Centrist politicians in the UK and US are going to increasingly extreme lengths to protect the reputation of Israel. The latest example of this is a US Democrat prioritising the public condemnation of Hasan Piker — a streamer and Israel critic — over measures to stop the illegal US war on Iran:

we’re hitting a state of genuine psychosis https://t.co/ZW8wIWL5MY

— onion person (@CantEverDie) April 29, 2026

Priorities

Much like the Canary, Turkish-American Piker is a longtime critic of the state of Israel. There’s a lot to criticise, too, whether it’s the recent genocide, the years of apartheid, or whatever the fuck this is:

There is no dispute that dogs can be trained to rape people.

In Pinochet's Chile, a German Shepherd named Volodia was trained to rape inmates.

In the case of Israel, we have multiple testimonies from Palestinian detainees, as well as Israeli guards. https://t.co/S9OZuq9UFN pic.twitter.com/uEHRQtG080

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— Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) April 25, 2026

Israel has made itself a Jewish ethnostate, and it claims to represent the international Jewish community. This is used by Israel and its defenders to label critics of the violent and expansionist nation as ‘antisemites’. It is not antisemitic to criticise a rogue foreign state, though, and increasingly the people of the world are wise to this.

This shift in public opinion means Israel’s defenders have to conduct themselves in desperate and unhinged ways. That’s why US politicians are moving Hell and Earth to bring the power of the state down upon one of the nation’s most prominent advocates for Palestine:

When was the last time Congress voted to condemn a private citizen? McCarthy era? https://t.co/1RtPf7AnZq

— Kate Willett (@katewillett) April 29, 2026

The stated reasons for condemning Piker include a long list of selective quotes which paint Piker in an unflattering light (all of which he’s explained many times over). In the past, it was right-wing streamers sharing these selective quotes — now its supposedly serious politicians.

As Piker himself noted:

This is a Democrat doing this [Gottheimer]. The same Democrat that is supposed to be advancing the war powers resolution that is already two months late on Iran. And instead of that, this is the bill that they advanced this morning. Think about that. What a joke of a country we’re in,

Speaking on Gottheimer, Piker added:

Representative Josh Gottheimer famously, after October 7, blamed Islam straight up with an earshot of Muslim congressional representatives – a racist monster, a ginormous piece of shit. …

Okay, here is the silver lining. If you want to know what the silver lining in this madness actually is, Josh Gottheimer knows that the information environment is uncontrollable. So, they’re testing out the boundaries of how much disciplining they can do with congressional resolutions like this.

That’s it. They’re trying to see if if social media companies will bite on this nonsense.

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They know that they can’t win this conversation back, but the very least they can do is, you know, buy and sell Tik Tok with the hopes that people stop saying mean things about Netanyahu in Israel with the hopes that they can enforce this action upon Amazon and Twitch so that other content creators will think twice.

For a further idea of how terrified the establishment is of Israel’s critics, this is how Fox News has been behaving recently:

Fox News has now covered Hasan Piker for 25 days straight. More than any politician in the Democratic Party. pic.twitter.com/RlV22rSYDx

— Hasanabi productions (meme account) (@HasanabiProd) April 29, 2026

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Hasan Piker — Never back down

Piker has also said:

Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D) and Mike Lawler (R) have just introduced a resolution to condemn Hasan Piker.

Earlier this month, Piker had this to say to his critics:

"Their boos mean nothing when I’ve seen what makes them cheer."https://t.co/VqwJsEjyxh

— Zeteo (@zeteo_news) April 29, 2026

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At this point, Israel is a weight around the neck of every establishment politician. While those attacking Hasan Piker may never back down, they will eventually be replaced. Just be prepared for things to get worse before they get better.

Featured image via The Canary

By Willem Moore

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Last night, Israeli forces illegally attacked and intercepted vessels participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters, damaging boats, stranding hundreds on board, and detaining activists at gunpoint. The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) calls on the UK government to take urgent action to protect UK citizens and other global humanitarian civilians who are under attack.

UK Green Party member Zak Khan is among the flotilla seafarers that Israel has detained. An emergency rally will take place at 6pm on 30 April outside the Greek embassy in London. This is because, although Israel attacked the flotilla in international waters, the Greek island of Crete was the nearest land.

