Politics
Spanish PM tells Trump his country will not be fooled twice after illegal war on Iraq
Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has once again pushed back against the US military machine. He has made it clear to Trump and his backers that Spain will not allow another US president to drag the country into an illegal war in West Asia on the back of bogus claims.
This refers back to the illegal war on Iraq, which began on the basis that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. However, this ‘justification’ for the mass murder of Iraqis was debunked and revealed for the manipulative misinformation it was.
Whilst many haven’t learned and continue to parrot lines from bad actors in power, Spain has, with Sánchez telling Trump:
Twenty-three years ago, the U.S. dragged us into Iraq over claims of weapons of mass destruction. None were found. You cannot fool us twice.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to Donald Trump:
"Twenty-three years ago, the U.S. dragged us into Iraq over claims of weapons of mass destruction. None were found. You cannot fool us twice." pic.twitter.com/tLk6SRIgCq
— Jackson Hinkle
(@jacksonhinkle) July 11, 2026
When will other Western leaders learn?
Spain, it appears, has learned from the mistakes of the past. It has consistently opposed both the genocide on Gaza and the current illegal war on Iran.
However, our own leaders are still far too slow – or reluctant – to take any decisive action to stop the world careening into another world war. Equally, they seem unperturbed – meaningless rhetoric aside – by the mass slaughter of Arab men, women and children. Theyhave afforded Israel absolute impunity.
Starmer and co. have said they oppose the war on Iran waged by the petty, childish and egotistical US President, but their words have not been followed by actions. The defence budget has still increased following Trump’s orders, and they still allow the US to use its bases for ‘defensive’ purposes.
Instead of defending international law and calling for true diplomacy, the British government are budgeting huge sums to go directly into the hands of Western arms companies (war lords), who only care about their profits. And there is a hell of a lot of profit to make in war for those who supply the means to obliterate other people.
Sánchez, by contrast, recently spoke about Spain being a “peaceful and pacifist country”, vowing to “put an end to all wars”:
A pesar de la distancia geográfica, España está siempre con sus aliados.
Somos un país pacífico y pacifista. Y un aliado fiable.
El objetivo último de todas nuestras acciones debe ser acabar con todas las guerras. pic.twitter.com/NBTkIuoEOq
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) July 8, 2026
War mongers want to have their cake and eat it too
The Canary‘s Joe Glenton has written extensively about the military machine and the illegal war on Iraq. Glenton is a former soldier who refused to return to duty in Afghanistan as he rightfully believed the aggression was illegal under international law.
Recognising how these wars only benefit the billionaire-owned arms and fossil fuel companies, Glenton has played a big role in trying to get the British people to open their eyes to the manipulation pushed by Western leaders to justify more endless wars in West Asia.
Glenton wrote of the disingenuous Royal British Legion (RBL) and its incestuous relationship with global arms firms back in February:
Since the ousting of the pre-2003 government, Iraq has become a lucrative cash cow for certain players, including global arms firms – what I prefer to call Big Death. Welcome to the military charity-industrial complex.
What makes the Iraq event and comments from the Royal British Legion striking is that both the legion and the National Arboretum proudly state their connections to the global killing business.
BAE Systems is a major partner of the RBL – to the tune of £400,000. The Arboretum’s website names Amey, Key Systems, Briggs Equipment and Jaguar Land Rover among its partners and supporters. All of these firms make profit from war and global instability.
The press and RBL did not even attempt to reflect these galling truths in their coverage of the event.
Those billionaires fuel fear and spread lies about countries that refuse to follow US orders or possess resources they want to get their grubby hands on.
Therefore, it becomes pretty clear that doing the bidding of arms companies – and the politicians in bed with them – hurts ordinary people, drains our pockets, and enriches only the billionaires at the top.
Britain faces a national security crisis within just a few years due to the impending collapse of global ecosystems, spy chiefs have warned, but the government is refusing to publish their report in full.
