The British socialite at the centre of the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal told friends in recent weeks that she planned to “totally disappear”.
Ghislaine Maxwell said she was "knocked for six" after lurid allegations resurfaced about her dealings with the paedophile billionaire, a source told the Telegraph.
It comes as US prosecutors are reportedly struggling to locate Miss Maxwell to question her about claims that she procured young girls for Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison cell at the weekend.
A source close to her said: "Ghislaine thought this was all dead and buried when the case was settled in 2017. So she was knocked for six when the Epstein stuff raised its ugly head again. …
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The leader of the Right-wing protesters who were embroiled in violent clashes with Left-wing counter-demonstrators in Portland over the weekend has threatened to return to the city every month.
Enrique Tarrio, chairman of the “Proud Boys”, escalated the long-running feud between white supremacists and Antifa, a loose coalition of Left-wing and anarchist groups, which has brought mayhem to the streets of a number of American cities.
He said his group would stage further demonstrations until Ted Wheeler, the mayor of the Oregon city, moved against Antifa.
“The path forward for Mayor Wheeler is simple, free your city from the grip of Antifa, take direct and meaningful action,” he said.
At least 13 people were arrested and six were injured in Saturday’s clashes which saw police seize an array of weapons including bear spray, metal poles, batons and curtain rods.
Some of the Right-wing protesters, who included members of the paramilitary “Three Percenters”, who pledge to resist attempts to “curtail constitutional rights”, wore body armour,.
Portland Police deployed all of its thousand officers to keep the peace in the city.
The standoff was the latest in a series of clashes reflecting the growing polarisation of American politics.
Major consideration is being given to naming ANTIFA an “ORGANIZATION OF TERROR.” Portland is being watched very closely. Hopefully the Mayor will be able to properly do his job!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2019
Donald Trump, who was following developments from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, appeared to lay blame on Antifa for the violence, when he posted on Twitter.
“Major consideration is being given to naming ANTIFA an ‘ORGANIZATION OF TERROR’,” the president wrote. “Portland is being watched very closely. Hopefully the Mayor will be able to properly do his job!”
Demonstrator surrounded by police amid violent clashes in Portland, OregonCredit:
Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
A Senate resolution, designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist group, has been proposed by Ted Cruz, a conservative Republican from Texas.
Mr Trump’s tweet was described as “not helpful” by Mr Wheeler.
“This is a potentially dangerous and volatile situation, and adding to that noise doesn’t do anything to support or help the efforts that are going on here in Portland.”
The US president finally bowed to pressure to condemn white supremacists after the mass shooting at El Paso earlier this month, which claimed 22 lives.
But in the past he has been reluctant to do so, notably after the August 2017 violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia when Heather Heyer who was killed when a car was driven into a group of people protesting against a “Unite the Right” rally.
Mr Trump was heavily criticised when he said there were “very fine people on both sides”.
Seven people, including two children, died when a sightseeing helicopter and an ultralight aircraft crashed in mid-air over Majorca.
The helicopter had three adults and two children on board, all of whom were killed.
According to the Balearic Islands government it was believed they were all German.
However, a local report suggested one of them may have been Italian.
Two men in the ultralight, who were local to Majorca, also died.
An ultralight is a form of small aircraft with only one or two seats.
Both aircraft were in private use, according to the Diario de Mallorca newspaper.
Emergency services were called to the crash at 1.35pm local time, and the mid-air collision happened over the Inca Hospital, in the municipality of Inca, in the north of the island
Wreckage from both aircraft was strewn across parts of the town and rural areas.
Photographs circulated on social media showed one section landed on fire on what appeared to be a garden wall.
A tail section from one of the aircraft came down on a road, and another section crashed into a farm field.
Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s caretaker prime minister, sent his sympathies to the families of the dead.
Hardliners from Colombia’s ruling party have told the Telegraph that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro must be held accountable for harbouring FARC leaders who announced a return to arms, as the country’s army killed nine rebels in a raid.
On Thursday, senior commanders from the leftist guerrilla group said they were breaking with the peace deal that saw all but a few dissident factions disarm in 2017, ending one of the world’s longest conflicts.
The declaration from Iván Márquez and other high-level figures was allegedly made in a hideout inside Venezuela – reigniting long-running tensions over Caracas’s support for the rebels.
Amid a months-long international standoff over Mr Maduro’s leadership, the guerrillas’ reactivation is now being cited as reason to remove him by force.
