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Inspire Festival marks a new chapter in COVID-conscious arts

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Inspire Festival marks a new chapter in COVID-conscious arts

Inspire: A Performing Arts Festival by and for the Airborne Aware, a free Zoom festival running 15–19 April 2026, will bring together music, theater and comedy made by COVID-conscious artists for COVID-conscious audiences.

It is the first known event of its kind to assemble these different genres of COVID-conscious performance into a single airborne-aware program. The five-day program includes music showcases, theater performances and comedy. All events will be presented in a virtual format.

In recent years, individual artists and groups have been producing COVID-conscious art and creating airborne-aware performance spaces. In major cities like Chicago, New York and London, live COVID safer arts events have become more numerous. Inspire festival, organized by COVID-conscious creatives, gathers these individual, local creative labors into one international event.

The COVID-conscious theater ecosystem

In theater, the early years of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic briefly opened a wide field of digital and hybrid performances. However, with the removal of clean-air measures like masks and testing in live performance venues, the scaling back of online performances, and the widespread taboo of acknowledging the reality of the ongoing pandemic, it has fallen to COVID-conscious theater-makers to create their own spaces.

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Two widely documented COVID-conscious theater performances in this emerging ecosystem both took place on 24 April 2025 in New York.

Wake Up and Smell the C*VID by the anonymous collective HEPA (Holy Erotic Propaganda Arson) was a hybrid monologue performance about the impact of COVID and Long COVID on the arts.

Anna RG’s AIR CHANGE PER HOUR was a mask-required Brooklyn performance structured around airborne safety, including testimony from artists living with Long COVID and accessibility measures like rest breaks and HEPA air purifiers.

Wake Up and Smell the C*VID returns at Inspire in an encore presentation on 18 April.

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Another major COVID-conscious performance was comedian Guiness Pig’s A Covid Christmas Carol, an audio play performed in December 2025, which adapted the familiar Dickens story into a COVID-conscious satire. At Inspire, Guiness Pig returns with the reader’s theater piece How the Three Little Pigs Almost Learned to Live with the Big Bad Wolf, which reimagines the fairy tale through the normalization of mass infections. The play will be performed April 17.

Most recently was Serina Estrada’s A Pan***ic Play, first staged in January 2026 at The Art School in Glasgow as part of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Emergence Festival. It was presented as a 50-minute work inspired by verbatim theatre, speaking the lived experiences of people navigating the ongoing pandemic. Inspire will feature an encore performance of the play on April 16.

Inspire’s theater program will also include scenes from The Left by Caridad Svich, a choral play about those left behind ‘when all systems and people have failed one another.’ Svich, a playwright and educator affiliated with Rutgers and the Lortel Theater, is a 2024 Guggenheim Fellow in Drama and Performance Art and a 2012 Obie Award winner for Lifetime Achievement in the theatre. Selections from the play will be broadcast on April 19.

Inspire will also premiere the first two episodes of Wayside, an audio drama by Mo Mora and narrated by Benjamin Liberman, set in a near-future sanctuary community where people still mask.

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Airborne-aware musicians and performance spaces

The festival opens on 15 April with a music showcase featuring performances by COVID-conscious musicians.

Music venues, like theaters, have largely rolled back airborne illness-prevention measures, even as the effects of the ongoing pandemic continue to devastate the industry. Within the past few weeks, Lady Gaga canceled the final Montreal date of her tour because of a respiratory infection, and the Goo Goo Dolls canceled the remaining dates of their Canadian run after frontman John Rzeznik was diagnosed with pneumonia. At the same time, musicians like Dave Navarro have spoken publicly about managing Long COVID.

Against this backdrop, Inspire’s music lineup highlights artists who have helped create COVID-conscious performance spaces of their own. Among the featured acts is phytocene, a Paris-based ambient pop and ethereal artist whose work as moves through pop, trip-hop and electronica. She has become widely known in the airborne-aware community for organizing mask-required concerts in France.

Nina Wildflower, another performer in this ecology, is both a musician and a science teacher who advocates for clean air. He also hosts a weekly online open mic for COVID conscious performers.

