treats

What Luka Doncic did for his Lakers teammates was unique and different but no less impactful. It was a view inside the superstar guard’s way of leading the team.

In a team-building event Doncic organized, he took his teammates to a Porsche Driving Experience after practice Tuesday. He covered the entire cost of the event in which his teammates tested Porsche models on a track.

That so impressed Lakers center Deandre Ayton, bringing a smile to his face when asked about Doncic’s gesture.

“I truly appreciate Luka for that,” Ayton said. “I’ve never done that before, where the star players really look out for the team like that. Something like that is actually crazy. I’ve never heard of it or been in a Porsche before. So it definitely was my first time. I didn’t know that Luka was into cars like that. So, yeah, him and LeBron [James]. It was good seeing them behind the wheel. Seeing LeBron behind a car is dangerous.”

At 7 feet, Ayton was asked if he was comfortable driving the car.

“Yeah, they had some cars where they could hold a 7-footer,” he said. “I don’t know if it was custom or that’s how they’re made or some other factors. But just seeing LeBron James in a sports car pushing, I was like, ‘Yo, he knows cars.’ Him doing his thing, that was pretty cool to see.”

All summer and during training camp, the Lakers have talked about building team chemistry.

They talked about how doing things together off the court is an important part of building chemistry and of learning about a teammate.

Doncic, along with James, is considered one of their leaders and this was seen as magnanimous.

“Yeah, I mean, anytime, some of our max players and guys that have been in the league a while can put something on for the team is great,” Gabe Vincent said. “It’s great when we come together, do something a little bit more extravagant maybe than we would have on our own. Everyone gets to walk away with some cool [stuff].

“Most importantly, you get to do it together, you know what I mean? Sharing experiences is one of the quickest ways to grow closer. So, we’re very grateful to Luka for putting that one on. Everyone had a great time. It’s been great to see him get more comfortable.”

Vincent also did his part in a team-building moment.

Over the summer, he invited his teammates to the sand dunes in Manhattan Beach.

It was his show of leadership after so many workouts and his way to help build that team chemistry.

“So, I tried to just get guys together, most of them were young guys, but just get out on the sand, play a little spike ball, and work down the sand a little bit,” Vincent said. “It’s something to get out of this [practice facility] building, you know what I mean? In the summer, we spend so much time in the gym, grinding at the same thing over and over that sometimes you kind of need a change of scenery. So it’s something for us to do that was different, something for us to do together. We had a good time with it.”

Ayton getting more comfortable

After two preseason games and several more practices, Ayton is starting to get more comfortable with his role inside the Lakers’ offense.

He took more shots in the second game against the Warriors, making three of eight from the field, than in the first game against the Suns, missing both shots, and he scored more points against the Warriors (seven) than against the Suns (two). He blocked two shots in each game and has a total of 15 rebounds.

“How comfortable am I getting? Um, real comfortable, to where I am starting to know their plays and where the screens are and in general, Lakers terms and Lakers basketball,” he said. “So, it’s becoming quite easy just to read the floor and what [Lakers coach] JJ [Redick] likes and what he wants us to be known as, especially going into our rhythm offense and transition offense. So, yeah, the terminology and everything is starting to be easy and I feel in control on each end.”

Earlier this week, 10 countries recognised Palestinian statehood. With them, the number of UN member states recognising Palestine as a state have reached 157 out of 193. This means the vast majority of the world accepts the Palestinians have a state. And yet they continue to be treated as if they do not, with many experiencing the soul-crushing reality of statelessness at borders and in immigration detention.

As a freelance English-Arabic interpreter with Respond Crisis Translation, I frequently support asylum seekers in detention. I have seen firsthand what it is to be a Palestinian stuck in the increasingly inhumane US immigration system.

I met Mohammad (not his real name) while interpreting during his legal proceedings, and over time I interpreted for him on multiple occasions as his lawyer sought to secure his release from detention by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Mohammad decided to escape Gaza before Israel launched its genocidal war. But when he fled his home, he didn’t find freedom.

The journey was brutal and full of precariousness. He was stranded in countries that refused to recognise his homeland or the documents he was carrying; he was kidnapped by cartel groups, beaten, threatened, and robbed of his money. At last, he reached the US. There, believing that, perhaps, the “American dream” could offer him safety, sanctuary and freedom, he encountered ICE.

