Well, well, well. It looks like Zarah Sultana has forced an apology out of celebrity bigmouth Katie Hopkins:

Please retweet. https://t.co/CMpwjVpJhn

— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) May 13, 2026

Didn’t Hopkins once say she would never apologise for anything?

How the whitey has fallen

Hopkins apology reads in full:

On behalf of their client, Zara Sultana, Bindmans Media and Information Law Practise Group requires that I publish the following statement on X, and that such statement must be clearly visible and pinned to my profile for a continuous period of no less than 24 hours:

“On 30 March 2026, I published a post on my X account addressed to Zarah Sultana in which I stated that she encourages and incites violence and is friends with terrorists.

Those statements are false. I was wrong and offer my sincere apologies to Ms Sultana for the harm and distress caused to her.”

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It is my very great pleasure to do this, and I reiterate my sincere and repeated offer to meet with Miss Zara Sultana in person to resolve our differences.

Why did Hopkins accuse of Sultana of being “friends with terrorists”? Because Sultana is a British Muslim and supported this country’s political prisoners, whereas Hopkins has repeatedly expressed white-supremacist beliefs, including:

• Referring to refugees and migrants as “cockroaches”;
• Promoting the ‘white genocide’ conspiracy;
• Calling for a “final solution” to the UK’s Muslim population (mirroring Hitler’s ‘final solution’ to Germany’s Jewish population);
• Working with other white supremacists.

Apologetics

As noted, this is what Hopkins said in the past:

I have never apologised for anything I’ve said. I find it very disappointing when people apologise. You should have the positive moral attitude to stand by what you say,

We’d suggest Hopkins must be very disappointed in herself, but let’s face it, she probably doesn’t give a shit. This Z-list grifter will say and do anything to get attention, and finally that’s caught up with her.

Well done, Zarah Sultana, for not taking any shit from this pathetic racist.

Featured image via Si Chun Lam (Wikimedia)

By Willem Moore

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Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly and Stanley Tucci as Nigel | Image by: FlixPix / Alamy

3 min read11 min

Capturing an industry reshaped by AI and social media, I was wrong to doubt the wisdom of making a sequel – this love letter to fashion is as compelling as ever

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I was nine when the first The Devil Wears Prada film came out and – having spent most of my teenage years dreaming of and working towards a place in the fashion industry – to this day one of the first things people outside fashion ask me is: “Is it really like The Devil Wears Prada?” And honestly, while it’s an early 2000s film made for entertainment, parts of it do show the industry in a very real light. That real light being that the fashion industry is very tough yet brilliant.

It’s an industry that encapsulates you. You have to not just work in it but live it – because its consumers, readers and followers do. The people I worked alongside are some of the most resilient, commercially minded and driven people I know, and in fashion there is no path to success without teamwork, leaning on others’ talents and hard work to create an end product.

I developed a level of resilience working in fashion that I need every single day in Westminster. The first film conveyed that – yes, as an exaggerated, watchable version – but the speed at which you need to make decisions, the competitiveness and the absolute love of the art you are creating: that is real.

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Almost two decades have passed since that first film. By the time I went to study fashion, technology was already profoundly changing the industry. When I graduated during Covid, the world of the runway and the head office felt distant and uncertain. So, when I heard a sequel was coming, I was sceptical. Could it capture a fashion industry reshaped by social media, one where print media is no longer the primary source of fashion news, where AI informs buying decisions and Gen Z dictates the trends?

Andy has a love story in the film. But she didn’t need one

I am glad to say I was wrong to doubt it. The second film is honest about the changes the industry has faced rather than retreating into the romanticised version of fashion that exists in the public’s imagination. 

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It shows fashion as it is today and, crucially, it shows that fashion is quick to adapt. The world has changed, but the passion has not. The film carries a raw affection for the industry – an affection and protectiveness I recognise, and that I bring with me when I advocate for it in Parliament.

Andy has a love story in the film, but she didn’t need one. The real love story is the relationships you build when you are working with people to create something you love, and hoping others will love it too. That is what keeps people in this industry through the hard years. That is what the sequel chooses to celebrate.

