The Mancunian Way: Ding-dong in a Munich nightclub
'We are homeless' reads the sign fashioned from a scratty bit of cardboard attached to a bright blue tent in Stockport town centre.
This makeshift shelter is currently home to a family who came to the UK last year from Iraq.
Mohammed, his wife and their 18-year-old son have been sleeping rough outside the offices of social housing provider Stockport Homes.
READ MORE: Driver dies after crashing into wall in Greater Manchester
READ MORE: Girl, 13, 'topples into reservoir in front of her dad while taking photo'
"We need help, it's not safe here. I've been here for ten days, my wife is sick, we can't stay like this,' Mohammed told local democracy reporter Declan Carey.
The family - and another rough sleeper in a tent next to theirs - are among a growing number of people sleeping rough in the town.
The council, grappling with major housing shortages, expects to spend up to £1m on hotel accommodation this year - up from £180,000 three years ago.
Stockport Homes say Mohammed's family was offered accommodation but turned it down because it was outside the borough - a situation that would leave them in temporary accommodation.
You can read more about the family's predicament here.
Yehudis Fletcher always felt 'comfortable' in Manchester as a child visiting from Scotland - joining her grandmother on day trips into town and to the Jewish Museum.
But when she moved to the city as a teenager to live with a Jewish scholar - and subjected to horrific abuse at his hands - she was silenced by the city's Orthodox Jewish, or charedi, community.
Now a convicted paedophile, Grynhaus sexually assaulted Yehudis repeatedly, stealing into her bedroom at night and forcing himself upon her. Young and shielded from sexual ideas and language through her religion, she didn't even have the words to describe what was happening to her.
In her new memoir Chutzpah, she explores her faith, sexuality and the community.
She has been speaking to reporter Nicole Wootton-Cane about her horrific ordeal at the hands of a man she thought she could trust.
It's a harrowing but worthwhile read.
One of Manchester's biggest developers has been accused of using 'different figures' to avoid having to build affordable housing.
Renaker, which has built many of Manchester's skyscrapers, has repeatedly successfully argued the schemes it has put forward would not make enough profit to be 'viable' if it included affordable housing as per council policy.
However, a court heard this week that the developer allegedly uses a 'different set of figures' when seeking loans with 'modest' interest rates.
It comes as the Greater Manchester Combined Authority defends itself against claims brought to the Competition Appeal Tribunal that it loaned £120m to Renaker through its Housing Investment Loan Fund with 'no lawful or proper process'.
Politics writer Joseph Timan has all the details here.
"Good luck with that," says Roger Carrington, on hearing that Warburton Toll Bridge may have to close.
For more than 160 years travellers have been paying to cross the iron and stone bridge on the south west edge of Trafford. It's now a well-used route for drivers heading to and from the M6 and M62.
But Peel Port Group say it may have to close permanently unless 'selfish and irresponsible' drivers of lorries, tractors and other HGVs stop crossing it in spite of current weight restrictions during a £6.5m upgrade.
The long-standing 12p toll has been temporarily removed.
But the threat of closure and a planned increase in the toll to £1 once work is complete hasn't gone down well with villagers in Warburton, as reporter Damon Wilkinson discovered.
American pop-rockers Haim have chosen an unusual spot for their latest photoshoot.
It appears the cover art for their new release features an area near Piccadilly Gardens, with Don Tacos and One Piccadilly Gardens quite easily recognisable in the background.
It's sent fans into a frenzy with one declaring: 'Omg not near Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester take me back to uni lmao!'
While another said: 'What the hell are you doing on Portland Street? I am beside myself.'
What's On writer Adam Maidment has been scouring the details of the shot, including a W H Smith bag and a reference to a very noughties celeb couple.
Drought: The Environment Agency has declared a drought in the north-west of England. Details here.
Move on: Stockport council's new leader has demanded action rather than words on the town's call for a Metrolink stop. Mark Roberts said plans to expand the Metrolink network to Stockport need to move forward.
Affordability: Despite efforts to build more homes, property in Salford is becoming 'less affordable', the city's mayor has said. Paul Dennett has warned that the cost of living in Salford is being pushed further out of reach for some of the city's residents as prices continue to surge.
