A livestream portal between Dublin and New York was temporarily shut down after “inappropriate behaviour” in the Irish capital.
Thousands of people have visited the two-way portal, which allows people on either side to see and interact with each other.
And while there have been a number of wholesome moments – including Irish dancing and even a proposal – a handful of people have behaved “inappropriately”, Dublin City Council has said.
Videos on social media have shown people on the Irish side flashing body parts, and displaying images of 9/11 and swear words on phone screens.
A woman was also escorted away by police after being seen grinding against the portal.
In a statement issued on Monday evening, a spokesperson for Dublin City Council said “technical solutions” to address this are being implemented in the next 24 hours.
Image: People in each city could be seen greeting each other when the portal opened last week. Pic: Reuters
“We will continue to monitor the situation over the coming days with our partners in New York to ensure that Portals continue to deliver a positive experience for both cities and the world,” they said.
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“The team at portals.org and partners are still working on improving the software for better stability and to prepare for Portals to expand to more locations on Earth.
“Those works are being done mostly at night and during those hours, the livestream might be paused.”
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Dublin City Council noted there has been an increase in footfall since the Portal was unveiled in north Dublin, facing O’Connell Street. The New York portal is at the busy Manhattan junction of Broadway, Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street.
Image: Most interactions via the portals have been wholesome. Pic: Reuters
“The overwhelming majority of interactions are positive,” the spokesperson added. “We have seen families and friends unite, dancing moves being shared as well as new friendships being made. There was even a successful marriage proposal.
“The Portal offers a window to other cities and is connecting people and cultures in a unique manner – what we are seeing between Dublin and NY is reflective of a wider narrative of cultural behaviour.”
The Portals Organisation said: “We do not intend to suggest people to interact with Portals in any particular way – our goal is to open a window between far away places and cultures that allows people to interact freely with one another.
“We encourage people to be respectful and from our position as observers, we see that the absolute majority of experiences is on the bright side.”
In an earlier statement, they confirmed the livestream had been paused so they could “update the software used on the Portal”.
The UK-US trade deal has been signed and is “done”, US President Donald Trump has said as he met Sir Keir Starmer at the G7 summit.
The US president told reporters: “We signed it, and it’s done. It’s a fair deal for both. It’ll produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income.”
As Mr Trump and his British counterpart exited a mountain lodge in the Canadian Rockies where the summit is being held, the US president held up a physical copy of the trade agreement to show reporters.
Several leaves of paper fell from the binding, and Mr Starmer quickly bent down to pick them up, saying: “A very important document.”
Image: President Donald Trump drops papers as he meets with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Kananaskis, Canada. Pic: AP
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1:06
Sir Keir Starmer hastily collects the signed executive order documents from the ground and hands them back to the US president.
Sir Keirsaid the document “implements” the deal to cut tariffs on cars and aerospace, adding: “So this is a very good day for both of our countries – a real sign of strength.”
Mr Trump added that the UK was “very well protected” against any future tariffs, saying: “You know why? Because I like them”.
However, he did not say whether levies on British steel exports to the US would be set to 0%, saying “we’re gonna let you have that information in a little while”.
Image: Sir Keir Starmer picks up paper from the UK-US trade deal after Donald Trump dropped it at the G7 summit. Pic: Reuters
What exactly does trade deal being ‘done’ mean?
The government says the US “has committed” to removing tariffs (taxes on imported goods) on UK aerospace goods, such as engines and aircraft parts, which currently stand at 10%.
That is “expected to come into force by the end of the month”.
Tariffs on car imports will drop from 27.5% to 10%, the government says, which “saves car manufacturers hundreds of millions a year, and protects tens of thousands of jobs”.
The White House says there will be a quota of 100,000 cars eligible for import at that level each year.
But on steel, the story is a little more complicated.
The UK is the only country exempted from the global 50% tariff rate on steel – which means the UK rate remains at the original level of 25%.
That tariff was expected to be lifted entirely, but the government now says it will “continue to go further and make progress towards 0% tariffs on core steel products as agreed”.
The White House says the US will “promptly construct a quota at most-favoured-nation rates for steel and aluminium articles”.
Other key parts of the deal include import and export quotas for beef – and the government is keen to emphasise that “any US imports will need to meet UK food safety standards”.
There is no change to tariffs on pharmaceuticals for the moment, and the government says “work will continue to protect industry from any further tariffs imposed”.