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The flotilla had sought to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza at a time when Palestinian people continue to face malnutrition and starvation, due to Israel’s intentional restriction of humanitarian aid, as part of its genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Israeli forces smashed vessels and forcibly intercepted the flotilla, preventing it from continuing its mission to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. Activists were detained following the assault, in a deliberate effort to disrupt and punish attempts to stop the Israeli blockade.

This is a clear example of Israel’s continued disregard for international law. The targeting of civilian vessels and detention of unarmed activists, including British citizens, raises further concerns in the context of the enforcement of the Gaza blockade.

UK silence over flotilla equals complicity

ICJP says the UK government must unequivocally condemn Israel’s latest aggression, following the suit of countries such as Italy. Inaction would put at risk the international rules-based order and all other vessels sailing at international waters. Norms of Law of the sea are mostly customary ones by which states have abided by for years now.

ICJP calls for Israel return all seized vessels and to immediately release the reported 175 people from 55 countries who have been detained. Reportedly, at least 22 boats were intercepted, and approximately 36 boats are still sailing.

In April 2025, ICJP also wrote to the Foreign Office, highlighting how Israel’s conduct targeting the previous Gaza Freedom Flotilla was in stark violation of international legal norms. In that case, Israel targeted the Madleen, a UK-flagged ship, amounting to an attack against the territorial jurisdiction and sovereignty of the UK.

ICJP also asked the Foreign Office what measures the UK would put in place to ensure the protection of future UK vessels undertaking humanitarian missions operating in international water nearby occupied Palestinian waters. It is clear that its inaction on that matter has directly led to Israel’s continued impunity, meaning the UK government must be held responsible for its role in failing to protect UK citizens.

Featured image via the Canary

By The Canary

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6 min read15 min

Angela Rayner has accused Reform UK of being anti-working class in a bid to help Labour keep hold of a London council that it has controlled since its inception over six decades ago.

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On Wednesday night, the former deputy prime minister campaigned in Barking and Dagenham, east London, where Nigel Farage’s party is hoping to make a major electoral breakthrough in the capital at the 7 May local elections. A YouGov poll published last week gave Reform a slender four per cent lead over the Labour Party.

The Manchester MP’s visit to the outer London area came a day after Prime Minister Keir Starmer avoided being referred to the Privileges Committee over the Lord Mandelson affair, and amid intense speculation about how much longer he has in No 10.

Speaking to Labour activists at the Trades Hall working men’s club in Dagenham, the party’s former deputy leader, who resigned from cabinet in September over unpaid stamp duty, joked about the current negativity within Labour as it braces for a bruising set of nationwide results next month. On the same night, pollster and Tory peer Lord Robert Hayward projected that Labour would lose a huge 1,850 council seats across the country.

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“The one thing I say about Labour is we’re not happy unless we’re unhappy. So, we do like to know about the things we haven’t got, right?” said Rayner.

Accompanied in east London by a videographer, as well as her partner, Sam Tarry, a former Labour MP who was also previously a Barking and Dagenham councillor, Rayner sought to frame Reform UK as a threat to the area’s working-class communities.

“The kids here, he [Farage] wants those kept in poverty.

“He doesn’t want employment rights, and we’re delivering employment rights in the biggest way for a generation. We’re bringing down waiting lists in the NHS. He wants to make sure that we go to an insurance-based system. He doesn’t want a free NHS at the point of use anymore.

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“So that’s not going to work for our communities here.”

Rayner added: “I talked about the poverty I grew up in when I was a child, but the one thing that never occurred to me, and was never an issue, was that I could be evicted from my council home, and that’s why we need the biggest wave in a generation of council homes, and we need to build them now.”

The local Labour MP, Margaret Mullane, who used to be a barmaid at the working men’s club, told PoliticsHome that Rayner’s working-class roots made her an effective campaigner in that part of the capital. One Labour activist described her as a “future prime minister”.

While Rayner is seen as a leading candidate to succeed Starmer in Downing Street, her political future is currently complicated by an outstanding HMRC investigation into her tax affairs, which many Labour figures believe must be completed before she can launch a bid to become prime minister.

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She could also face a competition with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to secure the support of the Labour left and soft left. Burnham, who PoliticsHome revealed last week is also campaigning in London ahead of polling day next week, must find a parliamentary seat before launching a leadership bid of his own.

