Politics
Teen Slang 2026 Explained: City Boy, Mid, Choppelgangers And More
If you’re often left confused by what your teenager is saying, you’ve come to the right place.
There’s not a week that goes by where Gen Alpha (and indeed, Gen Z) aren’t coming up with new phrases and coining words which rapidly spread across the internet, mainly TikTok, like wildfire.
Last year saw the rise of six-seven, which somehow achieved global status as a nonsensical term kids shouted out at all opportunities – often if someone innocently mentioned those numbers in conversation. (A real-life nightmare for any poor teacher who told their kids to turn to page 67 in exercise books.)
There have also been popular portmanteaus (like choppelganger), brain rot-inspired phrases (remember Ballerina Cappuccina?) and a whole lot of insults.
Without further ado, here’s a quick rundown of all the things kids say nowadays, what they mean, and where they appear to have originated. We’ll keep updating the article as and when more phrases drop – so keep checking back to keep up with the latest lingo.
Mid
When Gen Alpha uses it, “mid” means mediocre or of disappointing quality. If you’re described as “mid” by a teenager then they’re basically saying you are… average.
According to Merriam-Webster, “mid” serves to express that something falls short of expectations, or isn’t impressive.
The dictionary notes that this slang term is thought to have come from a shortening of the term mid-grade, “a designation in cannabis culture of medium quality”.
City boy
“City boy, city boy” is the call of Gen Alpha currently, with TikTok creator and teacher Philip Lindsay noting kids in his class have been saying it.
“It’s a meme from an old video clip that they’re just repeating,” explained the teacher, who is based in the US. The memes actually first did the rounds in 2022 and appear to be popular again – such is the bizarre nature of the internet.
The City Boy meme originates from a clip from the animated series, Gravity Falls. In one early episode, from 2012, a police officer character named Deputy Durland makes fun of the main character who comes from the city and thinks he can solve a local crime. Cue, Durland and his colleague mocking him and shouting: “City boyyyy, city boyyyyy.”
From a Gen Alpha perspective, Mr Lindsay suggested the phrase doesn’t really mean anything and kids are just shouting it out at all opportunities – a bit like six-seven.
Unc
This is short for “uncle”. And, per Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, it’s “often used humorously to indicate old age” and may imply “someone is old, getting old, or acting older than their age”.
Unc status may also be awarded to someone who “exhibit[s] behaviours that are considered outdated or out of touch”.
Lowkenuinely
Lowkenuinely is a combination of ‘lowkey’ and ‘genuinely’, which describes expressing something sincere in a casual, laid-back way, according to experts at language platform Preply.
Essentially, it is a TikTok-era way of saying something is real or heartfelt. So, an example might be: “I lowkenuinely love this song” or “I’m lowkenuinely not going to make it through this exam”.
Washed
According to linguistic expert Esteban Touma, from language learning platform Babbel, washed is a slang word used broadly across Gen Z, “referring to something that has declined in skill, popularity or relevance”.
So basically, they use it to refer to something that’s past its prime and no longer en vogue.
Chopped
In Gen Z and Gen Alpha speak, it means “ugly”.
In some cases, younger generations have been calling people, mainly girls, chuzz – a less-than-friendly portmanteau of “chopped” and “huzz”, which means “ugly hoes”.
If your child’s been called chopped at school, here’s some advice on handling it.
Some kids have also been using ‘chopped’ to describe anything they don’t like. (So basically, “that’s chopped” became the equivalent of “that sucks”.)
Choppelganger
Choppelganger is a portmanteau of ‘chopped’ (aka ugly), and ‘doppelganger’, which is a person who resembles someone else. So basically, it’s calling someone a less-attractive lookalike of someone else.
Clock it
This one seems to have many meanings, but mostly young people seem to be using clock it as a sassy and subtle way to call someone out. They’ll often tap their middle finger to their thumb while saying it.
Some people might even say, “I clocked that tea”, which is kind of like saying you’ve exposed or called out the truth.
Parents.com noted that “clock it” has roots in drag and ballroom culture, “where ‘to clock’ someone meant to notice something about them that might not be immediately obvious, especially something they were trying to hide”.
