Headline

Teen Terrorist Jailed For Life Over Plot To Attack Soldiers, Police

Published

11 months ago

June 2, 2023

A teenage Islamic State fanatic has been jailed for life for plotting a terror attack on British police officers and soldiers after being radicalised online during the pandemic.

Muslim convert, Matthew King, 19, expressed a desire to kill military personnel as he prepared to stake out a British Army barracks in Stratford, east London.

He discussed his plans and shared a “gory fantasy” with an online girlfriend with whom he struck up an adolescent flirtation, the Old Bailey heard.

His desires to launch an attack in Britain or travel to Syria to join the so-called Islamic State were thwarted when his mother reported him to the Prevent counter-terrorism programme.

Authorities were also tipped off through an anti-terrorist hotline after he posted a video on a WhatsApp group on April 13 last year.

While in custody, King had made violent threats to “behead an imam” and “kill and chop up staff,” the court was told.

In January, King, from Wickford in Essex, pleaded guilty to the preparation of terrorist acts between December 22, 2021 and May 17, 2022.

On Friday, he was handed a discretionary life sentence with a minimum term of six years in the first terrorism sentencing in England and Wales to be televised.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC praised King’s mother, saying, “She took the very bold step of alerting when she had concerns for her son. That cannot have been an easy thing to do in the first place and in my view, she absolutely did the right thing.”

Lucraft disclosed that King is a dangerous offender who carries a risk of future harm to the public, despite claims by his barrister that the defendant is on the path to de-radicalisation.

He told King, “I note that it would have been much easier for you to attack a police officer in the street than it would be for you to join ISIS in Syria and so, of the two terrorist acts you intended to carry out, the former was more likely than the latter on the evidence.”

Setting out aggravating factors, the judge said King was “motivated by hostility towards non-believers”, was in contact with other extremists, used aliases to hide his identity, and failed to heed warnings from his family and others in mosques.

In mitigation, Hossein Zahir KC said King is “immature” and the prospect that he would carry out either of his terrorist plans is “remote.”

The defence barrister argued that, despite incidents of “offensive and abusive” behaviour in custody, King is “slowly and steadily” disengaging from the excesses of extremism.

After the sentencing, Scotland Yard described King as a “committed, self-initiated terrorist” who “self-radicalised” online during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Commander Dominic Murphy, who leads the Met’s counter-terrorism command, said, “We had seen an escalation in Matthew King’s behaviour, in his reconnaissance, in his online activity.

“I genuinely believe this was an imminent terrorist attack. Without the public’s help and without the efficient investigation of my officers, officers from the eastern region and members of the intelligence community, we wouldn’t have been able to disrupt what, for me, was an imminent attack.”

Setting out the facts at a previous hearing, prosecutor Paul Jarvis had described how King had developed an “entrenched Islamist extremist mindset.”

In his early teens, King “dabbled with drugs” and was expelled from school after becoming aggressive, eventually leaving education entirely at the age of 16.

Around 2020, he became interested in Islam, began to attend mosques and watched Muslim videos on YouTube.

By May 2021, his family noticed he had become more extreme and his mother became concerned he was watching material online promoting hatred, Mr Jarvis said.

He had developed a friendship with a girl, identified in court only as ‘Miss A,” whom he met online.

He spoke of wanting to get his hands on an American or British Marine and told the girl, “I just wanna die a martyr.”

When Miss A appeared to support and encourage him, King responded, “I guess jihadi love is powerful. I just want to kill people.”

In further graphic chat, Miss A talked about torturing, mutilating and beheading a soldier and then cutting up the body parts.

As part of his terror attack planning, King set up an online account with the retailer Knife Warehouse, searched for ISIS tactical training videos in the use of knives and bought “tactical gloves” and goggles.

On one occasion, he went into his sister’s bedroom dressed in his combat outfit and asked if she liked his clothes.