The clothes are beautiful. The characters are as compelling now as they were then. But what makes this film worth your time is that it shows the industry the way those of us inside it have always known it: demanding, commercial, creative and brilliant. The Devil Wears Prada 2 is, more than anything, a love letter to fashion. And it’s one the industry deserves.

Rosie Wrighting is Labour MP for Kettering

The Devil Wears Prada 2

Directed by: David Frankel

Venue: General cinema release

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Human rights group Euro-Med Monitor has called Israel’s bluff on its genocide denialism. The murderous apartheid colony is again lashing out and calling the whole world liars for condemning its crimes. Euro-Med kept it simple and to the point: “if everyone’s lying, open Gaza”:

Israel, if everyone is lying, open Gaza.

If the ICC, the UN, international human rights organisations, Israeli rights groups, journalists, doctors, humanitarian workers, aid agencies, witnesses, and survivors are all lying, then open Gaza.

Let independent investigators,… pic.twitter.com/Uk8m1Pt8vL

— Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) May 12, 2026

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‘Every accusation is a confession’

Israel refuses to allow foreign journalists into Gaza, except for a few tame, ’embedded’ pro-Israel hacks who see and report what Israel wants. The colonisers have murdered hundreds of journalists – along with their families – for reporting on its crimes. It does the same in Lebanon. It attacks everyone who calls the genocidal spade a spade. None of that would be necessary if the accusations were lies.

No, the only lies are those Israel tells in its “every accusation is a confession” mode. Brutal murders, weaponised rape, torture, targeting of innocents. None of those are the acts of Palestinians or their supporters. All of them are documented atrocities of the apartheid occupation.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

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31 March 2026 Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester outside Downing Street, London (Alamy)

4 min read26 min

Senior members of the influential Tribune group of MPs will push Labour’s ruling body to allow for Andy Burnham’s inclusion in a leadership race if one is triggered imminently, PoliticsHome understands.

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Health Secretary Wes Streeting has reportedly told allies that he is preparing to resign from government and announce his leadership challenge on Thursday.

As a mayor and not an MP, Burnham would not be eligible to participate in a leadership race held so quickly. But PoliticsHome understands that senior soft left figures would nonetheless stick with their priority of allowing Burnham to run, instead of turning to Angela Rayner as their candidate.

For it to unfold in this way, a sitting Labour MP would have to stand down, triggering a by-election, then Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) would have to allow Burnham to seek selection as the parliamentary candidate, and he would have to win the seat – all before MP nominations opened.

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“The NEC decides the timetable so Wes triggering doesn’t stop Andy contesting. It would be outrageous for them to try and block the most popular politician in the country from standing,” a senior Burnham-backing Labour MP said.

Rayner was forced to resign as deputy prime minister last year over a tax scandal, and the HMRC investigation into her unpaid stamp duty has still not concluded, to the knowledge of reporters. Her favourability as a leadership contender has declined dramatically over recent months.

“I don’t think there are many Ange fans around now,” one Labour MP concluded.

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With all 11 of Labour’s affiliated trade unions signing a joint statement that agreed Keir Starmer would “not lead Labour into the next election” and that backed a leadership election “at some stage”, some Burnham supporters hope the NEC would be more likely to allow Burnham to stand for Parliament.

The mayor was blocked in January from running as the Labour candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election, after a core group NEC officers refused to give him permission to stand.

A government source told PoliticsHome: “There has been a noticeable shift in the attitudes of the officers of the NEC towards Andy. There is no complacency – the work has been done – but the current political situation has fundamentally changed since January.”

A well-placed source has told PoliticsHome that Ellie Reeves, the solicitor general and an NEC officer, was in favour last time of the decision going to a meeting of the full NEC – a body of almost 40 members, rather than the smaller officers group of 10.

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Burnham supporters hope the full NEC would be more supportive of accommodating his inclusion in any Labour leadership contest.

“The pressure to take this out of officers and to full NEC would be quite significant now, and that’s where I could see it going the other way,” said one NEC member, who does not plan to back Burnham.

