McKeown drops TV F-bomb after Olympic 100m backstroke gold

Australia's Kaylee McKeown celebrates after winning the women's 100m backstroke final at the Tokyo Olympics Oli SCARFF AFP


Issued on: 27/07/2021 - 
Tokyo (AFP)

Kaylee McKeown's mum says she'll have a word with her daughter after the Australian sensation dropped an F-bomb on live TV after scorching to victory in the women's Olympic 100m backstroke on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old touched in 57.47sec, fractionally outside her own world record, with Canada's Kylie Masse, the Rio bronze medallist, second in 57.72 and American Regan Smith third in 58.05.

It capped a tough lead-up for McKeown, whose father Sholto died last year after a battle with brain cancer, aged just 53.

With emotions running high, she was asked by Australia's Channel Seven if she had a message for mum Sharon and big sister Taylor back home in Australia, given the difficult time they've endured.

McKeown uttered an expletive before covering her mouth after realising what she had said.

Her mother told Australian media: "Swearing on TV! I will have to have a word to her later."

After receiving her gold medal, McKeown was informed of her mum's comments but said she wasn't worried about getting in trouble.

"I think I might be mum's favourite for a little bit now. Just a little bit," she said.

McKeown has a tattoo on her foot that says "I'll always be with you" in honour of her father, and she said ahead of the Olympics that she used it as inspiration.

She is able to see it whenever she gets up for her backstroke starts and it helped drive her to swim a sensational race and smash Smith's world record at the Australian trials last month.

McKeown admitted that getting to Tokyo had been a rollercoaster but "everyone has a journey of their own and it just so happens that mine's been a really tough one".

"I wouldn't have it any other way because I don't think I'd be where I am today without all that happening," she added.

McKeown is earning a reputation for her flying finishes and despite Masse turning first at 50m, she powerfully brought it home.

"My legs were definitely hurting in the last 20," she said.

"I'm sure it would have been pretty noticeable on the TV but I trained for that and I knew that I had a really strong back end and a really good chance to be on the podium."

She is also targeting the 200m backstroke gold, having recently set the fourth-quickest time in history.

© 2021 AFP

Olympic fencing champ says Hong Kong 'insane' after first gold for 25 years

Edgar Cheung Ka-long won gold in foil at the Tokyo Olympic Games

 Fabrice COFFRINI AFP

Issued on: 27/07/2021 - 
Tokyo (AFP)

Fencing gold medallist Edgar Cheung Ka-long said Hong Kong had had gone "insane" after he won the Chinese territory's first Olympic gold in 25 years and only its second ever.

The 24-year-old stunned Italy's reigning Olympic champion Daniele Garozzo 15-11 in the final of the men's foil at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games.

Hong Kong's only previous Olympic gold came at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, when Lee Lai-shan won a gold medal in windsurfing.

Cheung might have appeared calm in victory but he said he was anything but.

"To be honest, I'm not that calm, I don't know what I can do," he said after claiming gold on Monday.

"It’s like a dream -- that’s why everyone thinks I’m calm, but I didn’t know what happened."

Aside from the two gold medals, Hong Kong's only other previous Olympic medals were silver in 2004 at Athens in table tennis and a bronze in cycling at London 2012.

"The reaction in Hong Kong has been insane," said Cheung, who is reportedly in line to pocket five million Hong Kong dollars ($600,000) from the city's government as a reward.

"Because in total medals in Hong Kong, we only have three. Now we have four because we haven’t had a gold medal since 1996 so it means a lot to show to the world we can do it," Cheung added.

"We are not only a city. We can fight for victory.”

© 2021 AFP

'So proud': Philippine weightlifter Diaz hailed for historic Olympic gold

Diaz's triumph has made her a national hero, alongside the likes of boxing legend Manny Pacquiao Vincenzo PINTO AFP


Issued on: 27/07/2021 -
Manila (AFP)

With their eyes glued to a television in the southern Philippines, the family of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz yelled "push, push, push!" as she hoisted the bar to win the country's first Olympic gold medal.

"Then we erupted in joy -- we were shouting, some shed tears of joy," Emelita Diaz told AFP Tuesday, a day after watching her daughter's historic performance in Tokyo -- far from her hometown of Zamboanga.

"We didn't know what to feel because we were extremely happy."