King made videos as he checked out potential targets, including Stratford Army barracks, police officers outside Stratford Magistrates’ Court, and the railway station.

Some of his hostile reconnaissance videos were overlaid with nasheeds—Islamic chants—and he posted on Snapchat, “Target acquired.”

Meanwhile, King had searched the internet for terrorist killers, including the Manchester Arena bomber and Jihadi John.

While planning acts of terrorism in Britain, King had also expressed a desire to join the Islamic State in Syria and sought advice on a WhatsApp group about the best way to get there.

Authorities were alerted after King posted on WhatsApp an image of a male holding a knife with the words, “Those who said that there is no jihad and no battle. They are lying!”

King was arrested at his home on May 18 of last year by officers from the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command.

He described his formal Islamic name as “Abdul Kalashnikov” and told police, “The only thing that is black and white is the sharia, the law of Allah.”

King’s barrister told the court that more recent conversations with his supportive family showed signs that the defendant was turning away from his radical beliefs.

And in a prison phone call, King told his mother, “I’m not extreme anymore.”

NAN

Headline

UK Varsity Offers Nigerians N44m Scholarships

Published

12 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Editor

The University of East Anglia, situated in Norwich, United Kingdom, has announced a £33,150 (N44.3 million) worth of scholarships and travel costs of £4000 (N5.3 million) to Nigerians and other applicants seeking masters in Plant and Health in its institution.

The funding, according to information gathered on the school’s website on Wednesday, is the David Sainsbury Scholarships in Global Plant Health, which is fully funded for students planning to travel to the UK for study.

The scholarship also covers postgraduate researcher stipend level, which they said would be determined later for the session of admission, adding that the previous academic year was £18,622.

The university also noted that the application is for the 2024/2025 Academic Session, which will begin in September.

While wooing prospective and eligible applicants, the school wrote, “The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) offers the prestigious David Sainsbury Scholarships in Global Plant Health to a limited number of applicants on the MSc in Global Plant Health.

“Each full scholarship will cover up to the full cost of the tuition fee (£33,150 for 2024-25), maintenance grant (exact value at the UKRI postgraduate researcher stipend level to be determined for 2024-25; in 2023-24, it was £18,622), and an additional £4,000 for travel costs (subject to valid economy class travel receipts)

“You are eligible for a full scholarship under these terms if you meet all these criteria: You are in receipt of an offer of a place on the UEA MSc in Global Plant Health; You are a national of or domiciled in a least-developed, low-income, or lower-middle-income country or territory as defined by the Overseas Development Agency Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list, version 2024-25 for entry in 2024-25 academic year.”

There are a limited number of scholarships available, and these will be awarded throughout the year, so you are advised to apply early.

The institution further added that once the criteria for admission are met, the applicants are eligible for receipts of an offer of a place on the UEA MSc in Global Plant Health.

It further advised that more scholarships will be updated on their website in May while encouraging applicants to always check for updates.

Headline

B-I-Z-A-R-R-E! Mother Sets Self, Two Daughters Ablaze

Published

13 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Editor

A migrant mother-of-two who felt isolated in her new Australian home drove to a remote area and set herself and her two daughters on fire, after telling her husband she was taking the girls to McDonald’s.

James Swan Palakamannil has given the Coroners Court of Victoria a harrowing account of what his life has been like since his wife Jasmine Thomas and daughters Carolyn and Evlyn died in a Melbourne car fire two years ago.

“To see the coffin go down with all of your favourite people in it changes your life,” he told the court on Tuesday, April 23, The Age reported.

“I will never be the same again. Never get to touch, feel or see them again. They will remain pictures on a screen.

“On March 24 (2022), the sky became three stars richer.”

Mr Palakamannil remembers how three-year-old Carolyn would drag a chair to reach the front door handle and open it as he arrived home from work every day. She would always be wearing her favourite colour, pink.

Her older sister, six-year-old Evlyn, “was the boss of the house”.

“She wore the pants,” Mr Palakamannil told the court.