Rayner showed no signs of rebellion on Wednesday night, using her speech to campaigners to talk up the Labour government’s achievements after nearly two years in office.

“I’m so proud to have had the opportunity to represent you as your deputy prime minister, and make no apologies for being part of this Labour family and to continue believing what Labour does, because I’ve seen in action what Labour has done to give me opportunities that my mum never had,” she said.

However, should 7 May go as badly for Labour as the new Lord Hayward research suggests, then Starmer’s position in No 10 will almost certainly come under renewed pressure at the end of next week, which in turn will likely push Rayner back into the spotlight.

As well as losses in London, where Zack Polanski’s Greens are expected to be the primary beneficiaries, Labour is set to lose council seats across England, go backwards in Scotland, and fall out of power in Wales for the first time since Cardiff’s devolved institutions were established at the turn of the century.

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Defeat in Barking and Dagenham would be particularly painful for Labour, with the party having won all 51 council seats when they were last up for election four years ago.

Local Labour councillor Phil Walker said that the Mandleson vetting row was being brought up by residents on the doorstep in Barking and Dagenham, compounding the PM’s unpopularity. “They think Starmer is stupid”, he told PoliticsHome. “It adds to an image that isn’t good.” Another councillor said the issue had cut through “even to kids”. 

Walker added that next week’s elections pose Labour’s biggest test in this London council “since 2006 when we kicked out the BNP (British National Party)”.

“The one thing I say about Labour is we’re not happy unless we’re unhappy,” Rayner tells activists

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The Dagenham wards seen by Labour activists as most at risk of falling to Farage’s party are Village, Heath and Eastbrook. A collapse in support in this part of east London would be especially ominous for Mullane, who will be defending a majority of just over 7,000 at the next general election. “There is real pressure to keep Village – it is the heart of the constituency,” she told PoliticsHome.

Many residents who opened their doors to Labour activists on Wednesday night described themselves as undecided, which Mullane said demonstrates that “turnout will be crucial” for Labour if the party is to stave off the threat of Reform in Barking and Dagenham.

The cost of living and crime dominated doorstep conversations, as did the recent five per cent council tax rise. Labour’s decision early in government to make the winter fuel allowance means-tested, later amended after a major backlash, was cited as having caused “so much damage” with voters in the area, even nearly two years later.

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Shortly after being visited by Labour activists, one resident came out of his house to dispose of the party’s literature in the recycling bin. 

Speaking earlier this week ahead of the locals, the Prime Minister’s political spokesperson said: “These local elections come down to a simple choice.

“Labour on your side, with your local Labour council working in partnership with a Labour Government, or Nigel Farage and Reform, who would put your family, your NHS and your community at risk.”

 

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Labour Friends of Israel vice-chair and “Temu Enoch Powell” Mike Tapp has condoned wanton and unnecessary police violence against the Golders Green stabbings suspect, an already immobilised man living with mental health issues.

Tapp’s eagerness to attack Jewish Green Party leader Zack Polanski is clearly huge. So huge that he doesn’t care that attacking someone for condemning criminal violence isn’t a good look — and we’ve got the receipts to show.

That’s exactly what he did when Polanski shared a post condemning Met police officers for repeatedly kicking the Golders Green suspect in the head.

The man has a known history of mental health issues and violence and had just stabbed two people at random. However, he was already down, not moving, and almost incapable of resistance:

Tapp was incensed that Polanski had dared to ‘repost’ a critique of Met officers for “repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head.”

As far as Tapp is concerned, he is “disgusted” that anyone who opposes such violence is in politics. Opposing police violence, or even sharing a post that notes it, is “a new low”, he thinks:

I’m disgusted that anyone with this view is leading any political party. The Green Party has hit a new low. https://t.co/praIgHGusn

— Mike Tapp MP (@MikeTappTweets) April 30, 2026

The ‘Temu Powell’

Tapp earned the nickname ‘Temu Enoch Powell’ for his enthusiasm for deporting immigrants and falsely linking paedophilia to Muslims. Of course, it would be churlish to suggest that this has anything to do with their skin shade or religion.

Tapp’s vile views no doubt appeal to a certain section of the knuckle-dragging public. Happily, it also disgusts lots of more thinking people and his post got short shrift:

It is clear to anyone who watches the video that the police used unnecessary force. Kicking a suspect repeatedly in the head whilst they lie on the ground is a disgrace. Officers should be sacked immediately.

