The United Kingdom's Royal Navy said on Friday that ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped by 90% since the war in Iran began on February 28.
The Navy noted that the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported 41 incidents in regional waters, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, with vessels attacked, damaged, or forced to turn back.
"The most distressing calls are those from ships under attack," UKMTO Head of Operations Commander Jo Black commented. "It's an absolutely terrifying experience for them – they're civilians, they're not prepared for this – drones, missiles, small arms fire aimed at their bridge or engine room, and threats to their safety – so they're stressed," he added.
The U.S. Senate has passed a bipartisan resolution that bans senators from making bets on prediction markets like Kalshi (KALSHI) and Polymarket (POLYMARKET) amid mounting insider trading concerns.
The ban was passed unanimously and is effective immediately. The measure applies to senators, officers and staff at the Senate.
"Serving in Congress is an honor, not a side hustle," Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), who introduced the resolution, posted on X after the vote. "Americans deserve to know that their leaders are here for the right reason!"
Polymarket (POLYMARKET) said it is in full support of this. "Our Rulebook & Terms of Service already prohibit such conduct, but codifying this into law is a step forward for the industry," it added.
"Kalshi (KALSHI) already proactively blocks members of Congress and enforces against insider trading," its CEO Tarek Mansour said. "This is a great step to increase trust in our markets by making it an industry standard. Now, let's pass this in the House!"
The Senate ban comes a week after a U.S. soldier involved in the capture of Nicolás Maduro was charged with using classified information to make $400,000 by betting on the Venezuelan leader's ouster.
Earlier this month, the White House warned staffers against using confidential, privileged information to trade on prediction markets.
At least nine members of a Cheshire Islamic group have been arrested in a raid of 500 British police officers as part of an investigation into sexual offenses, slavery and forced marriage.
Officers received reports of human trafficking, rape, and other crimes involving members of a group known as the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, based in Crewe. Seven men and three women were taken into custody, according to a statement from the Cheshire Police, who said the investigation was initiated because of allegations made by a woman who was previously part of the group in 2023.
Chief Superintendent Gareth Wrigley, of Cheshire Constabulary, said:
"Today’s operation is the outcome of a detailed and robust investigation into reports of serious sexual offenses, forced marriage and modern slavery involving members of a religious group called Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light in Crewe.
While those arrested are members of the group, I want to make clear that this is not an investigation into the religion, this is an investigation into the serious allegations which have been reported to us..."
The AROPL's is a religious movement founded in 2015 by Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq (Egyptian-American raised Sunni Muslim). It draws heavily from Shia Islamic traditions. The group self-identifies with Islamic roots, uses Islamic terminology (referring to their leader as the Qaim/Mahdi appointed in relation to Prophet Muhammad), and maintains many Islamic practices.
British authorities in the UK have been quick to disconnect the sect from the wider Islamic migrant community. The reasons for this are obvious - The British government is under considerable pressure to stop hiding migrant crime and Islamic crime, but their political agendas are deeply intertwined with third-world immigration. Islamic groups consistently deny that the actions of grooming gangs have any connection to Muslim culture.
Islamic fundamentalism justifies the abuse and exploitation of "non-believers", using the "Doctrine of Abrogation" and a series of passages from the Quran specifically allowing for the humiliation or enslavement of foreigners and non-believers as a means to force them into religious submission. The Islamic slave trade operated throughout Africa and the Middle East until it was disrupted by the British Empire from 1833 to 1937.
The surprising level of transparency of the latest raid may be part of a British government effort to clean up their image after it was revealed in 2025 that pro-multicultural authorities had spent the past decade covering up numerous reports of Islamic "grooming gangs" kidnapping and assaulting young British girls. The government had been aware of this criminal activity as early as 2015 and did nothing.
It should be noted that many British activists have been threatened by law enforcement, attacked by the establishment media and even jailed over the years simply for exposing this ongoing problem common among third world migrants. The grooming gangs were ignored because their activities were inconvenient to the liberal open borders narrative dominating social politics in Europe since 2014.
Today, however, polling shows that both the left wing Labour Party and the Conservatives Party (which is also left wing) are facing political obliteration in the next general election (held in 2029) due to their mishandling of the immigration problem as well as the UK economy. Unless they offer substantial changes to their policies, they stand to be swept out of Parliament.
The multiculturalists may very well be removed from government regardless.
Britain's terrorism threat level was raised from “substantial” to “severe” on Thursday afternoon after a 45-year-old British national, reportedly born in Somalia, stabbed two Jewish men in North London. The elevation in the terrorism threat level suggests another terror attack is highly likely within the next six months, as Britain's experiment with mass migration is backfiring.
The suspect is 45-year-old Essa Suleiman from south-east London, the BBC understands. He came to the UK from Somalia in the early 1990s -BBC News
Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, described Wednesday's attack as terrorism. "Today, the national threat level has increased to 'severe,' which means a terrorist attack is considered highly likely."
"I know this will be a source of concern to many, particularly amongst our Jewish community, who have suffered so much," Mahmood said.
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Center's decision to raise the national terror threat level comes in the wake of a Somalia-born man stabbing two Jewish men and follows a series of attacks in Jewish neighborhoods in recent weeks.
For context, "severe" is the second-highest of five threat levels, below "critical," which means another attack is likely in the coming months, if not sooner. The last time the level was raised to "severe" was in November 2021.
Mahmood added: "The government has today announced a significant increase in investment to protect our Jewish communities, with record funding for policing and security at synagogues, schools and community centers. And we will do everything in our power to rid society of the evil of antisemitism. The stabbing in north London follows a spate of attacks in Jewish neighborhoods in recent weeks.
Alex Armstrong of GB News recently described the devastating impact that decades of the mass-migration experiment have had on the UK.
Also...
Suicidal empathy has very real consequences; in other words, the death of Europe.
No unilateral arrangement by Iran over the Strait of Hormuz can be trusted after Tehran's "treacherous aggression" against neighboring countries, senior adviser to United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Anwar Gargash, said on Friday.
"In the ongoing discussion about the Strait of Hormuz, the collective international will and provisions of international law emerge as the primary guarantor of freedom of navigation through this vital passage," Gargash wrote in a post on X.
The official's comments come amid Middle Eastern countries' efforts to thwart Iran's attempts to shape the future of shipping and impose new rules in the Strait of Hormuz.
