Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Daughter of Briton jailed in Iran back in UK
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Richard Ratcliffe embraces his daughter, Gabriella, after she landed back in the UK
The five-year-old daughter of a British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran on spying charges has returned to the UK.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 40, a charity worker from London, has been detained for three years over the allegations which she denies.
Gabriella – who has been living with her grandparents in Tehran – has returned to start school.
Her father Richard said it had been a “long journey” to having her home.
“Gabriella came back to us late at night, a bit uncertain seeing those she only remembered from the phone,” he said.
“Now she is peacefully sleeping next to me. And I am just watching.”
Thanking the British Embassy and the Iranian Foreign Ministry, he added: “It has been a long journey to have her home, with bumps right until the end.”
Gabriella has visited her mother at least once a week since her arrest in April 2016.
‘Job not yet done’
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family say she was in Iran to introduce her daughter to relatives.
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Richard and Nazanin agreed that Gabriella should return to the UK to begin school, the family said
Last week, they told the Times that her parents had agreed Gabriella should return to the UK for the start of the school year in September but postponed the decision after Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was taken to a psychiatric hospital.
Mr Ratcliffe had told the BBC that his wife was hoping for a “magic” last-minute release to enable her to come home with Gabriella.
Speaking after being re-united with his daughter, he added: “Of course the job is not yet done until Nazanin is home. It was a hard goodbye for Nazanin and all her family. But let us hope this homecoming unlocks another.”
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Gabriella has lived in Iran for most of her life
The family’s MP, Labour’s Tulip Siddiq, said Gabriella’s parents have made a decision that “no family” should have to make.
“It is heart-warming to see Gabriella reunited with her father after 1,300 days in Iran, but heart-breaking that she is separated from her mother Nazanin,” Ms Siddiq said.
“Nazanin is at breaking point, and today is yet another reminder that she has been failed at the very highest levels of government.”
Hampstead and Kilburn MP Ms Siddiq called on Iran to end its “hostage diplomacy” and release Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
Last month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for the release of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe during a meeting with Iran’s president.
In 2017, when he was foreign secretary, Mr Johnson had to apologise after saying she was in Iran “teaching people journalism” – despite her family’s insistence she was there on holiday.
Hillingdon Tube stabbing: Murder victim ‘was going to Arsenal match’
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Anne Robinson/Twitter/PA Wire
Emergency services were called to Hillingdon Underground station at shortly before 16:00 BST
A man stabbed to death at a London Underground station was a football fan on his way to a match, the BBC has been told.
The Arsenal supporter was killed in an “unprovoked attack” on the platform at Hillingdon station on Tuesday.
He had been on his way to the Emirates Stadium to see the Gunners face Nottingham Forest in the third round of the Carabao Cup, a source said.
It is the third murder investigation on the Tube network this year.
No arrests have been made over the attack, which Det Supt Gary Richardson described as “a shocking act of violence”.
He said the British Transport Police (BTP) investigation was in its “early stages”.
“We believe a group of young men were involved in an altercation on the platform before one of the men received a fatal stab wound,” he said.
Police were called to the station in west London shortly before 16:00 BST and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Mike Quinn/Geograph
The man was pronounced dead at the scene at Hillingdon station
Danielle Foster, who was driving past Hillingdon station at the time of the stabbing, said upon “hearing so many sirens, I knew something terrible had happened”.
“Lots of people were being turned away from the station as it had been closed,” she said, adding: “Then the police helicopter began circling the scene.”
Hillingdon station was closed by Transport for London (TfL) while police searched the area.
The station has since reopened.
So far in 2019 more than 110 murder investigations have been launched across London by the Metropolitan Police and BTP.
The other two murder investigations carried out by BTP happened after killings at Queensbury Tube station in March and Elephant and Castle Tube station at the start of this month.
Nine London Waterloo platforms closed by lineside fire
The fire has caused “significant damage” to cabling outside the station
Commuters have been told not to travel from London Waterloo during the rush hour after a fire closed nine platforms.
The lineside blaze damaged cabling outside the station, meaning trains cannot use platforms 16-24.
Network Rail said “significant damage” had been caused to equipment, meaning trains will be delayed or cancelled.
Disruption is expected for the rest of the day while the Thursday morning rush hour may also be affected.
Network Rail said its engineers would be working through the night to fix the damage.
Waterloo is the busiest and largest railway station in the UK.
The platforms which are closed are normally used by trains serving Windsor, Reading, Hounslow, Richmond and Kingston.
However, services from other platforms are also being affected because trains have to be diverted or revised.
- Circular services via Hounslow, Richmond, Strawberry Hill and Kingston have been cancelled
- Trains between Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside are diverted via Kingston
- Trains between Waterloo and Exeter/Salisbury are terminated and will restart from Basingstoke
Passengers were warned that services on other routes may also be subject to short-notice cancellations or delays.
