The shocking assembly election results in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry are a result of an emboldened Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under Modi, which is finessing voter disenfranchisement and bulldozer operations.

Our webinar – where we heard from Anant Gupta, political correspondent of India’s Scroll.in, and Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary of CPI(ML) Liberation – made three things clear: the brazenness of the SIR; the sheer audacity of disenfranchising millions – chiefly Muslims – in plain sight; and the use of bulldozers to rob minority populations of their livelihoods. All should shock us out of our complacency.

Fascism and Hindu supremacy are on the rise, led by Modi’s BJP, whose loyalties lie with US-backed Israel and the UAE. The billionaire Adani has long been a close ally of Modi. Both are complicit in the genocide in Gaza through corporate connections and Indian workers being sent to Israel. 

SIR – Special Intensive Revision

The SIR stands for Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls. It was an exercise conducted by the Election Commission of India in 12 states and union territories starting in late October 2025, ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. The Election Commission presented it as a routine housekeeping exercise to clean up voter lists by removing duplicate entries, deceased persons, and those who had moved.

Gupta’s analysis shows that, in 105 seats that the BJP won in West Bengal, the total number of voters deleted during the SIR exceeds its margin of victory.

Some 129 seats changed hands from the Trinamool to the BJP in Bengal. Not one seat went from the BJP to any other party.

In 86 of these seats, the BJP’s win margin was less than the deletions in the SIR. It had never won them before.https://t.co/4W7lJtSmFT

— Anant Gupta (@AnantGuptaAG) May 6, 2026

Gupta explained that the SIR in West Bengal required progeny mapping, meaning voters had to prove a family link to the 2002 electoral roll, which was exclusionary.

Alongside Muslims, married women, migrant workers, queer people, divorced women, and millions of young voters were systematically erased.

And on the eve of the elections, the BJP-controlled central government sent large contingents of paramilitary forces into West Bengal, where they still remain.

Incumbent complacency

The results are a wake-up call to the Trinamool Congress, which had ruled West Bengal since 2011 and whose leader, Mamata Banerjee, has been a key opponent of the BJP. The ruling party underestimated the scale of the SIR and was “delusional” enough to think it could still win, Gupta said.

Banerjee, while right in pointing out that SIR deletions were “anti-youth”, did not acknowledge their overwhelming targeting of Muslims and did not ideologically oppose them enough to mobilise people-power against it.

Bulldozer operations

The bulldozer is a symbol of fascist violence, Dipankar Bhattacharya rightly points out in the webinar. It involves both the state and a section of fascist social forces that spearhead and celebrate the violence. JCB remains the primary instrument; the British company is synonymous with home demolitions.

India has been running a systematic eviction campaign against Muslims of Bengali origin in Assam – over 100,000 people have lost their homes across 33 operations since 2021. And the BJP’s SIR-engineered victory in West Bengal has been followed by a wave of Hindu supremacist violence, with Muslim shops and places of worship demolished; statues, including those of Lenin and of Adivasi anti-colonial fighters Sidhu and Kanhu, pulled down; and opposition party offices set on fire.

Conclusion: people, not courts

The SIR is not simply a mechanism for denying citizens the right to vote. It is part of an arsenal of laws and initiatives geared towards ethnic cleansing, which have led to mass detentions and deportations of Indian Muslims.

Already, the new BJP government in West Bengal has announced that those excluded from electoral rolls will also be denied welfare benefits.

There is no institutional remedy left. The Election Commission has abandoned neutrality. The Supreme Court has failed. International courts offer little. The only path forward is for the people to unite to face the rapid escalation of fascism.

India is now staring at a crisis started by Trump – Modi’s friend – and his delusional war on Iran. With only 60 days of oil reserves, India’s import-dependent economy is facing catastrophic shortages, while Modi is currently on another foreign trip to the UAE.

In the wake of Partition, communists in Bengal succeeded in thwarting the Hindu supremacist forces through building powerful mass movements and cultural interventions. Today, the need of the hour is for the left and progressive forces to close ranks and stand with the people to resist the Modi regime’s fascist design.

