This morning.

In Helsinki, Finland.

Members and supporters of Amnesty Finland hold a demonstration in support of Princess Latifa who has not been seen in public for 18 months, since she reportedly attempted to flee Dubai.

Her best friend Tiina Jauhiainen, who was part of the escape bid, recently told BBC that the princess told armed men she would prefer to be shot than to be taken back home.

Former Irish president Mary Robinson appeared in a ‘family video’ before Christmas 2018 intended to assure the public of Princess Latifah’s safety. In it, Mrs Robinson described the princess as ‘troubled’.

This morning Amnesty Finland tweetz:

Almost 17 000 people signed our petition that demands freedom for Princess Latifa. Huge thanks to each and everyone of you. We won’t give up until Latifa is free!

Related: Sheikha Latifa ‘preferred to be shot than go back home’ (BBC News, October 1, 2019)

Previously: Latifa, Haya And Rescuing Mary

Oh Mary

All That You Can’t Leave Behind

In Denial

Stop that!

This morning.

Helix Theatre, DCU, Dublin.

Irish Tenor, Paul Byrom as Lord Beautface (above left with Chris Corroon as Dame Lola] at the launch of The Helix 2019 Pantomime, The Three Musketeers.

Paul  will play the role of Lord Beautface a new production of the Dumas classic which runs from Friday, November 22 until  January 19, 2020 in the Helix.

Tickets are priced from €17.50 (booking fees apply) and are on sale (at link below).

Oh, yes they are.

Three Muskateers (Helix)

Leon Farrell/Photocall ireland

‘Sam’, aged five, eating as he knelt on a piece of cardboard on Grafton Street last night

The Homeless Street Café is a group of volunteers who offer food, toiletries, clothes and friendship to people who are homeless every Tuesday night on Grafton Street in Dublin.

Last night.

One of the group’s members posted the above picture on the group’s Facebook page with the message:

“There is an image burnt in all the teams’ minds tonight. It’s wrong and it’s distressing but this IS happening and it’s only getting worse each week.

‘Sam’ is 5 and this was him eating a dinner of carbonara tonight on a sheet of cardboard. Can we really accept this?”

Homeless Street Cafe (Facebook)

We have no way of completely verifying the accuracy of the above image but we are taking the homeless café at their word unless we hear otherwise and no ‘clickbait’ motives were behind this post and sorry for upset caused.

H/T: Mick Caul

UPDATE:

This afternoon.

The Homeless Street Café has written the following update on their Facebook page:

“Thank you so much everyone for your overwhelming response and for not just accepting that this is ok.

This post has reached over a quarter of a million people which is amazing and we have over a thousand comments and messages to go through.

We are small volunteer group and all our team are back in their day jobs today so please bare with us as we navigate through our next steps.

Our priority as always is continuing to support the homeless who come to us each week and the children among them that “Sam” represents.

**To confirm “Sam” is in emergency accommodation and attends school. His mother is simply trying to access nutritious home cooked meals for him.

Most emergency accommodations strictly forbid cooking or food preparation.”

The Homeless Street Café (Facebook)



Ah here.

The cows?

From Unternehmen Seelöwe (Operation Sea Lion]: the Original Nazi German Plan for the Invasion of Great Britain.

Authored in 1940 by official (and non-official ) Ireland-based members of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) Nazi German Supreme Command of the Armed Forces.

Published 1941, 1941 and 1942.

Via The David Rumsey [historical archive] Collection:

In preparing to invade Britain, the German military preparations included the production of a series of military/geographical assessments, showing what might be found by those arriving. This material was also used in a military evaluation of the regions of the British Isles, and considered each from the viewpoint of invasion….

..Such sites are often illustrated in the book of photographs, the captions of which give a map location for each site, and each mapped site gives the book illustration number. The town maps are printed in brown (rather than black), with blue water. The various coloured symbols stand out clearly, are easily seen and are quite striking.

The delicate black bridge symbols are especially noticeable and numerous, as are the red boundaries of railway stations and goods yards. Basically, for each town these maps show all locations that the Germans thought to be strategically important.

