The Church of England should speak out and call on the prime minister to stop Rosebank. That’s the demand from Christian Climate Action (CCA). The group held a ‘die-in’ outside St Paul’s Cathedral on 18 February, which was Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent.

Ministers also used symbolic ‘oil’ instead of traditional ash to anoint activists with the sign of the cross as part of the peaceful vigil.

Archbishops urged to campaign against Rosebank

CCA has also written to the archbishops of Canterbury and York calling for their support in urging the government to refuse permission for the Rosebank oil field in the North Sea, stating:

As part of our Stop Crucifying Creation campaign, CCA is urging the Church of England to be a prophetic voice in this existential crisis and speak out against the fossil fuel companies that are driving the Climate Emergency.

Rev James Grote explained:

Climate change is crucifying creation through flood and drought, heat and storms. We must speak up with those who are suffering the loss of everything in our one and only planet.

If we are to continue to live in hope we have to act now, move away from fossil fuels, call out the oil and gas giants and stop Rosebank. The UK government must give us hope.

On Ash Wednesday, they held a ‘die-in’ where protesters shrouded themselves under white sheets, with banner messages that included “Don’t Crucify Creation” and “Stop Rosebank,” at the foot of the steps to the main entrance of St Paul’s Cathedral.

Rev Helen Burnett said:

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, which is the season of repentance and reflection. A time when Christians consider their commitment to living within the limits of the gospel which frees us to live in ways that bring justice and peace.

That’s why we have chosen today to urge the Church to speak out against fossil fuel extraction and here in the UK that means stopping the Rosebank oil field from being developed.

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The Church of England can ‘Speak Truth to Power’ and be a prophetic voice on climate, calling out oil and gas companies and government inaction on the climate and nature crisis.

Rosebank, the UK’s largest undeveloped oil field, is back on the government’s desk. It received approval in 2023, before Scottish courts ruled it unlawful. Norwegian state oil company Equinor reapplied for drilling permission in September 2025.

Following the completion of the Adura joint venture deal between Equinor and Shell in December, Adura has now assumed majority ownership of the field.

An application to develop Rosebank has been resubmitted, which will now be subject to the government’s new climate test. This requires oil firms to account for the climate impact of burning the oil and gas they plan to extract.

Stop Rosebank campaigner Lauren MacDonald said:

We cannot open new North Sea oil and gas projects if we are to stay within the 1.5ºc threshold set out in the Paris Agreement, to which the UK is a signatory. In fact, Rosebank’s vast CO2 emissions from burning oil and gas, would equate to what more than 700 million people living in the world’s poorest countries produce in a year.

It’s simply not possible to drill at Rosebank and uphold our climate commitments.

Not only this, Rosebank is a very bad deal for the UK. It won’t lower bills and will do almost nothing to boost energy security, given that most of it is oil destined for export. It could also lead to a net loss to the Treasury of hundreds of millions of pounds, thanks to the enormous tax breaks for new drilling in the UK.

It is fantastic to see activists such as Christian Climate Action taking this issue to the highest level. It demonstrates how the Stop Rosebank campaign brings people from all walks of life together in unity and hope to save our planet.

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Featured image via Angela Christofilou / Christian Climate Action

A national strike by unions in Argentina has left the streets of capital Buenos Aires near-empty. A drone video showing the scene has been posted with the text:

Who moves the world?
Who moves Argentina?
Who moves Buenos Aires?
Workers and Workers.

¿Quién mueve el mundo?
¿Quién mueve Argentina?
¿Quién mueve Buenos Aires?
T R A B A J A D O R E S Y T R A B A J A D O R A Spic.twitter.com/FWwP2iDKCi

— Celeste Murillo (@rompe_teclas) February 19, 2026

Argentina’s unions called the general strike in protest at far-right president Javier Milei’s assault on workers’ rights. Milei’s ‘reforms’ — that camouflaging word loved by the right — to abolish overtime pay, cut redundancy payments and ban most strikes, among a host of measures aimed at impoverishing the working class, triggered immediate protests when Argentina’s senate passed them. However, the general strike applies far more concerted pressure ahead of a key vote today on the legislation in Argentina’s ‘lower’ legislative house, the Chamber of Deputies. Public sector workers, bank staff and transport workers are among those staying away or joining protests.

Around 40% of Argentina’s workforce belong to a union. It’s well past time for UK workers to wise up and take similar action against the endless uniparty war on their rights.

Featured image via the Canary

Keir Starmer has now — 19 February — appointed Antonia Romeo, formerly a senior diplomat in New York, as the next leader of the UK civil service. She’s the first woman ever to hold the position of Cabinet Secretary.

However, the rumours of the appointment also brought numerous previous allegations of bullying against Romeo back into the spotlight.