Featured image via YouTube

By South Asia Solidarity Group

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The top UK intelligence scrutiny body has warned that critical files on disgraced Labour politician Peter Mandelson are being withheld. The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said key documents related to the case had not been made available by Keir Starmer’s government.

The BBC reported on 15 May:

Lord Beamish, chair of the committee tasked with reviewing the documents, said Lord Mandelson’s vetting file was one example of a document that had been kept back.

He said the government may have good reasons to withhold some material but did not have the authority to do so and ministers should seek MPs’ approval to retain certain pieces of information.

Revelations about Labour grandee Mandelson’s long friendship with late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein have plunged the Starmer regime into crisis.

Mandelson is also deeply linked to the right-wing Labour Together project which successfully undermined the Jeremy Corbyn leadership. He had been picked to be UK ambassador to the US. Now his career lies in tatters.

There are also questions about the liberal use of redactions on the material in question:

NEW: The Intelligence and Security Committee has raised concerns about the government's handling of the Mandelson Files.

It says redactions are being applied "far too broadly" and some documents are being withheld altogether.

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It also teases that we can expect to see lots and… pic.twitter.com/0XD3PbqaPG

— Jack Elsom (@JackElsom) May 15, 2026

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said the government was:

 working to publish as much material as we can as soon as possible.

Tory and Lib Dem politicians clearly smell blood. Tory shadow minister Alex Burghart said:

It is outrageous that Labour are trying to withhold documents about the Mandelson-Epstein affair from Parliament.

Mandelson — government cover up, again

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said:

This thing reeks. Why is the government trying to cover up, again, the scale of the Mandelson mess? What could be worse than what we’ve already seen?

MPs voted that all relevant files should be released.

The BBC said:

In his statement, Lord Beamish said the committee has reached a decision on all the redactions requested by government in the 337 documents referred to it, and that it is now for the government to publish the documents within 28 sitting days.

However, he listed a number of concerns about how the government had responded to the humble address.

The Canary has reported:

The rules in place to protect British national security were suspended to allow Mandelson to participate in, and profit from, highly sensitive briefings, meetings, and intelligence. A coordinated “protection racket” for Blair’s disciples, by Starmer’s handlers.

The Labour party’s increasingly cartel-mindset and the ensuing damage of the Mandelson is yet to receive the attention it deserves. Starmer, in particular, has been left off the hook.

Keir Starmer came to power having made a lot of promises, as our readers will be well aware… One which stands out today is a 2020 pledge for a “transparency revolution”:

We need a transparency revolution. There should be no power without accountability, and true accountability requires transparency.

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) February 4, 2020

Starmer looks like he might not last much longer. It seems fitting that this latest revelation about his tendency towards authoritarianism and secrecy could be one of the final nails in his political coffin. Starmer looks destined for the dustbin of history. Few will be sad to see him go.

Featured image via Carl Court/Getty Images

By Joe Glenton

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Occupation forces have again attacked Gaza, launching a heavy bombardment on Gaza City. The well-known Moataz Tower, one of the few tall buildings still standing, was hit and is now ablaze:

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A post shared by ZaqoutMe | سارة زقوت (@sara.a.zaqout)

As night fell, the intensity of the fire became clear:

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A post shared by ZaqoutMe | سارة زقوت (@sara.a.zaqout)

A pattern of murder in Gaza

Following its usual pattern, the occupation military’s excuse for murdering potentially hundreds of civilians was that it was targeting a ‘Hamas leader’:

Yesterday, 14 May 2026, several people were wounded after parts of a damaged building collapsed on them as they were clearing rubble from an earlier attack:

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A post shared by Hani Almadhoun (@myhanitizer)

Israel’s bombing of Gaza and its starvation blockade have never paused, despite the supposed ceasefire in place since autumn 2025. Israel is a terror state and the UK continues to equip and enable it.