After nearly 18 months training in exile in Malaysia because of Covid-19 restrictions, Diaz smashed her personal best and won gold with a final clean and jerk of 127kg in the women's 55kg class.

The 30-year-old's triumph -- which followed her silver medal in Rio five years ago -- has made her a national hero, alongside the likes of boxing legend Manny Pacquiao.

"Thank you, Hidilyn Diaz, for the first-ever Olympic Gold for the Philippines! We are so proud of you!" Pacquiao tweeted from the United States where he is training for his upcoming fight against American Errol Spence.

The feat is also a life-changing windfall for Diaz, the daughter of a tricycle driver on the southern island of Mindanao.

As a reward for winning gold, Diaz will receive at least 33 million pesos ($655,000) from the government and private sector, as well as a house.

Property developer Megaworld Corporation also announced Tuesday it would give the Philippine Air Force woman a residential condominium worth 14 million pesos.

It could also prove a "game-changer" for other Filipino athletes, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Tuesday, acknowledging government financial support was insufficient.

"It's as if our athletes are only getting minimum wage," he said.

- 'We feel empowered' -

Diaz's stunning victory was splashed across the front pages of Philippine newspapers and dominated internet platforms.

The Philippine Star's headline "Finally, Olympic Gold" reflected the collective relief of Filipinos at winning their first gold medal after 97 years of Olympic competition.

Diaz's win was an inspiration for other women, said Karen Afurong, an instructional designer in Manila.

"We feel empowered," the 29-year-old told AFP.

Emelita said the family spoke with Diaz Tuesday morning and congratulated her.

"I told her... 'It's a big honour to our family that you brought another honour to the country'," Emelita told AFP via telephone.

More than 20 relatives, including nieces and nephews, crowded onto the porch of the family home to watch Diaz's performance, using a smartphone connected to their television.

"We were nervous," said Emelita.

"They were shouting 'push, push, push', get it, Haidie!'. They were shouting and jumping for joy."

Diaz has not seen her family since December 2019 and has spoken openly of the sacrifices she has made in pursuit of her dream.

But after a sleepless night, Diaz said Tuesday she was already thinking about the Paris Olympics in 2024.

"Qualifying will be difficult, but if my strength is there I will continue," she told reporters on Zoom.

"I cannot quit after winning. I need to continue until someone succeeds me."

© 2021 AFP

Tokyo Olympics digest: Alaskan teen shocks defending champion

Lydia Jacoby produced a shock in the women's 100-meter breaststroke, knocking off defending champion and teammate Lilly King. Flora Duffy won Bermuda's first-ever gold medal in the triathlon. Follow DW for the latest.


Lydia Jacoby reacts to her surprise win in the 100-meter breaststroke.

Tuesday saw history made at the Tokyo Olympics as 17-year-old Alaskan Lydia Jacoby stormed to victory in the women's 100-meter breaststroke.

Jacoby knocked off defending champion and US teammate Lilly King to reach the top of the podium. She's the first swimmer from the Arctic circle to ever make the US Olympic swimming team, and the first Alaskan Olympic gold medalist.

Jacoby, still in high school, sat in third heading into the final turn, as the expected battle between favorites King and South African Tatjana Schoenmaker played out in front of her.

But the teenager accelerated in the final 25 meters and surged past her competitors on the final two strokes. Schoenmaker finished in silver while King claimed bronze.

"I was definitely racing for a medal. I knew I had it in me," Jacoby said. "I wasn't really expecting a gold medal, so when I looked up and saw the scoreboard, it was insane.''

Teammate King was gushing in her praise for Jacoby.

"I’m so excited for Lydia," King said. "I love to see the future of American breaststroke coming up like this and to have somebody to go at it head to head in the country. I definitely knew she was a threat and saw a lot of myself in her effort."

Lydia Jacoby of Seward captures Olympic gold medal

The 17-year-old, the first Alaskan to swim in the Olympics, won the women’s 100-meter breaststroke in Tokyo

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Other gold medals

The self-governing British island territory of Bermuda has its first-ever Olympic gold medal thanks to Flora Duffy. The 33-year-old swam, cycled and ran her way through wind and rain to win the women's triathlon in just under two hours.

"I think [the medal] is bigger than me. It's going to inspire the youth of Bermuda and everyone back home that competing on the world stage from a small island is really possible," Duffy said.

