Politics

Full speed ahead on SPS alignment

Published

5 hours ago

11 March 2026

Joël Reland considers why the UK government’s announcement of the EU legislation ‘in scope’ for the UK-EU ‘SPS’ deal is significant, both for UK businesses and politically.

This week the government published a list of EU legislation ‘in scope’ for the UK-EU ‘SPS’ deal. Translated into normal English, that is the list of EU laws which the UK will have to adopt in order to cut red tape on trade in animal and plant goods.

What have we learnt from this announcement? On a technical level, we now know that there are at least 76 pieces of EU legislation with which the UK will align, covering areas ranging from animal health, welfare and hygiene to food marketing rules and additive and pesticide restrictions.

But, stepping back from the legal minutiae, the statement sends an interesting political signal about just how keen the UK government is to get the SPS deal done. Two aspects in particular stand out.

First, there is the unfussy manner in which the government accepts the need for alignment. Most UK announcements about any form of closer cooperation with the EU are couched in obfuscatory language about ‘sovereign decisions’, value for money, and keeping matters under review. It often takes a deep dive into the supplementary annexes to properly understand what is going on.

Not so here. The press release essentially says: we want to cut red tape for importers and exporters; here are the EU rules that we need to align with to do that. The two sides continue to negotiate on a few limited cases where the UK may be exempted from alignment (namely some rules on genetic editing and animal welfare) – but the vast bulk of relevant EU law will be accepted without further scruples.

Second, the statement is clearly designed to get firms started on the process of adaptation. Normally, businesses would only learn of the outcome of a negotiation once the final, agreed text is published. This announcement is in effect a way of giving them advance sight of the deal – including guidance on what specific sectors need to do – so they can begin preparations for the new regime while the final details are haggled over.

There seems to be a concerted effort to avoid the errors of Brexit past, where the implementation of various new regimes was hampered by a lack of clear messaging about the way ahead and, therefore, a lack of preparedness on the business side.

This uncharacteristic assertiveness from a regime renowned for its caution tells us of the growing importance which EU policy plays in the government’s wider economic agenda. Last month, the Chancellor publicly stated her desire to make a “political argument” about the economic benefits of a closer EU relationship – making the implications of the ‘EU reset’ policy more explicit. Her argument – that “economic gravity is reality, and almost half of our trade is the EU” making better EU trade the “biggest prize” for the economy – is not something you would have heard a year ago.

But the government needs evidence to make that case, and this is why the SPS deal seems so prized. There is a tangible, everyday quality to the agreement which other deals on carbon pricing and electricity price auctions do not have, allowing the government to tell a clear story about how closer ties to Brussels can bring economic benefits at home – in terms of lower food prices for consumers and export opportunities for British fishers, farmers and small businesses.

It is telling that it the SPS deal is the only bit of business emanating from last year’s UK-EU summit for which the government has set a clear target date (2027). Whether it can deliver the anticipated economic and political rewards, however, is far from certain.

After all, just because government starts telling business to get ready doesn’t mean the deal is in fact done. Some important details are still subject to negotiation, and a best-case scenario would probably see the text agreed this summer. But, even then, the UK still needs to go through the process of adopting the necessary EU legislation – the parliamentary mechanics of which take time, especially if MPs seek close scrutiny of the process.

Then there is the question of business adaptation, with farming industry groups already arguing that a transition period may be necessary given the scale of divergence in UK-EU rules in areas like pesticides. The government says that most sectors should experience ‘minor or minimal’ change, but it will consider ‘targeted transitional arrangements’ for the most-affected – potentially adding many months before the deal is operating at full capacity.

An optimistic reading is that the agreement could come into full force 18-24 months before the next general election (if it takes place at the latest possible date of mid-2029). Is that enough time for voters to feel the benefits? Unlikely, given that the overall economic gains from the deal appear quite marginal, and any savings for consumers are likely to come in the form of lower food price inflation (rather than costs coming down) which will probably be blown out of the water by a spike in energy costs anyway.