“I will never be the same again” Husband speaks after his wife drove to remote location and set herself and two daughters on fire

Their mother Jasmine Thomas suffered from postnatal depression and then became paranoid during the Covid pandemic.

On the night of March 24, 2022, Mr Palakamannil had returned to their Lyndhurst home in Melbourne’s south-east to find their daughters playing on a mobile phone and his wife laying in bed. A short time later, Ms Thomas told him she was taking the girls to McDonald’s.

However, CCTV footage showed the mother first went to a service station in nearby suburb Cranbourne West where she bought and filled a jerry can. Ms Thomas then drove herself and her daughters to a McDonald’s car park where they sat until about 7.30pm.

Less than 10 minutes later, she drove to a secluded spot on the Western Port Highway, covered her car in fuel and set it alight with herself and two daughters inside.

Emergency services rushed to the scene after a passer-by reported the fire, which was brought under control in 15 minutes. Ms Thomas, Evlyn and Carolyn all died in the horrific blaze.

“I will never be the same again” Husband speaks after his wife drove to remote location and set herself and two daughters on fire.

“Suddenly, there is no one waiting for me at the door,” Mr Palakamannil told the court through tears.

“[I’m now] living in an empty and silent house.” Mr Palakamannil and Ms Thomas had married in India in 2012 after meeting on an arranged marriage website.

The couple, who were both born in Kuwait, moved to Australia and were granted permanent residency in 2015. Mr Palakamannil recalled how the Gulf War inspired him to teach Evlyn to be a good person.

“I watched her take her first steps, say her first words. I’d give her pep talks before bedtime … about famine and the war and how kids go hungry, about global warming and climate change to put a desire in her heart to … be a force for change,” he said.

Ms Thomas worked in Melbourne hospitals as a nurse but unexpectedly resigned from Mulgrave Private Hospital in 2021.

However, she stayed as a casual employee at Dandenong Hospital. During this time she told her family she was having marriage problems.

Coroner John Cain noted Ms Thomas had contacted a number of professional services, including police, and experienced postnatal depression. He found those services had no opportunity to prevent her murder-suicide.

“Despite child protection and Victoria Police holding concerns about her mental health, as she was not assessed as acutely unwell and did not wish to engage in services, she did not receive any formal assistance or diagnosis,” Cain said.

Instead, the court heard how Ms Thomas was socially isolated with her problems often disregarded by her extended family.

“My late wife, Jasmine, tried her best. I wish she had … sought help. She struggled to connect and engage with people and make friends. When she couldn’t any more … in the process she took out my most prized possessions,” Mr Palakamannil said.

Headline

Cheers! Pilot Proposes To Flight Attendant-girlfriend In Front Of Passengers[VIDEO/PHOTOS]

Published

14 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Editor

A pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend who had no idea what was about to unfold and the video has now gone viral.

Konrad Hanc, who is the captain of Polish Airlines’ Embrarer 195, was piloting the flight to Krakow when he staged an impressive proposal.

Footage shows Captain Hanc coming out of the cockpit to introduce himself to passengers on the PA system. He then began tearing up as he spoke of his love, before going down on one knee and popping the question.

“On today’s flight there is a very special person and I hope that she doesn’t expect anything,” he said.

“Ladies and gentlemen, about one and a half years ago in this job I met the most wonderful person that completely changed my life.

“You are most precious to me. You are my greatest dream come true. This is why I have to ask you a favour, honey.”

“Will you marry me?” he asked while getting down on one knee. His eyes swelled with tears as he waited patiently for his girlfriend’s answer, holding a bunch of flowers handed to him by a flight attendant.

Paula could be seen running down the aisle of the plane before leaping into the arms of her future husband.

“I don’t know if this is the right hand for this,” she laughed as she presented her hand for the ring.

Passengers watched on in anticipation for her answer with one yelling, “Did she say yes?” to which the beaming captain responded: “She said yes!”