MPs gathered on the banks of the Thames on 13 July, calling for Thames Water to go into special administration.

They’re among the 112 MPs who have signed an open letter to the environment secretary and Ofwat. It calls for Thames Water to be placed into special administration without delay.

The company, which has a debt pile of nearly £20bn, is on the brink of collapse. Since June 2025, Thames Water’s creditors, a group of US hedge funds, have been negotiating with Ofwat to formally take over the utility.

As part of the proposed deal, the creditors want to waive fines until 2030. And they want to suspend or ‘significantly modify’ pollution and performance targets. The creditors also want to raise bills for households beyond the level currently set by Ofwat.

Thames Water deal is unfair

Last month, environment secretary Emma Reynolds wrote to Ofwat objecting to the current terms of the deal. She stated that it poses unfair costs to consumers. But the water regulator itself has yet to reject the deal.

This comes as the utility approaches the 16 July deadline for submitting its financial results. If the deal doesn’t happen, Thames Water’s precarious finances might trigger a ‘going concern’ warning from the auditor. This could place the utility in special administration.

Prime minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham has previously said that Thames Water ‘should’ be nationalised. And he has put forward a potential 10-year plan for public ownership of the water industry.

53 Liberal Democrats have signed the open letter, along with 46 Labour MPs, six independents (at the time of signing), all five Greens and one MP each from Plaid Cymru and the Conservative Party.

It argues that allowing Thames Water, which was responsible for a third of the worst pollution incidents in 2025, to set its own rules would create a dangerous precedent for all of England’s privatised water companies.

It also argues that special administration will allow the government to write off a greater proportion of Thames Water’s debts. And this would secure a better deal for the public purse.

Sophie Conquest, lead campaigner at We Own It, said:

Right now, this government and Ofwat are at a crossroads. They can choose to line the pockets of US hedge funds with our money. Or, they can put households and the environment first.

This is a decision which will affect every single household in England. Signing off on this deal would be to sign off on a whole new low in standards across the water sector.

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That’s why 109 MPs, from across the country and from across political parties, have added their names to the open letter calling for special administration.

The environment secretary’s objection to the creditors’ proposal on the grounds of its unfairness for consumers is absolutely right.

The next logical step is to put Thames Water out of its misery, and place it in special administration, where we can slash the debts, and put households and the environment first.

Andy Burnham has promised to secure greater public control of life’s essentials. There is no clearer test of whether he will keep that promise than what happens next to Thames Water.

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Featured image via We Own It

By The Canary

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Marco Rubio is waging an all-out war against the International Criminal Court (ICC), threatening that the body will learn ‘the full meaning of American resolve‘:

The International Criminal Court seeks to become the unaccountable arbiter of a new global law — empowered to prosecute and arrest our citizens at will and existentially threaten American sovereignty.

We will teach the ICC the full meaning of American resolve. pic.twitter.com/2egHK1jA98

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) July 13, 2026

ICC under threat

CNN reported that the opinion piece by Rubio – which is hilariously behind a paywall – says that the US will:

use all the tools at our government’s disposal, working beside every ally with whom we can make common cause, we will dismantle the ICC—brick by brick, if necessary.

In his opinion piece, Rubio accused the ICC of being:

backed and run by a powerful network of leftist nongovernment organizations, smug globalists, and hostile Third World governments united by their enmity toward the U.S.

Rubio claimed that the court threatens US sovereignty through its ability to prosecute American soldiers and officials.

Those tools include possible travel bans, visa revocations, and increased sanctions, a State Department official told CNN.

Rubio continued:

We will watch with interest which nations join ranks with us against this threat to Americans who are willing to risk their lives to protect others.

Hague Invasion Act not a joke anymore

Meanwhile, the director of Democracy in the Arab World Now (DAWN), Raed Jarrar told TRT World that

Bush’s ‘Hague Invasion Act’ is not a joke anymore.

Jarrar noted that what was once dismissed as a joke in Washington is now being taken seriously under the Trump administration. And, Jarrar made it clear that he considered Rubio’s threats against the ICC as a signal of a dangerous escalation that makes the unthinkable seem all too real.

Further, Jarrar warned that the administration’s hostility toward international law has reached unprecedented levels, adding that the U.S. is using sanctions, threats, and pressure campaigns to go after the court.

The law in question, officially known as the American Service-Members’ Protection Act, was signed by George W. Bush in 2001 and authorises the U.S. president to protect American military forces against criminal prosecution from the ICC.

Of course, Jarrar also noted that the U.S. could itself face ICC prosecution for aiding and abetting genocide in Gaza, as well as for obstruction of justice under Article 70 of the Rome Statute.