Allies of Burnham have also been floating the acronym ABC – “Andy By Conference” – as a potential timetable. This would be too slow for many Labour MPs who want a race concluded as quickly as possible, however.

Burnham supporters have claimed repeatedly that he has found a winnable seat and is preparing to run for Parliament.

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MPs in the North West who have denied they are willing to step aside for Burnham include Afzal Khan in Manchester Rusholme; Peter Dowd in Bootle; Marie Rimmer in St Helens; Dan Carden in Liverpool Walton; and Paula Barker in Liverpool Wavertree.

One soft left MP told PoliticsHome: “Regardless of whether Keir stays or goes right now, I think the case for Andy to be allowed to return is now undeniable.”

Another MP from the Tribune group said: “It would be a very odd scenario holding a by-election in these circumstances but I feel momentum is with him.”

Almost 100 Labour MPs have now called on the Prime Minister to set out a timetable for his departure after last week’s local election results, with four ministers resigning.

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Rupert Lowe is the MP who left Reform UK following several run-ins with Nigel Farage. Lowe has since formed his own party, and because he doesn’t have much in the way of imagination, his party is called ‘Restore Britain’. The party sells itself as a further-right alternative to the already-far-right Reform. In aid of this, Lowe has come out to defend the foreign hate speakers that Britain has now banned from attending Tommy Robinson’s racism festival:

Rupert Lowe suddenly likes ‘foreigners’ https://t.co/FQ7QZNdqmx

— Curtis Daly (@CurtisDaly_) May 12, 2026

How Lowe can he go?

The “foreign commentators” in question are those who were set to attend Tommy Robinson’s ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally, which takes place on 16 May.

Lowe’s message reads in full:

This Government is entirely wrong to ban foreign commentators from speaking at Robinson’s rally on Saturday

I will be formally challenging the Home Office, again, on the decision to prevent these individuals from entering.

I won’t be there myself, but many patriots will be and they deserve to hear lawful views in order to decide for themselves if they agree or not.

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That is free speech.

Islamist extremists are personally welcomed by the Prime Minister, yet this group is banned.

It stinks.

Barrister Jane Heybroek responded to Lowe’s post with the following:

“lawful views” being the operative term.
Is incitement to racial hatred lawful?

— CrémantCommunarde (@0Calamity) May 12, 2026

So, are these people inciting racial hatred?

In our opinion, there’s an incredibly straightforward argument that: yes, they are.

Hate mongers

On 12 May, Rose Cocker reported the following for the Canary:

During a speech on 11 May, Keir Starmer (PM-for-now) boasted about blocking “far right agitators” from entering the country. Labour has in fact blocked the visas of seven individuals who were planning to attend ‘Unite the Kingdom,’ a far-right rally happening on 16 May. Among them are two prominent MAGA figures.

Cocker suggested that Starmer only made this move because his party lost so many voters to the left-wing Green Party in the local elections. Regardless, it was the right move given the actions of these people.

Speaking on the banned Joey Mannarino, Cocker wrote:

At a Britain First ‘March for Remigration’ in 2025, Mannario gave a rambling speech in front of a backdrop image of himself and Donald Trump. When he later tweeted a recording, he urged viewers to:

“deport the parasites who are raping their way through America, Europe and the United Kingdom.”

For those who don’t know, ‘remigration‘ is the plan to deport non-white people from European countries, regardless of whether or not they were born here.

Starmer also banned Valentina Gomez, who is one of the most virulent Islamophobes in American politics:

The Home Office and Shabana Mahmood need to be consistent.

They revoked Kanye West’s visa. Why not revoke Valentina Gomez’s for her bigotry? pic.twitter.com/SKe5mAtIwE

— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) April 9, 2026

Gomez spoke at last year’s rally, as can be seen here:

England, see you SOON

May 16th.

England will be ENGLISH again. pic.twitter.com/JvCgXQilr0

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— Valentina Gomez (@ValentinaForUSA) April 17, 2026

These people want a civil war

One of the speakers at the last Unite the Kingdom rally was the Dutch racist Eva Vlaardingerbroek. Vlaardingerbroek was blocked from entering the UK earlier this year, as we reported on 15 January:

Vlaardingerbroek is part of Generation Remigration, which is a group that advocates for – you guessed it – ‘remigration’.

