Tens of Thousands Rally in London to Support Palestinians

Protesters display a large Palestinian flag in Parliament Square after taking part in a 'March For Palestine' in London on October 28, 2023, to call for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)
Protesters display a large Palestinian flag in Parliament Square after taking part in a 'March For Palestine' in London on October 28, 2023, to call for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)
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Tens of Thousands Rally in London to Support Palestinians

Protesters display a large Palestinian flag in Parliament Square after taking part in a 'March For Palestine' in London on October 28, 2023, to call for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)
Protesters display a large Palestinian flag in Parliament Square after taking part in a 'March For Palestine' in London on October 28, 2023, to call for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters have turned out on London’s streets for a second straight weekend to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.
Fireworks and red and green flares were lit as huge crowds massed Saturday on the banks of the River Thames.
Mohammed Ullah, an engineer, said he was surprised politicians and governments are “not stopping this genocide against the Gaza people.”
“Yes, it was a crime by Hamas. But at the same time, what the Israelis are doing, this is genocide. And these children should not be killed and murdered and they don’t deserve to be treated like this,” Ullah said.
Demonstrations also took place Saturday in Indonesia, Pakistan, France, Italy, Norway and Switzerland.

Hundreds of protesters demanding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas forced the closure on Friday of Grand Central Terminal, one of New York City's major transit hubs, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said.

Images on social media showed protesters pouring out of the train station and onto 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, and a large crowd being detained by law enforcement.
The group Jewish Voice for Peace, which organized the demonstration, posted a video on Instagram showing police in the station escorting a long line of protesters, who were wearing shirts reading "Cease Fire Now" and "Not In Our Name" with their arms secured behind their backs.
"HUNDREDS OF JEWS AND ALLIES ARE GETTING ARRESTED IN WHAT IS LIKELY THE BIGGEST MASS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE NYC HAS SEEN IN TWO DECADES," the group wrote in the post.



Russia Says French Citizen Pleads Guilty to Illegally Collecting Military Details

People walk on the Red Square outside the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 02 July 2024. The temperature in Moscow exceeded 32 degrees Celsius. EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV
People walk on the Red Square outside the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 02 July 2024. The temperature in Moscow exceeded 32 degrees Celsius. EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV
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Russia Says French Citizen Pleads Guilty to Illegally Collecting Military Details

People walk on the Red Square outside the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 02 July 2024. The temperature in Moscow exceeded 32 degrees Celsius. EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV
People walk on the Red Square outside the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 02 July 2024. The temperature in Moscow exceeded 32 degrees Celsius. EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV

Russian investigators said on Wednesday that French researcher Laurent Vinatier, who was detained last month and accused of failing to register as a foreign agent while illegally collecting sensitive military information, had pleaded guilty during questioning.

Vinatier, an expert with long experience of working in Russia, was shown last month being arrested in a central Moscow restaurant by masked officers from the Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB.
He is accused of failing to register as a foreign agent and intentionally collecting military information which could be used by foreign intelligence services to damage the security of Russia, Reuters reported.
French President Emmanuel Macron denied that Vinatier, an employee of the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), a Swiss-based conflict mediation group, worked for the French state. Macron described his arrest as part of a disinformation campaign by Moscow.
"The French citizen has pleaded guilty in a criminal case on illegal collection of information in the field of Russian military activities," Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement.
"During the interrogation, he admitted his guilt in full."
A representative of HD had no immediate comment.
Russian investigators said that Vinatier had for several years failed to comply with the Russian law on foreign agents and had collected military information at meetings with Russian citizens.
The Investigative Committee said that seven witnesses who Vinatier had tried to collect military information from had been questioned - and that it had recordings of some of their meetings.
"A linguistic forensic examination has been scheduled based on audio recordings of these meetings," the committee said.
In a statement following Vinatier's arrest, his employer HD said: "In the course of HD’s activities as an impartial and independent mediation organization, our people work around the world and routinely meet with a wide range of officials, experts and other parties with the aim of advancing efforts to prevent, mitigate and resolve armed conflict."
Vinatier, 47, could face up to five years in prison. He was placed in pre-trial custody until Aug. 5, despite a request to free him endorsed by the French embassy.