Duffy sealed victory in a time of 1:55:36 after setting the pace in the 1.5-kilometer swim.

Great Britain's Georgia Taylor-Brown was left to rue a tire puncture near the closing stages. She rode through the flat to claim silver almost one minute behind Duffy. Katie Zaferes of the US finished in bronze.


Flora Duffy celebrates Bermuda's first-ever gold medal at an Olympics.

Elsewhere in the pool, Russian athletes ended the United States' dominance in the men's 100-meter backstroke, with Russia's Evgeny Rylov taking gold and his teammate Kliment Kolesnikov finishing with silver.

It was the first time the team had lost a backstroke race since 1992. Defending Olympic champion Ryan Murphy had to settle for bronze.

Britain claimed gold and silver in the men's 200-meter freestyle through Tom Dean and Duncan Scott, while Australia's Kaylee McKeown won gold in the women's 100-meter backstroke.


More news from Tokyo

A storm off Japan's east coast remained a threat on Tuesday, despite initial fears of devastating winds and rain not coming to fruition.

While some events, such as the women's triathlon, were delayed due to the weather, surfers embraced the conditions. Organizers decided to move surfing medal events a day earlier than scheduled to take advantage of the waves.

Two medal games for softball, however, could be threatened.

Flora Duffy wins Bermuda's first Olympic gold ever

The Island nation of Bermuda won its first-ever Olympic gold medal as Flora Duffy emerged victorious in the women's triathlon. She finished more than a minute ahead of her rivals on a stormy course.



Bermuda was one of around 70 countries never to have won Olympic gold, until Tuesday

Bermuda's Flora Duffy won the Olympic women's triathlon in Tokyo on Tuesday, bagging the country's first ever Olympic gold medal and its first medal of any kind since 1976.
The 33-year-old endurance athlete finished the punishing long-distance swim, bike ride and run quicker than the competition. She was among a group of seven others who broke away from the pack at the start of the 40-kilometer cycling leg, but powered clear by herself in the 10-kilometer run.

Duffy finished more than a minute ahead of Britain's Georgia Taylor-Brown, who won the silver and America's Katie Zaferes, who took the bronze.

Duffy's victory makes Bermuda the smallest nation in terms of population — less than 70,000 people — to ever win a medal at a Summer Games.

Duffy won gold at her fourth Olympic attempt in Tokyo

Fourth time's the charm

Duffy has been among the world's elite women triathletes for years, winning multiple world championships, but she had not won a medal at the Olympics in her previous three attempts, despite being considered one of the favorites four years ago in Rio.

Boxer Clarence Hill was Bermuda's only previous Olympic medalist, after winning a bronze in 1976.

Duffy said she hoped it would inspire other athletes in Bermuda to take take on the world.

"We are a small country but are very concentrated on sport," she said. "I'm so grateful to achieve a personal thing but its bigger than me and that's a cool moment. It will inspire the youth of Bermuda and show that competing on the world stage from a small island is really possible.

Bermuda Premier David Burt took to Twitter to congratulate Duffy,

"You've worked so hard and you've made an entire island proud!" he said.



dvv/msh (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

Brazil's 'Little Fairy' skateboard star is an instant hit

Brazilian teenager Rayssa Leal smiles during her prelimary round run at the Tokyo Olympics street skateboarding competition Lionel BONAVENTURE AFP

Issued on: 26/07/2021 -

Sao Paulo (AFP)

Everything seems to work like magic for Rayssa Leal, the 13-year-old Olympic skateboarding silver medalist nicknamed "Fadinha" or "Little Fairy."

Leal was pipped to street skateboarding gold in Tokyo by fellow 13-year-old Momiji Nishiya of Japan but her silver was enough to turn the prodigious Brazilian talent into a national icon.

"I still can't believe it but it seems as though it was a big deal!" Leal, from the northeastern Maranhao state, told TV Globo.

"Knowing that many other people have been training hard to be here, not just for skateboarding, and to have managed to win a medal for Brazil, it's very gratifying.

"It's crazy. My mother and father supported me from the beginning. We took it on and we had the courage to be here."

Had she won gold, Leal would have become the youngest ever Olympic champion.

Leal became an internet hit in 2015, when just seven years old, performing a "heelflip" trick while dressed as Tinker Bell, the little fairy from the Peter Pan children's stories.