In a joint statement, Network Rail and South Western Railway said commuters were “strongly advised to use alternative routes where possible and check their journeys before travelling at southwesternrailway.com for ticket acceptance and service details”.
Some passengers took to social media to express their frustration at the travel disruption.
One Twitter user described the situation as an “absolute shambles”, while others complained about being given the wrong or no information at all by train station staff.
County Championship: Roland-Jones gives Middlesex control against Glamorgan
| Specsavers County Championship Division Two, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff (day two): |
| Middlesex 384 Malan 166; Carey 4-54 & 189-5 Robson 73*, Simpson 56 |
| Glamorgan 171 Lloyd 67; Helm 5-53, Roland-Jones 4-45 |
| Middlesex (7 pts) lead Glamorgan (3 pts) by 402 runs |
| Scorecard |
Middlesex have a formidable lead of 402 over Glamorgan at 189-5 in their second innings, going into day three in Cardiff.
Sam Robson (73*) and John Simpson (56) have strengthened the visitors’ grip.
Toby Roland-Jones (4-45) made the most of a helpful pitch as Glamorgan were hustled out for an inadequate 171.
David Lloyd’s 67 was the top home score, while Tom Helm (5-53) wrapped up the innings with his fifth wicket after his first-evening purple patch.
Lloyd shared half-century stands with Billy Root and Chris Cooke before the visitors’ seamers re-established control, as Glamorgan’s last five wickets mustered just 28 runs.
A lead of 213 runs was not enough to persuade Dawid Malan to enforce the follow-on, wanting to avoid batting last on the most bowler-friendly Championship pitch of the season in Cardiff.
Although Middlesex slumped to 85-4, they were never under pressure thanks to their first-innings lead, and the Robson-Simpson century partnership blossomed in the evening sunshine to grind down Glamorgan hopes of avoiding a first defeat of the campaign.
Glamorgan vice-captain David Lloyd told BBC Sport Wales:
“A very difficult day, they hit their lengths more regularly than we did, then we started well with the ball in the second dig but it’s always tough when you’re chasing the game.
“It’s a wicket where you have to be positive and get forward because it’s starting to go more up and down- it’s about looking to score rather than sit there and wait for things to happen.
“We’ve showed in previous games that we can battle draws out so you never know, we’ll have to try to bat the rest of the game and we can do it if we get our mindsets right.”
Middlesex bowler Tom Helm told BBC Radio London:
“It took a bit longer to get the fifth one than I had in my head last night, but Toby had four and I’m very happy with it.
“If you get the ball in the right area, the odd one zips through and it changed a bit from day one.
“There’s so long left in this game, we can bat for as long as we want and it’ll be interesting to see how the morning goes, they’ll come out fired up but we’ll see how we go.”
Electric scooter rider killed in Battersea lorry crash
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Police said no arrests had been made following the crash on Friday morning
A woman riding an electric scooter has been killed in a crash with a lorry in south-west London.
The 35-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene at the Queen Circus roundabout, Battersea following the crash at about 08:30 BST.
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said her next of kin had yet to be informed and no arrests had been made.
In July last year a cyclist was killed at the roundabout after being hit by a bin lorry.
A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “We sent an advanced paramedic, two ambulance crews, an incident response officer and two medics in cars to the scene, with the first of our medics arriving in under four minutes.
“Sadly, despite the extensive efforts of medics, a woman died at the scene.”
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Electric scooters are illegal to ride on public roads
Transport for London and Wandsworth Council redesigned the roundabout in 2015, which trialled the use of raised kerbs and separate traffic lights to keep cyclists and vehicles segregated at junctions.
Concerns had been raised that the new layout was too complicated.
While the cause of the crash is unknown, e-scooters are illegal to ride on public roads, including in cycle lanes or on the pavement.
A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: “We extend our deepest sympathies to all those involved in this tragic incident, and fully support the police as they carry out their investigations.
“Safety is at the heart of all our road laws and it is important that retailers continue to remind people at the point of sale that it is illegal to ride e-scooters on public roads.”
An electric scooter, or e-scooter, is similar to a traditional children’s scooter but has a motorised engine attached.
London Victoria derailment hits Gatwick Express and Southern trains
No Gatwick Express trains are running while Southern has warned of a “severely reduced” service
An engineering train has derailed in south London causing the closure of the Gatwick Express service.
The train partly left the tracks at low speed outside Victoria station at about 03:00 BST.
No Gatwick Express trains are running, while Southern warned its services would be “severely reduced”.
The train has moved and the track will now be “assessed for damage” and repaired if necessary through the night, according to Southern.
Disruption is expected to last throughout Tuesday but Gatwick Express and Southern said a normal service was expected on Wednesday.
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Network Rail
The 50-tonne train has been cut from its two wagons and been lifted back on the track
The train was stuck across a number of tracks meaning platforms nine to 13 at Victoria were blocked, while services were not able to use the “slow/stopping” lines to and from Clapham Junction.
Some trains were also unable to leave the Battersea depot – further reducing the number of services that could run.
