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Belfast Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
MLA accuses some loyalist bands of ‘disgusting lack of respect for people of Derry' after Apprentice Boys parade
An image was widely shared of a bus load of some visitors to the city urinating at a roadside on the Culmore Road. Similar incidents were observed in other parts of the city. The 'East Bank Protestant Boys Londonderry' paraded around the Derry Walls with a banner of Gary Lynch, listed in the CAIN Troubles archive as a member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). According to CAIN, Lynch was shot dead by the IRA in August 1991. Also on Saturday at the ABOD parade, the Tullycarnet Flute Band from east Belfast carried a banner with a UDA emblem on it as they marched from the Waterside area and through the city centre. Foyle MLA, Pádraig Delargy, said: "Once again, visiting loyalist bands have shown a disgusting lack of respect for the people of Derry. "Those organising these events must take responsibility and ensure we don't see a repeat of these scenes and other offensive behaviour." When asked to comment on these incidents, the Apprentice Boys of Derry General Secretary said: 'We'll be sitting down in the next week or so to thoroughly review all reports, debrief with the PSNI and our Marshal team, to take action as appropriate and to carry forward learning points on how to improve further for the future.' He was asked what substantive actions ABOD has taken after past incidents and whether any bands have been banned from attending. And why the Tullycarnet Flute Band was not listed as taking part in the main parade on the Parades Commission website. No further response was provided. In recent times a band wore uniforms in support of a man known as Soldier F from the Parachute Regiment, who is accused of murdering two men on Bloody Sunday. Separately, stalls were selling Parachute Regiment and UVF flags in the Waterside. Governor of the Associated Clubs of the Apprentice Boys of Derry William Walker said: 'The Association has worked hard to ensure an enjoyable day for all in Londonderry for our Annual Commemorations. "It has been an outstanding day of colour and pageant, Commemoration and celebration 'Our thanks to the PSNI, Translink and Council departments we have worked with over the past six months and more to bring everything together and for their support in undertaking changes that have improved movement around the City for those on parade and for the general public. Watch: Shrapnel damage caused to multiple houses as residents report 'loud bang' after explosion 'We'd like to thank the Maiden City Festival who entertained visitors from across the World on the Walls in St. Columb's Cathedral and in the Memorial Hall. 'Visitors have poured through the doors of the Siege Museum individually and on booked tours learning about the Siege, the Apprentice Boys and the City. "The Festival continues to set the mood ahead of the main event at the weekend.'
Time of India
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Epstein-Trump links: How did a real estate betrayal end their friendship? Jeffery believed 'it was Trump who went to the police'
US President Donald Trump 's longtime biographer Michael Wolff has claimed that a bitter falling-out over a $36 million Palm Beach mansion was the turning point in the his friendship with infamous child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein . He said that this betrayal may have sparked a chain of events ending in Epstein's arrest, allegedly tipped off by Trump himself. The centre of the fallout, Wolff said, was a luxury Palm Beach property Epstein believed he had secured in 2004 for $36 million. Epstein, who was close friends with Trump at the time, even brought him along to discuss changes to the swimming pool. But instead of giving advice, Trump allegedly went behind Epstein's back and bought the house himself, for $40 million. 'Epstein… understood that he didn't have $40 million to pay for this house,' Wolff said in a new interview. 'If that was the case, it was someone else's $40 million. At the time, Epstein believed this to be the $40 million of a Russian oligarch by the name of Rybolovlev.' Less than two years later, the same house was sold for $95 million, to Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev. Wolff described the series of events as 'a red flag of money laundering.' Furious, Epstein allegedly began threatening Trump with lawsuits, and even going public with claims that Trump was the front man for a money laundering deal. 'Trump panics at this point,' said Wolff. 'Epstein believed, and he believed to his dying day, that it was Trump who went to the police… fully acquainted with what was going on at Epstein's house… dropped the dime on him.' Epstein was arrested in 2019 and later died in jail. According to Wolff, the property dispute and Epstein's threats triggered a chain of events that led to his legal downfall, beginning with his arrest shortly after returning from Paris. Wolff first detailed this account in his 2019 book Siege, which Epstein read while in France. 'He called me with some alarm and he said he was afraid that he might have said too much,' Wolff recalled. Three weeks later, Epstein was arrested upon landing in New Jersey. The biography adds to a growing body of claims Wolff has made connecting Trump to Epstein and his former associate, Ghislaine Maxwell . Earlier, Wolff had alleged that the White House believed Maxwell's family deliberately leaked Epstein's so-called 'birthday book' to The Wall Street Journal, including a 'salacious' 2003 birthday message from Trump, as a warning that she held damaging information. 'In the White House, they believe that the story… was a leak from the Maxwell family,' Wolff had said. He also previously claimed that Epstein played a key role in introducing Melania Trump to her future husband. 'She's introduced by a model agent, both of whom Trump and Epstein are involved with… Epstein knew her well,' Wolff told The Daily Beast podcast. Though Trump has distanced himself from both Epstein and Maxwell in public statements, Wolff's explosive claims continue to raise questions about just how intertwined their histories really are.