That video caught the attention of American Tony Hawk -- known as the "Birdman" and one of the most influential people of all time in skateboarding. He decided to sponsor Leal, whose progress skyrocketed.

In truth, the Olympic result was a disappointment for Brazil, who had hoped for a podium clean sweep with Pamela Rosa and Leticia Bufoni joining Leal in winning medals.

But Japanese teenager Funa Nekayama took the bronze medal, leaving Brazil with just the silver.

Despite the relative disappointment, social media in Brazil went into overdrive, in stark contrast to the apathy and even criticism that met Neymar and the football team during their run to the final of the Copa America earlier this month.#photo1

"How emotional, how beautiful, congratulations empress of Maranhao," popular Brazilian singer Xuxa wrote on Twitter.

"Congratulations 'Fadinha', your fairy dust made many Brazilians proud (we needed that) and you've rescued our flag!!!"

Xuxa went on to hit out at Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsoanro, who has come under fire for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic that has left more than half a million Brazilians dead.

Bolsonaro's supporters have waved the country's flag enthusiastically at rallies supporting him, in a way adopting it as their symbol.

"It doesn't belong to this denier government ... it's ours!!!" added Xuxa.

However, the leader's legislator son Eduardo Bolsonaro also took the opportunity to congratulate Leal.

"Brazilian skateboarding keeps making waves in this sport's first Olympic participation," he wrote.

"It's another example for those who believe sport is a way of life and source of national pride."

© 2021 AFP

Brazilians unite to protest against vaccine scandal, Bolsonaro's Covid-19 response

A woman holds a Brazilian flag showing the Covid-19 death toll at a demonstration against the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic in Brasilia on July 3, 2021. © Sergio Lima, AFP

Text by: Lara BULLENS
Issued on: 26/07/2021 -

While France saw 161,000 people across the country protest against the government’s vaccination campaign this weekend, Brazil witnessed its fourth weekend of rallies against President Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis and anti-vaccine rhetoric.

Tens of thousands came together in cities and towns across the country on Saturday, galvanised by the slow vaccine rollout and their president’s spurning of safety measures to curb the virus.

Unlike France, which has the lowest levels of trust in vaccines worldwide, 94% of Brazilians recently surveyed by Datafolha support the vaccine and said they are either already vaccinated or intend to be. Only 5% of those surveyed said they haven’t been jabbed and don’t plan to be in the future.

Despite having a head of state who has openly mocked Covid-19 as being no more than a “little flu” and attacked the Pfizer vaccine by jokingly suggesting it could turn people into crocodiles, support for vaccines among Brazilians on both sides of the political spectrum is growing.

Even ‘Bolsonaristas’ want vaccines

“I am here against this government that I consider genocidal,” college professor Adalberto Pessoa Junior told AFP at the protest on Saturday. “[They are] responsible for not purchasing vaccines and many people died [as a result].”

Pessoa Junior’s claim seems to resonate across political lines. Bolsonaro’s failure to implement a coordinated national response to the pandemic and his general disregard for vaccines has been a unifying factor, galvanising the recent protests.

“The centre-right, the centre and the left can all agree that his performance with Covid has been awful,” says professor of Brazilian Studies at King’s College Anthony Pereira. “They’ll disagree on his handling of the economy or the role of the military within the government, but this they can agree on.”

The president is already under investigation for allegedly turning a blind eye to the misuse of government funds when purchasing vaccines and has seen his popularity ratings drop to 24%, the lowest since he took office in 2019.

“Bolsonaro has a knack for creating enemies out of his supporters,” Pereira says. Many Bolsonaro voters who were sympathetic to his discourse on quarantine and lockdowns aren’t necessarily sympathetic to what he says about vaccines, consequently swaying their political opinions, he says.

“If you’re in a favela, you don’t have a signed workers card and you have to sell stuff on the street to make a living and you hear someone say that you should stay home to preserve public health, that person is threatening your livelihood,” Pereira explains, “But vaccines are a way out.”

'Vaccination is embedded in Brazilian culture'

Brazil enjoys a long history of successful inoculation campaigns, another reason why so many are taking to the streets to demand better vaccine management.

In 1973, during Brazil’s military dictatorship, the National Immunisation Program (PNI) was set up after a successful smallpox vaccination campaign completely eradicated the disease from the country.

