Two Iranian nationals who entered the UK on small boats have been charged with preparing acts of terrorism over an alleged plot to target Manchester’s Jewish community before Yom Kippur.

Salam Ahmadyan, 36, and Rahman Salehi, 34, were arrested in Manchester’s Northern Quarter on September 20 and charged earlier today.

Counter Terrorism Policing said the men were allegedly in contact with a third party overseas in connection with the suspected plot. Investigators said the contact may have been with Iran.

The pair are understood to have arrived in the UK by small boat in 2020 and 2023. One has been granted asylum, while the other has an active asylum claim.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the allegations would be “deeply distressing” for the Jewish community, adding that both suspects had “arrived by small boat several years ago”.

Police said the men had allegedly obtained a document entitled “steps for making [a] powder chlorine and car brake oil/fluid bomb”, along with video instructions on making or assembling an improvised explosive device.

The charges allege that the suspects searched online for possible targets and carried out “reconnaissance” at the locations.

The alleged terror plot emerged almost a year after the deadly attack at Heaton Park synagogue, in which two people were killed, and on the eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Deputy assistant commissioner Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, described the charges as “extremely serious”. She said officers had disrupted “what we believe to have been a plot targeting the Jewish community in Manchester”.

Ms Evans said there was no indication of an ongoing threat to the public, but acknowledged the arrests had caused “a great deal of concern to the Jewish community, as well as with the wider public”.

If confirmed, the alleged plot would mark the third terrorist targeting of the area in two years.

Terry Woods, deputy chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, said: “We know how concerning this news will be to Jewish communities in Greater Manchester, and beyond.

ALSO READ: Police report gruesome killing of mother and her two children after they were reported missing – NewsFinale

“We know this is particularly acute on the calendar anniversary of last year’s terrorist atrocity at the Heaton Park synagogue and during the Jewish High Holy Days.

“We continue to work hand in glove locally with community leaders, the Community Security Trust and our local policing teams, and nationally with Counter Terrorism Police London, which has been leading this investigation.

“Our ongoing and robust policing plans within Jewish communities will endure. The public can expect continued police visibility, with officers providing engagement and security.”

Marc Levy, chief executive of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester, said the arrests came at an “incredibly concerning time” for British Jews, a year after Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby were killed in the Heaton Park attack.

“We once again repeat that security can only ever deal with the symptoms,” Mr Levy said.

“One year on from the murder of Melvin and Adrian, the Government must redouble its efforts to tackle the root causes of the hatred and extremism espoused in places of worship and other community spaces, which continue to motivate people to target Jews.”

‘We cannot simply keep protecting our community from the next attack but must do much more to stop people being motivated to carry one out in the first place.’

The pair’s arrests came almost 12 months after knife-wielding Islamic State supporter Jihad Al-Shamie tried to force his way into the Heaton Park Synagogue on October 2 last year during Yom Kippur.

Al-Shamie – who was wearing a fake suicide belt and rang 999 during his attack saying ‘I have killed two Jews in the name of Islamic State’ – had already stabbed Mr Cravitz, 66.

As a police marksman fired his Glock pistol at the terrorist, an inquest earlier this month heard how one round fatally struck Mr Daulby, 53, who was bravely helping to barricade the doors.

That round also hit 39-year-old Yoni Finlay, who survived.

The year before a terrorist attack on the same Jewish community planned by Walid Saadaoui, 38, the former owner of an Italian restaurant in Great Yarmouth, and Amar Hussein, 52, a former Iraqi soldier who worked in an appliance store in Bolton, was foiled after they unwittingly bought assault rifles, handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition from an undercover officer.

Saadaoui was sentenced to life in jail with a minimum of 37 years and Hussein to life with a minimum of 26 years in February.

This is a breaking news story.

This article includes distressing material

Ethan Ungerboeck was portrayed as a gifted Scots College student from a prosperous Sydney family. Yet behind that privileged image, the 21-year-old allegedly participated in some of the most disturbing online criminal activity encountered by seasoned crime reporters.

The allegations involve child abuse material and videos showing the torture and killing of animals, placing his hidden online life among the most confronting cases to emerge from Australia’s dark web investigations.

As he sat in court and moved through a negotiated plea arrangement, his demeanour appeared to contrast sharply with the seriousness of the allegations. The proceedings left questions about the full extent of what he had done.

Court records have revealed cases involving extreme sexual offending and violence before, but the breadth of the material linked to Ungerboeck stands apart for its scale and severity.