“Maduro offers shelter to those who want to bring harm to Colombia. A military intervention with the support of other countries from Latin America is the only solution,” said Senator María Fernanda Cabal, from the Right-wing Democratic Centre party of President Iván Duque.
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, right, greets Ivan Marquez in 2007Credit:
Gregorio Marrero/ AP
The video of Márquez and other commanders toting rifles and declaring a “new chapter” in their armed struggle was, for the Colombian President, proof that the leftist rebels are plotting attacks from Venezuelan soil.
While the presence of dissident FARC remnants and the ELN, another Colombian insurgent group, inside Venezuelan territory was previously known, the call from Márquez – the former FARC number two and a chief negotiator of the peace deal – has upped the stakes considerably.
"We’re not witnessing the birth of a new guerrilla army, but rather the criminal threats of a band of narco-terrorists, who have the protection and support of Nicolas Maduro’s dictatorship," said Mr Duque in a televised address.
After Friday’s military operation, on a dissident FARC unit in the Colombian south, he said it was intended to send a "clear message" to the group to put down their weapons.
Mr Duque has previously rejected the idea of military intervention in Venezuela, fearing it could get Colombia mired in a prolonged conflict that would have scant regional support. But former Democratic Centre senator Alfredo Rangel said there was now "growing support" in the ruling party for such action.
“An armed intervention is the only way out of this,” he said.“Colleagues can see that diplomacy is failing and I think our neighbours in Latin America are beginning to see that too.”
Rafael Nieto Loaiza, a former vice minister for justice and key figure in Mr Duque’s party, says his hand may be forced.
“Duque has said he doesn’t want military action, but it’s possible that the support from the regime in Caracas for dissident Farc and ELN factions may mean he has to re-think his position.”
This week’s events have also led to an uptick in rhetoric from Washington, where officials reiterated accusations that the Maduro government has been actively conspiring with Colombian rebels.
"The regime in Caracas seems to be fomenting this kind of activity, in essence turning over parts of the country, particularly to the ELN," Elliott Abrams, the Trump administration’s special envoy to Venezuela, told reporters.
"We’ve known for some time that the FARC and ELN enjoy safe haven inside Venezuela," a senior State Department official added in an interview with Reuters. "And it’s even more clear now that they do so with the complicity of the Maduro regime."
Juan Guaidó, the leader of Venezuela’s opposition-controlled parliament who is recognised as the rightful president by the US and dozens of other countries, said he had warned Washington that the FARC could regroup with Mr Maduro’s help.
"Unfortunately, these warnings have become a reality," his office said in statement.
Although Venezuela has always denied giving sanctuary or support to Colombian guerrillas, demobilised Farc and ELN commanders say the groups have been operational there since Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999. The country provides a safe haven away from the pursuit of the Colombian armed forces, but, with access to lucrative drug trafficking routes and illicit gold mining, the country is also a source of substantial income.
The two countries repeatedly came to the brink of war over the issue during the time of Chávez and his hawkish Colombian counterpart, Álvaro Uribe, in what came to be known as the Cold War of the Andes.
The departure of both men, and the FARC peace deal, defused the dispute, but Mr Uribe, who founded the current ruling party and handpicked Mr Duque as his candidate, now wields significant political influence once again.
“The conflict could escalate should the FARC rebels receive material and logistical support from Venezuela,” said political analyst Sergio Guzmán. “But this risks a conventional confrontation with Colombia and the US, something which Maduro and his allies are keen to avoid.”
A mother told last night how she thought she was going to drown as she slipped beneath the surging waters brought by Hurricane Dorian.
Lanell Laing, 31, had fled her home in High Rock, Grand Bahama, to try and take shelter but the house she fled to filled with water and she and her 10-year-old son, Aaron Turner, spent the night clinging to a roof.
Her story emerged as the Telegraph last night became one of the few newspapers to make it into the east of Grand Bahama, one of the worst hit islands in the region.
The roads, some of which were torn to shreds by gusts of up to 220mph, have been passable for less than 24 hours as the first supplies started to be brought through by friends, neighbours and those who had fled.
The community of around 600 were counting their missing. Around 14 people were known to have been in their homes when the hurricane hit.
Rubble where houses once stood in High Rock, Grand BahamaCredit:
Hayley Dixon for the Telegraph
Only one man’s body has been found so far. He appeared to have been torn from his home, which lay in a pile of rubble that was discovered metres down the road.
From just one of the destroyed homes there are seven people missing.
Ms Laing said that as the water started to pour in she grabbed Aaron and her friend’s baby and put them in a cupboard. But she soon realised the flood was rising too fast.