A redacted 14-page document warns of severe food shortages, which could… pic.twitter.com/Iia7CxE73k
— Novara Media (@novaramedia) July 13, 2026
A futile situation for the many whilst the few sit pretty
Meanwhile, there is a very real crisis coming towards us as a result of the breakdown of global ecosystems, which we always seem to fail to invest in, instead saying there just simply isn’t the funds.
This was called out recently by Labour MP Chris Hinchliff, who highlighted the blatant hypocrisy and failure to prioritise action on the climate emergency. As reported by Novara Media:
The government can summon billions of pounds for new military hardware when the defence sector calls for it. We need an equally decisive mobilisation of investment to restore the natural world on which we rely for our food, water and clean air.
Without these essentials our country has no future.
Every critical ecosystem across our planet is on a pathway to collapse with an irreversible loss of function, and this poses huge threats to our national security. This looming crisis demands urgent action.
Funnily enough, many of the same billionaires and hedge funds pouring money into arms companies also hold major investments in the fossil fuel industry.
That overlap creates a dangerous conflict of interest. It drives the world ever closer to the brink and forces billions of people to bear the consequences of climate breakdown and social collapse.
As the world burns, whether from bombs or extreme weather, the super-rich retreat to their private islands on private jets, shelter in air-conditioned luxury, and watch.
Featured image via the Canary
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New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s office says the Garden State should get a cut of the MetLife Stadium grass FIFA plans to sell to soccer fans.
Soccer’s global governing body, a Zurich-based nonprofit, is plotting to charge $450 for sod from this weekend’s World Cup final. But like a lot of the costs for hosting the World Cup, the pitch was subsidized by local hosts.
“New Jersey paid for the vast majority of the total expense for the pitch at MetLife stadium, so New Jersey taxpayers should share in any proceeds from this latest money grab,” Sherrill spokesperson Sean Higgins told New Jersey Playbook.
This is only the latest battlefield in the turf war between FIFA and Sherrill. FIFA did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Yes, some Gen Z trends, like obscure internet slang, are the kind of thing you’d expect from a younger generation.
But others – like a rise in birdwatching and a newfound fixation on nuns – might be a little more surprising.
Some articles say under-30s are booking convent stays instead of beach getaways. Meanwhile The Dominican Sisters Open Mic, a podcast hosted by Catholic nuns, has gone mega-viral.
Sister Gemma Simmonds, a sister of the Congregation of Jesus and author of A Time to Reflect, told HuffPost UK the appeal might stem from younger people being exhausted by “a life of endless optionality and FOMO [fear of missing out]”.
“Our fixed rhythms of prayer, work and community, and a life not built around consumption, are being experienced as freeing rather than restrictive,” she added.
While previous years have paved the way for ‘hot girl summers’, 2026 is giving a new energy entirely, which some have coined ‘nun girl summer’.
What is a “nun girl summer”?
The term is a play on Meg Thee Stallion’s years-old “hot girl summer” trend, which is “about being unapologetically YOU, having fun, being confident, living YOUR truth, being the life of the party etc”.
Sister Simmonds told us “nun girl summer” is also about being ourselves.
“I think it might look and feel free: free from the exhaustion caused by the expectation that every domain of the self is permanently being watched and rated for optimisation, including by the person herself,” she said.
“Nuns don’t need to perform for the camera – we are convinced that we are ‘awesomely and wonderfully made’. If you believe that, you don’t need to wait for anyone else’s approval of how you look or sound, how you rate in anyone else’s estimation.
“It’s a different account of female worth that reframes identity away from being chosen or wanted by a man, toward a life whose meaning doesn’t depend on romantic uptake at all.”
Indeed, comments under a viral Open Mic clip include wistful asides about the sense of female community the Sisters seem to have. One reads, “Waittt the idea with living with your girles”, while another jokes, “I’m one situationship away from this”.
Of course, not all of these women want to live in a convent, and many are not religious. So, how can we embody a “nun girl summer” if we’re not (excuse the pun) already in the habit?
4 rules for a “nun girl summer”
1) Be profoundly present
We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about the arrival fallacy, which makes it hard to enjoy what you’ve achieved due to worrying about what you haven’t got yet.