Featured image via Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

By Skwawkbox

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In a move that reflects the growing importance of the Chinese market for global football, FIFA announced the signing of a new broadcasting agreement with China Media Group to transmit Men’s and Women’s World Cup tournaments within China until 2031.

Under the agreement, as stated on the official FIFA website, China Media Group will broadcast the 2026 and 2030 Men’s World Cup matches, along with the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cup editions, giving hundreds of millions of Chinese fans direct access to the biggest global football tournaments.

China and FIFA agreement

FIFA Secretary General, Mattias Grafström, described the agreement as a “source of great pride,” emphasizing that China represents one of the most important global football markets due to the growing public passion for the game.

Grafström pointed out that the 2026 edition will be “historic” as the first to feature 48 teams, confirming that the partnership with the Chinese group will help provide an advanced broadcasting experience and reach new youth segments through digital platforms.

The agreement is an extension of a decades-long relationship between the two parties and coincides with efforts led by the Chinese Football Association to develop local football, especially at the youth level, with direct support from FIFA.

These efforts were recently boosted by the qualification of China’s U-17 Boys’ and Girls’ teams for the age-group World Cup tournaments, in addition to the recent visits of Jill Ellis and Arsène Wenger to China to support development and cooperation plans with the local association.

This agreement puts an end to the uncertainty that had surrounded the broadcasting rights for the 2026 World Cup inside China, which had previously threatened to deprive nearly one billion Chinese citizens from watching one of the world’s biggest sporting events.

According to FIFA, the agreement is part of a broader strategy to enhance the media reach of major tournaments in global markets with high fan density.

Featured image via Jayne Russell/Getty Images

By Alaa Shamali

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Trade unions and workers across Bolivia are marching on another general strike against the neoliberal administration led by Trump ally President Rodrigo Paz.

Thousands of miners clashed with police in La Paz on Thursday, demanding the resignation of the neoliberal Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz over the country's economic crisis.

The government says Paz, in power six months, will not step down. pic.twitter.com/aVQ7GgvRvg

— comra (@comrawire) May 15, 2026

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Bolivia — general strike

Workers decided to strike indefinitely following the Paz administration’s refusal to negotiate on laws that undermine the rights of peasants and indigenous territories.

The people are marching upon the administrative capital, La Paz, from all corners of the Andean country. The strikes are being coordinated by the largest miners’ union (FSTMB) and the confederation of peasant workers (CSUTCB).

One spokesman for the unionised workers condemned the “neoliberal” government  and stated online that the long march comes

 … in repudiation of this government that only wants to turn us into another US colony. … We are sovereign. Here, we govern ourselves.

We are firmly in this fight until the very end.

CSUTCB and COB, the Bolivian Workers’ Central union, call for Paz’s resignation.

A general strike is now underway in Bolivia, this time calling for the resignation of the neoliberal President Rodrigo Paz.

Causes:
– Fuel crisis
– Inflation
– Govt proposals to privatize natural resources

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The neoliberal experiement is already a failure. pic.twitter.com/e0qYkkBlHg

— Ollie Vargas (@Ollie_Vargas_) May 12, 2026

What sparked the strikes?

Bolivia’s plurinational, largely indigenous and generally low-income population has been beset by recurring fuel crises. These were caused in part by fuel subsidies, which massively benefitted the poorest but led to black market trade and state losses.

Back in January, Paz’s economy Minister Gabriel Espinoza said that cutting subsidies on gasoline and diesel would save public finances $10m per day.

Union leaders accused the government of ‘buying off’ specific sectors to undermine the strike’s legitimacy, after Paz rescinded a meeting in the presidential palace with the COB executive and miners’ federation (FSTMB) leader Andrés Paye.

The collapse of natural gas industrialism in Bolivia met with dwindling supplies of foreign currency. The result was soaring inflation, supply shortages and higher prices. Bolivians often queue for hours for fuel and US dollars trade at twice the official rate.

