Belfast attack suspect was granted asylum based on controversial fast-track questionnaire– rmx.news News Source EXCERPT:
The Sudanese asylum seeker charged in connection with the attempted beheading in Belfast on Monday was granted refugee status in Britain through a fast-track Home Office process that avoided a full face-to-face interview.
The Daily Mail reported on Thursday that the 30-year-old suspect, identified as Hadi Alodid, was allowed to remain in the U.K. after completing a 10-page questionnaire under the Streamlined Asylum Process, a system introduced under the then-Conservative government to help clear tens of thousands of unresolved asylum cases.
Alodid’s case was reportedly handled under the scheme, which was set up as ministers sought to reduce a backlog of 92,000 claims. The process was overseen by then-home secretary Suella Braverman and then-immigration minister Robert Jenrick, both of whom have since joined Reform UK, the party topping national polling in Britain.
According to the tabloid newspaper, the fast-track programme was known inside parts of the Home Office as the “grant 0factory,” allowing applicants from countries with very high asylum grant rates to have their claims processed without the usual in-person interview.
It initially applied to selected nationalities and was later extended to Sudanese applicants in June 2023. Alodid had travelled from Dublin to Belfast by bus in February of that year and was granted a five-year refugee visa in September 2023.
The Streamlined Asylum Process also covered applicants from countries including Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, and Yemen, despite significant security concerns surrounding particular entrants from those countries.
Migration Watch UK, which campaigns for stricter border controls, warned at the time that the scheme was a “dangerous folly” and an “asylum amnesty in all but name.”
A Conservative source told the Daily Mail that the policy had been driven by then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak despite internal resistance at the Home Office. “The Home Office at the time did not want to do the fast-track scheme, but Rishi forced it on them,” the source said.
The revelation that the suspect was offered an easy ride into Britain prompted an angry response from Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe, who said Jenrick and Braverman had “serious questions to answer” over the system introduced while they were in government.
“This is traitorous,” he wrote on X, before calling for the asylum system to be abolished, mass deportations, and a referendum on the death penalty for offenders who carry out extreme knife attacks in Britain.
Alodid has now been charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie, 44. The victim reportedly lost his left eye and suffered wounds to his neck and back.
Maitiu Mag Tighearnan, a 32-year-old father, has been praised after intervening in the attack with a hurling stick. Tighearnan said he had arrived at the scene by chance and acted to “protect a young lad.”
“This was late at night, and so we thought we better go and break it up,” he said. “He shouted to me that the man attacking the other had a knife and to get something to help. At this point, I thought someone was going to lose their life.”
“Instinct took over and I ran over and I smashed this guy over the head with a hurling stick,” he said. “Right on the flat side, about three times. As hard as I could.”
“I just hope the victim pulls through and manages to recover as best he can,” he added.
The Daily Mail also reported that Ogilvie had survived a horrific attack in Scotland 25 years earlier. In 2001, he was tortured and set on fire in a flat in Livingston by drug dealer David McLeave, who was later jailed for 14 years by the High Court in Edinburgh.
According to the report, Ogilvie had been given the drug GHB, burned with a cigarette, stripped, doused in aftershave, and set alight while unconscious. He fled back to Northern Ireland after the attack and later reported the ordeal to authorities.
Houses are being burned down in Belfast in response to yesterday’s attempted beheading of a man by a Sudanese migrant.
Videos are surfacing of several HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation — properties frequently contracted by the UK Home Office to accommodate asylum seekers)… pic.twitter.com/X7kD94nWX9
Monday’s attack sparked major unrest in Belfast, where homes and cars were set alight after hundreds of people took to the streets on both Tuesday and Wednesday night. Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) — properties whereby several unrelated individuals share facilities, a type of arrangement frequently used by the Home Office to accommodate asylum seekers — were targeted in attacks.
A new poll from the European Council on Foreign Relations found that only 1 in 10 Europeans consider the U.S. an ally, while only 50% viewed the U.S. as a “necessary partner.” 25% of those polled consider the U.S. an adversary.
Police have arrested a Sudanese male on suspicion of attempted murder after what has been called an attempted beheading on the streets of Belfast.
The PSNI were cagey in their earlier statement when they called their suspect merely a man “believed to be Somalian”. This caution seems to have been justified as they’ve now rectified that, saying in a new statement that’s just been published that they can “confirm that the man in custody is Sudanese and not Somalian, as initially believed”. The force cited a “fast-time investigation” and said further updates would follow.
There was also a minor update on the victim, with the police saying they confirmed “that the injured man remains in a serious condition in hospital”. They also noted “inaccurate online posts regarding the victim’s condition”, but without any further context.
We’ll keep the updates coming as we get them.
The man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder over a brutal attack in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the United Kingdom on Monday night has been revealed to be a “believed to be Somalian” in his 30s, police said. An update from the Police Service of Northern Ireland on Tuesday morning said the man had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on Kinnaird Avenue, north Belfast, around 22:30.
