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NZ Herald
24-07-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
Croatian Joseph Mikulec got the autographs of kings, presidents and others as he walked more than 320,870km
He became a global sensation, followed by news reporters, featured in newsreels and welcomed by dignitaries. He visited at least 33 countries, travelling more than 200,000 miles (320,870km) - all on foot, with the book in tow: in a bag, on his shoulder, and eventually in its own custom-made stroller. 'Clad in a costume which looked like a combination of Alpine climber, football and bicycle garment, bearing on his back a stout knapsack, and in his sun-browned hand a heavy cudgel, he attracted attention wherever he went,' the Washington Post reported during one of his trips to DC in 1908. British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in the autograph book assembled by Mikulec. Photo / Kaitlyn Dolan, the Washington Post Mikulec died in 1933, his story and his book largely forgotten over the past 100 years, until two things happened: Šimunić, the 34-year-old Mayor of Oroslavje who travelled the world before returning to his hometown, heard about Mikulec from a local teacher two years ago. He was riveted by the story, the élan and hubris of someone from his sleepy, 14th-century village. Unbeknownst to Šimunić, across the Atlantic, a rare manuscript dealer named Nathan Raab was puzzling over the remarkable leather book held together with a thick leather horse strap, which a man had lugged into his Philadelphia office in 2021. The man was a descendant of the ACME grocery magnate who bought it from Mikulec in 1925. Raab was unsure what exactly it was, but guessed it had a tremendous backstory. Cracking open the well-worn spine revealed a time capsule. 'I take pleasure in giving this letter to Joseph F. Mikulec as evidence he called at the White House on this day,' says the February 1, 1915, entry by President Woodrow Wilson, one of six United States presidents who signed Mikulec's book. Six US presidents signed the book assembled by Joseph Mikulec of Oroslavje, Croatia. Photo / Kaitlyn Dolan, the Washington Post Mussolini, Ford, Tesla, Edison, King Edward VIII and British Prime Minister David Lloyd George were among 60,000 others who stopped whatever important business they were doing to sign the autograph book. It became Mikulec's life mission. As he became increasingly famous, world leaders, artists and luminaries from Egypt to New Zealand (in 1911) were thrilled to sign what was becoming a global 'Who's Who'. Some wrote full letters and included stamps, seals and photos. It was a time when metal detectors, gates and scanners didn't separate the public from the prominent. Usually, all it took was Mikulec's charisma to get past one grumpy guard. 'I walked up to 10 Downing Street, London, the other day,' Mikulec told the Evening Star in December 1919. He wanted to see Prime Minister David Lloyd George, but he was out and Mikulec left his book for him to sign. 'When I came back the autographs of most of the cabinet were in my book, and there were two photographers waiting to snap me on the way out,' he said. Mikulec gave lectures, bringing the world to the people who shared his wanderlust. He funded his adventures by charging admission to some of his story hours and selling postcards of himself to his legions of fans. Mikulec once said a Croatian publishing company was going to pay him US$10,000 if he could walk around the world in five years and give them exclusive rights to his story. But there's no evidence that materialised. Viktor Šimunić, left, the Mayor of Oroslavje, Croatia, and Roberto Kuleš, the president of its city council, bring the book to The Washington Post. Photo / Petula Dvorak, the Washington Post The truth was, he was his own remarkable hype man, alerting newspapers from New York to California whenever he was back in town with his massive book and quirky travelling clothes. 