Hamilton Spectator
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Commemorating 1990 in solidarity
During the Siege of Kanehsatake in 1990, Ellen Katsi'tsakwas Gabriel would speak at night with the men on the front lines after wrapping up the day's negotiations. One of the men, Richard Two-Axe - 'Boltpin' - had a saying. You can break one arrow very easily, but if you take a bunch of arrows, you cannot break them. 'That's what solidarity is,' said Gabriel, speaking to more than 200 people assembled at Place du Canada in Tiohtià:ke on July 11 to mark the 35th anniversary of the Siege. The commemoration was not merely a remembrance, but a call to action that highlighted the pivotal importance of solidarity. 'I really think that if we understand one another and have a relationship with one another, maybe we'll stop killing one another, and we can bring children up in a world that is safe for them,' said Gabriel. As such, the rally featured speeches not only from Kanehsata'kehró:non and Kahnawa'kehró:non, but also the Palestinian Youth Movement and other speakers who are not Indigenous to Turtle Island. The speakers, gathering at Place du Canada, also made clear that the fight against the government for the recognition of Kanien'kehá:ka rights and territory is not over. 'As oppressed people, we are stronger than our colonizer because we resist constantly, and it may not be shown evident on a daily basis, but it's in our hearts and our minds. It's that courage and strength and the resilience to be able to say 'throw what you want at me, my ancestors are walking with me. You cannot defeat my ancestors,'' said Gabriel. Despite the government's efforts to assimilate Onkwehón:we, Indigenous people are not ashamed of who they are, Gabriel said. 'We hold our heads high because we won, in a sense, simply because there was solidarity with all of you, with all of the people that you heard today,' she said. The rally also sought to highlight 16 calls to action directed at the governments of Canada and Quebec and to Canadian institutions and the public at large. Wanda Gabriel, one of the organizers of the rally along with Ellen, summarized a few of them to the crowd - for Canada to negotiate in good faith to return stolen homelands, to eliminate policies that violate and exclude rights to self-determination, and for institutions and the public to seek better education on the root causes and history behind the 1990 Kanehsatake and Kahnawake Siege. 'We are awake, but there has been a cost to the awakening. While the world remembers the barricades, we remember what it cost our community: mistrust, divisions, and wounds that have not healed. When the land is insecure, the people are insecure,' said Wanda. 'When governments profit from our exploitation, safety is impossible. The Kanehsatake Resistance was not just a standoff; it was a reckoning.' She went on to describe how Canada has not honoured the findings of commission reports since then that have identified root causes, already known to the Kanien'kehá:ka who had been fighting for their land and sovereignty, before directly addressing the young minds in the crowd. 'I want to say to our young people, you are not here just to listen,' said Wanda. 'You are here to pick up the work. You are the next barricade, but this time it won't be built with logs and tires, but with knowledge, unity, and courage.' Kahnawa'kehró:non Allison Deer attended the rally with guests of hers from Six Nations of the Grand River who were in town for the powwow. 'I thought the venue location (Canada Place) was appropriate as the challenge is still with the federal government. It was important to let the general population know that the disputed lands are still not in the possession of the people in Kanehsatake, and that more work needs to be done,' she said. 'My key takeaway is that our true strength lies in cultivating a thoughtful and open-minded approach by using a good mind - this is our way. Our resilience is rooted in peace, diplomacy, and unity.' Joe Deom, spokesperson for the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake, spoke at the event to recall his experience of 1990. 'We had to deal with the Army and also the politicians from Quebec who were determined to annihilate us in Kahnawake and also in Kanehsatake,' said Deom. 'Throughout that whole summer, I tell people that I never had so much fun in my life. There were times when things got really serious, but we prevailed through all that.' However, he said, while the encroachment of the Oka Golf Club was halted, the larger land issues remain unresolved. 'I was asked several times today, what's the purpose of this commemoration?' he said. 