Additionally:

Remigration is built on the idea that people of different ethnicities cannot live peacefully together. This is quite obviously what you would describe as ‘racist’. In years gone by, people on the far right would try to provide some sort of cover to claim ‘we’re not racist‘. Clearly, there is no such cover here.

The fact that people are happy to openly support remigration shows that racists are once more back out in the open. People with more than two brain cells, however, understand what remigration would look like in practice.

According to the last Census, the number of people who aren’t ‘white’ is over 10 million – many of whom were born here. Indeed, many may be second, third, or fourth generation. How many of those people would oppose being deported? How many white people do you think would join them? Going off the global George Floyd protests, we can assume ‘a shit tonne’.

What do you call a situation in which one section of the country goes to war with the other?

Public good

The government has blocked all these speakers because their presence isn’t “conducive to the public good”. Once you understand what remigration is, it’s hard to deny that fact.

Remember we said that Joey Mannarino spoke at a Britain First remigration rally? Well, this is Britain First’s leader:

Far right extremist Paul Golding exposed in a secret recording:

"I want this country to become a shithole. I want this country to descend into a fucking nightmare"

They don't care about the country. They thrive off discord. pic.twitter.com/N0Sb9yvq33

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— smile2jannah (@smile2jannah) April 12, 2026

Rupert Lowe is a hair’s width away from this guy, and that’s concerning, because he’s an actual MP.

Featured image via The Canary

By Willem Moore

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In a letter leaked to the Guardian, the General Secretaries of 11 Labour-affiliated unions are putting their case to PM Keir Starmer today, saying:

It’s clear that the prime minister will not lead Labour into the next election, and at some stage a plan will have to be put in place for the election of a new Leader.

Adding that the Labour Party:

cannot continue on its current path.

Long-Labour allies GMB, Unite and Unison are among the rebelling unions. This damning letter follows resounding calls from over 80 Labour MPs, and the British public generally, for Starmer to step down

Increasing that pressure, union leaders and a number of socialist Labour MPs have also reportedly formed a new pressure group called Socialism26. As a result, despite the right-wing Wes Streeting eyeing up the leadership, it appears that Labour MPs and affiliates increasingly recognise that abandoning progressive, socialist policies has driven many of the Labour Party’s problems since the election of the UK prime minister.

Well, it took them long enough – but at least they’re standing up now.

EXCL: Keir Starmer will not lead his party into the next general election, Labour-supporting unions have predicted, in an intervention that threatens to further destabilise PM after damaging few days.

The 11 Labour-affiliated unions – including Unite, Unison and GMB – are…

— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) May 13, 2026

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Unions: “Govern in the interests of workers”

The statement penned by the unions is said to be announced later today, but the Guardian were able to obtain a leaked copy in advance.

In the letter, the general secretaries write:

Labour’s affiliated unions have been clear that Labour cannot continue on its current path.

Whilst we recognise progress has been made, such as aspects of the Employment Rights Act and the increase in the minimum wage, the results at the election last week were devastating.

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Labour is not doing enough to deliver the change that working people voted for at the general election. Our focus is on the fundamental change of direction on economic policy and political strategy that unions have been clear is needed, and not on the personalities and unfolding political drama in Westminster.

It’s clear that the prime minister will not lead Labour into the next election, and at some stage a plan will have to be put in place for the election of a new Leader.

This is a point where the future of the party we founded will be debated and determined – and we are working closely as unions to shape a shared vision on policy, political strategy and economic policy that will reorient Labour back to working people, so Labour do what it was elected to do: govern in the interests of workers.

Keir Starmer is facing an increasingly destabilised leadership as a rebellion grows among long-quiet Labour MPs, many of whom now fear for their own positions after the abysmal – though hardly unexpected – performance at the recent local elections. In a desperate attempt to save face with the electorate, MPs are increasingly distancing themselves from Starmer, leaving the prime minister’s days in power looking clearly numbered.