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The final musical act will be the The Long Covid Choir, which was formed in March 2021 by people with Long COVID and designed to be accessible to people living with Long COVID, including people who are housebound or bedridden. The Long COVID Kids Choir, profiled by the World Health Organization, similarly gives children and teenagers in multiple countries an online place to sing and write songs about their own lived experience. Both choirs are under the musical direction of Dutch musician Merel van der Knoop.

A comedy counter-public

In comedy, the ongoing pandemic continues to disrupt live performance and the health of working comics. In September 2025, Steve Martin canceled two tour dates after testing positive for COVID-19. This followed earlier cancellations on the same tour when Martin Short tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. In December 2025, Chevy Chase postponed an appearance at a live screening after being diagnosed with pneumonia.

At the same time, some establishment comedians with large national audiences have used their platforms to ridicule or erase continued COVID prevention. On the 11 December 2025 episode of The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, Stewart joked about people still wearing masks in workplaces. This prompted public criticism from comedian Judah Friedlander, who responded on Instagram by asking why Stewart was ‘punching down’ on disabled and immunocompromised people. The social media backlash around the exchange generated the hashtag #oneofthetwo and calls for Jon Stewart to interview a public health expert and correct the record.

In November 2025, after actor Tom Hanks was photographed wearing a mask on the New York City subway, in his appearance on The Late Show, Stephen Colbert promoted the moment in the interview and on social media as a ‘subway disguise.’ Even though Hanks himself had explained on the show that he wears a mask for ‘health reasons’ and that he had been infected with COVID multiple times and did not want to get it again.

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At the same time, COVID-conscious comedians have been building accessible alternatives. Judah Friedlander performs at recurring Zoom livestream stand-up shows, including a New Year’s Eve performance at the end of 2025.

Inspire’s comedy programming features two events. The festival’s Friday Night Open Mic will take place on 17 April, inviting artists to share original five-minute sets, including stand-up, music, poetry and theater, and will be hosted by writer and comedian Lauren Flans. On 18 April, the festival will present Ron Placone’s Anti-Fascist Pasta Night, a new one-hour stand-up special performed live with ASL interpretation. Placone is a comedian, writer and filmmaker who has toured across the United States, Canada and Australia and premiered a solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023.

Art, advocacy and mutual aid

Inspire will run 15 April through 19 April 2016 as a free, fully virtual Zoom festival featuring music, theater and comedy and community programming by COVID-conscious artists for COVID-conscious audiences.

To attend, audience members are asked to RSVP through the festival form, selecting the events they want to join. Zoom links will be sent the day of each event. Because capacity is limited, some events may move to a waitlist if demand exceeds available space.

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Attendees only need a free Zoom account. Events are scheduled at multiple times across the day to accommodate different time zones. Except for the open mic, audience cameras and microphones will remain off during performances while the chat stays open for conversation. The costs for the festival were shared amongst the organizers, including licensing and subscription fees, so a tip jar will be circulated which will help cover the costs, with the rest distributed to COVID-conscious charities and mutual aid for the wider community.

The festival marks the point at which COVID-conscious arts has matured into its own counter-public with a networked multi-genre ecosystem, as well as relationships to airborne-aware mutual aid and advocacy.

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Palestine Action activists acquitted of violent disorder

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Palestine Action activists acquitted of violent disorder

Three anti-genocide activists have again been found not guilty of violent disorder at an Israeli weapons factory in Bristol.

Palestine Action activists, Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner and Leona Kamio, were all acquitted at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday, 13 April.

The three had already defeated the charges when a jury refused to convict them. However, the Starmer regime ordered a retrial and was ‘secretly’ charging them with terrorism by linking the ordinary criminal charges to supposed terrorism, without informing the jury, to allow for longer sentences.

Despite home secretary Shabana Mahmood’s clear intent to make a political example of the trio, the Crown Prosecution Service ultimately informed the court it had no evidence to offer against them.

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Judge Justice Johnson formally acquitted the three. Had they been convicted, they could have faced up to 20 years in prison.

The activists are still facing charges for criminal damage. Corner is also charged with grievous bodily harm — in spite of video evidence refuting the claims of police and the Elbit arms maker’s security guards during the first trial.

Fatema Zainab Rajwani, Zoe Rogers and Jordan Devlin also face criminal damage charges.

The prosecution is expected to present its case on Wednesday and a jury has been selected.

