The British Press Photographers’ Association (BPPA) has sharply condemned Shabana Mahmood’s Home Office for lying to refugees in its information pack for asylum seekers.

Home Office pandering to racists

The latest lie comes amid wider condemnation for Mahmood for implying in the pack that asylum seekers are more likely to rape or sexually harass. This has played into, and inflamed, UK white supremacist prejudices that are already a blight on this country.

But the BPPA has spotted another: the Home Office is telling refugees that they cannot take photos in public places without permission. This, as the BPPA points out, is an outright lie: under UK law, anyone can take pictures of anything in, or visible from, a public space — no permission needed:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The BPPA (@thebppa)

The UK has a proud tradition of street photography that has been able to flourish because of that freedom, like the late Martin Parr — who almost certainly never asked permission in his life before taking his famous, candid photos.

Is there nothing in the UK that the Labour right isn’t eager to ruin to pander to ethnosupremacists?

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

Source link

Gillian Anderson has admitted that the increased prevalence of intimacy co-ordinators on TV and film sets is something she has complicated feelings about.

In recent years, the Emmy winner has appeared in numerous projects that have made use of intimacy co-ordinators – industry professionals employed to help actors and directors more comfortable while shooting sex scenes or on-screen nudity – perhaps most notably the Netflix series Sex Education.

While promoting her new movie Teenage Sex And Death In Camp Miasma, which contains graphic scenes of both sex and violence, Gillian told The Times that she has mixed feelings about these behind-the-scenes roles.

“It depends on the co-ordinator,” she explained, with the outlet suggesting she is “not a particular fan” of them.

Advertisement

She continued: “I did a Netflix show where one wanted a Zoom because I was tucking my son’s shirt into his trousers.”

“Did I want to meet with him so that we could talk it through, that kind of stuff,” she recalled with an apparent eye roll.

Teenage Sex And Death In Camp Miasma’s on-set intimacy co-ordinator Aryn Mott wrote on Instagram earlier this week: “The work of an intimacy co-ordinator often starts long before the cameras roll.

“On Camp Miasma, that meant research, conversations, rehearsals, choreography, consent work, and building enough trust for everyone involved, performers, director, camera, and crew, to step into something incredibly vulnerable.

“Jane Schoenbrun [the film’s director] described the process as one where we were all consenting to doing something ‘really vulnerable and scary’. And once everyone understood that shared desire, communicated clearly, and trusted the process… the scary became exciting. Then we closed the set. And all that preparation gave the work room to come to life.”

Advertisement

They added: “Great art and good care don’t have to compete with each other.”

Gillian’s latest remarks echo similar comments made by former Game Of Thrones actor Lena Headey during a recent interview with HuffPost UK.

“Like anything, if they’re great at their job, it’s wonderful, and it adds value,” Lena said of intimacy co-ordinators last month. “I think you can have terrible ones who just make you feel more awkward.”

Others, including Sir Ian McKellen and Lena’s fellow Game Of Thrones alum Sean Bean, have previously ruffled feathers when they questioned whether the use of an intimacy co-ordinator “spoiled” the spontaneity between two actors while shooting love scenes.

Advertisement

Toni Collette and Oscar winner Mikey Madison are among those who have turned down the chance to work with intimacy co-ordinators in recent projects, while Gwyneth Paltrow controversially claimed last year that she’d told one on the set of Marty Supreme: “Girl, I’m from the era where you get naked, you get in bed, the camera’s on. I think we’re good. You can step a little bit back.”

“I don’t know how it is for kids who are starting out, but… if someone is like, ’OK, and then he’s going to put his hand here’… I would feel, as an artist, very stifled by that,” she added during an interview with Vanity Fair, prompting It’s A Sin creator Russell T Davies to brand her comments “disgraceful”.

Meanwhile, Jane Fonda, Kate Winslet and even Florence Pugh have all voiced that they wish there’d been intimacy co-ordinators on film sets when they were starting out in their careers.

Similarly, Dame Emma Thompson has become a staunch defender of intimacy co-ordinators in the last few years, insisting it was “absolutely essential” that young women starting out in their acting careers should have “someone there to protect them”.