Chat
This is an easy one to remember. According to Gabb’s guide to teen slang, chat is quite simply used “to refer to a group of people, like friends or people in their class”.
It can also be used to describe a person, as Slate explains: “It’s both singular and plural. It’s both second and third person. Everybody, regardless of the size of the intended audience, is chat.”
TikTok creator and teacher Philip Lindsay, who is known for his explainers on what kids are saying, shared in a video that “chat originates from the world that these kids are growing up in: Snapchats, group chats and, most importantly, live-streaming chats”.
Aura (and aura farming)
Aura is a term kids increasingly use to describe how cool or uncool something (usually a person) is. You can gain aura by doing something cool – but equally you can lose it by doing something uncool.
Aura farming is the act of doing something to try and convince people you have aura. And it can be seen as pretty cringe, as The Guardian explains: “Where there is cool, there is also cringe. They are two sides of the same coin. And trying too hard to aura farm is not cool.
“If someone from Gen Alpha or Z says you’re aura farming, pay attention to the tone. If it’s accusatory, they’re mocking you. If they’re laughing, they’re mocking you.”
Crash out
Initially, crash out – as defined by Urban Dictionary – described “going insane and/or doing something stupid”.
But over time it’s evolved to become an all-encompassing term for “the unfiltered actions of a person who is angry, anxious, confused, stressed out, or experiencing mental health issues”, according to Vox.
“It can describe a range of behaviour, from emotional outbursts to altercations to withdrawals. There are a lot of ways that ‘crashing out’ can look, but like obscenity, you know it when you see it.”
As with a few slang terms currently being used by younger generations, multiple sources suggest “crash out” stems from African American Vernacular English (or AAVE).
Ohio
Despite it sounding pretty inoffensive, Merriam-Webster suggested Ohio – as in, the state in the United States – is used to describe something as “weird, awkward, cringeworthy, or otherwise undesirable or bad in some way”.
The online dictionary said the term can also be used to mean boring or foolish.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, it probably originates from a number of Ohio-related memes which have become popular in the 2020s.
Huzz
It’s worth pulling your kid up on using this – even if they mean no harm by saying it.
Mr Lindsay said last year kids at school were using the words huzz (and bruzz, and gruzz). He explained: “Basically, huzz is a replacement for hoes.”
The teacher added that “in it’s most innocent form – meaning it’s a kid that doesn’t really understand what they’re saying – it’s used to reference a group of girls or a group of women”.
“But a lot of kids are aware of the true meaning of the word,” he noted.
Glazing
In TikTok video, Aaron Makelky, an AI teacher and consultant, asked one of his Gen Z students to explain glazing to him, to which the student replied it’s “basically overhyping someone or having a biased opinion towards another person”.
The online dictionary Merriam-Webster explained further that the word glaze or glazing – aka showering someone or something with excessive praise – usually carries “a note of disapproval”.
“The word is often used in online fandoms of sports, movies, anime, etc., to suggest not just that someone’s praise is over-the-top, but that it is unwarranted, and even annoying to the individual who does not like the person/thing being glazed,” according to the dictionary.
Parade adds that: “Glaze is when you praise someone too much to the point of it being annoying or cringe.”
Six-seven
Perhaps the biggest trend of 2025 was when kids everywhere became obsessed with “six-seven” – to the point where some teachers banned kids from saying it in class.
The saying seems to have originated from the drill rap Doot Doot (6 7) by Skrilla and was also associated with basketball player LaMelo Ball who is 6′7″.
According to Parents: “Some say it means ‘so-so’, especially since kids often pair the phrase with an up-and-down hand motion. Others argue it refers to a person who is tall, some think it stands for a basketball term, and so on.”
But Mr Lindsay said in an explainer video: “It’s actually meaningless. It means nothing.”
Gurt
In a video explainer on the word, Mr Lindsay said the meaning of gurt is “confusing”, as people seem to use it in two different ways.
The first way refers to a joke where someone says “Yoghurt” and a character called Gurt replies: “Yo”. According to Know Your Meme (KYM), this actually dates back to 2012, but took off last year thanks to videos on TikTok.
