Westminster attack: police scramble to piece together past of London killer

Khalid Masood at school, left and right, and after being arrested for a knife-related incident. Composite: Huntley school/Metropolitan police

Counter-terrorism investigators have been investigating Khalid Masood’s life and associations across Britain as they raced to discover what led him to kill four people and injure more than 50 in Wednesday’s murderous attack in Westminster.

A joint investigation by Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command and MI5 led to new arrests on Thursday in London, Birmingham and Manchester with two people still in custody, while properties were searched in Wales and southern England.

London attack: what we know so far

 

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Police want to discover if Masood, who was shot dead by armed police, was encouraged, supported or directed in the atrocity. The 52-year-old mowed down people in the heart of London then stabbed a police officer to death as he tried to burst into the Palace of Westminster.

The Guardian understands detectives are scouring large amounts of CCTV camera footage to see if there is any recording of Masood scouting the Westminster area before the attack.

They are also using camera records and automatic number plate recognition technology to see if they show his car in the area, when Masood could have been working out where the best place to run people over might have been and what weak points there were in Palace of Westminster security in the run-up to the attack. They will also repeat the same time-consuming lines of inquiry to see if a possible accomplice may have done the same.

Two minutes before the attack started at about 2.40pm on Wednesday, Masood used the WhatsApp communications app on his mobile phone, although it is not known why.

On Friday police named Masood’s fourth victim as 75-year-old Leslie Rhodes. Two people remained in a critical condition in hospital.

MI5 is urgently trying to discover how someone could come to believe in Islamic State’s violent ideology and hatch a murderous plot against high-profile targets to gain worldwide attention, all without the domestic security service having any idea it was coming.

Fresh details about Masood’s life have emerged. He had a 20-year history of offending that saw him jailed at least twice. He had converted to Islam more than a decade ago, and used several names during his life, having been born as Adrian Elms and brought up as Adrian Ajao before adopting a Muslim name.

So far, police believe he acted alone when he drove a hired car into civilians on Westminster Bridge before running into the grounds of parliament and stabbing a police officer to death. It emerged that on the eve of the attack he had checked into a Brighton hotel under his own name. The hotel manager said that Masood had been “laughing and joking”.

Mark Rowley, Britain’s top counter-terrorism officer, said: “Whilst there is no evidence of further threats, you will understand our determination to find out if he either acted totally alone inspired by terrorist propaganda or if others have encouraged, supported or directed him.”

He described as “significant” two arrests made in Manchester and Birmingham.

Since the attack, police have arrested 11 people on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. On Friday they released eight without charge, having eliminated them from their inquiries, and one woman was released on Thursday on bail. The two in custody are a 58-year-old man and a man aged 27, both arrested on Thursday in Birmingham.

Site of Jesus' tomb re-opens following painstaking restoration in Jerusalem

(CNN)It's one of Christianity's holiest sites -- the burial chamber where Jesus Christ is believed to have been entombed. Now following nine months of meticulous restoration, it's reopened to the devoted.

Situated in the heart of the Christian quarter in Jerusalem's Old City, much-needed repairs were conducted to the Edicule, a small limestone and marble structure built on the site identified in the 4th century as Jesus' final resting place following his crucifixion.

The ambitious project was overseen by the World Monuments Fund (WMF) while Antonia Moropoulou of the National Technical University of Athens led an interdisciplinary team of specialists and masons who carried out the work.

It was unveiled to the public on Wednesday.

The conservators, who worked mostly at night so as not to impact the Christian faithful from praying at the holy site, fixed underlying masonry before returning displaced stone blocks to their original positions, securing them with titanium anchors, according to Moropoulou.

"We consolidated the holy rock. We opened the tomb of Christ in order to protect it from the infection of grout. Then we reinstalled the stone slabs after inserting joints of titanium," Moroloulou said on Monday.

As part of the restoration project, members of the National Technical University of Athens removed steel girders which had encased the shrine for the past 70 years.

A worshipper prays inside the Edicule surrounding Jesus' tomb.

"I wanted people to come together to preserve this holy site which is so important to all religions. Its restoration is extraordinary," she said in a press statement.