Advertisement

Source link

The far-right like to pass themselves off as noble people, waging heroic battles on behalf of “women and children” or against what they describe as the “evil” of Islam. Yet hideous animal torturer and racist Neil Pinkerton is just another example revealing the true face of this hateful movement.

Wildlife protection group Protect the Wild described Pinkerton as:

…notorious in Northern Ireland for his depraved animal cruelty.

They say he was:

…disgracefully allowed to keep a dog named Judy after using her for fox baiting, and subjecting the dog to the most horrific injuries.

The group rightly decry the courts’ leniency on Pinkerton, allowing him to escape punishment for his barbaric treatment of animals. However, Pinkerton is also enabled by the north of Ireland’s dire hunting laws. Sadists like him are permitted to pursue and kill wild animals with dogs, so long as “no unnecessary suffering” is inflicted, a standard the courts clearly fail to enforce. These are the kinds of people who flourish when bloodsports are legally allowed to continue.

Animal abuser graduated to far-right racist thug

Letting the dregs of humanity hone their cruelty against animals ultimately endangers people too, however. Pinkerton moved on to targeting migrants, and has been back in the spotlight for teaming up with loyalist bigots on trips to Scotland. He travelled to the country in late July, alongside notorious thugs Glen Kane and Mark Sinclair, aka ‘Freedom Dad’.

As pointed out by the Detail, Kane was:

…jailed for nine years for being part of a mob which killed a Cath­olic man dur­ing a sec­tarian riot in 1992.

Sinclair is an ex-Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) member and armed bank robber, who now operates as a hate-spreading social media influencer. They are further examples of the type of people ‘defending our women and children’. The Detail found that:

Almost half those arrested for race hate disorder in Belfast [August 2024] had previously been reported to the PSNI for domestic abuse

The pair attended the Unite the Clans hate-fest at Glasgow Green on July 25, organised by the Scottish racists. There, the bigoted mob backed ethnic cleansing with chants of “remigration”, engaged in Nazi salutes and hurled “bottles and pieces of wood at police officers“. The cops arrested 15 people for:

…assault, possession of offensive weapons and other public order offences.

The fascists were massively outnumbered by anti-racist counter-demonstrators. The hatemongers were only able to muster a paltry 500, despite months of planning, yet were met by over 4000 people of conscience standing on the right side of history.

The invitation of Sinclair and Kane is another example of how loyalists getting away with ethnic cleansing in the north of Ireland is inspiring racist groups elsewhere. Pinkerton wasn’t present at the riot, due to bail conditions banning him from attending anti-migrant events. These stem from alleged offences in September 2025. As reported by Inside the Courtroom NI:

Pinkerton faces three charges of common assault, two counts of using disorderly behaviour at Connswater Retail Park and at McDonald’s fast-food outlet, trying to damage a car, harassment, possessing Class B cannabis and inciting hatred.

Shameful prosecution delay leaves Pinkerton free to spread hate

Pinkerton was allegedly “threatening and racially abusive” towards a delivery driver. Police say the reprobate also said “get out of our fucking country you cunt”. Shamefully, courts may soon withdraw the charges against this sickening man, due to “significant delays in his phone being examined“.

It represents a disgraceful failure by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and Public Prosecution Service to prioritise investigation of violent, racist offenders. This is a police service that is happy to expend resources sending officers to London to arrest Palestine supporters holding up bits of paper, but allows violent pogroms to happen three years in a row in the north of Ireland.

The delay is apparently the result of Pinkerton not surrendering passcodes to his phones. Police have taken evidence from one phone so far, however, and one would think that data, combined with witness statements and CCTV footage would be more than enough to put this dangerous racist behind bars.

Yet due to this failure, authorities allow Pinkerton to travel and party freely, spreading the Six Counties’ unique brand of loyalist hate to other territories. Anti-racist group End Deportations Belfast (EDB) have been tracking the activities of the far-right in the Six Counties, and their connections to similar hatemongers in Scotland. They assisted with this report, and told the Canary:

Pinkerton’s presence in Glasgow alongside other notorious far-right individuals suggests an ongoing willingness to move in violent far-right circles. The vigilante gang that Pinkerton fronted relentlessly harassed and intimidated migrant and people of colour communities on Belfast streets last year.