Text from the description of the collection compiled in the event of an invasion or Irleand by the Nazis.

Unternehmen Seelöwe (Operation Sea Lion]: the Original Nazi German Plan for the Invasion of Great Britain ( David Rumsey Collection)

Operation Sea Lion?

Thanks ‘IrishHistoryanon’ (prompted by recent reader query)

EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier

RTÉ’s Europe Editor Tony Connolly tweetz:

BREAKING: Michel Barnier has told EU Commissioners he is optimistic of getting a deal done today, RTÉ News understands.

However, there still outstanding issues, so this could go right to the wire.

It’s understood VAT has emerged as a last-minute problem: if NI remains inside the EU’s VAT system, essential for North-South trade, then a new mechanism will have to be created for East-West trade, as the UK will be in its own VAT system.

However, it’s understood officials are confident that a solution can be found.

It’s understood consent is also proving difficult, with a senior EU source saying the DUP are pushing to restore a tighter Stormont lock.

The third big hurdle is on the “level playing field” provisions. The EU is concerned at Boris Johnson’s bid to dilute Theresa May’s commitments to not stray far from the EU’s environmental, state aid, social and labour standards.

The meeting of EU ambassadors, whom Barnier will brief, is still scheduled for 14hr CET, suggesting that the timings are still on course.

Barnier ‘optimistic’ of Brexit deal today (RTÉ)

Meanwhile…

Britain’s Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay

Sky News reports:

Boris Johnson will write a letter to the EU asking for a delay to Brexit beyond 31 October if he fails to get an exit deal approved by parliament by Saturday, the Brexit secretary has confirmed.

Stephen Barclay told a committee of MPs that the prime minister will “comply” with legislation, aimed at blocking a no-deal Brexit at the end of the month, passed by opposition MPs last month.

PM will write letter to EU asking for Brexit delay if no deal by Saturday (Greg Heffer, Sky News)

Pics: Politics For All

UPDATE:

Mr Connolly tweetz:

BREAKING: two senior EU sources say the main stumbling block to a deal has been removed with the DUP accepting the latest proposals on consent… Optimism a deal can now be done…

But DUP leader Arlene Foster tweetz:

‘EU sources’ are talking nonsense. Discussions continue. Needs to be a sensible deal which unionists and nationalists can support.

UDPATE:

Mr Connolly addz:

At the risk of getting into a source arms race, I have four sources confirming the original report…

Um.

Rob Gale writes:

found this ad (above) for an apartment in Holystown [Dublin 15]

I did a reverse image search on one of the clearly-not-Holystown photos and it’s of Mrytle Beach Hotels in the US [South Carolina, on the Atlantic coast of America]. What the Hell’s going on?

Anyone?

Chapelwood Green, Hollystown, Dublin 15, North Dublin (Daft)

From top: Public Services Card; Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone (left); Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon

This morning.

In The Irish Examiner.

Cianan Brennan reports that the Department of Children and Youth Affairs still hasn’t replied to a near two-week-old request from the Data Protection Commissioner for information concerning the controversial Public Services Card and the new National Childcare Scheme.

The scheme was scheduled to begin at the end of this month but now won’t begin until November.

Mr Brennan reports:

“The commissioner’s query concerns the requirement for all applicants to the new scheme to hold a public services card, which is perceived as being at odds with the commissioner ’s recent finding that mandating citizens to hold a PSC in order to access State services other than welfare is illegal.

“…The department has become something of an outlier since the publication of the commissioner’s report into the PSC on September 17, as the majority of other departments have since dropped their mandatory PSC requirement, despite Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty’s stated intention to legally challenge the commissioner’s rulings.”

Anyone?

Department yet to reply to Public Services Card info request (Cianan Brennan, The Irish Examiner)

Previously: House Of Card

‘Iarnród Éireann Used The Public Services Card To Collect The Information’

‘It Would Be In The Circuit Court So It Probably Wouldn’t Be Very Expensive’

Broadsheet.ie