— Zak (@BoufontZak) April 30, 2026

The suspect had been handcuffed and tasered. Police had no need to keep repeatedly kicking him in the head. Why would any reasonable human being think otherwise?

— NotaBot (@shimla321) April 30, 2026

Genocide supporting pic.twitter.com/mw5O6pr9u3

— just me #corbynwasright (@JCorbynwasright) April 30, 2026

Genocide supporting pic.twitter.com/mw5O6pr9u3

— just me #corbynwasright (@JCorbynwasright) April 30, 2026

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This your new campaign slogan? pic.twitter.com/wFMuy8QKdY

— Synistrall (@synistrall) April 30, 2026

Others pointed out, perfectly accurately, that if anyone has a paedophile tendency, it’s the Israel-supporting Labour right to which Tapp belongs:

I’m disgusted that you’re part of Labour Friends of Israel which has had three paedo cases on its books recently and that you represent a party which expels “the wrong kind” of holocaust descendant by the dozen.

— markmandelson.bsky.social (@NeworpK) April 30, 2026

Still, as a ghoulish friend-of-genocidal-Israel, Tapp may have a bit of a blind spot. Such violence is routinely perpetrated by Israeli police and troops against helpless Palestinians.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

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New York’s left-wing mayor Zohran Mamdani has called on King Charles to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond. The British nabbed the gem from India in the 1840s. They have a bit of habit of that sort of thing, if you haven’t noticed… The diamond currently sits in the Queen Mother’s crown.

Mamdani was asked at a press conference on 20 April what he would say to the king if they met in private. He told reporters:

If I were to ‌speak to the King separately from [the purpose of the event], I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond.

The two later came face-to-face at an event for 9/11 victims. They appeared friendly:

Charles met Zohran Mamdani, and the press started going mad.

They had to be moved back. pic.twitter.com/Ell2pvWxjX

— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) April 29, 2026

Far-right Reform UK wally Zia Yusuf later posted on X that the diamond would stay where it is:

This beautiful diamond is currently on display in the Tower of London

That is where it will stay.

Mamdani may be looting New Yorkers, but he will have no joy in Britain.

Unless he retracts this insult to our King, as Home Secretary I would ban him from entering Britain. https://t.co/gEaDSw839R

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— Zia Yusuf (@ZiaYusufUK) April 29, 2026

Not that either King Charles or Zohran Mamdani are likely to care what the eternally clout-chasing Yusuf thinks – if they know who he is at all…

Yusuf also snarked that Mamdani:

may be looting New Yorkers, but he will have no joy in Britain.

This nonsensical claim appears to be a reference to Mamdani doing public good with public money, like providing free childcare, affordable public transport and forcing parasite landlords to fulfil their obligations.

Though it is understandable why that sort of behaviour might upset Reform UK  – a party which is just several wealthy oil and gas interests hiding in a big trench coat.

As the Good Law Project kindly pointed out on 30 April:

What these extraordinary numbers make clear is that Reform is less a political party and more a very highly paid public-facing lobby group for oil and gas interests https://t.co/Nn6nZncjXb

— Good Law Project (@GoodLawProject) April 30, 2026

Mamdani’s anti-imperialist roots

Mamdani, of course, comes from a lineage of strident anti-colonialists. He makes no secret of the fact. His middle name is ‘Kwame’:

after Kwame Nkrumah, a Pan-African icon and the first democratic president of Ghana.

He was born in Kampala, Uganda. His father, Mahmood Mamdani is:

a well-known academic, who has written extensively on colonialism and empire, was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, in 1946, to Tanzanian-Muslim parents with roots in Gujarat, India.

And his mother is the renowned filmmaker Mira Nair, whose work challenges conventional views on race, gender and class”:

When Mamdani was seven, his family moved to New York City. Zohran has said that his formative years in Africa helped shape his sense of self and identity, as well as his ability to navigate multiple cultures.

Like Mamdani himself:

Both of his parents are pro-Palestinian.

Rooted in left-wing politics, Mamdani is almost the antithesis of King Charles and the Royal family. And one can only imagine that Zia Yusuf’s brazen toadying to a long-dead British empire would raise a few eyebrows in the Mamdani household.

King Charles’ trip, during which he also met US president Donald Trump and, erm, “attended a block party“, ends on 30 April.