An injured man, unidentified other than to say he is in his 40s, was transported to hospital. He is in serious condition and police say he has received “significant injuries to his face, neck and back”.
The PSNI declared a critical incident after the attack and a spokesman said an investigation is underway to determine a motive. They said: “This brutal attack will have sent shockwaves through the community causing real concern. I want to reassure the local community that we are treating this attack with the utmost seriousness. Our investigation is continuing at pace. Community safety is our priority and we are currently engaging with local representatives and residents to provide reassurance and support.
“Our officers were on the scene within minutes and we wish to acknowledge the members of the public who strived to save the man from further attack. Their willingness to step forward to help another person shows incredible bravery and community spirit.”
LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Sunday to discuss ongoing support for Ukraine.
The U.K., France and Germany, the so-called E3 group of European nations, have been prominent backers of Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The U.K. and France lead the “coalition of the willing” initiative to provide security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a peace process.
The meeting on Sunday evening comes in the wake of a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack that targeted Saint Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, underscoring Kyiv’s growing ability to hit deep inside Russia. Gov. Alexander Beglov said three people sustained minor injuries in Saturday’s attack, during which residents were advised to stay indoors.
France on Tuesday banned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country, the French foreign minister said, slamming him for actively promoting the annexation of the West Bank and the “re-colonisation” of Gaza.
“Four leaders of settler organisations, and twenty-one violent settlers” were also banned from French territory, Jean-Noël Barrot wrote on X, condemning a “policy that the overwhelming majority of the international community, firmly committed to the two-state solution, cannot accept”.
The minister said the announcement “imposing new sanctions on those responsible for the intensification of settlement-building and violence in the West Bank” was in tandem with Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway.
Smotrich, of the far-right Religious Zionist party, is the second Israeli minister France has banned from its territory in recent months.
Last month, France banned National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for mocking bound activists seized by Israeli soldiers on a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid for the besieged Palestinian territory.
British lawmakers have condemned the apparent attempted beheading on the streets of Belfast as “sickening”, “barbaric”, and “medieval” as police announced the arrest of a man thought to be from Sudan. Meanwhile, left-wing politicians have warned of a potential retaliation from the so-called “far-right”.
Footage shared on social media appeared to show a man, seemingly of African descent, repeatedly stabbing at the neck and head area of a man on the ground in an apparent beheading attempt. A police update on Tuesday morning said the suspect, earlier said to be Somalian, is actually of Sudanese origin.
A French fighter jet shot down a drone that entered NATO ally Latvia’s airspace from Russia on Monday, the latest security incident along Europe’s eastern border while Russia wages war on Ukraine.
NATO command ordered the shoot-down after it was determined that Russia had used electromagnetic warfare in the area, Latvian Defense Minister Raivis Melnis told reporters. The drone was brought down Monday morning near the village of Berzgale, roughly 20 miles from the border. No property damage or injuries were reported.
NORMANDY, France — U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned about the invasion of Europe by third-world migrants in a Saturday speech commemorating the 82nd anniversary of D-Day. Hegseth spoke at the Normandy American Cemetery, where thousands of Americans are buried. All but one died storming the beaches on D-Day or in the subsequent Battle of Normandy during World War II.
“Sadly, today, different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies. Beaches in Spain and Italy and Greece and Bulgaria,” Hegseth said. “Boats and men arrive. When will European capitals do something about that invasion? Or is it too late? I pray not, and I believe not.”
Twenty-nine WWII veterans attended the ceremony, and 107-year-old Arthur Rose, a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy on D-Day, read a letter he sent home days after the invasion. French and American flags whipped on their poles as wind blasted through the cemetery and waves of rain and sunshine alternated, giving Hegseth an appropriate backdrop to offer a stark warning to Europe: They face yet another existential crisis today, this time from third-world migrants intent on destroying the West.
The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) was expected last year but may not be published until July – experts warn the UK needs significant spending to close big holes in its defence.
David Lammy has defended the Government’s plans for the UK’s defence, saying the pledge for spending to reach 3 percent of national income is “absolutely sacrosanct “.
Amid delays to an investment plan for the future, the deputy prime minister said “the money will be found” to set out how new equipment and infrastructure will be procured, as he faced questions about which departments may face cuts to fund the armed forces. The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) was expected last year but may not be published until July amid reported wrangling within Government over how to pay for the plans.
The U.S. House has passed a funding bill for the Ukraine War in the amount of $18 billion. The bill passed 226-195 with the help of 18 Republicans who crossed party lines to help the Democrats pass the funding bill.
Germany’s long-running “firewall” that sees the country’s legacy parties exclude cooperation with the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) is moving further out of step with a large section of the electorate, with new polling showing voters now evenly divided over the governing CDU’s refusal to work with the nationalist party.
