Politics
Protests confront tourism and aviation for Housing Action Days
Protests across at least 10 cities have highlighted the harms of ‘touristification’.
Particularly through its reliance on aviation, the tourism industry is driving displacement, deepening housing crises and fueling climate breakdown worldwide.
Demonstrations were seen in Barcelona, Palma and San Sebastián (Spain), Belfast (Northern Ireland), Lisbon (Portugal), Malolos (Philippines), Marseille and Paris (France), Mexico City (Mexico) and Vienna (Austria).
Worldwide action
From marches and performances to blockades and direct actions, communities resisted the transformation of neighbourhoods into ‘playgrounds for the rich’.
Across the world, long-term residents are being priced out. Urban and coastal areas are also reshaped for tourists and multinational companies.
International tourism relies heavily on air travel, one of the fastest-growing sources of carbon emissions. Backed by cheap flights and expanding air routes, this model privatises public land, drives up rents and undermines local economies, pushing communities into increasingly precarious conditions.
Protesters stressed that touristification and aviation are intertwined crises, driven by a system that prioritises profit over people and the planet.
World Cup of dispossession
In Mexico, protesters denounced the impacts of large-scale events like the FIFA World Cup. They called it the “World Cup of dispossession”, promoting local displacement, private interests and megaprojects instead of human rights, such as housing, water and dignified work.
In Barcelona, Palma, San Sebastián, Belfast and Vienna, demonstrators called for an end to the expansion of short-term tourist accommodation. This includes listings on platforms like AirBnB, which they argue drive up housing costs and accelerate gentrification.
In Marseille, protests highlighted the social and environmental impacts of overtourism.
In Malolos, fisherfolk and community members opposed the construction of the new Manila International Airport, which is driving displacement and the loss of livelihoods.
‘Fewer planes, more homes’ was a slogan seen in Paris and in Lisbon, where protesters formed a red line to oppose the conversion of a city-centre building into a hotel.
Drawing a red line
Inês Teles, spokesperson for the global network Stay Grounded, said:
We need to draw a red line. We must stop airport expansion, reduce air traffic, limit short-term tourist accommodation and make housing a right, not a commodity. We are united in the fight for affordable, accessible housing for all and against the forces that profit from our homes, displace people and destroy our planet. Our communities and the planet are not for sale.
These actions took place during the Housing Action Days (23–29 March), a global week of mobilisation with over 150 actions in 96 cities, demanding housing justice on a liveable planet.
Featured image via Stay Grounded
In one of the most critical moments that raises questions about crowd culture in European football stadiums, the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona witnessed a series of racist, anti-Muslim chants during Tuesday 31 March night’s friendly match between Spain and Egypt. The chants sparked outrage from players, officials, and fans alike. Specifically, racists targeted Lamine Yamal.
Lamine Yamal targeted by racists
The match, which ended in a 0-0 draw, turned sour in the first half when racist chants against Muslims, including the slogan “If you don’t jump, you’re a Muslim,” were heard from the stands. This provoked strong reactions both inside and outside the stadium, prompting the Catalan police to open an official investigation into the chants, which they described as “Islamophobic and xenophobic,” according to Spanish security services.
At the heart of this controversy was the young Spanish player of Moroccan origin and rising star at Barcelona, Lamine Yamal, who responded with a clear, mature statement on his official Instagram account, rejecting these chants in the strongest terms.
Addressing those criticising the chants, he said:
I am a Muslim, thank God. Yesterday at the stadium, I heard chants like these. I know I was heading towards the opposing team and the chants weren’t directed at me, but as a Muslim, this behaviour remains disrespectful and intolerable.
Yamal added in his statement:
I understand that not all fans are like this, but to those who chant such things: using religion to mock people in a football stadium makes you ignorant and racist. Football should be enjoyed and cheered on, not used to insult people for who they are or what they believe.
Lamine Yamal thanked the fans who attended the match, expressing his anticipation for upcoming games, saying: “Thank you to everyone who came to support us… See you at the World Cup.”