Mr Lindsay said “in this scenario, the proper response to someone saying ‘gurt’ is ‘yo’ and vice versa, if somebody says ‘yo’ you say ‘gurt’”. So, it’s basically a greeting.
The teacher explained that the term evolved over time and developed a different meaning, “to do something smart yet dangerous”.
PhotoAlto via Getty Images/PhotoAlto
Tuff
Tuff might be used by kids to describe someone who’s tough. But the general consensus on social media is it’s like a compliment – it can be used to describe something that’s really cool, awesome or even impressive.
Although there are also some who might use it in a very different way, for example, saying “damn that’s tuff” in a similar vein to how you’d say “too bad” or “that’s unfortunate”.
Ballerina Cappuccina
Trending in 2025, kids were saying “Ballerina Cappuccina, mi mi mi mi” thanks to an AI-generated meme based on a character who has a human body and facial features, but a cappuccino head.
Good boy
Last year, a trend emerged among kids where they would ask someone to do them a favour and when that person did it for them, they’d respond: “good boy” (or “good girl”).
According to Parents, the trend emerged on TikTok when someone asked a police officer for their badge number and name. When the officer provided the information, the person responded with “good boy” – and so a quietly hideous trend was born, which eventually seeped into children’s vocabulary.
It’s used as a way to mock someone, so if your kid uses it with their friends (or even you), a therapist has shared some tips on how to talk to them about it.
Sigma
Sigma typically refers to a type of guy who is a lone wolf and doesn’t follow the pack – someone who is considered successful and cool, but on their own terms.
Kids have been using it in a simpler way, however, to describe something as “cool” or “the best”.
For example: “Those trainers are so sigma.”
Bop
Bop is being used as an offensive term to call someone else, usually girls or women, promiscuous.
According to dictionary site Merriam-Webster, it’s thought to have originated from a rap song called Lala Bop.
“In 2023 a trend spread on TikTok and other social media platforms, in which people would tag users, generally young women, with lala bop, in an implication that the person was sexually promiscuous, or overly immodest in the way that they presented themselves online,” the site explained.
“Following the introduction of lala bop the word began to be used as simply bop, or as school bop (implying that the person had many sexual partners at a particular school).”
The site added that the word is “considered harmful” and is typically an example of “cyberbullying”.
Read more on what to do if your child is called a ‘bop’ here.
A new film featuring an AI-generated likeness of Val Kilmer as its lead “actor” is already facing a wave of backlash.
The Batman star died in April 2025 at the age of 65, 10 years after first being diagnosed with throat cancer.
Prior to his death, Kilmer had been set to star in the drama As Deep As The Grave, directed by Coerte Voorhees, as a Native American spiritualist and Catholic priest, Father Fintan.
It’s now been confirmed that Voorhees will move forward with the project with an AI likeness of Kilmer used to portray Father Fintan, with the approval of the actor’s estate and his daughter, Mercedes.
The filmmaker told Variety: “His family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this. He really thought it was important story that he wanted his name on.
“It was that support that gave me the confidence to say, okay let’s do this. Despite the fact some people might call it controversial, this is what Val wanted.”
As was anticipated by Voorhees, the announcement has been met with criticism by many, even if the decision has been approved by the late performer’s family…
Many online critics have already pointed out that the rise of generative artificial intelligence has become a contentious issue in the movie industry over the last few years, with the threats being posed by AI forming a major part of what led to the Hollywood strikes of 2023.
After the SAG-AFTRA strike, actors gained some legal protections against their likenesses being recreated with AI following their deaths, but the issue has continued to come up.
Back in 2024, the film Alien: Romulus featured a digital version of the late actor Ian Holm, which was met with some controversy, while plans to recreate the voice of French actor Alain Dorval in the dub of a recent Sylvester Stallone movie were dropped when his daughter panned them as “unacceptable”.
The Tories were left looking rather embarrassed today after a “best bits” compilation video of Kemi Badenoch played nothing at all.
Shadow local government secretary James Cleverly tried to launch the Conservatives’ local elections campaign by lauding the party leader’s “vim and vigour” – but a technical glitch turned it into a moment they’d rather forget.
Shortly before introducing Badenoch on stage, Cleverly told the waiting audience: “Just in case anyone has forgotten just how good she is, let’s remind ourselves with a quick look at her best bits.”