Featured image via Wikipedia

By Joe Glenton

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Green party parliamentarians have written publicly to Keir Starmer and foreign secretary Yvette Cooper demanding urgent action from the British government to protect the Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla attacked by Israel.

In their letter, Green MPs Ellie Chowns, Hannah Spencer, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, along with peers Natalie Bennett and Jenny Jones, tell Starmer that the flotilla is under “grave threat” and call on them to act immediately:

Inaction and impunity

The call is the right thing to do. However, the pair’s record of selling out to Israel suggests the Greens should not hold their breath. When previous flotillas have been attacked, Starmer has done pnothing of any substance. In fact, he has often failed to say anything, let alone anything meaningful, about Israel’s piracy against previous flotillas.

Both he and Cooper have collaborated with the Israel lobby to wage war on the civil and human rights of British people. Cooper’s successor as home secretary — clearly under Starmer’s orders — is still fighting to maintain Cooper’s unlawful ban on anti-genocide protest group Palestine Action.

Starmer, Cooper, and all his other war criminal partners should be in the dock, not in high office. Make way for someone who will actually stand up for UK citizens and international law.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

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The assassination of Lebanese reporter Amal Khalil is the most recent and blatant evidence of a broader, more sinister military strategy. Her death brings the toll of journalists killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since October 2023 to 17 (6 in 2023-24, and 11 in 2026, all while they were on duty).

That number exposes a systematic policy of silencing the independent witness. This is not the “fog of war”; it is a clear-eyed effort to achieve narrative totalization. By eliminating those who carry the cameras and the pens, the occupational force seeks to transform the Lebanese front into a dark room where the only permitted light is the one shed by its own propaganda.

The deliberate targeting of reporters like Khalil is a functional necessity for the Israeli occupation. It highlights a parallel battlefield where the ultimate objective is to ensure that, when the dust of southern Lebanon settles, there is no one left to tell the truth about who turned the soil into a graveyard.

The threat was not a warning; it was a promise

In September 2024, Amal Khalil received a text message from an Israeli security number that detailed the precise coordinates of her location, followed by a chilling vow:

We will reach you when the time comes.

On 22 April 2026, even as a fragile ceasefire supposedly held the border in a state of suspended animation, that time arrived while documenting the aftermath of strikes in the southern village of Al-Tiri.

Khalil and photojournalist Zeinab Faraj were forced to seek shelter in a nearby building after an Israeli drone strike incinerated a civilian vehicle just meters ahead of them. Minutes later, the building itself was directly targeted in what investigators describe as a classic “double-tap” strike.

As Khalil lay trapped beneath the debris, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) systematically obstructed rescue efforts. For seven hours, emergency crews were repelled by stun grenades and direct gunfire, ensuring that by the time the Red Cross and Civil Defense reached the site, Khalil, a woman who had spent two decades documenting the endurance of the South, was deliberately killed.  

Israeli excuses are obsolete

The standard defense offered by the Israeli military apparatus following the killing of a journalist is a practiced script of “operational necessity” or “unintended collateral damage.” However, in the high-tech theater of Southern Lebanon, the technical reality renders these excuses obsolete.

When a military prides itself on “surgical strikes” and the use of Artificial Intelligence to identify targets, the persistent hitting of individuals wearing ballistic vests emblazoned with “PRESS” ceases to be a technical failure. It becomes a statement of intent.

But why? Are they plain blood-thirsty psychopaths willing to kill all forms of life wherever they roam? Or is there another motive? 

To argue that a drone operator capable of identifying a specific individual in a crowded apartment block cannot distinguish a camera tripod from a rocket launcher is a logical fallacy. Instead, the precision of these strikes suggests that the journalists are not being hit despite their identity, but precisely because of it. By targeting the lens, the occupational force is attempting to blind the global audience to the ground reality of its military conduct.

Creating an ‘information vacuum’

Beyond the immediate tactical goal of removing individual witnesses, the systematic targeting of the press serves a broader geopolitical function: the creation of an ‘information vacuum’.

In this void, the complexities of the Lebanese reality are replaced by a sanitized, state-monitored broadcast. This is not merely about hiding crimes; it is about the wholesale manufacturing of an occupation where the only voice permitted to exist is that of the aggressor – in this case: Israel.