Jarrar said:

The United States can and should be prosecuted by the ICC under two paths. … The United States aiding and abetting Israeli genocide in Gaza counts as a path. … The other track is Article 70 which actually gives the ICC jurisdiction to prosecute officials in countries even those countries who are not members of the Rome Statute in case they are engaged in acts of obstruction and threatening of the court itself. And that is exactly what this administration is doing.

ICC upheld by vassal states

Last month, three ICC judges sued Trump and his administration over sanctions imposed on them last year, arguing the measures were unlawful.

However, the court has taken no steps to investigate U.S. personnel in recent years, Reuters reported.

The UK is a founding member of the ICC, but as a vassal state of the US, it will likely just fall in line with whatever Rubio has planned.

Featured image via the Canary

By The Canary

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New Home Office statistics have laid bare the true extent of our government’s broken promises when it comes to animal testing and animal rights.

Researchers in UK laboratories carried out scientific procedures on animals 2.5 million times in 2025. This is a pathetic 4% decrease from 2024, revealing a government that is failing to meet the expectations of the public it supposedly serves.

Despite releasing the Replacing animals in Science strategy in November 2025, the state has still condemned millions of animals to suffer disgusting and painful procedures.

We need to transition to modern, humane scientific methods of testing. Now.

Animal testing per species

The data shows a horrifying trend for certain species, with the torture having increased for so many.

Use of animals by species in 2025, compared with 2024:

• Mice – 1,776,506 (-5%)
• Rats – 126,500 (-16%)
• Horses – 12,101 (+5%)
• Rabbits – 5,291 (-15%)
• Dogs – 2,889 (+ 9%)
• Monkeys – 2,236 (+15%)
• Guinea pigs – 1,676 (-38%)
• Cats – 91 (+11%)

Why the hell are we experimenting on any of these poor creatures?! And where has this 4% decrease you might ask?

The decline only happened because labs have reduced testing on the most common species such as mice and rats. This is alongside a 22% drop in regulatory testing.

Seems like a good thing doesn’t it? But these small creatures still remain the most abused as 1.8 million mice and 126,500 rats were tortured in 2025.

And to top it all off, needless, curiosity-driven research accounted for 54% of all experiments. Therefore, more hundreds of thousands of animals suffered just to satiate scientific curiosity, rather than to develop lifesaving treatments.

A nation of animal lovers? Far from it, based on the actions of our government.

Broken promises and more bull

Our country’s slow progress is totally and utterly unacceptable. Approved, non-animal replacements exist for a reason!

Cruelty Free International currently maintains a Replace Animal Tests (RAT) list that shines a light on tests still being performed in the UK which have validated, humane alternatives. That means no more sentient beings locked in cages and tortured to death. Ending these specific tests alone could save more than 80,000 animals a year.

Six months after the state published its transition strategy, this progress remains ridiculously slow. Dr Emma Grange, director of science and regulatory affairs at Cruelty Free international, said:

With 2.54 million uses of animals in British laboratories in 2025, a meagre 4% decrease from 2024, the rate of decline remains painfully slow. We ask that the government now starts to show the sort of bold leadership and ambition promised in its strategy…”

It’s a hard ask from Labour, let’s be honest. It’s not exactly known for following through with pretty much anything.

Whoever our new prime minister is, they need to show some spine and push forward the transition to only use non-animal specific methods.

The UK public wants animal testing to end. It’s time for the government to stop dragging its heels and finally ban these painful experiments.

We’re a nation of animal lovers and it’s way past time that the government reflected that.

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By Antifabot

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On 11 July 2025, Israeli occupation settlers brutally murdered Sayfullah “Saif” Musallet – a 23 year old Palestinian- American, and his friend, 23 year old Mohammed al-Shalabi, in al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya, near Sinjil in the occupied West Bank. Now, a year later, the father of Saif – Kamel Musallet – has been attacked by Israeli settlers when attempting to visit his son’s grave.

A group of journalists accompanying Kamel were also attacked by the unaccountable settlers.

Israeli settler attacks

Several months before the summer of 2025 Israeli settlers set up an outpost amongst Palestinian olive groves in the occupied West Bank. They began to prevent residents from accessing this stolen land. On 11 July 2025, these settlers beat Saif Musallet unconscious, left him for dead, and shot al-Shalabi in the chest. These illegal colonists then blocked the entry of emergency services for over three hours, resulting in the deaths of these two men. 58 Palestinians were also injured due to the violence.

A year after these two Palestinians were viciously attacked and murdered, Kamel Musallet wanted to visit the place where his son took his last breath, to pay tribute to him.

Journalist and human rights activist Andrey Khrzhanovskiy, better known as Andrey X, was among the group of independent journalists and CNN crew who accompanied him. Talking about the Palestinian land the settlers stole in 2025, he told the Canary:

The land has now been completely taken over by the settlers. According to the Oslo Accords, it is in Area A which should be solely controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Under Israeli military law, settlers are not allowed to enter here, but they have. And they have also taken over Palestinian farm houses. They now literally live in the homes of Palestinians from al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya.