Sister Simmonds said it’s important to get in touch “with your own capacity for appreciation of the here and now, not always looking around the corner for what’s next” – that way, you’re present “to the richness” of what’s right in front of you.
2) Log off
Not only is it great for your sleep, but the Sister said mindfully staying away from your screens for an hour or so a day might make a big difference to how you feel, too.
Try to build in unplugged periods like “meals, a commute, an hour before bed, where nothing is being produced or consumed, just being”, she advised.
3) Stick to your routine, even when you don’t feel like it
You might already know that sticking to the same bedtime and wake time is great for your health, and that half-assing a workout is far better than skipping exercise altogether.
Sister Simmonds told us that much of nuns’ daily rhythm is “non-negotiable, regardless of mood”.
Whatever your reflective or health practices are, for her, “prayer works precisely because it doesn’t wait for you to feel like it”.
4) Build the capacity for real relationships
The Sister said it’s important to make space for relationships “that are non-transactional, that don’t come with an expiry date, that aren’t provisional, networked and subject to ghosting”.
“This can be hard work when you’re practising living with differences in age, outlook, culture, but it’s a strength worth building,” she said.
Research has shown that a strong sense of community may help to reduce dementia risk, and could even make you live longer.
Following Morocco’s defeat to France in the World Cup quarter-finals last week, violent disorder broke out in central London. Footage on social media showed hundreds of people gathered on the street after the match had finished. Some are captured throwing fireworks, bottles and other objects at Met officers. A few people, seemingly injured, can be seen being tended to by police. One officer was injured, and four people were arrested.
It seems pretty clear who the protagonists were. Edgware Road is home to a long-established Arab population, including many people of Moroccan heritage. And plenty of those seemingly involved in last week’s disturbances were wearing Moroccan football shirts or were draped in the Moroccan flag.
What happened in Edgware was replicated in other parts of Europe. Moroccan fans in the Netherlands took to the streets after the France defeat in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, forcing riot police to intervene. This unrest followed the street ‘parties’ after Morocco knocked the Netherlands out of the World Cup in their round-of-32 fixture. During Moroccan fans’ celebrations, Dutch police officers were hit by stones, fireworks and other objects.
In Germany, Morocco’s defeat led to violent clashes between Moroccan fans and the police in Düsseldorf. These resulted in several arrests, as well as injuries to supporters and police alike. In France, the streets did remain comparatively calm. But this was largely thanks to the presence of over 20,000 police officers and gendarmes on the streets of Paris and other major cities.
It would be unfair to focus purely on the misbehaviour of Moroccan fans. There is a broader problem of football-related troublemaking among North African communities in Western Europe. In London, in the neighbourhood known as ‘Little Cairo’, also on Edgware Road, Egyptian fans clashed with police, climbed on double-decker buses and disrupted traffic after Egypt defeated Australia in their round-of-32 match.
In France, Algerian fans have, in the past, had serious clashes with the police, especially during the 2019 African Cup of Nations (AFCON). This year, there was trouble in several French cities following Algeria’s 2-0 loss to Nigeria in their AFCON quarter-final game. Much like the behaviour of Moroccan fans in the Netherlands during this World Cup, the results of the matches are not necessarily a predictor of whether or not disorder will unfold.
This new hooliganism shows that all is not well when it comes to integration in Western Europe. It also shows that the UK is far from being immune to trouble, despite its relative success historically at cohering diverse communities compared with its European counterparts. It seems that neither the UK’s laissez-faire multiculturalism nor France’s strict republican universalism is quelling football-connected disorder within North African communities.
It certainly looks as if the emotions prompted by an international football tournament are exacerbating pre-existing tensions in European societies – especially among Muslim youth of North African origin. Many are already estranged from, and antagonistic towards, mainstream European societies. And they now also have further cause for resentment as a result of Israel’s war in Gaza. They feel that the West has failed to express sufficient solidarity with the Palestinian people and has ultimately sided with Israel. This has turbo-charged their grievance levels. It seems their Muslim identity, their sense of solidarity with Muslim peoples and their attachment to their ancestral homelands have trumped their attachment to the European nations in which they live.