Moreover, some specific demands are making their way through from the newly formed Socialism26 initiative group, making clear the areas in which they insist the Labour Party must do better:

NEW: A group of Labour MPs and general secretaries of Labour-affiliated trade unions are launching a new political initiative called Socialism26

They have the following immediate demands:
– New Deal for Working People in full
– Recognise the genocide in Gaza, support rebuilding…

— Sienna Rodgers (@siennamarla) May 12, 2026

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Socialism26: “Recognise the genocide in Gaza… Introduce sanctions”

The ‘immediate demands’ of this mix of socialists who still believe the Labour Party have a chance of regaining trust with the public are:

– New Deal for Working People in full
– Recognise the genocide in Gaza, support rebuilding efforts, introduce sanctions
– WASPI compensation
– Drop jury trials policy, lift restrictions on the right to protest, stop changes to indefinite leave to remain
– Measures to cut energy bills

It must be said – these demands do indeed expose exactly why Labour drove away its traditional voter base and destroyed the trust and respect the British public once had for the party. Nevertheless, it’s been decades since we’ve had a Labour administration that wasn’t moving towards the right, suggesting it will be a lot harder to get this (former) party of the working class to actually remember where its priorities, and loyalties, should actually lie.

The Guardian have reported that the group has been founded, and backed, by the following:

The founders are:
Unison’s Andrea Egan
FBU’s Steve Wright
CWU’s Dave Ward
TSSA’s Maryam Eslamdoust
+
Neil Duncan-Jordan
Chris Hinchliff
Cat Eccles
Terry Jermy
Peter Lamb
Brian Leishman
Simon Opher
Richard Quigley
Lee Barron
Lorraine Beavers
Chris Bloore
Steve Witherden

Also backed by lots of Socialist Campaign Group MPs

Will right-wing Labour listen?

The Labour right have their claws deep into the party infrastructure. Thanks to persistent purges of socialist anti-Zionists, the party is beholden to the Zionist state of Israel. Conducting a genocide hasn’t swayed their allegiances, so it is hard to see them suddenly take heed of the repeated demands from the left of Labour.

After all, they’ve taken a huge sum in donations from pro-Israel groups and, whilst forgetting it is the British public who pay their lofty and privileged salaries, they have chosen to guide their policies to suit right-wing, hostile interests.

Moreover, we have already written about the more than 100 MPs in the Tribune Group who are likewise pressuring Labour to shift leftward with their own set of demands. However, the emergence of two separate socialist groups issuing their own demands reinforces the perception that socialists remain disorganised, as they scramble to retain influence within a party machine that continues to favour right-wing politics.

Therefore, whilst this letter is a welcome sight and a refreshing reminder that socialism is not completely extinct in Labour, it is hard to imagine it would lead to any real, genuine socialist change.

When people widely accept and recognise that socialist policy offers the only real way to heal the harms of neo-liberal capitalism, we cannot afford to waste time on a hoodwinking political elite.

Featured image via the Canary

By Maddison Wheeldon

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Since the local elections, the key political question in the UK has been, ‘When will the Labour leader go?’. Notably, that’s when, not if, because let’s face it, the writing has been on the wall for Keir Starmer for some time now.

While Labour has obsessed over itself, the Green Party has been working to get things done. In aid of this, the Green’s new mayors and MP Carla Denyer have put the following to the government:

Our mayoral, council and Senedd campaigns were rooted in fighting to end the housing affordability crisis, and voters have spoken. We need action to end rip-off rents now.

So newly elected Green Mayors @ZoeGarbett and @LiamShrivastava alongside Carla Denyer MP have written to… pic.twitter.com/B7l9WF7YVu

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— The Green Party (@TheGreenParty) May 12, 2026

Labour, ‘This scandal has to end’

The above letter is addressed to Steve Reed. Although Reed is the housing minister, you may be more familiar with his campaign to smear Green Party activists and politicians.

In their letter, they ask Reed to actually get on with his job and deliver for ordinary renters. It reads (emphasis added):

We are writing to you as newly elected Green Mayors, alongside Carla Denyer MP and on behalf of every newly elected and sitting Green Councillor, to request that you take urgent action to end rip-off rents, and include a Rent Controls Bill in the King’s Speech this week.