The mayor of Sinjil briefed the group on safety and security before they left. He explained there are two known armed settlers in the area – one with an M16 and another with a pistol. He told the group he was concerned they may be targeted and attacked. This is because the settler with the M16 is known for shooting from a distance at anyone who enters the area.

Settlers armed with knives, rocks, and sticks

The group drove to the location where Saif Musallet was murdered to allow his grief-stricken father to spend some time there. But things took a turn for the worst. As Kamel Musallet and the journalists returned to their two cars, they noticed settlers had blocked their only way out of the area. From their outpost they must have seen the group enter the area. They immediately dispatched one car, then another. More settlers joined, and began to launch an attack.

Andrey X told the Canary:

There were several settlers who really looked like children, who were weilding sticks and held large rocks, ready to throw. They told us to stop the cars. At the beginning, we stopped. But one of the settlers started cutting the tyres of the CNN crew car {which was bullet proof} that was in front of us. At that point we decided to keep the cars moving. Then the settlers switched their attention to our car. They jumped on the hood of it, smashed our windshield with a stick, and started throwing rocks at us. We managed to speed away, but they pursued us. They then called another vehicle and group of settlers who blocked us off further down the road.

Yesterday I was ambushed and attacked by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, together with the CNN and independent journalists. Here is how it happened: pic.twitter.com/eA9FwNv8e6

— Andrey X (@the_andrey_x) July 12, 2026

Impunity

Luckily the group managed to break through the blockade, although not before the settlers attacked their vehicles once more. When the group made it to the town of Sinjil, there was then a stand off between the two sides, and the settlers began filming using a drone. Among the settlers stood a person dressed in full army uniform, carrying an assault rifle. But there were no military vehicles arriving at that point, and he seemed to appear from nowhere. It was likely that one of the settlers who attacked them had a uniform in his car.

Andrey X described:

Then the army arrived. They were very aggressive and told us we were not allowed to film, which was blatantly untrue.

But once they realised journalists were present, another group of Israeli occupation soldiers turned up, with their commander:

He was much friendlier, and said it was horrible what had happened to us, and he would pursue it. They did, in fact, arrest four of the settlers. But the only reason this happened is because there was a CNN crew involved, and it would be bad PR for Israel.

There has been no justice for the families of al-Shalabi and Musallet. Nor for others whose loved ones have been murdered by the occupation. Their killers remain free to continue terrorising and displacing Palestinian communities. In many cases, Palestinians know many of the local violent settlers who harass, intimidate, attack, and kill, by name. But as the Israeli occupation government, police, military, settlers, and justice system are all part of the same apartheid colonial project, there is no hope of justice or accountability.

Israeli settlers get away with murder

Andrey X realises luck was on their side. Had the settlers been armed, the situation would have ended very differently. He told me:

Luckily for us the settlers weren’t armed. Of course, we were scared for our lives. These are very, very dangerous people, who kill with complete impunity. They can do anything they want in the West Bank, there is no accountability. For Saif’s family, any hope for justice is very tenuous, as long as the regime that resulted in his murder is still standing.

Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din says the occupation has enabled violence against Palestinians by equipping thousands of settlers with military firearms and uniforms. It claims settlers wear these uniforms to appear as though they belong to the military. They can then abuse the power that comes with these  uniforms to commit offenses against Palestinians.

While enabling the violence, occupation authorities fail to hold perpetrators accountable. Complaints are routinely dismissed. The Military Advocate General’s Corps claims the incidents fall outside its jurisdiction because they are not part of military operations. While the Israel occupation police often close cases or argues it lacks jurisdiction because the perpetrators were in military uniform.

US has duty to protect US citizens and secure accountability for deaths

Many Palestinian Americans live in, or regularly travel to, the West Bank. Some were born in the US while others later became U.S. citizens and returned. In some villages, such as Turmus Ayya, Sinjil, and Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya, more than 80 percent of residents hold dual US citizenship. But they have received no help or protection from the US government, unlike American citizens in other countries.

Double standards are involved in the protection of Americans abroad. Its strong support for the Israeli occupation has taken precedence over seeking justice for its own citizens in the occupied territory. Where “Israel” is involved, there is little or no hope of credible, independent investigations, or any accountability. This is true even if the occupation has killed or injured US citizens in Palestine.

Saif Musallet was one of nine US citizens to be murdered in the West Bank by the Israeli occupation, since January 2022.  US Senators have claimed that in each of these killings:

No one has yet been held accountable by the Netanyahu government, nor has the US government upheld its duty to protect Americans and secure justice and accountability for their deaths.

They say there is “a consistent pattern,” of Americans being killed in the West Bank by the occupation without justice or accountability, despite promises from US officials.