In response to the incident, criticism wasn’t limited to the player. In its first official reaction, the Spanish Football Federation condemned the incident, emphasizing in a statement published on its official social media accounts its categorical rejection of such behavior.
The statement read:
The Spanish Football Federation stands against racism in football and condemns any act of violence within stadiums.
Megan Thee Stallion is in hospital after falling ill on stage in New York on Tuesday night.
The Grammy winner recently took over the role of Zidler in the Broadway production of the musical Moulin Rouge!.
During her latest performance, Megan was forced to leave the stage mid-show, and was subsequently rushed to hospital due to an undisclosed illness.
The Hot Girl Summer rapper’s representative told Variety: “During Tuesday night’s production, Megan started feeling very ill and was promptly transported to a local hospital, where her symptoms are currently being evaluated.
“We will share additional updates as more information becomes available.”
The Texas-born musician began performing as Zidler last week, taking over the role from RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Bob The Drag Queen.
She previously enthused: “Stepping onto the Broadway stage and joining the Moulin Rouge! The Musical team is an absolute honour.
“I’ve always believed in pushing myself creatively and theatre is definitely a new opportunity that I’m excited to embrace.
“Broadway demands a different level of discipline, preparation and storytelling, but I’m up for the challenge and can’t wait for the Hotties [Megan’s name for her fans] to see a new side of me.”
Megan’s breakthrough moment came in 2019 with the Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla Sign collaboration Hot Girl Summer.
The following year, Beyoncé recorded a guest feature on her hit Savage, with Megan and Cardi B later teaming up on the hit WAP, which reached number one on both sides of the Atlantic and generated a lot of conversation due to the song’s sexually-charged lyrics and music video.
In 2021, Megan was awarded Best New Artist at the Grammys – beating stiff competition from the likes of Doja Cat and Phoebe Bridgers – as well as picking up Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance for the Beyoncé mix of Savage.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and Stop the War (StW) formed a coalition in shared opposition to the genocide in Gaza. Since then, more than 20 national protests across the UK have demonstrated that the British public does not support the mass killing of Palestinians.
However, authorities convicted PSC director Ben Jamal and StW vice-chair Chris Nineham on two counts under the authoritarian Public Order Act introduced by Suella Braverman.
This ruling has sent shockwaves through the pro-Palestinian community, as repressive police powers actively undermine and curtail the ability to protest.
Refusing to be deterred, the PSC has published a statement on behalf of the coalition, condemning the verdicts as:
extraordinary and shocking and a huge setback for civil liberties.
We spoke to Chris Nineham following his conviction under this draconian law:
Stop the War and Palestine Solidarity Campaign activists Chris Nineham and Ben Jamal have been found guilty of “breaching protest conditions” – we spoke to Chris Nineham@STWuk pic.twitter.com/zDr6JxRDeJ
— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) April 1, 2026
“A seismic threat to democratic freedoms” say pro-Palestine coalition
In this statement, it is made clear that Nineham and Jamal intend to appeal their verdicts. Helping them with that appeal, they will have full support of the pro-Palestine coalition behind them. Undoubtedly, they will have support of the wider British public in which a majority oppose Israel’s bloodthirsty actions.
They then go further by highlighting “significant concerns” about how the six-day trial was conducted. These concerns will be subsequently raised in their imminent appeal.
Arguably pointing to a stitch up, the statement reads:
The substantive issues at the heart of the case were clear. From the stage that day, Ben Jamal explained that a delegation of leaders of the coalition, plus MPs, trade union leaders and members of the Jewish bloc, would walk peacefully in a symbolic protest towards the BBC to lay flowers to mark the Corporation’s failures to report the truth of genocide in Gaza.
Ben made clear that, if stopped by the police, the flowers would be laid at the police line. In the event, as copious video evidence shows, police officers invited the delegation to pass though.
They also argue that the claims of public disorder made by the police were categorically untrue.
In fact, they underscore the violence that they did see that day:
The only moment of violence was when Chis Nineham was brutally pulled to the ground and hauled away by police officers.