Somewhat predictably, this has led to warring factions among the upper echelons of the UK’s professional political gossipmongers. Either Antonia Romeo is a forceful and gifted leader attacked by rampant misogynists, or else a serial bully at the center of a Home Office coverup.

Without further ado, let’s go wallow in the mud, shall we?

‘Doing the due diligence’

The furor kicked off last week, with ex-head of diplomatic service Simon McDonald’s appearance on Channel 4 News. McDonald stated that:

Due diligence is vitally important, the Prime Minister has recent bitter experience of doing the due diligence too late. It would be an unnecessary tragedy to repeat that mistake… if [Romeo] is the one, in my view, the due diligence has some way still to go.

Fighting words, given that the other recent example of Starmer’s failed diligence is Epstein’s mate/Labour peer Peter Mandelson.

However, the government has claimed repeatedly that the investigation into the single complaint against Romeo has already been closed. Matthew Rycroft, ex-UK representative to the UN, and Rupert McNeil, former head of human resources, both made this ‘single complaint’ claim.

The three allegations in the complaint, which relate to bullying and the misuse of expenses, apparently had “no case to answer”.

Several ex-officials who worked alongside Romeo called the Cabinet Office’s ‘single complaint’ story “disingenuous”. Rather, sources told the BBC that several individuals lodged complaints against the former diplomat during her stint in New York.

Cue the political muck-raking/ Home Office coverup, depending on your vantage point.

Antonia Romeo — ’25-year record’

The new Cabinet Secretary certainly doesn’t lack for admirers. Even the colleagues who voiced complaints also acknowledged her as “smart, dynamic and really talented” and an “extremely intelligent, innovative thinker”. Starmer himself gave a glowing review:

outstanding public servant, with a 25‑year record of delivering for the British people […]

Since becoming prime minister, I’ve been impressed by her professionalism and determination to get things done.

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Robert Buckland, a former colleague at the Department for Justice, said of Romeo:

I think she is an extremely impressive person. She’s not a conventional backroom figure; she’s not scared of publicly projecting herself, but that shouldn’t be a block on her becoming first female cabinet secretary.

She confounds some of the old nostrums of the civil service. Seen not heard, be aware of the hierarchy. As a politician, I didn’t have time for that. Running a department during Covid, I needed flat structures and quick decisions.

Addressing the allegations against Romeo directly, Dave Penman — FDA (civil servant’s union) general secretary — told the House magazine that:

[Romeo is] an ambitious woman who doesn’t mind a bit of publicity. A lot of underlying rumours around her are an example of sexist, misogynistic culture. Lord McDonald’s talk around vetting is nonsense. She’s been vetted within an inch of her life already; she can see documents that cabinet ministers don’t have access to.

‘The allegations were dismissed’

However, it should be noted that those allegations were serious enough that the government flew Tim Hitchens — ex-ambassador to Japan — to New York to investigate. Hitchens looked into accusations of:

bullying behaviour, financial probity, and putting her private objectives above those of the wider Consulate-General or government.

However, the BBC revealed that the reported “no case to answer” statement referred to the accusations of expense irregularities. On the contrary, there was indeed a case to answer for Romeo regarding her bullying behaviour.

A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office stated that:

Antonia Romeo is an outstanding leader with 25 years of public service. She has been appointed to three different Permanent Secretary roles and has led hundreds of thousands of public servants to deliver for governments of all stripes.

As we have repeatedly said, one formal complaint was raised nine years ago which was thoroughly investigated. The allegations were dismissed on the basis that there was no case to answer.

It is entirely inappropriate to resurface dismissed HR proceedings almost a decade later.

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Antonia Romeo — ‘Very demanding, very disrespectful, very threatening’

In a survey covering a year including 3 months of Antonia Romeo’s tenure in New York, 47% of staff reported bullying in the workplace. Comparable surveys would normally report bullying levels below 10%.

In documents seen by the BBC, plaintiffs described Romeo as being “unreasonable”, “degrading”, and “demeaning” towards staff.

The majority of the complaints came from other women, with one individual branding Romeo:

very demanding, very disrespectful, very threatening.

And also adding that:

I’m used to big egos but this was something else. The minute she heard the word ‘no’ she’d say I’ll go to your boss. But it was worse than that. She would go to your boss’s boss and your boss’s boss’s boss.

Another source stated:

If you don’t say ‘yes’ to her she’s not only going to screw your career, but she’ll screw all of those around you.

Yet another accuser charged Romeo with being overly self-promoting:

She’s a diplomat, not a D-list celebrity. My 15-year-old, social-media-obsessed, brother is less shameless in his self-promotion.