The drivers of the disorder may well vary, depending on the national context. But broadly speaking, anti-state resentment, hatred of the police, foreign-policy grievances and general feelings of identitarian victimhood are all at play. It’s this unhealthy concoction that is fuelling the surge in North African football hooliganism.
And if the Edgware unrest is any indication, Britain is in trouble, too. The claim that ‘diversity is our strength’ rings hollower by the day.
Rakib Ehsan is the author of Beyond Grievance: What the Left Gets Wrong about Ethnic Minorities, which is available to order on Amazon.
More than 80 MPs and peers have written publicly to foreign secretary Yvette Cooper, demanding immediate sanctions on Israel for its Gaza genocide.
Indefensible
Leeds East Labour MP published a copy of the letter. It reminds Cooper of her government’s “indefensible” failure to do anything meaningful to curb Israel’s arrogant impunity or fulfil the UK’s obligations under international law:
BREAKING: With @Imran_HussainMP and 80 other MPs and Lords, I have written to the Foreign Secretary calling for comprehensive sanctions on Israel.
The world’s top court is clear. Israel’s occupation of Palestine is illegal – and Governments must act now to end it! pic.twitter.com/bzRzwokgy5
— Richard Burgon MP (@RichardBurgon) July 14, 2026
In full, it reads:
14 July 2026
Dear Foreign Secretary,
Re: Two Years On – the Government Must Act in Line with the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on Israel
We write ahead of the second anniversary of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) landmark Advisory Opinion on Israel’s occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, issued on 19 July 2024. We urge the Government to impose sanctions and other concrete measures to uphold its legal obligations under this ruling and wider international law.
The world’s highest court, the ICJ, found that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) is unlawful. It called for Israel to end this presence “as rapidly as possible” and cease all new settlement activity.
Two years on, Israel has not only ignored the Court but deepened its illegal occupation. This includes recent orders by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s army to seize large areas of the Gaza Strip, alongside intensified annexationist measures in the occupied West Bank, including the approval of plans to register land there as Israeli state property.
These examples underline how, without much bolder action, the Israeli Government will continue to simply ignore the words of condemnation from political leaders and governments and deepen its illegal occupation.
All States have an obligation to act.
The ICJ is clear that all States have an obligation not to recognise this illegal situation and “not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
The Court also made clear that all States must “abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory or parts thereof which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory” and “take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the OPT.”
Additionally, the ICJ reiterated the obligations of all State Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to ensure Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law.
The Government’s Responsibilities
The ICJ’s Opinion identifies clear legal responsibilities on the Government. Yet, despite acknowledging the Court’s findings, two years on, the Government has still not formally responded or taken the steps required to meet its legal and moral obligations. Further delay is simply indefensible.
The Government knows what needs to be done. It has rightly imposed widespread sanctions on Russia for its illegal war on Ukraine. Yet there has been no such comprehensive response to Israel’s actions in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
We are clear that international law cannot be applied selectively. The Government must apply the same principles to Israel’s unlawful occupation as it does elsewhere.
In line with the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion and to uphold its legal obligations, we urge the Government to act without delay by:
- Banning all trade in goods and services with illegal Israeli settlements and taking action against companies profiting from or sustaining the illegal occupation.
- Imposing targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, on all individuals and entities complicit in maintaining Israel’s unlawful presence in the OPT, including political leaders responsible for illegal settlement expansion and annexationist policies.
- Suspending the UK-Israel trade agreement until Israel complies with international law.
- Ending all arms transfers to Israel, including F-35 components and other equipment that may be used in violations of international humanitarian law.