The evidence also points to an apparent fixation on the humiliation, fear and suffering of vulnerable victims, including babies and young children, as well as animals.

Ungerboeck is due to be sentenced next month. Even under the reduced charges in his plea agreement, he could face up to 15 years in prison. Until then, concerns remain about the risk he may pose, particularly to neighbours who keep pets.

The case is set out in a detailed NSW Police statement of agreed facts. Its account of online abuse, cruelty and exploitation is deeply disturbing and documents conduct that has shocked those who have examined it.

The university student and former bartender lived with his wealthy parents in their five-bedroom, four-bathroom Maroubra property, valued at about $6 million. Police allege the home was the base for his offending.

According to the case material, he used his technical knowledge to access hidden online networks. His defence has highlighted his intelligence, while prosecutors have focused on the conduct alleged to have taken place behind the walls of the family home.

Investigators discovered a Telegram account operating under the username ArchivistofArchives, along with an HP laptop and a Deepcool computer tower that Ungerboeck had owned since his school years in 2016.

A USB drive seized by police contained a large collection of abusive and violent files. The material was uncovered by Australian Federal Police cybercrime investigators during their examination of his devices.

The investigation took place in 2024, when authorities were examining “The Com”, an online network linked to cybercrime, child sexual abuse material, right-wing extremism, terrorism, sextortion and other forms of coercive abuse.

Investigators identified communities including “Harm Nation”, where young girls were reportedly pressured into self-harm before images and videos were shared, and the Gore Group, which focused on animal torture, killing and sexual abuse.

The groups relied on Telegram, an encrypted messaging platform, to circulate written messages, videos, audio and other files. Innocent-sounding filenames were often used to conceal the nature of the material being exchanged.

It was through that investigation that police identified Ethan Ungerboeck.

Unusually, Ungerboeck’s statement of facts, tendered to Downing Centre Court, begins with a caution: ‘Warning sensitive and distressing content. This document contains text-based child abuse material, bestiality material and animal crush material.’

It further states that the matters described may only be ‘transmitted or accessed for the purposes provided by law’, meaning that relating the child abuse offences in full detail would risk re-offending Ethan’s crimes. 

You won’t really want to hear it all, believe me, but we’ll give some hints as to its ghastly breadth.

The child abuse material that Ungerboeck was charged over consists of images and videos of mostly naked female children ranging in age from a one-year-old up to 17.

Things are done to children by adults with objects. Dogs are forced into sexual acts with men and women. In one video, a male engages sexually with a snake.

The so-called ‘animal crush’ material at the centre of Ethan’s offences depicts the vivid, brutal slaying of puppies and kittens. 

On an Emtec USB drive, Ungerboeck saved 4,034 image files and 101 videos – all of which were downloaded or created when Ethan was a child and ‘predominantly’ not accessed since he was 16. 

Ungerboeck’s file name for several images is ‘loli’, involving children aged between four and ten.

DON’T MISS: Tea vs. Coffee: Experts Reveal Which Drink Is Healthier

On his Telegram account, Ungerboeck saved 16 videos containing child abuse material and exchanged messages with a user called ‘oy mondo’ to receive videos of animal crush material.

The facts cite an 18-minute, five-second video titled ‘Dead cats on Sesame Street Volume 2 – f***ed up media productions’, a compilation of kittens being tortured and killed.

The methods included animals being hanged, beaten, drowned, crushed, nailed, burned and placed in a blender.

Other videos received by Ungerboeck show the torture and killing of monkeys. His Telegram group chats with others feature their appalling descriptions of violence to animals, including a hamster, a goat and a quail.

According to the documents, Ungerboeck recorded himself singing along to ‘existing rap song lyrics which he changed in a way that constituted child abuse material’ about a ‘baby’.

In a conversation with another Telegram user, who had his account deleted for making a coded reference for child pornography, Ungerboeck again mentions sexual acts with children.

He sends user oy mondo a two-hour, 50-minute suicide video of a Russian man shooting himself with an assault rifle.

Police arrested Ethan Ungerboeck in December 2024 and charged him with 17 offences, 12 relating to child abuse material, two to bestiality and three to animal crush material.

When arrested, Ungerboeck quickly turned on his associates, revealing the groups’ secrets and how to find them, boasting to detectives that his entry was ‘invite only, you know, similar to drug dealers. You have to know them.’ 

