Charlie Kirk was killed at a college campus event in Utah on Sept. 10.
Day: September 17, 2025
Students Protest Fuel Subsidy Elimination in Quito
On September 16, 2025, hundreds of university students marched in Quito to oppose President Daniel Noboa’s recent decision to eliminate the diesel subsidy, a measure announced just days earlier. The protesters demanded Noboa’s ouster, asserting that the removal of the subsidy will increase their cost of living, reports 24brussels.
The demonstration, which began at the Central University of Ecuador (UCE), progressed through key streets in the historic center of Quito, with chants of “Noboa out” echoing among the participants.
Their aim was to reach the Carondelet Palace and take over Plaza Grande symbolically. However, police and military personnel barricaded streets with metal barriers to obstruct access. Tensions escalated as protesters hurled stones, leading to police deploying tear gas and stun grenades around 5:40 p.m. local time to disperse the crowd.
The march was organized in response to Decree 126, signed by Noboa on September 12, which abolished a diesel subsidy valued at USD 1.1 billion annually. Will Chuquimarca, a representative of the University Council, announced that protests and assemblies would continue until the decree is rescinded, warning that increased fuel prices would lead to greater costs for essential goods.
Prior to the diesel subsidy’s termination, President Noboa had already removed previous subsidies for Extra and Eco País gasoline, two of the most common fuels in Ecuador. This action marks a significant step in the gradual elimination of fuel subsidies—a move that past presidents Lenín Moreno and Guillermo Lasso had attempted but ultimately abandoned due to significant social unrest and large-scale protests led by the Indigenous movement.
The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), the country’s largest social organization, has called for the repeal of Noboa’s latest measure and has hinted at the potential for renewed demonstrations in the days ahead.
As this situation unfolds, the political landscape in Ecuador remains tense, with rising public discontent over economic measures that many citizens feel disproportionately affect them, particularly students and low-income families.
Israeli conductor Lahav Shani has publicly responded to the cancellation of his scheduled concert with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra at Flanders Festival Ghent, stating that the event organizers had “yielded to political pressures” and expressing gratitude towards Prime Minister Bart De Wever for his support, reports 24brussels.
The festival organizers announced the cancellation of Thursday’s concert due to Shani’s affiliation with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, citing their inability to provide “sufficient clarity” regarding his stance on the Israeli government’s actions. The board confirmed the cancellation on Monday, which led to the resignation of two members in protest.
“Over the last days, I found myself along with two of the orchestras dearest to my heart, the Munich Philharmonic and the Israel Philharmonic, unwillingly swept into an unexpected public storm that quickly escalated into a diplomatic incident,” Shani stated in a message posted on the orchestra’s website on Tuesday.
The management of the Ghent festival “acted under the pretense that ‘music should be a source of connection and reconciliation’,” according to Shani.
“But in doing so, they emptied this statement of all meaning, yielding to political pressures, demanding that I make a political declaration despite my long-standing and publicly expressed commitment to peace and reconciliation.”
‘Deeply distressing’
Shani reflected on the attacks carried out by Hamas on 7 October 2023, describing them as “horrific and unprecedented,” resulting in the deaths of 1,175 people and the abduction of 251 others.
“Israeli society continues to mourn the consequences of Hamas’s inhumane attack and longing for the return of 48 civilians who are still held hostage in unbearable conditions,” he added.
“Yet, I, like many Israelis, have not abandoned my human values. The images and testimonies coming out of Gaza are deeply distressing, and it is impossible to remain indifferent to the suffering of civilians in Gaza amidst the catastrophe this war has brought upon them. Everything must be done to end the war as soon as possible and begin the long process of healing and rebuilding for both societies.”
Damaged reputation
The cancellation has sparked controversy, with Flemish Minister of Culture Caroline Gennez from the Vooruit party supporting the decision, while the N-VA party condemned it as discriminatory.
In response to the cancellation, two members of the festival’s board of directors, Christoph D’Haese and Annemie Charlier of the N-VA, resigned on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Bart De Wever, also from the N-VA, criticized the decision and attended a concert led by Shani in Germany this week to help restore Belgium’s reputation, which he believes has suffered due to the incident.
“It was also profoundly meaningful that the Prime Minister of Belgium expressed his solidarity by attending our concert last Saturday in Essen,” Shani noted.
He and the Munich Philharmonic received a standing ovation in Berlin on Monday following a last-minute invitation to perform after the Ghent concert’s cancellation.
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Meet Fyre Festival’s new owners
Johnny Nunez/WireImage via Getty Images
- Fyre Festival founder and CEO Billy McFarland sold the event’s branding rights in an eBay auction.
- LimeWire, a file-sharing service that was once a hotbed for illegal downloads, won that auction.
- LimeWire outbid Ryan Reynolds’ ad agency, Maximum Effort, for the rights and paid $245,300.
When Billy McFarland, the founder and CEO of the failed Fyre Festival, said he had auctioned the branding rights to the event on eBay in July, he did not mention who had bought it.
Two months later, the mysterious buyer of the infamous event has finally come forward to claim their purchase.
The file-sharing service company LimeWire said in a statement on Tuesday that it had officially acquired the Fyre Festival brand “after a competitive bidding process” that included Ryan Reynolds’ viral ad agency, Maximum Effort.
“Fyre became a symbol of hype gone wrong, but it also made history,” Julian Zehetmayr, the co-CEO of LimeWire, said on Tuesday.
“We’re not bringing the festival back — we’re bringing the brand and the meme back to life. This time with real experiences, and without the cheese sandwiches,” he added.
LimeWire and McFarland did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
The Fyre Festival gained notoriety after festival attendees were greeted with a sight resembling a disaster drill when they arrived in the Bahamas in April 2017.
Instead of villas and gourmet meals, guests were housed in FEMA disaster relief tents and served unappetizing cheese sandwiches. Bahamian locals who worked as caterers and laborers for the event said they were not paid their salaries.
McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud related to the festival in 2018. He was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay $26 million to investors, festival attendees, and vendors.
In March 2022, McFarland was released from prison early. He initially touted a sequel to the Fyre Festival in 2023 but eventually decided to sell the event’s branding rights in April.
The auction on eBay drew 175 bids and was ultimately sold for $245,300.
“Damn. This sucks. It’s so low,” he said of the final sale price during a July livestream.
It is unclear what plans LimeWire has for the Fyre Festival. The file-sharing service was founded by Wall Street trader Mark Gorton in 2000 and became a hotbed for illegal downloads.
LimeWire was shut down in 2010 after a court ruled that it had committed copyright infringement.
Zehetmayr and his brother, Paul, first relaunched LimeWire as an NFT marketplace in 2022 before turning it into a file-sharing service again.
LimeWire said in its statement on Tuesday that it would “unveil a reimagined vision for Fyre” in the next few months. The company added that it would expand the brand “beyond the digital realm” and into the real world.
As of press time, visitors to the Fyre Festival website can sign up for an email waitlist to receive updates. Fyre Festival-branded merchandise, such as T-shirts, hoodies, caps, and bags, is also being sold on the website’s store.
“We’re not here to repeat the mistakes — we’re here to own the meme and do it right,” LimeWire’s chief operating officer, Marcus Feistl, said on Tuesday.
Read the original article on Business Insider