Relatedly, the country — alongside neighbouring states currently undergoing neoliberal restructuring, notably Argentina — has suffered crippling inflationary pressures. This only intensified since the fuel shocks generated by the criminal US-Zionist war on Iran.

Another trigger for the strikes was the introduction of Law 1720, which threatens to overturn the country’s historically progressive laws recognising indigenous land rights. These were won by Evo Morales’ indigenous-led Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), but Law 1720 sought to privatise the land for foreign extractive corporations.

Yet, at a public meeting in La Paz this week, representative of the strikers and peasant union leader Oscar Cardozo declared:

Our life is collective, not individual. The land must be respected; it’s not for sale.

Democracy Now! reports that the Paz administration already repealed Law 1720 on 13 May, but the strikes continue anyway in disgust at the US-aligned regime.

Only six months into its rule, Bolivia's neoliberal government is failing.

Indigenous movements and trade unionists launched a general strike yesterday, demanding President Paz resign in response to his land privatization efforts and economic crises. pic.twitter.com/zIxljiF26W

— Jacobin (@jacobin) May 13, 2026

The recolonisation of Bolivia

When Paz was elected in late 2025 and took office that November, he did so on a platform of “capitalism for all.” This signalled a hard break from two decades of MAS.

While he is often described as “centre-right,” Paz wasted no time aligning himself with the far-right, imperialist Trump administration. Colonial war-hawk Marco Rubio quickly congratulated Paz following his surprise election win.

Elected on a neoliberal policy platform, Paz is the (white) Spanish-born relative of two ex-presidents. As mayor of Tarija, Paz built commercial malls and plazas which offered the city’s predominantly working-class population very little.

Paz swiftly legalised Elon Musk’s Starlink—overruling considerable privacy and data security concerns—and reestablished ties with genocidal and apartheid-ruled Israel.

Paz arrested ex-president Luis Arce over corruption allegations. He promised to ‘reopen’ Bolivia’s critical mineralresources to international markets (read: sellout vital national assets), warmly welcomed by hemispheric hawk Marco Rubio.

Paz eviscerated universal fuel subsidies, sending gas, diesel, bus, and food prices soaring—sometimes 160%—and crippling many households across the low-income plurinational state.

Day 2 of Bolivia's general strike, demanding the resignation of neoliberal President Rodrigo Paz.

Rural communities are marching on the capital, will arrive by end of the week. They say the long march is "in repudiation of the government that wants to turn us into a US colony". pic.twitter.com/2D9rNe3iy8

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— Ollie Vargas (@Ollie_Vargas_) May 13, 2026

Movement away from socialism?

Paz’s presidency constitutes the reassertion of a traditionally white-dominated ruling class (~5%) over a majority indigenous (~20%) and mixed-race (~68%) population. It’s also self-evident backlash against the wildy popular and progressive MAS.

Evo Morales’ popular Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) party dominated Bolivian politics for two decades. MAS saw sweeping recognitions of indigenous rights, side-lined by the prior constitutional arrangement. It advanced sectors like public healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Evismo became a grassroots power-symbol for global leftism.

But socialism is difficult to administer in the world’s largest informal economy. Eventually, MAS became mired in political infighting and — via corruption — abandoned many populist promises. After two decades and Morales’ blocking, MAS lost power.

But though Bolivians grew wary of MAS, many still demand economic dignity. In response to various ensuing neoliberal reforms, COB, the largest trade union congress, initiated an indefinite general strike at the start of 2026.

 Throughout early 2026, COB-affiliated workers led demonstrations and roadblocks, leaders refusing to negotiate with a president intent on dividing social movements and reversing progress. The workers then went on strike again in March 2026.

Now Bolivians march again, defying the state’s movement away from socialism. One unionised indigenous food-seller, Vilma Paredes, told the Canary:

Who knows, maybe we’ll discover that we don’t need political leaders — we just need to organise ourselves for the common good. That’s my opinion.