The government is to be credited for being clear with industry about the way ahead on the SPS deal. Early and consistent messaging will be essential for a speedy adaptation process. But for it to win the “political” argument about the benefits of closer EU ties, it will probably need to set its ambitions a lot higher.

By Joël Reland, Senior Researcher, UK in a Changing Europe.

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Politics

Labour is taking inspiration from the Taliban

Published

6 minutes ago

11 March 2026

NewsAdmin

Labour is taking inspiration from the Taliban

We regularly hear the refrain that schools need to get back to ‘old-fashioned’ methods of teaching. But how far back should they go? And, while we’re at it, to which society? Labour councils in the north of England have attempted to clear up this confusion for us. Seventh-century Arabia, at the dawn of Islam, is their answer.

In a document titled ‘Sharing the Journey’, multiple Labour-run councils have told schools that drawing pictures of humans could be ‘idolatrous’ to ‘some Muslim’ pupils. Music lessons could also conflict with the religious injunctions of Islam, on the grounds that ‘music is traditionally limited to the human voice and non-tunable percussion instruments as in the days of the prophet, when they were only used in marriage ceremonies and on the battlefield’. Dancing and physical activities also need to be carefully policed so as to ensure there is no ‘physical contact between male and females’, nor ‘performing in a manner that might encourage immodesty or sexual feelings’.

This is, to put it mildly, disturbing. These councils – they include Leeds, Oldham, Tameside and Kirklees – are effectively advising schools to look to the Taliban for educational inspiration. They are also denying pupils the joys of drawing, music and dancing. Any adult who isn’t chronically maladjusted knows that these expressions of creativity and affection are vital to a human’s development – indeed, they are among the most important aspects of any child’s education.

Critics might point out that drawing attention to this advice is just ‘fearmongering’ from the usual right-wing suspects. They will say that schools are simply being ‘mindful’ of the multicultural nature of 21st-century England. Of course, no student would be punished for his blasphemous doodlings, they insist.

But this would be to ignore the ways in which blaspheming against Islam is already severely punished in Britain today. In recent years, we have seen just how seriously schools take the concerns of Islamic fundamentalists when rumours of blasphemy get about. Most notoriously, there was the teacher from Batley Grammar School in Yorkshire in 2021, which happens to be located in the Kirklees council boundary. After showing pupils a cartoon of the Muhammed in a religious-studies lesson, he was first suspended by his school and then forced into hiding following death threats from Islamists. In 2023, four students at Kettlethorpe High School in West Yorkshire were suspended for ‘desecrating’ the Koran. One of them had read passages from the holy book before a friend knocked it out of his hands on to the ground, where it got scuffed.

The response to both of these incidents was telling. If you removed the name and location of the schools, you would assume these events happened in Iran or Afghanistan. The schools immediately acted on the demands of those demanding ‘punishment’ for the teacher and the students. That Britain is supposed to be a secular country, where blasphemy laws were abolished long ago, didn’t cross school leaders’ minds. One of the parents of the Kettlethorpe children was even forced into a humiliating public apology, where she pleaded with Islamists not to harm her son. The police ignored the death threats sent to the child, but made sure to record his scuffing of the Islamic holy text as a non-crime hate incident.

The new guidance confirms that the Islamic bigots have won. Their rules – their censorious worldview – now reigns supreme in the classroom.

And this same spirit of appeasement now permeates public life, too. Indeed, just this week, the Labour government formally adopted its definition of ‘anti-Muslim hostility’. As has been pointed out on spiked, hostility can basically mean any form of disagreement with Islam. There is every reason to think, therefore, the definition will only embolden the forces of sectarianism that are throwing their weight around British society with increasing confidence.

