Disney+ subscribers in some European countries have lost access to advanced HDR features like Dolby Vision and HDR10+, TechRadar and FlatpanelsHD report. The issue was first spotted by German Disney+ subscribers on Reddit, but currently also impacts subscribers in Portugal, Poland, France and the Netherlands, according to FlatpanelsHD.

"Dolby Vision support for content on Disney+ is currently unavailable in several European countries due to technical challenges," Disney said in a statement. "We are actively working to restore access to Dolby Vision and will provide an update as soon as possible. 4K UHD and HDR support remain available on supported devices."

If the issue is in fact a technical one, it seems like it could be around for the long-term. Disney has removed any reference to Dolby Vision from its Disney+ video quality support page in Germany. As of now, the company lists HDR10 as its default HDR format, despite Dolby Vision support being a feature of Disney+ for several years now. 

FlatpanelsHD writes that the real issue might be legal, rather than technological. A company called InterDigital won an injunction in a German court against Disney in November 2025 because it violated at least one of the company's patents on streaming video technology. The injunction specifically requires Disney to stop violating InterDigital's patent on "a method for dynamically overlaying a first video stream with a second video stream comprising, for example, subtitles." It's not entirely clear how that plays into the company offering Dolby Vision and HDR10+ in Europe, but it would explain why subscribers in Germany were some of the first people to notice Dolby Vision's absence.

Engadget has contacted Disney for more information about Disney+'s missing HDR support and whether InterDigital's injunction played a role. We'll update this article if we hear back.

Mentions of Dolby Vision and HDR10+ were also stripped out of the US version of Disney+'s video quality support page. InterDigital hasn't won an injunction in the US, but the company is pursuing a patent case against Disney in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. That doesn't necessarily mean Dolby Vision support will be taken from US subscribers next, but it does suggest there's more happening here than just technical challenges.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/disney-loses-access-to-dolby-vision-and-hdr10-in-some-european-countries-193930091.html?src=rss

Your Party has allegedly blocked a member of Zarah Sultana's Grassroots Left slate from sitting on a committee responsible for making sure upcoming internal elections are conducted in a fair manner. This raises concerns because the person was blocked by a senior member of Jeremy Corbyn's opposing slate, The Many. It raises questions about just how real democracy is in the new party.

Your Party elections

Your Party is currently gearing up for its upcoming Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections on 26 February.

This marks a crucial step in establishing the new political party's structures. These elections are integral to enabling branches across the country to formally constitute, allowing them to organise effectively and campaign on local and national issues within their communities. However, recent revelations appear to confirm members' concerns that socialism and genuine democracy are inconvenient obstacles for those who currently hold the reins - and the party's resources.

Verified evidence seen by the Canary raises serious concerns that Jeremy Corbyn is allowing ally Karie Murphy to exert undue control over internal democratic processes. Far from uniting socialists as promised, these developments appear to confirm long-held fears that grassroots members are being frozen out unless they belong to 'Jeremy's team'.

Socialist? BLOCKED

Originally, members of Your Party made it clear that they wanted an elected oversight committee formed ahead of the CEC election. Supporters argued that this approach would make committee members more representative of the entire membership, bridging divides and differences of opinion.

However, figures on The Many slate allegedly objected, instead pushing for - and implementing - a sortition process that selected five members to carry out crucial oversight. Given the public bickering and clashes driven by strong views on both sides, members generally accepted this compromise as fair in principle.

However, it now appears that principle and process are not the priority for those gearing the party's democratic processes.

The Canary has been told that Karie Murphy exclude one sortition member from being involved in the Your Party committee, literally blocking her number and ignoring her very existence.

One Your Party member who wished to remain anonymous told the Canary:

This blatant and arrogant power-move by Murphy has now confirmed prior reports received that those with the reins are only happy with members having a say, if you are firmly loyal to their camp alone. Once again, actions by figures within the party suggest a failure to learn from past mistakes, calling into question whether they possess the principles and resolve needed to confront the far right and unite, rather than divide, and empower the communities they claim to represent.

Access denied in Your Party

The Your Party sortition member has requested to remain anonymous. Also worth noting sortition members are usually meant to be anonymous to ensure safeguarding of democratic processes and efficient electoral oversight. Her experience went as follows:

When I was called by Karie Murphy a few weeks ago I actually ignored the call the first time, I'd become accustomed to doing that trying to avoid debt collectors asking for payments I can't make.

But when I didn't recognise the number I decided to call back immediately. The woman on the phone explained to me that I had been sortitioned as part of the selection process for a Your Party Election oversight committee. The woman said I would be required to attend regular meetings with MPs supporting Jeremy Corbyn such as Adam Shockat.

