Politics
Delta Goodrem Confirmed For Strictly Come Dancing 2026 Cast
Pop singer Delta Goodrem will compete on this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing, the BBC has confirmed.
On Friday evening, the Australian performer became the third celebrity unveiled for the line-up, fresh from her recent success at the Eurovision Song Contest.
She enthused: “I’ve been incredibly honoured to perform on many different stages throughout my career – from TV, theatre, film sets, to touring my own shows around the world.
“There is, however, one stage I’ve never stepped onto and that is the ballroom floor! I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining Strictly and can’t wait to get started!”
After getting her start in Neighbours in the early 2000s, Delta burst onto the music scene with hits including Born To Try and Lost Without You.
In her native Australia she has an impressive nine number one singles to her name, including Innocent Eyes, Predictable and Almost Here, a duet with her ex-partner Brian McFadden.
Last month, she represented her home country at Eurovision 2026 in Vienna, Austria, with her song Eclipse, finishing in fourth place on the night.
This year’s Strictly Come Dancing casting announcements are coming in earlier than usual, with the line-up usually beginning to get unveiled around August time, ahead of the show’s September return.
On Wednesday, fans of the long-running BBC dance show were surprised when, out of the blue, EastEnders favourite Lacey Turner, best known for her performance as Stacey Slater, became the first star revealed to have signed up.
A day later, it was revealed that former Love Island champion Dani Dyer would also be competing in 2026, a year after having to pull out of the series days before the first live show after sustaining a serious injury.
It’s well-documented that the upcoming series of Strictly will be markedly different to recent seasons, most notably thanks to its new presenting line-up, a mass exodus among the show’s resident troupe of professional dancers and, reportedly, a revamped studio.
Life is full of so many little mysteries, like what those little buttons on suit jacket sleeves are really for and why there’s sometimes a little “v” under your sweater’s collar.
And after reading a recent post shared to Reddit’s r/london, I realised I’d been carrying one such puzzle in my pocket for years.
“When I first came to the UK to study, I was always very curious about why the UK’s subway card has the nickname ‘Oyster Card,’” u/Deep-Ad-3363 wrote.
Here’s the history behind the marine-themed name:
Why are they called “Oyster cards”?
Per TfL, the commuter staple could have been named “Pulse” or “Gem” cards. But of the three shortlisted options, “Oyster” won out.
Launched in 2003, the card was created with TranSys, which contracted Saatchi and Saatchi Design to help work on the branding.
Saatchi, in turn, worked with Andrew McCrum, then of Blue Sky Enterprise at the time and now of Appella name consultants.
An archived page on Appella’s site reads: “OYSTER was conceived, mainly, because of the metaphorical implications of security and value in the hard bivalve shell and the concealed pearl.
“Its associations with London through Thames estuary oyster beds and the major relevance of the popular idiom ‘the world is your oyster’ were also significant factors in its selection.”
The company added that the unique sound of the word, and its “sophistication” – as well as the marine theme of Hong Kong’s Octopus card – were added bonuses.
And the name made the design easier and more playful, too.
People were pretty surprised by the connection
“Assumed it was because they came in a clamshell-like wallet,” u/Mattdabes replied to the original Reddit post.
“I’ll never forget our first time in London aged 18 and my friend asked for ‘a mussel card’ by mistake,” u/kaiaemeli added.
And u/Annual-Load3869 wrote, “I always assumed it was ‘world’s your oyster’ but that’s pretty interesting”.
Politics
Infantino sees with one eye: he called for a French journalist’s release but ignored Palestinian journalists denied the 2026 World Cup
When Gianni Infantino reserved an empty seat for French journalist Christophe Gleizes and called for his release so he could attend the 2026 World Cup, the FIFA president wanted to send a message of solidarity with a reporter who had been prevented from covering the world’s biggest football tournament.
But there are many more empty seats that FIFA’s president has chosen not to acknowledge.
There are Palestinian journalists who covered previous international tournaments, some of whom attended the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but who will never make it to the 2026 tournament. Not because they are behind bars, but because they were killed during the war. There are also dozens of journalists in Gaza who have been deprived of the opportunity to cover the World Cup because of the realities imposed by war, siege, and border closures — circumstances that have found no place in Infantino’s speeches or press conferences.