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Palestine Action says its main target is Elbit Systems

Shamefully, Judge Johnson told jurors to ignore any feelings they have about Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the fact that the High Court has ruled the government’s ‘terrorism’ ban on Palestine Action to be unlawful.

He said:

You will appreciate it is vitally important that you judge the case only on the evidence, not on the basis of what the defendants, or you, the home secretary, the government or anyone else thinks about Palestine Action and events in the Middle East.

He then told jurors that whether they think the defendants “had some moral justification is completely beside the point” before reminding them that their views on the war in Gaza are “completely irrelevant to your job in this case”.

In fact, this is untrue. Juries have an absolute legal right to judge according to their conscience, but both the state and the courts now routinely try to obscure this and even to punish those who remind jurors of their right.

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The judge also told the jury to ignore any protesters outside court. Supporters gathered with signs and Palestinian flags during the hearing.

Featured image via Getty Images

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Trump Defends Christ-Like Image

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Trump Defends Christ-Like Image

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Israeli charity offers to help Brits move to illegal settlements

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Shivat Zion founder and CEO, Shraga Evers, smiles with a laptop in the background displaying the charity's logo on screen

An Israeli non-profit has been filmed offering to help UK citizens move to illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank as part of Israel’s ongoing theft of Palestine.

Shivat Zion (Return to Zion) was set up in 2022 as “the only Aliyah NGO in the UK officially recognised by the Jewish Agency for Israel” to assist British Jews move to Israel. All of the organisation’s staff are Europeans who emigrated to Israel.

During a Zoom call filmed by undercover reporters at Declassified UK, the group boasted that it could obtain UK tax subsidies for its work. It also described living near “Arabs” — Zionist code for indigenous Palestinians — was the only downside.

You’re next to the Arabs. You’ll hear their mosques,” he was recorded saying. “But apart from this, it’s a great living standard.

Supposedly, the Starmer government considers Israel’s expanding land theft in the West Bank to be a “flagrant violation of international law”. However, the government is apparently allowing Shivat Zion to claim gift aid, despite it not existing as a UK-registered entity.

Israeli non-profit’s actions are ‘deeply’ disturbing

Shivat Zion tells its supporters that it can claim tax refunds on donations through a separate charity, UK Toremet, presumably because the group is claiming the exemption for religious organisations despite Zionism being a political ideology.

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UK Toremet told Declassified that it has no “active” relationship with Shivat Zion and hasn’t given any grants to the organisation in the last 12 months”.

The media outlet went on to add:

Declassified can’t verify this claim, but donors to Shivat Zion would have been under the impression that their money would go via UK Toremet in order to benefit from Gift Aid.

Unequivocally so, since Shivat’s fundraising campaign promised that donations from the UK are eligible for gift aid.

But after Declassified contacted the organisation for comment, mentions of charity and tax were removed from its website. The Charity Commission, which had originally approved the scheme, later launched an investigation and said it had issued guidance to UK Toremet after three separate compliance cases relating to Palestine since 2016.

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We issued the charity’s trustees with statutory guidance and an action plan, which warned it must comply with the Geneva Conventions Act 1957.

This is similar to the slap on the wrist the commission issued after its investigation into the nakedly political, pro-Israel activities of the so-called Campaign against Antisemitism.

Human rights lawyer, Daniel Machover, told Declassified he was “deeply disturbed” by its findings and said it was “inexcusable” to claim that these donations were eligible for gift aid.

Israel and its supporters are always the victims

Like other signatory nations, the UK is under the International Court of Justice’s obligation “not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.

Challenged about its activities, the group’s Netherlands-Israeli CEO, Shraga Evers, resorted to foul abuse. With typical Israeli arrogance and victimhood, Evers referred to undercover anti-Zionist Jew, Emily, who drove the investigation, as a ‘kapo’ — the term for Jews who collaborated with the Nazis.

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We assist new Olim [migrants] regardless of where they choose to settle and provide support that falls under social affairs activities of which new immigrants are part.

Furthermore, while I do not feel any need to apologize for living as a Jew in Judea — neither to you nor to the aforementioned individual — it further underlines the deceptive manner in which elements of the anti-Semitic lobby, together with a handful of helpful modern-day Kapos, are operating.