A few people in the audience excitedly declared that this clip was obviously “going to be long” as the screen briefly flashed up with the Conservatives’ slogans.
But it quickly went black. It then showed the Tory pledge to implement a “stronger economy and a stronger country” once more – before Cleverly started to give up.
“I’m going to give it… one more second…for the video,” he said, then adding: “Do you know what ladies and gentlemen? Forget the video.”
He then welcomed Badenoch onto the stage, who laughed at all the enthusiastic applause.
“That was a fabulous introduction, can we give it up to James Cleverly?” she said, pushing past the embarrassing encounter.
In the 16 months since she was elected to be Tory leader and leader of the opposition, Badenoch has been widely criticised for her performance.
Trying to carry the mantel after the Conservatives’ worst ever general election defeat, Badenoch struggled to hold her own in prime ministers’ questions and made a handful of very public – and painful – gaffes.
She’s also seen a series of ex-Tory MPs defect to Reform, including two of her own frontbenchers, Danny Kruger and Robert Jenrick.
The Confederation of African Football’s historic decision to award Morocco the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title has brought their head coach, Walid Regragui, back into the spotlight.
Does this open the door for his return after he resigned just weeks before the 2026 FIFA World Cup? Regragui’s name is once again making headlines. This follows the appeal over Morocco’s controversial match with Senegal.
In case you missed it, Senegal has been stripped of its AFCON title, which was handed to Morocco on 18 March.
The decision has shocked the sporting world and stunned international spectators. Senegal’s 1-0 victory over Morocco on 18 January was overturned by AFCON. Now, the match is officially recorded as a 3-0 win for Morocco.
Could Regragui make a comeback?
Before these events unfolded, Regragui’s resignation on 5 March seemed directly tied to his team’s loss to Senegal on Moroccan soil. With the 2026 World Cup around the corner, Mohamed Wahbi has taken over as head coach.
At the time, the defeat dampened the shine of his otherwise impressive tenure. Under his leadership, Morocco reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup and made it to the final of AFCON.
Now, many are asking whether Regragui’s departure was hasty.
Regragui, in the wake of AFCON’s appeal decision, has found himself elevated to national hero status in Morocco and the wider Arab world.
While Morocco’s title has been reinstated, will this be enough to bring Regragui back to his former role?
The court of public opinion
The Canary has observed growing calls on social media for Regragui’s return. Many point out that the former Atlas Lions coach has yet to secure his next coaching contract.
Despite Wahbi’s appointment as head coach, his strong relationship with Regragui leaves room for various possibilities. This includes a potential collaboration or a future reevaluation of the team’s leadership and priorities.
However, with just two months to go until the World Cup, both options seem unlikely and are largely fuelled by the excitement of Morocco’s delayed victory.
A critical juncture for the Atlas Lions
With the 2026 World Cup fast approaching, Morocco’s national team faces a critical juncture. On one hand, they need to build on the momentum of their reinstated AFCON title.
On the other, they must quickly establish stability in both leadership and football strategy.
Whether this will happen under Wahbi’s or Regragui’s leadership remains uncertain, as the fervour for the former coach’s reinstatement crescendos both online and offline.
Featured image via the Canary
Multivitamins might help to slow biological ageing, new research has found.
Published in Nature Medicine, the paper noted that these effects were stronger in people whose biological age (which relates to the health of their cells and tissues) was already older than their chronological age (how many years old they are).
On average, older people who took a multivitamin supplement daily had a biological age four months younger than those who didn’t.
What else did the study find?
The researchers looked at blood samples from just under 1,000 participants of the US’ COSMOS study – a randomised, double-blind trial.
Participants had an average age of 70. Some people took multivitamins, and others didn’t.
Blood samples were taken three times: at the start of the study, and 12 and 24 months after that.
The scientists calculated the biological age of the people in the research by looking for five biological ageing “clocks” in their blood.
These “clocks” had to do with the patterns on DNA, changes in which have been linked to a person’s ageing.
After comparing the blood samples, the researchers noted that people who took daily multivitamins showed signs of slower ageing in two of these “clocks”, which were associated with mortality risk.