'I would say he was like an archetype of today's influencer or travel blogger,' said Roberto Kuleš, president of Oroslavje's city council and a member of the five-man delegation that travelled to the US East Coast last week to buy the book from Raab as part of a grand plan. Mikulec travelled for so many years that his provenance changed with political history. He was identified as an Austrian, a Croat and a 'Jugoslavian' as he circled the globe three times. He became a US citizen after living in Philadelphia for a few years when World War I disrupted his global travels. Mikulec was born in 1878 to a poor farmer who lived near Oroslavje, a small town on the outskirts of Zagreb. He was expected to work in the fields. But he declared his wanderlust in his youth. 'In 1901, when he said, 'I want to travel the world,' he was like a lunatic,' said Šimunić, who saw some of himself in Mikulec. The townsfolk told the dreamer: 'You must get married. You must have children. You must stay home. You must work and be ordinary,' Šimunić said. Mikulec managed to leave his family farm in 1901 to work in Italy and Malta. When his father died in 1905, the 27-year-old hopped on a steamboat to South Africa to begin a trip that would last nearly three decades. From there, he went to South America, where he camped in rainforests and survived on wild fruit, roots and nuts. He was an outspoken vegetarian. After his first visit to Washington, Mikulec crossed the US, lecturing at fire departments and town halls to anyone who wanted to hear about his adventures. His lectures included 'the tale of the snake that stabbed him near Matildas, of the Indian woman who pummelled him in Argentine, of Roosevelt and Wilson as they talked to him, of the bones of the whale on the Brazilian coast so enormous he could barely lift one rib, of Moros whose chests were so roughened by climbing shaggy trees that they looked like crocodiles,' the Detroit Free Press wrote in June 1919. He was the Edwardian era's Travel Channel, National Geographic, and travel TikTok. 'Mikulec appeared there in his tramping clothes, a red bandana around his neck and a big black thing under one arm,' a Washington journalist in Paris for the Evening Star reported when he spotted Mikulec in December 1921. The city was on edge after a bomb exploded in the US Embassy there months earlier. Another glimpse of the book. Photo / Kaitlyn Dolan, the Washington Post Officials at the embassy bolted at the sight of the man with a massive object wrapped in a black, waterproof covering under one arm, and 'two French gendarmes appeared and led Mikulec away', the Star reported. The massive object was the book. There were actually three books in total - the other two much smaller. One that had been with Mikulec's distant family is on display in the Croatian History Museum in Zagreb, which acquired it in 2023. Croatian historians had been buzzing at the news that the biggest book, the one presumed gone, surfaced in Philadelphia. As Šimunić learned more about Mikulec's story, he was inspired by the global impact a farmer from a small village had made. He commissioned a statue of Mikulec with the book on his shoulder. And he longed to buy the biggest book, the famous one in Philadelphia. He called Raab and asked for a digital copy of the pages. 'I told him, you don't know me, I'm a little mayor from a little city,' he said. 'But we have good intentions.' Šimunić handily won his most recent election this summer, fuelled by the dream that he would bring the book back to Croatia and elevate the story of his hometown hero. The US$225,000 to buy the book came out of the city budget. And not everyone there was happy about it, he said. It was electrifying to finally see the book last week in Philadelphia, Šimunić said. Raab said he, too, was moved by the moment. 'It's touching for us to know that it's going back home,' he said in his company's podcast episode about the book. 'Where it belongs.' Šimunić laid out his vision: 'So, first step is the statue. Second step, we must buy the book. And after we buy the book, we can build the museum. That's the real goal,' he said. The museum would become a pilgrimage for travellers like Mikulec and an Instagram magnet for travellers like the young mayor, who set out to see as much of the world as he could before returning to his small town to run it. 'More than 200 mayors signed the book all around the world,' he said. 'And my idea is, why not to contact today's mayors? And ask them to visit?' The Mikulec museum will have a replica of the book, but with the pages all blank, to be filled by the people who travel to Oroslavje. 'Mikulec went to see the world,' Šimunić said. 'And now the world can come to Oroslavje to see his story.'
