Thursday briefing: What would it take for streets to be safe for all?

Bins set alight on the Crumlin Road area of Belfast, as disorder flared during an anti-immigration demonstration. Photograph: Claudia Savage/PA View image in fullscreen Bins set alight on the Crumlin Road area of Belfast, as disorder flared during an anti-immigration demonstration. Photograph: Claudia Savage/PA Thursday briefing: What would it take for streets to be safe for all? In today’s newsletter: With violent crime declining but hate crime increasing, a look at what we can all do to make our shared spaces safer Good morning. Who is safe on Britain’s streets? Two acts of gross violence – the murder of Henry Nowak in Southampton and the stabbing of Stephen Ogilvie in Belfast – have been ruthlessly exploited by the far-right and now the spaces we all share are contested. It is an entirely human response to feel unsafe when we watch a clip of an assailant wielding a knife over his victim, or police officers handcuffing a distressed, dying young man. Much as it is when we see ethnic minority families fleeing burning homes in Belfast, or a menacing crowd in Glasgow setting about black people as they pass. Tensions have escalated sharply, but how safe people feel wearing a hijab or a kippah, holding hands with a same-sex partner or driving a wheelchair, has been eroding for years. Today, I speak to our community affairs correspondent, and erstwhile First Edition writer, Aamna Mohdin about how the mood at street level has changed for visible minorities, and set out some very practical steps for what we can all do to make our shared spaces safer. First the headlines. Five big stories Middle East | The US launched new strikes against targets in Iran for the second consecutive day after Donald Trump promised to “hit them hard again” as a two-month-old ceasefire appears close to collapse. UK politics | Keir Starmer’s closest aides are “war-gaming” how to win a leadership contest ahead of Andy Burnham’s much-anticipated return to Westminster if he wins the Makerfield byelection, the Guardian understands. Belfast | Elon Musk’s X will face no action to remove a mass of posts inciting violence in Northern Ireland for at least two months, despite widespread condemnation of the platform and its billionaire owner. Environment | Temperatures in the Antarctic climbed above 15C this month, shattering the previous winter heat record for the usually frozen region and raising concerns about the speed of climate breakdown . UK news | One of the government’s key contractors has launched an investigation into allegations of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate speech among staff working in immigration removal centres, the Guardian has learned. In depth: ‘Hostility has become increasingly normalised and we’re seeing the consequences’ View image in fullscreen A man is in Belfast is guided to safety by after being rescued from houses on fire in Lendrick Street. Photograph: PA On Monday evening, Stephen Ogilvie was stabbed on a Belfast street. Sudanese asylum seeke