Johan Eleveld News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

A tale of love, war and Russian disinformation.

"It is tragic how all the lies and false accusations destroyed Mayday and drove James Le Mesurier to despair. Today, I see him as somebody I really admire."

BBC News By Chloe Hadjimatheou image captionA White Helmet rescues a child from a bombed building The British man behind the Syrian civil defence group, the White Helmets, found himself at the centre of a battle to control the narrative of the Syrian war. Russian and Syrian propagandists accused his teams of faking evidence of atrocities - and convinced some in the West. The battle for truth formed a backdrop to James Le Mesurier's sudden death in Istanbul in November 2019. With the setting sun reflecting in the water and the lights of Istanbul twinkling on the horizon, the wedding guests sat...

© Associated Press (file photo) Founder and director of Mayday Rescue, talks to the media during training exercises in southern Turkey, March 19, 2015.The campaign to rehabilitate White Helmets founder James Le Mesurier's reputation continues apace, a saccharine hagiography framing him a "charismatic buccaneer" too busy saving lives to bother with proper financial records. The lengthy Daily Mailarticle, published December 20, reinforced the established, idolatrous fable of his life and death, while also adding significant new strands to the narrative. While prior mainstream apologias attrib...

Emma Winberg woke in the middle of the night, exhausted and overwrought by the events of the day before. Dawn was nearing and the call to prayer would soon echo across Istanbul. Her husband, James Le Mesurier, brought her a sleeping pill. As she drifted off, she could see him standing in the darkness by the window of their rooftop apartment, smoking a cigarette and watching over her. She slept for only an hour or so — but an hour was all it took. The constant ringing of the doorbell jarred her into consciousness. It was about 6.30am. Groggy from the pill, she called for James to answer the ...