Speaking to Nature, study author Howard Sesso said research like this is “not just identifying how to live longer, but also how to live better”.
He noted taking multivitamins “appeared to be on that type of trajectory over two years”.
Does that mean multivitamins will definitely keep me younger?
We don’t know for sure, yet.
The paper said that though “statistically significant but small effects of daily MVM [multivitamin] supplementation on slowing biological ageing are encouraging”, additional studies are needed to explore this further.
Still, speaking to Nature, geroscientist Steve Hovarth (who was not involved in the study), said: “This is a very interesting and rigorous study… The public appetite for knowing whether everyday supplements can genuinely slow ageing is enormous.
“This study provides some of the most credible evidence we have to date.”
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Edward Davies is Research Director at the Centre for Social Justice.
Motherhood was much in the news this week.
It kicked off with a flurry of last-minute chocolate and daffodil purchasing by the nation’s offspring on Sunday morning. And hot on the heels of Mothering Sunday came Jessie’s Buckley’s Oscar acceptance speech in which she dedicated the honour “to the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart”.
We at the CSJ also launched a report that found that 600,000 women would miss out on their ambitions of motherhood due to the falling birthrate and that three million women aged 16 to 45 today are projected not to have children if current trends persist.
But for all undoubted importance of motherhood and the human pathos of these three events, the last in particular signals something far greater and more concerning.
The UK’s fertility decline is often framed as a motherhood issue largely because that is how it is measured – births per woman. But it is far from that alone.
The ripples of our declining birthrate travel far and wide. It’s felt by fathers too of course – it takes two to tango after all. And it’s felt by siblings, uncles, and aunts. It impacts grandparents and communities too as the population gets older and older.
They are a few years further down this road than us in Japan but during the first half of 2024, 40,000 people died alone in their home. Of that number, nearly 4,000 people were discovered more than a month after they died, and 130 bodies went unmissed for a year before they were found.
We all depend on the relationships in our lives, right up to, and even beyond our deaths.
This has huge societal effects too, not least on public services. As Japan has discovered, it is not cheap or easy for the state to reproduce what families have traditionally done for millennia. Our social care sector is already groaning under the weight.
But a medic colleague working on doctors’ contracts used to joke to me that the most sensitive nerve in the body is the wallet nerve and it is maybe our economy where we will feel the pinch hardest.
The Office for Budget Responsibility has said that, on current trends, UK public debt could rise to around 270 per cent of GDP by the early 2070s as ageing pushes up spending on pensions, health and social care.
To maintain our current economy and standard of living with a declining population would require unprecedented and improbable productivity increases. When they fail to materialise, we will have to make significant cuts and perhaps the one hard aging-related lever governments have to play with is the pension age.
The CSJ’s analysis shows that on current population estimates children in school today could face working until their mid-70s before receiving a state pension.
If the government attempted to maintain today’s ratio of workers to pensioners, the state pension age would need to rise steadily over the coming years, hitting 70 in the next three decades, and 75 well before the end of the century – that means children aged 8 and under today would not retire until they are 75.
Figures like this understandably provoke a response, particularly among those approaching pension age themselves. But we literally cannot afford to bury our metaphorical heads in the sand over this. Other countries with similar problems are grasping the nettle. Denmark for example recently passed legislation which will raise the retirement age to 70 by the year 2040 – not that far away. By 2060 it will likely rise to 74. Italy and Estonia are set to follow at 71, while the Netherlands, Sweden, and Cyprus are projected to reach 70.
To date, received wisdom in the UK has been to replace the human shortfall with imported labour – high immigration. But not only is it a strategy with declining public support, but it does not really work. High levels of immigration have marginally and temporarily slowed the demographic shift but they do not solve the underlying problem, as age and fertility rates among migrants also tend to fall over time. In short, migrants get old and stop having babies too.
Political capital to have these conversations is in short supply and so huge credit to shadow equalities minister Rt Hon Claire Coutinho MP, who is one of the first senior parliamentarians to put her head above the parapet in this debate. Writing the foreword to the CSJ report she does not shy away from hard questions.
She describes our falling birthrate as “one of the most significant yet least discussed challenges our country faces today”.