They decried Pinkerton’s freedom to:

…travel freely and network with known other far-right agitators, some of whom have violent sectarian and paramilitary histories.

EDB described delays prosecuting Pinkerton as a:

…damning indictment of policing and justice in the north of Ireland, which continues to allow violent extremism to flourish.

Featured image via BelfastTelegraph

By Robert Freeman

Source link

Pressure is mounting on FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Fan groups worldwide have launched a petition demanding his resignation and calling for broad reforms to FIFA’s management and decision-making processes.

This development follows growing controversy surrounding Infantino’s plan to secure private investment for a company managing the commercial rights to FIFA tournaments, most notably the Men’s and Women’s World Cups. The proposal has faced widespread criticism across the international football community.

Petition demanding Infantino’s departure

Fan groups launched the petition via Change.org, arguing that the attempt to introduce private investors to manage World Cup commercial rights constitutes a dangerous overreach of the FIFA president’s authority.

Proponents of the petition claim the plan was negotiated without input from FIFA members or the public, arguing that this indicates an excessive concentration of power in a single individual, undermining the principles of transparency and accountability within the governing body.

Supporters view the private investment controversy as merely the latest in a series of issues drawing criticism toward Infantino, including FIFA’s stance on the European Super League project and ticket pricing policies for recent World Cup tournaments.

Escalating disputes in international football

The petition emerges as Infantino faces increasing pressure from football organizations and continental federations, following accusations of “deception” from three continental bodies regarding how the private investment plan was prepared and presented.

UEFA maintains its refusal to collaborate with Infantino’s plans, citing a loss of confidence in the international federation’s leadership. Meanwhile, the FIFA president continues to receive support from other federations, particularly in Africa and South America.

This division complicates Infantino’s efforts to manage the crisis, as criticism is no longer confined to football associations but has extended to fan groups demanding a greater voice in shaping the game’s future.

Calls for FIFA governance reform

Ronan Evain, Executive Director of Football Supporters Europe and a signatory to the petition, confirmed that Infantino’s departure is a “necessary first step.” However, he stressed that resignation alone is insufficient without a comprehensive reform of the presidency and FIFA’s broader governance structure.

Evain noted that the concentration of such authority in one person reveals a fundamental flaw in the federation’s administrative system and called for a complete re-evaluation of how global football is governed.

The petition demands the formal inclusion of fans and various stakeholders in decision-making processes, as well as a review of the FIFA presidency structure, including the possibility of a rotating presidency.

Ultimately, the controversy surrounding the investment plan for FIFA tournament rights has cast a shadow over Infantino’s leadership, amid growing questions about the federation’s ability to remain cohesive as opposition to its president’s policies expands

Featured image via the Canary

By Alaa Shamali

Source link

Source link

Hind Rajab’s mother Wesam Hamada has spoken out after Israel announced a closed, military investigation into the 2024 murder of her 5-year-old daughter by Israeli troops. And she says that the occupation’s ploy is not justice:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by wesam hamada (@mom_hind_rajab)

Hind Rajab — ICC justice is the only justice

She is correct. The deliberate murder of little Hind, her six family members and two brave paramedics who tried to help cannot be whitewashed by Israel’s feeble mime of an investigation. Justice will not be served until the murderers — and all Israel’s war criminals — are on trial in the International Criminal Court.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

Source link

The first 20 deportees from the US have arrived in Liberia. The Trump administration plans to send 1,200 people in total. The plans echo the UK’s failed Rwanda deportation scheme. Associated Press reported on 20 August:

The deportees arrived at the Roberts International Airport outside Monrovia. The Liberia-U.S. agreement is among the largest third-country deportations driven by the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

It comes a day after the UK’s Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake tried to re-hash the Rwanda scheme. The scheme, which was widely seen as abhorrent, was scrapped by the incoming Labour government in 2024.

AP reported:

The 1,200 deportees will include African nationals and also nationals from North America, South America and the Caribbean, according to Liberian Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah.

Liberian Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh said in a briefing on 18 August:

that the majority of the deportees had committed migration-related violations and offenses, and that they could seek asylum in the West African country if they wished.

Liberian president Joseph Boakai has prioritised good relations with the Trump administration recently.

