Forces from Israel have kidnapped a Lebanese official close to the border and killed a father and child in an airstrike. Atwi Atwi of Islamic Group in Lebanon was captured in the village of al-Habbariyeh.

The New Arab reported:

Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya (the Islamic Group) said Israeli forces crossed into the village of al-Habbariyeh in the Hasbaya district after midnight and seized Atwi Atwi, who heads the group’s Hasbaya and Marjaayoun areas.

The group said Atwi’s family were assaulted during the raid and that they:

held the Israeli military responsible for “any harm that may befall Atwi”, describing the abduction as part of “a series of daily violations and barbaric attacks on Lebanese sovereignty carried out by Israel”.

They called on the Lebanese government to apply pressure to release Atwi and other detainees. The Lebanese state has not commented.

The Palestine Chronicle said:

The incident comes despite the ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel that entered into force in late November 2024.

Adding:

Lebanese and international sources say Israel has committed thousands of violations since then, killing and injuring hundreds and causing widespread material destruction.

The Israel military confirmed the raid in its own terms:

In a nighttime operation, forces from the 210th Division arrested a senior terrorist operative from the Islamic Group.

The New Arab described Atwi’s group as:

a Sunni Islamist political party founded in 1964 as the Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. It holds one seat in Lebanon’s parliament and was recently designated a “terrorist organisation” by the United States, along with two other Muslim Brotherhood groups in Egypt and Jordan.

Members were reportedly killed:

after joining Hezbollah in cross-border clashes with Israel in October 2023 in support of Gaza.

Israel kill father and child in airstrike

Israel also killed three people, including a father and child, in an airstrike in Yanouh – around four hours north of al-Habbariyeh. Lebanon’s LBC International reported:

Three people were killed in a Monday strike in the town of Yanouh, local sources reported.

Adding:

Among the dead were a child and his father, who was a member of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces and happened to be passing nearby at the time of the attack.

But this was just the latest attack.

Chemical warfare

Israel was recently spraying the so-called Blue Line with potentially cancerous chemicals. The Blue Line is a 120km strip which marks the line of Israel withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000. The UN and Lebanese army tested the chemicals. They found high concentrations of glyphosate, which can cause cancer.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said the “deeply alarming” attack may constitute a war crime:

The deliberate targeting of civilian farmland violates international humanitarian law, particularly the prohibition on attacking or destroying objects indispensable to civilian survival.

They added:

Large-scale destruction of private property without specific military necessity amounts to a war crime and undermines food security and basic livelihoods in the affected areas.

Israel is routinely aggressive towards Lebanon. And between kidnap operations, dropping cancer chemicals and killing a child in an airstrike, it is certainly business as usually for the global pariah ethnostate.

Featured image via the Canary

The Indian government’s response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi being named in the Epstein files was that the allegations deserved to be treated with contempt.

We have seen reports of an email message from the so-called Epstein files that has a reference to the Prime Minister and his visit to Israel. Beyond the fact of the Prime Minister’s official visit to Israel in July 2017, the rest of the allusions in the email are little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal, which deserve to be dismissed with the utmost contempt.

Nevertheless, Pandora’s box is now open. No matter how hard the global ruling class tries to contain it, the proverbial genie has escaped.

Recent documents disclosed by the US Department of Justice show Epstein communicating about Modi favourably.

On July 9, 2017, just three days after Modi’s official visit to Israel, Epstein wrote an email claiming the Prime Minister had taken his advice. In the message, Epstein asserted that Modi had “danced and sang” in Israel for the benefit of U.S. President Trump, concluding that the plan had worked.

Just three days before, on July 6th, Modi had shared a “romantic walk” on Olga Beach in Haifa, Israel. It was the first time ever that an Indian Prime Minister had visited Israel, smashing any remnants of Indian post-colonial solidarity with Palestine.

Later, in 2019, Epstein encouraged Steve Bannon to meet with Modi to counter China. Epstein chats have shown US bigotry behind the escalating war against China.

He told Bannon that Modi was a strategic opportunity, asking him to “look at your underwear” to see if it was made in either China or India.

Epstein Files — Indian elite implicated

Hardeep Singh Puri, now a senior BJP (Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party) official, is featured on Epstein’s list, with scheduled appointments at least five times between June 2014 and January 2017.

Puri is now busy sending “thugs” to his opposition. Indian opposition MP Mahua Moitra has claimed that Puri contacted her and asked her to delete her social media posts about his name appearing in the Epstein files.