“I grabbed my son and I pushed him up to the ceiling and just told him to hold on," she told the Telegraph.
“But as soon as I did I started to go under. I thought this is it, I am going to drown.”
Suddenly she too was grabbed from the water by her neighbour and managed to grab hold of the top of a door.
Road asphalt on the Grand Bahama Highway torn up by 220 mph windsCredit:
Hayley Dixon for the Telegraph
They spent the whole night with their heads pressed against the ceiling gasping for air as the storm waters swirled around them.
Now they are relying on the kindness of friends whilst they wait for the government to bring them food and water. They have no power as the pylons lie broken across the roads.
A plane thrown by the storm on the side of the road near Freetown airportCredit:
Hayley Dixon for the Telegraph
Ms Laing’s partner Trevor Turner said: “People watch movies about the apocalypse, those end of the world natural disasters. Well, this felt like that."
The communities further east from High Rock are as yet unreachable. People have walked out there, but no one has yet returned to report on the damage.
And as rescuers work across the devastated region, families here fear that the death toll from this disaster will be much higher than the official tally so far of just 30.
The copywriter, Josh Thompson, worked for FCB New Zealand, an advertising agency.
When he received an email saying "bad news, we’re having a meeting to discuss your role", Mr Thompson decided to hire a clown to "spice up the meeting", he told Magic Talk Radio.
The New Zealand Herald reported that the clown made balloon animals, including a poodle and a unicorn, during the meeting, and mimed crying when redundancy paperwork was handed over.
Mr Thompson said he paid NZ$200 (£102) for the clown’s services, and added that it was important he have a professional with him given the situation.
A support person in New Zealand can be a member of their union, a lawyer, friend, family member, or colleague. Employment New Zealand states the purpose of a support person is to give "support, help with understanding of the issues and take notes so that the employee can focus on the meeting".
However, Mr Thompson told Magic Talk Radio: "It was rather noisy him making balloon animals so we had to tell him to be quiet from time to time."
Despite that, the copywriters said his bosses "could see the humorous side of it".
In the UK, employees can only take trade union representatives or colleagues to redundancy meetings.
A spokesperson for FCB refused to comment to the New Zealand Herald, citing company policy of not commenting on individual employment matters out of respect for the employee.
It is believed Josh lost his job due to restructuring after FCB lost the Vodaphone ad account.
Mr Thompson has landed a new job in Australia with DDB, another advertising agency. The New Zealand Herald reported that the new company didn’t comment on the hire, said it was aware of balloon-related activity and that that its staff were terrified of clowns.
With less than a week to go before the biggest show of the year, WWE recently released a special live stream that featured 20 of the best matches in WrestleMania history airing in full-length for free via WWE’s official YouTube channel and various social media outlets.
The official description for the special, which you can watch in full via a complete free archive that the company is making available right now on their YouTube and Twitter pages, reads as follows:
“Watch a livestream featuring 20 of the greatest matches to happen at recent WrestleManias, featuring Superstars like Seth Rollins, Kurt Angle and Charlotte Flair, with exclusive matches from WWE Network.”
You can check out the complete special below:
Relive 20 of the greatest matches to happen at recent #WrestleMania events, featuring @WWERollins, @RealKurtAngle, @MsCharlotteWWE, and many more of your favorite @WWE Superstars! https://t.co/AvNFUc2GSn
— WWE (@WWE) March 29, 2019
WWE Superstar Seth Rollins recently opened up to Cathy Kelley on a special WrestleMania edition of WWE Now, which aired live via WWE’s website and social media channels about his upcoming showdown against WWE Universal Champion “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar for The WWE Universal Title at this Sunday’s WrestleMania.
The official description for the video, which you can watch in its’ entirety below, reads: “Seth Rollins opens up about his journey back to challenging for the Universal Title and how he really feels about reigning champion Brock Lesnar, his opponent at WrestleMania.”
WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington Nationals capped a remarkable season Wednesday night, scrapping from unlikely wildcard winner to baseball’s World Champions, staving off elimination with a victory Tuesday and then crowning themselves in Game 7 with a come-from-behind 6-2 road victory over the Houston Astros.
Neither the Nationals nor the Astros won a single game at home, but the Nats victory set off celebration at National Park and the homes, bars and streets of the District and northern Virginia.
Fans spilled into the streets Wednesday night after the team came from behind from 2-0 to win.
Tommy Marshall watched the game with thousands of other fans at Nationals Park, where they rejoiced after every strikeout, and home run.
