All posts tagged: withdraw

Pepsi and Diageo withdraw sponsorships of Wireless Festival amid Kanye West backlash

Pepsi and Diageo withdraw sponsorships of Wireless Festival amid Kanye West backlash

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the inside track from Roisin O’Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Pepsi and Diageo have both withdrawn their sponsorship of London’s Wireless Festival following criticism from Sir Keir Starmer, Sir Sadiq Khan and Jewish leaders over the decision to have the disgraced rapper Kanye West headline this year’s event. It comes after the Little Britain star Matt Lucas directly called out Pepsi for their involvement in the festival. A Pepsi spokesperson told The Independent: “Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival.” Diageo, owner of the Johnnie Walker and Captain Morgan brands, told the Press Association on Sunday evening that it had also withdrawn. A spokesperson said: “We have informed the organisers of our concerns and as it stands, Diageo will not sponsor the 2026 Wireless festival.” West has a history of antisemitism, including releasing a song titled “Heil Hitler” and selling merchandise decorated in swastikas. Writing on X, Lucas raised both …

Pepsi and Diageo withdraw sponsorship of Wireless Festival after Kanye West booking | Ents & Arts News

Pepsi and Diageo withdraw sponsorship of Wireless Festival after Kanye West booking | Ents & Arts News

Published by Daniella Wilson

Diageo, owner of Johnnie Walker and Captain Morgan, has joined Pepsi in withdrawing sponsorship of Wireless Festival, which Kanye West is due to headline, after Sir Keir Starmer joined criticism of the event. The US rapper has previously been condemned over his antisemitic remarks. The 48-year-old musician – who has not performed in the UK since he headlined Glastonbury in 2015 – is set to top the bill for all three nights of the festival in London’s Finsbury Park in July. A Diageo spokesperson said: “We have informed the organisers of our concerns and as it stands, Diageo will not sponsor the 2026 Wireless festival.” Earlier on Sunday, a Pepsi spokesperson said: “Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival.” Sky News has approached festival organisers for a response. In the time since he last performed on UK soil, West has drawn criticism for antisemitic X posts, a Super Bowl advert directing people to a swastika T-shirt and a song referencing Hitler. Sir Keir said it was “deeply concerning” that West has been …

Major sponsors withdraw from Noma pop-up events in LA as renowned chef faces allegations of abuse

Major sponsors withdraw from Noma pop-up events in LA as renowned chef faces allegations of abuse

Published by Daniella Wilson

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Two major companies have reportedly pulled out of sponsoring a Los Angeles pop-up dinner series from the world-famous Copenhagen restaurant Noma, in the wake of a New York Times exposé accusing its celebrity chef, René Redzepi, of abusing staff. American Express and Blackbird, a hospitality start-up, are no longer associated with the $1,500-per-night series of Noma dinners, which begins on Wednesday, according to the Times and Expedite, a restaurant news publication. “René’s past practices, by his own admission, were unacceptable and abhorrent,” Blackbird founder Ben Leventhal told the paper. “We cannot lean on time elapsed and rehabilitation claims when these things resurface.” American Express told Expedite it backed out of the dinner because of “disturbing information that has come to our attention.” The companies said they would offer refunds and donate remaining money to organizations working on behalf of …

Jail for Malaysians who entered Singapore repeatedly to withdraw S million in total for syndicate

Jail for Malaysians who entered Singapore repeatedly to withdraw S$1 million in total for syndicate

Published by Sam Flores

SINGAPORE: Two Malaysian men who repeatedly entered Singapore and withdrew about S$1 million (US$792,000) in scam proceeds between them were sentenced to jail on Friday (Mar 6). Chang Yang, 23, was given four years and four months’ jail, while Ivan Thong Yoong Khean, 27, will be imprisoned for four years. The pair had admitted to conspiring with each other to withdraw S$403,020 from 24 bank accounts between May 2024 and December 2024. Another two charges each were considered in sentencing. On top of the shared sum, Chang withdrew another S$371,850 and Thong withdrew another S$255,620. Thong had taken up a “job opportunity” from an acquaintance as he was unable to pay back a loan he had taken. He was added to Telegram group chats, which Chang subsequently joined after owing RM100,000 (S$32,200) to a creditor. The chats disseminated weekly duty rosters which assigned two people to enter Singapore on certain days to perform cash withdrawals. On average, Thong and Chang were on duty two to three times a week. On entering Singapore, they received instructions …

Tech workers urge DOD, Congress to withdraw Anthropic label as a supply chain risk

Tech workers urge DOD, Congress to withdraw Anthropic label as a supply chain risk