“A healthy society depends on its ability not only to preserve what it has inherited, but to pass it on. The institutions, freedoms and traditions that make us who we are were built up over centuries, and their continuation cannot be taken for granted. If we rely on making up the population shortfall with ever higher immigration, then we may risk losing more than we bargained for.
“If we want to be proud of passing on something of importance to the next generation then we must never lose sight of the importance of family.”
Donald Trump’s second administration has massively tightened the longstanding US stranglehold on Cuba. His escalating campaign of terror has brought the island’s health system to its knees, putting thousands of lives at risk. But many people around the world are refusing to just stand by and watch.
In recent days, Trump has insisted that:
I do believe I’ll be… having the honour of taking Cuba… Taking Cuba, I mean, whether I free it, take it. I think I can do anything I want with it.
And he’s promised that:
we’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon
Numerous social movements, humanitarian groups, trade unionists, and public figures have stepped up to try and scupper Trump’s plans, though.
These groups and individuals have built a coalition to send humanitarian supplies to Cuba, including medicine, food, and solar equipment. In particular, this aid seeks to support medical workers and their patients, while ensuring children have access to vital nutrition.
The first of the venture from the ‘Nuestra América Convoy‘ has already arrived on the island. And more will arrive in the coming days:
BREAKING 🇨🇺 The first delegation of the Nuestra América Convoy arrives to Havana. pic.twitter.com/WEaln5H84S
— Progressive International (@ProgIntl) March 18, 2026
¡Qué viva Cuba! 🇨🇺
The first delegation of the Nuestra América Convoy has arrived in Havana from Europe, carrying more than four tonnes of critical medical aid. pic.twitter.com/nFhQ74B2X2
— Progressive International (@ProgIntl) March 18, 2026
🇨🇺✊🏽 ¡Ya está en Cuba el Convoy Europeo con ayuda solidaria proveniente de Italia!
Un puente de esperanza que une pueblos y fortalece la solidaridad.
📷 Jorge Alejandro
✍️Tomado de Naturaleza Secreta de Cuba
#NuestraAmericaConvoy pic.twitter.com/jE5AlDg08G— Mov. Mexicano de Solidaridad con Cuba 🇲🇽🇨🇺 (@_mmsc) March 18, 2026
Trump’s escalating stranglehold on Cuba
More than six decades of US “economic terrorism” have cost Cuba over $170bn. They haven’t just pushed people to leave their country. According to experts, such sanctions also have a similar effect to war, killing hundreds of thousands of people around the world every year, with many millions of deaths over recent decades.
Amid the ongoing failure of sanctions to topple Cuba’s government, the US started to change strategies under Barack Obama. But Trump’s first administration reversed that and doubled down on aggression.
Then, in 2025, Trump came into his second term seeking to ramp up this stranglehold with a new escalation of collective punishment. This has since sparked a crisis in Cuba’s health system, bringing it “to the brink of collapse”. And it has just forced a 29-hour nationwide energy blackout.
So far this year, Trump’s regime has gone after Cuba’s key lifelines:
Global criticism of US terror must turn into action
Nations around the world have overwhelmingly opposed US sanctions on Cuba for decades, regardless of whether their governments are left- or right-wing. Ordinary people in the US itself, meanwhile, strongly oppose using force against Cuba. They prefer diplomacy, and generally agree that sanctions are the wrong strategy.
Moving from criticism to action is not easy, and rarely happens. But the Nuestra América Convoy offers hope that people are increasingly willing to follow through:
As Donald Trump’s illegal siege plunges Cuba into darkness, the first convoy flight leaves from Milan.
On board: 220 suitcases packed with life-saving medicines. pic.twitter.com/rVNSmPEpWL
— Progressive International (@ProgIntl) March 17, 2026
We deeply appreciate @JeremyCorbyn and @ProgIntl for standing with the Cuban people. As the US escalates its cruel and inhumane blockade, global solidarity is our greatest weapon. We eagerly await the historic Nuestra América Convoy in Havana on March 21. Cuba is not alone! 🇨🇺 https://t.co/BGEARsYBSs
— Cuba in the UK (@EmbaCuba_UK) March 18, 2026
ANNOUNCEMENT 📢: NACLA is mobilizing to Cuba. 🇨🇺
This week, NACLISTAs will be taking part in the Nuestra América Convoy to Cuba, a humanitarian mission delivering critical supplies to a people under siege.
