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3 more men arrested in suspected antisemitic ambulance torching in London

LONDON (AP) — Three additional suspects were arrested Wednesday on arson charges in the torching of four ambulances owned by a Jewish charity in London, police said.

Two British men, ages 20 and 19, and a 17-year-old boy with dual British and Pakistani nationality, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life, London’s Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement.

Counterterror police are investigating the fire as an antisemitic hate crime. They were looking into a claim of responsibility by a group with potential links to Iran, but have not declared it an act of terrorism.

Two other men, ages 45 and 47, were previously released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.

The March 23 blaze in Golders Green, a north London neighborhood with a large Jewish population, destroyed four ambulances belonging to the volunteer organization Hatzola Northwest, which provides emergency care in the area. Oxygen cylinders in the vehicles exploded, breaking windows in an adjacent apartment block.

“Since this appalling attack last week, we have been working continuously to investigate and identify those responsible,” Cmdr. Helen Flanagan, head of counterterror policing, said. “We know concern among the Jewish community remains high, but I hope these arrests show that we are doing everything we can to bring those responsible to justice.”

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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