If the Government wants to show that its stated commitment to international law and human rights is more than words, then it must act decisively and without further delay.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Burgon MP and Imran Hussain MP
The letter is co-signed by the following parliamentarians. If your MP has not signed, write to them and demand that they do:
Diane Abbott MP
Lorraine Beavers MP
Shockat Adam MP
Orfhlaith Begley MP
Lord John Alderdice
Apsana Begum MP
Tahir Ali MP
Sian Berry MP
Paula Barker MP
Lara Bird MP
Lee Barron MP
Olivia Blake MP
Baroness Christine Blower
Rachael Maskell MP
Ian Byrne MP
Paul Maskey MP
Ellie Chowns MP
Douglas McAllister MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Andy McDonald MP
Pat Cullen MP
John McDonnell MP
Ann Davies MP
Llinos Medi MP
Marsha De Cordova MP
Abtisam Mohamed MP
Carla Denyer MP
Iqbal Mohamed MP
Dave Doogan MP
Lord Shaffaq Mohammed
Lord Alf Dubs
Grahame Morris MP
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Brendan O’Hara MP
Colum Eastwood MP
Simon Opher MP
Sorcha Eastwood MP
Kate Osborne MP
Cat Eccles MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
John Finucane MP
Adrian Ramsay MP
Mary Kelly Foy MP
Martin Rhodes MP
Andrew George MP
Marie Rimmer MP
Mary Glindon MP
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Lord Peter Hain
Liz Saville-Roberts MP
Claire Hanna MP
Lord Prem Sikka
Chris Hazzard MP
Lord Indarjit Singh
Lord John Hendy
Cat Smith MP
Chris Hinchliff MP
Hannah Spencer MP
Daire Hughes MP
Zarah Sultana MP
Rupa HuqMP
Jon Trickett MP
Adnan Hussain MP
Baroness Pola Uddin
Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi
Kim Johnson MP
Nadia Whittome MP
Afzal Khan MP
Steve Witherden MP
Ayoub Khan MP
Mohammad Yasin MP
Ben Lake MP
Peter Lamb MP
Ian Lavery MP
Chris Law MP
Brian Leishman MP
Clive Lewis MP
Baroness Ruth Lister
Cathal Mallaghan MP
Starmer’s government is about to end. New PM Andy Burnham has offered only mealy-mouthed words on Israel and Gaza so far. He must be made to listen and implement real change.
Featured image via the Canary
By Skwawkbox
Is it us or are wasps everywhere right now?
According to conservation specialist Buglife, there are 9,000 species of wasps in the UK and, ideally, we’d like none of them to be in our homes.
Fortunately, it turns out, there are some unique ways to keep the stripy stingers away from your body (and pints) when out and about.
How to keep wasps away
Wear red clothing
Did you know that most insects can’t see the colour red? This includes wasps!
Wasps are drawn to brighter shades like yellows, blues and whites because they’re similar to flowers, however they’re not attracted to darker shades like brown and black.
But for clothing, the safest bet is red because wasps just can’t see it and therefore aren’t attracted to it.
Mix basil and garlic
Basil and garlic combined may sound dreamy to us – but to wasps, it’s a pretty revolting concoction. Keeping basil plants and garlic cloves around your home – especially near windows – can help to keep the stripy stingers outdoors.
Make your home minty-fresh
Wasps also hate the smell of mint so if you mix some peppermint oil with dish soap and spray it around the home, not only will your home smell minty fresh but wasps will steer clear.
Alternatively, mint plants placed near windows or on tables will help keep them at bay, too!
Lay off the perfumes and aftershaves
This probably isn’t all that surprising, but those perfumes and aftershaves you wear to smell vaguely floral? They smell like flowers and therefore attract wasps. Lay off the sweet scents and keep it neutral to keep pests away from you.
Splash the cash (or pennies) around
Wasps are reportedly averse to the smell of copper so if you rub some of the pennies you have and leave them lying around your home, they’re more likely to avoid buzzing about the place.
LONDON — A police cover-up after a 1989 football stadium tragedy was seminal in shaping soon-to-be new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s political outlook.
Upon returning to the House of Commons this evening for the first time as a member of parliament, Burnham used his maiden speech to hail a proposed new Hillsborough law — named after the Sheffield football stadium where 97 Liverpool fans lost their lives in a crush — which imposes a duty of candor on public officials.
Burnham faced raw anger and heckles of “justice” and “truth” in 2009, when he was culture secretary, at a memorial service at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the disaster.
Days before he moves into No. 10 Downing Street, Burnham pledged to end the U.K.’s “cover-up culture” and put “decency back at the heart of the British state.”