Last week, when Ungerboeck’s high-profile solicitor Michael Bowe sought his client’s tenth delay in court, Judge Susan Horan responded with open disbelief.

When Mr Bowe insisted the defence hadn’t ‘been sitting on our hands,’ she replied: ‘Ten committal hearings is ten too many.’

Following a discussion with prosecutors, Mr Bowe secured a reduction of his client’s charges – ten were withdrawn – in exchange for guilty pleas.

Ungerboeck pleaded guilty to possessing or controlling child abuse material accessed via a carriage service, producing child abuse material with intent to transmit using a carriage service, and using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material.

He also pleaded guilty to possessing child abuse material on a USB, and to using a carriage service to cause offence by providing audio-visual material depicting another person fatally shooting themselves in the head.

The guilty pleas included two counts of possessing bestiality material and three counts of possessing animal crush material.

A further two charges, relating to transmitting offensive material and using child abuse material, which did not result in a conviction, will be considered at Ungerboeck’s sentencing next month.

Among the child abuse material cited in Ungerboeck’s offences was ‘an image of a female child aged 15 to 16 years wearing a white top pulled down to expose her breasts.

‘On the young female’s chest is a recent cutting which reads UBAY X ETHAN. The wound still has blood dripping down her chest on her white top,’ the documents said. 

Ungerboeck, who had dated a 16-year-old girl when aged 20, had bitten her so hard that half her face went numb, and burnt her with a cigarette.

Ungerboeck eventually pleaded guilty to four domestic violence charges in relation to his treatment of the 16-year-old, but wasn’t convicted because his lawyer successfully argued that he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression.

He told the girl he had a number of girls around the world with his name carved into their bodies.

Although police were investigating him as part of a broader probe into online groups trading images of children engaged in sexual acts and self-harm, Ungerboeck was charged over the ‘cutting’ image with an offence of possessing child abuse material and pleaded guilty.

At sentencing, Ungerboeck’s lawyer is expected to cite his client’s mental health in an attempt to keep him out of prison.

If successful, Ungerboeck could remain in the family’s luxury home – whether the Maroubra residence or his new ‘architecturally designed dress circle’ address, complete with European appliances and marble benchtops – as listed in his latest court documents.

His fate will be decided at sentencing next month. 

More criminals could escape prosecution with ‘soft-touch’ warnings and fines as ministers seek to ease overcrowding in Scottish prisons, the Mail can reveal.

Prosecutors have been instructed to consider less severe penalties when deciding whether suspects should be charged, amid mounting pressure on the country’s jails.

Ministers have already approved the early release of hundreds of offenders, including violent criminals, to reduce inmate numbers in prisons struggling to cope.

Critics warn that the expanded use of so-called ‘direct measures’ to keep offenders out of prison could result in more dangerous criminals being released back onto the streets.

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Stephen Kerr accused the SNP Government of a ‘surrender to criminals’.

He said: ‘This is the latest example of the SNP’s soft-touch justice because they have failed to get a grip on Scotland’s prison crisis. Criminals should not get a slap on the wrist because ministers have run out of space in our jails.

‘Instead of watering down punishment, the SNP should expand capacity and back our plans to send prisoners abroad, so criminals serve the sentences handed to them in full.

‘Victims deserve justice – not a system in which prison capacity determines whether criminals face the full force of the law. This is nothing short of a surrender to criminals.’

The annual report by Deborah O’Brien Demick, His Majesty’s Inspector of Prosecution in Scotland, described the country’s prison population as an ‘ongoing issue’.

It recorded that 8,452 people were being held in Scottish prisons in March this year.

The report said prosecutors had been ‘instructed to have regard to the current pressure on prison population as a relevant public interest factor in their decision-making until the issue is alleviated’ as a ‘temporary and exceptional measure seeking to reduce the Scottish prison population’.

It added: ‘As part of this, prosecutors were asked to take the use of direct measures into consideration.’

Earlier this year, the Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission, established by the SNP Government, supported ‘proportionate measures’ including warnings, fiscal penalties, restorative options such as offenders apologising to victims, and diversion linked to mental-health, substance-use or social work support.

The commission said there was ‘strong evidence of effectiveness’ behind those measures. It also recommended allowing police to issue fixed penalties for threatening behaviour and to ‘ascertain if there are further statutory offences that would be suitable for police direct measures’.

That would allow even more people to avoid prosecution by paying a fine instead.

