Prince Andrew was given the Duke of York title when he married in the 1980s

Councillors in York have said they are taking steps to remove the Duke of York's Freedom of the City honour.

The Lib Dems, the largest group on City of York Council, said a motion to begin the process would be submitted at the next full council meeting in March.

Prince Andrew was given the Honorary Freedom of the City of York in 1987.

The motion will also call for him to relinquish his title as Duke of York in the wake of the settlement of his legal battle with Virginia Giuffre.

On Tuesday, the prince, 61, agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to Ms Giuffre as part of an out-of-court settlement.

In the case against him in the US, Ms Giuffre had been suing the Duke of York, claiming he sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was 17 - which he repeatedly denied.

A statement from their lawyers on Tuesday said the duke would pay an undisclosed sum to Ms Giuffre and make a "substantial donation" to her charity in support of victims' rights.

More stories from across Yorkshire

The Lib Dem group on City of York Council said it was "exploring arrangements" to remove the honorary freedom of York bestowed upon him.

A motion to take the honour away would be put forward at the next full council meeting on 24 March, they added.

Liberal Democrat councillor Darryl Smalley, City of York Council's executive member for culture, leisure and communities, said: "We are seeking to end Prince Andrew's links with our great city."

Mr Smalley said York's connection with the crown and monarchy was an "important part" of the city's legacy and history.

"However, as a council and city, we stand with victims of sexual abuse and are doing all we can to end violence against woman and girls locally," he said.

"As such, it is inappropriate that Prince Andrew retains his ambassadorial title that is intrinsically linked to our city."

The Freedom of the City of York was bestowed upon the prince in 1987

Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, has previously also said the prince should give up his title as Duke of York.

A peerage, like the rank of duke, can only be removed by an act of parliament, which last happened in 1917.

Mr Smalley said: "We will be reaching out to MPs to raise our concerns and discuss any possible ways of ending Prince Andrew's connection to York."

The prince relinquished his honorary military roles and his HRH style in January following the sexual assault claims.

Sources: bbc.com/news

That royal disaster zone has been averted by an out-of-court settlement.

But it comes with high costs to Prince Andrew, both financial and reputational, and it will be a long road back before there is any chance of clearing his name in terms of public opinion.

He won't get back any of the royal patronages, military links or the HRH title that were taken away from him.

And the many questions raised by his BBC Newsnight interview - about his connections with Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein and details such as his inability to sweat - will be left unanswered.

If not a smoking gun, there is still the unexplained smoke from a Woking pizza oven.

The implication of this deal means he is potentially paying millions of dollars to someone he still contends he has no memory of ever meeting.

The deal says that Prince Andrew "regrets his association with Epstein", but that picture of the prince with the sex offender will continue to haunt him.

Long shadows

That even more famous picture of Ms Giuffre, Prince Andrew and Maxwell, taken in London almost 21 years ago, will always be there when his name is mentioned, frozen in digital aspic.

Long shadows have been cast which will be hard to shift.

Legal experts had been predicting that a settlement was the most likely outcome from this civil court case, in which Ms Giuffre had brought sexual assault claims against Prince Andrew.

"It was the best of the bad options available to him," said Gideon Benaim, a partner at law firm Simkins, who specialises in protecting high-profile reputations.

"If it had continued it would have inevitably damaged him even further," said Mr Benaim.

Anna Rothwell at law firm Corker Binning said Prince Andrew's Newsnight interview on its own "would have given Ms Giuffre's lawyers a wealth of material to use in cross examination".

Paying the price

But where does it leave Prince Andrew now?

A few weeks ago his legal team was full of fighting talk about being ready to battle it out in court and wanting to knock down Ms Giuffre's allegations.

Now the tone has changed completely to recognising that Ms Giuffre has "suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks".

But Mr Benaim says the deal avoids any admission of guilt and any personal wrongdoing and stops a case which threatened an endless supply of negative headlines.

"Reputationally he had to get rid of this - almost regardless of the cost," said the lawyer.

Prince Andrew can maintain his innocence, with nothing proven against him, and he could argue that he was paying a price to protect his family from any further damaging coverage.

The number of zeroes in that payment remains confidential, but it's likely to look like a long row of those emojis of popping eyes.