Contradicting Police Commander Adam Slonecki’s adamant insistence that the imposed late restrictions did not follow political pressure from pro-Israel groups, they added:
The logs of the Police Gold Commander Adam Slonecki reveal that enormous political pressure was placed on the police by pro-Israel groups to prevent a protest at the BBC.
Islington MP Jeremy Corbyn has condemned the judge’s verdict, saying he is “appalled”:
I am appalled by today’s verdict against Ben Jamal and Chris Nineham.
In January 2025, we held an entirely peaceful demonstration in support of Palestinian people. At all times, they — and we — followed all police instructions. We ended the demonstration by laying down flowers… https://t.co/A8bCsKOJ9X
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) April 1, 2026
Defending the actions of Jamal and Nineham at the protest, which Corbyn was also taking part in, he wrote:
In January 2025, we held an entirely peaceful demonstration in support of Palestinian people. At all times, they — and we — followed all police instructions. We ended the demonstration by laying down flowers at their feet to mourn the deaths of Palestinian children.
Today’s verdict is a dark day for civil liberties in this country — and is a disgraceful assault on the right to protest.
We wrote earlier today after the court’s judgement:
It is clear that the government are refusing to back down in its attempts to intimidate and bully British citizens into no longer standing by our Palestinian comrades. Heavily funded by the Israel Lobby, Starmer’s government have long ignored and diminished rising islamophobia, whilst unduly declaring anti-Zionist positions as antisemitic.
Crime and Policing Bill
The statement goes on to draw attention to the Crime and Policing Bill which is making its way through Parliament:
It confirms the view, widely held across civil society, that these proposed increased powers represent a seismic threat to democratic freedoms.
They raise alarm at the chilling impact this is clearly intended to have on people supporting Palestinians:
The unprecedented charging and now conviction of leaders of a movement that has brought millions to the streets in support of the people of Palestine is designed to chill ongoing opposition to genocide, apartheid and illegal occupation.
It finishes with a typical show of dogged resistance to state oppression and repression:
It will not succeed.
That it most certainly won’t, as a call to action is heard for the upcoming protest on the 16 May in London:
So, Ben Jamal and I have been convicted for organising a peaceful protest against genocide in a bizarre decision by one judge.
This is a big attack on civil liberties.
We will appeal. We call for a massive mobilisation in support of the Palestinian people for Nakba on 16 May. https://t.co/ftX7S069Bl
— Chris Nineham (@ChrisNineham) April 1, 2026
Featured image via the Canary
The US secretary of defence has mocked the “big, bad Royal Navy” for not joining America in its war against Iran.
Speaking from the Pentagon on Tuesday, Pete Hegseth said: “There are countries around the world who ought to be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well.
“Last time I checked, there was supposed to be a big, bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that as well.”
He added: “This is an international waterway that we use less than most. In fact, dramatically less than most.
“The world ought to pay attention, be prepared to stand up.”
His remarks come after Keir Starmer’s government refused the US request’s to use British military bases for preemptive strikes on Iran last month.
The UK did allow American troops to use their sites for defensive and limited strikes, though Donald Trump has continued to attack Britain for its perceived lack of support.
He compared UK aircraft carriers to “toys” and told the prime minister “not to bother” sending ships to the Gulf.
On Tuesday, he told allies “you’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself”, urging Britain to “go get your own oil” from the Strait of Hormuz as Iran continues its blockade.
Writing on TruthSocial, the president said the UK should either buy jet fuel from the US or “build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait and just TAKE IT”.
Meanwhile, the UK’s First Sea Lord has warned that the Royal Navy is not ready for war and that it “had work to do”.
Gen Sir Gwyn Jenkins told Swedish newspaper Svensky Dagbladet on Monday that the Navy could still fight with what it had and that “if we were told to go to war, of course we would”.
But he added: “Are we are ready as we should be? I don’t think are. We have work to do and I am completely dedicated to the mission.”
UK defence secretary John Healey also announced on Tuesday that the UK would be deploying dozens of troops and its most advanced air defence missile system to Saudi Arabia as the Middle East conflict continues to escalate.
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.
The Iranian ambassador to the UK has warned attacks on British bases are under consideration in an alarming intervention.