EXPLORE MORE: Hong Kong Model Killed by Ex-Husband, Who Allegedly Cooked Her Remains with Carrots

Separate figures published by the Crown Office in 2024 showed that direct measures, including fines and warnings, had been used in more than 550 suspected domestic-abuse cases during the previous year.

Under the system, suspects can avoid prosecution with a ‘fiscal fine’ of as little as £50.

The number of direct measures dished out to alleged domestic abusers rose from 469 to 555 between 2022-23 and 2023-24, an increase of more than 18 per cent.

The Crown Office has backed the ‘consistent use of prosecutorial direct measures’.

Former Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC, who stepped down in May, said she ‘recognised that prisons are full beyond their capacity’ which ‘will not deliver justice or public safety’.

Scotland’s prisons were packed to record levels last year despite emergency early releases, with the prison service admitting it faced ‘unprecedented challenges’ from overcrowding.

The Scottish Prison Service annual report published earlier this week reveals the average daily prison population reached a record 8,278 inmates in 2025-26, while ministers have separately disclosed that prisoner numbers peaked at 8,603 this year despite the prison estate being designed to hold 7,805.

In May 2024, it emerged sheriffs had been urged by Scotland’s top judge to send fewer criminals to jail for short sentences amid a prison overcrowding crisis.

Lord Carloway – who was then the Lord President, the country’s most senior judge – encouraged sheriffs to consider alternatives to jail such as Community Payback Orders to ease pressure on prisons.

David Threadgold, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, representing rank-and-file officers, said: ‘We need much better deterrent to crime and at the moment we just don’t have that.

‘It’s hard to see how any of this will deter crime, when you have more and more justice policy dictated by logistics rather than public safety.

‘Fining people doesn’t work when the people on the receiving end don’t have the cash anyway – it’s a waste of time.’

A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: ‘Direct measures are a long-established option available to prosecutors in appropriate cases.

‘Guidance issued in response to pressures on the prison population did not alter the requirement for prosecutorial decisions to be taken independently, on the facts and circumstances of each case, and for prosecutors to determine the most appropriate action in the public interest.’

The Scottish Government was approached for comment.

A widely reported study last month may have alarmed people who like their coffee piping hot.

Researchers found that people who regularly drink beverages heated above 65C are three times more likely to develop potentially fatal oesophageal cancer than those who choose cooler drinks.

The increased risk is believed to stem from the damage extreme heat can cause to cells lining the upper part of the food pipe.

That could be concerning news for black-coffee drinkers, since the average cup is served at roughly 65C to 70C. Tea drinkers may fare better: most cups with a dash of milk are typically around 57C.

The University of Oxford research is the latest in a long line of studies examining how tea and coffee affect our health.

Over the years, both drinks have been credited with potential benefits ranging from dementia and heart disease protection to helping speed up weight loss.

So which morning staple is the healthier choice? Here, experts assess which drink may deliver the greater boost to your wellbeing.

Which drink is better for warding off heart attacks? 

More than eight million people in the UK live with cardiovascular disease—twice the number living with cancer or Alzheimer’s disease combined.

Both coffee and tea have shown potential benefits for heart health, although coffee is often regarded as the stronger contender.

“Coffee contains polyphenols, including compounds known as chlorogenic acids, which have been shown to help shield the lining of blood vessels from damage,” says Ro Huntriss, a dietitian and chief nutrition officer at the weight-loss platform Simple Life App.

“That may improve circulation and reduce the accumulation of fatty plaque in the arteries, a key factor in heart attacks.”

A 2026 meta-analysis of 13 studies involving more than 600,000 people found that regularly consuming a moderate amount of coffee was linked to an 8 per cent lower risk of developing heart failure, a condition in which the heart struggles to pump blood efficiently around the body.

“Moderate consumption is generally considered to be around two to four cups a day,” Ms Huntriss says. “Decaf coffee also counts, as it retains many of the same beneficial compounds.”

However, much of the research associating coffee with a lower risk of heart disease is observational, so it cannot establish that coffee itself is responsible for the benefit.

Differences in diet, lifestyle, smoking habits and other factors may also have influenced the findings.

Coffee’s comparatively high caffeine content may also create problems for the heart when consumed in excess.

“At high levels, caffeine can temporarily increase heart rate and blood pressure and may cause palpitations, particularly among people who are sensitive to caffeine, have uncontrolled high blood pressure or certain heart-rhythm disorders,” Ms Huntriss warns.

“When it comes to coffee, more is not necessarily better.”