This has to stop. Muslims are perfectly entitled to raise their children in accordance with their religion. They are also entitled to send their children to one of the many Islamic schools in the UK, where any bans on singing, dancing and drawing they might want to impose can be enforced uniformly. But to pressure all schools to police children in accordance with Islamic doctrine is an intolerable attack on secular principles and freedom of speech. This can go on no longer.

Hugo Timms is a staff writer at spiked.

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Politics

Ben-Gvir, notorious Zionist, arms settlers

Published

32 minutes ago

11 March 2026

NewsAdmin

Ben-Gvir, notorious Zionist, arms settlers

Fascist Israeli security minister and would-be executer of Palestinian abductees Itamar Ben-Gvir has reportedly removed remaining constraints on Israeli settlers carrying guns in Jerusalem as part of his incitement to violence against indigenous Palestinians. But only Jewish Israelis, of course. Any Jewish residents can have a gun even if they have no experience or training. And just in case anyone was in doubt that the idea is to shoot Muslims, Ben-Gvir said the change is to:

[save] lives, especially during wartime and Ramadan.

What could possibly go wrong?

Ben-Gvir rumours

But where is Ben-Gvir? The racist horror has not been seen in a public setting for several days. Unfounded claims have since circulated on social media that his settler-colony home had been hit by an Iranian drone.

State-aligned ‘fact-checkers’ say the claims of his wounding or death are false.

And now, ‘his’ X account has released a video with the message:

I’m alive, blessed be the Lord. Go fuck yourselves.

אני חי ברוך השם. תתפוצצו pic.twitter.com/WcjAi9KPCQ
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) March 10, 2026

However, the video raises more questions than it answers. Ben Gvir appears for only five seconds in total, split into three sections of only one or two seconds each. The audio also shows tell-tale modulation markers of artificially-constructed speech. It is embedded below so readers can select their preferred speed and more easily scrub back and forth:

A clip of the sections only showing Ben-Gvir:

So where is murderous ethno-fascist land-thief Itamar Ben-Gvir? Did the Iranians wound or kill him in retaliation for Israel’s murder of its leader Ali Khamenei?

Arming Zionist settlers is exactly what such a figure can be expected to do. After all, this is the same man who has been banned by multiple countries for his naked genocidal ambitions for Gaza. Famously, he said:

there are no uninvolved civilians in Gaza.

Featured image via the Canary

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Politics

HuffPost Headlines For March 11

Published

1 hour ago

11 March 2026

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Analysis: Mandelson Documents Leave Keir Starmer’s Reputation In Tatters

Published

1 hour ago

11 March 2026

NewsAdmin

The vetting document prepared for the PM.

Keir Starmer was given every excuse he needed not to make Peter Mandelson the UK’s ambassador to Washington, but did it anyway.

There are few fresh revelations contained within the 137 pages of documents released by the government about Mandelson’s appointment.

The biggest one – that the disgraced peer wanted a pay-off of more than half a million pounds for a job that he was sacked from – simply confirms what we already knew about his character.

In the end, he received £75,000 – a third of which was tax free.

However, it is the confirmation of what the prime minister was told by his own civil servants before appointing him which is most damning of all.

The Cabinet Office due diligence report presented to the PM on December 11, 2024, shortly before Mandelson’s appointment, is clear about the extent of his relationship with the convicted paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.

It shows that a report commissioned by JP Morgan in 2019 found that Epstein “appeared to maintain a particularly close relationship” with Mandelson and the now-equally disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Most shockingly, that report found that Epstein and Mandelson relationship continued between 2009 and 2011, after the billionaire financier’s conviction for procuring an underage girl in 2008.

Mandelson also stayed at Epstein’s house in New York when he was still in jail.

In addition, Mandelson went on to become a “founding citizen” of an ocean conservation group funded by Epstein and founded by his close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

The document says that Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein represented a “general reputational risk” for the government.

What more evidence did the PM need that he should give Mandelson a very wide berth?

However, on the advice of his chief of staff, Mandelson ally Morgan McSweeney, Starmer opted to ignore this warning and appoint him anyway.