Then, in 1986, Ze Gotinha or “Droplet Joe” was created. Considered a national treasure, he is a droplet-shaped mascot and cartoon character invented to reassure children and parents on the safety of the oral polio vaccination. Six years after his creation, polio was eradicated in Brazil. Since then, the country has managed to eradicate tetanus and measles as well.

“Ze Gotinha was the perfect example of a strategic communication campaign,” says director of King’s Brazil Institute Dr. Vinicius Mariano de Carvalho. “He became the public image for inoculation and got into people’s mentalities to such an extent that the portion of Brazilian society that is anti-vaccine today is very small.”

“He reached everyone, even those who were less educated,” he says, insisting that vaccination has become “embedded in Brazilian culture” since inoculation campaigns began back in the 1960s.

But while generations grew up hearing about how vaccines can save lives, things are different this time around. Although the country has long been championed for its public health campaigns, the response to the Covid-19 crisis has been “chaotic”.

“There was no proper, national campaign for the vaccination,” Carvalho says. “The lack of leadership from the ministry of health as well as a failure to distribute the vaccine evenly across all social strata in all Brazilian states caused a massive delay in the rollout.”

A devastating death toll

Brazil has the second-highest death toll worldwide after the US, exceeding half a million victims in the country so far. So it’s no wonder the government’s negligence has largely been spoken about as being “genocidal” by protesters like Pessoa Junior.

“We need to multiply that number by 10 to understand the impact of Covid deaths on the Brazilian population,” Carvalho says. “For all of those who lost their loved ones, it’s a huge impact on the psyche of a society.”

He believes the death toll is a “very important” determinant when questioning the government’s management of the crisis, especially with regards to its prevention.

Only 18% of the adult Brazilian population has been fully vaccinated, with about 47% having received their first jab. With at least 140 cases of the Delta variant present in the country and some states lacking vaccine doses, the risk of the staggering death toll increasing is inevitable.

 

Iran: Drought, water shortages spark protests

The government has been taken aback — yet poor management of the country's water resources is a well-known and longstanding problem.

    

A large part of Maharloo Lake in southwest Iran has almost disappeared over the past years due to drought

People in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province are desperate. Suffering from drought and water shortages since March, they've taken to the streets in the last couple of weeks to express their anger with the government and its poor management of water resources. According to official sources, at least four men, including one policeman, have died in the protests. Authorities claim they were shot by "unknown rioters" in order to stir up trouble.

The Iranian government is very worried that the protests will spread. It has tried to disrupt communication between the protesters with repeated internet shutdowns, aiming to prevent photos and videos of clashes between protesters and the security forces from spreading.

But protests have already spread to other provinces; on July 23, a 20-year-old demonstrator died in the city of Aligudarz, in the western province of Lorestan. According to Amnesty International, as of that date security forces using live ammunition had already killed at least eight people in seven Iranian cities.

Local journalists have reported that additional security forces are being sent to Khuzestan. A delegation of representatives from the ministries of interior, energy and agriculture has also been sent to the province. The presidential chief of staff, Mahmoud Vaezi, told the state news agency IRNA that the delegation would be working with local authorities to "swiftly" resolve the problems.

Problems exacerbated by dam construction

"We've known about the problem of water scarcity and the threat it poses to national security for more than 30 years," said environmental expert Nik Kowsar. Currently based in Washington, D.C., Kowsar has been researching and writing critical articles about Iran's water management since the 1990s, including the government's plans for promoting economic growth with dam construction.

According to official figures, Iran now has 192 dams — around 10 times it did some 40 years ago. "The government is seeking quick solutions that promise short-term success. Critical voices are unwelcome, and are ignored," said Kowsar. "As, for example, when you point out that you shouldn't, on principle, build large dams in a dry country like Iran, because too much water evaporates from the reservoirs."

The head of Iran's meteorological service has said the months from October 2020 to mid-June 2021 were the driest in the past 53 years, and that the average temperature in the country has increased by 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) since the late 1960s. Meanwhile, rainfall has decreased by as much as 20% in the last two decades. Yet in that period, Iran's Energy Ministry has built four new dams on the Karun River alone.

