The UK military has told the Canary that British war drone circled Lebanon for 13 hours on 8 April 2026 was not there. This is despite is being visible on an aircraft tracking platform. The Cyprus-launched aircraft circled a key battlefield in Israel’s current air and ground assault on Lebanon. It was there despite the UK calling for a ceasefire.

Journalist Matt Kennard, who originally spotted the aircraft, reported that 18 people had been killed in Baalbek, in Lebanon’s east, at time of the flight:

🚨Keir Starmer sent a MQ-9 Reaper drone over Lebanon for 13 hours yesterday

Departing from RAF Akrotiri, it flew in circles near Baalbek. At same time, Israeli strikes killed 18 people in area

Starmer flew intel flights over Gaza for Israel. Is this part of same arrangement? pic.twitter.com/WShUvyvQ62

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— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) April 9, 2026

The Canary understands the aircraft may be Protector drone, which was meant to supersede the Royal Air Force’s Reaper drones. However UK NGO Drone Wars said in 2025 that Reaper’s lifespan had been extended.

The Reaper drone and Protector drone can carry lethal munitions. RAF Akrotiri is one of two UK colonial bases in Cyprus. The Canary recently reported on efforts by local anti-genocide activists to reclaim Cypriot sovereignty.

🚨Video of British MQ-9 Reaper drone flying over east Lebanon yesterday as Israeli strikes hit the area

The Reaper drone is weaponised and can drop Paveway II 500-pound bombs pic.twitter.com/Mmsv1NH38w

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— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) April 9, 2026

And a British Reaper or Protector also overflew Lebanon on 9 April:

The same British Reaper drone flew over same area of Lebanon for 10 hours today (April 9) pic.twitter.com/XMDzDJptze

— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) April 9, 2026

The Canary asked the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) for more details about why a British military aircraft was over Lebanon during the Israeli assault.

MOD communications officer Luc Wilson told us:

The aircraft in question was not conducting operations over Lebanon.

‘Operations’? It was a military drone out on annual leave, was it?

Israel is currently attempting to cut off southern Lebanon by force. Israel’s intention has long been to colonise the region entirely.

The UK flew crewed spy flights over Gaza throughout the first years of the genocide. These also originated in Cyprus.  After those spy flights ended, it emerged that the UK government had decided to replace them with drone flights.

Still hitting Lebanon

The Canary reported on 22 November 2025:

The Genocide-Free Cyprus (CFG) group has uncovered details of an extensive new mission involving the use of Reaper long-endurance drones – designated Protector RG1 for the RAF – that are already preparing for what is evidently a new surveillance mission over Gaza, with the drones already operating close to the Gaza coast.

Israeli is still hitting the region despite claiming to be on-board with ceasefire plans:

💢 Israeli warplanes and drones carried out a wave of strikes across southern Lebanon on Friday evening, hitting multiple towns and civilian areas, according to Lebanon’s state news agency and reporting from L’Orient Today.

➤ Airstrikes hit Kfar Dounin (Nabatieh), a home in… https://t.co/M09nl1dlvE

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) April 10, 2026

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In theory, Hezbollah breached a US-brokered ‘ceasefire’ with Israel in early March which had held up since their last war in 2024. In practice, the US gave Israel carte blanche to strike Lebanon, which it has done constantly since the deal was struck. During the intervening period, Israel attacked southern Lebanon about 15,400 times.

Far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich said on 23 March that the current war:

needs to end with a different reality entirely, both with the Hezbollah decision but also with the change of Israel’s borders.

I say ​here definitively…in every room and in every discussion, too: the new Israeli border must be the Litani.

Trade unionists, families, and campaigners will gather on the Cornwall coast this June for Unite on the Hill. It’s a new festival that aims to combine culture, community, and class politics. Branch SW008 of the Unite union is organising the event.

It’ll take place from 19–21 June 2026 at Maker Heights (PL10 1LA) and bring together live music, food, and family activities. There’ll be a programme of political discussion addressing issues facing working people in Devon and Cornwall.

The festival comes at a time when the region is facing rising levels of insecure, low-paid work and some of the highest rates of child poverty in the UK. Alongside this, anger continues to grow over water privatisation and environmental damage affecting local communities.

Talks across the weekend will include:

• Workplace organising.
• The campaign to bring South West Water into public ownership.
• Tackling child poverty.
• Confronting the power of big tech monopolies.

John Whitcher, Chair of Unite SW008, said:

Our members are often isolated – both geographically and because they work in workplaces too small to have their own branch.

But the need for collective action has never been greater. This event is about bringing people together — replacing despair with hope, and showing what’s possible when we unite.

