held accountable. "I feel we are never going to get justice." Their solicitor, Gavin Booth, said the damages are "significant". The High Court in Belfast heard the settlement followed negotiations and that the families were "relieved" the civil case is over.

Scientists and terrorists race to wield AI’s double-edged sword

(£) Daily Telegraph, 05/11/2026

AI has already upended the worlds of coding, cyber security and maths. Its leading lights now have their sights set on biology. All of the world’s leading AI companies have said that finding a cure for cancer is among their biggest goals. These advances are undeniably promising. Yet the progress of AI into the physical sciences poses risks, too. AI companies are becoming increasingly concerned that one of their products will help create a bio-catastrophe: helping rogue states develop a bioweapon, or terrorists to engineer a pathogen. “This is double-edged-sword technology,” says Glen Gowers, the chief executive of London-based AI company Basecamp Research. “On the one hand, we can use these models to cure cancers. In the wrong hands, [they] could be designing the next pandemic virus.”

Iran unveils ‘We will kill Trump’ banner – but US president may now be tempted to resume bombing

The Guardian, 04/11/2026

Iran this week unveiled a huge billboard and banners over Enqelab Square in central Tehran. The billboard pledged in English: “We will kill Trump” – elevating the degree of personal animus with which Donald Trump is viewed in official Iranian circles. The poster depicts the US president behind bars with his head bowed. And in a sense, given the US midterm election results on Tuesday, Iran has indeed killed Trump, or at least the second term of his presidency. Trump’s reverse is all the more piquant because it comes on the day Iran’s leadership celebrates the anniversary of the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran in 1979, an event that ensnared Jimmy Carter, and a reminder of how Iran has ruined the prospects of more than one US president.

Houthi health authorities say at least 7 killed in airstrike on Taiz

Associated Press, 04/11/2026

At least seven people, including two children, were killed in an airstrike Wednesday in Yemen’s southwestern province of Taiz, Houthi health authorities said.

China must make extradition request if it wants two Uyghur men returned, Thailand says

Associated Press, 04/11/2026

Thailand said Wednesday that China must make a formal extradition request if it wants two Uighur men returned, in response to growing concerns and fears of abuse or torture if they are returned. The two men, in letters shared last week, pleaded not to be sent back to China. Thailand's head of the National Security Council Chaipruak Doungprapat said his agency will not make a decision on their deportation, unlike the case of 40 Uighur men who were sent back to China last year. He said the process will go through the courts and the men will be able to defend themselves. If the court rules in their favour, it's possible for them to be sent to another country for resettlement. “But if the court rules against them, they will be extradited according to the treaty. This is the judicial process,” he said.

Also: AFP, (£) Reuters

Peacekeepers in Lebanon put `at risk´ by EU mission debate, minister says

PA Media, 04/11/2026

Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon are “concerned” about a “ridiculous narrative” that they will be sent to fight alongside the Israel Defence Forces against Hizballah, the Defence Minister has said. Helen McEntee told the Dáil that the concerns were outlined in reports to her from “senior management” within the Defence Forces that troops are being “put at risk” by the suggestion. The Fine Gael minister said she had to “push back on” an “absolutely ridiculous narrative” that Government would be sending Irish troops to fight with the IDF against Hizballah after the removal of the triple lock system for approving overseas deployments.

This summary is not a statement of Home Office policy or opinion. Note that these outlets have a local or regional UK focus and/or a daily reach of less than 100k, and a minority may be funded by foreign governments.

Woman arrested at London protest over Palestine Action ban

Hexham Courant, 05/11/2026

Kate Bramfitt, from Hexham, was detained during a demonstration against the Government’s ongoing ban on the campaign group Palestine Action.

UK government facing legal challenge over IHRA antisemitism definition in schools

Middle East Eye, 04/11/2026

The British government is being challenged legally over its recommendation for schools to adopt the contested IHRA definition of antisemitism.

Arrests as Palestine Action Supreme Court challenge kicks off

(£) The National, 04/11/2026

POLICE have been seen removing protesters from outside the Supreme Court as a major legal battle to challenge Palestine Action’s terror ban gets underway.

Also: Middle East Eye

Bomb stash in Belfast 'linked to right-wing extremists'

(£) The National, 04/11/2026

AN arsenal of explosive devices found in a loyalist area of Belfast is believed to be linked to right-wing terrorism, police have said.