Shivat Zion founder and CEO, Shraga Evers, smiles with a laptop in the background displaying the charity's logo on screen

Emily described the insidious and carefully crafted manipulation of ‘aliyah’ events:

It was quite terrifying how appealing it was. If I wasn’t so steadfast in my anti-Zionism, how easily one could be persuaded to do this.

But for Palestinians, life under occupation and the malignant spread of illegal settlements is brutal. While Gaza has suffered genocide, Palestinians in the West Bank have been subjected to intensified settler attacks, including murders, crop burning and poisoning or destruction of water sources.

Prize-winning Palestinian peace activist, Issa Amro, who is frequently attacked by the settlers, said they “get quality life on the expense of the basic rights of the Palestinians”.

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Efrat is a settlement – and to live there, it’s a war crime.

Palestinians are not even allowed to travel on the road leading to their own historic village near the Efrat settlement, promoted by Shivat Zion.

Featured image via Unsplash/ Aaron Ovadia

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Reform’s war on the fun police

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Reform’s war on the fun police

The post Reform’s war on the fun police appeared first on spiked.

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Channel 5 Pundit Labels Trump As The Antichrist

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Channel 5 Pundit Labels Trump As The Antichrist

A Channel 5 pundit didn’t mince her words on Monday when asked her reaction to the bizarre image Donald Trump posted that basically depicted himself as Jesus Christ.

Marina Purkiss described the president with a fairly harsh slur ― at least in religious circles ― saying he is the “Antichrist.”

During a segment on the Jeremy Vine Show, Purkiss admitted to being shocked by the image the president posted.

“I’m just gonna say this, right? I am a person that was raised a Catholic — I did all the sacraments, I read the book, you know,” she said, adding that while she has lost her “faith,” she still finds Trump’s post “deeply, deeply offensive.”

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Then she went scorched earth on the president.

“How dare you? That is blasphemous. The picture is blasphemous, it’s a huge disrespect. That in itself is the breaking of a commandment,” Purkiss said.

After noting that Trump had, by her count, “broken eight of the 10 commandments,” Purkiss declared, “This guy, in my opinion, is the Antichrist.”

“No wonder he doesn’t like the Pope,” she added.

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The image was removed from Trump’s account late on Monday morning. The president then told reporters he thought the picture showed him as a doctor.

Trump’s post came while his current war with Iran has been heavily criticised by Pope Leo XIV, the Catholic Church’s first American-born pontiff.

Although his team has previously posted images depicting Trump as Superman, on Mount Rushmore and even as the Pope, the Trump-as-Jesus post seemed to be a bridge too far with many people on social media who called it “blasphemous” and “deranged.”

In fact, Purkiss wasn’t the only prominent person to describe Trump with the “A-word” label.

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Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei didn’t call Trump the “Antichrist” when he appeared on “Morning Joe” Monday, but he warned the president that posting memes suggesting he’s Christ could alienate his supporters.

“I think he is playing with fire with the base. And if you look at where his standing is, like, he should be worried,” VandeHei said. “I’m surprised his advisers didn’t say, ‘Come on, man. Like, at some point you’re pushing this too far. Your favorable ratings are already relatively low.’”

Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

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Supermarkets consider ‘dynamic pricing’ to rip you off even more

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Supermarkets consider 'dynamic pricing' to rip you off even more

The Bank of England has warned that supermarkets across the UK could bring in surge pricing to extract more profit from people’s need to eat.

Supermarkets may be planning to increase the amount shoppers pay for food when demand is high, which is already the situation for people using corporations like Amazon and Uber.

Computerised displays could pave the way for price hikes in supermarkets like Morrisons, which will soon have these price labels in all 497 of its stores.

Speaking of the possibility of ‘surge pricing’, Clive Black, of investment bank Shore Capital, told the Times:

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Whether that is in the interest of shoppers or shareholders is a moot point.

The thing is, people buying food aren’t really shoppers. That’s like saying people buying electricity or water are ‘shopping’, when these are essentials.

Supermarkets prioritise excessive profit

‘Greedflation’ has already defined the cost of living crisis with companies using energy inflation and tax rises as cover for huge profits.

Lidl’s operating profit rose by nearly 300% — from £79 million in 2021 to £314 million in 2025.