SW008 is one of the largest Unite branches in the South West. It represents workers in small and fragmented workplaces, many without formal union structures. The festival is part of a broader effort to rebuild grassroots trade unionism in areas often overlooked by national organising.

Building working class culture in Cornwall

At the same time, Unite on the Hill continues a growing tradition of socialist festivals in the region, following earlier events such as Kernow Transformed and Devon Transformed. Organisers hope it will help establish Devon and Cornwall as a key centre for working-class culture and political organisation.

Tickets are available now, with free entry for Unite members and their families (first come, first served), alongside a limited number of tickets for non-members:

🎟️ Free tickets for Unite members & their families (first come, first served)

🎟️ Guest tickets (for non-members)

In addition to political discussions, the festival will feature live bands and DJs, local food and drink, children’s activities, and opportunities to explore the surrounding coastline.

Organisers say the aim is simple: to create a space where working people can come together, share experiences, and build the confidence and organisation needed to challenge inequality – in Cornwall and beyond.

Featured image via Maker Heights

A social media post from Pakistan’s defence minister criticising Israel’s genocidal violence on Lebanon amid ceasefire negotiations has been removed following pressure from Zionists.

Khawaja Asif called Israel a “curse for humanity” for killing innocent civilians in Gaza, Iran and Lebanon. He also implied Israel was sabotaging the “peace talks”.

Pakistani Minister Quietly Scrubs Post Swiping At Israel

DM Asif branded the country a “curse for humanity” in a post that has now disappeared from social media after sparking a backlash.

“First Gaza, then Iran and now Lebanon – bloodletting continues unabated,” the message… pic.twitter.com/unAJtz5m1H

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— RT_India (@RT_India_news) April 10, 2026

Rather than addressing or taking accountability for the deadly strikes on Lebanon that killed more than 300 people and wounded nearly 1,200, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire agreement. He also hit back at Asif, calling his comments “outrageous”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

“Dear residents of the North, I am proud of you. You continue to stand firm.

I wish to inform you: There is no ceasefire in Lebanon. We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with full force, and we will not stop until we restore your security. pic.twitter.com/k2JeKXEMBQ

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— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) April 9, 2026

Pakistan should remain a ‘neutral arbiter for peace’ apparently

The Prime Minister’s Office:

Pakistan Defence Minister’s call for Israel’s annihilation is outrageous. This is not a statement that can be tolerated from any government, especially not from one that claims to be a neutral arbiter for peace.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) April 9, 2026

Asif’s tweet was also attacked by Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar.

Israel views very gravely these blatant antisemitic blood libels from a government claiming to “mediate peace”.
Calling the Jewish state “cancerous” is effectively calling for its annihilation.
Israel will defend itself against terrorists who vow its destruction. https://t.co/CCMveNi9Qu

— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) April 9, 2026

The deletion of one Pakistani minister’s tweet did not erase the 300 Lebanese dead, or the growing recognition across the Global South of Israel’s role as the wielder of western-backed violence in West Asia.

Featured image via Firstpost

We relied on pigeons for thousands of years

Now, they’re a key part of our urban ecosystem

How can I help pigeons?

Humane World for Animals UK will take its campaign to ban farrowing crates across Scotland from 11-14 April. The charity will bring a life-size animatronic pig named Penny to towns and cities to highlight the harsh reality faced by tens of thousands of mother pigs on farms.

Penny will appear inside a metal crate like those which confine sows while they give birth and nurse their piglets. The striking installation aims to show the severe restriction which mother pigs endure in these systems.

The tour will visit Aberdeenshire, Perthshire, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Campaigners will meet members of the public and raise awareness about pig welfare. The event will culminate at the Edinburgh City Chambers. Humane World for Animals experts will meet with politicians to urge stronger action to end the caging of mother pigs.

As of 2025, Scotland was home to 25,600 sows. About half of these live in indoor pig farms that routinely keep sows in farrowing crates. Under current laws, they can be confined for up to five weeks in the narrow metal cages every time they give birth, typically two or three times a year.

The cages are so restrictive that the animals are unable to turn around. They have little opportunity to engage in natural behaviour such as nest-building or moving freely with their piglets. This badly compromises their physical and mental health.

Farrowing crates typically measure around 200cm in length and 45-65cm in width. Pigs have been selectively bred to be larger than ever, meaning that the relative space available to a sow is even more restricted than when crates were first introduced.

Scottish public rejects pig cages

Polling by the organisation revealed that 84% of the Scottish public rejects the use of farrowing crates for mother pigs. Over half of respondents (54%) stated they would be willing to pay more for meat produced from pigs kept in crate-free systems. This shows that farmers could benefit financially by embracing the highest welfare standards.