Spiralling rents are ripping the heart out of our communities. People are being forced to cut back on essentials just to afford a roof over their heads. Young people are being priced out of the areas they grew up in, with schools in London closing as families are pushed out of the city. Teachers, nurses and careworkers cannot afford to live in the boroughs they work in. Renters across the UK now pay on average a third of their wages on rent, the highest level on record.

But whilst renters get poorer, wealth is being funnelled straight into landlords’ pockets. As you will be aware, the government is set to transfer £70 billion to private landlords through housing support between 2024-28. That is six times the amount of money that was spent on affordable homes over the past five years. Housing has become a way to make money, rather than a universal right.

This scandal has to end. If we had frozen rents four years ago, households in Britain would now be saving over £3,300 per year on average.

It’s time to get serious

The letter continues:

The Green Party’s success last week shows that the country is desperate for an urgent and transformative programme to end rip-off Britain, and are angry that your government has failed to deliver. Our mayoral, council and Senedd campaigns were rooted in fighting to end the housing affordability crisis, and voters have spoken.

Keir Starmer has said that a break with the status quo is needed. The King’s Speech is your opportunity to do this by getting behind the Green Party’s longstanding demands for crucial measures to make life affordable for all, starting with rent controls. With food and energy costs set to sky-rocket as a result of the illegal war on Iran, it has never been more critical.

If your government is in any way serious about improving the lives of the 11 million private renters in England, you must commit to introducing rent controls now.

Keir Starmer himself said the status quo cannot stand in his make-or-break speech on Monday, but at this point, we’ve heard it all before.

Starmer in 2020: "We cannot go back to business as usual after this"

Starmer now: ".. every single time in the past we've simply tried to get back to a status quo that didn't work, we can't do the same again"

The same line, 6 years apart. He wants to fool us twice. https://t.co/aieAKqyj4B pic.twitter.com/MsRDJfakyS

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) May 11, 2026

Is change on the horizon?

In the lead up to the local elections, Labour made it clear that the party wouldn’t introduce rent controls. The question is whether the local elections have taught Starmer’s government anything, or whether status quo policies remain the politics of choice.

Featured image via the Canary

By Willem Moore

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The Pentagon has publicised the location of a secretive nuclear submarine in a move that can be read as an act of strategic signalling to Iran.

The Ohio-class vessel turned up in Gibraltar, a British colonial possession in the Mediterranean.

US Fleet Forces Command published an image of the unnamed vessel in port on 12 May with the caption:

The port visit demonstrates U.S. capability, flexibility, and continuing commitment to its NATO allies. Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines are undetectable launch platforms for submarine-launched ballistic missiles, providing the U.S. with its most survivable leg of the nuclear triad.

And Navy Lookout posted images of the submarine being towed by tugboats.

US Ohio-class submarine arrived in Gibraltar yesterday, escorted by @RNGibSqn HMS Dagger.

Via @dparody / Ryan Ocana pic.twitter.com/C9nhKEtKBB

— Navy Lookout (@NavyLookout) May 11, 2026

UK outlet, Defence Journal, wrote:

The visit is notable for the fact that it was publicly announced at all as the locations of U.S. nuclear-armed submarines are among the most closely guarded secrets in the American military, and public disclosure of a ballistic missile submarine’s whereabouts is exceptionally rare.

Political website, the Hill, pointed out that the reveal came at a crunch point in the Pakistan-brokered US-Iranian peace deal — “a day after President Trump rejected the latest peace proposal from Iran”.

Its reporter added:

The Pentagon did not disclose the name of the submarine, one of the U.S. military’s most secretive weapons. In general, the locations of U.S. nuclear-armed submarines are highly classified.

Pentagon’s disclosure comes amid crunch talks

The unnamed boat is part of a fleet of Ohio-class vessels with a range of capability, the Hill reported.

The Ohio class is made up of 14 ballistic missiles and four guided missile submarines. The submarines are able to carry Trident II ballistic missiles and can conduct extended deterrence patrols. The guided missile submarines can have more than 150 Tomahawk missiles on board.