Mohammad had escaped one prison only to be thrown into another. The cruelty was so relentless that he went on a hunger strike – when he stopped eating, the voice of his hunger was his loudest and only voice, a desperate plea for release.

His hunger strike was more than a refusal of food. It was a refusal of invisibility. A body breaking itself to be heard. He reported being humiliated, placed in solitary confinement, and subjected to psychological pressure during his hunger strike. The hunger strike – meant to assert dignity – became another site of punishment.

Mohammad was forced to break the hunger strike after the court made clear that it would only consider him for release if he was deemed mentally stable and medically clear. To meet this requirement and have a chance at leaving detention, he had no choice but to break his hunger strike.

When Mohammad eventually decided to accept deportation, the court heeded his request. The judge and prosecutor agreed: If he did not wish to stay, he could be deported. But deported to where? The paperwork read “Palestine”, a word that holds meaning for him but exists only fleetingly in the US immigration system. The US does not recognise Palestine as a state, so the court defaulted to “Israel”. But Israel, which occupies the Palestinian territory, does not grant Palestinians free entry to Gaza, nor can they simply enter the West Bank.

For Palestinians, especially from Gaza, borders are not merely lines on a map – they are walls of steel, bureaucracy and laws. You may say that entry is possible through neighbouring countries. Before the war, Palestinians from Gaza could only go back home through Egypt or Jordan. Egypt’s Rafah crossing is now closed. Jordan bars entry unless a Palestinian holds special permits, rare and almost impossible to obtain. Even when “home” is written on a deportation order, it may remain unreachable.

Mohammad’s imagined “redemption” – which was going to the war – was a mirage. Leaving the US system did not mean regaining freedom. It meant facing the cruel truth: To be a Palestinian today is to live without exits, without safe havens, without the guarantee of a return even to the unknown. Even deportation, a process that for others may mean going “back”, for people from Palestine is only another trap.

Mohammad still insists on going back to Gaza. He has so far resisted being deported to other countries. He remains in ICE detention. Lawyers explained that there are financial incentives to prolong detention, since private facilities receive daily payments per detainee. Even with a court decision, release is often delayed.

In the end, his story is not only about one man’s failed asylum claim. It is not only about the US’s continuing refusal to recognise Palestine as a state.

It is about what it means to be stateless in a world that demands documents before it offers dignity. It is about how “home” becomes both a wound and a dream. For Palestinians from Gaza, the dream of freedom and dignity collapses into fluorescent-lit detention centres, and deportation becomes a journey not towards safety but towards another closed door and dark future.

Courts can sign papers, immigration authorities can escort people to aeroplanes, but no authority can erase the blockade that cages Palestine, or the policies that deny its people the right to return and move freely.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

A COASTAL town was treated to free chips with a twist – the chippy was powered by an electric car.

In the aptly named Kent town of Deal, National Fish and Chip Day was celebrated with 300 portions of chips given away, as well as a limited run of battered fish.

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But it wasn’t your ordinary chip shop, with the chippy being powered by two electric cars and fronted by TikTok’s ‘Chip Shop Diva’, Destiny Harold.

The Dacia Spring, which its makers say is the cheapest electric vehicle currently on the market, was the power behind the frying, in partnership with local chippy, The Blue Mermaid Fish Bar.

It comes after a poll of 2,000 adults found fish and chips is the most popular treat on a British holiday, as well as cream tea and hot doughnuts.

Others to feature in the top 20 list include Mr Whippy ice cream, Cornish pasties and mussels.

Quintessentially British foods, such as fish finger sandwiches, strawberries and cream and a pie and mash also featured in the ranking.

A spokesperson for car brand Dacia said: “It was fun treating passers-by today and showing the power of our electric car, Spring, using its vehicle to load technology, which allows you to power external devices off the car’s battery.

“It’s no surprise we have a national day dedicated to the iconic meal that is fish and chips and the study shows just how much we love it and associate it with holidays by the seaside.

“Playing on the phrase ‘cheap as chips’ in line with our affordable car and being in the appropriately named Deal, was a great way to celebrate National Fish and Chip Day.”