Burnham said the law will “change the way this country thinks and works about justice,” as it “truly is a rewiring of the state and a passing of power from the authorities to the hands of ordinary people.” MPs approved the legislation Tuesday evening, and it will now go to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.
A prominent Arabic-language media outlet appears to have ties to Israeli intelligence. Jusoor, which boasts 11 million Facebook followers and bills itself as the “pulse of the Arab street”, may be anything but an ordinary news outlet, according to leaked documents seen by +972 Magazine.
+972 reported on 13 July that Jusoor:
describes itself as an “independent media platform” that is “not affiliated with any political entity” and seeks out stories that “reflect the pulse of all societies and peoples” in the Middle East and North Africa.
The publication’s main output consists of short video segments circulated largely through social media, where its audience has grown rapidly. On Facebook alone, it recently surpassed 1 million followers.
But new documents suggest that:
the outlet has been connected with intelligence services in Israel. And an examination of the organization and individual behind the outlet points to Jusoor’s role within a vast and long-term covert operation designed to engineer public opinion in the Arab world in favor of Israel and its allies.
The ‘Shia Axis’ project
The leaks came about after Iranian hackers got access to millions of documents:
from the inboxes of Israeli politicians, ministries, and other prominent institutions and organizations.
+972 reported how one recent hack:
made accessible to journalists via the nonprofit whistleblower group Distributed Denial of Secrets, targeted Israel’s foremost security think tank, the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).
The INSS collaborates:
closely with Israel’s intelligence community — comprising the Mossad, the Shin Bet, and the Military Intelligence Directorate — and whose fellows often come directly from its ranks.
The INSS runs a program about the so-called “Shia axis”:
encompassing Iran and its allies including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and, prior to its collapse, the Assad regime in Syria.
Among the thousands of leaked files and messages from this program, clues have emerged regarding who is actually behind Jusoor and what its real mission is.
One leaked email describes an October 2024 Zoom meeting between the Shia Axis project and the founder of the Center for Peace Communications (CPC) Joseph Braude. The emails claim CPC counters extremism in the region. Both Braude and CPC are key players in the project.
Another email claims CPC works to:
manage creative consciousness campaigns against Israel’s enemies, with a recent emphasis on Hamas and Hezbollah.
Jordanians, Cyprus and a secret meeting
Another leaked message from September 2025 describes:
a secret meeting took place in Cyprus involving an INSS fellow and several journalists, researchers, and influencers from Israel and Jordan. Israel’s deputy ambassador to Jordan was also present.
An INSS member summarised this meeting as being about:
actions needed in the media to improve relations between Israel and Jordan.
The workshop, the summary goes on:
was organised by the Center for Peace Communications and the Jusoor channel, led by Joseph Braude and his team.
The summary also says many of the Jordanian participants in the meeting:
take part, openly or covertly, in the activities of Jusoor.
According to +972:
the group agreed to establish teams for future projects, specifically to support “videos that will be produced by CPC and shown on the Jusoor channel” that would “disprove anti-Israeli conspiracy theories” or feature Israeli speakers “expressing appreciation for the Jordanian royal house.”
Gaza reporting and remarkable levels of access
The leaks contain other strange details about Jusoor too. At the height of the famine in Gaza, Jusoor still had on-the-ground access to the besieged area. And one leaked message details how Jusoor reached out to an “anti-Hamas activist” inside Gaza to try and source footage of thriving food markets, people shopping for food and:
videos of people cooking, eating, filling up buckets of water, and kids playing with water.
+972 reported:
Despite mounting international concern over the increasingly desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza, Jusoor appeared to be seeking footage portraying the exact opposite, which could then be used to fend off allegations of impending famine.
The footage was never provided, presumably because no such scenes existed in an active famine.
Jusoor also published:
a largely sympathetic video profile of Yasser Abu Shabab, the then-leader of the pro-Israel Popular Forces militia in Gaza, a little over a year ago.
Going even deeper, +972 reported that:
According to U.S. tax documents, CPC is a relatively small organization based in Long Island, New York, with an official annual budget of roughly $1.5 million. All of its publicly listed donors support Jewish and pro-Israel initiatives.
