UK protests: Over 70 arrested for supporting banned group Palestine Action
Two groups gathered underneath both the statues of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi and South Africa's first post-apartheid president, Nelson Mandela, in Parliament Square.Signs with the wording 'I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action,' were held aloft in silence as the protesters were surrounded by police officers and members of the media.Some demonstrators could be seen lying on top of each other on the ground as police searched their bags and took away signs.Officers could then be seen carrying away a number of protesters who were lying down, lifting them off the ground and into waiting police vans parked around the square.The official designation earlier this month of Palestine Action as a proscribed group under the Terrorism Act 2000 means that membership in the group and support for its actions are punishable by up to 14 years in prison.Some 81 organisations are already proscribed under the U.K. act, including the militant groups Hamas and al-Qaida. The government moved to ban Palestine Action after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base in Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, England, on June 20, damaging two planes using red paint and crowbars in protest at the British government's ongoing military support for Israel in its war in Gaza.Police said that the incident caused around 7 million pounds ($9.4 million) of damage. Four people between 22 and 35 years old were charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage and conspiracy to enter a prohibited place for purposes prejudicial to the interests of the U.K. The four are scheduled to appear on July 18 at the Central Criminal Court in London, better known as the Old Bailey.- EndsMust Watch
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Time of India
24 minutes ago
- Time of India
Ex-Mamdani intern sparks row: Hadeeqa Malik calls protests ‘jihad'; confronts Muslim NYPD officer
Screengrab A recent video has surfaced of Hadeeqa Malik, a City College of New York (CCNY) student and former intern with New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, making controversial remarks during a CUNY4Palestine webinar titled Islamic Political Activism. In the video, which was shared on Malik's LinkedIn nearly ten months ago, she describes protest participation, including the risk of being doxed, arrested, or suspended, as part of 'jihad', reported New York Post. She also questions fellow Muslims who choose not to take part in activism, suggesting that they are failing in their duty. According to her LinkedIn profile, Malik interned at Mamdani's office in summer 2024, where she worked on communications, outreach, and constituent services. A photo on her profile shows the two smiling together. Malik is currently the president of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at CCNY and lists herself as an outreach coordinator for CAIR (Council on American–Islamic Relations) and a racial justice fellow at the Colin Powell School. She has participated in pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University and other venues. A second video that has also resurfaced shows Malik confronting a Muslim NYPD officer during a protest. In the clip, she criticising him for working with the police while bearing a Muslim identity. The original video of the webinar has since been made private, but it has been reposted by other users online.
Indian Express
28 minutes ago
- Indian Express
US citizen who helped Russia from inside Ukraine granted Russian passport by Putin
Daniel Martindale, a US citizen who helped the Kremlin target Ukrainian troops and was then spirited out of eastern Ukraine by Russian special forces, has received a Russian passport in Moscow. Russian state television broadcast a report on Tuesday showing Martindale, with a trim beard and dressed in a suit and tie, smiling as he received his new documents. 'I, Daniel Richard Martindale, voluntarily and consciously accepting the citizenship of the Russian Federation, swear to observe the Constitution,' he said in good Russian. 'The belief that Russia is not just my home, but also my family – I am extremely glad that this is not only in my heart, but also by law,' Martindale told television cameras, holding up the Russian passport. State media said Martindale had been granted the passport by order of President Vladimir Putin. Reuters was unable to reach Martindale. A spokesperson for the US State Department declined to comment. A self-described Christian missionary, Martindale is one of many foreigners who have supported Russia during its war against Ukraine. But few foreigners are known to have provided key logistical support to Russia from inside Ukraine. Martindale grew to love Russia when he lived there in 2018, studying the language and teaching English in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok. Now in his early 30s, Martindale was living in Poland in the months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He had a sense that Russia would invade Ukraine, he later told InfoDefense, a pro-Russian media project, and wanted to be there when it happened. Martindale hopped on a bicycle and rode from Poland across the Ukrainian border that February. He was in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv when Russia launched its attack. 'It was actually kind of exciting,' he told InfoDefense in May. 'I understood that the adventure I had been looking forward to was not going to be cancelled.' Over the next two years, Martindale made his way to eastern Ukraine, where he lived in a Ukrainian-held village near the front line in the Donetsk region. He planted carrots, sweet potatoes, and corn in his yard, and celebrated birthdays and holidays with villagers, he later told the Wall Street Journal. Secretly, Martindale was passing along information to pro-Russian troops, including details on Ukrainian military positions and other intelligence. On Tuesday, Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the Russian-controlled part of Donetsk region, praised Martindale, saying some of the information he had shared formed the basis for Russian planning to seize Kurakhove, a town near the key Ukrainian logistics hub of Pokrovsk. After two years of working as an informant for Russia, Martindale was spirited out of Ukraine by Russian forces as they took control of the village where he lived. At a press conference in Moscow last November, Martindale told reporters he had established contact with pro-Russian forces via Telegram. 'For the last two years, I have done everything to save the lives of Russian soldiers and ensure some kind of future for Russians in Ukraine. I would like to continue doing this,' he said. On Tuesday, Pushilin expressed gratitude to Martindale for his role in Russia's successes on the battlefield. The American 'has long since proven with his loyalty and actions that he is one of us,' Pushilin said.' For us, this (the Russian passport) is a sign of respect and a sign of gratitude for what Daniel has done.'
Time of India
31 minutes ago
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Cocaine in biscuit boxes: Woman from Doha caught smuggling Rs 62 crore stash at Mumbai airport
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