'The men in Kahnawake, we have a small group that raise our flags near the bridge to remind the motorists that we're still here and we're still alive and kicking. That's what this is all about because a lot of you people today were not even born in 1990, or maybe you were very young, so you don't know the whole story behind what happened in 1990.' Others also spoke to share their stories. One was Kahentinetha Horn, who recalled how a member of the Canadian military stabbed her 14-year-old daughter, Waneek Horn-Miller, in the chest. She called for an investigation to finally take place. 'They sent in the Canadian Army to deal with us, and they keep saying and telling the world and everybody that we're citizens of Canada, and yet they sent their soldiers against us,' said Horn, reminding the crowd that this land belongs to its Indigenous peoples. 'We never gave it up,' she said. Another who spoke was Wendy Mayo, the wife of the late Richard Two-Axe, who died in 2003. Two-Axe, who grew up in New York, had been one of the Kanien'kehá:ka held captive in the Onen'to:kon Treatment Centre and transported to custody in Farnham. His thick New York accent made him a particular target, Mayo said, because the authorities were demanding on that basis that he confess a connection to the American Indian Movement (AIM). Mayo visited him with their three-year-old daughter every day until his release a month later. 'We were treated like we were killers, criminals,' she said. 'They escorted us to the bathroom almost with a gun on our back each time that we went there.' The summer had been a painful episode for the family, with the couple apart and scarcely able to communicate outside of the news media. Mayo's 15-year-old son, meanwhile, became a man overnight, she said. She recalled the incident on Tekakwitha Island, when the military landed. 'When the island happened, it happened so quick that my son came running. He said 'they're going to tear gas you.' I was holding (my daughter) in my arms, and when the first thing went off, all of a sudden we're at the water, and my daughter wasn't in my arms any longer,' she said. 'I swear to god, I thought I dropped her, and all the while it was my son that grabbed her and went running and put her under his hood because the tear gas was all over, and not to mention it was right beside a hospital.' It was in the final moments of the rally that Ellen recalled Two-Axe's saying, not long before inviting those assembled to take part in a round dance to the sound of the drum, which she described as the heartbeat of the people, performed by Spirit Wolf. 'That's what solidarity is,' said Ellen about the bunch of arrows. 'That's what that solidarity is about, and together we cannot be broken.' marcus@ Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Error! 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Saba Yemen
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Maghreb "Resilience Convoy" continues journey to break siege on Gaza
Tripoli - Saba: The Maghreb "Resilience Convoy/Sumud" to break the siege on the Gaza Strip continued its journey to Egypt on Wednesday, then to the border with the Strip after entering Libya. The convoy's organizers announced the start of the second phase of the journey. The first group of the Maghreb "Resilience Convoy" to break the siege on Gaza arrived Tuesday, from Tunisia to the Libyan city of al-Zawiya, 51 km from the capital, Tripoli. Dr. Mohammed Amin Balnour, the medical coordinator of the "Resilience Convoy" to Break the Siege on Gaza, stated that the reception in Libya "was exceptional, and people took to the streets to greet the convoy, while Libyan security personnel gave it an official salute." Balnour added that the Libyans "provided the convoy with all necessary aid, including food, cold water, and other supplies." Regarding the health status of the convoy members, Balnour said, "The health situation is good, with only some cases of travel fatigue." He added, "One patient was returned to Tunisia from Ben Guerdane on the border with Libya." The convoy set off on Monday morning from Tunis, heading for Gaza, in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade and show solidarity with the Palestinians. Approximately 1,700 activists are participating in the convoy, with others expected to join them on the way to the Libyan border, along with Libyan organizations and supporters. According to the activists' overland journey, the starting point was Tunis, heading south toward the Tunisian-Libyan border. The journey will extend across Libya to its border with Egypt, and then to the Rafah land crossing. The overland convoy is expected to arrive in Cairo on Thursday and then head to the Rafah crossing, where it will arrive on Sunday, according to what the organizers posted on their social media page. Approximately 1,500 Tunisian civil society and human rights activists, as well as approximately 200 Algerians, participated in this