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Early start - Hostages Square ALREADY packed out as crowds prepare for return of captives

Early start - Hostages Square ALREADY packed out as crowds prepare for return of captives

"Crowds were seen in Hostages Square, Tel Aviv in the early hours of Monday, with many camping out overnight for the return of the Hamas hostages. Footage shows people waving flags and banners, and listening to musical performances. Under the Gaza peace deal, the 20 living hostages are set to be handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross on Monday, before transfer to Re'im military base in Israel. The bodies of 28 deceased hostages will also be returned later, while around 1,700 Palestinians detained in Gaza since October 2023 and 250 more serving life sentences, will be freed under the deal. US President Donald Trump is in Israel to address the Knesset and meet with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the families of hostages on Monday, before flying to Egypt for the official signing of the peace deal. The first phase of the deal, agreed by Israel and Hamas last week, includes the ceasefire, the swapping of hostages and prisoners, and the Israeli military withdrawal to the 'yellow line' in Gaza. Subsequent phases will include the governance of Gaza, the future of Hamas and the reconstruction of the enclave. "

'Dutch people become the minority in their own country!' - Arrests made as anti-immigration protesters march through Amsterdam

'Dutch people become the minority in their own country!' - Arrests made as anti-immigration protesters march through Amsterdam

"Police made several arrests as anti-immigration protesters marched through Amsterdam on Sunday, voicing concerns over rising numbers of asylum seekers and declining living standards. Footage shows protesters marching under the banner 'Defend Netherlands' as they made their way to Museumplein. Demonstrators chanted and waved Dutch flags, with some carrying signs that read: 'No AZC (Asylum Seekers' Centres). A large-scale police presence accompanied the march, leading to several flashpoints and multiple arrests. "The Netherlands is going a bit down to a lot of immigration, and I don't want that because a lot of immigrations are coming here to destroy the Netherlands," said protester Jeremy. Another protester, Jaron, called for limits on asylum approvals and warned that rising migration across Europe is driving up crime and threatening public safety. "With this net immigration, you see that in the larger Dutch cities, Dutch people are becoming a minority, and I believe in the right for people to have their own state, and of course, we could have some asylum seekers, it's just way too much," he said. "This is not only a problem in the Netherlands, […] this is part of a greater movement of Europeans who say, No, this is our country, this is our civilisation, and we are willing to fight for our country. We are willing to fight for our people, and we want to keep Dutch women safe, keep Dutch children safe," he added. Authorities relocated the anti-asylum protest from Dam Square to Museumplein earlier this week due to concerns about a large turnout. Protests against asylum shelters have escalated nationwide, particularly since right-wing riots erupted in The Hague on 20 September. This comes just weeks ahead of the national elections, highlighting the volatile debate over migration in the Netherlands."

'Victory of Serbian harmony and unity' - Serb List party claims local elections victory in four Kosovan municipalities

'Victory of Serbian harmony and unity' - Serb List party claims local elections victory in four Kosovan municipalities

"The Belgrade-backed Serb List party declared victory across four northern Serb-majority municipalities on Sunday evening following local elections in Kosovo. Footage shows dozens of motorists driving through the centre of North Mitrovica, honking their horns and waving Serb flags in celebration. President of the Serb List party, the largest Serbian political party in Kosovo, Zlatan Elek, called the results in North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Zubin Potok, and Leposavic a 'convincing victory', as early exit polls suggest a his party is leading across all four municipalities. "What is most important is that the four municipalities north of the Ibar were returned to where they belong, and those who voted today with a pencil showed that the Serbian list north of the Ibar won a convincing victory," declared Elek. "We said at the last meeting that we were coming for the biggest victory, I repeat today that this is the victory of the Serbian people, the victory of Serbian harmony and Serbian unity, and the victory of everything that is Serbian in Kosovo," he added. Ethnic Serbs and the Serb List party had boycotted local elections in 2023 to demand greater autonomy. The outcome of the election resulted in civil unrest across the majority-Serb municipalities, with representatives elected only able to assume office after Kosovan police took control of the municipal buildings. Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia escalated earlier this year after Kosovo authorities raided ten Serbian-linked government offices. Over the past year, Kosovo has also banned the Serbian dinar, shut down banks reliant on the currency, and closed post offices handling Serbian pension payments. In 2008, Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence in a move that Belgrade rejects, continuing to regard it as an Autonomous Province of the country amid ongoing disputes over the status and security of ethnic Serbs in the region. Kosovo is also not recognised by Russia or China, as well as EU members Spain, Slovakia, Cyprus, Romania and Greece. Following the gradual breakup of Yugoslavia, the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force has been present in Kosovo since 1999. This follows NATO's air campaign against Serbian cities and forces in response to alleged ethnic cleansing of Albanians. Launched without UN approval, the NATO bombing campaign caused at least 1,500 deaths, driving Yugoslav forces and tens of thousands of Kosovan Serbs from the territory of Kosovo."

