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Golders Green attack suspect named as Essa Suleiman and was previously referred to Prevent – live updates

Suleiman had been referred to counterterrorism scheme in 2020 but case was closed the same year

Here are some of the latest images from the newswires in Golders Green this morning:

A 45-year-old man, who is a British national, born in Somalia, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said he came to the UK lawfully as a child.

The Metropolitan police said he was initially taken to hospital after being arrested but has since been discharged. He was taken to a London police station where he remains in custody.

The Met commissioner, Mark Rowley, said the suspect has a history of mental health issues, drug use and convictions for violence.

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© Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

© Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

© Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

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Hegseth faces further grilling over war costs as Iranian supreme leader releases fresh US threats – US politics live

Defense secretary to be quizzed in Senate as Khamenei says foreigners have no place in Gulf ‘except at bottom of its waters’

Louisiana governor Jeff Landry yesterday told GOP candidates that he plans to suspend next month’s primary elections so that state lawmakers can pass a new congressional map first, the Washington Post (paywall) reported last night.

It came hours after the US supreme court decided that Louisiana’s creation of a second majority black congressional district to satisfy previously rulings relied too heavily on race and was “an unconstitutional racial gerrymander”, as opposed to a required effort to comply with the Voting Rights Act.

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© Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

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Police declare attack in north London a terrorist incident after two Jewish men stabbed – as it happened

PM chairs Cobra meeting after condemning ‘appalling antisemitic attack’; man with ‘history of serious violence and mental health issues’ arrested

Specialist officers from Counter Terrorism Policing are leading the investigation and working with police to establish the full circumstances and any links to terrorism, the Met said in a statement.

Head of counter terrorism policing Laurence Taylor said:

Whilst I must stress this investigation is at an early stage, we are working quickly to understand exactly what happened.

Thank you to those who were in the area at the time and supported the response to this terrible incident.

Our thoughts are with the victims of this horrific attack. We are grateful to officers who swiftly Tasered and arrested the suspect before he could cause further harm.

We are aware of the significant distress and concern this incident is likely to cause in the face of a number of incidents in the local area. A suspect is in custody, and investigators are considering all possible motives.

An investigation is under way and a man has been arrested following a stabbing incident in Barnet.

At 11:16hrs on Wednesday 29 April, officers responded following reports of people stabbed in Highfield Avenue.

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© Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images

© Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images

© Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images

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‘A day of loss for our democracy’: civil rights groups slam supreme court ruling that weakens key part of Voting Rights Act – as it happened

This live blog is now closed.

The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday after a key policy meeting, likely the last chaired by central bank chief Jerome Powell, a frequent target of president Donald Trump’s ire.

Policymakers will weigh the risks of surging energy prices and snarled supply chains due to the US-Israel war on Iran, with analysts widely expecting a third pause in a row as the effects of the conflict ripple through the world’s largest economy.

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© Photograph: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Legal Defense Fund

© Photograph: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Legal Defense Fund

© Photograph: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Legal Defense Fund

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Justice department claims James Comey made ‘threat to kill’ Trump as it announces charges against former FBI director – as it happened

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Donald Trump has reportedly signaled to his top advisers that he is dissatisfied with and unlikely to accept Iran’s latest proposal to end the war, which would reopen the strait of Hormuz and leave discussion of Iran’s nuclear program for a later date.

Two people familiar with the matter told CNN that Trump conveyed his views during yesterday’s meeting with top national security aides where the Iranian proposal was discussed. One of the people said Trump was not likely to accept the plan, which was sent to the US in the last few days.

What I will reiterate is that the president’s red lines with respect to Iran have been made very, very clear, not just to the American public, but also to them as well.

I wouldn’t say they’re considering it. I would just say that there was a discussion this morning that I don’t want to get ahead of, and you’ll hear directly from the president, I’m sure, on this topic.

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© Photograph: Cliff Owen/AP

© Photograph: Cliff Owen/AP

© Photograph: Cliff Owen/AP

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Middle East crisis: Trump hits back at German chancellor after Merz said Iran was ‘humiliating’ US – as it happened

US president claims Friedrich Merz ‘doesn’t know what he’s talking about’ after German leader criticised US strategy in Iran

Saudi Arabia is to host a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Jeddah later today, in what will be first in-person meeting of Gulf leaders since their states became dragged into the war.