NZ Herald
07-07-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Russian ‘shared values' visa draws 700 Westerners amid culture clash
Leo and Chantelle Hare share videos of their new life in Russia on YouTube. The American family sought asylum in Russia, in search of the traditional, conservative values they feel are eroding in the liberal West. Photo / the Washington Post In a brightly lit conference room of a Moscow police department, a smiling officer flanked by Russian flags and gilded double-headed eagles handed over small blue booklets to an American family-of-five. The booklets were asylum certificates granting them the right to live and work in Russia after fleeing Texas because
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial recap: Ex-assistant Brendan Paul testifies he bought drugs for Combs — but he was no 'drug mule'
The trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs resumed Friday in Manhattan federal court, with Brendan Paul, a former assistant described in multiple civil lawsuits as Combs's 'drug mule,' testifying against him in the high-profile sex trafficking case. Federal prosecutors say that for decades, Combs abused, threatened and coerced women to participate in drug-fueled marathon sexual encounters called "freak offs" and used his business empire, along with guns, kidnapping and arson, to conceal his crimes. The defense has argued that the encounters were consensual, and Combs has denied any wrongdoing. The 55-year-old hip-hop mogul is facing five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, he could face life in prison. Here are some key takeaways from Friday's testimony culled from various reporters and news organizations in the courtroom, including CNN, NBC News, and the Washington Post. Paul testified after invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Judge Arun Subramanian signed an immunity order compelling Paul's testimony. He told the court that he worked for Combs from 2022 until 2024, describing the grueling 80-to-100-hour weeks he spent helping coordinate the mogul's travel, fitness workouts, meal plans and assorted other needs, including setting up hotel rooms for "freak offs" — or what he knew as "wild king nights" — ahead of Combs's arrival. Like other former assistants, Paul said he would stock the rooms with supplies, including candles, condoms, Astroglide and a Gucci pouch that contained drugs. He also sometimes cleaned the rooms after the sex parties, he said. Paul testified that he would sometimes go days without sleep working for Combs, taking prescription Adderall and occasionally cocaine to stay awake. According to Paul, Combs likened his staff of assistants to SEAL Team 6, demanding they operate with no failures. Paul said that Combs 'fired' him numerous times, including once for forgetting to bring his boss's Lululemon fanny pack. The firings would always blow over within a day or two and he would continue working, he said. Paul testified that he was also tasked with buying drugs — including marijuana, cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy — for Combs. Combs or one of his other assistants would instruct him to obtain the drugs, which involved meeting with drug dealers with such nicknames as Guido, Baby Girl and One Stop, Paul said. Paul told the court that he would also pick up prescription drugs for Combs at pharmacies under Combs's real name or the alias "Frank Black." Once he procured the drugs, Paul said he would give them directly to Combs or put them in Combs's Gucci bag, where they were often stored. But under cross-examination by the defense, Paul testified that handling drugs was only a minor part of his work for Combs, and that it was his understanding that the drugs were for the mogul's personal use. 'You were not some drug mule, right?' defense attorney Brian Steel asked. 'Absolutely not,' Paul replied. Paul was arrested for possession of cocaine at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport in March 2024, around the same time federal agents raided Combs's homes. The charges were later dropped. He told the court that he got the cocaine while he was "sweeping" Combs's room and put it in his own bag, but then forgot to remove it before leaving for a family trip. 'I was sweeping his room and put it in my bag and forgot it while I was packing,' he explained. Paul said he told law enforcement that everything in the bag, including the cocaine, was his, and did not say where he got it out of "loyalty" to Combs. Big picture: Prosecutors hope to convince jurors that Combs used his business empire, including assistants like Paul, to procure drugs and help him set up "freak offs" as part of their racketeering conspiracy charge. But under cross-examination, Paul acknowledged that Combs did not ask him to travel with the cocaine, and that he had left it in his bag by mistake. While Joseph Cerciello, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, was on the stand, prosecutors entered into evidence text messages between Combs and Cassie Ventura, his former girlfriend and a star witness for the government's case. The messages were from March 2017, a year after Combs was captured on surveillance video assaulting Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel. "That's not love, that's possession," Ventura wrote to Combs in one of the messages, which was shown in court. At one point, Combs asked Ventura if she was "flipping" on him. She said she 'aint flipping' but that she also did not want to subject herself to another 'beat down.' Later in the exchange, Ventura told Combs, 'You treat me like a hooker to be honest. You always want to call one and you have one. This hooker has been here for 10 years.' Prosecutors had hoped to rest their case this week, but the court was adjourned without testimony Wednesday because a juror was sick with vertigo, delaying the proceedings. Court was not in session Thursday for the Juneteenth holiday. The government said it now expects to wrap up its case Monday. Combs's lead attorney, Marc Agnifilo, estimated it would take less than two days to present his defense, and likely rest on Tuesday or Wednesday. (The defense had already hinted that Combs probably won't testify.) Under that timeline, Subramanian said jury deliberations could begin Thursday after closing arguments, and asked both sides to prepare modifications to the proposed instructions that will be given to the jury when it gets the case.
