内容摘要："It's just a house now, it's no longer a home," he said.

"It's just a house now, it's no longer a home," he said.

He says one member of his staff was punched in the face when he tried to stop them stealing some vapes and bottles of wine.Shoplifting in London rose by 54% last year compared with 2023, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Mr Baskaran says that his shop is targeted two or three times a week."People think it's a petty crime, but if you add it up, that makes a big impact."Although the small shop has a cluster of CCTV cameras, he says the police have not taken action, so he's taken to sharing images of the suspects on social media himself, appealing for anyone with information to report them.

"But most people know who they are, and the police don't seem to be doing anything about it."When shop staff spot suspected shoplifters, he says they lock the doors and barricade themselves inside.

"But last time we did that, they broke the glass on our door, so there's nothing we can do, to be honest."

Just a few miles away from Mr Baskaran, in the same borough of Bromley, police have been piloting a scheme aimed at tackling prolific shoplifters.Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - who are designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN, US, EU and UK - must walk.

On one side is the diverse, and, in some cases more liberal, Syrian population, along with the international community, whose acceptance is crucial for HTS's survival and legitimacy. To them, the hair covering incident offered a troubling glimpse into Syria's potential future under HTS, expressing fears that conservative policies could eventually mandate the veil for all women.On the other side, Islamist hardliners criticised al-Sharaa for taking the photo at all, describing the woman as a "mutabarijah" - a term for a woman perceived to dress immodestly or wear makeup - and insisting his action violated religious rules.

These hardliners hold significant sway over militant factions and could rally opposition within al-Sharaa's own Islamist base.of attempting to reconcile these competing demands - balancing the expectations of the international community and the liberal parts of Syria's population with the demands of the hardline base. Both sides are closely scrutinising HTS's every statement and action.