Infantino defends French journalist
If Infantino believes that preventing a single journalist from attending the World Cup is an issue worthy of international attention, then surely the plight of journalists who have been prevented from practising their profession altogether — or who lost their lives while carrying a camera or a notebook — deserves at least the same concern.
This is not about ranking one journalist’s suffering above another’s. It is about consistency.
Over recent months, Infantino has repeatedly argued that FIFA cannot intervene in sovereign decisions made by states. He has said that visa restrictions and the exclusion of journalists, officials, and athletes from entering the United States fall outside FIFA’s remit and are matters for American authorities.
If that principle is valid in those cases, then it should apply consistently across all cases. It cannot be invoked when convenient and discarded when it is not.
He could have stood for principles
The FIFA president could have spoken up for the French journalist while also acknowledging the dozens of Palestinian journalists who will never have the chance to reach a World Cup stadium — or even return to their work. He could also have spoken out for the Somali referee who was denied entry to the United States to participate in the tournament, as well as journalists and sporting delegations who have encountered visa obstacles despite receiving official accreditation.
Instead, by highlighting one case while remaining silent on others that are arguably broader and more severe, FIFA leaves itself open to legitimate questions about double standards and the limits of the responsibility it chooses to exercise.
If football is, as Infantino often says, a force for bringing people together rather than dividing them, then fairness and solidarity should be applied universally. They should extend to every journalist denied the opportunity to cover the World Cup, regardless of their nationality or the circumstances that prevented them from being there.
Featured image via Angel Delgado/Getty Images
By Alaa Shamali
US president Donald Trump is erratic at the best of times. But his current tendency to threaten Iran with annihilation and then claim peace is at hand five minutes later comes from an awareness that he has lost the Iran war. In truth, we have known this is an American humiliation for a long time.
Iranian politics professor Hassan Ahmadian told Drop Site News on 12 June:
The United States has hit the hard rock of a formidable force that stopped its aggression and they have to deal with it.
President Trump realized that he cannot change the failure, the military failure of the war into a diplomatic win.
You can listen to the full interview below:
Drop Site is one of the few media outlets which has made a point of interviewing people within Iran, including state officials. Most of the legacy media have failed on this front, leaving the war poorly reported from the Iranian perspective.
Drop Site’s Jeremy Scahill wrote:
Throughout the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, President Donald Trump has constantly flailed in his campaign to portray it as a historic success. The blunt reality is that what Trump announced as a quick and easy war of regime change rapidly transformed into a quagmire.
For the past two months, Trump has struggled to find a way to declare victory, alternating between claims that Iran is begging him for a deal and threats to destroy Iranian civilization.
The jig is up, Trump and America are humiliated
US-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. And the UN’s atomic watchdog, the IAEA, has said there is no evidence Iran was developing a nuclear weapon.
The US has achieved none of its original war aims. Iran predictably closed the Straits of Hormuz, a vital oil channel, once attacked — creating a global energy crisis. Iran has 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.
In fact, the jig has been up for a long time.
US journalist Spencer Ackerman was saying as long ago as 1 April that America and Trump have been humiliated. And that they need to be made to feel it.
Ackerman argued that the warmongers can’t be allowed to get away with their ridiculous assertion that the US, which has achieved none of its goals, has in any way won:
A narrative that the 2026 War was a success will hasten both that return [to warfare] and to the deeper catastrophes it will unlock.
He warned that we must tell the truth of the US defeat or:
We will be right back here if the architects, the profiteers, the propagandists and the forerunners of this war get away with their evasions once again.
Trump has bitten off more than he can chew, to put it in simple terms. His desperation to exit the war looks increasingly obvious. Hubris dictates that the US president needs to appear to have won in some sense. But that ship — unlike the estimated 1600 vessels stuck in the Persian Gulf — has sailed.
Featured image via Majid Saeedi/Getty Images
By Joe Glenton
Politics
Polanski question leads Khan to reveal he told police to investigate Great Israeli Real Estate event
London mayor Sadiq Khan has condemned the Great Israeli Real Estate event, scheduled for Sunday 14 June in London. This came in response to a question from Green Party leader and London Assembly member Zack Polanski at Mayor’s Question Time.
The event promotes the sale of land in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli property sector is trying to make inroads in the western market. Actress and questionable ‘wellness’ advocate Gwyneth Paltrow has recently sold her face to developers.
Polanski said:
It is morally incomprehensible and unconscionable that this event is scheduled to take place in our city and I welcome the mayor’s strong condemnation of Sunday’s event and its breaches of international law.