The Karun, which flows through Khuzestan, is Iran's largest and only navigable river — in theory, that is. It has now dried up. Today, the bridge that spans the 500-meter (1,600-foot) wide riverbed in the city of Ahvaz, home to some 1.3 million people, carries traffic over windblown dust. Thousands of years ago, the surrounding province was the source of the Persian culture due to its abundance of water. Now the whole province is parched.

The ISNA news agency, citing the parliamentary energy committee, reported last week that additional outlets of two major dams on the Karkheh and Dez rivers had been opened to alleviate Khuzestan's acute water shortage. The aim is to raise the water level in the province's rivers for farmers and their livestock, who have suffered weeks of drought and temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius.

Agriculture accounts for 90% of Iran's total water consumption

Agriculture consuming huge quantities of water

Environmental experts have said the current water shortage is also the consequence of a mistaken understanding of agriculture development and progress. The government continues to be focused on maximizing self-sufficiency, not least as a response to sanctions and pressure from abroad.

It has been promoting agriculture and allowing the digging of deep wells, which have exhausted the available water resources. The traditional crops in Khuzestan are rice and sugar cane, both of which require large amounts of water. Around 90% of Iran's total water consumption is used up by agriculture.

"There is no plan for systematic development that will increase the country's water resources while also regulating and optimizing its consumption," said Ali Nazemi, an assistant professor in environmental engineering at Concordia University in Montreal. "This despite the fact that the problems have been known about for almost 30 years."

In a paper published in late April on the website of Nature magazine, Nazemi and his colleagues showed how sharply Iran's groundwater reserves have declined over the past 14 years. The paper demonstrated that 76% of Iran's surface area suffers from excessive exploitation of groundwater reserves, above all by agriculture.

For years now, experts have been warning that some regions in Iran's south and east that are considered arid or very arid are in danger of becoming permanently uninhabitable. If this were to happen, millions of Iranians could be forced to move and start over elsewhere.

UK

Nurse struck off for being an anti-vaxxer compares doctors to Nazi criminal

Elisa Menendez and Daniel Binns for MetroMonday 26 Jul 2021 

Anti-lockdown activist Kate Shemirani drew outrage for suggesting NHS workers should be hanged (Picture: Rex)

A disgraced ex-nurse struck off after spreading Covid misinformation, has been condemned for comparing NHS workers to Nazi war criminals.

Anti-vax activist Kate Shemirani faces a police investigation after she appeared to suggest health workers should be hanged during an anti-lockdown protest in London on Saturday.

Speaking to thousands in Trafalgar Square, she likened medical staff to those who took part in mass killings under Hitler’s regime.

She said: ‘Get their names. Email them to me. With a group of lawyers, we are collecting all that.

‘At the Nuremburg Trials the doctors and nurses stood trial and they hung.

‘If you are a doctor or a nurse, now is the time to get off that bus… and stand with us the people.’

The online clip, which has been viewed more than 4 million times, has sparked a fierce public backlash.

Campaigning group run by frontline staff, NHS Million, tweeted: ‘This is what NHS staff woke up to this morning. A rally talking about hanging doctors and nurses.

‘This has caused considerable distress amongst NHS staff.’ 

Anti-vaxxer Kate Shemirani compares NHS heroes to Nazi doctors

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Thousands of Covid-sceptics gathered in Trafalgar Square over the weekend for the protest (Picture: Andalou)

NHS worker Samantha Batt-Rawden, who regularly shares images of herself wearing PPE during gruelling frontline shifts, said staff are ‘heartbroken’.

She tweeted: ‘As an ICU doctor who has given everything trying to save lives this makes me want to cry.’

Ms Batt-Rawden and NHS Million urged the public to show healthcare workers they are ‘appreciated’ by tweeting #gotyourbackNHS.

It sparked a ‘tidal wave’ of hashtags in support of frontline staff, with NHS Million saying: ‘You don’t know how much it meant to all of us.’

London mayor Sadiq Khan also condemned the video, posting: ‘This is appalling. NHS staff are the heroes of this pandemic. Londoners roundly reject this hate.’

Ms Shemirani’s son Sebastian, who has long been critical of his mother and says they now only communicate via text messages, called out his mum’s latest behaviour.

He told the BBC: ‘It’s only a matter of time before a follower of my mum’s lies decides to hurt one of our NHS professionals.’

