Free Republic

An £18,000,000 plan to redevelop Highgate Cemetery, the final resting places of Karl Marx and George Michael, has divided local residents. The graves of Marx and Michael are among those currently ‘at risk’ of damage from falling ash trees, which have been decaying due to longstanding disease and drainage issues at the famous cemetery. Ash dieback, a fungal disease that could eventually kill up to 80% of ash trees across the UK, has seen trees topple in the cemetery and forced many more to be cut down. Marx’s grave is surrounded by ash trees, whereas George Michael’s burial spot lies...

Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather has reportedly been attacked by a mob while shopping in central London. The former world champion found himself in trouble after a large crowd descended on him and his entourage while visiting a jewellery store in Hatton Garden... The source said Mayweather was out shopping when he was asked about whether he supported Israel. He then said he was 'proud to support the Jews', which provoked someone into taking a swing at him, the source added. They continued: 'Then someone took a swing at him because of that. It looked very targeted. 'Floyd took a few...

As we approach the momentous return of Donald J. Trump to the US Presidency, preparations are reportedly in course to get Ukraine ready for the ‘day-after’ the war. A report from Spanish paper El Mundo (behind a paywall) shows the Western powers preparing a ‘golden exile’ in London for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. That would follow a ‘peace agreement’ with Russia, according to ‘rumors’ emanating from Ukrainian diplomats. Conflict Watcher reported: “The newspaper claims that Ukrainian diplomats believe Zelensky is expected to be sent to London while Ukraine gears up for presidential and parliamentary elections. The term ‘golden exile’ refers...

A counter-protestor carrying a banner condemning Hamas as a terror group was arrested after holding the sign aloft as pro-Palestine activists filed past him on Saturday. Niyak Ghorbani, who was holding a banner reading “Hamas is terrorist”, was pulled to the ground and handcuffed by officers after an incident took place close to the march through central London. As police held him down he shouted “Shame on you” before saying “I wrote down Hamas is a terrorist organisation . . but they arrested me”.

IRVINE, Calif. — On the morning of Feb. 28, 2000, a man in a black hood ran up to Patrick Riley in front of his office, shot him flush in the face and fled. The bullet missed his brain, and Mr. Riley, a biotechnology entrepreneur, survived. But two days later, his business partner, a doctor named Larry C. Ford, killed himself with a shotgun after learning he was suspected of being the mastermind behind the shooting. That is where the story probably would have ended — a lurid but ultimately local piece of intrigue played out in the sun-splashed Orange...

Rich Democrats have started snapping up luxurious London homes to escape America after Donald Trump's landslide election victory. Buying agents have noticed an uptick in interest from wealthy Americans who wish to buy property in London as a 'safety net' for Trump's return to the White House. In just two days, Becky Fatemi, executive partner at Sotheby's International Realty, said she got five calls from wealthy Americans wanting to move following the election. 'That's people saying, "he's here, and he's here for the next four years, and I don't want to be, so these are the dates that we're flying...

We are in London, and spent the morning touring Parliament. When we emerged from the Palace of Westminster, a demonstration was in progress in Parliament Square. There were Union Jacks and St. George’s Crosses everywhere. There were a few Israeli flags, too, and we saw at least one Trump sign. I filmed this short video:...News coverage of the protest was rather breathless:Thousands of Tommy Robinson supporters packed central London as a sea of massed protesters saw the capital’s streets bubbling with rage.We didn’t see any rage. The mood of the pro-U.K. protest was festive and cheerful. There were screens on...

Two men have gone head to head in a medieval-style duel with 'machetes' on a busy London High Street. Distressed onlookers can be heard crying 'don't do it - please!' as the masked opponents participate in an East Ham show-down with their long weapons. When contacted by MailOnline, the Met Police said no arrests had been as the men were not located - meaning they are still on the loose. The incident took place on Monday October 14 and police were called to the scene at around 1pm. Footage of the duel has circulated on social media with many observing...

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky embraced British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in a hug before hours-long talks on the ‘Victory Plan’ and military support in London on Thursday. Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in London from Croatia on Thursday, the second engagement on his whistlestop tour of European capitals this week, drumming up support for his defensive war against the Russian invasion. The Ukrainian delegation met with the British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the new head of NATO Mark Rutte, the British defence minister, the head of the British armed forces, and Starmer’s national security advisor inside Downing Street for around two...

This morning, two activists pasted a photograph of a Palestinian mother and child over the protective glass of Pablo Picasso’s 1901 painting Motherhood (La Maternité) at the National Gallery in London, in a bid for attention to the dangers faced by families in Gaza. After pasting the image, Jai Halai, a 23-year-old employee at the National Health Service, and Monday-Malachi Rosenfeld, a 21-year-old student, poured red paint on the gallery floor before their arrest. A video posted to the Youth Demand X page captures Rosenfeld seated in front of the faux-blood splatter, saying to a crowd of onlookers, “All of...