Seyed Ali Mousavi claimed that Keir Starmer’s decision to allow US forces to use British sites for defensive and limited strikes could end up putting a target on the UK’s military.
Speaking to Times Radio, he said: “The initial position made by the prime minister Starmer is very good.
“We do appreciate, we do welcome the non-involvement in this criminal act of the American side and the Israeli regime.
“But unfortunately, now we have realised that the British Fairford military base has been serving for the B-2 and B-1 jets of the American side to be equipped by the different weapons to use against the Iranian people.
“It’s very unfortunate.”
Asked if British bases and British military assets could be legitimate targets, he replied: “This is the very important matter we are considering. This is a very important matter for our self-defence.”
He claimed the military section of their “system” will decide depending on UK “activities”.
He added: “We are very careful and delicate how to defend ourselves.”
His remarks are especially alarming, considering Starmer has repeatedly insisted that the ongoing Middle East conflict is “not our war”.
Meanwhile, Labour MP and defence select committee member Calvin Bailey has warned there is a “real risk of escalation” in the region.
The former Wing Commander told Times Radio: “There’s always a risk of escalation and that’s why it’s never desirable to enter conflict without understanding what the goals of those operations are.
“That’s why the UK remained out and didn’t follow or support the US in starting the conflict that it’s now engaged with Iran. But dealing with the consequences of it is entirely legitimate and it’s reasonable.”
He warned Britain could be dragged further into the conflict too – as could other allies and partners in the Gulf region.
“The reason why we’ve got larger numbers of forces in the region is that they’re there to protect those allies and our people that exist within their country,” Bailey said.
“We just have to make sure that the assets are there to provide protection and assurances that they expect of us.”
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.
The Adam Smith Institute (ASI) has unveiled a proposed Free Speech Bill for the UK. It will infuriate almost the entire governing class – especially since American lawyers, with at least one eye on the First Amendment, had a large hand in drafting it.
The draft bill is short and strong. It gives a positive right to free speech – subject only to stated, narrow exceptions, such as incitement to crime. It says, explicitly, that speech may not be suppressed merely because it is ‘offensive, grossly offensive, insulting, abusive, shocking, blasphemous, indecent’ or causes ‘an emotional or intellectual impact’ on anyone, as the current law allows. The bill would also ban compelled speech. While most of what the bill sets out is directed at the state, it would also narrow the limits on an employer’s right to discipline employees for what they say off the job.
The laws and practices currently used to curtail our right to free expression are picked off one by one: it strips the Public Order Act of its power to enforce content-related restrictions on speech. The appalling section 127 of the Communications Act, which prohibits posting anything ‘grossly offensive’ on the net, would go. Non-crime hate incidents would be outlawed. No conditions relating to speech or opinion could be placed on public employment, licensing or any public benefit. Website owners would be spared liability as publishers of information.
Best yet, the bill would clip the wings of the European Convention on Human Rights. Liberals often forget that in many cases, the ECHR enforces significant limits on free speech.). Ironically, if the UK were to introduce a First Amendment tomorrow, the loudest yelps would come from human-rights lawyers lamenting the loss of authority over what we can and can’t say.
Obviously, the ASI’s initiative is intended to provoke an establishment that has become very comfortable with censorship. Nevertheless, it matters, mainly because it is the right approach. Vague commitments to free speech don’t work, unless we also get rid of the props that have supported censorship in the law for decades: Public Order offences, the Communications Act, ill-defined anti-harassment laws and so on.
The fact that the bill is American-inspired is important. A prime mover is the admirable American attorney, Preston Byrne, who is currently leading the fight against Ofcom’s campaign to dictate what US websites can and can’t publish. Forget the now-fashionable anti-Americanism in the progressive establishment – the fact that foreigners now view the UK as a free-speech disaster ought to be a source of shame to any government.
Until now, serious free-speech advocacy among the establishment class has been virtually non-existent. While plenty may claim to support it, the idea of relaxing controls on the internet still makes them blanch. This bill, expressed in proper legal form and outlining a clear, watertight case for speech protections, has a good chance of moving the Overton window in the right direction.