Featured image by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

By Cameron Baillie

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A British ‘black propaganda’ unit carried out a vast range of ‘anti-communist’ influence operations and even owned international news agencies. The Foreign Office ran the Special Editorial Unit (SEU) from the late 1940s to the 1970s. Declassified UK‘s Jon McEvoy, who has reported on the unit before, accessed a new tranche of files released from London’s National Archives.

McEvoy said:

The focus of much of this material was on the Soviet Union and its external activities, but other campaigns targeted left-wing and national liberation movements across the developing world.

The SEU was part of the Information Research Department (IRD). It served as a:

clandestine anti-communist propaganda unit which operated in the Foreign Office between 1948 and 1977.

And the SEU made deniable (or ‘black’) propaganda. Targets included nationalist movements around the world:

Anti-colonial leaders such as Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser, Indonesia’s Sukarno, and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah were a frequent focus of British propaganda operations.

McEvoy added:

Elsewhere, the SEU orchestrated propaganda campaigns on such diverse topics as fishing rights in the North Atlantic, apartheid in South Africa, and European communist parties.

The operations included running entire fake media outlets.

Foreign Office — fake news before it was cool

Running news agencies was one of SEU’s “core activities”. These are described as “controlled outlets” in the archival material. SEU tried to ensure:

they were stocked with a constant stream of propaganda material.

Some are even named:

Agencies controlled from Whitehall included Near and Far East News (NAFEN), the National Guardsman, the Guardian of Liberty, Lion Features, and World Feature Services.

The unit considered Guardian of Liberty particularly successful:

“With the Hungarian Uprising as its ostensible origin”, one SEU file noted, the Guardian of Liberty was able to build up “a reputation as an authoritative source of information on Communist affairs” which was often “embarrassing to the Soviet authorities”.

Adding:

The SEU was particularly pleased with how it functioned as a “hard-hitting disavowable outlet available for the dissemination of particularly ‘difficult’ subjects” such as “the naming of KGB agents operating in foreign countries”.

The fake outlets mixed everyday news items with overtly political material to appear less suspicious:

In order to look like bona fide news agencies, the SEU’s “controlled outlets” fused political with “anodyne” content in order to “sweeten the pill” of the propaganda material.

These “anodyne” articles covered such issues as women’s affairs, health, sociology, geography, history, and sport.

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One SEU operative quoted in the files remarked of fake new agency Lion Features:

In order to attract editors and readers, and to maintain the appearance of a genuine features agency, an average issue is usually made up of two polemical articles, combined with three others of a positive or anodyne nature.

The unit also supplied secret briefings to outlets and journalists:

In addition to controlling news agencies, the SEU supplied “independent” outlets and journalists with secret briefings and pre-written content for publication under their own names.

Some of those stories emanated from British intelligence material, helping journalists to build their own prestige and disseminate stories internationally.

The intelligence services built links with journalists from major outlets of the time. The documents mention outlets like Reuters, the Sunday Telegraph, the Scotsman and the Economist. Other sections describe how the UK sought to increase racial tensions between Africans and the Chinese inside former colonies.

SEU also sought to play off Russia and China and cause discord between Egypt’s nationalist leader Gamal Abdel Nasser and other North African and Middle Eastern nations.

The IRD officially shut down in 1977. Today we cannot fully know where the UK state is running influence operations, if it still operates entire media outlets or which journalists it may seek to recruit influence. Using propaganda to shape global and domestic politics is still standard fare for states and corporations.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

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FIFA excluded Dutch referee Rob Dieperink from the list of officials for the upcoming World Cup, following his arrest in London last April on allegations of sexual assault on a minor, despite the case later being closed without any charges filed against him.

FIFA stated in a comment to The Athletic that Dieperink was officially removed from the tournament’s list of referees, where he was scheduled to serve as a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) official.

According to sources speaking to the same outlet, French referee Willy Delajod is a candidate to replace Dieperink on the final list of World Cup referees.

In comments to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Dieperink confirmed that the British Metropolitan Police closed the file after two weeks of investigation, noting that he fully cooperated with authorities and informed FIFA, UEFA, and the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) of all case details.