“For a region that is accustomed to teams blowing it…it was weird to have such strong nerve-wracking hope strong enough to keep my friends and I from leaving our seats just behind the visitor team’s dugout where we were watching the game,” Marshall said. “I think I blacked out at (Howie Kendrick’s) home run. I lost my voice, cheered harder than I’ve cheered in a long time, and they couldn’t even hear us.”
The Nats were 19-31 on May 24. They were 4-3 in the 2019 World Series, and 12-5 in the postseason. That’s all it took. Party on.
The Astros had been favorites to win the fall classic but the upstart Nats, with a combination of youthful naivete and experienced starting pitching, would have none of it.
President Trump, who was resoundingly booed during Game 5, tweeted out congratulations: “Congratulations to the Washington Nationals on a great season and an incredible World Series. Game 7 was amazing! @Nationals”
Are you ready for a slip and slide on the Nationals dugout? You’re not, but here you go:
Team owner Ted Lerner said at the trophy presentation, “A dream came true. We did it for the fans of Washington, and it feels great.”
Nationals fans exploded in celebration. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser posted a video of the celebration:
“We’re world champs tonight,” Martinez said. He called his team resilient guys “who love to play the game. … We stayed in the fight, we won the fight. I believe in these guys and they believe in each other.”
The Nationals stormed out to a 2-0 lead in the series with two wins in Houston, but were swept at home and fell behind 3-2. A 7-2 victory in Game 6 Tuesday night kept them alive in the series, leading up to the critical Game 7 Wednesday night.
Down in the 7th, home runs by Anthony Rendon and Howie Kendrick, gave the Nats a slim lead. A run in the eighth and two more in the ninth left the Astros limp in their dugout when the final out was snatched by catcher Yan Gomes just before 11 o’clock Houston time.
Fans in D.C. snapped up all 36,000 tickets to a watch party at Nationals Park, and there are other watch parties happening around the District as Nats fans hope for the first World Series title in D.C. since the Washington Senators — now the Minnesota Twins — did it 95 years ago.
Kathy Gillespie, a D.C. resident, was wearing her lucky Nats shirt at a Cleveland Park bar as she watched the game. She said her father is a huge Nats fan, and she spent 30 minutes talking on the phone to him about the game.
“For grandpa, we want the Nats to win,” she said.
Tom Williams Jr., of D.C. said he was “weirdly emotional” about the game. He remembered how his mother loved the Senators, and this game caused him to think of his parents and grandparents, as well as going to the D.C. stadium with his father as a kid.
“Let’s win this thing,” Williams texted a group of friends.
Jeff Howcroft, from Ottawa, Canada, lived in D.C. 10 years ago and professes to be a huge Nats fan. He drove 12 hours to watch the Nats play in D.C.
“This is my dream. I’m a baseball fan beyond belief,” Howcroft said. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
Last night’s WrestleMania 35 Kickoff Show also saw another title change hands as Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder defeated The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) to become The New RAW Tag Team Champions. This is the second title reign together for Hawkins & Ryder. The Revival won the titles back on The February 11th episode of Monday Night RAW by defeating Chad Gable & Bobby Roode. Below are the photos and the videos from last night’s title change at MetLife Stadium:
#TopGuys are in the building! #WrestleMania @ScottDawsonWWE @DashWilderWWE pic.twitter.com/0hlkdwjCU4
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) April 7, 2019
This is going to be MAJOR! @ZackRyder & @TheCurtHawkins are more than ready to challenge #TheRevival for the #RAW #TagTeamTitles in the #WrestleMania #Kickoff! pic.twitter.com/VdMIE09gri
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) April 7, 2019
Ring awareness 101. #TheRevival #WrestleMania @ScottDawsonWWE @DashWilderWWE pic.twitter.com/QEl9iGwqkk
— WWE WrestleMania (@WrestleMania) April 7, 2019
???? #WrestleMania #FTR @DashWilderWWE pic.twitter.com/O3jph8iiZ8
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) April 7, 2019
THE STREAK IS BROKEN!!!! @TheCurtHawkins & @ZackRyder are your NEW #RAW #TagTeamChampions! #WrestleMania #AndNew pic.twitter.com/MX7fKIktgy
— WWE (@WWE) April 7, 2019
1?? – 2??6??9??
No one deserves the win more, @TheCurtHawkins! #WrestleMania #AndNew @ZackRyder pic.twitter.com/vhk37NLLP3
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) April 7, 2019