The latest events have only added to questions about the US response. Andrey X tells me:

It’s a funny coincidence that this all came at the same time as senator Ro Khanna’s visit to the West Bank, and the attack on an American CNN crew, which was covering the murder of two American citizens a year ago. It’s a very American story.

Featured image via the Canary

By Charlie Jaay

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Donald Trump is reportedly firing accusations of voter fraud at Democrat senators ahead of his expected catastrophe in the 2026 midterm elections.

The claim comes after years of Trump insisting he was cheated out of the 2020 presidential win.

Trump’s approval ratings are at an all-time low, as even much of his ‘MAGA’ base turns on him. It understands, correctly, that his policies are Israel-first and is dismayed at his disastrous war on Iran. Others are waking up to his grift as he and his family continue to enrich themselves while America circles the drain. This has led to predictions of “doomsday” among Republicans.

Trump clearly fears that even his attempts to control counts and disenfranchise minority and poor voters won’t be enough. So he is now directly targeting Georgia’s Democrat senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, with accusations of voter fraud. The White House is trailing this to DC media without any hint of evidence so far, and despite the senators’ massive majorities.

NEWS:

President Trump is planning to announce that Georgia’s two senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, are illegitimate because of fraud, a well-placed source in Georgia tells us. Announcement could come as soon as tonight. https://t.co/1bchO5wfGe

— Washington Reporter (@DC_Reporter) July 13, 2026

Trump: ‘Everything I don’t like is rigged’

Trump has since rowed back slightly, briefing that claims of Georgia election fraud in 2020 will not be the “focus” of his speech on Thursday. However, his aides continue to brief the media that he will claim “foreign interference” in the 2020 elections.

But both Ossoff and Warnock had large wins in 2020. US commentator, Brian Krassenstein, pointed out that these were achieved while the state’s government, and therefore voting systems, were run by Republicans. His point triggered amusement at Trump’s expense.

Pass it around. pic.twitter.com/NlCw7N9ORA

— Hell’s Raven (@RavenAllMighty1) July 14, 2026

Ossoff responded uncompromisingly, describing Trump as a “failed president” in a “spiral” and linking the attack directly to midterm fears.

He posted:

Donald Trump’s spiral continues. The failed president, pocketing billions as he drives up prices, is afraid to lose the midterms. So he will reheat debunked election conspiracy theories and tell bizarre new lies to deny his 2020 defeat and attack voting rights. This is a disaster… https://t.co/AgFEg3RfbW

— Jon Ossoff (@ossoff) July 14, 2026

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Trump’s attempts to rig elections in his own favour are deadly serious. But they also betray panic and desperation at what he and other US right-wing extremists believe is coming in November.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

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FIFA and Adidas have announced the launch of a new official match ball for the final four matches of the 2026 World Cup. This marks the first time the tournament has seen a change in the official match ball before the competition draws to a close.

After the ‘Trionda’ ball has been in use from the start of the tournament through to the end of the quarter-finals, the new version – named the ‘Trionda Final’ – will feature in the semi-finals between France and Spain, and England and Argentina, as well as the third-place play-off and the final.

This change is part of an effort to give the decisive stages a distinctive visual identity that reflects the significance of the title race, whilst retaining all the technical characteristics of the original ball.

World Cup design inspired by journey to glory

The new ball features a distinctive look combining gold and black with white, in a design that Adidas says embodies “the journey towards achieving the ultimate prize in the world of football”.

The company explained that the gold colour symbolises the World Cup, whilst the black background gives the ball a more luxurious and distinctive look; meanwhile, the red and pink accents add a vibrant touch that reflects the speed and rhythm of the decisive matches.

The design also features graphics inspired by the four cities hosting the final matches – Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, and New York – alongside the names of all the cities that have hosted tournament matches in the United States, Canada and Mexico, printed on the surface of the ball, serving as a visual record of the tournament’s journey.

Advanced technology with unchanged performance

Despite the complete overhaul of its visual identity, Adidas has confirmed that the ‘Trionda Final’ retains all the technical specifications of its predecessor, both in terms of its four-panel construction and its aerodynamic properties and feel, ensuring the same performance on the pitch.

The ball also continues to utilise an AI-powered internal sensor capable of tracking its movement at a rate of up to 500 times per second, providing real-time data that helps Video Assistant Referees (VAR) make more accurate and rapid decisions, as well as generating advanced statistics on the speed of shots, the power of goals and the ball’s trajectory during matches.

Technology that resolved one of the most controversial incidents

The importance of this technology was highlighted during the England v Norway quarter-final, after doubts were raised about the ball touching camera cables before England’s first goal was scored – an incident that would have led to the goal being disallowed under the laws of the game.

However, FIFA relied on data from the sensor embedded within the ball, which showed no record of contact with an external object, to confirm the validity of the goal.

Featured image via the Canary

By Alaa Shamali

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