The Dutch referee said, “I am deeply saddened that I was incorrectly accused,” expressing his regret over the decision to exclude him from the World Cup.

For its part, the Royal Netherlands Football Association announced its support for Dieperink, confirming that the British investigation was closed without any legal action, and that it sees no impediment to the referee continuing to officiate matches in the Dutch Eredivisie.

The KNVB added that Dieperink was excluded from the current weekend’s matches due to the extent of media coverage and its impact on the referee and the atmosphere of the matches.

Featured image via the Canary

By Alaa Shamali

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On Saturday 16 May, far-right racists will once again flood London’s streets as part of violent fraudster Tommy Robinson’s ‘Unite the Kingdom’ hate march. In response, campaign group Amnesty UK has put out a new video giving three reasons explaining:

here’s why it’s worse than you think.

Of course, it’s unlikely that anyone needs a reminder of the danger these fascist scum pose after their performance last year. That said, more reasons to oppose Robinson and his ilk will never go amiss. Let’s take a watch.

Three reasons why the "Unite the Kingdom" rally this Saturday is worse than you think…@ElonMusk a little something for you at the end. pic.twitter.com/pkrOb7OZ1L

— Amnesty UK (@AmnestyUK) May 14, 2026

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Amnesty — ‘Anyone else remember this?’

The Amnesty video begins with the presenter asking “Does anyone else remember this?” It then plays a clip of Elon Musk – tech entrepreneur and owner of likely the world’s largest platform for AI child sexual abuse imagery – saying:

Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die.

The video also showed simultaneous footage of last year’s ‘Unite the Kingdom’ hate march. Musk addressed the 2025 rally via video link, adding that there should be “a change of government in Britain” along with a:

dissolution of Parliament and a new vote held.

Apparently, moving on to the UK is the natural next step after meddling in the US elections to get a far-right piece of shit installed as president.

‘Funded by billionaires’

We then move on to take a look at another of the racist billionaires behind the march:

Number one – the Unite the Kingdom march this Saturday is funded by billionaires with dangerous anti-rights agendas. Ever heard of Robert Shillman? He’s a US tech billionaire who funds Islamophobic figures from across the globe like Katie Hopkins and Geert Wilders, as well as Tommy Robinson. He dug deep this year and has donated 100,000 bucks to make this rally happen.

What is it about US tech billionaires and the inevitable slide into fascism? Someone needs to test the fucking water in Silicon Valley. Just kidding, we know it’s the ‘billionaire’ bit that leads to complete disdain for human life.

Shillman has been bankrolling Robinson since at least as far back as 2017. He even helped transform the far-right thug’s presentation into a slicker, digital-friendly package.

Robinson also received an £85k-per-annum ‘Shillman fellowship’ to far-right Canadian website Rebel News. Other recipients of the same cash bung include noted far-right conspiracists Katie Hopkins and Laura Loomer.

Likewise, as the Observer reported:

Shillman, a former board member of Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces, hosts a pro-Israel podcast and also funds fellowships through the DHFC thinktank. Its founder, David Horowitz, was an anti-Muslim ideologue described as the “intellectual godfather” of the Trump administration in an obituary when he died in April this year.

Amnesty: the march is ‘spreading racist, divisive and violent views’

Next up, Amnesty moved on to some of the other speakers at the march:

Number two – apparently, to be invited to speak at the march, you need to be really good at spreading racist, divisive and violent views. Last year this bloke, Brian Tamaki from New Zealand, called for a ban on non-Christian places of worship. Or this Eva Vlaardingerbroek calling for ‘remigration’, which by the way is a fancy way of saying ‘mass deportation’.

Now Eva and six of their speakers have been banned from coming. This year, they’d be joining anti-trans activist Posie Parker and controversial US commentator Glenn Beck.

