Counter terror police examining social media posts after crossbow incident
Counter terrorism police investigating an alleged weekend attack in Leeds involving a crossbow and a firearm are looking into Facebook posts as part of their probe.
In an update on the major incident that brought a popular strip to a standstill on Saturday evening, Counter Terrorism Policing North East said the suspect, a 38-year-old man, remains hospitalised in a critical condition, after he was arrested with self-inflicted injuries.
A 19 and 31-year-old woman were also injured. Police said one of the victims had undergone surgery after suffering life-threatening injuries. She is now recovering in hospital in stable condition. The second victim was discharged from hospital.
Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, said: “The investigation continues and officers are working at pace to establish the full facts and circumstances of Saturday’s incident.”
The Independent understands investigators are looking at Facebook posts as part of the investigation.
Police also said they were aware of footage being circulated on social media. “If you are in possession of any information or witnessed the incident, please contact police,” they said in the update.
West Yorkshire Police were called to Otley Road, Leeds, at 2.47pm on Saturday following reports of an “ongoing serious incident” involving a man seen with weapons.
The incident reportedly happened during the Otley Run, a popular pub crawl route in Leeds. People were out running in their fancy dress for the crawl, which is seen as a rite of passage among students, involving 17 venues.
Local media earlier cited an eyewitness who said that people had asked to hide inside the restaurant she worked at.
A woman who works at the Heaney & Mill restaurant told Leeds Live: “I was at work at a nearby restaurant and some girls were sitting outside. They asked if they could come in and finish what they were having because they’d seen someone with a crossbow.”
Police said on Saturday night that a crossbow and a firearm were recovered from the scene.
Detective Chief Superintendent Dunkerley said police weren’t looking for any other suspects currently seeking anyone else in connection with this matter, “which has caused understandable concern.”
“We believe it was an isolated incident,” the officer said.
Assistant Chief Constable Carl Galvin of West Yorkshire Police, said: “A number of police scenes remained in place throughout today and uniformed officers remain highly visible in communities to reassure residents, partners and business owners in the affected area.”
North Korea makes first admission it sent troops to fight for Russia
North Korea confirmed for the first time on Monday that it has sent troops to fight for Russia in the war with Ukraine under the order of dictactor Kim Jong Un.
As Kyiv claims its soldiers continue to cling to parts of Kursk following a Russian counter-offence involving North Korean troops, KCNA state news agency cited the North’s ruling party as saying its contribution showed the “highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship”.
The admission comes as top US diplomat Marco Rubio warned the Trump administration would walk away from brokering peace talks if there was no realistic prospect of a deal in sight.
“We cannot continue to dedicate time and resources to this effort if it is not going to come to fruition,” the Secretary of State told NBC News.
“The last week has really been about figuring out how close are these sides really, and are they close enough that this merits a continued investment of our time as a mediator.”
His comments closely follow US president Donald Trump turning on Russian president Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s continued bombing of Ukrainian civilians.
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war,” Trump posted on his social media platform on Saturday, soon after meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s Vatican funeral.
Russia said last week Ukrainian forces had been expelled from the last Russian village they had been holding, although Kyiv denied the claim and said their troops were still operating in Belgorod, another Russian region bordering Ukraine.
The Central Military Commission of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party said leader Kim Jong Un made the decision to deploy troops under the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty he signed with Putin last year.
“Under the order of the head of state, the sub-units of the armed forces of the Republic regarded the territory of Russia as the one of their country and proved the firm alliance between the two countries,” KCNA cited the Commission as saying.
“They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
North Korea sent an estimated total of 14,000 troops, including 3,000 reinforcements to replace its losses, Ukrainian officials have said. Lacking armoured vehicles and drone warfare experience, they took heavy casualties but adapted quickly.
Russia also confirmed on Saturday for the first time that North Korean soldiers have been fighting alongside Russians in Kursk.
Neither Russia nor North Korea had previously either confirmed or denied the deployment.
Canada set to vote in election turned on its head by Trump’s threats
Canadians will decide on Monday whether to extend the Liberal Party’s decade in power or instead give control to the Conservatives. They will pick either prime minister Mark Carney or opposition leader Pierre Poilievre to lead the way forward, but the election is also a referendum of sorts on someone who isn’t even Canadian: Donald Trump.
Until the American president won a second term and began threatening Canada’s economy and sovereignty, even suggesting the country should become the 51st state of the US, the Liberals looked headed for defeat.