International guidance advises that drinking more than four or five filter coffees a day—the equivalent of about 400mg of caffeine—could be harmful to heart health.

Meanwhile, you can drink between eight to 13 cups of tea before reaching this limit. 

Large analyses have identified tea as a life-saver too: One 2024 review involving nearly two million people found that those drinking the most black tea have a 14 per cent lower risk of death from heart disease.

Researchers concluded that one-and-a-half to three cups a day is the ‘sweet spot’ for benefits.

Another research review published in 2021 suggested that the plant compounds flavonoids, in particular flavan-3-ols, found in tea, were a possible reason behind tea’s potential heart-health benefits.

It also concluded that consistently consuming two cups of unsweetened tea per day offers the correct levels of flavonoids to decrease cardiovascular disease risk and its progression.

‘Flavonoids may support the health and function of our blood vessels,’ says Nichola Ludlam-Raine, dietitian and author of How Not To Eat Ultra-Processed.

‘Randomised controlled trials have found small reductions in blood pressure with regular black tea consumption.’

Ms Ludlam-Raine also adds that what we add to our tea matters too in terms of our heart health.

NEXT UP: Has Penny Lancaster Told Husband Rod Stewart It’s Time to Focus on His Health?

‘A traditional cup of tea with a splash of milk can absolutely form part of a healthy balanced diet, but regularly adding several teaspoons of sugar increases our intake of free sugars without adding much nutritionally. It’s the overall dietary pattern that matters most for cardiovascular health.’

Winner: Tea

Can coffee really help you stay trim? 

Calories in versus calories out is a fundamental rule of weight loss and weight gain. 

But experts say many fail to take account of the calories they consume via drinks. 

‘Plain coffee is very low in calories, so choosing it instead of a sugary or fruity drink can help reduce overall calorie intake,’ says Ms Huntriss.

‘Coffee may also temporarily suppress appetite, so while it is not generally recommended as a weight-management intervention, it may inadvertently reduce food intake for some people.’

Studies suggest compounds in coffee – not caffeine – may influence gut hormones involved in signalling fullness to the brain. 

One Finnish observational study published in August found that those who drank more coffee tended to have less total and abdominal fat as well as more muscle.

Despite participants’ body mass index being similar, those drinking more coffee had less fat and more muscle. This relationship was particularly prevalent in men.

Ms Ludlam-Raine warns that black coffee or coffee with a splash of milk is different from a large coffee containing syrups, sugar, cream or whipped toppings.

‘There’s nothing wrong with adding milk – it can provide useful nutrients,’ she says. 

‘But the issue is when large coffees containing lots of milk are combined with several pumps of syrup, added sugar and/or cream, potentially turning what was a very low-calorie drink into something much more energy-dense.

‘Consumed frequently, those additional calories can add up and we have good evidence that frequent consumption of these types of drinks contributes to weight gain.’

There’s scant evidence to suggest that English breakfast tea has the same potential weight loss effect as coffee.

A 2024 review of 22 trials published in the British Journal of Nutrition compared various teas and coffees and analysed the impact on body weight. Black tea showed no significant weight loss effect, while coffee did.

‘Although black tea contains caffeine and polyphenols, there is limited evidence that it directly causes weight loss or helps people to stay lean. Its main advantage is being a low-calorie alternative to sugary drinks,’ says Ms Huntriss.

Winner: Coffee

Caffeine keeps you alert – but can it prevent dementia?

It’s no secret that coffee can sharpen you up after a bad night’s sleep – but can it benefit your brain health long-term, and even ward off dementia?

Perhaps, suggests intriguing evidence.  

Last year, researchers from the US and the UK analysed health data from 130,000 people over a 40-year period. Participants were asked to report how many cups of tea and coffee they drink, on average, every two years.  

The lowest dementia risk was seen in people drinking two to three cups of coffee – or one to two cups of tea per day.

But, as Ms Ludlam-Raine points out, ‘the research was observational, which means we can’t prove that the drinks themselves are responsible for the lower risk.’

However it is theoretically possible, she adds.

‘Tea contains a range of polyphenols, including flavonoids, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and therefore have a potential role in brain and vascular health.’

When it comes to supporting long-term brain health, tea and coffee can certainly be part of a healthy diet, but the bigger picture is more important.

‘This includes eating a balanced diet, regular exercise, not smoking, moderating alcohol and staying socially and mentally active,’ says Ms Ludlam-Raine.

Winner: Both