Published by skeptic

Hundreds of tech workers have signed an open letter urging the Department of Defense to withdraw its designation of Anthropic as a “supply chain risk.” The letter also calls on Congress to step in and “examine whether the use of these extraordinary authorities against an American technology company is appropriate.” The letter includes signatories from major technology and venture capital firms including OpenAI, Slack, IBM, Cursor, Salesforce Ventures, and more. It follows a dispute between the DOD and Anthropic after the AI lab last week refused to give the military unrestricted access to its AI systems.  Anthropic’s two red lines in its negotiations with the Pentagon were that it didn’t want its technology to be used for mass surveillance on Americans or to power autonomous weapons that made targeting and firing decisions without a human in the loop. The DOD said it had no plans to do either of those things, but that it didn’t believe it should be limited by the rules of a vendor.  In response to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s refusal to …

Trump admin to withdraw 700 federal officers from Minnesota: Homan

Trump admin to withdraw 700 federal officers from Minnesota: Homan

Published by Sam Flores

White House ‘border czar’ Tom Homan speaks during a press conference at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on February 4, 2026. Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Images The Trump administration will draw down 700 federal law enforcement officers from Minnesota “effective immediately,” White House border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday. After that partial withdrawal, around 2,000 federal agents will remain in the state — a roughly 25% reduction — with most concentrated in the Twin Cities area encompassing Minneapolis and St. Paul, Homan said at a news conference in Minneapolis. Homan announced the pullback after touting what he said was “unprecedented cooperation” between the federal government and state and local entities. That cooperation boosts efficiency, requiring fewer officers to be sent into communities “to assume custody of a criminal alien target” and freeing up resources, Homan said. “More officers taking custody of criminal aliens directly from the jails, means less officers on the street doing criminal operations,” he said. “This is smart law enforcement, not less law enforcement.” Federal agents …

Trump admin to withdraw 700 immigration agents from Minnesota after Minneapolis shootings, Homan says

Trump admin to withdraw 700 immigration agents from Minnesota after Minneapolis shootings, Homan says

Published by Sam Flores

The immigration crackdown prompted national outrage after federal authorities fatally shot two U.S. citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37. Trump administration officials have given mixed signals on whether they plan to raise or lower the temperature in the Twin Cities. Immediately following Pretti’s killing — before meaningful evidence from any investigation into the incident was produced — Noem and top adviser Stephen Miller called the intensive care unit nurse a “domestic terrorist” and accused him of brandishing a firearm. Days later, the administration removed Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino, who was often present at violent encounters with protesters and arrests of immigrants. Bovino returned to his post in El Centro, California. Meanwhile, Homan arrived in Minneapolis the same week, where he quickly said that the situation could be improved and that the administration would “draw down” the operation in the state. In Wednesday’s news conference, he said there will now be one line of command in Minneapolis, rather than two. White House border czar Tom Homan speaks Wednesday at the Bishop Henry …

IRA bombing victims withdraw damages claim against Gerry Adams | UK News

IRA bombing victims withdraw damages claim against Gerry Adams | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

Three victims of Provisional IRA bombings in England have discontinued their damages claim against former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams. Their lawyers told London’s High Court their decision on Friday, the last day of the two-week trial. The claim will be discontinued with “no order as to costs” after “proceedings developed overnight,” according to Anne Studd KC, who was representing the victims. Mr Adams welcomed the decision, saying it “brings to an emphatic end a case that should never have been brought”. Mr Adams, who became ​leader of Sinn Fein ‌in 1983 when it was the IRA’s political ​wing, was for many years the best-known face of the movement seeking to ​end British rule ⁠in Northern Ireland. Image: Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams at a special party conference where he formally stepped down from leading the party in 2018. Pic: Reuters He had ⁠long faced accusations that he was a member ‌of the Provisional IRA, including from former members of theparamilitary group, which ‌he has always denied. Mr Adams was being sued for £1 in damages …

Escaped Syrian detainees recount chaos after Kurdish forces withdraw

Escaped Syrian detainees recount chaos after Kurdish forces withdraw

Published by Sam Flores

Ahmed Hussein (a pseudonym), age 25, whose skull was injured during torture sessions in detention, was staying with relatives in Northeast Syria on January 24, 2026. PHILÉMON BARBIER/HORS FORMAT FOR LE MONDE Sitting in a circle in the garden of the Hussein family home (a pseudonym) in a village in Deir Ezzor province, neighbors and relatives gathered to see a man they thought was lost. After six years in Al-Kam Al-Sini prison, on the outskirts of Al-Shaddadah in Hassakeh province, Ahmed Hussein, 25, escaped on January 18. He took advantage of the chaos surrounding the withdrawal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from the prison, as government forces advanced with the support of an uprising by local Arab tribes. Hussein could hardly believe he survived the hellish ordeal that was Al-Kam Al-Sini prison. In a 2024 report, the human rights organization Amnesty International documented numerous instances of torture, abuse and disease in this prison, which was administered by the SDF in Northeast Syria. “There, all I thought about was death. I was convinced I …