Latest news with #patriot
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Controversial right-wing singer Marko Perkovic draws tens of thousands to Zagreb concert
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — A concert by right-wing singer Marko Perkovic, notorious for his perceived sympathy for Croatia's World War II pro-Nazi puppet regime, has drawn tens of thousands of his fans to Zagreb on Saturday. Some 450,000 are expected to be in attendance at the Hippodrome later in the evening, the biggest concert in Croatia's history, according to the police, viewed as a major security challenge. Perkovic, also known as Thompson, has been banned from performing in some European cities over frequent pro-Nazi displays at his gigs, but he remains hugely popular in Croatia, frequently attending rallies and sports events. Organizers said any display of any hate-fueling insignia is strictly banned at Saturday's concert. Some fans were seen wrapped in Croatian flags while others wore black Thompson-inscribed T-shirts. 'See you at Hippodrome,' Perkovic wrote on Facebook. 'Take care of each other.' In Zagreb, a city of nearly 700,000 people, the event has been virtually blocked and traffic suspended in various areas days before the event. Authorities deployed thousands of police officers and set up a special control center and a field hospital. The state-owned HRT television said snipers were guarding the venue and helicopters were flying above as visitors streamed in. Some fans told The Associated Press they expected good fun and were happy to be at such an event gathering so many Croats in one place. 'Thompson is a patriot. He does not insult anyone, he loves everybody," said Ivica from eastern Croatia, who gave only his first name. But not everyone was pleased. Former Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor wrote an angry post on X, criticizing how 'the state and the city have been put in service of one man.' 'Thrill and excitement as fans at downtown Zagreb already sing songs from the era of the criminal state,' Kosor wrote on X. 'No media are reporting about that.' Croatia's WWII Ustasha regime ran concentration camps where tens of thousands of ethnic Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croats were brutally executed. Some of Perkovic's songs include the Ustasha salute, punishable by law in Croatia, and other references to the pro-Nazi regime. S ome Croatian nationalists view the leaders of the Ustasha regime as the country's founders despite the recorded atrocities. Perkovic first became popular during a bloody 1991-95 ethnic war that erupted after Croatia declared independence from former Yugoslavia, in which he fought. Nicknamed 'Thompson' after an antique machine gun he carried in the war, Perkovic has claimed that his songs only celebrate Croatia's victory in that war and its independence. Index news portal posted video footage Saturday of some fans performing the Ustasha salute in Zagreb before the concert.
Al Arabiya
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Arabiya
Controversial Right-Wing Singer Marko Perkovic Draws Tens of Thousands to Zagreb Concert
A concert by right-wing singer Marko Perkovic, notorious for his perceived sympathy for Croatia's World War II pro-Nazi puppet regime, drew tens of thousands of his fans to Zagreb on Saturday. Some 450,000 were expected to be in attendance at the Hippodrome later in the evening – the biggest concert in Croatia's history, according to the police, viewed as a major security challenge. Perkovic, also known as Thompson, has been banned from performing in some European cities over frequent pro-Nazi displays at his gigs, but he remains hugely popular in Croatia, frequently attending rallies and sports events. Organizers said any display of any hate-fueling insignia is strictly banned at Saturday's concert. Some fans were seen wrapped in Croatian flags, while others wore black Thompson-inscribed T-shirts. 'See you at Hippodrome,' Perkovic wrote on Facebook. 'Take care of each other.' In Zagreb, a city of nearly 700,000 people, the event has virtually blocked traffic, which has been suspended in various areas days before the event. Authorities deployed thousands of police officers and set up a special control center and a field hospital. The state-owned HRT television said snipers were guarding the venue and helicopters were flying above as visitors streamed in. Some fans told The Associated Press they expected good fun and were happy to be at such an event gathering so many Croats in one place. 'Thompson is a patriot. He does not insult anyone; he loves everybody,' said Ivica from eastern Croatia, who gave only his first name. But not everyone was pleased. Former Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor wrote an angry post on X, criticizing how the state and the city have been put in service of one man. 'Thrill and excitement as fans at downtown Zagreb already sing songs from the era of the criminal state,' Kosor wrote on X. 'No media are reporting about that.' Croatia's World War II Ustasha regime ran concentration camps where tens of thousands of ethnic Serbs, Jews, Roma, and anti-fascist Croats were brutally executed. Some of Perkovic's songs include the Ustasha salute, punishable by law in Croatia, and other references to the pro-Nazi regime. Some Croatian nationalists view the leaders of the Ustasha regime as the country's founders, despite the recorded atrocities. Perkovic first became popular during a bloody 1991–95 ethnic war that erupted after Croatia declared independence from former Yugoslavia, in which he fought. Nicknamed Thompson after an antique machine gun he carried in the war, Perkovic has claimed that his songs only celebrate Croatia's victory in that war and its independence. Index news portal posted video footage Saturday of some fans performing the Ustasha salute in Zagreb before the concert.
Mail & Guardian
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
Former deputy president David 'The Cat' Mabuza has died
Former deputy president David Mabuza. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G) Former deputy president The cause of the death of Mabuza, who served as the country's deputy president from February 2018 to February 2023, was not immediately clear. Mbalula said Mabuza had dedicated his life to the service of the people of South Africa from his days in the struggle against apartheid to his leadership as premier of Mpumalanga and later as deputy president. 'He was a committed cadre who carried the values of unity, discipline, and transformation,' he said. 'On behalf of the African National Congress, we extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, comrades and the people of South Africa. We have lost a patriot, a freedom fighter, and a leader who served with humility and conviction. 'May his soul rest in peace, and may we honour his legacy by continuing the work of building a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic, and prosperous South Africa.'