'We are Mapuche and we are still alive!' – Clashes erupt in Santiago as thousands march on Day of Indigenous Resistance

'We are Mapuche and we are still alive!' – Clashes erupt in Santiago as thousands march on Day of Indigenous Resistance

"Violent clashes erupted on the streets of Santiago on Sunday as hundreds of protesters took to the streets to demand rights for the Mapuche people, Chile's largest indigenous group. The move comes as thousands mark Day of Indigenous Resistance. Footage shows demonstrators playing traditional percussion instruments and waving banners and flags. As the protesters marched near the University of Chile, the demonstration was dispersed by police using tear gas and water cannons. Some attacked police vehicles with stones. Protesters called for an end to the state of emergency in Wallmapu (Mapuche territory), the restitution of ancestral lands, respect for Indigenous rights, a halt to mining and forestry activities, cultural recognition, and greater autonomy for their communities. Members of the Mapuche people rejected framing the commemoration as merely an 'indigenous' struggle, instead reaffirming their identity as the original inhabitants of the Americas. "There are many places where they call it the Day of Indigenous Resistance or the Day of the Oppressed Indigenous. We are not indigenous; we have to get rid of that vocabulary because that vocabulary is bourgeois. We are Mapuche, we are resistance, and we are still alive," said Catalina Quillempan, a member of the Mapuche people. Relatives and supporters of Mapuche leader Julia Chunil participated in the event, demanding truth and justice nearly a year after her disappearance on 8 November 2024 in Chile's Los Rios region. "We have received support, and today we are here on the Day of Resistance of Indigenous Peoples. We travelled from Wallmapu, I came from the southern territory, to raise my voice for my grandmother, because my grandmother needs truth and justice," said Liset Sanchez, the leader's granddaughter. The family is calling for a faster, more effective investigation, while communities and social movements continue to demand justice for Julia Chunil, a symbol of Indigenous territorial and environmental rights in Chile. Marches of Mapuche resistance often end in clashes between police and demonstrators, prompting the use of water cannons and tear gas. Human rights groups have criticised the security forces for alleged excessive force, with arrests and injuries reported on both sides."

‘A hunger for wild, physical sensation’: Alan Hollinghurst on painter and writer Denton Welch who died tragically young

‘A hunger for wild, physical sensation’: Alan Hollinghurst on painter and writer Denton Welch who died tragically young

When the young painter was left severely injured after being knocked off his bike, he began to write – with astonishing vividness. As his paintings go on show, novelist Alan Hollinghurst celebrates this fierce talent What Denton Welch’s life was like before his accident we know from the books he wrote after it. They give a picture of a teenager’s experience unparalleled in its vividness and oddity. Welch was born in Shanghai in 1915, to an American mother and an English businessman father, and brought to England when he was four. In his first book, 1943’s Maiden Voyage, he describes his return to China in 1932, after he’d run away from Repton school in Derbyshire. All his characteristics as a writer are evident from the start: an astonishing candour of response to sensations of all kinds, with childlike repulsion registered as keenly as attraction; a clarity of style unbothered by literary convention; and a fierce solipsism, his sense of others exact and often unsparing, but his overwhelming purpose the record of his own needs, excitements and perceptions: not just things seen but the acutely subjective feelings they stir up in him. Continue reading...