NZ Herald
17-06-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
With missiles slamming into buildings, Israelis say they are losing their sense of security
People huddle in an underground public shelter last Friday in Tel Aviv during a retaliatory attack by Iran after Israel launched airstrikes on its neighbour. Photo / the Washington Post For five days, Iran's ballistic missile salvos against Israel have torn through residential buildings and killed two dozen civilians, set cars and infrastructure ablaze. The attacks have Israelis questioning their already fractured sense of security. In Tel Aviv, Israel's otherwise bustling financial and cultural hub, the streets have gone
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial recap: Ex-girlfriend ‘Jane' faces more cross examination, says she initiated some ‘hotel nights'
The trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs continued Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, with 'Jane' — a pseudonym for an alleged victim and ex-girlfriend of Combs — returning to the witness stand for a fifth day of testimony in the high-profile sex trafficking case. Federal prosecutors say that for decades, Combs abused, threatened and coerced women to participate in drug-fueled marathon sexual encounters called "freak offs" and used his business empire, along with guns, kidnapping and arson, to conceal his crimes. In direct testimony, Jane tearfully recounted the 'freak offs'— which she called 'hotel nights' — telling the court that she felt obligated to 'perform' sex acts for Combs with other men because he was paying her rent. She also testified about a brutal assault she endured before Combs ordered her to cover up her injuries and take ecstasy for an impromptu 'hotel night.' Facing more cross-examination by the defense on Wednesday, Jane told the court that she initiated some of the encounters, including one in which she hired two men. She appeared emotional while reading texts she sent to Combs in 2023, calling him a 'blessing' and saying she was grateful that he was taking care of her financially. Combs's defense team said they'll finish Jane's cross-examination Thursday morning. The 55-year-old hip-hop mogul is facing five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could face life in prison. Here are some key takeaways from Wednesday's testimony culled from various reporters and news organizations in the courtroom, including CNN, NBC News, and the Washington Post. Before Jane's testimony got underway, Judge Arun Subramanian listened to arguments over a prosecution request to dismiss one of the jurors for reasons that have not yet been made public. Prosecutor Maurene Comey told Subramanian that the government was initially reluctant to ask for the removal of juror no. 6, but has since concluded the juror appears to have shown 'a lack of candor with the court that raises serious issues.' Defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro objected, saying it was a 'thinly veiled effort to dismiss a Black juror.' Subramanian said he would handle the issue on Thursday after hearing in writing from both sides. Under cross-examination by the defense, Jane acknowledged that she once threatened to not participate in a 'hotel night' with Combs for Valentine's Day 2022 after she saw social media posts of him on vacation with another woman. She demanded that he leave the vacation a day early and return to her. When he agreed, she planned the 'hotel night,' decorating the room with rose petals and hiring two male entertainers to have sex with her while Combs watched. Jane testified that it was her idea to have the two men in the room with her at the same time. 'Yes, that was my suggestion,' Jane said in court, adding that Combs was 'excited about that.' In late August 2022, Jane testified that she told Combs how much she appreciated the sexual encounters after a hotel night with him and a sex worker named Paul. Jane texted Combs that she's 'having so much fun' and she would 'never take this for granted and will always make sure you are taken care of.' Big picture: The defense is seeking to refute the prosecution's claims that the alleged victims were coerced by Combs into participating in the marathon sexual encounters by showing they were willing participants. Having Jane acknowledge that she arranged a 'hotel night' with two men, and later saying she was having 'fun' is part of that effort. On the witness stand, Jane read text messages she sent to Combs in April 2023 after a hotel night, right around the time she moved into a rented Los Angeles home, which Combs is currently paying for. 'The fact that you are the reason for my child's joy is a feeling inside me that I can't explain,' Jane read, tearing up. 'You are truly a blessing in my life, I have never had a man take care of me like you do,' Jane continued. 'You are my lover, my partner, my boyfriend,' she wrote.