'Public or private purse'

There is also some ambiguity about whether it is one or two payments being made.

"The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms Giuffre's receipt of the settlement (the sum of which is not being disclosed).

"Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights," says the joint statement accompanying the deal.

Whether that means separate payments to Ms Giuffre and the charity has not been clarified by Prince Andrew's representatives.

Who is paying for the pay-out could be another issue.

Kate Macnab, a lawyer at Reeds Solicitors, says: "It is likely there will be some demands to know where the payment is coming from - public or private purse?"

In terms of what comes next, the settlement contains a line suggesting how he might try to begin restoring his reputation.

"He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims."

Although at the moment he might be at risk of losing more links with organisations, than making new ones - particularly anything connected to sex trafficking.

There will still be constitutional roles. Prince Andrew remains a counsellor of state, unless legislation is passed to change that, which means he is one of four senior royals who could act in place of the Queen if illness meant she was unable to carry out official duties.

From the wider Royal Family there might be relief that the case is over, rather than facing a Platinum Jubilee year clouded by allegations and more revelations.

But for Prince Andrew it's hard to see any way back to public life.

Will he be able to take part in jubilee events or official royal family occasions?

Even with no admission of guilt, or any concessions to the claims against him, his future relationship with the public, and any appearances at royal events, will be awkward to say the least.   bbc.com

Move suggests Putin could extend crisis for weeks as Johnson and Biden agree ‘crucial window for diplomacy’ still exists

SitindaonNews.Com | Russia is sending thousands more troops to its border with Ukraine in a sign that Vladimir Putin could extend the crisis for weeks, as Boris Johnson warned the situation had become “very, very dangerous”.

British officials estimate that a further 14 Russian battalions are heading towards Ukraine, each numbering about 800 troops, on top of the 100 battalions massed on the borders – a force already believed capable of launching an invasion.

Ministers are of the view that the Russian president has not yet decided to attack Ukraine and may never do so. But the continued buildup of forces in excess of 150,000 prompted Johnson to cut short a trip to Cumbria to chair a Cobra emergency meeting on Tuesday

On Monday night, the prime minister spoke with Joe Biden and concluded, according to Downing Street, that there “remained a crucial window for diplomacy and for Russia to step back from its threats towards Ukraine”. Britain said the two emphasised the importance of unity and, while neither the UK nor the US will send troops to defend Ukraine, they insisted that any further Russian incursion “would result in a protracted crisis for Russia”.

Earlier, Johnson said: “This is a very, very dangerous, difficult situation. We are on the edge of a precipice, but there is still time for President Putin to step back.”

He said it was important for western allies to remain united in the face of Russian pressure. Ukraine’s future membership of Nato could not be “bargained away” as part of western leaders’ efforts, he added.

Britain believes Russia has committed about 60% of its ground forces to the buildup and doubled its available air power in the region, but thinks Putin could extend the crisis for weeks or even longer.

Although Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, has said “there could be a Russian invasion almost immediately”, on Monday she told MPs in a private conference call that Putin could keep up the military pressure on Ukraine for months, according to some of those who listened in.

Parliament could be recalled if Russia invades Ukraine this week, No 10 indicated. Asked whether this was a possibility, Johnson’s official spokesperson said: “In that situation, you would expect that the prime minister would want parliament to be updated and for it to have its say.”

Russia has always denied that it intends to invade. Its foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, told Putin in a carefully staged public meeting on Monday that while negotiations between Russia and the west could not “go on indefinitely … I would suggest to continue and expand them at this stage”.

Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, is due to visit Moscow on Tuesday, although no breakthrough is expected given Russia’s demands: that Ukraine never be allowed to join Nato and that the west withdraw troops from eastern Europe.

Last week the US told allies that an invasion could come as soon as Wednesday, but the continued Russian buildup suggests the Kremlin did not believe it had assembled all the forces it could to threaten its smaller neighbour.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said his country would not be intimidated by Russia and that Wednesday should be “a day of unity”. “We want peace and we want to resolve all issues exclusively through negotiations,” he said, but added that the Ukrainian army was “many times stronger than eight years ago” and that Ukraine wanted freedom and was ready to fight for it should Russia invade.