Canadians go to the polls as the country grapples with the aftermath of a fatal car ramming in Vancouver on Saturday.
The tragedy on the eve of the election prompted the suspension of campaigning for several hours.
Police ruled out terrorism and said the suspect was a local man with a history of mental health issues.
Mr Trump’s truculence has infuriated many Canadians, leading many to cancel US vacations and refuse to buy American goods.
It possibly even prompted many of them to vote early – a record 7.3 million Canadians cast their ballots before election day.
Mr Trump also put Mr Poilievre and the Conservative Party on the backfoot after they appeared headed for an easy victory only months ago.
“The Americans want to break us so they can own us,” Mr Carney said recently, laying out what he saw as the stakes for the election. “Those aren’t just words. That’s what’s at risk.”
Mr Poilievre, a populist firebrand who campaigned with Trump-like bravado, had hoped to make the election a referendum on former prime minister Justin Trudeau, whose popularity declined towards the end of his decade in power as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged.
But then Mr Trump became the dominant issue, and Mr Poilievre’s similarities to the bombastic president could cost him.
“He appeals to the same sense of grievance,” Canadian historian Robert Bothwell said of the Conservative leader. “It’s like Trump standing there saying ‘I am your retribution.’”
Foreign policy hasn’t dominated a Canadian election this much since 1988, when, ironically, free trade with the US was the prevailing issue.
Whichever candidate emerges as prime minister will face a litany of challenges.
Canada has been dealing with a cost of living crisis for some time. And more than 75 percent of its exports go to the US, so Mr Trump’s threat to impose sweeping tariffs and his desire to get the North American automakers to move Canada’s production south could severely damage the country’s economy.
Both Mr Carney and Mr Poilievre said that if elected, they would accelerate renegotiations on a free trade deal between Canada and the US in a bid to end the uncertainty hurting both of their economies.
Mr Carney, in particular, has notable experience navigating economic crises, having done so when running Canada’s central bank and later after becoming the first non-UK citizen to run the Bank of England.
Mr Trump dialed back his talk of Canada becoming the 51st state during the campaign until last week, when he said Canada “would cease to exist as a country” if the US stopped buying its goods.
He also said he was not just trolling Canada by saying it should become a US state.
“The Liberals ought to pay him,” Mr Bothwell said. “Trump talking is not good for the Conservatives.”
In response to the threats to Canadian sovereignty, Mr Carney pleaded with voters to deliver him a strong mandate to deal with Mr Trump.
“President Trump has some obsessive ideas, and that is one,” Mr Carney said of his annexation threat. “It’s not a joke. It’s his very strong desire to make this happen. It’s one of the reasons why this crisis is so serious.”
London Marathon disrupted by protesters throwing red paint
The London Marathon was disrupted by a pro-Palestine protest as activists threw red paint on Tower Bridge.
Two protesters from the group Youth Demand jumped into the path of the men’s elite race and threw red powder paint across the road, calling for a trade embargo on Israel.
The incident occurred around 10.35am on Sunday morning, with the activists jumping barriers before scattering the paint.
Images shared by the group show the pair standing on the road wearing t-shirts emblazoned with “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”. City of London police swiftly arrested the individuals.
Youth Demand identified the protesters as 18-year-old Willow Holland from Bristol and Cristy North, a live-in carer from Nottingham.
In a statement released by the group, Holland explained her actions: “I am taking action with Youth Demand because I have run out of other options: thousands are being killed in Gaza, our government is making no effort to stop it and no other course of action, marches or rallies, has worked.
“I refuse to be complicit in a genocide funded by our politicians.”
Youth Action said the demonstration came after the UN’s World Food Programme announced its food stocks in Gaza have been completely “depleted” by Israel’s blockade.
According to the group, Ms North said: “I’m taking action today at the London marathon because the people in Palestine are running out of time.
“We have tried all other avenues to get the government to stop arming Israel and yet our government is still enabling a genocide.
“They are making the UK people complicit in breaking UK domestic law by using our taxes to arm a genocidal state, breaking humanitarian international law.”
The BBC TV feed cut to the elite men’s race moments after the leaders had crossed Tower Bridge and there appeared to be no obvious impact on the runners, who passed through unobstructed.
More than 56,000 participants are expected on the 26.2-mile course through the capital on Sunday for the 45th TCS London Marathon.
The London Marathon has been approached for comment.
