Latest news with #flag
New York Times
28-05-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Luis Enrique and his daughter Xana, the star that guides him
The flag is huge. Alone, she would not be able to wave it for long. But she is not alone. She swishes it above her head, hands interlocked with those of her father. She watches it billow and flicker, the maroon and the blue and the yellow of it cutting through the warm air. She is delighted by the spectacle, delighted by her command of it. Advertisement It is late now, nearly midnight, but she is in her element, beaming and giggling. Her father is, too, his moment now also hers, doubly precious for being shared. Later, they will walk around the field together, hand in hand, talking about nothing and everything under the glare of the floodlights. They will skip. A medal will dangle from her neck. She will jump up onto his shoulders for a ride. They will find a camera, wave down its lens, two goofballs at large. For now, though, there is only the flag; only the sound of the fabric playing with the wind; only the here, the now, a little slice of heaven destined to be preserved in the amber of time. Her name was Xana. She was Luis Enrique's youngest daughter. She was born in November 2009. She was, in his words, 'amazing, a whirlwind'. She was five when her father's Barcelona side beat Juventus in the 2014-15 Champions League final. On August 29, 2019, she died. There is a scene, towards the end of No Teneis Ni P*** Idea (You Don't Have a F****** Clue), the brilliant three-part documentary about Luis Enrique that aired in Spain and France this year, that stops you in your tracks. It takes place at a fundraising dinner for Fundacion Xana, the charity set up by the coach and his wife, Elena Cullell, in their daughter's name. Former Barcelona captain Carles Puyol is there. So, too, is the Catalan musician Joan Dausa, who sings an emotional tribute to Xana. At one point, Luis Enrique greets a group of teenage girls and their mothers. They chat, joke around a little. After a few seconds, you realise who these girls are. They were Xana's friends. They were the same age as she was. Now they are older. Xana was nine when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Luis Enrique was coaching the Spain national team; he walked away from the job when the seriousness of the illness became apparent. For five months, Xana was kept at Sant Joan de Deu, a children's hospital in Barcelona. She spent her final hours at home, surrounded by members of her family. 'Those moments were very tough, but at the same time very moving, very intimate,' Luis Enrique says in the documentary. Advertisement He glows as he describes Xana's personality, the joy she brought to his life and those of so many others. There is, notably, no hint of anger or bitterness in his voice at any stage. Those feelings would be entirely justifiable in the face of the hurt and the loss, but they appear absent here. Instead, Luis Enrique presents an image of equanimity as admirable as it is touching. 'The most negative experiences of your life are the ones that teach you the most,' he says. '(People might think,) 'But your little girl, your daughter, died aged nine…'. My daughter came to live with us for nine wonderful years. We have a thousand memories of her. 'You may ask whether I consider myself fortunate or unfortunate. I consider myself to have been fortunate. Very fortunate.' Six years after Xana's death, Luis Enrique carries his daughter with him — not merely as a memory but as a presence. 'You will be the star that guides our family,' he posted on social media after her death. 'Her energy is still very much with us,' he said at the launch of Fundacion Xana. In the documentary, he is even more explicit. 'Xana is still watching us,' he says. This is not a football story, but football is mixed in there. This Saturday, Luis Enrique will lead Paris Saint-Germain out against Inter. It will be his second Champions League final as a coach. A decade has now passed since he and Xana celebrated that Barcelona victory on the pitch in Berlin. Little wonder it has been on his mind. 'That is an incredible memory,' he said in a press conference before PSG's Ligue 1 match against Lens in January. 'I have an amazing photo of her, planting a Barcelona flag into the turf. 'I want to be able to do the same with a Paris Saint-Germain flag. My daughter won't be there in the physical sense but she will be there spiritually, and that's very important to me.' Advertisement He had been asked how he found the strength to go on after Xana's death. 'I'm motivated to keep moving forward, facing whatever life throws at me,' he said. In the immediate term, that means a night of reckoning — for him personally and for his team. Alone, it would be a lot to cope with, even for a coach of his experience. But Luis Enrique is not alone. (Illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; Ben Radford/Corbi, Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images)
CTV News
27-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Full arrival: Pilot honors royals, holds up standard after King Charles and Queen Camilla land
In a touching gesture, the pilot held a flag bearing the king's standard from the moment King Charles and Queen Camilla landed until their motorcade departed.