Nevertheless, the warnings prompted the UK to advise all British citizens in Ukraine to leave now, while commercial means were still available. It is estimated there are about 1,300 Britons in Ukraine, although 200 have said they do not want to leave.

On Monday, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the last few US diplomats in the Kyiv embassy would move west to Lviv “due to the dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces”.

On Saturday, a senior state department official had told reporters that a handful of US diplomats would stay in the capital “to be able to continue working closely with the Ukrainian government, and to be able to ensure we’ve got the best possible information for our senior leaders and the president about what’s happening broadly in society”. The change of mind two days later suggests US security assessments have darkened still further.

The UK ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, had said she would remain in Kyiv with a core team of diplomats. Downing Street said British nationals should not expect a “military airlift” from Ukraine, and that they should leave via commercial means and there were still flights available.

Defence sources said the plan for any Russian invasion would involve “a sudden thrust” aimed at encircling Kyiv, but that it would be accompanied by “multiple axes of attack” aimed at cutting off Ukrainian forces in the east of the country. Russia would seek to install a puppet government, they added

But Britain believes Putin is at risk of underestimating the level of Ukrainian popular resistance to any invasion and attempt at regime change. The UK view is that there is likely to be “a reasonably well-organised insurgency” and that Russia could become bogged down in a conflict that could claim tens of thousands of lives.

The US, UK and EU have been working jointly on a package of economic sanctions that would target Russia in the event of an attack, and Truss indicated to MPs in the briefing that they would probably be implemented in waves.

Oligarchs close to Putin would be the first to be targeted, she said, telling MPs the UK was “ready to press send” with list of names if an invasion began. But an economic crime bill planned for the next session of parliament, called for by Labour and the Liberal Democrats, would not be brought forward in an emergency.

Layla Moran, the Lib Dems’ foreign affairs spokesperson, said: “The concern with the policy on sanctions is that it is too little, too late. We have known about Russian hostile activities and interference in our democracy for some time.”

Sources: theguardian

Protesters in Ottawa on Monday.Credit...Blair Gable/Reuters

By Mike McIntire and Michael H. Keller

New details about the source of millions of dollars supporting the Canadian trucker convoy suggest many of the larger donors are wealthy Canadians, though one of the biggest contributions was made in the name of an American tech entrepreneur.

Leaked data said to be from the GiveSendGo crowdfunding platform, posted last night to a now-defunct web page by anonymous hackers, lists records of more than 92,000 donations totaling more than $8 million. A review of the data shows that some $4.3 million came from Canada, while another $3.6 million originated in the United States, though the United States accounted for the most individual donations. Small donations from dozens of other countries made up a fraction of the total amount raised.

One of the largest donations, for $90,000, is attributed to Thomas M. Siebel, a billionaire Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor. He did not respond to a request for comment sent to the email address listed in the records and to his company.

Others who made donations ranging from $10,000 to $75,000 appear to be mostly Canadian business owners, with a few Americans in the mix.

Brad Howland, president of a New Brunswick-based company that makes pressure washers, appears in the leaked data as having donated $75,000, leaving the comment: “Hold the line!” In an email, Mr. Howland confirmed he was a donor, saying the protests “will go down in the history books.”

“Our company and my family are proud to stand with these men and women as they uphold the Charter of Rights and Freedoms of our great nation,” he said.

A donation for $17,760, attributed in the data to Travis Moore of Idaho, was accompanied by the comment: “Let freedom ring, brothers of the north. Cryptocurrency is the future.” A request for comment sent to Mr. Moore, using the email address listed in donation records, was answered with a reply containing a meme objecting to Covid restrictions.

Most of the comments left by donors expressed peaceful solidarity with the cause of opposing vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions. Mixed in with the positive messages, however, were some with a more menacing tone, like one left by an American who donated $50: “I’d rather pay to support this movement now than pay for bullets later.”

The presence of cryptocurrency evangelists among supporters of the convoy is apparent in a separate set of data reviewed by The New York Times. It shows donations were made in Bitcoin through a web page that went up after the initial fund-raising vehicle, GoFundMe, pulled the plug on the campaign. The new site, called “Bitcoin for Truckers,” is hosted by a cryptocurrency crowdfunding service, and had raised $946,000 as of Monday morning.

