Iran appears to be asserting its power over the Straits of Hormuz, a key maritime route which carries a fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments.

The US-Israeli war against Iran—as the Canary previously reported and predicted—saw Tehran lock down the narrow channel.

The conflict began with unprovoked US-Israeli strikes on 28 February. It has been since been reported by the Pentagon, its European allies, and the UN atomic watchdog, that there was no imminent threat from Iran, nor evidence to suggest it was developing a nuclear weapon.

If it wasn’t clear from Trump’s fuzzy comments, the war has been going terribly from the get-go. Donald Trump is still searching for off-ramps while threatening to strike Iran if it obstructs vessels passing through the narrow strait.

And as the war of words continues, the US still appears to be sending thousands of US troops to the region.

While Trump says he’s holding talks with Iran, the U.S. is still deploying thousands of troops against Iran.

— USS Boxer ARG + 11th MEU (~2,500 Marines).

— USS Tripoli ARG + 31st MEU (~2,200 Marines).

Total in region: 50,000+ US troops

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82nd Airborne Division (paratroopers):…

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 23, 2026

And Trump has even suggested that the US and Iran could control the straits jointly.

Iran’s approach has been much less erratic. The country has locked in for a long war and turned off a key tap in the global energy economy.

Iran’s new power

The Straits of Hormuz is a narrow channel between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. They are natural chokepoint. Like the English channel, they are only 21 miles wide at their narrowest point. 20% of the world’s oil supply passes through annually.

Shipping experts reported on 23 March that China has paid Iran $2m to let a ship through a new ‘safe route’. This may suggest China has at least tacitly accepted Iranian sovereignty over the strait.

So the first confirmed mainland Chinese vessel just paid Iran $2 million to transit Hormuz. This is the moment Beijing effectively recognized Tehran’s de facto control over the strait. Every Chinese ship that follows legitimizes the toll a little more, and that $2 million per…

— Supply Signal (@SupplySignalAI) March 23, 2026

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As one supply intelligence account noted this could mark a major shift in global economic power:

So the first confirmed mainland Chinese vessel just paid Iran $2 million to transit Hormuz. This is the moment Beijing effectively recognized Tehran’s de facto control over the strait.

Adding:

Every Chinese ship that follows legitimizes the toll a little more, and that $2 million per crossing gets baked into global freight rates before you can say “supply chain costs.” The question isn’t whether more Chinese vessels pay. It’s how long before this becomes just another line item in shipping contracts.

Ship tracking website Marine Traffic said Iran was using its control of the straits to selectively signal its newfound power:

Hormuz traffic sends mixed signals

Iran appears to be pursuing a calibrated strategy in the Strait of Hormuz, using selective vessel passage as strategic signalling rather than imposing full disruption. According to #MarineTraffic data, some activity may be resuming, with nine… pic.twitter.com/fKjlPhdHYx

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— MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) March 24, 2026

The Financial Times wrote on 23 March, as Trump appeared to signal he wanted negotiations, that Tehran’s leverage was formidable:

Iran has for years threatened to shut down the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes. And now they have done so, Iranian officials have indicated, it will no longer be business as usual.

Tehran’s ability to slow the flow of traffic to a near halt through attacks and threats has been its main point of leverage over Trump and the global economy, pushing energy prices to multiyear highs.

The FT added that:

An Iranian MP said that would be the new normal, suggesting Iran would extract a toll from vessels.

The Strait of Hormuz is no longer closed. It is no longer open. It is something the world has never seen before: a permissioned corridor run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, priced at $2 million per vessel, payable in yuan.

the pace of vessel transits across the Strait of Hormuz picked up over the weekend with at least 16 vessels crossing the chokepoint since Friday. Twelve of those vessels sailed through the new route that transits Iranian territorial waters.

The US and Israeli attacks have not panned out as the aggressors planned. Apart from widespread destruction across the region, one result has been to hand Iran greater control of a vital energy corridor.

Whether or not the US and Iran return to talks, the terrain of global economic power seems to be being re-shaped before our eyes.