The key question now is what comes out of his talks with the Metropolitan police and the Home Office.
In practical terms, the Met should shut down the event on the grounds that it is unlawful. London risks becoming complicit in settlement expansion if people in our capital are profiting from the theft of Palestinian land.
The mayor should call on the government to cancel this event outright. There is real fear that London is being used as a platform for an event associated with the confiscation of land and the destruction of homes.
The cancellation of this event would demonstrate that London will not tolerate complicity in the dispossession and subjugation of the Palestinian people.
Featured image via Jordan Peck – Getty Images for SXSW London / Jon Rowley – Getty Images / Getty Images
By The Canary
An expectant parent has asked the internet masses whether they think being naked in front of kids is “weird” – and it’s opened up a whole lot of conversation around nudity, children and what’s acceptable.
The parent-to-be wrote on Reddit that they’re having their first child this year and grew up in a “naked household” – where it was totally normal to get dressed, changed, or shower in front of each other. “I’ll also add it was just us girls who did this (no brothers),” she said.
“I’m going to be having a son. Is this concept still weird? My husband thinks so as he grew up with just his mother and much older brother.”
Is it OK to be naked in front of your kids?
In my household, privacy is limited – I can’t even take a shower without someone barging in to sing Wheels On The Bus at me. And I’m fine with that.
I’m not ashamed of my body and I don’t want my kids to grow up feeling shame around their bodies, either. I also personally think it’s great for opening conversations with little kids around what our body parts are called and what their functions are.
Most Redditors seemed to think nudity is fine, with one caveat. It’s OK until someone – whether you or the kids – becomes uncomfortable.
“It’s nothing to be shamed, and nothing to be forced either,” said one commenter.
Another said their husband stopped being comfortable “fully nude” around their daughter when she was a toddler.
“That’s respected, but it’s also not some huge deal if she runs into the room to tell him about her made up dragons while he’s changing, he’ll cover up or turn away and ask for privacy,” they said.
“At 8 she wants privacy for the bathroom mostly, we respect that, but then she will run around the house naked or just in underwear. She sees me changing frequently and it doesn’t make either of us uncomfortable so for now that’s fine. Everyone gets to say in what level of privacy they want within the family.”
There are definitely rules that are useful to follow, though.
One parent said they have three rules in their household: “Respect anyone asking for privacy, no naked butts on the couch, and we all put on clothes for visitors.”
Another said they have conversations around what’s appropriate to do in private (versus out and about), as well as consent.
“We don’t shame nudity, we explain anatomy using anatomical language, we teach about things that are only appropriate to do in private, and who’s allowed to view/touch his private parts and who isn’t,” they said.
“Whenever our son is ready to keep his nudity private or ask us to do the same, that’s fine, we’ll change. He knows it’s up to him.”
Experts agree it can be beneficial, too.
Amy Lang, a child sexual health educator, told The Guardian that while strict rules and guidelines are needed (ie. telling kids not to touch other people’s private parts), family nudity gives kids the opportunity to talk about boundaries, bodies and safety.
“I was undecided with whether I never wanted to see these people ever again, because we had a pretty good idea of what had happened,” said former U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati about a stunning FIFA vote that handed the World Cup to Qatar over a favored American bid. “Or if I want to start bidding the next hour.”
Read the fullinside story of how FIFA’s rejection of a U.S. effort to host the 2022 World Cup sparked bitterness, indictments, a reorganization of soccer’s governing body and, ultimately, a North American World Cup.
The Libyan abductors of ten Global Sumud land convoy volunteers kidnapped on 24 May 2026 have extended their illegal captivity for another thirty days. The ten were abducted near Sirte despite having previously agree safe passage with aid bound for Gaza. The extension is the second imposed on them by Libya’s Internal Security Agency (ISA).
Organisers have described the “political hostage taking” as outrageous and a “blatant attack on international solidarity with Palestine”. The group is demanding action from the volunteers’ governments and others to pressure the ISA into freeing the captives. The ISA has released footage showing the victims being transferred after the extension:
Gaza — Widespread repression
The abductions form part of a wider — and accelerating — criminalisation of Palestinian solidarity and global resistance to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Supporters are asked urgently to:
Pressure officials to act NOW to secure the safe release of these citizens of Spain, Poland, the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, Portugal, Tunisia, and Italy.