Tickets: Oldham Athletic FC will play Southend at Wembley on Sunday - the first time the club has visited the iconic stadium in over 30 years. But there are concerns Lactics fans will miss out due to ticket allocations for the game. More here.
Friday: Light rain changing to overcast by late morning. 19C.
Roads: A572 St Helens Road southbound, Leigh, closed due to roadworks from A578 Twist Lane to Bonnywell Road. Until June 30.
A6 Chapel Street westbound, Salford, closed due to long-term roadworks from A6041 Blackfriars Road to A34 New Bailey Street. Until January 19.
A58 Park Road in both directions closed due to water main work at Westhoughton until May 30.
'The infamous Oasis 'ding-dong' in a Munich nightclub that cost Liam Gallagher €50,000 and his two front teeth'.
How's that for a headline on a story I am definitely going to read. As you can imagine, the copy is littered with Liam's usual fruity parlance, so look away if you are easily offended.
Otherwise, read on.
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Suspect in Boulder attack said he planned to kill all in group he called ‘Zionist'
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Mohamad Sabry Soliman, 45, planned the attack for more than a year and specifically targeted what he described as a 'Zionist group,' authorities said in court papers charging him with a federal hate crime. The suspect's first name also was spelled Mohammed in some court documents. 'When he was interviewed about the attack, he said he wanted them all to die, he had no regrets and he would go back and do it again,' acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell for the District of Colorado said during a press conference Monday. Federal and state prosecutors filed separate criminal cases against Soliman, charging him with a hate crime and attempted murder, respectively. He faces additional state charges related to the incendiary devices, and more charges are possible in federal court, where the Justice Department will seek a grand jury indictment. During a state court hearing Monday, Soliman appeared briefly via a video link from the Boulder County Jail wearing an orange jumpsuit. Another court hearing is set for Thursday. Soliman is being held on a $10 million, cash-only bond, prosecutors said. An FBI affidavit says Soliman confessed to the attack after being taken into custody Sunday and told the police he was driven by a desire 'to kill all Zionist people,' a reference to the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel. Soliman's attorney, public defender Kathryn Herold, declined to comment after the hearing. Soliman was living in the U.S. illegally after entering the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on the social platform X. The burst of violence at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder unfolded against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war that continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. The attack happened on the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and barely a week after a man who also yelled 'Free Palestine' was charged with fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. The victims who were wounded range in age from 52 to 88, and the injuries spanned from serious to minor, officials said. All four of the latest victims had what police described as minor injuries. Six of the injured were taken to hospitals, and four have since been released, said Miri Kornfeld, a Denver-based organizer connected to the group. She said the clothing of one of those who remains hospitalized caught on fire. The volunteer group called Run For Their Lives was concluding their weekly demonstration when video from the scene shows a witness shouting, 'He's right there. He's throwing Molotov cocktails.' A police officer with his gun drawn advances on a bare-chested suspect who is holding containers in each hand. 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The morning after a man hurled Molotov cocktails at a crowd of Jewish Americans in Boulder, Colo., Rabbi Noah Farkas celebrated the first day of Shavuot in the usual way: He read the Torah about the giving of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai. But Farkas, the president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, said what was supposed to be a holiday celebrating the establishment of law and order was marred by the weekend violence. 'The community is terrified,' Farkas said outside Temple Ramat Zion in Northridge. 'It's remarkable to me that those who want to assault us are coming up with ever new and novel ways to do harm to us and to try to kill us." Twelve people between the ages of 52 and 88 were burned in the Colorado attack. 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The attacks in the U.S. come as United Nations officials and aid groups warn that the situation in Gaza has become increasingly dire, with Palestinians in Gaza on the brink of famine as Israel continues its 19-month military offensive against Hamas militants. Two weeks ago, Israel agreed to pause a nearly three-month blockade and allow a 'basic quantity' of food into Gaza to avert a 'hunger crisis' and prevent mass starvation. On Sunday, Gaza health officials and witnesses said more than 30 people were reported killed and 170 wounded as Palestinians flocked to an aid distribution center in southern Gaza, hoping to obtain food. The circumstances were disputed. Witnesses said Israeli forces fired on crowds about 1,000 yards from an aid site run by a U.S.