Also do not appreciate @HardeepSPuri calling me to ask me to delete tweet & telling me if “people” come after me now he won’t be able to help it. I’ll take my chances, Sir. Your thug armies don’t scare me.

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) February 3, 2026

Puri then worked with the International Peace Institute (IPI) in New York, now says he was making the case for India in these exchanges.

Ironically, the people Puri was meeting with were being racist to him behind his back. Norwegian diplomat Terje Rød-Larsen, who once served as President of the IPI, made a racist remark about Puri in a 2015 email to Jeffrey Epstein, writing, “when you meet an Indian and a snake, kill the Indian first!”

Anil Ambani is the Indian tycoon who once held billionaire status but later lost his fortune; he was also an ally of Jeffrey Epstein, seeking his help in March 2017 to connect with Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon with the Indian “leadership.”

Tall Swedish Blond

Later that month, Epstein offered “a tall Swedish blonde woman” to Ambani to make it “fun to visit.” Ambani  replied, “Arrange that.”

Deepak Chopra, an Indian-origin wellness guru, described Ambani as “very rich, very much wanting to be noticed, very celebrity conscious,” to Epstein, adding that he met him at a party in Bombay. Oprah and Indian socialist Parmeshwar Godrej also attended the party, Chopra adds.

Chopra is himself disgraced in the files. The Yoga guru emailed Epstein, saying that “God is a construct. Cute girls are real.”

The documents also show a connection to Indian royalty. In 2018, a redacted sender says to  Epstein that they are organising an “amazing” birthday party near Rome at their “family castle” for the “Maharaja of Jaipur.”

Padmanabh Singh is the ‘king‘ of Jaipur in Rajasthan, India. Although he’s not officially considered a king by the state in democratic India. His mother is the BJP’s Deputy Chief Minister in Rajasthan — Diya Kumari. 

Dalai Lama Meeting Implied

The Dalai Lama, a Tibetan spiritual leader from China who is currently exiled in India, has denied meeting Epstein, as implied by the released files.

An email in 2012, from a redacted sender to Epstein claims they are going to an event where Dalai Lama will be present.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has stuck the knife into his former backer. Sarwar has called for Starmer to step down over his closeness to paedo-pal Peter Mandelson. And, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said:

Of course Keir Starmer has to go. He’s lost all moral authority and self awareness to do the right thing. It’s now a question of when Labour Members will push the button.

Heat grows on Starmer

Whilst the heat is certainly growing on the beleaguered prime minister, Sarwar’s remarks have been met with scorn.

Sarwar, levered into his position by Starmer – called for Starmer to quit because, he said, the people of Scotland are “crying out for a competent government” and that Downing Street leadership is becoming a “huge distraction” from Labour’s positive work across the country. No clues were provided as to where the ‘positive work’ might be located.

Sarwar went on:

The situation in Downing Street is not good enough. There have been too many mistakes. They promised they were going to be different, but too much has happened.

Sarwar claimed he had spoken to Starmer before his statement and said it was “safe to say he and I disagreed”. He was immediately and rightly called out for his own closeness to “old friend” Mandelson:

He responded that “Mandelson is not someone or something I want to be associated with”. Quite. I’m sure Starmer would wish not to be associated with in the public mind either.

But he certainly is. And, now that the Plaid Cymru leader has joined the growing calls for Starmer to go, the heat is very much on.

Featured image via the Canary

Australia’s government has laid out the red carpet for genocide-inciting Israeli president Isaac Herzog. And its police have met mass protests against the visit with violence. Herzog’s ex-adviser Eylon Levy, meanwhile, prepared for the trip by dehumanising Palestinians.

Thousands oppose Herzog’s visit, and Levy spreads hatred

Thousands of anti-genocide protesters in Australia hit the streets on Monday 9 February. But police got special permission to crack down on dissent. And they used pepper spray, made dozens of arrests, and even threw punches.

Numerous MPs had previously called on the government to cancel the divisive visit, promising to join the protests. The Jewish Council of Australia, meanwhile, had also asked in an open letter for the cancellation of the invitation. Over 1,000 academics and community leaders from Australia’s Jewish community had signed.

Thanks to your support, our full-page ad is in today’s Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Over 1,000 Jews and thousands of allies have signed our open letter to say that Israeli President Isaac Herzog is not welcome here.