Of course, there is now an open goal waiting for any political party with the nous to line it up. Imagine a ticket stressing the right of anyone – from the tycoon to the keyboard warrior to the janitor – to say what they damn well please, without fear of threats from the state, police or employers. The attraction is enormous. It would shine an embarrassing spotlight on the ever-more authoritarian Labour Party – especially if Nigel Farage, Kemi Badenoch or both of them were to adopt it.
The Free Speech Bill has no chance of becoming law just yet. But if it pushes free speech to centre stage, its publication will have been an unalloyed good. Now, we need to keep advancing the ideas it contains – the same ones our American cousins laid out in their all-important First Amendment.
Andrew Tettenborn is a professor of commercial law and a former Cambridge admissions officer.
A journalist has been kidnapped in Iraq, and suddenly, the US government has decided it does, in fact, care about the safety of journalists. That is, as long as they’re white, and it’s not Israel killing or threatening them.
Iraq scene of kidnapping
Shelly Kittleson, an Italian-American journalist who contributes to Al-Monitor, was kidnapped in Baghdad on Tuesday. Reports suggest a suspected Iran-backed armed group was behind the abduction.
American freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson has been kidnapped in broad daylight in Baghdad.
Iraq’s interior ministry says authorities at the highest level are searching for the 49-year-old. pic.twitter.com/86ToXdVRiG
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) April 1, 2026
Videos circulating on social media show men capturing Kittleson on Saadoun Street in central Baghdad.
Middle East Eye has reported that authorities in Iraq had launched an operation to find the kidnappers, and:
they had intercepted a vehicle belonging to the kidnappers, which overturned as they attempted to flee.
Security forces were able to arrest one of the suspects and seize one of the vehicles used in the crime.
Dylan Johnson, US assistant secretary of state for Public Diplomacy, said on X that Iraqi authorities have arrested an individual linked to the Kataeb Hezbollah group.
Of course, we should take anything the US government says with a huge pinch of salt.
Murdering journalists
The US has stood blindly by whilst Israel has murdered journalists in both Gaza and Lebanon for the last two and a half years.
Back in 2022, Israel murdered Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh. The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) shot the Palestinian-American in the head while she was covering an Israeli army raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
The US government claimed the death was unintentional – despite Israel’s long history of targeting journalists.
Since then, Israel has murdered over 300 journalists since October 7, 2023. It was responsible for two-thirds of all press killings in both 2025 and 2024.
Most of the media workers Israel killed were Palestinian. However, Israeli air strikes also killed 31 staff in newspaper offices in Yemen.
The IOF have committed more targeted killings of journalists than any other government’s military since records began.
Only last week, Israel murdered journalists Ali Shuaib (Al-Manar) and Fatima Ftouni (Al-Mayadeen), along with Fatima’s brother, camera operator Mohamad Ftouni. They join a long list of Lebanese journalists that Israel has murdered.
Israel has repeatedly labelled media outlets and journalists as ‘terrorists’. Obviously, Western media and governments have parroted these claims without any evidence to support them.
The Israeli military also posted a photograph of Shoaib dressed in a military uniform. However, when asked by Fox News to provide the image, a spokesperson said:
Unfortunately there isn’t really a picture of it, it was photoshopped.
It provided no evidence to support its claims that Shoaib and Ftouni were Hezbollah combatants.
Israel goes after journalists in an attempt to stop the world from witnessing its war crimes. If it kills all the journalists in Gaza, Lebanon, and even Iran, then the rest of the world will not know what it’s up to.
Suddenly, the US cares?
The US has stayed quiet while Israel murdered over 300 journalists – many of whom were brown, and often Muslim.
Now all of a sudden:
The FBI, National Security Council, state department, Delta Force and the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service were in contact about her abduction.
So, they can pay attention to attacks on journalists, after all. Of course, Kittleson is originally from rural Wisconsin.
So, whether it’s because Israel is not the perpetrator here or because Kittleson looks very white and is from a rural part of the US, the government suddenly decided it cares about journalists in the Middle East.