Posie Parker has become something of a poster child for the close ties between the white-supremacist and anti-trans hate movements. As Hope Not Hate reported, she regularly appears alongside and expresses support for far-right figures, and:

In August 2024, Keen-Minshull appeared to express support for the National Front because it historically campaigned against a paedophile group. Several months later, she reposted – and then deleted – an altered version of the Fourteen Words white supremacist slogan.

Meanwhile, Glen Beck is a shock-jockey who peddles in unfounded conspiracy theories, particularly regarding Jewish Billionaire George Soros as the secret “puppet master” of the world. Likewise, the Islamophobia Network reported that:

The most egregious example of false reporting—fueled by straightforward profiling—was the instance when Beck spent days on his radio program falsely claiming that a Saudi student, Abdulrahman Ali Alharbi, was a terrorist operative who had planned and collaborated in the Boston Marathon bombings.

Charming.

‘Unite the West’

Last but not least, the Amnesty video concluded with:

Number three – This hateful movement is growing and spreading. Robinson is calling the march ‘Unite the West’, as well as ‘Unite the Kingdom’, and meeting with far-right agitators from across Europe and the US, building a network of racist and anti-rights activists. They’re trying to bring to the UK and Europe what’s happening in the US.

Back on 11 May, as part of his post-election speech, Keir Starmer made a big song and dance about blocking far-right agitators from coming to the UK for the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally.

So far, we know that the Home Office has blocked seven visas. Five of the names remain unknown to the public. However, the two known figures are Joey Mannarino and Valentina Gomez, both MAGA talking heads.

A government spokesperson stated that their right of entry was revoked because their presence isn’t “conducive to the public good”.

Of course, it’s not just Robinson who’s trying to bring American-style fascism to the UK. Last year, and continuing his bid to become Britain’s sad imitation of Donald Trump, Nigel Farage forged ties with an American fundamentalist Christian group that’s seeking to ban abortion in the UK.

Meanwhile, as the Canary’s Ranjan Balakumaran wrote, US plans to fund MAGA-aligned think tanks in Europe could reshape debates over Britain’s Online Safety Act and global platform regulation.

Amnesty ended with a warning, and a message of hope:

Those who want to take away our rights are organised – but so are we. Share this video before Elon tries to take it down.

Once more, via YouTube, for good measure:

Featured image via the Canary

By Alex/Rose Cocker

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The public support shown by young Barcelona star Lamine Yamal for Palestine sparked a wave of widespread reactions from both politicians and public spectators.

This followed comments by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who defended the player in the face of a sharp attack launched by Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz. Previously, this attack occurred after Yamal raised the Palestinian flag during his team’s celebrations of the Spanish League title.

Lamine Yamal feels the support

Sanchez said, in a blog post on the “X” platform, that:

Those who consider raising a country’s flag incitement to hatred have either lost their minds or been blinded by their shame.

Quienes consideran que ondear la bandera de un Estado es “incitar al odio”, o han perdido el juicio o han sido cegados por su propia ignominia.

Lamine solo ha expresado la solidaridad por Palestina que sentimos millones de españoles. Otro motivo más para estar orgullosos de él.

— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) May 14, 2026

Commenting on Yamal’s expression of solidarity, the Spanish prime minister said his position represents “an additional reason to be proud of him.” He also defended him saying that he was only:

expressing the solidarity with Palestine felt by millions of Spaniards.

Sanchez’s defence of the player continued at a press conference held on 12 May. During the event, Sanchez made it clear that the player’s behaviour was in line with official Spanish policy  consistent with  official Spanish policy. In addition, he referred to Madrid’s recognition of the State of Palestine and its condemnation of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and settlements in the West Bank.

In the same context, Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente entered the crisis line, attacking Israel for criticising the Barcelona player. He did this through a post on the “X” platform in which he responded to Katz’s statements. In the post, he denounced what he described as ”barbarism” in Gaza, and accused Israel of “turning life into ruin”.

The crisis erupted after Yamal, 18 years old, waved the Palestinian flag during Barcelona’s Spanish League title celebrations in the streets of the Catalan city. Afterwards, he published a picture of himself carrying the flag on his account on “Instagram”, which sparked widespread interaction among fans and on social media platforms.