A Gulf official told the Reuters news agency that the meeting aimed to craft a response to the thousands of Iranian missile and drone attacks Gulf states have faced since the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on 28 February.

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© Photograph: Razieh Poudat/ISNA/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Razieh Poudat/ISNA/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Razieh Poudat/ISNA/AFP/Getty Images

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Middle East crisis: Iran’s foreign ministry condemns US seizure of Iranian-linked tankers as ‘piracy and armed robbery’ – as it happened

Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei says actions of the United States ‘strike at the heart of international law’ as blockade continues in strait of Hormuz

Iran is proposing that shipping companies should pay charges for specific services when they cross the strait of Hormuz, in a move that would enable it to raise money from shipping traffic without presenting the payment as a toll.

Iran’s framing is designed to maximise political and legal support for the plan it is developing with Oman. Iran has made a solution to its demands an essential precondition to winding down the conflict, including an end to its effective blockade of the Strait and the counter-blockade of Iranian ports being mounted by the US Navy.

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© Photograph: Reuters

© Photograph: Reuters

© Photograph: Reuters

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Top Democrats demand clarity from Jeanine Pirro over threat to reopen investigation into Jerome Powell – as it happened

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When Pete Hegseth was asked about Pope Leo XIV’s condemnation of the war in Iran, and comments from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops suggesting the conflict is not a “just war”, the defense secretary simply said that the pope was “going to do his thing”.

“We know what our mission is,” Hegseth added. “We follow that the orders of the president. We’ve got lawyers all over the place looking at what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, and giving us every authority necessary under the constitution and under our laws to execute it.”

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© Photograph: Anna Rose Layden/EPA

© Photograph: Anna Rose Layden/EPA

© Photograph: Anna Rose Layden/EPA

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US envoy and Trump’s son-in-law to travel to Pakistan amid hopes for renewed Iran peace talks – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. For the latest, read our full report:

The EU’s foreign chief has said that talks with Iran should include nuclear experts otherwise “we will end up with a more dangerous Iran.”

Speaking on Friday ahead of an informal summit of EU leaders in Cyprus, EU’s foreign chief Kaja Kallas said: “If the talks are only about the nuclear and there are no nuclear experts around the table, then we will end up with an agreement that is weaker than the JCPOA was.”

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© Photograph: Getty Images

© Photograph: Getty Images

© Photograph: Getty Images

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Former inspector general urges audit of Epstein files release be conducted ‘without undue influence’ – as it happened

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You’ve likely seen that the Senate adopted the plan for the budget blueprint for ICE and border patrol after an all-night “vote-a-rama”.

This is, in fact, not a congressional dance break.

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© Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA

© Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA

© Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA

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US forces board vessel in Indian Ocean – as it happened

This blog is now closed. For the latest Middle East news, see our full report here

The Pentagon abruptly announced that the secretary of the US navy, John Phelan, would be leaving his job yesterday. No reason was given for the unexpected departure of the navy’s top civilian official, who had addressed a large crowd of sailors and industry professionals at the navy’s annual conference in Washington just a day before the announcement.

People familiar with the dynamics at the Pentagon told the Guardian Phelan was fired. Phelan had an increasingly rocky relationship with the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, and other senior staff.

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© Photograph: Scott Peterson/Getty Images

© Photograph: Scott Peterson/Getty Images

© Photograph: Scott Peterson/Getty Images

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Pentagon announces US navy secretary is leaving ‘effective immediately’ and replaced with deputy – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

Also today, we can expect the Senate to vote on another war powers resolution, to curb the Trump administration’s war in Iran.

Led by Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, this will be upper chamber Democrats’ fifth attempt to pass a resolution.

Louisiana v Callais: A high-stakes voting rights case in which the court’s conservative majority appears poised to gut one of the most powerful provisions of the Voting Rights Act.

Trump v Cook: Donald Trump’s case for firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, as he continues to exert greater control over the US central bank.

Trump v Slaughter: A case which examines the legality of Trump’s firing of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member, Rebecca Slaughter.

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© Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

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