Help us spread the word! pic.twitter.com/sq1k2he7rf

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— Jewish Council of Australia (@jewishcouncilAU) February 9, 2026

As usual, though, Levy struggled to hide his disdain for the people suffering or opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Dehumanisation has played a key role in the extermination campaign. And Levy continued this tradition by sharing an animation picturing a toad wearing a Keffiyeh, saying it was a “poisonous invasive species”:

Is Israel a poisonous invasive state? Hours ahead of Herzog’s visit to Australia, his spokesman (2021-2023) has promoted the visit by posting an animation depicting Palestinians as cane toads, calling them a “poisonous invasive species”. https://t.co/ubky81NXDJ

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) February 8, 2026

Levy has also tried to compare UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese with Hamas due to her opposition to genocide:

What’s the difference between Hamas and UN official @FranceskAlbs at this point?

🔎 Can you spot the difference? Let me know in the comments. pic.twitter.com/qtGuV3Yyhi

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) February 9, 2026

Australia’s mass protests

Thousands of people thought it was important to show their opposition to Herzog’s visit considering his role in inciting genocide. At the start of Israel’s campaign of mass murder in occupied Gaza, which followed the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, Herzog had said:

it’s an entire nation out there that is responsible. It is not true, this rhetoric about civilians who were not aware and not involved. It is absolutely not true.

A UN Human Rights Council report in 2025 found that Herzog and others had:

incited the commission of genocide

This is why many Australians called for Herzog’s arrest.

As Amnesty International said:

Welcoming President Herzog as an official guest undermines Australia’s commitment to accountability and justice.

Human Rights lawyer Chris Sidoti on the reasons why Israeli President Isaac Herzog should not be welcomed to Australia. #auspol #IsraelTerroristState #CancelHerzog #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/feQ5ggHlz1

— Peter Murphy (@PeterWMurphy1) February 7, 2026

Australia is hosting Isaac Herzog, and he’s not coming alone.

His rhetoric blaming “an entire nation” was cited by the International Court of Justice when assessing the risk of genocide.

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His delegation includes:
• Doron Almog, a former general linked to war-crimes allegations… pic.twitter.com/s97grpin2K

— APAN (@APAN4Palestine) February 6, 2026

In Sydney, authorities mobilised 3,000 police officers against protesters. A local court, meanwhile, rejected a challenge to protest restrictions.

War Criminals not welcome#Herzog out of Australia#Herzog to The Hague pic.twitter.com/0scrMBaPRO

— Aidan Bradley 🇵🇸 (@Hannahstowncelt) February 9, 2026

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A massive protest against the visit of Israeli President Herzog to Australia pic.twitter.com/0mIUOhqyrI

— Ounka (@OunkaOnX) February 9, 2026

Videos have emerged showing apparent police violence against some protesters:

⚡️🇦🇺BREAKING: POLICE IN AUSTRALIA ATTACKS PROTESTERS AND PRAYING MUSLIMS.

Police assaults protesters in Australia who were protesting against Israeli president Herzog’s visit and Israel’s warcrimes against the Palestinians.

Footage shows police assaulting a man with his hands… pic.twitter.com/9g5aKTGaqu

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— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws1) February 9, 2026

Herzog claimed people opposing his visit were seeking to “undermine and delegitimise” the state of Israel’s ‘right to exist‘. Francesca Albanese has previously clarified that no state has a right to exist under international law, but that people do:

Herzog must face accountability for his genocide incitement. Other genocide-inciters and war criminals from Israel (and elsewhere) should too. For that to happen, governments must stop normalising horrific crimes by inviting them on state visits. And that’s what thousands of Australians took to the streets to demand.

Featured image via DeclassifiedUK

Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, England, February 2026 (Peter Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)

3 min read3 hr

While Peter Mandelson will prove to be the final nail in his political coffin, I’m afraid that it is only a symptom of the real issue: poor political judgement. The public has seen this clearly in the form of regular U-turns and the constant ditching of policies first leaked to the press, while incoherent party management has alienated the Prime Minister’s natural supporters.

The situation has got so bad that last week No 10 was forced to pull their own amendment when they realised too few Labour MPs had sufficient trust in their own government to support it.

When the trust is gone, there can be no recovery for the Prime Minister. You cannot relaunch when the fundamental problem is one of judgement, and the longer this goes on the more the many fantastic things this government is delivering in office are being swamped out by psychodrama, with the party’s polling trending towards zero.

As is widely known, the one lifeline which has enabled the Prime Minister to survive so far has been the lack of a candidate willing to put themselves forward and until the May elections no one will want to step up and take the political hit the party will likely suffer at the polls. This leaves Mr Starmer with a choice.