Even Fox News is grilling White House about Hegseth’s ‘chaotic’ Pentagon
The chaos at the Pentagon appears to have become so severe that Donald Trump’s administration is facing tough questions from an unlikely source: Fox News.
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz appeared on Sunday Morning Futures with host Maria Bartiromo, who asked about the possibility of reaching a peace deal in Ukraine even as the Pentagon is in disarray, with five members of senior leadership resigning amid a fierce power struggle between aides to embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“Can you do this in what appears to be a chaotic, weakened Defense Department?” Bartiromo asked.
“Pete Hegseth, of course, our Defense Secretary, has been threatening polygraph tests,” she said. “He’s been firing people who we thought were his allies. What is the state of affairs at the Defense Department right now?”
Waltz defended the administration’s actions, saying that “100 days ago, we were more worried about DEI and climate change nonsense.”
“Now we’re focused on lethality and winning. That’s been, in just over three months, the change,” he said.
The national security advisor’s comments follow staffing changes and a litany of reports alleging Hegseth shared sensitive information about strikes in Yemen in group chats on the messaging app Signal.
Hegseth, 44, was most recently a weekend host of Fox & Friends. His confirmation process was anything but straightforward, with the Senate confirming his appointment in a tight vote — and for the first time in history, a vice president had to break a tie to confirm a secretary of defense.
Last month, it was reported that Hegseth shared sensitive information related to military strikes against Houthis in Yemen in a chat with cabinet-level officials, which also inadvertently included The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg.
Waltz created that chat thread, according to The Atlantic’s bombshell reporting on the incident.
And last week, it was reported that Hegseth also shared strike information in a group chat with his wife, his brother, and his personal lawyer.
Waltz claimed that the reported chaos within the Pentagon “is a media narrative that we are going to power through.”
“How’s he going to replace all of those people so fast?” Bartiromo pressed.
“Maria, there’s 20,000 people in the Pentagon,” Waltz pushed back.
He said there were officers who “weren’t getting the job done, and admirals get fired and get replaced,” including retired Air Force Lt. Gen. John Dan “Razin” Caine, who was recently confirmed as the new chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“That’s what [the] Pentagon needs. No one ever gets fired. There’s never a sense of accountability. And now there is,” Waltz claimed. “And whether it’s leaks, or not getting the job done, or failures in terms of procurement acquisition, now you have a leader that’s in charge. And I couldn’t be prouder of Pete Hegseth.”
New Hampshire Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen slammed Hegseth for “creating chaos” at the Defense Department during her appearance on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday.
“The fact is, Pete Hegseth was not qualified to take the job as Secretary of Defense, and he has shown that time and again,” she said.
On Friday, CBS News reported that the Pentagon had established a system in the secretary’s office allowing him to check Signal messages, bypassing Defense Department security protocols. A spokesperson for the department rejected the notion that there’s currently any Signal use in the office.
At the same time, several top political appointees have resigned or been fired from the department in recent days.
“For those people who serve under him, he has shown that he is not the kind of role model, not the kind of leader that we need at this time,” Shaheen said.
Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesperson, told CBS that “chaos” at the department was more prevalent in the last administration, citing the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan and “a divisive DEl culture that destroyed service member morale.”
Parnell claimed that “weak leadership” led to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Hamas’s attack on Israel, and the Houthi rebels attacking ships. He also pointed to “the invasion of our U.S. southern border by transnational criminal gangs.”
Last week, Hegseth told reporters that “a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out.”
He said “anonymous smears from disgruntled former employees on old news doesn’t matter.”
Hegseth’s inner circle is reportedly increasingly consumed by a leak investigation that people inside the Pentagon believe is behind the removal of three top staffers last week, The Guardian reported on Saturday. The probe surrounds the alleged disclosure of a top-secret document outlining options to reclaim the Panama Canal to a reporter.
The leak was attributed to one of the fired staffers, Dan Caldwell, who has strenuously denied the allegations, telling former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that the leak investigation had been “weaponized.”
This comes amid the departure of Hegseth’s former Chief of Staff, Joe Kasper, after he was viewed by some as an ineffective manager.
Hegseth ordered investigations into at least nine leaks, as Kasper suggested bringing in the FBI to conduct polygraph tests on aides, officials told The Guardian.
How online schools can help children form friendships as they learn
When thinking about the best education for your child, it’s naturally not just academic success that comes to mind. A good quality school experience is made up of many parts and one key element is the socialising opportunities that school can provide. Socialisation is crucial for building social skills, growing emotional intelligence and helping children form their own individual identity, as well as giving them an additional incentive to attend a place where they have fun and feel part of a community.