For decades, NACLA has covered the U.S. pressure campaign against… pic.twitter.com/gfrirkGFyN
— NACLA Report (@NACLA) March 17, 2026
We’re busy packing suitcases of medical aid to bring to Cuba tomorrow. 🇮🇪 🇨🇺
GRMA to all who’ve assisted us source it (special thanks to Dr David Hickey).
The USA is illegally and savagely strangling the island and crippling its people. pic.twitter.com/EzIgQOgqda
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) March 17, 2026
We head to Cuba later this week as part of an international solidarity group to bring critical medical aid for the Cuban people. 🇨🇺 🇮🇪
To everyone who has assisted us gathering it, GRMA, we will travel with over 200kg of critical medicines.
As the Taoiseach heads to… pic.twitter.com/F1MdrWAgPI
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) March 16, 2026
Opposing Trump’s terror campaign against Cuba isn’t about whether you completely support its government or not. As with US-Israeli war crimes in Gaza, Iran, or Lebanon, it’s completely possible to oppose colonial violation of international law while also being fully aware of legitimate criticisms regarding the governments facing attacks.
The simple fact is that the US is using terror to ensure dominance for itself in the Americas (as it has for many decades), just as it’s been helping Israel to ensure its dominance in the Middle East through genocidal terror.
Trump is proudly displaying a brash imperialism that US leaders have historically hidden behind careful propaganda. And the world is increasingly aware of the danger of allowing this to continue.
But words aren’t enough. The world must also follow the example of the Nuestra América Convoy and turn criticism into firm action – for the sake of humanity.
Featured image via the Canary
As it promised on Wednesday 18 March, Iran struck Saudi energy facilities in retaliation for Israel’s bombing of Iran’s South Pars gas field, which it shares with Qatar, also a US ally in the Arabian Gulf.
The Iranian television broadcast its warning across social media channels, telling the US, Israel, and their enablers that their facilities will be reduced to “ashes.”
Iran military spokesman: “You attacked our infrastructure and energy in the south. Your infrastructure, energy, and gas facilities will burn to ashes at the first opportunity. Your era of glory is over — withdraw from the region or choose death.” pic.twitter.com/8i5KGPlDdD
— COMBATE |🇵🇷 (@upholdreality) March 18, 2026
The latest strikes began as soon as night fell:
Public Relations of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps:
🔹 In the name of God, the Crusher of the Arrogant “Whoever transgresses against you, transgress against them in like manner as they transgressed against you”
🔹 Wave sixty-three of Operation True Promise 4 against… pic.twitter.com/wntAb6R0fU
— COMBATE |🇵🇷 (@upholdreality) March 18, 2026
Mobile footage published by social-media based news outlet, Kofiya News, shows a huge explosion at a refinery near Riyadh as an Iranian missile struck:
🚨🇮🇷🇸🇦 BREAKING: A massive explosion has occurred in Riyadh after multiple ballistic missiles launched from Iran struck the city. pic.twitter.com/9GrMkbWF19
— Nova Intel (@intel_nova) March 18, 2026
The aftermath of the strike was shared by Kofiya News:
💢 4 injured in Riyadh after “debris from an intercepted ballistic missile” fell near refinery, Saudi Arabia claims
Four foreign Asian residents were injured and “limited material damage” reported after Saudi Civil Defense said debris from an intercepted ballistic missile fell… https://t.co/q25Cvl5bkb pic.twitter.com/J5mur9D0w4
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) March 18, 2026
Qatari gas facilities were struck in the early hours of 19 March, local time:
Qatar LNG is on fire pic.twitter.com/uRKzzo3pGA
— COMBATE |🇵🇷 (@upholdreality) March 18, 2026
A mass retaliatory attack on Israel and its Haifa oil terminal has not yet been reported at the time of writing, although a repeat of last night’s mass—and largely censored—attack is surely imminent:
WATCH: Iranian Khorramshahr ballistic missiles with ~80 bomblets targeting Israel tonight. pic.twitter.com/HVVXkQ1FZf
— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 17, 2026
The situation continues to develop rapidly.