By eliminating reporters who specialize in social and human-interest stories, those who document the life, memory, and heritage of South Lebanon, as well the war crimes conducted by the Israeli factions operating there, the occupation forces strip the conflict of its human face. Without the work of journalists like Amal Khalil, the village of Al-Tiri is no longer a place of homes and history; it is reduced to a “launch site” or a “strategic coordinate” on a digitized military map. This dehumanization is a prerequisite for total war, allowing the international community to view the destruction of Lebanese society as a purely technical or military necessity.

Post-mortem character assassination

A recurring pillar of this strategy is the post-mortem character assassination. When evidence of a targeted strike becomes undeniable, the Israeli military apparatus shifts to a secondary battlefield: delegitimization.

In addition to that and terms of warfare, the “winner” is often not the one with the most tanks, but the one who tells the story first and loudest. This is similar to what Nazi Germany’s minister of propaganda Joseph Goebbels worked on during WWII. 

Moreover, by killing independent witnesses and obstructing rescue efforts, the occupational force ensures that the evidence is incinerated; meaning that strikes like the one that trapped Khalil for seven hours ensure that, by the time investigators or other reporters arrive, the scene has been altered or the window of “live” truth has closed.

Narrative frames are restricted through murder

With local journalists killed or deterred, global news agencies are forced to rely on “official briefings” or footage released by the military itself. This allows the occupational force to frame every civilian casualty as “unverified”, while their own tactical claims are broadcast as objective fact.

This is something we witness daily in Lebanon when Israeli spokespersons claim that “the military is conducting widespread airstrikes on Hezbollah’s military infrastructure”. In reality– and as I personally saw on the ground when visiting the targeted towns – they were civilian houses, mosques, shops, and residential buildings, like the airstrike that killed an 85-year-old man, his wife, his daughter-in-law, and his two grandchildren in Jibchit (southern Lebanon) on the night of the 28th of April.

Impunity is a tool

The persistence of these attacks, totaling at least 17 media workers in Lebanon by April 2026, reveals that impunity is not a side effect, but a tool.

By demonstrating that they can kill journalists with high-precision drones during a ceasefire and face zero legal consequences, the Israeli military sends a message of absolute deterrence. They are not just silencing the individuals they kill; they are psychologically besieging every reporter who considers picking up a camera in the South.

Nevertheless, as a journalist on the ground, the battle for Lebanon is not just over land or rivers; it is a battle for the right to exist in the global consciousness. And as long as there is a single witness left standing, the occupational narrative will never be more than a well-funded lie.

Featured image via the Canary

By Mohamad Kleit

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When Reform UK launched, the party styled itself as an alternative to the Tories and Labour. You could see why this would be popular with working class voters, because under the Tory-Labour duopoly many of them have only gotten poorer and poorer.

However, at some point along the way, Reform forgot who it wants to appeal to. This is why Reform’s Scottish leader was bragging about how many houses and boats he has in a televised debate:

I hadn't thought of a yacht tax before now, but it seems Lord Offord's fleet would raise enough to plug that hole in Scotland's finances. https://t.co/MBdjhw91iK

— Ross Greer (@Ross_Greer) April 28, 2026

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Reform’s man in Scotland

Of course, it’s unsurprising that lord Malcolm Offord would act and sound like a Tory. As we reported, he’s the former Tory donor Boris Johnson elevated with a peerage:

Malcolm Ian Offord is also known as ‘baron Offord of Garvel’, which is a fun thing to say out loud because it sounds like you’re speaking with a mouth full of toffee. As noted above, Offord isn’t just a peer; he’s also a millionaire and an ex-Tory donor.

Fair play to Reform for convincing anyone they represent the British working class, because it can’t be easy to pull that off when your party is waist deep in wealthy donors.

In the clip at the top, Offal of Garble is debating the Scottish Greens’ Ross Greer. Here’s what the lord had to say:

I went to London 40 years ago with £2,000 in debt. And full of ambition, I worked hard and I was successful. Today, I own six houses, five cars, and six boats. And in a 40-year business career, I’ve employed hundreds of thousands of people and paid £45m in tax. I don’t say that to boast. I ask you this question. Mr Greer, in your Scotland… Do you want more people like me or fewer people like me?

When he says ‘more people like him,’ how many more is he talking about?

10?

100?

1,000?

