UK prisoner on 42-day hunger strike says he fears death but will continue
An imprisoned Palestine Action activist who has been on hunger strike for 42 days has said he fears dying but believes the protest is worthwhile, according to an interview with The Sunday Times.
Kamran Ahmed, 28, spoke by telephone from HMP Pentonville in north London, where he is being held on remand. He is one of six Palestine Action activists refusing food while facing charges they deny, linked to alleged break-ins and criminal damage carried out before the group was banned under UK terrorism legislation.
In the interview, Ahmed described a worsening physical condition, saying he has experienced chest pains, shaking and dangerously low blood sugar levels. He said prison medical staff had warned him that he might not wake up if he continued to refuse food.
“Every day I’m scared that potentially I might die,” he said, adding that the risks were outweighed by what he described as a wider political cause and solidarity with his co-defendants.
Ahmed was arrested in a dawn raid by counterterrorism police in November 2024 and later charged in connection with an action at Elbit Systems’ research facility in Filton, southwest England, which caused more than one million pounds ($1.3m) in damage, according to prosecutors.
Supporters say Ahmed has faced restrictive prison conditions, including limits on visits and correspondence, while he has been held without a trial for over a year.
Australian Prime Minister booed as Bondi Beach attack victims honoured
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-honours-bondi-beach-attack-victims-pm-albanese-booed-2025-12-21/
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was booed by an angry crowd gathered at the famous Bondi beach on Sunday to honour the victims of a gun attack a week earlier that targeted a seaside Jewish Hanukkah festival event.
The nation marked a day of reflection on Sunday to honour the 15 people killed and the dozens wounded in the attack by two gunmen. With security tight and flags at half-staff on government buildings, a minute of silence was held at 6:47 p.m. (0747 GMT), the time the attack began.
Television and radio networks paused for a minute’s silence.
Tens of thousands, including Albanese and other leaders, attended the memorial that was guarded by a heavy police presence, including snipers on rooftops and police boats in the waters.
Albanese was booed by the crowd on arrival, and later when the speaker mentioned his name during the memorial. He sat on the front row wearing a kippah, the traditional Jewish cap.
The government has said it has consistently denounced antisemitism over the last two years and passed legislation to criminalise hate speech. It expelled the Iranian ambassador earlier this year after accusing Tehran of directing two antisemitic arson attacks.
"We have lost our innocence....last week took our innocence," David Ossip, the president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies said in a speech to start the proceedings at Bondi.
"Like the grass here at Bondi was stained with blood, so, too, has our nation been stained. We have landed up in a dark place. But friends, Hanukkah teaches us that light can illuminate even the bleakest of places. A single act of courage, a single flame of hope, can give us direction and point the path forward."
Also present at the memorial was the father of Ahmed al Ahmed, hailed as the 'Bondi Hero' for wrestling a gun from one of the attackers.
RECLAIMING BONDI
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, who was cheered and praised at the memorial, said the attack was an attempt to marginalise, scatter, intimidate and cause fear.
"You have reclaimed Bondi Beach for us," he said.
Albanese announced a review of the country's law enforcement and intelligence agencies earlier on Sunday. He said the review, to be led by a former chief of Australia's spy agency, would probe whether federal police and intelligence agencies have the "right powers, structures, processes and sharing arrangements in place to keep Australians safe".
The attack exposed gaps in gun-license assessments and information-sharing between agencies that policymakers have said they want to plug. Albanese has announced a nationwide gun buyback, while gun safety experts say the nation's gun laws, among the world's toughest, are riddled with loopholes.