Trump administration — Secret deals to take deportees

The US deportations are part of the Trump administration’s violent — and sometimes deadly — crackdown on migration.

AP said Trump had cut shadowy deals with a number of countries to take deportees:

Under a series of often-secret agreements, the Trump administration has deported thousands of people to nearly two dozen countries that aren’t their own, advocates say, with about 10 of them in Africa.

One significant example is the deal the US President cut with El Salvador’s fascist president Nayib Bukele to deport immigrants to the country’s horrifying CECOT mega-prison.

According to AP:

Immigration lawyers have said the Trump administration uses deportations to third countries as a legal loophole to indirectly force asylum-seekers back to their home countries.

In many cases:

migrants are deported to countries they’ve never been to or where they face safety risks and are left with little choice other than to return to the home countries they were fleeing from.

Deportations aren’t just a Trumpian issue, however. A 2024 CNN report found Trump’s Democrat predecessor Joe Biden hit the highest level of deportations since 2014:

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported 271,484 immigrants last fiscal year, marking the highest level of deportations since 2014, according to a newly released annual report.

That didn’t stop Trump claiming the Democrats were weak on immigration. In fact, he made aggressive deportations a cornerstone of his manifesto. ICE has enjoyed massive funding increases since Trump returned to power. The paramilitary force has clashed with locals – even killing some — in cities across the US.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

Source link

Source link

Files released to the Sunday National revealed that the Scottish Government recently handed millions in funding to weapons firms supplying Israel. The total funding, awarded last year, comes to over £5.5m.

By Cameron Baillie

Source link

Sometimes, you just get the urge. Summer is supposed to be the ‘most quiet’ time at work, but somehow, every August rolls around and I feel like I’ve been hit by a train.

If you too are feeling like you’ve barely had a second to breathe this summer, and you could really use that holiday you thought you didn’t, don’t worry. It’s not too late.

While you might think that booking a last-minute holiday will leave you thousands of pounds short of a breakdown, there are plenty of affordable holiday package deals available on Loveholidays.

Advertisement

From a five-star hotel in Turkey, to a beachside trip to the Algarve, you can book a holiday for as little £500 per person.

Of course, there are trips available for the whole family. But you might just want to book one when term time starts in September. (Sorry, grandparents!)

If you need an excuse to scratch your holiday itch, I’ve rounded up the best last-minute breaks to book now. It’s really that easy.

Best last minute holidays to book for September and October 2026

Advertisement

If you’re in pursuit of wellness and beauty treatments, this five star hotel in Turkey has all the makings of a romantic couples’ trip.

There are two freshwater swimming pools, as well as a sauna, steam bath, and spa centre offering hammam massages and a range of beauty treatments.

But if you want to venture outside (and, why wouldn’t you?) the village of Hisaronu is only five minutes away, while beaches and the Blue Lagoon are just 15 minutes by car.

Not sure whether you want beach vibes or a city holiday? This aparthotel is right next to the Santa Susanna beaches, dotted with bustling bars and restaurants.

But if you get bored, you can simply hop on an hour-long train to get into Barcelona for a day trip.

The hotel even has a kids’ menu so you won’t have to worry about fussy kids and tapas.

Advertisement

Whether you’re on a family holiday or solo trip, Santa Rosa is close to everything you could need for a restful getaway. Situated next to the Costa Teguise town centre, and a four minute drive from the beach, you can peruse shops or lounge about all day.

There are also pools and restaurants at the hotel. Plus, you can take a short day trip to a nearby golf course, waterpark, or aquarium, for fun for all the family.

This three-star hotel has all the ingredients for relaxing in the sun. It has a kids’ club, if you don’t want to worry about childcare, or they’ll have plenty to keep them occupied thanks to the kids’ pool and being just a short walk from the beach.

Golfers, rejoice, because Anfi Tauro Golf Course is only a 10 minute drive away, while the shopping centre and Amadores resort are within 10 minutes.

Don’t want to spend your holiday surrounded by families? Completely fair; this hotel is adult-only. The pool looks out over the beaches of Albufeira, while the old town is a mere three minute drive away.

During your stay, you’ll be able to choose from a set menu at the hotel, or wander through the cobbled streets of the town to choose from local bars and restaurants.

Source link