The political decision was taken that Mandelson’s ability to curry favour with Donald Trump was more important than standing with Epstein’s victims.

McSweeney ultimately paid for that calculation with his job.

For now at least, Starmer remains in place. But his reputation as a cautious politician who, for all his faults, at least does things by the book, is in tatters.

By no means coincidentally, the Mandelson documents were not released until after prime minister’s questions, meaning Starmer could not be personally grilled about their contents.

Instead, chief secretary to the PM Darren Jones was sent out to face the music.

He claimed that the “due diligence process fell short of what is required”, which is undoubtedly true.

It is also the case that Mandelson was less than forthcoming about his links to Epstein when personally asked about them by the prime minister.

Nevertheless, this does not change the fact that the details which were already in the public domain should have been sufficient to bar him from the plum diplomatic role.

Jones told MPs that Epstein “was a despicable criminal who committed the most horrifying and disgusting crime that destroyed the lives of countless women and girls”.

And yet, knowing this, Starmer still opted to make his friend Mandelson the UK’s ambassador to Washington.

It is a decision which should haunt him for the remainder of his time in office, and beyond.

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Politics

Labour MP Nichols shows why scrapping jury trials is wrong

Published

2 hours ago

11 March 2026

NewsAdmin

Labour MP Nichols shows why scrapping jury trials is wrong

Labour MP Charlotte Nichols spoke in the House of Commons in opposition to the government’s planned cuts to jury trials. The government have insisted these cuts are essential for swifter justice for victims of rape. On the contrary, Nichols suggests they have pressured MPs to support the bill by implying that those who oppose it have either never experienced rape or simply do not care about victims.

This appears to have pressured Nichols into doing what no woman should be compelled to do: revealing her own experience of rape and its lasting trauma to the public, at the cost of her anonymity and privacy.

Consequently, Nichols’ courageous speech has struck a chord with many across the country. It also highlights how the current government don’t grasp the scale of sexual violence and abuse in British society. Many, many women have either experienced abuse or has supported a loved one through their own deep pain and trauma. It would be harder to find someone who hasn’t.

Therefore, it appears that Starmer’s government have used the very serious issue of rape and ineffective, underfunded justice as a cynical ploy to push through systemic cuts to the human rights of British citizens.

🚨 WATCH: Labour MP Charlotte Nichols reveals she was raped as an MP as she opposes the jury trial reforms
“I waited 1,088 days to go to court. We’ve been told [by the Government] that if we have concerns about this Bill, it’s because we’ve not been raped” pic.twitter.com/0mYy3T2Tk7
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) March 10, 2026

Labour MP: “I waited 1,088 days to go to court”

Nichols heartbreaking speech has run a ram rod through the cabinet’s argument that these ‘reforms’ are essential for rape victims. In fact, her speech underscores how the government is using the failings of a sluggish and ineffective justice system for rape survivors to push through harmful cuts. As she astutely pointed out, this can only work to turn victims’ experiences into a political weapon.

This will surely lead to inferences that there is an imbalance in our justice system between defendants and victims, which will simply breed more resentment amongst men towards women and girls. Subsequently, the government’s policy to cut juries further victimises women whilst taking human rights away from defendants.

Nichols said:

I have spoken before in this place about having PTSD as the result of being the victim of a crime, but I have never specified the nature of that crime and in doing so I am aware that I am waiving my right to anonymity and the personal consequences that come along with that.
I care profoundly about rape victims facing intolerable delays for their day in court. I know only too well what that feels like, as after being raped at an event that I attended in my capacity as a Member of Parliament, I waited 1,088 days to go to court.
Every single one of those days was agony, made worse by having a role in public life that meant that the mental health consequences of my trauma were played out in public, with the event that led to my eventual sectioning for my own safety still being something that I receive regular social media abuse from strangers about to this day.