Similarly, Aldi’s operating profit rose from £289 million in 2020 to £435 million in 2025, representing a 51% increase over five years (including the Covid years).

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This isn’t down to people switching to cheaper options. Tesco’s operating profit leapt 72% — from £1.8 billion in 2020/21 to £3.1 billion in 2024/25. Sainsbury’s operating profit has risen slightly over the same period.

It’s greedflation, and now supermarkets want more through increased prices during high demand despite most people working during the same time periods, meaning they will be buying food at similar times.

What’s the solution?

There is a solution to the wealth extraction. Supermarkets should be not-for-profit because they are only middle-manning between the agriculture sector and humans who need food. One option is for non-profit food distribution centres (but with a fun name) to offer food largely delivered via automated vans.

That’s a major way an administration could tackle the cost of living crisis.

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Featured image via Unsplash

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Second Global Sumud Flotilla sets sail from Barcelona to Gaza

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Second Global Sumud Flotilla sets sail from Barcelona to Gaza

The historic second Global Sumud Flotilla has departed from Barcelona. The flotilla aims to break Israel’s illegal, decades-long siege on Gaza and deliver much-needed humanitarian aid.

Described by organisers as ‘the largest civilian-led flotilla mission in history,’ the convoy of over 70 vessels departed from Port Moll de la Fusta on Sunday 12 April 2026.

In a press release, organisers have described the urgency of their mission:

From family loss and displacement, to the collapse of governments and international institutions, to the deliberate destruction of Gaza’s hospitals, coastlines, fisheries, farmland, and water systems, [we come] to the collective decision that civil society must now move where states have failed.

1,000 set sail on the Global Sumud Flotilla

The flotilla carries a solidarity contingent of nearly 1,000 healthcare and humanitarian workers from more than 70 countries, alongside journalists and notable public figures.

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Following a major international press conference, Global Sumud Flotilla organisers stated that the activists’ mission seeks to transform ‘cumulative grief into a coordinated global escalation of solidarity on land and sea.’ They also described the flotilla as:

a direct civilian intervention against genocide, siege, ecocide, forced starvation, and the global systems that sustain them.

Zionist lies exposed

The press conference hosted speakers from Gaza, Lebanon, Indonesia, North Africa and Europe, alongside global humanitarian networks.

Speakers exposed the Zionist ‘ceasefire’ lie and denounced consistent Israeli-blocked aid passages, which necessitate the urgent civilian mission.

They also recounted the IOF’s consistent, targeted murder of humanitarian and medical workers, inhumane weaponisation of starvation, and mounting regional Zionist impunity across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Iran and beyond.

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The Global Sumud Flotilla Steering Committee stated previously that ‘We Refuse To Wait‘ and reiterated this widespread feeling of urgency once again:

Families who have lost everything, doctors who have worked inside collapsing hospitals, organizers who have watched governments enable mass death, and movements rising across continents all arrived at the same conclusion: waiting costs Palestinian lives.

The flotilla now moves as part of a wider global escalation to confront siege, impunity, and the political systems that make both possible.

Urgent humanitarian missions converge

The Global Sumud Flotilla convoy is joined by Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise and Open Arms boats, bringing globally recognised civil society actors into the mission’s fold.

Arctic Sunrise said that they offer ‘strategic maritime support, technical expertise, and transit safety coordination.’ Meanwhile, ‘Open Arms expands the mission’s humanitarian protection framework, emergency response capacity, and civilian safeguarding architecture.’

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This ethos was replicated by Amnesty International’s legal and political warning to Mediterranean states and surrounding actors urging them to ensure safe passage.

Amnesty’s lawyers urge ‘against any repeat of unlawful interceptions, arbitrary detention, or abuse of civilian activists.’

Land and sea campaigns for the Global Sumud Flotilla

The 2026 sea mission is being coordinated in time with We Rise, a land campaign of comparable magnitude to achieve shared objectives in challenging Zionist impunity.

Global Sumud Flotilla describe We Rise as:

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a synchronized international campaign designed to escalate political, economic, and social pressure through coordinated land mobilizations as the [GSF] fleet advances.

The campaign includes port shutdowns targeting weapons supply chains; public square art and cultural interventions; and boycott and divestment escalations.