Likewise, one member of staff stated that Romeo had them:

frame articles in Vogue and the New Yorker about her and place them in the Residence guest bathroom directly in the line of sight at all angles so that regardless of, um, how you use the bathroom, you have to stare at a photo of her in a magazine spread staring back at you.

‘Selective excerpts’

Regarding the renewed attention to the complaint documents, a Whitehall spokesperson stated that:

The fact that selective excerpts are now being resurfaced, almost a decade on, to substantiate vexatious anonymous briefings from disgruntled individuals is frankly unconscionable.

So, there’s your whistle-stop tour of praise and criticism of the new leader of the UK civil service. Of course, even if she does turn out to be a bully of the highest order, she’d probably fit right in with the pack of tax-dodgers, expenses-fiddlers, genocide-defenders, and bigots that make up the current UK government. Watch this space.

Featured image via the Canary

In Washington, the first session of what has been dubbed the ‘Peace Council’ was held at the Trump Peace Institute. The event was dominated by US President Donald Trump, who positioned himself as the architect of Gaza’s next phase.

The layout of the podium, the tone of the opening remarks, and the messaging all signalled an attempt to shape a new political and security framework for the post-war period.

Gaza — Declaring the end of the war and tying reconstruction to security

Trump opened by declaring the end of the war in Gaza. He set firm conditions for the next phase, foremost among them the surrender of Hamas’s weapons. He warned of severe consequences if the movement failed to comply. Trump then linked any political or economic progress in Gaza to Hamas’s commitment to the new security arrangements. According to Trump, the international community is “waiting for Hamas” as the main obstacle to implementation.

At the same time, he acknowledged the group’s role in certain humanitarian efforts, including the recovery of hostages’ bodies. However, he stressed that Gaza’s future requires governance reform and the creation of a stable civil administration.

He ruled out deploying US troops to Gaza and said Washington sees no need for direct military intervention.

Trump also announced the allocation of $10 billion to support the Peace Council and reconstruction efforts as part of a wider international funding package.

‘The only option’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the initiative as the only viable path to prevent a return to war. He stated there is “no alternative plan for Gaza.” Rubio argued that traditional international institutions had failed to contain the conflict. He expressed hope that the new approach could serve as a model for managing other global crises.

These statements suggest Washington aims to frame Gaza as a test case for a new conflict management model led by the United States, with regional and international backing.

Arab commitments: Gaza funding and engagement

Several Arab countries announced financial, political and logistical commitments:

• Qatar: Reaffirmed mediation efforts and pledged $1 billion.
• United Arab Emirates: Committed $1.2 billion and linked its support to the broader regional vision under the Abraham Accords.
• Morocco: Offered to send security and police forces, establish a field hospital, and support coexistence programmes.
• Egypt: Reiterated support for Palestinian self-determination, rejected West Bank annexation, and called for a new phase of coexistence.
• Saudi Arabia: Pledged $1 billion to ease Palestinian suffering.
• Kuwait: Announced $1 billion in contributions over the coming years.

International stabilisation force and transitional arrangements

Council Executive Director Nikolay Mladenov said the plan centres on disarmament in Gaza and the creation of a transitional security force. Around 2,000 people have reportedly applied to join a temporary police force, and recruitment has begun in coordination with Palestinian and Israeli authorities.

The commander of the international stabilisation force announced that Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania have pledged troops. Jordan and Egypt will train Palestinian police officers.

Indonesia’s president confirmed a commitment to send more than 8,000 personnel.

Multilateral funding efforts

Beyond the US pledge of $10 billion, nine Council members committed an additional $7 billion for emergency relief. The UN Office for Humanitarian Assistance will seek to raise $2 billion.

FIFA is contributing $75 million for sports projects in Gaza. Additional funding is expected from China and Russia. The session outlined a transition phase tied closely to security conditions. Reconstruction funding is explicitly linked to disarmament and governance reform.

With Washington setting the political and security parameters, the Peace Council marks the beginning of a multilateral but US-led effort to reshape Gaza’s future.

Featured image via France24

Billionaire-funded Reform UK is fracturing, with much of its original support having broken away to establish another party, Restore.

Since the split, the two parties have been at war with one another. This signals, yet again — to quote the famous words of Martin Luther — that hate begets hate.

You just called Restore Britain ‘neo-nazi’.

It’s that sort of rhetoric that got Charlie Kirk shot in the neck – you should be ashamed of yourself.

We will not tolerate it. Our legal team is now involved.

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— Rupert Lowe MP (@RupertLowe10) February 18, 2026

Wealthy at war with each other

We wrote recently about the emergence of Restore and the backing it’s received from far-right billionaire Elon Musk. In the words of our own Willem Moore:

One of the biggest criticisms of Reform is that it’s just a rebrand of the Tory Party. Now, ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe has created his own spinoff party, and it’s shaping up to be…a rebrand of a rebrand.

