Latest news with #Squad
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Lionesses' triumph: England to celebrate back-to-back European titles with open-top parade
LONDON — The Lionesses are heading back home to celebrate. England successfully defended its Women's European Championship title by beating world champion Spain in a shootout in the final in Basel, Switzerland on Sunday. After becoming the first England team to win a major tournament on foreign soil, the squad will celebrate its victory with a trip to Downing Street later on Monday.
ABC News
5 days ago
- ABC News
Man, teenage boy involved in underworld murder of father and son were 'novices'
A man and a teenage boy have been described in court as "novices" over their roles in the underworld killing of teenage gangster Salim Hamze and his innocent father Toufik in 2021. Suliman Hamza, now 23, and the teenager have pleaded guilty to being accessories after the fact to murdering the Hamzes. The teenage boy was 16 at the time of the underworld hit and cannot be identified for legal reasons. The Hamzes's daylight slaying on their front lawn were the sixth and seventh deaths stemming from a feud between the warring Hamzy and Alameddine clans. The rival families, who operate organised crime networks in Western Sydney, were locked in a bloody battle for control over the city's drug trade at the time. The feud would go on to draw in members of other Sydney crime families and the Comanchero bikie gang as the violence played out over two years. The court heard the boy, only identified as SH, "has some remorse for Toufik [Hamze]". He had no idea what he was involved in and was described as a "mushroom in the dark" by his legal team. "[Toufik Hamze], who he characterised as blameless … he had some sorrow that this man lost his life," his barrister told the Sydney District Court on Friday. "He was not getting on with his family, wanting to be a part of a group and seeing them as family, this is common in bikie groups but he's finally breaking through that. The pair were not involved in the shooting or the getaway, but were recruited to wipe forensic evidence from the vehicles seen fleeing the scene. Referencing how their DNA was left in one of the cars, and that of a previous owner, the boy's barrister said: "I wouldn't employ them to clean my home". When the duo were told to clean one of the getaway cars by a co-conspirator, Mr Hamza had to Google what Windex was used for, the court heard. Mr Hamza's barrister Avni Djemal SC said he had "no idea" the cars were used to kill two people. "The fact he had to look up Windex shows the type of novice," he said. "He is a very troubled young man, he's come from a background of abject poverty." Crown prosecutor Mitchell Paish described Mr Hamza as "the pivot" and described how he was "directing others". Mr Hamze, 18, was targeted due to suspicions he was the gunman who killed rival drug dealer Shady Kanj two months before he met his own end. "The father died for the sins of the son," then-Homicide Squad Commander Danny Doherty said at the time. The teenager and his father, 64, died in a hail of bullets getting into a red ute outside their Guildford family home on October 20, 2021. Police believe the trigger man for the killing is one of Mr Hamze's best friends, Zaid Abdelhafez, who fled overseas after the attack. Mr Abdelhafez, 22, is currently wanted on a warrant for two counts of murder, though his whereabouts is unknown to law enforcement. Alameddine family patriarch Rafat Alameddine and associate John Bayssari are also wanted on warrants for arranging the murders, but both have fled to Lebanon. If Mr Hamza and the boy are convicted they will be two of just a handful police have so far managed to secure in relation to the 33 gangland killings that have plagued Sydney for the past five years. Mr Hamza and the boy will be sentenced back in the same court next week.
Sky News AU
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘F**k AOC': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Bronx headquarters vandalised
US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's headquarters in the Bronx, New York, was vandalised by anti-Israel protesters. AOC's office was attacked after the far-left 'Squad' member voted against cutting US funding for Israel. On Sunday, the headquarters was seen splattered with red paint and adorned with signs accusing Cortez of funding "genocide in Gaza". Cortez's decision to vote against stopping the Jewish state's missile defence funding went against her fellow Squad members' votes. The group Boogie Down Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the attack, according to reporter Ashoka Jegroo.