The Bitcoin campaign, which has received more than 5,000 mostly small-dollar donations, has been supported by a handful of large infusions from cryptocurrency boosters. The two biggest, with a combined value of more than $300,000 at the time they were made, were donated anonymously

A series of others valued at about $42,000 each appear to be associated with an online challenge by a former software engineer who goes by the pseudonym LaserHodl and asked other Bitcoin fans to join him in supporting the trucker convoy. Jesse Powell, founder of the crypto exchange Kraken, tweeted his agreement, and a donation attributed to him appears in the data.

Benjamin Dichter, one of the convoy organizers, said at a news conference last week that after the cryptocurrency crowdfunding campaign began, he received offers of help from “major players” in the crypto markets.

“I was shocked how quickly I started getting messages from some of the most prominent Bitcoiners in the world,” he said

The GiveSendGo data leak was announced Sunday evening on a webpage titled “GiveSendGo IS NOW FROZEN,” with a five-minute video in which a manifesto by the anonymous hackers scrolled across the screen. In it, the hackers complained that the trucker protest had “held a city hostage” and warned it “could be cover for a type of Trojan horse attack where extremists and militia groups may arrive in large numbers with weapons.”

The data contains a record for each donation that includes the donor’s name, ZIP code and the email address they used. It is not possible to independently verify every donation, but some of them line up with donations that had publicly appeared on the GiveSendGo website before it went offline.

For example, Mr. Siebel was cited last week by a Canadian news network, which noted that his name appeared with the $90,000 donation, at the time it was made, on the web page for the convoy campaign. About half the donations were not accompanied by a person’s name when they publicly appeared on the page.

GiveSendGo, which had earlier been the target of another data hacking that revealed personal information, such as driver’s licenses and passports, for some site users, was offline Monday morning. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Organizers started a GiveSendGo campaign earlier this month after GoFundMe shut down an online fund-raiser that had raised nearly $7.8 million. The funds were to be used to “provide humanitarian aid and legal support for the peaceful truckers and their families,” Alex Shipley, a spokeswoman for GiveSendGo, told The Times in an email last week.

Sources: nytimes.com

Police stand guard in front of protestors rallying against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination mandates despite the rain, near the parliament building in Wellington, New Zealand February 13, 2022 in this picture obtained from social media. Courtesy Charlie Coppinger/via REUTERS

SitindaonNews.Com, || WELLINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday she felt demonstrations against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate now entering their second week were an "imported" phenomenon, and nothing like anything she had seen before in the country.

Hundreds of protesters continue to occupy lawns in front of the distinctive 'Beehive' parliament for a seventh day, ignoring repeated calls by the police to leave and unflawed by drenching rain over the weekend.

Claiming inspiration from truckers' anti-vaccine mandate demonstrations in Canada, the protesters have also blocked several streets around parliament with their trucks, vans and motorcycles.

"It feels like an imported protest to me," Ardern told state broadcaster TVNZ in an interview.

"I've seen Trump flags on the forecourt, I've seen Canadian flags on the forecourt," she said, referring to images of former U.S. President Donald Trump carried by some demonstrators as well as the situation in Canada.

Ardern said it appeared the protesters were not interested in a dialogue.

"When you see signs calling for the execution of politicians that's not really a group that wants to engage in political dialogue," Ardern said.

The protests started as a stand against vaccine mandates but now have been joined by groups calling for an end to COVID-19 restrictions, rejecting vaccinations, as well as calling attention to other social issues like censorship and rights of the ethnic Maori community. At the protests' peak, thousands of demonstrators were estimated to be involved.

Many have brought along children to the protests, which Ardern said was worrying.

Police said officers will continue to be highly visible in and around parliament grounds to provide reassurance for all.

A country of five million people, New Zealand has some of the lowest COVID-19 numbers in the world, largely due tough coronavirus border curbs and social restrictions.

Daily Omicron variant cases have been rising, however, nearly touching 1,000 on Monday, as some domestic restrictions were eased this month.

The country's borders, however, are still closed with tens of thousands of expatriate New Zealanders cut off from families.

The High Court on Monday started hearing a case against the government filed by a group representing expatriate New Zealanders which has accused the state of unlawfully denying citizens the right to enter the country

Sources: reuters.com