-backed foundation, but Israel's military denied its forces fired at civilians. Levin attributed the rise in violence in the U.S. to a number of factors, including the Israel-Hamas war and the "increasingly unregulated freewheeling online environment." Horrifying imagery coming out of the Middle East, Levin said, was amplified on social media by those who ascribed responsibility to anyone who believes Israel has a right to exist, or is Jewish, or wanted hostages to be released. 'What happens is angry and unstable people not only find a home for their aggression, but a honed amplification and direction to it that is polished by this cesspool of conspiracism and antisemitism," Levin said. In Los Angeles' Pico-Robertson neighborhood, the mood was subdued Monday as a smattering of Orthodox families made their way to services to observe Shavuot. Many kosher establishments were closed and armed guards flanked entrances to larger Jewish centers and temples. On Pico Boulevard, a 25-year-old Orthodox man carried a prayer shawl close to his chest as he headed to a service at a temple just before noon. He had slept just a few hours after staying up all night reading the Torah. Despite the news of the attack in Colorado, the man — who identified himself as Laser — carried an easy smile. "It's a joyous holiday," he said. The Colorado attack was horrifying, he said, but it was not anything new and paled in comparison with the feeling that descended on the Jewish community in Los Angeles and across the world after Oct. 7. "It's never good to see or read about those types of things," he said. "We just pray for the ultimate redemption, for peace here, peace abroad, peace around the world." At Tiferet Teman Synagogue, a man standing at the door repeatedly apologized to a Times reporter, saying that he would not discuss the event that happened in Colorado. "I'm not going to invite politics into the community," he said. "God bless you all." Others observing the holiday declined to have their photo taken and many of the businesses were closed. A quiet buzz pervaded Pico Boulevard as Orthodox members of the community made their way to services, many of them trying their best to avoid eye contact. A Persian Jewish man from Iran said he has always been hesitant about religious violence. The man, who declined to give his name, was on his way to service. "You always have to keep your eyes open," he said. "No matter where you are in the world." Noa Tishby, an Israeli-born author who lives in L.A. and is Israel's former special envoy for combating antisemitism and delegitimization, said that many Jewish people were afraid to congregate. 'The Jewish community feels under siege,' she said. "People are removing their mezuzahs from their doorsteps. They're removing Jewish insignia from themselves, removing their Star of David or hiding it. They're afraid to go to Jewish events.' Tishby said that the Colorado attacker appeared to be motivated by antisemitism: the views and beliefs of the victims didn't matter. 'What if that particular woman that man tried to burn alive yesterday, what if she was a Bibi hater, would that appease him?' Tishby asked, using a nickname for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 'The answer is no. He doesn't know what her political opinions are in America or in Israel. He just burned her because she was Jewish.' Antisemitism, Tishby argued, was a shape-shifting conspiracy theory that had evolved into anti-Zionism. 'What happened is that the word Zionist is now a code name for Jew,' she said. 'We have been warning for decades that anti-Zionism is the new face of antisemitism…. They're taking all the hate, everything that's wrong in the world right now, and they're pinning it on the Jewish state.' L.A. Mayor Karen Bass was quick to denounce the attack Sunday as 'an atrocious affront to the very fabric of our society and our beliefs here in Los Angeles.' In a statement, she said she would call an emergency meeting at City Hall addressing safety and security across the city immediately after Shavuot. 'LAPD is conducting extra patrols at houses of worship and community centers throughout LA. Anti-Semitism will not be tolerated in this city,' she said. After speaking to Bass on Sunday, Farkas said that he planned to meet in person with the mayor on Wednesday after the Shavuot holiday to have a 'real, frank conversation' about antisemitism. "There is a cycle that we go through where our hearts are shattered and yet we have to keep enduring," Farkas said. "And it makes us call into question the commitment of our wider community and our government to the safety of the Jewish community.' The Associated Press contributed to this report. Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