Featured image via the Canary

Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index — otherwise known as FTSE 100—shows that the share value of the top 100 UK companies has leapt by 20% in a year. Meanwhile, overall UK growth has stagnated at 1.3% in 2025 and real terms worker pay is largely lower than in 2008.

Economic inequality

The FTSE 100 is a corporate oligarchy because it’s largely remained the same over the past decade. Only an average of 125 companies have rotated in and out of the FTSE 100 over this period.

Since the index was launched in the 1980s, only 500 companies have had a place in it. That’s despite massive advancement in tech and other sectors.

The UK economy could be made up of a healthy blend of small-medium businesses. Meanwhile, the government could take strategic public ownership of essentials— including pharmaceuticals—and provide housing at cost price. If that were the situation, the fluctuation in the FTSE 100 would be much higher.

Instead, it has long been dominated by a revolving door of the same profiteering companies. And it’s stock market value has leapt by 55% in the past five years.

Increase in bosses pay

The top executives of FTSE 100 companies have been substantially and vertically rewarded for the increase in stock price. Last year, the boss of Lloyds Bank received a 20% pay increase, while the boss of NatWest had a 35% pay increase.

It is worth noting that due to the economic shocks of the unlawful US-Israel war against Iran, some of the largest multinational oil companies like BP and Shell—part of the top FTSE 100—may stand to benefit from rising oil prices. Meanwhile, average citizens are left to foot the bill of rising energy bills.

Wealth concentration

Corporate capitalism is about maintenance of existing wealth and power rather than a truly competitive and diverse economy. Small and medium size enterprises receive between just 2% and 5% of lending from banks, despite making up 60% of private sector jobs.

With that in mind, a mixed economy of common and private ownership could be much more fruitful than the dominance of a few large corporations. The government can strategically invest in the economy and, to a degree, plan what resources and expertise will become necessary. It’s clear that AI and automation (the fourth industrial revolution) would be highly beneficial.

Featured image via the Canary/Unsplash

Campaign group 350.org has responded to the World Meteorological Organisation’s (WMO) latest report. It sounds the alarm on a global climate “state of emergency”, saying that the crisis will worsen the humanitarian toll of soaring oil and gas prices driven by the Iran war. 350.org urged countries to protect their citizens from climate harm and rising costs, and to start urgently transitioning their economies away from fossil fuels.

The World Meteorological Organisation’s ​​State of the ​Global Climate 2025 pronounced 2015-2025 as the hottest ​11 years on record. And it warns that weather has become more extreme on a day-to-day basis, impacting millions of people and causing billions in economic losses.

The report also said that the increase in the annual carbon dioxide concentration in 2024 was the largest annual increase recorded, driven by continued fossil fuel emissions. Amid an energy crisis described by the International Energy Agency as the ‘worst’ in decades, United Nations ​secretary-general Antonio Guterres points to “our addiction to fossil fuels” as destabilising both the climate and global security.

The UN’s World Food Programme has warned that if the Iran conflict continues, 45 million more people could face acute hunger due to rising prices. Meanwhile, scientists warn of the possibility of El Niño pushing heat records to record highs and causing severe heatwaves, droughts and floods this year.

Anne Jellema, 350.org executive director said:

Soaring prices for fuel, fertiliser and food could be the last straw for millions of families in the global South already pushed into poverty by climate change.

Governments must act now to stop oil and gas companies profiting from the war— by taxing their windfall profits to finance protections for ordinary people. Some of the revenues should be used to fund wider access to rooftop and balcony solar and other renewable solutions that will immediately reduce families’ bills while also strengthening national energy security.

If governments care about their people, the time is now to end our addiction to crisis-ridden and planet-destroying fossil fuels.

On 24-29 April, the first conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels will take place in Santa Marta, co-hosted by the governments of Colombia and the Netherlands. 350.org urges all governments to join this momentous gathering of countries to plan a fossil fuel phaseout, pursuing a global commitment first made at the COP28 UN climate talks.