The US would not care if it were Israel that had kidnapped or even murdered Kittleson. Likewise, if a visibly brown, Black, or Muslim US citizen had been abducted, the US government would not care.
The hypocrisy is astounding – but what more should we expect from a government that Israel has so much influence over?
Featured image via Shelly Kittleson/Instagram
The reviews are out for the new Super Mario Bros. Movie and… it sounds like the film is anything but a level-up.
While we weren’t exactly expecting the follow-up to the animated video game adaptation to be the next Citizen Kane, it’s worth pointing out that the response to the first film was, at least, somewhat mixed, and it went on to gross more than a billion dollars at the global box office, making it the 20th biggest box office earner of all time at the time of writing.
Ahead of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s release at the end of this week, critics have been having their say, and they’ve certainly not been holding back, with a smattering of two- and one-star reviews (not to mention a zero-star take from one particularly unimpressed reviewer).
Here’s a selection of what’s been said so far about The Super Mario Galaxy Movie…
“Of course it’s intended for little kids, but it surely didn’t need to be such a visually dull screensaver of a movie, with even more of the cheesy, Euro-knockoff look of that first film. And, again, the paucity of funny lines is a real puzzle.”
“It’s a supremely vacuous anti-movie that climaxes with a sequence featuring full-screen Nintendo gameplay, as if to remind us of the levels of rancid commercial whoredom we’ve reached.
“The film is torturous to sit through and, for me, provoked periods of actual physical discomfort. I had to stab myself repeatedly in the hand with a pen to distract from the howling distress. It’s that bad, and that offensive.”
Nintendo/Illumination/Universal
“It’s testament to just how bad the original Super Mario Bros Movie was that this sequel can be a noticeable improvement in every respect – animation, storytelling, humour, vocal performances, you name it – while still comfortably qualifying as absolute rubbish.”
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is frenetic in such an impersonal way that it feels like the entire film should be put on Ritalin […] The film treats its story as a threadbare adventure, a mere throwaway, because it’s so focused on those little pings of recognition for gamers. And that’s quite a comedown.”
“[The Super Mario Galaxy Movie] offers the adults a few pings of nostalgia, but otherwise it’s a humourless, hysterical trudge. […] The moments of fan service might keep the hardcore happy, but for everyone else over the age of five it’s just a succession of loud, bright things happening without any real point.”
“Relentlessly fast-paced and filled with hyperkinetic visuals, the sequel hits the sweet spot in terms of what its target audience wants, even if adult non-aficionados will find little of interest other than the starry vocal cast.”
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie doubles down on its own blandness. There’s barely a plot here. Not a single memorable character. Not even another piano ditty for Jack Black to sing […] There is… one real, solid joke in this film? And it’s mostly just repeating a bit from Disney’s Zootopia.”
Nintendo/Illumination/Universal
“A movie like this will probably make a lot of money, because it doesn’t rock the boat. But a boat that never rocks is a boat that never goes anywhere. That’s how boats work. They’re supposed to take you on a journey.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie doesn’t take you anywhere you haven’t been before, and it’s not as fun, it’s not as exciting, and it’s not as challenging as literally any of the games it’s based on. This is not an adaptation of the Super Mario Bros., it’s just a reminder that the franchise exists.”
“A masterpiece of game design that provides endless levels of unique planets to roam and explore, 2007’s Super Mario Galaxy is filled with moments of pure euphoric joy […] yet somehow on screen, it all registers as flat, imagination packaged into the most cleanly corporate and focus-group approved form possible.”
“While it’s likely that retro gamers won’t find anything here that wasn’t in the first movie – Yoshi and one or two others aside – it’s no doubt got enough for kids to enjoy, which will surely come as a relief for parents looking to entertain their offspring over the Easter holidays.”
“This is not a movie to be scrutinised, but to allow beleaguered elder millennial dads to sit their tots down for a precious two hours (if you count the trailers) and get some much-needed rest. It’s cute, and breezy, and rock-stupid, and will probably make a billion dollars again. Such is the world in which we live.”