Mahmoud Shalaby, regional researcher at human rights organisation Amnesty International said:
At a time when Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are grappling with Israel’s ongoing genocide and catastrophic humanitarian conditions, it is utterly disgraceful that individuals seeking to deliver humanitarian assistance and end Israel’s unlawful blockade have been met with arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and prosecution on bogus charges in Libya.
No one should be punished for undertaking peaceful humanitarian action and trying to stop human rights abuses. The Libyan Arab Armed Forces must ensure the immediate and unconditional release of the activists, and in the meantime ensure that they have prompt and regular access to their families, consular representatives, lawyers and any medical care they require.
The abductees’ home nations are Argentina, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, Uruguay and USA.
Featured image via GlobalSumud
By Skwawkbox
A parenting coach has shared the two-word response parents can use if their kids are being disrespectful – and it’s surprisingly simple.
In a TikTok video, Mike Wallach, who runs Apparently Parenting, said: “Stop letting your kids walk all over you with this one trick.
“It’s super simple – and when done correctly, they rarely push back against it.”
What’s the trick?
The parenting coach and behaviour analyst said if a child is disrespectful or rude towards you, all you need to say in response is: “Try again.”
This can be used in a variety of scenarios, added the parenting coach, such as “when they slam the door, when they yell back ‘no’, when they’re playing too rough, [or] when they snatch a toy out of someone’s hand”.
“They immediately know what needs to be done to change their behaviour,” he explained.
Of course, some younger children might need a bit more direction than simply “try again”. If they say something rude to you, or shout at you, you could respond: “That’s not how we talk to each other. Can you try again?”
If they shout a demand at you, like “I want a snack!” you could respond: “Let’s try that again. How do we ask nicely?”
When kids are rude it might be tempting to raise your voice, but parenting pros suggest remaining calm and speaking in a steady voice, otherwise the situation will likely escalate.
According to My Parenting Solutions, asking for a replay is “so simple and effective”. But if your child is having a tantrum, it’s probably best to wait until they’ve calmed down to encourage them to try again.
The method can work well, because you’re giving children the opportunity to practice acting respectfully.
Any more tips?
Yes! If your child is being angry or rude, or having constant tussles with siblings, ‘special time’ might just help.
Child psychologist Dr Becky Kennedy, founder of Good Inside, described it as the “best bang-for-your-buck” parenting strategy.
Put simply, ‘special time’ is a period of time you carve out in your day where you and your child have one-on-one time together.
“So often, our attention as parents is split between work, siblings, admin, getting everyone fed, and the endless mental to-do list and demands on our time and resources,” Anna Mathur, a psychotherapist and author of The Uncomfortable Truth, told HuffPost UK.
But special time “cuts through that noise”.
It could be five minutes, it could be 15 minutes – but the idea is you get rid of all distractions and just sit and spend time with your kid.
Mathur said it works because “even 10 minutes of dedicated one-on-one time is a statement that tells your child: you matter, you’re seen, I want to be with you” and helps kids “feel emotionally secure, which strengthens their nervous system and improves behaviour”.
In Russell T Davies’ new drama Tip Toe, Alan Cumming and David Morrissey play feuding neighbours whose turf war spirals out of control with tragic consequences.
But in real life, it turns out the pair are lifelong chums.
Outside of Tip Toe, Alan and David have been friends for around 40 years and, in fact, were even neighbours for a long time.
Speaking to BBC News in the lead-up to Tip Toe’s release, David explained: “We have to do some pretty tough stuff, but the great thing about being with an actor who is a friend is that you can really push it.”
He added that after shooting a “very confrontational” scene, he and Alan would be “hugging each other and making sure each other are alright”.
Alan also told ITV’s This Morning that his friendship with David “really helped” them get through what might otherwise have been quite a difficult shoot due to the show’s heavy subject matter.
In a separate interview, Russell told The Hollywood Reporter: “It turned out [Alan has] been best friends with David Morrissey for 40 years, and they’d never appeared on screen together.
“When they did their first little scene on Canal Street, we all gave them a round of applause. It was such a lovely moment.”
Alan West/Hogan Media/Shutterstock
The Bafta winner also told Channel 4 that it was Alan who suggested that David could play Clive, having already been cast as Leo in the early stages of the creative process.
“He said, ‘oh, I’ve sent the script to Dave’. And we were like, ‘brilliant, imagine getting David Morrissey as well’,” Russell recalled. “And it happened!”