Featured image via the Canary

A parliamentary debate on Thursday 26 March will aim to give much-needed publicity to a group of chronic, genetic illnesses that most medical professionals class as ‘rare’ – when in fact they are just rarely diagnosed. Moreover, it will hopefully shine a light on two even less diagnosed conditions that are comorbid with this group – but which can be life-threatening.

EDS: not rare, just rarely diagnosed

The Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) are a group of 13 complex genetic tissue disorders. These conditions affect the entire body, often leaving people in daily pain, exhaustion, and isolation. The hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD) are connective tissue disorders whose features overlap with the most common type of EDS, hypermobile EDS.

These conditions are lifelong, incurable, and chronically under-recognised, with limited treatment options and far too little understanding. EDS and HSD also often come with other long-term conditions such as mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), gastroparesis, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), and Long Covid.

Peer-reviewed studies indicate that as many as 1 in 500 people in the UK (over 135,000 individuals) are living with EDS or HSD, many of whom remain undiagnosed for years or even decades. The lack of awareness means people are often misdiagnosed with anxiety, depression, or psychosomatic illnesses. This leaves them feeling dismissed, isolated and without access to the care they need.

Life-threatening conditions

However, what are even less-readily diagnosed are craniocervical and atlantoaxial instabilities (CCI and AAI). These conditions are characterised by the joints in the cervical junction moving in ways they wouldn’t in someone without EDS. It means that often, blood flow to the head is restricted, and nerves in the neck are compressed or even damaged.

In the worst cases, any injury to a person’s neck or head can cause cerebrospinal fluid leaks from either the neck or head areas. Crucially, CCI and AAI can also be so severe that a person’s brain and skull begin to sink onto their cervical junction – which can be life-threatening.

Yet on the NHS, these conditions are not recognised in the context of EDS and HSD. They cannot readily be diagnosed due to the need for an upright MRI scanner. And if they even are, there are no treatment options available.

For people in the UK with severe CCI and AAI, the only options are to pay privately abroad for surgery to effectively fuse their cervical junctions in place – and this carries huge risks.

Neglected and ignored

Yet the government knows all too well about EDS, HSD, and CCI/AAI. However, successive administrations have failed to take any meaningful action. The Canary was told by one senior NHS neurosurgeon that he and a group of other senior practitioners advised the-then health secretary Jeremy Hunt in 2013 that upright MRI scanners were desperately needed in the NHS. He ignored them.

Fast-forward to earlier in March 2026, and the now-Labour government effectively batted-away an MP’s question over CCI and AAI; failing to recognise the disastrous state of care for people living with the conditions.

There are a lot of reasons why medical professionals and successive governments have ignored EDS and is associated comorbidities. Misogyny is one. Most people living with the conditions are women. Prejudicial tropes are another. For too many years, people called those living with EDS ‘double jointed’ and they were all too often misdiagnosed with other illnesses. The psychiatry lobby is involved, too – as it all too often seems determined to psychologise what are actually physical illnesses. Plus, a lack of robust research is another.

So, on 26 March Labour MP Josh Newbury organised a Westminster Hall debate on EDS, HSD, CCI, and AAI. You can get involved by asking your MP to attend. Charity EDS UK has created an online letter tool, which you can access here.

EDS must be properly recognised

EDS UK is calling for urgent, practical changes to improve care:

• Integration of EDS and HSD into NHS service specifications and long-term condition strategies.

• Joined-up, multidisciplinary care across primary and secondary services.

• Training and support for healthcare professionals.

• A national multidisciplinary team (MDT) for rare complex cases like CCI.

However, the Canary is well aware this will not be easy. So, the more MPs that attend the debate the better. EDS and its comorbidities are devastating for the people living with them and their loved ones. The government needs to do so much more – and this debate could hopefully be the start of that.

Featured image via the Canary

Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS), the world’s leading nuclear transport specialist, and nuclear technology company Westinghouse have signed a new strategic agreement to work together on the development of Pegasus – NTS’s revolutionary transport package designed to safely move the next generation of nuclear fuel. 