Sometimes there are moments in the House of Commons that take your breath away.
An extraordinarily brave performance from Charlotte Nichols. https://t.co/A0CEfMh711
— Jonathan Pie (@JonathanPieNews) March 10, 2026
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Government being ‘deeply damaging’

Nichols then spoke to how the government’s actions are impacting survivors and defendants:

But here’s the kicker. In this debate, experiences like mine feel like they’ve been weaponised and are being used for rhetorical misdirection for what this Bill actually is. The violence against women and girls sector haven’t had the opportunity to come together to discuss it, and the Government’s framing and narrative has been to pit survivors and defendants against each other in a way I think is deeply damaging.

The Labour MP for Warrington North then exposed the harsh realities of clashing with the cabinet government on this matter, and “abusive” only begins to describe it:

We have been told that if we have concerns about this bill, it is because we have not been raped or because we don’t care enough for rape victims. The opposite is true in my case. It is because I have been raped that I’m as passionate as I am about what it means for a justice system to be truly victim focused. It is because I have endured every indignity that our broken criminal justice system could mete out that I care what kind of reform will actually deliver justice for survivors and victims of crime more widely.

Nichols finished by reminding us what had actually been promised by Labour but has yet to be delivered:

We promised in our manifesto specialist rape courts – this bill isn’t that.

Every word of what Charlotte Nichols said in her speech against restrictions to jury trials is bang on.
She spoke today for many victims who feel that their voices have been erased and their experiences instrumentalised.
Advertisement

If you haven’t watched it, you must.
— Nadia Whittome MP (@NadiaWhittomeMP) March 10, 2026

Charlotte Nichols has spoken out in the past about the challenges facing people working in Westminster in reporting sexual assault in Parliament:

“These aren’t punishments that fit the crime.”
Labour MP Charlotte Nichols, who has been a victim of improper conduct in Westminster, says the system for reporting sexual assault in parliament needs to change.
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@charlotte2153 | @JPonPolitics pic.twitter.com/r1rOf95dsP
— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) June 1, 2023

Victims deserve better than being used as shields for a failing government

It must be said: Charlotte should never have had to bear her soul in this way. By choosing to do so, she showed that she has clear red lines she refuses to cross. In this case, she refused to allow anyone to weaponise the very real and traumatic experiences that women and girls endure.

It also underscores how little professionalism and decency exists in our cabinet government for them to bully women into compliance.

After all, survivors of rape and sexual violence gain nothing from framing justice in a way that makes men feel their rights are being restricted for women’s advantage.

Likewise, they should not have to watch powerful men use our trauma for their own abuse of power.

Featured image via X

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Politics

Humidity-Proof And Carry-On Friendly: The 7 Curl Products I Never Travel Without

Published

2 hours ago

11 March 2026

NewsAdmin

Humidity-Proof And Carry-On Friendly: The 7 Curl Products I Never Travel Without

We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, HuffPost UK may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI – prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

Travelling with a locked-in beauty routine is not for the weak, let me tell you.

When it comes to curl care, getting your perfect hair routine down pat is enough to make you feel like a Nobel-prize-worthy scientist.

It can take years of effort to get it right – trust me, mine did. And now, you’d have to pry my favourite products away from my cold, dead hands before I give them up.

So a little thing like baggage allowance isn’t going to stop me from bringing my essentials along with me.

Curious just what those essentials are? They’re worth their weight in gold to me, but don’t worry – I didn’t get into the business to gatekeep.

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Politics

Best Travel Cot Playpen: A Parent’s Honest Review Of The ‘Nipper Nest’

Published

2 hours ago

11 March 2026

NewsAdmin

Best Travel Cot Playpen: A Parent’s Honest Review Of The 'Nipper Nest'

Nipper Nest Quick Overview

Pros:

Easy to transport thanks to carry bag/lightweight frame

Pops up easily (barely any construction required)

Doubles up as a playpen

Cushioned edges

Premium feel

Mattress slightly more padded than competitors

Cons:

More expensive than other travel cots

A parent’s honest review of Out’n’About’s Nipper Nest

I’m all for the easy life these days, so when Out’n’About’s Nipper Nest landed on my doorstep for a trial period, I was intrigued to see how the travel cot-playpen would fare.