Additionally, organizers detailed two overland convoys galvanizing solidarity across North Africa and Asia and breaking Israel’s illegal siege by land.

The flotilla now moves not as a single maritime action, but as the sea anchor of a widening international uprising.

Past flotilla missions abused

Amnesty International’s warning to neighbouring states follows on from Zionist crimes against the 2025 Global Sumud Flotilla mission – the largest of its kind until now.

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In 2025, IOF operators firebombed vessels with drones in Tunisian territory. IOF navy goons also illegally boarded Global Sumud Flotilla vessels in international waters. They detained activists and subjected them to systemic and cruel abuse.

Physical and mental abuse of detained Global Sumud Flotilla humanitarian activists was reported and corroborated by many of those held hostage in Israeli prisons. They reported inhumane treatment, psychological torture such as sleep deprivation, and sexual humiliation.

Multiple victims, mainly Palestinians, reported sexual violence by IOF soldiers and Israeli prison guards. There is undeniable evidence that it is explicit Zionist policy. The UN’s Commission of Inquiry confirmed these grave, repeated sexual crimes n mid-March 2026.

The abuses inflicted on the 2025 captives is only outmatched by Zionist crimes against the 2010 Gaza Flotilla, comprised of six boats, which the IOF navy illegally raided.

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During the raid, Zionist forces executed nine humanitarian activists, mainly from Türkiye, and injured another 30, one of whom later died from his wounds.

The UNHRC’s 2011 report stated that Israel’s actions were illegal, “disproportionate” and “betrayed an unacceptable level of brutality,” with evidence of “wilful killing.”

Zionist forces confiscated or destroyed photographic evidence to cover their crimes—parallel with their unprecedented murders of journalists at scale today.

Featured image via Global Sumud Flotilla

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JD’s Unlucky Touch

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JD’s Unlucky Touch

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Newcastle unveils world’s first permanent Rohingya memorial

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Newcastle unveils world’s first permanent Rohingya memorial

Newcastle upon Tyne made history on 12 April as Newcastle upon Tyne became the first city in the world to unveil a permanent memorial dedicated to the victims of the Rohingya genocide.

The landmark memorial, located in Newcastle City Council’s Peace Garden, was officially unveiled following a civic ceremony at the council chamber and a procession led by the lord mayor. The initiative, led by Independent Newcastle councillor and human rights advocate Habib Rahman, represents a powerful commitment to remembrance, justice, and global awareness.

Rahman, formerly the city’s first Muslim and Black lord mayor, hosted the formal civic event. It featured contributions from a distinguished group of speakers, including:

  • Councillor Karen Kilgour, leader of Newcastle City Council.
  • Ann Schofield, of Rohingya Action North East.
  • Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK.
  • Nur Huda, chairman of the British Rohingya Community.
  • Dr M Nazrul Islam, acting high commissioner of Bangladesh to the UK.
  • Genocide experts, historians and human rights activists Dr Maung Zarni and Dr Nat Brinham.
  • Ruby Moe, Amnesty International UK country coordinator for Myanmar.
  • Richard Kotter, chair of Amnesty Newcastle.
  • Sirazul Islam, born in Kutupalong refugee camp, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, now a trainee corporate lawyer and an activist.
  • Rohingya campaigner Shaukat Ahmed MBE.
  • Alice Gaparay, of the North East Rwandan Association.
  • Mohammed Wafi, of the Palestinian Community North East.

The procession to the Peace Garden was led by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Cllr Henry Gallagher and Mayor of Sunderland, Cllr Ehthesham Hoque, who formally unveiled the memorial.

Rohingya memorial born from collaboration

Developed through a collaboration between Newcastle City Council, Rohingya Action North East, the British Rohingya Community, and the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, the memorial stands as a permanent tribute to the Rohingya genocide victims and survivors.

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Rahman said:

This is a historic moment not just for Newcastle, but for the global community. Today we honour the lives lost, the resilience of survivors, and send a clear message that genocide must never be ignored or forgotten. This memorial stands as a permanent reminder of our shared responsibility to speak out against injustice and to uphold human dignity.

The Rohingya people have endured decades of persecution, culminating in a campaign of mass violence, displacement, and atrocities that forced over a million people to flee their homes. The memorial seeks to ensure their suffering is formally recognised and remembered.

Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, said:

For the Rohingya community, recognition matters deeply. For too long, our suffering has been denied, ignored and pushed aside while the world failed to act. Generations of Rohingya have endured violence, displacement and loss without acknowledgement or justice.

This memorial is a powerful symbol that our pain is acknowledged, that our voices matter and that the truth cannot be erased.

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We are deeply grateful to councillor Habib Rahman for his leadership and determination in making this memorial a reality, and we thank Newcastle City Council for this powerful act of solidarity with the Rohingya community.

This is an important step towards recognition and justice that the Rohingya people have long been denied. It sends a clear message far beyond this city- that Rohingya people everywhere are not forgotten.

Nijam Uddin, representing the British Rohingya Community, added:

This memorial is a place of reflection, dignity, and education. It honours those we have lost and gives strength to those who continue to live with the trauma of genocide. It also serves as a vital tool to educate future generations so that such atrocities are never repeated.

We extend our sincere thanks to councillor Habib Rahman for his vision and drive, and to Newcastle City Council for their support and commitment to recognising the Rohingya people’s suffering.

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The British Rohingya Community, the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, and Rohingya Action North East jointly funded the memorial.

Beyond remembrance, the initiative also reinforces the importance of education, awareness, and continued advocacy for justice and accountability. Permanent memorials play a crucial role in:

  • Honouring victims.
  • Acknowledging survivors.
  • Educating future generations.
  • Challenging denial and historical revisionism.

As visitors gather at the Peace Garden in the years to come, the memorial will stand as a lasting testament to the Rohingya people’s place in history and a call to action for the international community.

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Richard Tice’s tax scandal shows how little he respects the law

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Richard Tice's tax scandal shows how little he respects the law

Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice is trying to just shrug off a tax scandal surrounding one of his companies despite experts saying laws were clearly broken.

The company in question is property investment firm Quidnet REIT Limited. Alongside Tice, there are two other directors, Nicholas Tribe and John Purcell, both of whom Tice has other business interests with.

Experts at Tax Policy Associates have insisted they are “confident that the company failed to withhold around £120,000 of tax”.

And this wasn’t optional tax as they asserted:

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From 2020 to 2022 it paid around £600,000 of dividends to Mr Tice and his offshore trust. Quidnet was required by law to withhold approximately £120,000 of tax from those dividends and pay it to HMRC. But we believe it’s clear from the company’s accounts and public filings that Quidnet did not pay this tax.

They added:

Mr Tice has refused to answer the question directly, instead saying that he paid income tax on the dividends. That’s not an answer: the company was legally required to pay tax; the law doesn’t permit REITs to opt to defer their tax obligations.

In other words, the allegation is that Quidnet REIT Limited broke the law.

For Tice, however, it was just a “technicality”, he told the Sunday Times, who originally reported the story.

Meanwhile, Reform’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, called the issue “a minor administrative error” and a “non-story”. Yusuf seemed to minimise the alleged law-breaking by claiming “it does look like HMRC netted off in the same way”.

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Richard Tice: Reform millionaires think rules are for other people

We already knew Tice was a fan of tax havens and using loopholes to avoid hundreds of thousands of pounds in corporation tax. He has made it clear that he thinks it’s completely normal and acceptable to do so.

Reform leader Nigel Farage, meanwhile, openly stated that he had bought a house in Clacton. But amid claims he had avoided more than £44,000 in stamp duty by putting the £885,000 property in his partner’s name, he backtracked. He insisted his partner had paid for it upfront with her own money (which the BBC said wasn’t a believable claim).

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In Farage’s case, it wouldn’t have been illegal to give money to his partner so the house was in her name, but doing so to pay a lower stamp duty would have been highly hypocritical considering his boisterous criticism of Labour’s Angela Rayner for doing the same thing. Farage had said at a Reform conference that Rayner’s decision “screams of entitlement”.

It screams to a government that, despite all the promises that this would be a new different kind of politics, is as bad, if not worse, than the one that went before.

In reality, it looks like the wealthy white men leading Reform — who want tough laws for ordinary people on issues like immigration and benefits — also feel entitled to bend the rules when it comes to their own business. And it’s becoming clearer and clearer that they would make British politics even murkier than it already is.

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