The signing took place at the British Embassy, in Washington DC, as part of a prestigious event celebrating the UK and US commitment to advancing nuclear energy generation. 

Pegasus is designed as the world’s leading transport package for High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU), a more efficient type of nuclear fuel that will power many of the next generation of advanced reactors.  

These reactors are key to delivering low-carbon, homegrown energy and powering emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. 

The UK-US agreement reinforces secure, reliable energy supply in both countries. It formalises the sharing of technical expertise, safety protocols, and design insights between NTS and Westinghouse, accelerating development of Pegasus for deployment. It also strengthens collaboration on engineering, regulatory compliance, and fuel handling standards. 

Ben Whittard, NTS Co-CEO, said: 

“This partnership allows us to deliver our expertise in the secure transport of advanced nuclear fuel in the UK and US. The growth of AI and the need for reliable, ultra-low carbon energy demonstrates the importance of nuclear power in our future, and we’re thrilled to be at the forefront of its development.” 

NTS brings over 50 years of international experience and is recognised as a trusted partner for safe, secure and reliable nuclear transport expertise.  

In 2024, the UK government awarded NTS £10.5 million to lead the development of the UK’s transport capability for HALEU. As part of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), NTS benefits from close links to government and access to some of the UK’s strongest nuclear expertise. 

Sophie Lemaire, Interim Co-President of Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel, said: 

“We are very pleased with our new collaboration with NTS to co-develop the Pegasus HALEU transport package. This is an important step in making HALEU available in the US and UK.”

The signing marks another significant step in the UK-US golden age of nuclear energy security. It is helping to unlock a major expansion of new nuclear projects across both countries, supporting energy security and the UK’s mission to deliver more clean, homegrown power. 

Minister for Nuclear Lord Vallance said: 

“Developing our own capability to make and transport advanced nuclear fuel is critical to shoring up our position as a nuclear world leader. 

Not only does this improve our energy security at home and reduce our reliance on Russian nuclear fuel, it provides export opportunities to grow our economy and ensure our allies can build resilient supply chains.  

This agreement builds on our close co-operation with the US on nuclear energy.”

NDA Group CEO, David Peattie, said: 

“This agreement is yet another example of how the NDA group is driving forward the Government’s ambition to become a clean energy superpower.  

Pegasus represents a transformative step in advancing the UK’s energy independence and low-carbon ambitions, unlocking export potential and cementing the nation’s role as a world leader in nuclear innovation. 

It also further reinforces NTS’s place as a global leader in delivering safe, secure, and dependable nuclear transport and logistics solutions.”

British Embassy in Washington Chargé d’Affaires, James Roscoe, said: 

“Between the UK and the US, our commitment to developing new frontiers in nuclear energy is shifting from promise to reality – and this partnership between NTS and Westinghouse is a prime example of that ambition. 

This deal will see British and American innovators deepen collaboration on engineering, safety, regulatory understanding, and fuel handling expertise – ensuring that our two nations maintain the technological edge in nuclear energy.”

Almost 200 containers of low-level radioactive waste that once formed part of Britain’s experiment with fast breeder nuclear reactors are being entombed in a purpose-built underground vault at Dounreay.

The containers are stacked 4 high and the spaces filled with grout before being covered by a steel reinforced concrete slab. This slab will become a floor to support more containers going to the vault for disposal.

Low-level waste from the clean-out and dismantling of the site’s reactors, fuel plants and laboratories is being packed into drums, super-compacted to become pucks and stacked inside containers that are filled with grout before being moved to their final resting place in a cavernous below-ground vault. Some larger waste items go into the containers and are grouted alongside the pucks.

Originally, it was planned to half-fill the low-level waste vault with almost 1,000 containers before entombing them in grout and covering with a reinforced concrete floor. This provides a stable base upon which another 1,000 containers can be stacked.