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump official reveals chilling reason for living apart from wife
Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan revealed that he's living apart from his wife because of death threats he's received for overseeing the president's deportation operations. 'I spent a lot of time with my boys growing up, but as I got more and more — climbed the ladder of what I've done with ICE director and now back — I don't see my family very much,' the veteran border security official told the New York Post reporter Miranda Devine on her podcast. 'My wife's living separately from me right now, mainly because I worked for many hours, but mostly because of the death threats against me. She's someplace else,' the border czar continued. 'I see her as much as I can, but the death threats against me and my family are outrageous.' Homan served 30 years as a border patrol agent before being appointed to executive roles at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Tom and his wife, Elizabeth Homan, reportedly share four children. 'Tom Homan is a patriot who is committed to making America safe again at great personal sacrifice,' White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the Daily Mail. 'He sleeps away from his family so the American people can sleep soundly knowing that he's getting dangerous criminal illegals out of their communities.' The 63-year-old border czar says he's sacrificing family time to enact the president's sweeping deportation operation - one that already snared hundreds of thousands. The Trump administration has deported around 200,000 individuals, Homan said in late May. In addition, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), along with other officials, have arrested over 100,000 people suspected of breaking immigration laws. That amounts to an average of 750 arrests per day - double what the average has been over the past decade. Homan worked in Trump's first administration as acting ICE director for a year and a half before leaving after his nomination got hung up in the Senate. The border czar was a contributor on Fox News for several years, too, often noting migrant crime happening along the border. When the Republican called Homan to take a job in the second administration, he was with his wife, Elizabeth, at dinner. 'I was the first person he called, bringing back, which, again, was a proud moment, but I was actually out to dinner with my wife, and then my phone rang, and I looked down, and it says, 'POTUS.' And my wife says, "He's asking him to come back, isn't he?"' the border czar recounted. 'So I walked outside, and the first thing he said to me was, 'You've been bitching about it for four years. Well, come back and fix it.' So how do you say no?' While on Fox, Homan tore into Biden's 'open border' policies that estimates suggest could have led to over 10 million illegal border crossings. 'There were 300,000 missing children under the last administration,' Homan shared on the 'Pod Force One' podcast. 'We've found thousands of them … We rescued victims of sexual trafficking [and] two weeks ago, we rescued a 14-year-old that was already pregnant, living with adult men.' 'We rescued some victims of forced labor. We found children working on ranches and chicken farms, not going to school, but enslaved labor in the United States of America.'
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump border czar reveals the chilling reason why he is living apart from his wife
Donald Trump 's border czar Tom Homan revealed that he's living apart from his wife because of death threats he's received for overseeing the president's deportation operations. 'I spent a lot of time with my boys growing up, but as I got more and more — climbed the ladder of what I've done with ICE director and now back — I don't see my family very much,' the veteran border security official told the New York Post reporter Miranda Devine on her podcast. 'My wife's living separately from me right now, mainly because I worked for many hours, but mostly because of the death threats against me.' 'She's someplace else,' the border czar continued. 'I see her as much as I can, but the death threats against me and my family are outrageous.' Homan served 30 years as a border patrol agent before being appointed to executive roles at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Tom and his wife, Elizabeth Homan, reportedly share four children. 'Tom Homan is a patriot who is committed to making America safe again at great personal sacrifice,' White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the Daily Mail. 'He sleeps away from his family so the American people can sleep soundly knowing that he's getting dangerous criminal illegals out of their communities.' The 63-year-old border czar says he's sacrificing family time to enact the president's sweeping deportation operation - one that already snared hundreds of thousands. The Trump administration has deported around 200,000 individuals, Homan said in late May. In addition, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), along with other officials, have arrested over 100,000 people suspected of breaking immigration laws. That amounts to an average of 750 arrests per day - double what the average has been over the past decade. Homan worked in Trump's first administration as acting ICE director for a year and a half before leaving after his nomination got hung up in the Senate. The border czar was a contributor on Fox News for several years, too, often noting migrant crime happening along the border. When the Republican called Homan to take a job in the second administration, he was with his wife, Elizabeth, at dinner. 'I was the first person he called, bringing back, which, again, was a proud moment, but I was actually out to dinner with my wife, and then my phone rang, and I looked down, and it says, 'POTUS.' And my wife says, "He's asking him to come back, isn't he?"' the border czar recounted. 'So I walked outside, and the first thing he said to me was, 'You've been bitching about it for four years. Well, come back and fix it.' So how do you say no?' While on Fox, Homan tore into Biden's 'open border' policies that estimates suggest could have led to over 10 million illegal border crossings. 'There were 300,000 missing children under the last administration,' Homan shared on the 'Pod Force One' podcast. 'We've found thousands of them … We rescued victims of sex trafficking [and] two weeks ago, we rescued a 14-year-old that was already pregnant, living with adult men.' 'We rescued some victims of forced labor. We found children working on ranches and chicken farms, not going to school, but enslaved labor in the United States of America.' Homan and other immigration officials also met with lawmakers to advocate for more border spending earlier this year.