The UK government has indicated an intention to phase out conventional farrowing crates. But Humane World for Animals warns that some parts of the industry are shifting towards so-called “flexible” farrowing crates. The organisation says these systems still rely on confining mother pigs in cages and are the same kind of prison under another name.

Claire Bass, senior director of campaigns and public affairs at Humane World for Animals UK, says:

Many people are shocked that such extreme, prolonged confinement is still legal in Scotland. Farmers must end cruel caging, not replace old cages with new ones that would condemn millions more pregnant and lactating pigs to future decades of misery.

A cage is a cage, and the public is clear: mother pigs don’t belong behind bars.

With the Scottish election fast approaching, our tour is turning public compassion into political pressure. Voters across Scotland are demanding change and joining our call for the next Scottish Government to support farmers as part of the effort to put an end to pregnancy cage cruelty.

By touring Scotland with Penny the pig, campaigners hope to spark conversations about the lives of farmed animals. And they’ll encourage parliamentary candidates to support farming systems that allow pigs the space and freedom to express natural behaviour.

Featured image via Marcus Emmerson / Humane World for Animals UK

The Guardian, along with other ‘mainstream’ media, have reported that press and analysts are “baffled” by Melania Trump’s sudden, supposedly unauthorised, and deeply self-justifying statement denying a relationship with serial child-rapist Jeffrey Epstein.

ITV News even wondered, in all-caps, “WHY DID SHE DO THIS?”:

Any kind of examination reveals it may not really be all that baffling, but the Guardian and others completely ignore the plural ‘elephants in the room’. Let’s take a look at them.

The Wolff case

Melania Trump is being sued by writer Michael Wolff, himself no stranger to Epstein’s circle, who alleges that she threatened him with a $1bn lawsuit for his claims about her closeness to Epstein in an attempt to curtail his rights to free speech. Trump’s new denial speech boasts of her successes in using similar threats to force publishers and others to apologise.

This is an obvious parallel with the Wolff case. Yet she never followed through on her threat sue Wolff after he refused to back down. And she has been accused of hiding from Wolff’s attempts to serve her with notice of his own lawsuit – then tried to get the case thrown out because he hadn’t been able to ‘serve’ her at her guarded Mar a Lago residence in Florida.

But the Guardian’s article, despite the obvious lead-in, makes no mention of Wolff at all. Neither does ITV or other UK ‘msm’. Trump may have had notice that her attempt to kick out Wolff’s case will be rejected by the court and is trying to ‘get ahead’ of the fall-out and the fact that it will open the way for Wolff to ‘depose’ her and her husband and to demand full disclosures. Or another story about her and Epstein may be about to break and she wants to get her denials in early.

FBI files: “EPSTEIN introduced MELANIA TRUMP to DONALD TRUMP.”

In her speech yesterday, Trump referred to an email she sent to Epstein’s partner-in-paedophilia Ghislaine Maxwell – to whom Trump referred chummily as “dear G”. Trump denied the email, in which she gushed about ‘G’s appearance and how she couldn’t wait to go to Palm Beach – and asked ‘G’ to call her when she was in New York. Maxwell responds, calling Trump “Sweetpea” and regretting that she “sadly” probably wouldn’t see her on her current trip to New York:

Despite this cosiness, in her speech, Melania Trump denied knowing Maxwell well and claimed that the exchange was merely “polite” and “tribal” – presumably meaning ‘trivial’. The Guardian and ITV do refer to this email. But, inexcusably, they don’t refer to an even more significant email – one that is directly relevant to Trump’s denial that she was introduced to her husband by Epstein.

Among the entities Melania Trump boasted that she has forced to apologise to her is US news website the Daily Beast. The site had streamed an interview with Michael Wolff in which he made claims noted above about Trump’s closeness to Epstein. But while the threat of a $1bn lawsuit might have cowed the site into backing down over that interview, it has not deleted a separate article about FBI evidence about how she met Donald Trump.

In that article, published in February 2026, the Daily Beast notes that among the evidence gathered by FBI agents on Epstein is a sworn statement (download here) from one of his employees. In that evidence, the employee claims directly that:

EPSTEIN introduced MELANIA TRUMP to DONALD TRUMP.

As the Daily Beast article notes, it is a criminal offence in the US to lie to the FBI. The sworn statement directly relates to Melania Trump’s denial in her speech and the Daily Beast has not deleted this article, evidently because quoting an official law enforcement document could not be defamation. But none of the ‘mainstream’ publications or broadcasters have bothered to refer to it, while streaming or quoting Trump’s denial.