first-of-its-kind land convoy to break the siege on Gaza. Others, along with Libyan organizations and supporters, will join the convoy en route to the Libyan border. According to organizers, nine buses and 100 private cars set out from the Tunisian capital toward the Libyan border. Additional Libyan vehicles are expected to join the convoy as it travels toward the Egyptian border. The Arab "Sumud" convoy comes as Israeli occupation authorities intercepted the ship "Madeleine," carrying 12 international activists. The convoy is part of an international civil society movement that includes more than 30 countries in partnership with the Global March to Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, and the Joint Action Coordination for Palestine. Organizers said the convoy is not carrying aid to Gaza, but rather aims to carry out a "symbolic" mission in the Palestinian enclave, which the United Nations has described as the hungriest place on earth. Israel recently allowed limited aid into Gaza after a nearly three-month land blockade. The limited aid allowed by the Israeli occupation authorities is distributed through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is supported by Israel and the United States, is rejected by the UN, and has faced widespread criticism for its distribution mechanism. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Rainbow Six Siege X free vs premium: What should you really get?
(Image via Ubisoft) Rainbow Six Siege X, a tactical juggernaut of Ubisoft, has finally arrived, marking a massive shift for tactical titan. The major shift has further introduced the title's free access for players, allowing anyone to jump into action. If one doesn't wish to pay upfront for premium tiers, this new model is perfect. But what's actually included for free? What demands to spend? To understand the tiers, it is important for the new recruits to decide how deep they can dive within the revamped action. Rainbow Six Siege X free vs premium version core differences Siege X has fundamentally changed how the players can enter the game. The free tier has opened the door quite wide. Through it, a player can get immediate access to the core multiplayer experience of the game—unranked modes, Quick Match, and even the brand-new 6v6 Dual Front mode that's available on some supported platforms (current-gen/PC). Crucially, you get to start with 26 operators who are ready for deployment and offer you the intense core experience of Siege. Many more operators can be earned via Rainbow Six Siege X gameplay. Note: While the free access offers a substantial taste of the intense and tactical gameplay, players can even learn maps, grasp fundamentals without spending any dime, and experiment with the gadgets here. The premium access to the game, on the other hand, unlocks a complete competitive spectrum. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo It comes with high-stakes Ranked playlists and Siege Cup. Quite crucially, it grants operators access to a much larger roster that's beyond the initial 26. The existing owners of the game automatically before June 10th had premium, and they get to keep all the progress. Rainbow Six Siege X operators advantage The operators' access is one of the key differentiators in the game. The free players have 26, including Pathfinders, Recruit, and other early-year ops, while they continue to try and unlock others. But the premium version gives players a massive head start. The Elite Edition can unlock 16 additional Operators right away, with Ultimate Edition granting 52 extra Operators instantly, along with the cosmetic bundles. Rainbow Six Siege X: Launch Trailer The instant roster expansion serves as a major perk for players who want maximum tactical flexibility right from day one. It removes any grind barrier to access a wide range of specialized roles and abilities that are crucial for advanced strategies. Rainbow Six Siege X free vs premium: What to choose? For brand-new players or some casually curious ones, Free Access is definitely a fantastic start. Here, players get to learn many more things, including grasping the unique tactics of Siege, without spending a dime. It is perfect to know the core gunplay and understand the game's strategies to see if the game clicks before any funds are committed. The serious players or the veterans, however, must choose a premium version. It offers access to the Ranked, which is non-negotiable for anyone who seeks a high level of progression and competition. The instant operator unlocks here are also a major time-saver. They offer deep strategic flexibility right away. So, if your aim is Siege Cup or if you crave a complete roster, a Premium version of the game is essential for you. Consider Ultimate or Elite Rainbow Six Siege X editions for the bundled operators.