Jusoor editor Hadeel Oueis is “employed directly by CPC”, +972 reported. Oueis, a Syrian national based in the US, was once known as Hadeel Kouki. She came to prominence as a young anti-Assad activist during the Arab Spring.
+972 reported:
In 2012, still using the name Kouki, she was invited by the Geneva-based pro-Israel advocacy group UN Watch to a conference it co-organized, as well as a meeting of the Human Rights Council.
From there, according to Oueis’ biography on WINEP’s website, she met a U.S. delegation that helped facilitate her relocation to the United States.
You can and should read the full, highly detailed +972 report here. If Jusoor is an influence operation, it is one of many. The Canary has reported on similar projects like the BlackCore scandal, English language psychological operations courses and Israeli military-controlled journalism. And as Israeli control of the narrative on Palestine cracks further, we can expect many more to come to light.
Featured image via the Canary
By Joe Glenton
MADRID — A soccer-racism row involving a former prime minister has triggered renewed scrutiny of a perennial Spanish problem.
Mariano Rajoy, who governed Spain between 2011 and 2018 as leader of the conservative People’s Party, described the French team in a column he wrote for El Debate news site as a “very high-level squad. Of course, without Frenchmen,” in reference to the African heritage of some of the players.
The remarks sparked a fierce backlash from across the border ahead of tonight’s World Cup semifinal between Spain and France in Dallas.
On Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said, “France has no skin color. Any contrary claim stems from stupidity, racism or a combination of the two.”
Several other French politicians also criticized Rajoy, while the French soccer federation president, Philippe Diallo, wrote on social media that the remarks “carry an intolerable whiff of racism.”
Even the spokesperson for the far-right National Rally party, Julien Odoul, said: “Mr. Rajoy is a racist. Simply, his statements are scandalous, shameful, and regrettable. Everyone should condemn them.”
Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also took France’s side against his predecessor.
“There are those who still measure belonging by surname, place of birth, or skin color,” he wrote on social media. “Spain belongs to those who love it and work for it. Not to those who shame it with xenophobic comments. France, we will see you in the semi-final. May the best team win and may racism lose.”
Rajoy’s comments have reignited a debate that has dogged Spanish soccer for decades, even as it has morphed into a World Cup superpower. While high-profile cases involving stars like Samuel Eto’o and Vinícius Júnior have prompted tougher punishments and greater public condemnation, racist abuse from the stands — and broader questions about race, identity and belonging in Spain — have proved harder to eradicate. The latest controversy underscores how soccer reflects Spanish tensions that extend beyond the pitch.
In 2004, Spain fans made monkey noises at Black English players during a game in Real Madrid’s Bernabéu Stadium. Weeks earlier, Spain’s then-coach Luis Aragonés had been caught on microphone calling French star Thierry Henry a “black shit.”
In 2006, Barcelona’s Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto’o refused to continue playing a league game in Real Zaragoza’s La Romareda Stadium after home fans repeatedly directed monkey chants at him. Eto’o’s stand was seen as a reckoning for racism in Spanish soccer, although many believed the €9,000 fine handed to Real Zaragoza was laughable.
In the years since, there have been a number of similar incidents. Most notoriously, in 2023, Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior stopped playing and confronted Valencia fans who had been shouting racist abuse at him in their Mestalla Stadium. The controversy drew a show of outrage and solidarity for the player from the Brazilian government.
Racist abuse by fans had become increasingly common in the 1990s as Spanish soccer drew more players from abroad, including Africa and South America. At approximately the same time, Spain was also starting to see a large influx of immigrants, many of them from those same continents.
In a 2024 research paper on racism in Spanish soccer, the Funcas think tank, an independent institution focused on economic and social analysis, found that many radical fans were unhappy about the arrival of nonwhite players in La Liga.
“What is happening in football reflects what is happening, sooner or later, in broader society,” one fan was quoted as saying in the document.
“If there isn’t a solution, we’ll be invaded by a legion of foreigners and Spain will lose its identity,” the fan added.