Adding that:

Lowe himself has said, he’s open to attracting talent from the Tories, Reform, Advance — basically any reactionary party you can think of. Furthermore, Rupert Lowe seems intent on expanding his political circle.

Lowe’s flip-flopping makes it apparent the man wasn’t getting the adulation he so desperately wanted from his Reform pals.

This just goes to further reveal the priorities of these politically ambitious and privileged men — i.e. the size of their…bank accounts.

Moore wrote:

The timeline of Lowe leaving Reform is messy. The TLDR is:

• Lowe began criticising Farage (seemingly in coordination with Elon Musk).
• Farage suggested Lowe wouldn’t be anywhere near office without Nigel’s cult of personality (a.k.a. Reform).
• Reform suspended Lowe and reported him to the police for ‘verbal threats’ and “serious bullying” of female staffers.
• Lowe described the accusations as “vexatious”.
• Several months of back and forth ensued.

With someone like Lowe, it’s better to have them on the inside pissing out than on the outside pissing in. Now, Farage is going to learn why that saying exists.

The infighting is proving that Moore was bang on the money:

Far-right Reform UK (led by far-right multimillionaire Nigel Farage) calls far-right Restore Britain (led by far-right multimillionaire Rupert Lowe, who left far-right Reform) ‘neo-nazi’. Far-right billionaire Elon Musk defends far-right Restore, calling far-right Reform ‘Nazis’. pic.twitter.com/qDqwtfJjPY

— GET A GRIP (@docrussjackson) February 18, 2026

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A message to Restore Britain members…

Be ready. They are going to come for us. The establishment. Reform. The other parties. The entire rotten lot.

It’s already started.

We are not in this to make friends. We are in this to fundamentally change how our country is governed.…

— Rupert Lowe MP (@RupertLowe10) February 18, 2026

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Lowe’s post reads in full:

A message to Restore Britain members…

Be ready. They are going to come for us. The establishment. Reform. The other parties. The entire rotten lot.

It’s already started.

We are not in this to make friends. We are in this to fundamentally change how our country is governed.

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We are in this to Restore Britain.

That will mean pissing people off, and we already are.

Good.

That means we’re making progress.

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There will be insults, there will be unpleasant names.

Ride it out, stay the course. Eyes on the prize.

I will promise you two things – we are going to stay true to our beliefs, and we are going to be honest.

Who knows where that will end up taking us.

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They’ve skipped the ignoring and laughing part, going straight to fighting.

We all know what comes next.

First they came for the fascists… https://t.co/9UEJOAgYCx

— ali (@ali__samson) February 18, 2026

Far right parties tearing chunks out of each other https://t.co/MqhwwRB2zq pic.twitter.com/JVQ2PcIkbt

— Dobby Club (@DobbyClub06) February 18, 2026

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Musk has long defended Lowe, of course, stirring the pot of British domestic politics — having abandoned his support for Nigel Farage whose party he has called UK “Nazis.”

🚨 NEW: Elon Musk has accused Reform UK of being “Nazis” and wanting “race extinction” pic.twitter.com/fQuh0FoIdZ

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) February 18, 2026

Lowe’s latest post shows he’s already anticipating being labelled a ‘Nazi’:

They will call Restore Britain nazis, they will label us as racist, they will threaten us.

It will not stop us. I promise you that.

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It is now time for the British people to show some courage, some determination, some bravery, some balls.

Don’t just sit back anymore, watching… pic.twitter.com/5TM1BMyLml

— Rupert Lowe MP (@RupertLowe10) February 19, 2026

The potential violence these nefarious politicians are inciting amongst British men is deeply concerning, as this X post clearly shows:

#RestoreBritain

There will be a huge army behind Rupert. People want change and we’ve been let down far too often #MSM and pathetic weak parties will try everything I’m sure but for true believers, it won’t deter them I’m sure https://t.co/dPhCLkn38l

— Nico Santana (@mikey_nic0428) February 18, 2026

Two sides of the same rotten coin

It’s obviously preferable to watch these deplorable parties attack each other instead of minoritised communities.

After all, each side is clearly determined to be the last parasite standing but what they have in common is the threat they pose to our domestic politics.

As former CPS Chief Prosecutor Nazir Afzal scribbled on X, self-obsessed billionaires, he says, rarely act in the public interest.

Reform, Restore, or what ever party hatches next, will undoubtedly fuel deeper unrest and division across British society.

Insanity that Reform, Restore, Advance & the other bank accounts look across the Atlantic, see the burning of the constitution & rule of law, bigotry & corruption & the rise of tax avoiding billionaires at the expense of the poorest in society and say – “we’ll have some of that?”

— nazir afzal (@nazirafzal) February 19, 2026

Featured image via the Canary