Keir Starmer has said he has only involved the UK in defensive measures in the Iran war. Iran has derided that claim and Starmer’s own defence minister has contradicted it too.

The UK announced destroyer HMS Dragon was deployed to help open up the Strait of Hormuz on 11 May. Afterwards, the UK military also announced that a new drone system would be deployed.

A press release said the military package would include:

Advanced autonomous mine hunting equipment, including capabilities to detect and defeat mines.

Additionally:

The Royal Navy’s modular ‘Beehive’ system which can deliver high-speed, autonomous Kraken drone boats allowing the multinational force to sense, track, and identify potential threats and defeat them.

The UK will also send Typhoon fighter jets and mine clearance personnel. The military again claimed the multinational plan was “strictly defensive in nature” and “is designed to restore confidence for commercial shipping” along the strait.

The US and Israel attacked Iran first on 28 February without provocation. Iran was offering unprecedented concessions in negotiations at the time.

The Pentagon has since stated there was no imminent threat from Iran. The UN’s atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has also said there is no evidence Iran was developing a nuclear weapon.

The US has achieved none of its original war aims. Once attacked, Iran predictably closed the Straits of Hormuz, a vital oil channel, triggering a global energy crisis.

Iran has explicitly said the war will continue until “the enemy’s inevitable and permanent humiliation, disgrace, regret, and surrender”.

Trump came to power on an anti-war ‘America First’ ticket. He now faces worldwide humiliation.

The US’ decision to signal a submarine’s location is very unusual. The fact that the Trump administration has failed in its war objectives, and badly needs an off-ramp, makes the disclosure look desperate. US posturing won’t change the reality of the Iran stalemate.

Featured image via US Navy

By Joe Glenton

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In the NURMI study of European endurance runners, 43% of marathon participants reported regular vitamin supplement use, 34% reported mineral supplement use, and 19% reported carbohydrate or protein supplement use. Most of those products did not change finish times. A small subset did. The aim here is to identify which categories sit on solid evidence for a runner training across a 12 to 20 week block.

Carbohydrates as the Primary Fuel

Carbohydrate availability is the rate-limiting factor in marathon performance after the 90-minute mark. Liver and muscle glycogen stores hold roughly 1,800 to 2,200 calories in a trained runner. Most runners deplete those stores between mile 18 and 22 if they take in nothing during the race. Recommendations for runs longer than 90 minutes call for 40 to 80 grams of carbohydrate per hour, typically as a mixture of glucose and fructose, since the small intestine has separate transporters for the two sugars and a 2:1 glucose-to-fructose ratio raises maximum oxidation rate above the glucose-only ceiling.

Training day carbohydrate intake follows a different logic. Most coaches recommend 6 to 10 grams per kilogram of body weight on heavier mileage days, with intake clustered around the long run. Carbohydrate-only products are useful as race-day fuel and for very long training runs. Outside of those windows, food typically does the work better. Trained athletes who target 90 grams per hour during peak race blocks usually train the gut by progressively raising intake during long runs across the build, since untrained guts often reject high-carbohydrate loads with cramping and nausea.

Electrolytes During Long Sessions

Sweat loss runs 500 to 1,500 milligrams of sodium per hour during sustained running, with substantial person-to-person variation. Salty sweaters, defined as athletes with sweat sodium concentrations above 60 millimoles per liter, can lose more than 2 grams of sodium per hour in heat. Replacing some fraction of that loss matters during runs over 90 minutes and during racing in warm conditions. Female runners on average produce sweat with lower sodium concentration than male runners, though variation within each group is wider than the gap between groups.

A trained runner using electrolyte powders during a long workout typically targets 300 to 700 milligrams of sodium per hour, alongside fluid intake of 400 to 800 milliliters per hour. Potassium, magnesium, and calcium losses through sweat are smaller, and most products include them at fixed ratios. Plain water without sodium replacement during multi-hour sessions raises the risk of dilutional hyponatremia, which is the condition the next section addresses.