Related: Is this the site of Jesus' trial?

WMF says a second phase of restoration is due to begin over the next year to ensure "long-term structural stability of the Edicule and to prevent damage from moisture from recurring the future."

Kunle Afoloyan’s Throwback Photo Of His Late Father Is Classic

Award-winning Nollywood actor and film maker, Kunle Afolayan honored his dad,  late Nigerian actor, Adeyemi Afolayan popularly known as Ade Love by sharing classic throwback photos of him.

What Actor, Mike Godson Told A Lady Who Wanted To Be ‘Yellow’ Like Him Will Leave You Shocked

Nollywood actor, Mike Godson shared his reply to a lady who called him up and asked him what bleaching cream he uses on Instagram.
Godson wrote; “I was sleeping one day and my phone rang. I picked the call behold it was a woman who said she was a fan but wanted to know what bleaching body Cream I use. For 20seconds I was mute just to make sure I heard her clearly. And bcoz I was very upset with the question I began to think of a way to make her look stupid and regret ever calling my phone!! so I replied and said, ok madam you want to be yellow like me abi?? She said “YES” then I said ok!! Buy original Mobil engine oil, red oil, motor battery water, alligator peper, fresh peper then mix all these ingredients with bitter cola and salt. Then call me later to tell me how yellow you have become.”

Buhari’s Rigid Leadership Style Is Making Nigeria’s Economic Problems Harder To Solve- Bloomberg

In an article titled “Nigeria’s Economy needs Visionary Leadership”, International business website, Bloomberg, said President Buhari’s rigid leadership style is making Nigeria’s economic problems harder to solve. Read the article which was published today below.

Africa and the world cannot afford a failing economy in the continent’s most populous nation. Yet that is exactly what Nigeria might be getting: Its economy is on track to shrink by1.7 percent this year, the official unemployment rate has more than doubled over the last two years, and inflation is at an 11-year high.

One concrete step President Muhammadu Buhari could take to address the crisis would be to eliminate the country’s disastrous foreign exchange controls. Instead, Buhari has made no secret of his desire to defend Nigeria’s currency.

And the central bank has mostly gone along. Despite allowingthe devaluation of the naira in June, it is continuing to manipulate the exchange rate — discouraging foreign investors, creating a crippling shortage of dollars for businesses that need to import, and feeding a currency black market. To keep down the street price of vanishing dollars, Buhari’s government hasarrested informal money-changers. More capital controls are in the works.

Dismantling Nigeria’s foreign exchange controls will doubtless cause at least a short-term rise in inflation. Yet doing so will not only draw foreign investment and make the economy more productive and competitive, but also cut off a conduit for corruption. Buhari can cushion the blow for Nigeria’s poor through targeted cash payments — an approach Nigeria has used in electronically delivering subsidies to poor farmers. That same mechanism could also shield the poor from the regressive impact of an increase in Nigeria’s value-added tax — which is relatively low but a potentially valuable source of additional government revenue.

Emeka Ike Spotted With Miss Tourism International 2015 As They Visit School Students In Aso Villa

Nollywood actor, Emeka Ike was spotted with Miss Tourism international, Queen Onyinye recently, at Aso Villa Banquet Hal‎l as a special guest and to share her writing materials and exercise books to school children from Primary and Secondary schools in Abuja during the programme at the villa.

The event was graced by the Secretary to the Federal Government, Minister of women Affairs, Nollywood President and cross sections of high profile personalities. The event was the one year anniversary of Mr President campaign against Violence on Children.

Emeka Ike Spotted With Miss Tourism International 2015 As They Visit School Students In Aso Villa

Nollywood actor, Emeka Ike was spotted with Miss Tourism international, Queen Onyinye recently, at Aso Villa Banquet Hal‎l as a special guest and to share her writing materials and exercise books to school children from Primary and Secondary schools in Abuja during the programme at the villa.

The event was graced by the Secretary to the Federal Government, Minister of women Affairs, Nollywood President and cross sections of high profile personalities. The event was the one year anniversary of Mr President campaign against Violence on Children.