Ms Shemirani previously compared the pandemic to the holocaust (Picture: Mark Thomas/REX)

Many carried signs saying ‘no more lockdown’ – despite lockdown ending in England last week (Picture: Andalou)

Met Police confirmed that it is currently investigating the video.

A Scotland Yard spokesman told Metro: ‘We are aware of the video and are carrying out enquiries to establish whether any offences have been committed. No arrests have been made.’

Pictures from the ‘Worldwide Rally for Freedom’ protest showed many carrying signs saying ‘no more lockdown’ – despite almost all Covid resrictions being lifted in England on ‘Freedom Day’ last week.

Ms Shemirani, who was a nurse in East Sussex, was struck off earlier this year on the grounds her behaviour had fallen ‘seriously short of the standards expected’.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council heard she doubts the existence of Covid-19 and ‘discouraged people from wearing masks, adhering to social distancing, and taking vaccines’

The mum-of-four had used her status as a health care professional to spread ‘distorted propaganda’ and conspiracy theories about the pandemic, wrongly suggesting Covid symptoms were caused by 5G.

She said nurses were complicit in genocide, vaccination teams should be renamed ‘death squads’ and called the NHS the ‘new Auschwitz’, in reference to the holocaust.

As a result, she was sacked for misconduct, reported The Nursing Times.

Last week, Public Health England said vaccines have prevented at least 52,600 hospitalisations in England alone.

Other figures suggest 27,000 premature deaths and 7.2million infections have been avoided due to the effectiveness of jabs.

Son of nurse who compared doctors to Nazis says she’s ‘beyond help’

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Sean SeddonMonday 26 Jul 2021 4

Son of anti-vaxx nurse says she is dangerous and is putting lives at risk

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The son of a former nurse who compared NHS frontline workers to Nazi war criminals believes his mother is beyond help and should be prosecuted.

Kate Shemirani, a conspiracy theorist who has become the darling of the anti-vaxxer and anti-lockdown movement, is under police investigation for comments made during a rally in London on Saturday.

Speaking to a crowd of thousands in Trafalgar Square, she said: ‘At the Nuremberg Trials, the doctors and nurses stood trial and they hung.’

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed they are investigating her remarks but son Sebastian has heard enough.

The 21-yar-old has spoken out against his mother’s unhinged views in the past and now believes the authorities should act before someone gets hurt.

Asked what he believed should happen to her, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘Either be prosecuted under existing laws, or if there aren’t existing laws in place that say that what she is doing is illegal, then we should be having a national conversation about what laws we should be bringing in and drafting up legislation for that.

‘Because it’s only a matter of time before… somebody acts on the bad advice that she’s giving the country.’

Kate Shemirani has already been struck of as a nurse but could now face legal action (Picture: REX)

She appeared in front of a rally alongside other well known conspiracy theorists like David Icke and Piers Corbyn, the brother of ex-Labour leader Jeremy (above) (Picture: REX)

Ms Shemirani, 54, was struck off by the Council of Nursing and Midwifery last month for spreading disinformation about Covid-19.

Her son said he believed some conspiracy theorists can be helped to regain a grip on reality but believes his mother is too far down the rabbit hole. 

He said: ‘I wouldn’t say that most people are beyond [help], it might take a number of years but you eventually crawl down from the initial radical period and you start listening to people around you more.

‘But my mum is definitely beyond help. The problem is that she’s so arrogant in her world view and really, truly believes that she is a conduit for the truth on a spiritual level, not just a scientific level, that she’s been anointed by God or some other higher power, she thinks that she shouldn’t have to list to people like us.

Her son Sebastian has previously spoken out against his mother’s views and has now called for the police to step in (Picture: BBC)

Anti-lockdown protests have continued despite the vast majority of restrictions being lifted (Picture: LNP)

‘And everytime I’ve tried to argue with, even in a nice, calm, rational way where I just ask her questions and try and get her own argument into knots, or it might be straight up disagreeing and saying “you’re wrong”, either way she will end up getting irate at me and saying I’m arrogant and that I don’t list to her.

‘It’s impossible to talk to somebody when they’ve got that level of God complex.’

The Metropolitan Police said officers are working to establish whether the comments constitute a criminal offence.

A spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of video circulating online showing a speech that occurred during a rally in Trafalgar Square on Saturday July 24. 

‘Officers are carrying out inquiries to establish whether any offences have been committed. No arrests have been made.’