But the project team at Nuclear Restoration Services re-evaluated their methodology and concluded there were practical advantages by adopting a staged approach to carrying out the intermediate floor slab works.

The first stages are now complete, marking the permanent disposal of 192 half-height ISO containers that cover a fifth of the available floor-space and giving the team and their contractors valuable experience.

“The original plan was to pour concrete slabs to a depth of 500mm over the full 80m x 50m area once the vault was half full,” explained operations manager Graham Bremner.

“We looked again at this and realised there were benefits from moving to a staged approach in line with grouting instead – a significant reduction in downtime during mid-life closure of the vault for waste disposal operations and minimising significant demand of concrete supply that would impact local contractors.”

The reinforced concrete floor will eventually support point loads of containers 4 high up to 160 tonnes in weight.

The vault is one of 2 operational disposal facilities, with the other being used for low-level demolition waste.

Easter is on the horizon. So chocolate, and therefore cocoa, is in the spotlight. The Fairtrade Foundation is calling on the UK government to introduce a mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) law. It could provide protection for cocoa farmers and workers around the world from poor working conditions, volatile prices and exposure to environmental harms.

Whilst some chocolate companies are already doing the right thing, many are not. Without additional regulation and investment, many cocoa farmers and other agricultural workers will continue to remain exposed to low incomes, human rights abuses and environmental harms across global supply chains.

New research into cocoa production

New Fairtrade research involving almost 500 cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire found 58% said climate change impacts on production (including changing weather, pests and disease) are their biggest challenges as farmers. In many cocoa-growing countries, climate chaos has driven increasingly volatile prices and deepening financial instability for farming communities.

With one of the busiest chocolate-buying moments of the year fast approaching, Fairtrade is urging shoppers to look for the FAIRTRADE Mark. It’s also calling on the public to sign its petition demanding decisive government action to ensure cocoa supply chains are fair to both people and planet.

This call for change comes at a time when rising chocolate prices are also reshaping what UK shoppers choose to buy. The Fairtrade Foundation commissioned new consumer research from Kantar for the next phase of its Do it Fair campaign, Fair to People.

It reveals that two thirds (65%) of UK adults have changed their chocolate-buying habits in the past year due to rising prices. Over a third (35%) say they are buying less chocolate, while 3% report they have stopped buying it altogether.

Despite this shift in purchasing behaviour, most chocolate buyers remain unaware of the challenging realities behind their favourite treats. One in four (25%) believe the cocoa in their Easter eggs is grown by farmers earning more than £10 a day. In reality, most will be earning less than the international poverty line of around $3 a day, leaving them unable to support their family and farms.

The survey also shows strong public support for fairer treatment of cocoa growers. More than half of UK adults (54%) say they would be willing to pay more for chocolate if it guaranteed fairer pay and rights for farmers (rising to 73% among 16–34 year olds).

Volatile cocoa markets

These findings come amid extreme volatility in global cocoa markets. Prices surged in 2024 and 2025, driven by climate change, erratic weather, and a rise in pests and diseases that devastated harvests in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire – the world’s largest cocoa-producing countries.

Prices have since dropped for a range of reasons, including weaker demand and increased global supply, but geopolitical instability is fuelling fresh concerns about renewed volatility. That volatility is already having profound consequences for cocoa-growing communities.

Many farmers who are already living on extremely low incomes face even greater uncertainty, and many urgently need long-term investment to build resilience. Choosing Fairtrade chocolate helps ensure their families can thrive through the Fairtrade Minimum Price and additional sums of money to invest in their farm or communities, and offering training and programmes that address human rights and environmental challenges.

Fairtrade tackling exploitation and instability

Fairtrade Foundation’s senior sustainable sourcing manager for cocoa, Marina El-Hasni said:

Most people aren’t aware of the exploitation and challenges faced by cocoa farmers. And even if chocolate prices ease for consumers, the long-term future of our favourite Easter treat will remain in jeopardy without meaningful investment, living incomes, long‑term contracts and regulation that holds businesses accountable for tackling human rights and environmental harms in their cocoa supply chains. Ensuring farmers are paid fairly, especially when prices are volatile, has never mattered more.