While it might be assumed that the social options are reduced when children attend online school, this is not the case. In fact, there are a number of advantages in terms of the structures, support and diverse social opportunities offered to children who join online schools.
Online schools give students the opportunity to form connections with a much more diverse community of students. The online model allows schools to welcome young people from around the world and this gives pupils a chance to make friends with students from differing backgrounds and cultures. Furthermore, this means they can meet more like-minded individuals and form stronger bonds and more meaningful friendships. This access to such a big and vibrant community also ensures that students can really find ‘their people’ and avoids situations where students are stuck in small circles or forced to engage with classmates that don’t share the same interests or passions.
This is something that Grace, who is now in year 13, has experienced since moving to online school. At her previous school, she was struggling with socialisation and felt that she didn’t really have a self-identity. At an online school, she has found she can be more herself. “A lot of people think that online school is about being alone, but I’ve found that without the physical element, I can express myself better,” Grace explains. Subsequently, the majority of her closest friends are from her online school and many she has met offline too. “I feel like I’ve met my people,” she says.
Isabella, who is in year 10, has also found that her experience of socialising at an online school has suited her much more than previous bricks and mortar schools. With her father’s job meaning the family moves country every three years, she has always previously struggled forming new friendships at the schools she joins. “I’m always the ‘new’ student, and it’s tough,” she says. After experiences with bullying, she found that online school is an environment she can thrive in. “You don’t have to turn on your camera or use your microphones if you’re not feeling comfortable. I’m not really a ‘social’ person, but I have made some friends here because we have these breakout rooms where we can talk to each other,” she adds.
While young people might not be meeting their fellow students physically every day, online schools put in place extensive measures to ensure that socialising is available for those who want to. This can be seen clearly at King’s InterHigh, the UK’s leading global online school which welcomes children aged 7 to 19 from across the world. Here, students join a warm and welcoming community with a huge range of opportunities for socialising. There’s dozens of clubs and societies for students across all year groups, representing a vast range of interests from chess to technology, sculpture to debate. Throughout the yearly student calendar, there are a number of events, showcases, and competitions of all kinds that provide a chance to socialise in different settings. Some happen internally, like the King’s InterHigh Arts Festival, while others allow students to interact with peers from outside their school when attending events like the International Robotics Competition.
Assemblies bring students together on a weekly basis and give them the chance to celebrate each other’s achievements, hear from their Student Council representatives, and find out what’s coming up at school. Each student is also assigned to one of the school’s eight houses and these smaller, tight-knit communities bring students a sense of belonging and camaraderie. Additionally, inter-house competitions are a fun and friendly way for students to engage and bond.
Although much socialising can come as a result of activities organised by the school, students at King’s InterHigh who are aged over 13 can continue building these relationships in a more informal setting thanks to the in-house, monitored, social media platform. Restricted solely to school students, the platform is safe, secure, and monitored to ensure a positive socialising environment for all those who choose to use it.
Online schools don’t just offer opportunities to socialise online but also offer ample opportunities to cement these connections in offline settings. At King’s InterHigh, there are global meet-ups throughout the year which bring together families allowing both children and parents and guardians to connect in real life. Regular educational school trips, from Geography excursions to science practical exams at other Inspired schools (the group of premium schools of which King’s InterHigh is part of) also allow children to socialise and have fun together in different settings.
Meanwhile, the annual summer camps, themed around a variety of interests and passions, including adventure sports, fashion, football, and tennis, are open to students across all Inspired schools and are held at spectacular Inspired campuses worldwide. Furthermore, the Inspired Global Exchange Programme offers a range of school exchange opportunities, lasting from one week to a full academic year.
Choosing where to educate your children is a big decision for any parent or guardian that involves many factors. However, when it comes to the social benefits, for the right child, online schools offer something truly transformative. To find out more about King’s InterHigh and whether it might be the right learning choice for your family, visit King’s InterHigh
British Paralympian missing in Las Vegas and last heard from over a week ago
Paralympian Sam Ruddock has been reported missing in Las Vegas as he was last heard from over a week ago.
The 35-year-old, from Warwickshire, who has competed in cycling and shot put, travelled to the US on April 13 and was planning to attend WrestleMania, his friend Lucy Earl said.
Mr Ruddock, who has cerebral palsy, was last heard from on April 16 and has since been reported missing to police in the UK and US.