According to the Longman dictionary, the phrase “the elephant in the room” refers to “an important subject or problem that everyone knows about but no one mentions”. There are at least two in Melania Trump’s bizarre speech. Rather than address them, the UK ‘mainstream media’ prefer to wonder rhetorically what could possibly have prompted Trump to make her speech, while remaining conspicuously silent about obvious potential causes.

Featured image via the Canary

A Vatican official has stated that pope Leo may refuse to visit the US whilst Donald Trump remains in office. The news comes alongside reports of a widening divide between the Catholic church and US.

Pope Leo became the first pope to be born in the US after his appointment in 2025. Since then, he has been a vocal critic of Trump’s vicious warmongering and immigration policies. In particular, both his January and Easter addresses called for peace and criticized warlike states.

In response, the Trump administration has reportedly told the church that it has the military power to do “whatever it wants”. Reports also allege that one US official made reference to the use of force against the papacy itself.

Trump administration ‘the church had better take its side’

On 6 April, the Free Press broke a story on an unprecedented meeting between the Pentagon and a senior Vatican official. The US ‘department of war’ reportedly called for a meeting with Vatican diplomat cardinal Christophe Pierre, having taken offense at the pope’s calls for peace during a January address.

Speaking to the Vatican’s diplomatic corps in the new year, the pope criticised states “completely undermining” world peace. Breaking from tradition by giving the speech in English, rather than Italian or French, he added that:

A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies.

In spite of Leo naming no individual countries, the Trump administration reportedly took this as a direct attack. In a first-of-a-kind occurrence, the Pentagon requested an audience with cardinal Pierre. Anonymous Vatican sources characterised the meeting as a:

bitter lecture warning that the United States has the military power to do whatever it wants — and that the Church had better take its side.

Avignon Papacy

Further even than this, the Free Press stated that:

one U.S. official went so far as to invoke the Avignon Papacy, the period in the 1300s when the French Crown leveraged its military power to dominate the papal authority.

The Avignon Papacy is sometimes referred to as the ‘Babylonian Captivity’ within Catholic circles. Following military and political threats from king Philip VI of France, pope Clement V moved the seat of the church from Rome to Avignon. It remained there between the years 1309 and 1377.

During that period, all seven elected popes were French. Likewise, 111 of the 134 new cardinals were also French. Although the level of Philip’s direct influence over the papacy during the Avignon residence is still hotly debated, critics hold that it was a time of unprecedented hegemony for the French crown.

As such, the force of this threat from a US official to the Vatican can hardly be underestimated. However, the Pentagon has flatly denied the Free Press’ characterisation of events. Instead, it issued a statement holding that:

In light of grossly false and distorted recent reporting, the Department of War repeats its statement: Recent reporting of the meeting is highly exaggerated and distorted. The meeting between Pentagon and Vatican officials was a respectful and reasonable discussion. We have nothing but the highest regard and welcome continued dialogue with the Holy See.

This take on the meeting is belied directly by a senior Vatican official, who told the Free Press that, following the meeting:

The Pope may well never visit the United States under this administration.

The pope has reportedly refused an invite from Trump to join him for the US 4 July celebrations. Instead, he will visit the Italian island of Lampedusa, a common entry point into Europe for North African asylum seekers.

‘Light the signal fire in Iran’

Beyond this direct clash with Vatican envoys, the US  military has taken on increasingly apocalyptic evangelical Christian overtones under ‘secretary of war’ Pete Hegseth. The Washington Post described the situation:

Every month at the Pentagon, Hegseth hosts evangelical worship services that legal experts say are unprecedented. His social media profile and public comments routinely espouse his understanding of Christianity, which is one that would dominate American life and cast those who disagree with him as God’s enemies. He has brought clergy from his small Christian denomination to preach at the Pentagon, including a prominent pastor who says women shouldn’t have the right to vote.

By 4 March, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) had received over 200 complaints of increased sectarianism. One noncommissioned officer stated that their commander had:

urged us to tell our troops that this was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’ and he specifically referenced numerous citations out of the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ. […]

He said that ‘President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth’.

At a worship service held within the Pentagon on 25 March, Hegseth prayed for God to:

Give [US soldiers] wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy. Preserve their lives, sharpen their resolve, and let justice be executed swiftly and without remorse that evil may be driven back and wicked souls delivered to the eternal damnation prepared for them….We ask these things with bold confidence in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ, King over all kings and amen.

It’s hard to find something new to say in the face of such openly bloodthirsty rhetoric and actions. The US military is controlled by zealots who claim belief in waging a holy war. They’re spurred on by an apparently genuine desire to bring about the end of the earth.

These aren’t things that you’re trained to write about. There’s no reasoning with this cocktail of religious hatred, white supremacy, and naked greed. Not even direct condemnation from arguably the most senior Christian on earth has given them pause.

Featured image via the Canary