Over the years we’ve relied on a Joie travel cot which I panic-bought from Argos about three years ago when we were going away with our little one and had nowhere for her to sleep.

I’ve spent many an hour trying to put said cot up and down since then, as you have to lock the frame in place – sometimes this happens smoothly, other times not so much. The cot frame part-collapses, resulting in numerous meltdowns on my part.

I’ve had the same experience with other travel cots, usually when we’re staying in Airbnbs or with my parents. Sometimes the frames can be quite hard too, which resulted in a split lip for my toddler when she decided to throw herself at it during a tantrum one evening. And don’t get me started on those rock solid mattresses…

Anyway, I digress. Out’n’About’s Nipper Nest is a travel cot and playpen which is built for families who are always on the move. And let me tell you now, it’s the easiest travel cot I’ve ever put together (well, I didn’t even technically put it together).

You simply pull it out of the bag, and then stretch the legs outwards, and they quietly click into place. Unroll the mattress, pop it in the bottom (it sticks with velcro securely to the base so there’s no movement), and that’s it.

I love that the cot comes in a handy bag, so you can lug it around (but also store it) easily, and it’s also super lightweight – which makes travelling with it hassle-free, whether you’re carrying it through an airport or moving it around your living room fully-assembled.

The edges are well-padded (a must with babies when they start trying to stand) and the mattress, while still pretty thin, is much comfier than other travel cot mattresses which are like sleeping on cardboard.

The travel cot packed away in its bag

The Nipper Nest has plenty of space to play/sleep inside, and also comes with a handy UPF50 blackout cover so your kids can nap on holiday or sit in there to stay protected from the sun.

The base is also waterproof so you can stick it on the beach or in the garden without worrying any damp will seep up to where your child is sleeping or sitting.

The Nipper Nest in action on the beach.

With the travel cot doubling up as a playpen too, there’s a side zip so crawlers can easily get in and out (once you’ve unzipped it for them).

There’s also an optional bassinet attachment so the cot can be used from birth – accommodating newborn naps right up to toddler playtime. The recommended age is 0-24 months, but once they’ve outgrown it I reckon parents could get away with using it for older children who simply want a bit of shade, or somewhere sheltered to sit, in the garden or on the beach.

On the topic of putting the cot away – again, it’s an easy job. You simply squeeze two handle-bar-like buttons on the frame and then fold it into a Z shape. The legs can then be folded in on themselves. You wrap it in the mattress, put it in the bag, and you’re good to travel somewhere new!

At £195 it’s certainly not a budget buy (the materials and construct of this are certainly premium), but if you’re using it everyday as a playpen and then taking it travelling (or to the grandparents) for trips away, you’ll soon get your money’s worth.

Nipper Nest with UV canopy over the top

What other parents are saying about it…

“We love our Nipper Nest! It’s compact to carry and extremely easy to put up and pack away. We can take it to the beach or use it in the garden in the summer. The girls also love it as a cosy spot to read their books.”
“So easy to put up and fold away! Cabin approved luggage bag and takes up so little room. Great travel cot and fun for the children with the zipped side entry and ability to make into a ‘tent’ with the UV cover. The perfect safe space for little ones to play in or sleep in.”
“Our toddler has been enjoying using it during hide and seek and as a little den, the shade is both great for UV cover and for creating a dark space for our baby/ toddler to sleep during lighter evenings, or when sharing a hotel room and we require the light left on but the children need to sleep. The mattress bottom is incredibly padded and comfy. Really love this product, highly recommend.”
“Super impressed with this Nipper nest! I’ve tried a variety of different travel cots and this is by far my favourite, and it’s so versatile. It takes seconds to pop up and down, and comes in a perfect compact carry bag. You can also use it as a playpen or take it to the beach, thanks to the zip side entrance, and it comes with a UPF50 blackout cover, so perfect for the summer and to provide some much needed shade. The base is waterproof, so wet sand isn’t a problem.”