This Easter, we are urging people to look for the Fairtrade Mark on their Easter eggs so they can enjoy the chocolate knowing that farmers have been supported with fairer pay, investment in their communities and farms.

And as the Government concludes its Responsible Business Conduct Review, we urge Ministers to put fairness for farmers and workers at the heart of UK supply chains by introducing a new responsible business law.

One young cocoa farmer, Dora Atiiga, from Kukuom Union co-operative in Ghana, is bringing about positive change in her community. Dora’s leadership journey began when she joined Fairtrade’s Women’s School of Leadership. She said:

Since then my life has changed… I am now able to advocate on living income and climate action… without fear or panic.

The practical training in financial management, confidence‑building and project planning helped her understand not only her rights as a woman, but also her potential as a community leader. As she gained leadership experience, Dora began identifying issues in her own community:

Since there was no school for little children in my community, I decided to start one as a dream.

The school is now registered with around 170 students, eight teachers, and a cook – offering free care and education to families in her community.

Featured image via Nipah Dennis / Fairtrade Foundation

The late Mohamed Fayed pictured in 2008 | Image by: Jeff Moore / Alamy

3 min read5 hr

The crimes of Mohamed Fayed in gross abuse of his power, and the alleged crimes of those connected with him, are horrific.

There is evidence that over the course of decades Fayed systemically used his power within Harrods to select, groom, and sexually abuse girls and women. There are further allegations which remain under investigation relating to his other business interests including Fulham Football Club and House of Fraser.

This is not a case of one bad apple. The abuse that took place was enabled by systems within and outwith Harrods. Survivors were subjected to invasive medical tests by doctors, they were moved from place to place, their families were intimidated, and the police failed to investigate complaints.

And now for the first time a link to Jeffrey Epstein has come to light, with a survivor reporting being trafficked by Epstein to London for Fayed. Perhaps it is no surprise: two predators, operating at the same time, using their powerful positions and institutional links to do so.

Fayed and Epstein may be dead – but their systems, institutions, and many enablers live on. And crucially so do the survivors of their crimes. Several hundred women have come forward already in relation to the abuse of Mohamed Fayed – and certainly there will be more who have not yet chosen to speak.

This is why last year we established the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Survivors of Fayed and Harrods to be their voice in Parliament. We have met dozens of survivors over the past 12 months and pay tribute to their tenacity and strength.

And now for the first time a link to Jeffrey Epstein has come to light, with a survivor reporting being trafficked by Epstein to London for Fayed

We also know how hard it can be for survivors to put their trust into another institution after decades of being let down. To that end we have spent some months now working with survivor networks, putting in place best practice standards, and establishing a framework of trust which we do not take for granted. The APPG is also working closely with The Survivors Trust to make sure we are working in a safe way – bearing in mind the trauma that survivors have suffered.

There was one underlying message that came through from the APPG’s recent consultation with survivors: there is a web of implicated individuals and institutions which must be investigated fully. And this can only be achieved by framing the police investigation into crimes of trafficking; alongside a statutory public inquiry.

This is the drum beat that the APPG will be playing over the months and years to come. In the short term we are hearing the concerns of survivors in relation to the redress scheme and the ongoing investigations of the Metropolitan police and IOPC and will be pushing for answers. We are also pleased to be facilitating engagement with the minister for safeguarding and the Prime Minister.

Many parliamentarians will either represent survivors in their constituencies, or simply feel the utter outrage at the crimes which have taken place. Please join the APPG and support its work. Fayed’s crimes were abhorrent – but so were the actions of those who enabled him and covered it up. Indeed, we don’t yet know the extent of the enterprise. But let this be the institution that stands with survivors in their campaign for justice.

Wendy Chamberlain, Liberal Democrat MP for North East Fife, and Dave Robertson, Labour MP for Lichfield, are co-chairs of the APPG for Survivors of Fayed and Harrods