A woman has been arrested after four men were stabbed in Covent Garden in central London, the Metropolitan Police said.
The men were rushed to a hospital major trauma centre after the attack on Endell Street just before 12.30pm.
The stabbing was mental health-related according to police, and it is understood a pair of scissors were recovered at the scene.
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Caption: Conceptual image of clinical research to develop a possible cure for Alzheimer’s and dementia
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HEALTH
The three things to avoid to stave off dementia
Making certain life choices in middle age increased your chances of keeping dementia at bay later in life, according to a new study.
What did the study find?
Those who do not smoke, have no diabetes and have normal blood pressure in middle age can stave off dementia for nearly 13 years.
The study, published in the journal Neurology, looked at 12,500 people who were free of dementia when they were aged 55.
People were assessed for high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking and followed for an average of 26 years.
People with no diabetes, no high blood pressure and who did not smoke had an average of 30 more years free of dementia.
Meanwhile, those with one risk factor had an extra 26 years, those with two had 21 years, and those with three had just over 17 years.
Preserving healthy years
Rather than focusing only on the chances of developing dementia, this study asks a question that matters to people: how long can we expect to live free from dementia?
Dr Jacqui Hanley, head of research funding at Alzheimer’s Research UK
Bad sleep can affect your blood pressure (Photo: Ekaterina Vasileva-Bagler/Getty/ Moment RF)
What does this mean?
The study authors explained: “These factors often emerge in midlife and exert lasting effects on neurodegenerative pathology, underscoring the critical importance of early identification and management.”
It also found that regardless of risk factors, women lived longer without dementia than men and white people had more dementia-free years than black people.
LIFESTYLE
4 min read
Analysis
2 min read
russia-ukraine war
Putin’s 4,000-strong air force is crashing and burning
Ukraine is launching ever more audacious strikes deep inside Russia against key airfields that house its strategic bombers.
Over the weekend, the Ukrainian military said a drone hit the Engels military airbase in the Saratov region, around 373 miles (600km) from the border.
What you need to know
Russia’s air force has been unable to establish dominance of the skies over a modest Ukrainian fleet.
It continues to suffer losses of its most advanced warplanes.
Since 2022, it has suffered heavy hits to its 4,000-strong air force, with at least 380 aircraft lost.
Kyiv is making use of a growing fleet of Western aircraft to defend the skies, including US-made F-16s and French Mirages.
Analysis
3 min read
What do the experts say?
Thomas Newdick, an aviation specialist at military news outlet The War Zone, said: “Ukraine is being increasingly innovative in the way it’s moving air defence assets around the country, and the way it’s operating jets from highway strips and secondary airfields.”
Caption: Three Tupolev Tu-22M3 bombers of Russian Air Force fly in formation over the Kremlin of Moscow during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade to celebrate the 71st anniversary of the victory in WWII, Moscow, Russia. (Photo by: aviation-images.com/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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Source: Universal Images Group Editorial
Mykola Bielieskov, a military analyst at the National Institute for Strategic Studies think-tank in Kyiv, said it is hoped Ukrainian attacks can “impose a dilemma on Russia”, forcing it to choose between offence or defence.
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Sharif Ahmadzai (centre) is led out of the Athens Court House complex in Kypseli, Athens, where he appeared accused of killing 38-year-old Elisabeth-Jane Ross and disposing of her body in a suitcase. Ms Ross was discovered dead by a homeless man in a derelict building in the Kypseli area of the Greek capital on July 18. Picture date: Wednesday August 5, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: PA Wire
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CRIME
Murder suspect appears in court in Athens
A man accused of killing a Scottish woman and disposing of her body in a suitcase has appeared in court in Athens.
The 26-year-old is accused of killing Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, who was discovered by a homeless man in a derelict building in the Kypseli area of the Greek capital on 18 July.
What you need to know
Caption:
Pic shows: Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, an Afghan champion boxer, who is suspected of killing British woman Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, in Athens before stuffing her body in a suitcase and dumping it in an abandoned building on July 16.
Ahmadzai is pictured here on an “open” Instagram page.
Ahmadzai arrived in Lesvos in 2016, and later married US-born Alaina Hall in 2023.
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Copyright: Instagram
The suspect is understood to be Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, an Afghan boxer who was orphaned as a teenager.
He is facing a charge of homicide with intent, as well as allegations that he stole more than £8,500 from the victim’s bank accounts.
Greek officials said he admitted moving the body but denied the homicide allegations.
A closer look at the case
After allegedly killing Ross, Ahmadzai is accused of sending a series of messages from her phone to her friends and family before switching off the device.