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Politics

Trump failure in Iran forces South Korea’s hand

Published

3 hours ago

11 March 2026

NewsAdmin

Trump failure in Iran forces South Korea's hand

As the illegal US-Israeli war against Iran drags on, it seems clearer and clearer that Donald Trump either miscalculated or fell for the lies warhawk allies sold him. And it’s spreading the stocks of US forces and their allies thin. As a result, they’ve had to get backup from South Korea.

Trump has depleted military resources

Amid Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and rampage through the Middle East in 2025, the US army had already:

redeployed two MIM-104 Patriot systems and approximately 500 personnel from South Korea to the Middle East, which reinforced defences at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

The US also took “over 1,000 guided bomb kits” from facilities in South Korea in December 2025, along with “AH-64 Apache attack helicopters” in January 2026.

But now, there are signs that the unprovoked US-Israeli assault on Iran has been seriously depleting the aggressors’ resources in the Middle East. For example, after around a decade in South Korea, the US has apparently started to move out parts of:

the US-made terminal high-altitude area defense (THAAD) missile-defence system

There are also reportedly discussions about:

the possible redeployment of some US Patriot missile defence systems to the Middle East. South Korean media carried unconfirmed reports that some missile batteries were likely to be redeployed to US bases in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates [UAE].

The UAE’s increasing understanding that its alliance with the US puts a real target on its back, meanwhile, has made future planning more important. And South Korea will soon help the Gulf regime:

build ⁠computing power and energy infrastructure for the world’s largest set of AI data centres outside the United States… [as part of the] U.S.-backed Stargate project

Additionally:

South Korea has conducted an emergency airlift of surface-to-air missiles… from the Cheongung-II air defence system to the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

South Korea took about “30 interceptor missiles” from its own operational reserves to send to the UAE after an urgent request. As Military Watch Magazine highlighted:

This is critical not only to… sustaining the U.S. Armed Forces’ and French Armed Forces ability to continue to wage war on Iran using military bases in the country, most notably Al Dhafra Air Base.

It added that:

It is notable that South Korea is the only country that is able to [deliver] high performing NATO-compatible air defences on such short notice, with European states’ own systems having very limited capabilities, while U.S. systems have seen stockpiles severely depleted primarily due to operations in the Middle East, but also due to large scale donations to Ukraine in preceding years.

South Korea and its increasingly unreliable superpower ally

Under Donald Trump, the US has increasingly been showing its allies how much of an unreliable partner it is. And while South Korea still has one of the highest defence budgets in the world, the flailing commitment of the US – whose presence has been at the centre of South Korean military policy for decades – has sparked concern.

South Korea has tried to navigate Trump’s tariff threats carefully. But liberal president Lee Jae Myung has signalled the importance of a “more self-reliant South Korean defence posture” that doesn’t depend so much on a volatile US government and can help to avoid “entanglement in international disputes”.

South Korea’s government is also ramping up efforts to shield itself from the energy crisis that the US-Israeli war on Iran has created.

The US isn’t abandoning South Korea, though. Because it’s too strategically important in Washington’s efforts to ‘contain’ China. And US-South Korean forces are currently undertaking:

their annual 10-day joint military exercises on the Korean Peninsula… [involving] 18,000 South Korean and US military personnel.

There will, however, be “fewer than half” the number of field training drills (22) that took place last year.

That doesn’t make North Korea feel any better. The dark history of US war crimes during the Korean War (1950-1953) regularly reminds the North that the superpower “killed as much as 20%” of its population (some believe one million people), before backing numerous “right-wing dictatorships in the South in the decades afterward”.