Because there are 5.5 million people in Scotland, and no one is deluded enough to think every one of them could own six houses. This is the problem — if the wealthy are only ever going to be an ultra-minority, why should the majority of voters care?

The ultra-minority of rich people we’re talking about have obscene levels of power, influence, and spending power, allowing them to create a situation in which they get richer and richer on our hard work. They achieve this by buying the services and properties we rent back from them; they achieve it by buying the politicians we need to represent us; they achieve it by owning the land we need to live on.

What Offord is proposing would benefit no one besides him and the six guys he plays golf with.

Fewer, thanks

Greer wasted no time in responding, hitting back:

Fewer people like you. I’m glad you finally admitted how many homes that you have, Lord Offord. I think it’s worth at this point in the debate pointing out that there are three times as many holiday homes and empty properties in this country as there are homeless children.

You don’t need six homes. You don’t even need two homes. Everybody just needs a home to live in.

Surely, if we’re to tackle the housing crisis, the super-rich, elite individuals like you should be giving up some of those homes so that people who desperately need a roof over their head actually have somewhere to live.

Absolutely right.

Featured image via the Canary

By Willem Moore

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Since taking power, Keir Starmer’s Labour government has gone to war with our ability to protest peacefully. Now, home secretary Shabana Mahmood is threatening a fresh clampdown following a knife attack in which Jewish residents of Golders Green were targeted:

"I have already changed the law and I won't hesitate to do so again"

The home secretary in response to being asked if she'll [further] restrict our right to march in support of Palestinians and against Israels genocide & our govts complicity in it pic.twitter.com/ZgHwYWYcC5

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) April 30, 2026

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For clarity’s sake, this attack did not take place in the middle of or even on the edge of a protest.

Clampdown

On Wednesday 29 April, a man with a knife attacked random Jewish people in Golders Green. In response, the cynical figures who want you to believe that opposing Israel’s genocide is ‘antisemitism’ sought to blame pro-Palestinian activists.

In the clip at the top, the BBC put the following to Mahmood:

I want to put to you the comments of Jonathan Hall, who’s the former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation. And this is in relation to marches specifically, which have been talked about a lot and are again now. And he said it was currently impossible for such marches not to incubate antisemitism. He said, you might say this, the current situation is the biggest national emergency since Covid-19.

To give you an idea of who Jonathan Hall is:

Sure, but this guy also wants to crack down on “extreme” environmentalism, Scottish nationalism, presenting masculinity as toxic and “trying to make white people ashamed”, which suggests he isn’t a particularly rational thinker. https://t.co/JFDeGySK3a pic.twitter.com/zfPAh8xSZE

— Flying_Rodent (@flying_rodent) April 30, 2026

"So you'd stop the pro Palestine, anti-Israel marches in London every week?"

Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation: "I think the govt needs to consider that"

Supporting Palestinians & opposing genocide & apartheid is not antisemitic pic.twitter.com/blsVJUFIYY

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) April 30, 2026

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Addressing Mahmood, the BBC asked:

Do you agree with [Hall] about marches? What are you going to do about it? And is this a national emergency?

The home secretary responded:

Well, firstly, let me say that actually yesterday the Crime and Policing Bill became an act of Parliament. So we have now passed laws that do respond to the unique pressures of repeat protests. I made those announcements after the attack on Heaton Park Synagogue last year. We have now passed those laws that will give the police greater powers to deal with the cumulative impact of repeat protests and the unique pressure that they place upon communities.

You’ll note she isn’t saying ‘violent protests’ — she’s saying ‘repeat protests’. That’s because these protests weren’t violent.

There was good reason for these protests to repeat, and that was because the UK continued to support Israel despite its genocidal and expansionist actions. The point of protest is not simply to register displeasure; the point is to enact change.

In the face of these repeat protests, the government had three options:

1. Stop backing a genocidal rogue state.
2. Accept that people will continue to protest them.
3. Clampdown on democracy.

This Labour government chose the third option.

“I won’t hesitate”

Later in the interview, Mahmood said:

I have recognised already that I think our public authorities order legislation insofar as it relates to protests and hate crime incidents at protests is potentially out of date and that legal framework needs a fresh look. Lord Ken Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, has been looking at that for me.

We’re not sure if Macdonald will agree with Mahmood, given that he also once said this:

Ken MacDonald former director of public prosecutions on Palestine Action.