The research also found 41% of adults describe such foods as nostalgic, while 45% feel satisfied after eating them.

When ordering a classic fish and chips, cod (48%) and haddock (19%) were the most popular choices, but 69% simply order a portion of chips.

It also emerged 44% believe fish and chips is the ‘food of the people’ and 39% said class doesn’t impact how people eat it.

While 46% feel there is something nostalgic about eating the British staple with a wooden fork, which 33% typically do, although 38% opt to eat it by hand.

Food psychologist, James Cornish, said: “There are few things that unite the British public quite like fish and chips.

“Golden, salty, comforting, and steeped in history, this timeless dish is more than a meal – it’s a national treasure.

“Loved across generations, social classes, and regions, it’s one of those rare things that truly brings us together.

“There’s a certain kind of magic in fish and chips – a simple meal that somehow carries the weight of memory, comfort, and delight.

“Maybe it’s because we don’t expect too much from humble food, but our delight is excelled through the delivering of more than we expected.”

SOUTHPORT monster Axel Rudakubana can still buy jail treats such as Maltesers and McCoy’s despite attacking a guard with boiling water.

The triple killer, 18, has them served by officers in his cell at London’s Belmarsh Prison.

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Child killer and jail attack fiend Axel Rudakubana last night faced calls for his canteen privileges to be stripped immediately — with a source saying: “It’s shocking and disgusting he still has these rights.”

Rudakubana — serving at least 52 years for killing three girls at a dance class — is also allowed to call family, have religious visits and receive money from relatives while at Belmarsh, South East London.

A source said: “He’s been spending £5.50 a week in the canteen since the attack, and can spend it on anything he likes as long as it’s not dangerous.

“He’s still allowed to buy things like Maltesers and Pringles crisps if he fancies them.”

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick led outrage at the treatment of Rudakubana.

He said: “I cannot believe this monster has been allowed to keep these privileges. It’s a disgrace.

“He should be stripped of them immediately, no questions asked.

“It’s the least the victims of his horrendous crime would expect. We’ve got to regain control of prisons before an officer is killed.”

Since the attack Rudakubana has been busted down to a “basic” regime which means his TV has been removed and his time out of his cell has been limited.

Our source added: “He is mostly confined to his cell. He fills in a sheet and stuff gets delivered.

“That means that prison officers, who are the colleagues of the guy he attacked, have to collect his canteen order and deliver it to his cell.

‘Array of goods’

“It’s made some angry and upset.

“The array of goods on the canteen list is quite staggering and it has all the decent brands.

“He can also buy toiletries, vitamins, drinks and biscuits.

“He’s not spending much because he’s on basic level and doesn’t have a job due to the danger he poses.

“But the principle of it is shocking — and he’s been spending what he can every week since the attack. It’s very rare for a governor to completely strip a prisoner of canteen rights but I’d say this is an instance where it’s justified.

“He’s also been able to call his family and had a bit of money sent in to him despite the attack.”

Lags at Belmarsh can buy goods including Cadbury Twirl bars, Haribo Starmix bags, McCoy’s crisps, Diet Coke, Vimto, vitamins, fruit and cereals like Shredded Wheat and Ready Brek.

Also on offer are “I Love You” cards, draughts sets, prayer mats, cross pendants and prayer hats. But Rudakubana is barred from buying anything that could be turned into a weapon.

That includes tins of tuna, after the jagged edge of a can was used to slash Sara Sharif’s killer dad Urfan at Belmarsh in January.

Rudakubana is also banned from buying butter or baby oil which could be heated for an attack.

Police are investigating the “serious assault” he allegedly carried out at Belmarsh on May 8.

The fiend was allowed a kettle and is believed to have used it to boil water.

His supervision had been downgraded weeks earlier.

It’s very rare for a governor to completely strip a prisoner of canteen rights but I’d say this is an instance where it’s justified

Source

The officer was taken to hospital but escaped serious injury and is believed to have returned to work.

Rudakubana struck weeks after Manchester Arena terrorist Hashem Abedi, 28, stabbed and burned four officers at Frankland jail, Durham.

Rudakubana is also said to have had visits from an imam since his attack.

But he has been barred from religious ceremonies for fears he would be targeted.