The White House says they “committed to negotiate significantly preferential treatment outcomes”.
Mr Trump also praised Sir Keir as a “great” prime minister, adding: “We’ve been talking about this deal for six years, and he’s done what they haven’t been able to do.”
He added: “We’re very longtime partners and allies and friends and we’ve become friends in a short period of time.
“He’s slightly more liberal than me to put it mildly… but we get along.”
Sir Keir added that “we make it work”.
The US president appeared to mistakenly refer to a “trade agreement with the European Union” at one point as he stood alongside the British prime minister.
In a joint televised phone call in May, Sir Keir and Mr Trump announced the UK and US had agreed on a trade deal – but added the details were being finalised.
Ahead of the G7 summit, the prime minister said he would meet Mr Trump for “one-on-one” talks, and added the agreement “really matters for the vital sectors that are safeguarded under our deal, and we’ve got to implement that”.
A Los Angeles doctor has agreed to plead guilty to giving Friends actor Matthew Perry ketamine in the lead up to his death from a fatal overdose, prosecutors have said.
Dr Salvador Plasencia, who will admit to four counts of distribution of ketamine, faces up to a maximum of 40 years in prison.
The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal treatment for depression, but had begun seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him.
Image: Salvador Plasencia. Pic: Malibu Canyon Urgent Care
Plasencia is accused of supplying the bulk of Perry’s ketamine in his final weeks. He and three other defendants, including another doctor, agreed to plead guilty in exchange for their cooperation.
Jasmine Sangha, who prosecutors allege was a major ketamine dealer, is alleged to have provided the dose that killed the actor and is the only defendant who has pleaded not guilty to the prosecution’s case.
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About a month before the actor’s death, Perry found Plasencia, a doctor who allegedly asked another doctor, Mark Chavez, to obtain the drug for him, according to court filings in the Chavez case.
“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia texted Chavez, according to court filings from prosecutors.
Image: Dr Mark Chavez has pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry. File pic: AP
The pair who practised in California met up the same day and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine, the filings said.
After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500 (£3,314), Plasencia allegedly asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry’s “go-to” prosecutors said.
Chavez has pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry.
Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends, when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing.
He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.
A man accused of killing a US politician and her husband went to the homes of other lawmakers that night, intending to kill them, officials said.
Vance Boelter, 57, meticulously planned his attacks, carrying out surveillance missions, taking notes on the properties and people he targeted and disguising himself as a police officer, according to Minnesota’s acting US attorney Joseph Thompson.
Authorities believe Boelter wore a mask as he posed as a police officer and shone a torch in the face of some of his victims to disguise his identity.
Image: The FBI released this image of Vance Boelter posing as a police officer. Pic: FBI.
“It is no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmare,” said Mr Thompson.
Boelter, 57, allegedly shot and wounded Senator John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, in their Minneapolis home in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Image: John Hoffman. Pic: Facebook/Senator John Hoffman
He then travelled to the home of another state lawmaker but she and her family were on holiday, so they didn’t answer the door, said Mr Thompson.
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Video showed that Boelter rang the doorbell at around 2.24am on Friday but left when the family didn’t respond.
Image: Vance Boelter. Pic: Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office/Reuters
He then drove to the home of an unnamed state senator, but after the Hoffmans’ adult daughter called emergency services to say her parents had been shot, a police officer was dispatched to conduct a wellness check.
That officer saw Boelter’s car parked up the street but thought he was another officer, said Mr Thompson.
Boelter had reportedly altered his car to make it look more like a police car.
He then left and drove to the home of lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, according to an FBI affidavit.
Local police officers, also conducting a check, arrived to see Boelter fatally shoot Mark Hortman through the open door of the home, according to the document.
Melissa Hortman was found dead inside.
Boelter was arrested on Sunday evening after a huge manhunt in a rural area in Sibley County, southwest of Minneapolis.
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He faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in the deaths of the Hortmans and the wounding of Mr Hoffman and his wife.
Before his arrest, the father of five texted his family group chat saying: “Dad went to war last night … I don’t wanna say more because I don’t wanna implicate anybody,” according to the affidavit.
His wife got another text that said: “Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this situation… there’s gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don’t want you guys around,” the document said.
Several AK-style firearms and a list of about 70 names, which included politicians and abortion rights activists, were allegedly found inside his vehicle.
A Minnesota official said politicians who had been outspoken in favour of abortion rights were on the list.