According to the latest Deutschlandtrend survey by Infratest Dimap for ARD and Welt, 47 percent of Germans now say the CDU’s exclusion of cooperation with the AfD is not right, while the same proportion say it is right. That marks a significant shift since September 2024, with opposition to the stance rising by 12 points and support falling by 13 points.
Russia has accidentally dropped at least 25 glide bombs on its own territory and within occupied Ukraine this year, British military officials said in their latest assessment of the conflict in Ukraine.
After President Trump had signaled the U.S. might scale back its military presence in Europe, he is now signaling both continued troop rotations AND increases in nuclear weapons deployment.
LONDON — British authorities said Monday they blocked Hasan Piker, a Turkish American online streamer, and another political commentator from entering the U.K. to speak at public events.
Piker, a liberal political commentator who is frequently critical of U.S. President Donald Trump, Israel and the war in Gaza, has 2.8 million followers on Twitch.
The Home Office said that the electronic travel authorization, or ETA, for Piker and Cenk Uygur, who hosts the “Young Turks” online political talk show and is reportedly Piker’s uncle, were canceled “on the grounds that their presence in the U.K. may not be conducive to the public good.”
The government argues that deeper cooperation with the EU is in Britain’s national interest.
But the proposals have drawn criticism from some Eurosceptic lawmakers – particularly over the only major non-trade measure under discussion: rejoining the Erasmus+ exchange programme.
Erasmus+ enables students and other learners from participating countries to study, train or undertake placements abroad.
The UK withdrew from the programme following Brexit and launched the Turing Scheme as its replacement in 2021.
Thousands of households across the UK could suddenly find they lose access to premium television channels, including popular content from Sky. The huge block follows a major crackdown on illegal streaming with Police confirming that they have shut down a large illicit data centre.
It’s thought this platform was supplying thousands of users with unauthorised access to premium sports broadcasts, blockbuster movies, and subscription-based television channels. The operation has now caused widespread disruption to pirate streaming networks across the country, leaving many unable to access the services they were enjoying without paying for official subscriptions from Sky.
The British police arrived on a bloody scene in Hampshire, England. An Englishman, Henry Nowak, aged 18, had been stabbed by a Sikh man. The man accused Henry of being racist, so the police arrested the young man, not the Sikh who stabbed him.
A Russian drone struck an apartment building in NATO-member Romania, its defence ministry said on Friday, wounding two people in a city near the Ukrainian border.
“During the night of May 28–29, the Russian Federation resumed drone attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, near the river border with Romania,” the Romanian defence ministry said, condemning an “irresponsible escalation”.
“One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, was tracked by radar as far as the southern part of the city of Galati, and crashed onto the roof of an apartment building, with the impact triggering a fire,” it said.
KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian drone that was part of an overnight attack on Ukraine crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people, Romanian authorities said Friday.
In response to the crash, NATO member Romania asked the alliance for a faster transfer of anti-drone capabilities, the Foreign Ministry said, calling the drone’s flight a serious violation of international law.
Ukrainian forces shot down 217 drones overnight on Friday according to the country’s air force. In total, Russia attacked with 232 drones and one ballistic missile. Hits were recorded in 14 areas, the air force said.
The drone was tracked by radar in Romanian airspace and crashed onto the roof of a
As the left discusses increasing diversity and acceptance, violence is escalating across Germany. Today on the streets of Berlin, four Turkish-Kurdish gangs are fighting for dominance in the drug trade, and
According to Manuel Ostermann, federal chairman of the DPolG Federal Police Union, these gangs are extremely well-connected and structured, maintain global financial networks, and know no bounds in their fight for power.
“They don’t hesitate for a second to use firearms or explosives. They have no inhibitions,” he tells Bild. “This is certainly not the end of the escalation. Today, it’s no longer just brawls, but open gun violence and hand grenades.”
Truth is now criminal hate speech if used to “incite hatred,” according to a Belgian court.
The ruling came in the case of anti-migration activist Dries Van Langenhove, who said in a post on X that, “it is only due to a technicality that I could not immediately be sent to jail —to the judge’s frustration.”
Van Langenhove’s conviction was based on a lecture given in 2024 at Catholic University Leuven, in which he linked mass migration to “crime and a deterioration of our quality of life.”
He said, “Every single point I made was 100% the truth and based on scientific evidence.”
Ukraine has a list of 500 targets in Belarus ready if Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko joins the war with Vladimir Putin, a senior Ukrainian military commander has warned.
Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, advised Belarus against interfering in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
“To the Minsk Gauleiter Lukashesku: a barking dog does not bite. A bird of prey is different. The first 500 targets are already on the list. Free and very practical advice: don’t get in Ukraine’s way,” Brovdi said in a Facebook post, as reported by Ukrinform.
