Connect with us

Published

on

US rock band Semisonic has criticised the White House for using their song Closing Time in a social media post that showed a shackled deportee.

The Trump administration shared the video on Monday two days after hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members were controversially deported by the White House to a supermax prison in El Salvador.

The video, which also showed deportees boarding a plane, was captioned with the song’s lyrics: “You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.”

Semisonic said in a statement after the video was shared: “We did not authorise or condone the White House’s use of our song in any way. And no, they didn’t ask. The song is about joy and possibilities and hope, and they have missed the point entirely.”

Asked about the video on Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “our entire government clearly is leaning into the message of this president”.

US District Judge James E Boasberg had issued an order temporarily blocking the deportations on Saturday, but lawyers told him there were already two planes with immigrants in the air – one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras.

Ms Leavitt said on Sunday that the more than 200 people deported were members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang – which originated in an infamously lawless prison in the central Venezuelan state of Aragua.

More from UK

It came before Jorge Rodriguez, the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, said those who were deported were denied due process.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Mr Rodriguez said the people deported were not known to have committed any crimes in the United States or El Salvador, and that Venezuela would do everything it can to have them returned home.

It also emerged on Monday that the US Justice Department is seeking to remove Mr Boasberg as the judge presiding over the Venezuelan deportation case.

The request to remove Mr Boasberg came just before a hearing in his Washington courtroom began on the matter
on Monday evening.

Semisonic performing in 1998. Pic: AP
Image:
Semisonic performing in 1998. Pic: AP

Band join exclusive club

Semisonic join a long list of performers who have objected to Donald Trump using their songs, including Abba, Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, Phil Collins, Pharrell, John Fogerty, Neil Young, Eddy Grant, Panic! at the Disco, R.E.M., Guns N’ Roses, Celine Dion, Beyonce and Adele.

Closing Time is from the band’s 1998 album Feeling Strangely Fine, which peaked at number 43 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

The song hit number four on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart and earned a Grammy nomination for best rock song.

Continue Reading

US

Ukraine war: ‘We’ve never been closer to a peace deal’ – Trump and Putin to hold talks on ending conflict

Published

on

By

Ukraine war: 'We've never been closer to a peace deal' - Trump and Putin to hold talks on ending conflict

Donald Trump will speak to Vladimir Putin by phone later today – with the White House saying “we’ve never been closer to a peace deal” in Ukraine.

In a post on Truth Social, the US president said he would be speaking to his Russian counterpart on Tuesday morning – adding: “Many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remains.

“Thousands of young soldiers, and others, are being killed. Each week brings 2,500 soldier deaths, from both sides, and it must end NOW.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

What will Trump and Putin discuss?

While aboard Air Force One, Mr Trump had told reporters that land and power plants were part of the conversation on bringing the war to a close.

After crunch talks in Saudi Arabia between US and Ukrainian diplomats, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that Kyiv would accept a 30-day pause in fighting if Russia committed to it as well.

Since then, Mr Putin has said he agrees fighting in Ukraine should end – but warned “lots of questions” remain over the proposed ceasefire.

He has also met US envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss the details of the proposal.

More on Donald Trump

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

‘We have to keep pressure on Putin’

It comes as Ukraine’s air defence units said they shot down 90 of 174 drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack on Monday.

Russia has been attacking the Odesa region with drones and missiles on a daily basis for three weeks, the air force said – adding that 70 other drones were disrupted in the attack.

Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper added a civilian was injured during the strikes, which damaged a kindergarten, a house, a shop and a car.

Biden children’s security detail revoked

In other developments, Mr Trump said on Truth Social that he is “immediately” revoking Secret Service protection that was being given to Joe Biden’s children.

He claimed 18 agents were assigned to Hunter Biden’s protective detail while in South Africa this week – and added Ashley Biden had 13 agents assigned to her detail who “will be taken off the list”.

Continue Reading

US

‘He doesn’t speak for Ireland’: Irish leaders critical of McGregor-Trump meeting

Published

on

By

'He doesn't speak for Ireland': Irish leaders critical of McGregor-Trump meeting

Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has met Donald Trump in the Oval Office after complaining about Ireland’s “illegal immigration racket”.

The 36-year-old told Mr Trump that his work ethic was “inspiring”, with the two men sharing jovial comments about the fighter’s suit and a map featuring the Gulf of Mexico labelled as the Gulf of America.

In comments made in the White House briefing room before the meeting during the St. Patrick’s Day visit, he said he was visiting the White House to “raise the issues the people of Ireland face”.

“What is going on in Ireland is a travesty,” he said. “Our government is the government of zero action with zero accountability.”

Trump and McGregor meeting in the Oval Office. Pic: X/@MargoMartin47
Image:
Trump and McGregor meeting in the Oval Office. Pic: X/@MargoMartin47

McGregor warned “Ireland is at the cusp of potentially losing its Irishness” due to the “illegal immigration racket”.