Hyponatremia Risk in Endurance Events

A 2002 study of Boston Marathon finishers found that 13% had post-race blood sodium below 135 millimoles per liter, the threshold for hyponatremia. The strongest predictor was body weight gain across the race, which correlates with overdrinking. Hyponatremia symptoms range from nausea and headache to confusion and seizures in the most severe cases. Salt tablets, electrolyte powders, and many sports drinks reduce the risk by replacing sodium during the race instead of relying on water alone. Slower runners face higher risk because they spend more total hours on the course and more total time drinking water at aid stations.

Iron for Endurance Runners

Iron supports hemoglobin synthesis and oxygen transport. Endurance runners lose iron through sweat, gastrointestinal microbleeding, foot strike hemolysis, and menstrual losses in female runners. Studies of endurance running cohorts have documented iron deficiency in runners at rates above 50% in some samples, with female runners affected at higher rates than male runners.

Serum ferritin below 25 nanograms per milliliter is the threshold most sports medicine clinics use as a flag for low stores. Iron supplementation is appropriate only after a blood test confirms low levels. Casual iron use in non-deficient adults can produce gastrointestinal side effects and, in rare cases, iron overload. The dose used in clinical correction is 100 to 200 milligrams of elemental iron daily, taken with vitamin C and away from coffee, tea, and dairy, which limit absorption. Most clinicians retest after eight to twelve weeks to confirm the dose is restoring stores.

Vitamin D and Bone Stress

Bone stress injuries account for roughly 20% of running injuries seen in sports medicine clinics. Calcium and vitamin D are required for bone mineralization. Trials in collegiate athletes have reported reduced stress fracture rates among groups receiving vitamin D supplementation when baseline levels were low. Vitamin D deficiency is common in winter months at higher latitudes, and runners who train mostly indoors or in heavy clothing may not produce enough through sun exposure.

A typical maintenance dose is 1,000 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily, with higher doses used for correction in deficient athletes. Routine testing once or twice a year is enough for most runners and removes the guesswork. Calcium intake from dairy, fortified plant milks, leafy greens, and tofu supports the same pathway, with most adults needing 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams daily.

Caffeine as a Dose-Dependent Aid

Across meta-analyses of endurance time-trial studies, caffeine in the 3 to 6 milligram per kilogram range produces a 2 to 3% improvement in finishing time compared with placebo, taken roughly 60 minutes before the start. The mechanism is a reduction in perceived effort plus a small effect on fat oxidation. The effect sits at the high end for runners who normally drink little coffee and at the low end for daily heavy users. Side effects include disrupted sleep when caffeine is taken later in the afternoon and gastrointestinal distress when stacked with other stimulants. Studies of coffee before workout timing report similar dose-response patterns, with minimal benefit below 2 milligrams per kilogram.

Race-day topping up with smaller doses every 30 to 45 minutes during the second half of a marathon helps maintain plasma caffeine and may extend the perceived-effort benefit. Total intake on race day usually peaks around 6 milligrams per kilogram, since higher doses produce diminishing returns and a higher rate of side effects without further improvement in finishing time.

Protein for Training-Day Recovery

Endurance athletes need 1.2 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, higher than the sedentary baseline of 0.8 grams per kilogram. Most runners hit this through normal meals if they eat protein at every meal and a snack after the long run. A scoop of whey or plant protein after hard sessions can help elite athletes who struggle to eat solid food in the immediate post-run window. Beyond that, the marginal value of protein products drops fast, and additional intake does not produce additional adaptation. Older runners, runners on calorie-restricted diets, and runners returning from injury can sit at the upper end of the range to support muscle preservation.

Categories With Strong Evidence

Across the published literature, four nutrient categories are well-supported for marathon training. Carbohydrates during runs over 90 minutes. Sodium and other electrolytes during long, hot, or salty-sweat sessions. Iron when blood tests show low ferritin. Vitamin D when serum levels run low and during winter at higher latitudes. Caffeine sits as an optional ergogenic aid with consistent but modest effect sizes. Protein products are a convenience choice rather than a performance lever. Anything outside these categories belongs to a much smaller evidence base, and most of it does not change marathon finish times. A simple test: if a category is not on this list, the runner should expect no measurable benefit from spending money on it.

By Nathan Spears

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