Featured image via the Canary
In the three weeks since Donald Trump and Israel first started bombing Iran, the Tehran regime has been targeting energy sites across the Middle East in retaliation.
It has also effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping lane, by attacking any oil tankers which attempt to pass through the waterway.
The conflict has sent international markets into a tailspin and pushed the cost of oil up to almost $110 a barrel.
This latest attack on a gas field has also increased gas prices by more than 25% – more than double the levels seen before the war began.
Here’s what you need to know.
What Happened?
Hours after killing Tehran’s intelligence minister and launching some of the most intense airstrikes in Beirut for decades, Israel hit the South Pars natural gas field on Wednesday, escalating its growing conflict with Iran.
The world’s largest natural gas site, located in the Persian Gulf, it is shared between Iran and Qatar.
Qatar is a close ally of the US and a host of the US largest military base in the Gulf.
Trump announced overnight that Israel had “violently lashed out” and targeted the major Iranian gas field in rage over what Tehran is doing in the region.
Iran condemned the strike and its president Masoud Pezeshkian warned of “uncontrollable consequences” which could “engulf the entire world”.
It then turned its fire on neighbouring energy facilities in the Gulf.
Saudi Arabia said it managed to intercept and destroy four ballistic missiles which were heading towards its capital Riyadh, presumably from Iran, and claimed more drones were intercepted and destroyed.
Meanwhile, State oil giant QatarEnergy reported “extensive damage” after Iranian missiles hit the Ras Laffan Industrial City, which processes around a fifth of global gas supply.
The Habshan gas facilities and Bab field in the United Arab Emirates were also targeted and have since been shut down after interceptions over the major sites.
The UAE said Iran’s retaliatory strikes were a “dangerous escalation” and have ordered Iranian embassy officials to leave the country.
SYLVIE HUSSON,SABRINA BLANCHARD via AFP via Getty Images
What Does This Have To Do With Trump?
The US president insisted that the US did not have advance warning of the Israeli strike and also that Qatar was not involved.
In a post on TruthSocial, he wrote: “Israel out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lasted out a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran.
“Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and was unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s LNG Gas facility.”
But the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump did approve of Israel’s plan, according to US officials.
The president was reportedly hoping to pressure Tehran into unblocking the Strait of Hormuz with the attack.
But Trump has insisted that Israel would not make any further such attacks unless Tehran hits back – while claiming the US will “blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field” if Iran does retaliate.
What Does This Mean For Other Countries In The Gulf?
For many in the region, this feels like a seismic moment in the conflict as neighbouring nations feel more under threat than before.
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu, the only export outlet for many local countries’ crude oil, was also hit by an aerial attack on Thursday.
The country made it clear overnight that it reserves the “right to take military action” over Iran’s attacks.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps have also sent an evacuation warning to several oil facilities across Saudi Arbaia, UAE and Qatar.
How Does This Impact The Rest Of The World?
In Europe, natural gas prices have already climbed by 35% since Thursday’s attack.
Gas prices overall have increased by more than 60% since the war began less than three weeks ago.
Brent crude, which is the international benchmark oil price, have jumped from $73 to around around $108 a barrel as of Wednesday – and every $10 increase pushes up pump prices by around 7p a litre.
This will impact the cost of living, though there is normally a time lag as prices trickle through to customers.
EU leaders are keen to curb the jump in energy prices and are meeting this week to discuss how to migitate the coming crisis.
There’s the human cost to consider, too.
More than 3,000 people have been killed in Iran since the conflict started, according to the US-based Iran human rights group HRANA.
Local authorities say approximately 900 people have been killed in Lebanon, and 800,000 forced to flee their homes.
Iranian attacks have also killed people in Iraq and across the Gulf states. At least 13 US military service members have been killed in the war.
What Might Happen Next?
Trump claimed Israel would not make any further such attacks unless Tehran hit back.
In his TruthSocial post, the president claimed: “NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar.
“In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before.”
However he is also thinking about sending thousands more US troops to the Middle East according to reports from Reuters, possibly to help oil tankers move through the Strait of Hormuz.
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