Edinburgh group block factory entrance for the eighth time in three years in protest

Edinburgh Live, 04/11/2026

An Edinburgh group has blocked the entrance to a factory for the eighth time in three years with a sit-in protest.

Also: Edinburgh Evening News, (£) The National

Backlash over 'disgusting' anti-Israel vote at Birmingham City Council

Birmingham Live, 05/11/2026

A decision by councillors to review financial links between Birmingham City Council and firms and countries involved in 'atrocities' - including Israel - has been slammed by Jewish communities and the council's Reform UK and Conservative groups.

Sussex Weald MP criticises Crowborough asylum camp plans

The Argus, 05/11/2026

A planning application to extend the use of asylum accommodation until at least 2030 is now available online.

Afghan Migrants Allege Torture as Pakistan Steps Up Deportations

Asian Lite, 04/11/2026

Pakistan has stepped up the deportation of Afghan migrants from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province following the expiry of an October 31 deadline, with recently returned refugees alleging mistreatment, harassment and torture by Pakistani police while in detention.

Taliban Accuses Pakistan of Fueling Afghan Instability

Asian Lite, 05/11/2026

Afghanistan's Taliban administration has accused Pakistan's military of backing and training militants involved in cross-border infiltration.

Tehran warns of nightmare if Trump continues to strike Iran following 'blue tsunami' in US midterms

LBC News, 04/11/2026

Tehran has warned the US government that it will be faced with a "nightmare" if it betrays the public by continuing the war with Iran, in its first statement since the midterm elections.

This summary is not a statement of Home Office policy or opinion. Note that some of these outlets have lower reach with UK audiences and/or may be state/government funded. Please also note that foreign media outlets may not have equivalent editorial standards to UK-based outlets.

Palestine Action makes final appeal to UK's Supreme Court as new direct action group emerges

The National Newspaper, 04/11/2026

The banned campaign group Palestine Action will make its final appeal in the UK Supreme Court on Wednesday, seeking a reversal of its proscription, days after a new pro-Palestine group raided a defence company to smash satellite equipment with sledgehammers.

Also: Al Jazeera

Syrians see Israel as biggest regional threat, followed by Iran: Survey

Al Jazeera, 04/11/2026

Most Syrians view Israel as the greatest threat to the security of their country and the region, with Iran a distant second, according to a new nationwide survey.

Who determines Iran's fighting and negotiating position amid US threats?

Al Jazeera, 04/11/2026

Negotiations to prevent a further outbreak of war between Iran and the United States are being held, but the stagnant process has highlighted who holds power within Iran's government.

Palestinians return to ruined Hebron homes after Israel's 10-day siege

Al Jazeera, 04/11/2026

About 3,300 Palestinians have returned to their homes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank after more than a week of forced displacement, but residents are now faced with a difficult cleanup as withdrawing Israeli forces left behind destruction in homes and neighbourhoods.

From education to housing protests, Palestine's flag spreads across Europe

Al Jazeera, 04/11/2026

The Palestinian flag and traditional keffiyeh scarf have been regular appearances at recent demonstrations across Europe over housing, education and the cost of living.

Al Jazeera (Middle East, Arabic Language)

• Democrats won Congress. But can they deliver on their promises?; Has India’s democracy failed its Muslims? Jailed scholar triggers debate; Ukraine raises death toll from Russian strike on Zaporizhia to 40 people; Israel’s Herzog accepts vote results, open talks on forming a government.

Al Arabiya (Middle East, Arabic Language)

• Iran says two tankers and tugboat caught fire in Strait of Hormuz; MBS, al-Sharaa hold talks in Riyadh, oversee several Saudi-Syrian agreements; Vance repudiates Iran war after US electoral defeat; Trump says Iran has been worth it despite election losses; US slaps sanctions on Indian, Turkish firms and people for aiding Iran.

Geo TV (Pakistan, Urdu and English)

• Trump under pressure on Iran war after Republicans’’ midterms defeat; South Korea announces plans to deploy military mission to help keep Hormuz open; Iran’s supreme leader threatens wider war if US resumes strikes; Govt reduces petrol prices by Rs7.06 per litre, diesel by Rs3.71.