“This film is even more of a manic roller coaster ride compared to the first movie, with so many gaming references packed into every scene, it’s hard to keep up. There are also a lot more power-ups used this time around, and that results in some fun and interesting combat for Mario and Luigi.”
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie arrives in cinemas on Friday.
Iraq have achieved a long-awaited and historic milestone, securing their place in the 2026 World Cup finals after a thrilling 2-1 victory over Bolivia. The intercontinental play-off match was held at the BBVA Stadium in Monterrey.
The “Lions of Mesopotamia” return to the World Cup after a four-decade absence. Their last appearance was in the 1986 tournament.
The team’s achievement is already being considered one of the most significant milestones in Iraqi football history.
Iraq v Bolivia: a fiery start and an early goal
The Iraqi team entered the match with great enthusiasm and nearly opened the scoring early through Ibrahim Bayesh in the second minute.
They continued their attacking pressure and quickly translated their dominance into goals in the 10th minute. Ali Al-Hammadi rose to meet a corner kick taken by Amir Al-Ammari and headed it into the net.
There were massive celebrations from Iraqi fans, who had traveled from both inside and outside Mexico, particularly from the United States.
Despite Iraq’s dominance, Bolivia gradually worked their way back into the game and managed to equalize in the 38th minute through Moisés Paniagua, who capitalized on a rebound inside the penalty area. The first half ended 1-1.
Arnold seals the victory… and Ayman Hussein makes history
In the second half, coach Graham Arnold made early substitutions that gave the team an attacking boost.
Marco Faraj played a crucial role by setting up the second goal, scored by Ayman Hussein, securing Iraq’s qualification and igniting the stadium.
The Iraqi team maintained their defensive composure until the final whistle, clinching the victory and confirming their return to the world stage in a big way.
Joy sweeps across the Iraqi streets
As soon as the final whistle blew, celebrations erupted in the streets of Baghdad and various other Iraqi cities.
Thousands of fans poured into the streets to celebrate this historic achievement, which revived hope for an entire generation of Iraqi football enthusiasts and wrote a new chapter of footballing glory after a 40-year wait.
Thus, Iraq returned, not just as a qualified team, but as a story of resilience and victory, writing a new chapter in the history of Arab football.
Iraq will compete in the World Cup in a challenging group that includes France, Norway, and Senegal.
They will begin their campaign against Norway on 16 June 2026 at Boston Stadium in the United States.
Featured image via the Canary
Britain’s “special relationship” with the US has finally been put to bed by the Iran war, according to former UK government adviser.
Donald Trump has slammed Britain repeatedly over the last month over Keir Starmer’s reluctance to get involved in the Middle East conflict.
The president called British aircraft carriers “toys” and told the UK to “go get your own oil” from the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, as the Iranians continue to blockade the major shipping lane.
Trump’s secretary of defence Pete Hegseth also mocked the “big, bad Royal Navy” in a press conference this week.
Peter Ricketts, who was the British government’s first National Security adviser between 2010 and 2012, said the US’s criticism is proof there is not a particularly exceptional bond between the two countries.
He told Times Radio: “I think it should really put to bed finally, once and for all the idea of a special relationship.
“Honestly, we’ve never had a special relationship with Americans. You know, we’ve had a transactional relationship with them. that’s normally been quite a warm one.”
However, he did say that there is still plenty of “operational cooperation” between the UK and their American counterparts, despite this friction between leaders.
Ricketts said: “I do think, though, that the operational cooperation between the defence staffs and the intelligence staffs and the foreign policy people is still proceeding pretty much as it does, very professionally.
“If you look at the fact that the Americans are using British bases, that’s an example of cooperation. British planes are flying in the Gulf in defence of Gulf countries. So I think it’s like an iceberg at the top.
“Above the waves, it’s very, very choppy. Down below, out of sight, I think the operational cooperation goes on.”
Technology secretary Peter Kyle also insisted that Trump’s latest attacks had not embarrassed the government.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “You’re only humiliated if you allow yourself to be humiliated in the way that you act and respond.”
He insisted Starmer has acted with “dignity” throughout his time in office, taking a “cool, calm” approach towards the Trump administration.
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