Category: Travel

WASHINGTON — A federal jury in Washington on Tuesday found Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs, another member of the far-right organization, guilty of seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a victory for the government in a case that involved a rarely used Civil War era statute.Three other members of the group who were on trial alongside Rhodes and Meggs — Jessica Watkins, Kenneth Harrelson and Thomas Caldwell — were found not guilty on the seditious conspiracy charge. All five defendants were found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting for their actions on Jan. 6, 2021.The seditious conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Rhodes’ attorneys said they plan to appeal that conviction.

Source: Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs found guilty of seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 case

Canadas Felix Auger Aliassime holds the trophy after Canada won the Davis Cup tennis tournament for the first time at the Martin Carpena sportshall, in Malaga on Nov. 27. Auger-Aliassime sealed tennis history for Canada by beating Australia 2-0. Canada made tennis history on Sunday by beating Australia and hoisting the Davis Cup for the first time.It was Félix Auger-Aliassime who secured the winning point at the Davis Cup finals in Malaga, Spain, in a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Alex de Minaur. Montreal’s world No. 6 fell to the ground in joy as a pile of his red-jacketed Canadian teammates sprinted out to jump on him in emotional celebration.Among those players in the jubilant heap was his boyhood friend Denis Shapovalov, world No. 21, who set Canada off to a confident start in Sunday’s finals against Australia of the prestigious team event with a dominant 6-4, 6-2 win over Thanasi Kokkinakis.Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov, then baby-faced teenagers in Madrid, had won the Junior Davis Cup in 2015, something that no Canadian boys had done.“I remember us thinking, like, we are 15, 16, and we just won Junior Davis Cup, projecting ourselves winning this one day,” Auger-Aliassime said in the team’s virtual news conference on Sunday. “It’s cool to be in this position now, and it’s kind of full circle.”

Source: Canada beats Australia to claim first Davis Cup championship – The Globe and Mail

Voulez-vous coucher…at the Moulin Rouge? Grab an extra pair of knickers (or not!) and pack your toothbrush because for the first time in its 133-year-old history the moulin has been transformed into an exquisite Airbnb—and we got an exclusive peek. While Airbnb offers wild windmill stays all over the world, perhaps none are as iconic as this one on Paris’s Boulevard de Clichy in Montmartre.Starting on Tuesday, May 17 at 1 p.m. EST, anyone with a verified Airbnb account and positive ratings will have a shot at booking one of three nights (June 13, 20, or 27) inside the 270-square-foot windmill. What’s more, it’ll only cost €1—including dinner, a performance of the longstanding show Féerie, and backstage access to meet your Airbnb host (and principle dancer) Claudine Van Den Bergh and the artisans affixing feathers, beads, and rhinestones to the show’s made-to-measure costumes.As an adopted Parisian for over seven years now—and a lover of the stage and sequins—I was giddy at the idea of sleeping atop the famed nightclub during a media preview. Rather than being one of the hordes of tourists snapping selfies from the boulevard below, I’d get to photobomb them—but I’d have to be patient. The room reveal would happen after the 9 p.m. show, which considering its run of over 20 years now was slightly hokey and outdated, but still an entertaining 90 minutes filled with snakes, clowns, nipples, thongs, and jaw-dropping acrobatic feats. I sat at one of the theater’s four exclusive two-tops (tables are otherwise communal) during the three-course meal, curated by resident chef Arnaud Demerville. It was tasty and seasonal: a tartare of green and snow peas with raw prawns, monkfish with buttery braised cabbage, and an “After Eight”-inspired chocolate tart. Our coups, of course, were never empty.I was hesitant to drink too much, though, because the only downside to sleeping inside a centuries-old windmill that’s otherwise been used for storage is that there’s no en suite bathroom. To reach the nearest bathroom, I’d have to walk outside onto the terrace, descend a set of stairs, and enter the club next door, Le Bar à Bulles. It wasn’t that bad, but once was enough so instead of pairing my pajamas with heels to brush my teeth alongside partygoers still sipping Champagne post-show (pro tip: pack slippers), I did as they did back in the early 1900s and filled a porcelain bowl with water to wash up in the room.

Source: The Moulin Rouge Has Been Turned Into an Airbnb—and We Spent the Night | Condé Nast Traveler

Really, a dance with the devil?

Chinese President Xi Jinping has told North Korea’s Kim Jong Un that Beijing is willing to work with Pyongyang for global peace and stability, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Source: Xi tells Kim China wants to work with North Korea for peace: KCNA | Xi Jinping News | Al Jazeera

Thomas Ruyant (LInkedOut) is king of the Transats after record breaking Route du Rhum IMOCA win.Thomas Ruyant, solo skipper of LinkedOut, was unofficially crowned ‘King of the Transats’ when he won the 38 boat IMOCA class on the 12th Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe.Ruyant set a new course record of 11d 17h 36m 25secs . . .  11hrs 02min 30secs quicker than François Gabart in 2014.Emerging at the top of the biggest and most competitive IMOCA fleet ever mustered for the Route du Rhum Ruyant finished 2 hours 1 minute and 46 seconds ahead of Charlie Dalin.And he was 3hrs 24mins 30secs ahead of third placed Jérémie Beyou (Charal 2) and 5hrs 54 mins 49secs before Kevin Escoffier (Holcim-PRB).Hollow eyed, wobbly legged and exhausted after setting an infernal, unbeatable pace especially over the last three days and nights of the 3,542 nautical miles course from Saint Malo to Pointe-à-PItre.Ruyant received universal acclaim from his rivals who finished in his wake.He adds what he called ‘the biggest win of my career; to a fistful of transatlantic successes now adding to last year’s two handed Transat Jacques Vabre which he won with Morgan Lagravière on a similar course from Le Havre to Martinique, and his solo Route du Rhum win in Class40 in 2010.But the 41 year old skipper from Dunkirk, who us a very rare ‘nordist’ in a solo racing world in which most top sailors are Breton, has also won the Mini Transat in 2009 and two Figaro Transatlantics.A late starter to offshore and ocean racing Ruyant, who has the wiry build of a jockey and sails with an extraordinay instensity and focus, admitted he pushed himself to the limit, stepping up to a new level to overhaul leader Charlie Dalin on Friday morning, holding off the pre-race favourite on Apivia, the clean sweep of all three IMOCA solo titles of 2022.

Source: Route du Rhum – Record breaking IMOCA win for Thomas Ruyant – Sailweb

Canada agreed to “forever discharge” Catholic entities from their promise to raise $25 million for residential school survivors and also picked up their legal bill, a final release document shows.

The Canadian Press obtained a signed copy of the 2015 agreement through federal Access-to-Information laws, marking what appears to be the first time the document has been widely publicized.

“That’s a very, very important set of records,” said Ry Moran, an associate librarian at the University of Victoria and founding director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

“Like all questions around accountability … the question is who made the decision? How was that decision made? Who ultimately signed off on this?”

Indigenous leaders and legal experts have long questioned why Ottawa opted to give up an appeal of a court decision that meant Catholic entities didn’t have to pay their remaining financial obligations under the historic Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.

The actions of the Catholic groups involved – and by extension, the Catholic Church as an institution – as well as Ottawa, have been under renewed scrutiny since the uncovering of what are believed to be hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential school sites,

A signed copy of the 2015 agreement was accessed through federal Access-to-Information laws

Source: Canada ‘forever discharged’ Catholic entities from $25 million campaign for residential school survivors, documents show