On the other hand, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz launched a direct attack on the player, claiming that Lamine Yamal “chose to incite against Israel and spread hatred”, as he described it. He also called on FC Barcelona to disavow the player’s behavior and emphasize “that there is no place for incitement to terrorism”, according to his claim.

Featured image via the Canary

By Alaa Shamali

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Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has confirmed he intends to stand in the Makerfield by-election. The by-election has been triggered by disgraced ‘Labour Together’ right-winger Josh Simons’s decision to step down — specifically to let Burnham stand. If he wins, he will be eligible to stand for election as Labour party leader – and therefore as prime minister. Remarkably, it seems Labour’s hard-right party machine isn’t going to block him as it did, disastrously for Labour, in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

While it would doubtless help expose the bankruptcy of Starmerism exposed and bring Starmer down, this also creates a quandary for the Greens and other parties.

Burnham is far from ideal. He showed cowardice on Labour’s plans, under Ed Miliband, to intensify the Tories’ attacks on benefit claimants. The decision guaranteed Jeremy Corbyn would win the 2015 leadership election. He voted for Tony Blair’s illegal Iraq war, has supported Israel and pushed NHS privatisation along. His record was summarised by Your Party MP Zarah Sultana:

The Greens agree. But while Burnham is no ‘radical alternative’, he is night and day against any rival in the leadership contest. If nothing else, he actually has a personality. And it seems Labour members agree. A poll of members by Survation found that Burnham is a country mile ahead of any potential candidate even remotely in the frame to stand against him if he wins the by-election.

Burnham vs Starmer

In fact, while awful incumbent Keir Starmer would either beat or only lose narrowly to other rivals, Burnham would crush him:

Head-to-head for Labour leader among members:

Burnham 61 – Starmer 28
Miliband 46 – Starmer 39
Rayner 45 – Starmer 41
Starmer 45 – Cooper 31
Starmer 51 – Powell 27
Starmer 53 – Streeting 23

Via: Survation / LabourList poll of Labour members.
Fieldwork: 13-14 May, N=1124. pic.twitter.com/cpdVCqrpB1

— PollCheck (@poll_checker) May 14, 2026

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But the ‘if’ of the by-election is a big one. Simons’s vote share in Makerfield in 2024 was only around a thousand votes ahead of the combined Tory-Reform vote. With Labour’s popularity in the sewers after two years of Starmer government, it’s not certain — maybe not even likely — that Burnham will win it for Labour.

This is even more so given that Reform is likely to throw everything at the seat. Especially because its management — if it has any political nous at all — will want to make sure Labour can only be led by Starmer or someone every bit as drab and dire in the period up to the next general election. The Tories, too, might well make a pact with Reform for the same reason to avoid splitting the racist vote.

This poses a quandary for the Greens, particularly, and other parties. The Greens might decline to stand in the by-election in the hope that a Burnham-led Labour does less to usher in Farage’s fascists. Standing and preventing a Burnham win would be presented as the Greens giving Farage and co a helping hand.

But so might not standing. The Greens’ narrative, after Gorton, is justifiably that they and not Labour are the UK’s hope of beating the fascists. Standing down would disrupt that message. It would also help Labour get the boost of a new leader who is not obviously aligned with, and far more personable than, the current regime and raise the prospects of a divided anti-fascist vote in 2029 (or earlier).

And the waters of that choice are muddied even further by how Burnham has been able — apparently — to put himself up for Makerfield. Hard-right, pro-Israel antisemitism smearer Simons’s resignation may have opened the door for Burnham, but there is not a snowflake in hell’s chance that the deal doesn’t come with huge strings attached. Not so much strings, but miles of bunting festooned with Israel flags. If Burnham has made a ‘deal with the devil’ to get his shot, and honours it, that’s a disaster with huge consequences for freedom and human rights in the UK, Palestine and a lot of other places.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

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