Once wrongly imprisoned for notorious rape, member of 'Central Park Five' is running for office
Some consider Yusef Salaam a folk hero as a member of the “Central Park Five,” the group of teenagers wrongly convicted of raping a white jogger in a brutal attack 34 years ago
2023-06-21 12:23
Russia plane crash: What we know so far
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is presumed dead after a plane he was meant to be on crashed.
2023-08-24 04:59
Trump campaign says it has raised $7.1 million since Atlanta mugshot
Former President Donald Trump's campaign says it has raised $7.1 million since being processed in an Atlanta jail.
2023-08-27 07:19
Who is Dr Mod Helmy? The WWII hero in today's Google Doodle
Today’s Google Doodle is a reminder that some human beings are truly extraordinary. The design, which you’ll see if you head to the search engine’s homepage, is a celebration of Dr Mohamed “Mod” Helmy – a man who risked his life to save Jewish people during the Second World War. Dr Helmy was born in Khartoum, Sudan, on 25 July, 1901, to an Egyptian father and a German mother. At the age of 21, he moved to Germany to study medicine, swiftly proving his skills as a talented physician and becoming head of urology at Berlin’s Robert Koch Hospital (now known as Krankenhaus Moabit). Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter However, Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 was to turn his happy life upside down. Dr Helmy was forced to watch, powerless, as his Jewish colleagues were all fired from the hospital. And whilst he was initially kept on, he was soon subjected to discrimination and persecution for being a North African, and lost his job, too. He was also banned from marrying his German fiancée Annie Ernst (although, we’re pleased to say, he was able to do so some years later). In 1939 and again in 1940, the doctor was arrested along with other Egyptian nationals. And although the Nazis released him when he became gravely ill, he was under strict instruction to report to the police twice a day as proof he was unfit for internment. Despite being targeted by the regime himself, Dr Helmy continued to speak out against Nazi policies and, after being demoted to the role of doctor’s assistant, he made the most of his limited position by writing sick notes to help innocent people escape hard labour. He also repeatedly risked his life to help his Jewish friends. When Berlin’s deportation of the Jews began and his family friend Anna Boros was in need of a hiding place, Dr Helmy brought her to a cabin he owned in the neighbourhood of Buch. This became her safe haven until the end of the war, as Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Center, notes in its biography of the doctor. At times of danger, when he was under police investigation, Dr Helmy would arrange for Boros to hide elsewhere. “A good friend of our family, Dr Helmy…hid me in his cabin in Berlin-Buch from 10 March until the end of the war,” she wrote after the war. “As of 1942 I no longer had any contact [with] the outside world. The Gestapo knew that Dr Helmy was our family physician, and they knew that he owned a cabin in Berlin-Buch. “He managed to evade all their interrogations. In such cases he would bring me to friends where I would stay for several days, introducing me as his cousin from Dresden. When the danger would pass, I would return to his cabin. “Dr Helmy did everything for me out of the generosity of his heart and I will be grateful to him for eternity”. Dr Helmy also helped protect Boros’ mother, Julianna, her stepfather, Georg Wehr, and her grandmother, Cecilie Rudnik. Thanks to his courage and resourcefulness, all four of them survived the Holocaust. He remained in Berlin until his death in 1982. In 2013, Yad Vashem posthumously bestowed its Righteous Among the Nations award on Dr Helmy. He was the first Arab rescuer to be awarded the prestigious title. The Google Doodle artwork was created by Berlin-based artist Noa Snir to honour his Egyptian and German background and capture his open-hearted nature. Speaking about her work on the project, Snir told a Google Q&A: ": I found the story of Mod Helmy very moving. I come from a Jewish background, and the thought of individuals outside of the Jewish community risking their lives to help others during WW2 is something that personally gives me hope about humanity. "I think Helmy's case is an especially interesting one as he himself suffered persecution due to his background and ethnicity, and that still didn't stop him from helping as many people as he could. It's unfathomable to me, this type of courage and integrity." She added that she hoped people would view her Doodle and reflect on the fact that "even in one of the darkest moments in world history, there were truly remarkable people who made acts of extreme courage and solidarity". "I think we should all aspire to be the Mod Helmy's of the world, or ask ourselves how we can take example from him in whatever small way we can," she said. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-07-25 16:24
20 of the Best Prime Day Deals on Toys and Games
Save up to 80 percent on select games and toys during this year’s Prime Day event, plus discover the best Meta Quest 2 deals, LEGO discounts, and more.