Russell enthused: “The fact that that they’re friends in real life, it just shows how great actors they are because they fucking hate each other [in the show] and it’s visceral and uncomfortable.
“[Being friends] gave them a lot of freedom, I think. They didn’t have to spend time getting to know each other, so I think they felt very free to go for it.”
He added: “They’ve been mates for 40 years, so they knew they could go for it. And I think there’s a real boldness in what they do together.”
The brutal finale of Tip Toe premiered on Channel 4’s streaming service over the weekend, with Russell previously opening up to HuffPost UK about what went into the unflinching scene.
Vegan campaign group Viva! says its latest survey reveals a major transparency problem within the UK egg industry, as the government mulls over a potential cage ban.
Underpinning this statement is an eye-opening statistic. Almost three-quarters (74%) of UK shoppers are unaware that ‘enriched’ colony cages are used in the UK.
Katie Robinson, campaigns manager at Viva!, explains:
We asked 2,000 members of the public a simple question. And in doing so we’ve highlighted a deeply worrying disconnect between what consumers believe to be true and the realities of animal farming.
Brits consume 14.5bn eggs a year, yet most have no idea how they are produced. That’s no accident. The egg industry shouts about supposedly idyllic free range farms and completely omits the hens trapped in cages.
A general lack of transparency across the whole supply chain is bolstered by concerted efforts by the egg industry to obscure the facts. Consumers are denied the information they need to make informed decisions. That must change.
Cages weren’t banned in 2012
Many consumers think all cages were banned in 2012. In reality, barren ‘battery’ cages were replaced by larger, ‘enriched’ colony cages, capable of holding 40-80 birds each. Under current guidelines, each hen is given slightly less usable space than an A4 piece of paper.
They spend their entire lives under artificial lights, in rows of cages within vast, industrial sheds, deprived of the ability to display natural behaviours.
Currently, around 7.3 million egg-laying hens are trapped inside these cages, with approximately 17% of the UK’s egg supply stemming from caged birds.
While the public’s understanding of UK cage use is low, previous data from Bryant Research shows that nearly all those (94%) who are aware of ‘enriched’ colony cages are strongly against them.
Viva! is therefore deeply concerned that consumers are unwittingly buying eggs produced in a manner they find cruel – and would avoid if they knew the truth.
The animal advocacy organisation is one of many calling for much clearer food labelling requirements so shoppers can see how an animal lived before they were slaughtered and packaged for a supermarket shelf.
Even farmers are admitting that the industry needs to be more transparent. In a recent article in the Western Morning News, Paul Kelly of Kelly Turkey Breeders said:
We have to accept that things can be ugly on farm, from feather pecking to killing and plucking – we have to do a better job of educating consumers about the realities of farming.
Cracking the cage secret
The poll was conducted as part of Viva!’s 2026 Cracked campaign. The campaign’s primary aims are to raise awareness of the plight of caged hens and maintain pressure on the government to follow through on its commitment to phase out ‘enriched’ colony cages, a pledge outlined in the government’s Animal Welfare Strategy for England.
Despite huge public backing for a ban, the National Farmers’ Union and British Egg Industry Council have both pushed back hard on proposals. And the much-anticipated outcome of a major public consultation has already suffered delays. Defra says it will deliver its verdict in “the summer”.
Viva! activists have been tirelessly campaigning for a ban on ‘enriched’ colony cages, organising dozens of public outreach events across the UK, protesting in Parliament Square, securing prominent media coverage of Viva! Campaigns’ caged hen facility investigation and even canvassing celebrities and influencers for support.
Thousands of letters calling for a ban have also been sent by constituents to their MPs, making it clear that this is a welfare issue the animal-loving British public cares deeply about.
Robinson adds:
There’s still time for people to support our Cracked campaign while we await a response to the government consultation. These beautiful, sensitive birds will never know freedom. They can’t stretch, dustbathe, enjoy the sun on their backs or the dirt beneath their claws.
Caged egg systems take everything from them; all these hens have is people who care enough to fight for them.
I’d urge everyone shocked by what they’ve read here to take 30 seconds out of their day to write to their MP and demand change. Without you, millions more hens could face a lifetime of misery in cages.
Viva! has created a letter template supporters can use to contact their MP quickly and easily. Visit viva.org.uk/mp-ban-cages to write to yours now, before it’s too late.
Featured image via Viva!
By The Canary
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