A teenager who travelled from Norway to the UK to carry out an assassination for a Swedish organised crime group has been found guilty of conspiracy to murder.

An Old Bailey jury heard how Johannes Natland, 19, was arrested in a hotel room in Huddersfield with two working guns and 19 rounds of live ammunition in March 2025.

He pleaded guilty to possession of the firearms and ammunition but had denied the conspiracy charge.

Following a retrial, Natland showed no emotion as the jury brought in a unanimous guilty verdict after deliberating for just over 17 hours.

During the trial opening, prosecutor Alistair Richardson said the teen was “recruited” by the Foxtrot Network, which was described as a Swedish organised crime group backed by the Iranian regime.

Natland had claimed rather than carry out the attack, he had planned to shoot himself in the foot, telling jurors he had found himself in “a major pickle”.

The court heard how the Foxtrot Network had been sanctioned by both the UK and the US for its close links to the Iranian government.

The group is infamous for pioneering the relatively new phenomenon of hiring teenage killers.

Natland flew into Manchester Airport on an emergency passport on 17 March and was guided by videos on the messaging app Signal to Huddersfield, where the guns, a stolen car and a stash of cash were hidden.

He was only prevented from carrying out the hit because Norwegian police arrested the teenager who had recruited him, and found messages about the UK plot in the Signal app on his phone.

Jane Hill presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Daniel Sandford.

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#BBCNews

source

A wildfire the size of 140 football pitches is burning in Suffolk, with a major incident declared.

Adam is joined by Anna Murgatroyd, lecturer in hydrology and Theodore Keeping, climate and wildfire scientist, to discuss how the fire service are tackling the blaze plus how daily life could be affected by a drought in England and Wales.

And, the conflict between the US and Iran has expanded following escalations over the last few weeks. The US has retaliated with strikes across the country after Iran launched attacks on US bases in Jordan earlier this week. Caitríona Perry, chief news presenter, and Parham Ghobadi, senior reporter for BBC Persian, join Adam to explain the latest developments in the conflict.

You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say “Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.

You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord

Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.

New episodes released every day. If you’re in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#BBCNews #SuffolkWildfire #IranWar

00:00 Introduction
01:01 France and Spain fires update
02:05 Suffolk’s fire begins
05:40 What is a drought?
09:30 Could we run out of drinking water?
13:18 How do we stop wildfires in the UK?
16:05 How often will we see fires this bad?
18:24 What’s the latest in Iran?
23:10 The Saudi-US relationship
26:18 Is it a ‘forever war’?

source

What does a drought mean for you and is the UK running out of water?

It’s not just about grass turning brown, some reservoirs have been low on water.

These reservoirs are used to either generate power or sometimes they are treated to provided drinking water.

At this time of year, some of this is expected but summer so far has been exceptionally hot and dry across much of the UK.

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#Climate #Heatwave #UKWeather #BBCNews

source

Several people are trapped inside a shopping centre after a strong earthquake hit south-west Japan, officials say.

Some local media reports that there was an explosion at the Aeon Mall in Kumamoto, following the magnitude 7.1 earthquake.

The quake hit inland on Kyushu island at 16:27 local time (07:27 GMT), with more than 150,000 people being told to move to evacuation shelters. There was a brief tsunami warning that was lifted within the hour.

Emergency services said “many people” were trapped inside the Aeon Mall in the Kumamoto region.

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#Japan #BBCNews

source

President Donald Trump has paused attacks on Iran for the third night in a row to give diplomacy more time, the US ambassador to the UN said.

An Iranian army spokesperson said on Sunday that Tehran had halted “retaliatory” attacks in the region in response. The pause follows nearly two weeks of daily US strikes and tit-for-tat attacks, effectively unravelling the ceasefire struck in June.

Meanwhile, Iran and Oman held several rounds of technical talks in Tehran on Friday and Saturday to discuss management of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei.

Elsewhere, Ukraine has dismissed Iranian threats of retaliation, following Kyiv’s targeting of an Iranian cargo vessel in the Caspian Sea on Saturday.

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#US #Iran #Ukraine #BBCNews

source