He can wait until May and force the country to endure the chaos of removing a sitting Prime Minister, followed by months of the governing party focusing entirely inwards – or he can act now and announce his departure in May.

Doing so would provide continuity for the country, avoiding the need for an interim Prime Minister, and enable Mr Starmer and his team the opportunity to prepare for the end of his ministry. For candidates it would remove the one obstacle currently preventing them from setting out their stalls and giving them time to pull together the people and the ideas necessary to hit the ground running in office.

Unfortunately for the party, internal campaigning will inevitably prove a distraction from electioneering, but given the central role the Prime Minister plays in the party’s current unpopularity, a deadline on his departure would at least enable canvassers to honestly sell the belief that genuine change will follow after the May elections.

The decision is, for now, entirely up to the Prime Minister. Whatever his mistakes, I believe Keir Starmer is a good man, who has made considerable sacrifices to enter public office. The fact he has proven poorly suited to the role of Prime Minister is not his fault – the role suits almost no one. While he no longer has a choice when his ministry will end, he can still decide how it will end, offering the country the stable transition the Conservatives so regularly denied us.

Peter Lamb is Labour MP for Crawley

4 min read2 hr

Members of the new party being founded by Corbyn, Independent Alliance MPs Ayoub Khan and Shockat Adam, and Zarah Sultana voted narrowly for a ‘collective leadership’ over a ‘single leader’ model during its founding conference in November.

With MPs barred from leading the party, which has been deeply divided since it began, Your Party will instead be led formally by a 16-member committee, including a chair and deputy chair who must be lay members.

But the contest has become a proxy for the battle between Corbyn and Sultana, who have clashed ever since the latter quit the Labour Party and joined the project last year. Two slates are battling it out: ‘The Many’, associated with the former Labour leader, and ‘Grassroots Left’, linked to Sultana.

If successful, Grassroots Left intend to elect a ‘parliamentary convenor’, expected to be Sultana. If The Many win more seats, they will elect him as parliamentary leader.

“Members have a choice,” a source close to Corbyn told PoliticsHome.

“They can vote to build a popular, mass vehicle that looks outwards. Or they can hand the party over to splinter groups that have spent the past six months attacking the most influential figure on the British left.

“There is only one way this party can survive: a victory for The Many.”

A source close to Sultana said: “Support for the Grassroots Left is growing by the day. Members have responded overwhelmingly to our positive plan to immediately recognise branches, give access to their data and stand Your Party candidates in the upcoming elections this May.

“We were also delighted to have received an endorsement from Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi and Ken Loach’s ‘Platform for a Democratic Party’ over the weekend, as they too can see the stark difference in visions for the party. We urge everyone to vote early, and vote Grassroots Left.”

Internal elections for Your Party’s central executive committee will see voting start at 5pm today and close in two weeks.

Endorsements for candidates indicate that support for each slate among members is finely balanced, with Grassroots Left winning in some regions and The Many coming top in others.

“We see things as quite existential in terms of the survival and viability of the party as a relevant force in British politics,” one insider associated with the Corbyn wing of Your Party told PoliticsHome. “The outcome will be determined by turnout.”

Corbyn allies believe that if turnout is low in these elections, those who back Sultana – accused of representing a “federation of Trotskyist sects” – are more likely to win positions.

Those close to the former Labour leader say they are concerned that Muslim communities increasingly alienated by Labour, who represent a significant proportion of Your Party’s potential electoral base, would be put off from supporting the party if it comes under Sultana’s control. They say it would be left with little support as urban graduates are gravitating towards the Green Party.

It is also thought that the continued involvement of two MPs, Adam and Khan, could rest on the outcome of the elections, as Sultana and her supporters have been highly critical of the Independent Alliance MPs.

From the parliamentary grouping, Iqbal Mohamed and Adnan Hussain have both already quit Your Party over tensions between them and Sultana, including ill feeling after she described them as a “sexist boys’ club”.

Only Sultana has officially designated herself a Your Party MP. Corbyn, Adam and Khan are all still listed as Independents. A Your Party source said she made the change “unilaterally”, and the other MPs are understood to believe that, as the party is only currently being governed by an interim authority, they are not in a position to declare themselves as Your Party MPs.

Corbyn said: “A vote for The Many is a vote for a mass, inclusive, powerful campaigning force. We have an opportunity to build a genuinely mass party that unites our diverse communities on the issues that matter to us all.

“Remember why we are doing this: so that every child has enough food to eat, every person has a roof over their head, and everyone can live in peace. That has always been my absolute determination – and always will be.”