Clips of rioting Islamists. Transcript linked below video. Granny in opening clip sounded like John Cleese in drag. She was abusing a bobby. Didn't swing her purse at him, so it wouldn't have been Cleese.

New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh sparked controversy during the team's NFL game against the Minnesota Vikings in London on Sunday. The 45-year-old was spotted on the sidelines at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium wearing a Lebanese flag below the Nike logo on the sleeve of his team hoodie. The night before Sunday's game - the first of the NFL's international fixtures this season - Israeli bombing continued on Beirut, the Lebanese capital, amid the Israel-Hezbollah war. The Hezbollah stronghold in south Beirut was hit by more than 30 strikes overnight, which were heard across the city, with smoke still seen...

Britain’s left-wing government announced a plan on Thursday to surrender sovereignty of a British Overseas Territory in the Indian Ocean that has hosted an important joint U.S.-UK military base and listening post for the past 50 years. The United Kingdom is giving the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, from whom it bought the archipelago in the 1960s. The announcement is the latest development in years of sovereignty claims by Mauritius, now drifting into China’s sphere of influence, which until recently were not even recognised as legitimate by the UK or its allies. Just last week, President of Mauritius Prithvirajsing Roopun barracked...

Having read Bill Ponton’s very clear “reality check” on the UK’s Net Zero project, you are probably wondering, what are the counter-arguments advanced by the supporters of Net Zero? After all, the Net Zero thing appears to have near-unanimous support in the UK. There is no significant political party in that country that advocates policies dissenting from the Net Zero program, unless you count the UK Independence Party, which at the moment holds zero seats in a House of Commons of 650 members. The currently-governing Conservative Party is fully on board with the Net Zero program, with the partial exception...

After years of disruption and vandalism, consequences have finally arrived for "Just Stop Oil" protesters. I'm not just talking about some motorists throwing them out of the street either, as satisfying as that usually is. This time, actual prison sentences were handed down. In October 2022, two women entered the National Gallery in London and threw soup onto a famous Van Gogh painting. They then glued themselves to the wall while ranting about climate change. Video of the incident went viral at the time. Phoebe Plummer, 23, and Anna Holland, 22, were arrested for their deeds, though it wasn't immediately...

The failed policy of accepting unchecked mass migration has wrecked the social fabric of the United Kingdom, leading to the emergence of the ‘grooming gangs’ and the explosion of sexual violence rates. Sure enough, not all rapes or sexual assaults in Britain are linked to the invasion of illegals from cultures that are not assimilating, but the two phenomena sure are developing in parallel. BBC reported: “A rape offense is reported every hour in London, according to data obtained by the BBC. More than 8,800 rape incidents were reported to the Metropolitan Police in 2023 – an average of 24...

One of British street artist Banksy's best-known paintings, "Girl with Balloon", has been found after its theft from a London gallery last week with two men charged, police said on Friday. The work features a young girl reaching for a red heart-shaped balloon and there are several murals depicting the same image in London and elsewhere. The painting was the only item stolen on Sept. 8, police said, adding it would be returned to the gallery.

LONDON, Ky. — Dozens of law enforcement officers are combing through the rugged terrain of southeastern Kentucky for a third day Monday as they search for the man suspected of shooting of nine vehicles and wounding five people on a busy interstate. When asked by reporters what makes this terrain so rough, Acciardo said the area off of I-75 where the shooting occurred is one of the most remote locations in The Commonwealth. "That exit along I-75 is probably the most remote throughout Kentucky," he said. "It's wooded, it's heavily wooded. It's got hills, it's got rocks. There's one business...

Fugitive mobster was spotted in London in September, FBI says 01/04/2003 Associated Press BOSTON - The fugitive mobster brother of University of Massachusetts President William Bulger was sighted in London a few months ago, sporting a tan and a gray goatee, the FBI said Friday. A British businessman who had met James "Whitey" Bulger years ago spotted him in September - the most reliable tip on his whereabouts in three years, Boston FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz said. The mobster, a longtime FBI informant, fled in 1995, just before his indictment on charges of racketeering, extortion and drug trafficking. Mr....

...Referring to one of ABF’s constituent brands, Primark, Mr Weston said the retailer annually lost more to shoplifting than it paid in business rates... Shortly before Mr Weston’s despairing announcement, Paul Gerrard, who runs public affairs at the Co-op...spoke of “people coming into our stores with wheelie bins, people coming into our store with builder’s bags to steal the whole confectionery section, the entire sprit section, the entire meat section”... The lawlessness that gives Britain such a dystopian feel – the marauding shoplifters, the Rolex rippers, the smartphone thieves, the lethal parade of teenagers with knives whose conception of the...