Recovery teams cut the 50-tonne train from its two wagons and lifted it back on to the track using hydraulic jacks.
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Network Rail
Engineers managed to remove the train from the tracks by 18:05
Trains running through Gatwick Airport were also disrupted by a separate signalling fault and a passenger who was injured as they left a carriage, which led to one platform becoming blocked.
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Dr Niall Goulding
Southern said the train was “obstructing a complex section of track on one of the busiest routes”
Some commuters took to social media as they found their trains had been cancelled.
Other stations, including London Bridge, also became congested as people tried to find alternative routes.
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A Network Rail spokesperson said passengers should travel “via London Bridge or London Blackfriars as trains will be delayed, diverted or cancelled”.
Train tickets for Southern and Gatwick Express services have been accepted for reasonable routes on other services.
Train services affected:
- Gatwick Express services are completely suspended
- Services to Sutton, Epsom Downs and Epsom to and from London Victoria are reduced
- Some mainline services will be diverted to London Bridge instead of London Victoria
- Southern services between London Victoria and Reigate are cancelled and passengers are advised to use Thameslink to and from Redhill and then Great Western Railway between Reigate and Redhill
- Services between London Victoria and East Grinstead will call additionally at Selhurst and Streatham Common
- Services between Milton Keynes and East Croydon will call additionally at Wandsworth Common when not already booked to do so
- Services between London Victoria and Horsham via Sutton will call additionally at Ewell East
- Southern trains from Sutton to London Bridge via Wimbledon will be cancelled. Thameslink will be running as normal
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County Championship: Shaw and Higgins put Gloucestershire on top against Middlesex
| Specsavers County Championship Division Two, Merchant Taylors’ School, Northwood (day one): |
| Middlesex 172: Malan 28; Shaw 4-33, Higgins 3-52 |
| Gloucestershire 59-2: Dent 27*; Roland-Jones 2-15 |
| Middlesex 0 pts, Gloucestershire 3 pts |
| Scorecard |
Josh Shaw took three prize scalps as Gloucestershire triggered a Middlesex collapse which put Division Two’s bottom club in trouble at Northwood.
Shaw removed Sam Robson (23), Dawid Malan (28) and Nick Gubbins (26) in his 4-33, and Ryan Higgins took 3-52 as his old club slipped from 98-2 to 139-8.
They were eventually bowled out for 172 before two Toby Roland-Jones wickets in reply lifted their spirits.
But Gloucestershire steadied the ship to reach 59-2 and trail by just 113.
Seamer Shaw’s performance built on his six wickets against Glamorgan in their previous game, as he claimed three of Middlesex’s top four.
His victims included Malan, whose hopes of an Ashes call-up were boosted by a career-best 199 at Derby last week.
However, he top-edged a short of a length ball and Graeme van Buuren ran in to take a fine catch.
Tesfa Campbell: Battersea murder victim ‘killed by man he was walking with’
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Met Police
Police found Tesfa Campbell injured at about 14:45 on Wednesday
A man was stabbed to death in a south-west London street by the person he had been walking with, police have said.
Tesfa Campbell, 40, was found by police responding to reports of a fight on Latchmere Road in Battersea on Wednesday. He died in hospital.
Det Ch Insp Simon Harding, from The Met, said it is believed Mr Campbell was walking on Burns Road with another man who stabbed him and fled on foot.
No arrests have been made in connection with his death.
Police found Mr Campbell injured at about 14:45 BST and have appealed for witnesses who were in the area at the time, “particularly” around the nearby Latchmere Leisure Centre.
Det Ch Insp Harding said: “This stabbing happened in broad daylight and we believe there are people out there who can help us establish the facts of the incident.”
A post-mortem examination of Mr Campbell, who was from Croydon, will happen in due course.
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@MPSLatchmere
Police were called to reports of a fight
Newham stab murder: Suspect arrested
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The victim was found at the junction of Ron Leighton Way and Wakefield Street on Saturday night
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a 28-year-old who was stabbed in east London.
The victim, 28, was found with multiple stab wounds at the junction of Ron Leighton Way and Wakefield Street in East Ham, Newham on Saturday night.
He was pronounced dead at the scene and his next of kin have been notified.
Scotland Yard said a 23-year-old man was arrested after he handed himself into police. He remains in custody at an east London police station.
Ryan Babel joins Galatasaray after Fulham contract ends
Former Fulham and Liverpool forward Ryan Babel has signed a three-year contract with Turkish champions Galatasaray.
The 32-year-old Dutch international was a free agent after his contract at Fulham expired at the end of the season.
Galatasaray said Babel has received a £1.79m signing-on fee and will earn £2.24m a year.
After leaving Liverpool in 2007, Babel had spells at Hoffenheim and Ajax.
He has already played twice in Turkey, for Kasimpasa and Besiktas, as well as Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates and Deportivo de La Coruna.
He has won 57 caps for the Netherlands, scoring eight goals.