Inmates in UK jails have rights including protection from bullying, access to a solicitor and healthcare plus the right to communication and to make complaints.

All other privileges have to be earned, and cons can have their time out of cells severely restricted.

Inmates who behave can become “enhanced” prisoners and earn the right to spend more money and watch TV.

Another source said: “It’s fairly unheard of to strip someone of the canteen. But a lot of the public would think it should be done here.

“The issue they have is they need to keep him happy and stop legal complaints. Certain prisoners are experts at knowing their rights.

“They were planning to move Rudakubana but the transfer has been delayed by the lack of an alternative.

“The natural place would be the separation centre at Frankland. But, ironically, that’s been closed down while the attack by Abedi is investigated.”

Rudakubana was jailed in January for the murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine.

The Prison Service said it did not comment on individuals.

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Timeline of events related to the Southport stabbings

AXEL Rudakubana has pleaded guilty to the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, and 10 counts of attempted murder.

Here is a timeline of events relating to the case:

2002: Rudakubana’s father Alphonse moves to the UK from Rwanda, according to an interview he gave to his local newspaper in Southport in 2015.

August 7, 2006: Rudakubana is born in Cardiff, Wales.

2013: The family – including Rudakubana’s father, mother and older brother – move from Wales to Banks in Lancashire, a few miles from Southport.

July 29, 2024: Shortly before midday, a knifeman enters a dance class at The Hart Space in Hart Street in Southport.

Bebe, Elsie and Alice are fatally wounded. Eight other children are injured, as are instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.

Police say they have detained a male and seized a knife.

Within hours, claims spread online that the suspect is an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat in 2023.

Some claims include an alleged identity.

July 30, 2024: In the evening, a peaceful vigil is held outside Southport’s Atkinson arts venue, where flowers are laid in memory of those who died.

Shortly after the vigil, a separate protest begins outside the town’s mosque in St Luke’s Road.

People throw items towards the mosque, property is damaged and police vehicles are set on fire.

July 31, 2024: Demonstrators gather in Whitehall, London, for an “Enough Is Enough” protest.

Flares and cans are thrown at police and more than 100 people are arrested.

Disorder also breaks out in Hartlepool, County Durham, and Aldershot, Hampshire.

August 1, 2024: Police announce that Rudakubana has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article.

He is not named by police because of his age.

He appears in court in Liverpool and Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Andrew Menary KC rules he can be named, as he is due to turn 18 in a week.

He initially smiled on entering the courtroom – then kept his face covered by his sweatshirt for the remainder of the proceedings before the case was adjourned.

Later that evening, demonstrators gather outside a hotel in Newton Heath, Manchester.

August 2, 2024: Three police officers are taken to hospital after disorder in Sunderland.

August 3, 2024: There are scenes of violence during planned protests across the UK, including in Liverpool, Hull, Nottingham and Belfast.

August 4, 2024: Disorder continues, including outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where masked demonstrators launch lengths of wood and sprayed fire extinguishers at police officers.

August 5, 2024: The Government holds an emergency Cobra meeting in the wake of the disorder and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vows to “ramp up criminal justice”.

That evening, a peaceful vigil is held in Southport, a week on from the killings. Police deal with disorder in Plymouth, Devon and Darlington, County Durham.

August 7, 2024: Prison sentences for those involved in the unrest begin to be handed out. Derek Drummond, 58, is the first person to be jailed for violent disorder at Liverpool Crown Court, where he is sentenced to three years.

More than 100 protests are planned for across the country, with counter-demonstrations taking place, but the majority of police forces report very little trouble.

October 29, 2024: Merseyside Police announces Rudakubana will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via videolink the next day charged with production of a biological toxin, Ricin, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

October 30, 2024: Rudakubana appears at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via videolink from HMP Belmarsh to face the two new charges.

He holds his sweater over the bottom half of his face and does not respond when asked to confirm his name.

November 13, 2024: Rudakubana appears at Liverpool Crown Court via videolink. He covers his face with his grey sweatshirt and does not speak throughout the hearing.

About 20 family members of victims sit in the public gallery. The case is adjourned until December 12, when a preparatory hearing will take place.

January 20, 2025: Rudakubana appears at Liverpool Crown Court for the first day of his trial where he pleads guilty to all 16 charges, including the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.