North Korea, which developed nuclear weapons as a deterrent in the wake of the devastating war, still condemns the “clear confrontational nature” of US-South Korean drills, routinely responding with weapons tests of its own.

If less US involvement in the Korean Peninsula reduces the likelihood of conflict there, that will be a good thing. The bad thing, however, seems to be that arms are shifting to the Middle East instead, fuelling a devastating mess that the US seemingly doesn’t plan to end any time soon.

Featured image via the Canary

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Israel involvement in Mighty Hoopla decried

Published

3 hours ago

11 March 2026

NewsAdmin

Israel involvement in Mighty Hoopla decried

A group of anticolonial collectives is calling for a boycott of Mighty Hoopla, Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ music festival due to the involvement of genocidal Israel.

The four organisations – Antifascist Music Alliance, Muslim Social Justice Initiative, NY Cultural Solidarity Project, Ravers for Palestine and Writers Against the War on Gaza have penned an open letter that explains their boycott.

Mighty Hoopla is owned by KKR, a global investment firm which invests in Israeli data centres. Data gathering technology has been central to Israel’s genocide against Palestine. Additionally, it is the primary shareholder in the Coastal Gaslink pipeline, which is invading the indigenous Wet’suwet’en lands in the West of Turtle Island in Canada.

In 2025, Land Defenders in Toronto initiated a global boycott of all KKR-owned festivals. Queer & trans artists have been especially prominent in this effort.

Israel once again accused of pinkwashing

Now, Mighty Hoopla is hosting a trans fundraiser at Wembley, which amounts to nothing short of pinkwashing and indigenous erasure.

Pinkwashing is an Israeli government propaganda strategy which cynically exploits LGBTQIA+ rights. It projects a progressive image whilst hiding Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies, which oppress Palestinians.

The open letter states:

The KKR boycott is an aperture onto a world where movements work together to dismantle empire and capitalism.
Those participating in Mighty Hoopla and its fundraiser undermine this collective project of Indigenous-queer liberation. Their proposition, that imperial core trans rights can be disaggregated from the fate of Palestinians and Wet’suwet’en, is grim and malign.
It invites queers to seek recognition from Western colonial structures rather than working alongside other targeted groups to dismantle them.
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It is the spirit of the gay cop, of ‘Tel Aviv Pride’, of Stonewall giving diversity awards to MI5.

More action needed

Olly Alexander is hosting the fundraiser on March 11.

Throughout the last few years of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza, Alexander ignored thousands of personal appeals to boycott Eurovision. Shockingly, he even crossed the picket line to perform on the same stage as ‘Israeli’ singer Eden Golan.

The lineup also includes Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green Party.

Even the Good Law Project are promoting the event.

The letter requests that anyone participating in Mighty Hoopla watch Yintah – a 2024 documentary of Wet’suwet’en resistance to the Coastal GasLink pipeline. It also invites them to:

witness the Royal Mounted Canadian Police, armed with dogs, snipers and chainsaws, brutalising elders. We ask them to listen to the stories of Wet’suwet’en interned in residential schools, to hear about the mass graves that continue to be discovered, and tell us they are still happy to break this boycott.

So far, many DJs have dropped out of other KKR-owned events, including Sonàr, Field Day, Boiler Room and Milkshake. Moreover, many of these artists are precarious and from the global majority.

Despite this, only a few artists and collectives have dissociated from Mighty Hoopla: Daytimers, T Boys Club, Bledi Party, NRG Cru and yungcweed.

The letter asks:

Do the imperial core queers of Hoopla believe they are exempt from this boycott?

The letter ends:

Do not scab.
Do not disgrace our queer ancestors and their legacies of resistance.
Do not foreclose our possible anticolonial futures.
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Respect the Indigenous-led boycott of KKR. This means withdrawing your participation at the fundraiser unless Mighty Hoopla is removed, and boycotting the festival itself.
There is still time to do the right thing.

Featured image via Ovo Arena

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