“I always thought it was a good rule of thumb for the government that you shouldn’t bring in laws – especially terrorism laws – that are likely to result in the arrests of multiple elderly vicars” pic.twitter.com/vprGA6AmfE

— Wokerati Marty (@WokeratiMarty) August 21, 2025

Mahmood finished:

He will have his report available later in May and I will respond. I have already changed the law and I won’t hesitate to do so again.

And that’s the situation.

Brits must tolerate unlimited support for genocide and expansionism, and if they don’t the law will be changed to ensure compliance.

Wipeout

As we all know, Labour are about to get wiped out in the local elections:

Projected net changes for local elections:

Ref +1,437
Grn +926
Lib +327
Con -627
Lab -1,738

Median estimate via @Moreincommon_, April '26 pic.twitter.com/OFxPMxmoUV

— Stats for Lefties (@LeftieStats) April 21, 2026

Rightly or not, people will use local and by-elections as an opportunity to show their displeasure with the government. With authoritarian nightmares like Mahmood at the reins of power, there is much for people to find displeasure with.

Featured image via the Canary

By Willem Moore

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Trade union Unite is calling on Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) health minister Mike Nesbitt to intervene in the growing childminding crisis in Northern Ireland.

The news comes after a Unite survey found that an eye-watering 95% of registered childminders said their businesses were becoming non-viable due to burdensome tax changes.

As such, the union is calling on Nesbitt to ensure the publication of the Department of Health’s consultation on minimal standards in childminding.

‘Devastating impact on working households’

Stormont’s Health Department launched its consultation on 24 March 2025, before closing it on 20 June of the same year. A callout explained that it was seeking to gather feedback on “two key areas of childcare regulation,” noting that:

The first key area is in relation to vetting — specifically the requirement for all prospective childcare workers to provide a health assessment, countersigned by their GPs, in advance of taking up employment. The second key area concerns the adult:child ratios set out in the Minimum Standards for Childminding and Day Care for Children under 12.

The self-employed registered childminders (RCMs) argue that their incomes have been restricted by Northern Ireland’s low childcare ratios. Currently, one childminder can care for up to six  children under 12. However, only three of these can be under the age of 5, and only one under the age of 1.

For comparison, the Scottish system allows a childminder to care for eight children under the age of 16. Of these, six can be under 12, and three can be under primary school age. Meanwhile, in Wales, a single childminder can watch over ten children up to 12 years of age, including six under-8’s and three under-5’s.

However, in spite of consultation’s conclusion almost a year ago, the Health Department has failed to publish the findings. Unite’s regional women’s and equalities officer, Collette O’Hagan, stated that:

The department of health consulted on proposals to raise childminding ratios in Northern Ireland last June. The results of that consultation have never been published. Registered childminders deserve to know where they stand.

If this sector continues to shrink, it will have a devastating impact on working households. It is already difficult and costly to get a childcare place. Stormont needs to recognise the scale of the crisis in the childminding sector and act.

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70% of childminders considering quitting

Unite represents most of Northern Ireland’s RCMs. As such, it recently sent out a survey on the current health of the profession, receiving 306 replies.

Shockingly, the union found that:

• 53% of the RCMs said the were ‘somewhat unlikely’ or ‘unlikely’ to remain in childminding for the coming two years. Worse still, 17% answered ‘very unlikely’ to the same question.
• 17 per cent said they were very unlikely and 53 per cent said they were either ‘unlikely’ or ‘somewhat unlikely’ to remain in the childminding profession over the next two years.
• 98% of the RCMs stated that recent tax changes would have a significant negative impact on their services.
• 95% were currently reconsidering the continuing viability of their business.

Those recent tax changes were part of the wider ‘Making Tax Digital’ transition. The switch removed a crucial 10% ‘wear and tear’ allowance for carers, and added significant administrative responsibilities

This being the case, Northern Ireland is in clear danger of losing up two 70 percent of its childminders in the near future. This could have a further knock-on effect for working parents, who could suddenly find themselves without childcare options.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham, said:

The results of this survey are stark. Childminders in Northern Ireland are being squeezed to breaking point. The future of the profession is in doubt – raising concerns for workers with dependent children. Stormont needs to act now to protect childminders.

Featured image via Unsplash

By Alex/Rose Cocker

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