Caption: A man has been arrested over the death of a British woman, whose body was found in a suitcase dumped in an abandoned building in Athens.
The body of Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, was discovered by a homeless man in a derelict building in the Kypseli area of the Greek capital on 18 July.
Ms Ross, from the Edinburgh area of Scotland, is believed to have died between five and seven days before she was found, police said.
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Copyright: Lisa Jane/ Facebook
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Screen grab taken from PA Video of Sharif Ahmadzai (centre) is led out of the Athens Court House complex in Kypseli, Athens, where he appeared accused of killing 38-year-old Elisabeth-Jane Ross and disposing of her body in a suitcase. Ms Ross was discovered dead by a homeless man in a derelict building in the Kypseli area of the Greek capital on July 18. Picture date: Wednesday August 5, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Nick Forbes/PA Wire
Photographer: Nick Forbes
Provider: Nick Forbes/PA Wire
Source: PA
He is then said to have bought another phone and texted her friends in Athens, including his wife, impersonating an unnamed jihadist saying he had killed the Scot because of her religion, Greek newspapers Proto Thema and Ta Nea reported.
Victim identified through fingerprints
His wife, US citizen Alaina Hall, reportedly told the police she suspected her husband’s involvement when she woke up to find he was gone, and tracked his phone to where Ross was staying.
Ross is believed to have died between five and seven days before she was found, during which time temperatures reached 36°C.
The Hellenic Police, Greece’s national force, were able to identify her using fingerprints.
Tributes paid
Lisa’s life was all about mission. She had been to many places and served people. She was a very precious girl and it is a tragic loss.
Peter Anderson, pastor from City on a Hill church in Edinburgh
Caption: A man has been arrested over the death of a British woman, whose body was found in a suitcase dumped in an abandoned building in Athens.
The body of Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, was discovered by a homeless man in a derelict building in the Kypseli area of the Greek capital on 18 July.
Ms Ross, from the Edinburgh area of Scotland, is believed to have died between five and seven days before she was found, police said.
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=%20Lisa%20Jane
Copyright: Lisa Jane/ Facebook
The woman, who is aged 47, was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and assault and remains in custody, the force said.
The BBC reports that two of the four men have already been released from hospital.
Photos have emerged which show a woman being arrested and confronted at the scene by police officers.
Arjan Gjorga, who manages a fish and chip shop in Endell Street, said he witnessed a woman “stabbing random people” who were “just walking by”.
Mr Gjorga explained: “She just started stabbing random people.
“We saw this lady after a few minutes being arrested – the police responded immediately.”
Matt Bishop, who works at a consultancy firm in Covent Garden, said in the aftermath of the attack he saw a woman in a “stand-off” with three police officers and waving a weapon around.
He said he didn’t see the stabbing but saw a woman “running down the road towards the crossroads”, adding: “There was a bit of a stand-off with three police officers.
“She didn’t seem to be particularly coherent. She was pretty incoherent in what she was shouting, the officer was asking what language she was shouting.”
Eyewitnesses Lottie and Ben saw a man being assessed by ambulance staff, as they walked down a street near where the attack occurred.
Lottie told Sky News: “We saw a few tactical vans. We heard commotion… we didn’t know what was going on.
“It was a little bit scary.”
Angel Daden told the BBC she was in a spin class at the Oasis Sports Centre in Covent Garden when somebody came in and informed her “people are being stabbed outside”.
Ms Daden added when she went outside to have a “quick look” she saw a bandaged person heading into an ambulance.
The woman being confronted by police in Covent Garden (Photo: SWNS)
Two of the four men stabbed on Endell Street have been released from hospital already, says the BBC (Photo: PA)
A large cordon has been put up which covers the scene and surrounding areas, including the St Mungo’s homeless centre on the street, where officers were seen speaking to people before they entered the building.
Chief superintendent Jason Stewart, who leads policing in the area, said he would “like to reassure the community” that the force currently believes the stabbings were an “isolated, mental-health related incident”.
He added: “A visible police presence will remain in the area while evidence is gathered at the scene and we thank the public for their understanding.”
An ambulance crew and London’s Air Ambulance were among the emergency services who rushed to the scene.
London Ambulance Service said in a statement: “We treated four patients at the scene and took them all to a major trauma centre as a priority by road.”
Restaurants adjacent to the cordon towards Long Acre are continuing to operate.
London’s Air Ambulance was seen landing in Trafalgar Square following reports of the stabbing, the BBC reports.
Anyone with information about what happened is asked to call police on 101, quoting reference number CAD3449/05AUG.
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