“Ireland and America, we are siblings. We consider America our big sibling. So it’s important for Ireland to be a peaceful, prosperous country for 40 million Irish Americans to have a place to visit, [to] come back to their home.

“So we wish for our relationship with the United States to continue, and we wish to be taken care of by the big bro. The United States should look after its little bro. And that’s how we feel,” McGregor said.

More on Conor Mcgregor

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who appeared alongside McGregor in the briefing room, said: “We couldn’t think of a better guest to have with us on St. Patrick’s Day.”

At a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin last week, Mr Trump said McGregor was his favourite Irish person partly because “he’s got the best tattoos I’ve ever seen”.

UFC fighter Conor McGregor speaks at the briefing room lectern, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt at his side, during a visit to the White House in Washington.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
UFC fighter Conor McGregor speaks with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt at his side during a visit to the White House in Washington. Pic: Reuters

But Mr Martin and deputy prime minister Simon Harris have been critical of today’s Trump-McGregor meeting.

In a post on X, Mr Martin said: “McGregor’s remarks are wrong, and do not reflect the spirit of St Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland.”

Meanwhile, Mr Harris said that McGregor was not in the US to represent Ireland and did not speak for the people of Ireland, and “has no mandate to”.

In exclusive comments made to Sky News’ David Blevins about Mr Martin’s comments, McGregor said: “Shame on him for saying that, speaking down on an Irish man.”

He added: “Every metric available to us has shown that the government of Ireland has failed the people of Ireland.”

Mr Trump is well known for his support of Ultimate Fighting Championship, which McGregor is best known for competing in, and attended bouts during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Read more: The deepening ties that led to the controversial Tates flying to freedom in US

McGregor is a controversial figure in Ireland after a woman who accused him of raping her won her civil case and was awarded more than £200,000 in damages.

Tesco was among the retailers that stopped selling alcohol brands linked to McGregor after Nikita Hand was awarded €248,603 (£206,000) after a jury found McGregor assaulted her in a hotel in 2018.

McGregor is appealing against the outcome of the civil case.

McGregor also pleaded guilty to assaulting a man in a Dublin pub in 2019 and has been subject to several other allegations of assault and sexual assault.

His social media posts were also linked to the 2023 Dublin riots. Irish police were reportedly investigating McGregor’s posts for alleged incitement to hatred in relation to the riots.

McGregor, nicknamed the Notorious, rose to worldwide prominence for winning several UFC championships.

Continue Reading

US

Two astronauts stuck in space for more than nine months head back to Earth

Published

on

By

Two astronauts stuck in space for more than nine months head back to Earth

Two astronauts stuck in space for more than nine months have left the International Space Station on their 17-hour journey back to Earth.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams blasted off to the ISS on 5 June, and were meant to be up there for just eight days.

They were testing out Boeing’s long-awaited Starliner, a ship designed to rival SpaceX’s Crew Dragon that is currently used to ferry astronauts into space.

Read more: What can being in space for so long do to your health?

NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Pic: NASA Johnson
Image:
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Pic: NASA Johnson

But by the time they docked at the ISS, the Starliner had suffered major problems – with five helium leaks, five dead manoeuvring thrusters and a propellant valve that failed to close completely.

It returned to Earth without them, after it was decided the astronauts would be safer waiting in orbit.

Since then, the two US Navy veterans have completed spacewalks, experiments and even helped sort out the plumbing onboard.

More from Science, Climate & Tech

The astronauts have repeatedly said they have enjoyed the mission, with Ms Williams describing the space station as her “happy place”.

“Every day is interesting because we’re up in space and it’s a lot of fun,” she said earlier this month, although she added the waiting was likely hard for family members on the ground.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Stranded astronauts answer questions

The SpaceX vehicle that will take them home arrived at the space station in September, carrying NASA’s Nick Hague and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, along with two empty seats.

Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams then stuck around so that the other two astronauts could complete their mission, although their return was once more delayed because of problems with the SpaceX rocket that was going to bring them back.

Read more from Sky News:
Inside Syria’s stunned coastal cities
Police searching for missing woman launch murder probe
Conor McGregor to meet Trump

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Watch lift-off of SpaceX rocket crew swap

The crew replacing them all arrived at the ISS on Sunday, with hugs shared all around.

A ship’s bell, long used to welcome new crewmates to the space station, was rung as NASA’s Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, JAXA’s Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos’s Kirill Peskov came aboard.

The long-awaited crew is expected to splashdown off the coast of Florida at around 10pm GMT on Tuesday, after a 17-hour trip.

The group was planning to come back on Wednesday but “favourable” weather conditions meant their return could be brought forward by one day.

Continue Reading

Trending