CBS News
25-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Cherished flag thought lost returns to extended family of Livermore WWII airman shot down
Lost flag belonging to Bay Area man shot down in WWII returned to family Lost flag belonging to Bay Area man shot down in WWII returned to family Lost flag belonging to Bay Area man shot down in WWII returned to family More than 81 years after his plane was shot down during WWII, and proclaimed lost forever, the remains of San Francisco Bay Area native 2nd Lt. Thomas Kelly were found, positively identified, and are now finally home for burial on Memorial Day. Now, another cherished part of the Livermore airman's legacy — believed lost forever — is finally back in the arms of his extended family. After his parents received the news that their son was lost in action, his father did something remarkable to honor his son. "He put a flagpole out in the front yard, and he raised a flag every day and took it down every night," recounted Sandy Althaus. Althaus is the late Kelly's first cousin. She told CBS News Bay Area that the whole neighborhood knew the story about Kelly's flagpole and his profound love for his son. The U.S. Military sent the parents a United States flag. In 1944, before Hawaii and Alaska achieved statehood, the flag had only 48 stars. Time passed. The house was sold twice. The flag was believed lost, but it wasn't. Saturday afternoon, the current owner of the home returned the flag to members of the extended family. The family has gathered for Memorial Day, when a funeral mass will be held for the late Kelly on Monday, and he will be buried alongside his parents. When the current owner bought the house 25 years ago, the flag came with it. The previous owner had informed her that the flag and flagpole were in memory of a WWII hero lost in battle. A growing olive tree began to push against the pole, damaging it, leading to its removal. The flagpole is now long gone, but the flag was safely stored inside the home. When the owner heard the media reports about Kelly's remains coming back home to Livermore, she was put in touch with his extended family. The nonprofit group Project Recover was on hand to record the event. "The real flag, tattered, with 48 stars, and we get to have it. It has a lot of meaning for our family," exclaimed Althaus. Lt. Kelly fought and died for this flag. It's now back home in the arms of his loved ones.
The Sun
21-05-2025
- The Sun
Kneecap rapper Liam O'Hanna, 27, charged with terror offence after ‘displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah'
KNEECAP rapper Liam O'Hanna has been charged with a terror offence after allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag. The Met Police confirmed the 27-year-old, from Belfast, has been charged with displaying a flag in support of the Iranian proxy force in Lebanon. 4 4 The incident unfolded on November 21 last year at the O2 Forum, in Kentish Town, London. Officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command launched an urgent probe after being made aware on April 22. A Met Police spokesperson said: "A man has been charged with a terrorism offence following an investigation by the Met's Counter Terrorism Command. "Liam O'Hanna, 27, of Belfast has been charged, via postal requisition, with displaying a flag in support of Hezballah, a proscribed organisation. "On 21 November 2024, in a public place, namely the O2 Forum, Kentish Town, London, displayed an article, namely a flag, in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation, namely Hezballah, contrary to section 13(1)(b) and (3) of the Terrorism Act 2000. "Officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command were made aware on Tuesday, 22 April of an online video from the event. "An investigation was carried out, which led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorising the above charge. "O'Hanna is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, 18 June." 4 4
Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Oxford Union rejects calls to fly the LGBT flag for Pride month
The Oxford Union has rejected a proposal to reinstate the mandatory flying of the LGBT flag every Pride month. Anita Okunde, the union's president, raised the motion after the order to fly the flag in June was removed without explanation from the student committee book, according to reports. The order insisted union presidents should 'fly an LGBT flag clearly and visibly from the courtyard throughout June every year'. Okunde's request to reinstate the mandatory flag order was rejected by a vote of seven to four in a secret ballot on May 5, which was first reported by Cherwell, the student newspaper., Opponents expressed concern about 'opening the floodgate' for other flags. • From polysexual to genderqueer: where did all the flags come from? Samy