Telegraph
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
AOC's office vandalised by pro-Palestine protesters
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's New York office has been vandalised after she voted against cutting US funding for Israel. The outside of the Left-wing congresswoman's office in the Bronx was smeared in red paint on Sunday, and a sign reading 'AOC funds genocide in Gaza' in red letters was displayed on the shutters outside. Ms Ocasio-Cortez, a long-time critic of Israel and the war in Gaza, angered many of her supporters on Friday when she broke with her progressive allies to vote against an amendment cutting millions of dollars in aid for Israel's missile defence. A group calling itself the Boogie Down Liberation Front has taken responsibility for the graffiti. 'The Bronx is sick and tired of people like AOC and [New York congressman] Ritchie Torres using us as a stepping stone for their own political careers,' the organisation said in a statement. 'The Bronx stands with the people of Palestine and we denounce the hypocrisy of AOC who voted to fund Israel's ongoing genocide and starvation campaign in Gaza. F–k AOC!' Marjorie Taylor Greene, the firebrand Georgia congresswoman, had proposed the amendment to the defence department appropriations bill cutting $500 million from Israel's 'Iron Dome', arguing that unlike the US, Israel 'seems to have their defence and debt under control'. The measure only attracted six votes in support, two of them from Ms Ocasio-Cortez's Left-wing grouping known as the 'Squad', Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. In a post on social media on Saturday, the congresswoman argued the amendment would have failed to stop the war in Gaza while depriving Israel of a means of defending itself. 'Marjorie Taylor Greene's amendment does nothing to cut off offensive aid to Israel nor end the flow of US munitions being used in Gaza. Of course I voted against it,' she said. 'What it does do is cut off defensive Iron Dome capacities while allowing the actual bombs killing Palestinians to continue. 'I have long stated that I do not believe that adding to the death count of innocent victims to this war is constructive to its end. That is a simple and clear difference of opinion that has long been established. 'I remain focused on cutting the flow of US munitions that are being used to perpetuate the genocide in Gaza.' Ms Ocasio-Cortez was mocked last month for calling herself a 'Bronx girl' despite having grown up some 30 miles north in Yorktown, Westchester County. 'I'm a Bronx girl. You should know that we can eat Queens boys for breakfast. Respectfully,' she wrote on social media, referring to Donald Trump, the US president, who was born in Queens. The congresswoman has since claimed she grew up 'between the Bronx and Yorktown' and that the experience 'deeply shaped' her views on inequality.
New York Post
21-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
AOC's Bronx HQ vandalized with red paint after Israel vote: ‘F-CK AOC!'
Progressive New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Bronx headquarters was vandalized by anti-Israeli activists after she voted against cutting US funding for Israel. The office in Westchester Square in the East Bronx was splattered in red paint on Sunday, and adorned with a sign reading 'AOC funds genocide in Gaza' days after congresswoman ditched her fellow 'Squad' colleagues and voted against a proposed amendment to slash millions in aid for Israel's missile defense. A photograph of Ocasio-Cortez's face in the window was completely covered by the paint, photos show. Advertisement 'F–K AOC,' a group known as the Boogie Down Liberation Front told reporter Ashoka Jegroo while taking responsibility for the vandalism. AOC's Bronx office was defaced with red paint. James Keivom 'The Bronx is sick and tired of people like AOC and Ritchie Torres using us as a stepping stone for their own political careers,' the group said in a statement. Advertisement 'The Bronx stands with the people of Palestine and we denounce the hypocrisy of AOC who voted to fund Israel's ongoing genocide and starvation campaign in Gaza. F–K AOC!' The lefty congresswoman has been taking heat from her progressive supporters after she voted against an amendment for the Department of Defense Appropriations Act proposed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Friday that sought to cut $500 million from Israel's air defense systems. The amendment, which was emphatically spiked 6 to 422, was supported by GOP Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Ocasio-Cortez's progressive 'Squad' pals, including Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.). AOC voted against an amendment to a defense bill that would have cut funding for Israel. James Keivom Advertisement The House of Representatives ultimately passed the bill early Friday 221 to 209, allocating some $832 billion in defense funding for fiscal year 2026, including a boost in pay for troops as well as increased research and development spending. 'Marjorie Taylor Greene's amendment does nothing to cut off offensive aid to Israel nor end the flow of US munitions being used in Gaza. Of course I voted against it,' the congresswoman posted on X amid the backlash. 'What it does do is cut off defensive Iron Dome capacities while allowing the actual bombs killing Palestinians to continue,' she continued. 'I remain focused on cutting the flow of US munitions that are being used to perpetuate the genocide in Gaza.'