Although Spanish authorities have clamped down on radical fan groups since the turn of the century, many of those sentiments have not gone away.
However, the Júnior episode shows that Spain’s soccer institutions take racist abuse more seriously than they did 20 years ago. Three Valencia fans were given eight-month jail sentences for their role in the Mestalla incident. Four fans of Real Madrid’s cross-town rival Atlético de Madrid were also given jail terms for hanging an effigy of Júnior from a bridge before a game.
The Rajoy racism case has surprised many because he is viewed as a moderate and yet his comments chime with the sentiments of the far right.
Political commentator Marc Bassets from the left-leaning El País warned in an op-ed that the kind of opinions voiced by Rajoy are too often tolerated or trivialized. He said the broader political context is significant, including the far-right Vox party’s introduction of a Spaniards-first “national priority” policy in regions where it governs alongside Rajoy’s PP.
“In times of ‘national priority’, the white noise of casual racism that can be seen in society risks becoming even more casual,” Bassets said.
At a press conference Monday, Spanish football star Lamine Yamal hit back at Rajoy.
“If football has a purpose, it is to unite society, and there is no better example [of that] than us and France,” Yamal said, describing both national teams as models of integration.
It’s getting harder and harder for climate deniers to refute what’s happening to the planet. Well – that’s not true – these people are liars who will literally say anything. It is getting harder for them to convince anyone they’re correct, though.
The latest example of the climate catastrophe making itself obvious is the record-breaking heat we’ve experienced, and the inevitable wildfires which followed. The Fire Brigades Union have spoken out about how the situation affects them, with Greens leader Zack Polanski supporting them:
The climate crisis is not a distant threat.
It's here. And it's happening now. And our Fire Brigade on the frontline of it are asking for help. https://t.co/Nl8GV79S1k
— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) July 14, 2026
Raging
To head off some potential pushback, climate change isn’t what’s starting the fires; it’s what’s allowing them spread so rapidly and extensively. Climate change makes extreme drought more likely, and with drought comes the conditions needed for raging wildfires.
In the clip above, Steve Wright of the Fire Brigades Union says:
There’s wildfires all across the UK at the moment; a major incident in North Wales… we’ve seen our members on the front line in East and West Sussex; we’ve seen them on the front line attending fires in London, Derbyshire, all across the UK at the moment, and this is a an ever-increasing risk that firefighters are dealing with.
We’ve been raising the alarm for a number of years… they are ferocious fires. They are resource heavy. You need firefighters on the ground quickly to deal with them, but as you’ve already highlighted these are impacting in communities. The smoke from these fires travel long distances, and the one in North Wales is all across Merseyside… really worrying times…
we’re making the case that there needs to be further investment so communities are better prepared – there’s more resilience in our communities, and to respond to these incidents.
Resources
When asked if firefighters have the resources they need, Wright answered:
Well, no, is the honest answer. We’ve lost 12,000 firefighters since 2010. And there has been investment in new equipment, new policies, and procedures of how we train and deal with wildfires, but you need firefighters to deal with these incidents… And that is an issue that we’re finding all across the UK.
In 2022, remember – what we thought was the real hot summer – when we saw whole streets in London burning. It was the busiest day for London Fire Brigade since the Blitz. But major incidents are now being called regularly.
When asked what the primary cause of these fires is, Wright said:
Well, there’s lots of ways that fires will start. I think the issue that we see now is that wildfires grow at the ferocity… they do now because of the dry land. We haven’t had rain for a couple of weeks in most areas, and fires are able to grow exponentially and out of control, whereas in the past they wouldn’t have grown as quickly as they do…
also we have slower response times in the fire service now; slower response times than we had in the mid-1990s. So it’s taken us longer to get to these incidents; less firefighters on the ground to deal with them. So it’s a combination of issues.
Climate action, now
While some politicians still deny it’s happening, the impacts of climate change are increasingly obvious. Fires are just one such example, and unless the government supports our firefighters, lives will be lost.
Beyond that, we need to remain committed to the global push to ensure this planet and its people have a future. The alternative is this all goes up in flames.
Featured image via the Canary
By Willem Moore
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