2023-07-13 03:54
New US House speaker says Ukraine, Israel funding request should be split
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Newly elected U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said on Thursday that funding to support Ukraine and
2023-10-27 10:54
Virginia is the next big battleground for abortion rights and may send a signal for 2024
One of the biggest fights over abortion rights this year is in Virginia, where all of the state House and Senate seats are up for reelection
2023-09-20 12:29
'Simply ignore everything': Gerard Pique talks about dealing with backlash and hate after split from Shakira
The former Spain international, Gerard Pique, has maintained his silence on the split, while Shakira copes with music and biting lyrics
2023-11-11 20:27
White House lays out first-ever national strategy to combat antisemitism
President Joe Biden unveiled his administration's new "whole of society" plan to combat antisemitism Thursday, which he called the "most ambitious and comprehensive US government-led effort to fight antisemitism in American history."
2023-05-26 00:49
Is Howie Mandel expecting a baby? Fans confused after 'AGT' judge Howie Mandel shares cryptic pregnancy announcement post
Following 'unhinged' judge Howie Mandel's cryptic announcement post, 'AGT' fans are perplexed
2023-08-16 13:30
Three-year-old struck by stray bullet while jumping on couch as police swooped in to arrest neighbour
A three-year-old was struck by a stray bullet while jumping on a couch in New York on Monday night. Lovely Toney was at home in an apartment complex in the hamlet of Ridge, Long Island, when police arrived looking for murder suspect Gary Jones. Detectives were in the building to interview Jones’s friend, who is a resident in the same complex, and soon found that the suspect was there at that moment too. They subsequently instructed everyone to leave the apartment, before Jones came out of another room and began shooting. Of the multiple shots fired, three rounds went through the wall into the apartment next door and a bullet struck Lovely, causing her to bleed heavily. Describing the harrowing scene to CBS, Lovely’s father James Toney said: “No three-year-old, any child, should experience anything inside their home. She was fresh out of the tub, dripping wet from getting out of the bath.” “She just jumped on the couch, and she must have had her hand up, because the shot went through the hand, through the stomach,” he added, explaining: “I turned around and my daughter was standing there with blood running.” Lovely was rushed to hospital and underwent life-saving surgery. At a press conference Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison released bodycam footage of the incident and praised the “heroism” of apartment residents and the “quick action” of police officers and detectives at the scene, without whom the incident could have resulted in “horrific tragedy.” Mr Harrison explained that the “timely manoeuvre of getting that three-year-old child into a vehicle, rushing to a hospital” were what saved Lovely’s life. Referring to the family’s trauma, he said: “I have a grandson who is three years old. I can’t imagine going through that same situation.” “But I will say thank God for the men and women of this department,” Mr Harrison finished. Jones was found dead in the neighbouring apartment later, as a result of self-inflicted gunshot wounds. The murder suspect was wanted by police for allegedly killing his girlfriend in Central Islip in June. Read More Woman arrested and charged with threatening to kill judge presiding over Trump’s Jan 6 case Cook’s Corner shooting – live: Four killed, including gunman, and 6 injured at California biker bar Philadelphia officer to be fired over shooting death of Black man as new video contradicts police account Will Donald Trump go to prison?
2023-08-25 01:54
Donald Trump's aides set to enter pleas in US classified documents case
By Jack Queen FORT PIERCE, Florida Two aides to Donald Trump are set to enter pleas in federal
2023-08-10 18:18
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