Mrs Earl, who has been friends with Mr Ruddock for over 10 years, said he stayed with her the night before his flight and she last heard from him on April 16.
Mrs Earl said she contacted police and tracked down the hostel he was staying in, and was told Mr Ruddock had not checked out when he was due to or collected his belongings.
Mrs Earl described him as a “big character with lots of energy”.
She said: “Sam is very very present on social media, he’s such a passionate person about sports.
“He’s such an infectious person.
“He’s a phenomenal human being.”
Mrs Earl added: “He flew on the 13th, I’ve got confirmation that he landed, I absolutely know Sam was in Vegas, the concerning part is he went silent from the 16th and because he is such a big presence on social media people were quite fast to notice.”
Mrs Earl said she reported Mr Ruddock missing and has now started a social media campaign to try and get information.
A spokesperson for British Cycling said: “British Cycling understands that para-cyclist Sam Ruddock was reported missing to UK and US police and Interpol after not being heard from since Wednesday April 16 2025, while visiting Las Vegas, USA.
“We urge anyone who has been in contact with Sam since April 16 or may have any information of his whereabouts to contact their local police department as soon as possible.”
Lincolnshire Police confirmed it has an active missing person investigation for Mr Ruddock.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British man reported missing in Las Vegas and are in contact with the local authorities.”
A protest vote is a democratic safety valve: but use it with care
If you live in one of the parts of England that is voting on Thursday, we encourage you, above all, to vote. The Independent does not tell its readers how to vote but, like a benign constitutional monarch, it sometimes encourages and warns. Turnout is usually low for local elections, but voting is important and however you intend to cast your vote we urge you to take part in the democratic process.
The opinion polls suggest that Nigel Farage’s Reform UK will do well. It is poised to win the Runcorn and Helmsby parliamentary by-election, which is also being held on Thursday, and to win the mayoralties of Lincolnshire, Hull and East Yorkshire, and Doncaster. The party is likely to win hundreds of local council seats and may end up in control of some authorities, either by itself or in power-sharing arrangements with others.
Reform’s success will be dismissed by the Labour and Conservative parties as “a protest vote”. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, was dismissive before a single vote had been cast, saying: “Protest is in the air; protest parties are doing well at the moment.”
Unfortunately for her, if a governing party is unpopular, and the Labour Party undoubtedly is, you would normally expect the official opposition to give voice to that discontent and to benefit accordingly in mid-term elections.
What is unusual is that both the two main traditional parties are unpopular at the same time. The Conservatives have only just been rejected by the voters in the most emphatic terms, and it will take some time before they will be allowed a hearing. What was more surprising, perhaps, was the speed and extent of the disillusionment with the Labour government. Never before has a “landslide” general election victory been obtained on such a low share of the vote; and never before has such a triumph turned so quickly into disappointment.
It is no wonder therefore that Reform will do well, and well enough possibly to eclipse the success of other “protest parties”. The Liberal Democrats, well established in local government and long experienced in harvesting defectors from other parties, are also likely to do well on Thursday. The Green Party and pro-Palestinian independents may also pick up support from disillusioned Labour voters.
None of these should be dismissed as mere “protest” votes, as if they were a temporary, misguided and unserious diversion. Purists will say that it is a mistake to use a vote for a local councillor or regional mayor to express dissatisfaction with government policy on immigration, the cost of living or the NHS. This is to overlook the right of voters to use the system in whatever way they see fit. A so-called protest vote is an important democratic safety valve, a way for citizens to use the electoral machinery to send a message.
But – and this is where The Independent issues a warning – elections are about who holds power. Protest is democratic and necessary, but if it gives you a council run by incompetents, ideologues and conspiracy theorists, you are unlikely to benefit as a resident. Mr Farage’s party ought to be given the chance to prove that its representatives are none of these things, but the record of his previous political vehicles is not promising.
These local elections are about who can be trusted to empty the bins – and it is fortunate indeed for the Labour Party that there are no elections in Birmingham this year – but they are also part of the national political story. Two stories in particular. One is whether Labour can recover from the mess it has made of its first nine months in government. The other is the struggle for the leadership of the opposition, not just the one between Ms Badenoch and Mr Farage, but that between Ms Badenoch and Robert Jenrick, the rival she defeated last year.
Whether you disparage them as protest votes or not, they are votes, and they will help determine our future, locally and nationally. Use them carefully.