I remained quiet during her brief pause which I only assume she expected I'd fill with some line about how I'm 'a big fan'. I was a big fan, but that's not true anymore, Corbyn's no socialist and he'd proven which class he really stands with time and again. Her mention of Adam Shockat the sexist and Jeremy Corbyn only reminded me of what I'd be up against, but I knew I couldn't let this opportunity pass. I told this woman, who I later learned was actually Karie Murphy, that I was in regular attendance at YP meetings and that this could be great because I could get the input of a wider part of the membership.

Similarly to my holding back at the mention of Corbyn and Shockat, Murphy remained quiet. Nonetheless, I knew she couldn't backtrack now that I had been offered the position, I thought.

I told her I was wanting to accept the offer and that this was really important to me. Immediately she responded with asking what I did for a living, when I mentioned my job role she said it may be difficult for me to get permission at work. I knew that my job would in no way be related to or jeopardised by a position on an election oversight committee and that any request made to my employer would just be a matter of procedure. This was so important to me that I would have risked my job to be given the opportunity to just mirror the voices of highly experienced and well qualified activists I've met since becoming involved within Your Party.

I asked to be sent the information and confirm my interest, the woman told me that she was waiting for someone else to send her the information first but would then be in contact with me the next day to send over the details and officially confirm my interest. I immediately spoke to my Trade union rep after the phone call, he confirmed with me that this would not conflict with my job but I would be required to make a formal request with the key details. The next day I waited but heard nothing back, no emails, no phone calls, no messages.

After two weeks someone told me that the elections oversight committee were set to meet. I had started to question whether the whole thing was still going ahead, I knew the majority of members initially had wanted the committee to be elected.

I was confused, I hadn't seen any emails but double checked all of my folders to be sure. I double checked my call log and messages but there was nothing that I'd been sent. Confused, as I was meant to have been sortitioned for this committee, I decided to ring the person who rang me two weeks earlier. User busy.

I then messaged the person asking for the details and received no response. Having gotten nowhere, I later asked a friend to try calling the phone number for me and somehow she was able to get through to this Scottish woman who we later realised was Karie Murphy. Karie Murphy who after learning I would lean far too left for the politics of Corbyn and 'The Many', blocked my number and banked on the left to be disorganised enough to be able to get away with it. Well we're not, and we won't let them get away with it.

This is why Democracy is important, these MPs ultimately want to dampen your impact in order to protect their own interests, shape their own policies and we are getting in the way.

The GL in YP are the only players on the board offering any real solution against rising wealth inequality, unemployment, rise of fascism, cuts to welfare at home. And that's because they are the only real players capable of delivering on their promises; decentralised power, MPs held accountable, no more going back on manifestos because it's not them who decide policies, it's us.

Ultimately people need to understand that this is again another story of class war, a group of MPs trying to hold onto their wealth , and therefore means of power, will ultimately never act in our interests and this time the cost is too high.

We should have expected it with Labour, we can expect it with Greens and we will do everything in our power to oppose it in 'The Many' by forming the party as in the vision of YP GL, Democratic, Grassroots and transformational, in short, a party truly shaped by the many, not just a small group of elite MPs claiming to speak for us.

The GL of YP are the only real players in British politics right now capable of stopping the loss of lives the Global South, and then eventually we, will face if we reach the point of no return in terms of the climate crisis. By exiting Britain out of NATO, ending its funding of imperialism and genocide as well as, crucially, ending its role in the exploitation of the Global south, Your Party could start a possible chain reaction that might lead to the spread of socialism in Europe. I don't think we can ignore that possibility especially given the current level of working class organisation we are seeing.

We know that the climate question can't be solved while the global capitalist system continues. The overconsumption is choking us.

I think it's important to keep an eye on the climate because I don't want my family in the global south to die right now but I also know that there is nowhere to run, I am aware of the eventual cost to life we will face here and worse with the threat of AI, under the current system, the working class risks being nothing more than an inconvenience to have around, and what power would the workers have then in the absence of work. We will be cattle in a slaughterhouse.

No smoke without fire

The Canary contacted Your Party for comment on the issues raised in this article. However, we did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Another Your Party insider close to the project has also spoken to the Canary and confirmed:

It became very personalised. If you didn't show total loyalty to Jeremy being the sole leader, he and the people around him basically, they won't work with you.

This raises urgent, unavoidable questions for Jeremy Corbyn and his team. Members say they have had enough of anti-democratic practices and the old tactics of Labour-right. After years of watching establishment parties impose top-down control, they surely did not come together to replicate the very model they set out to challenge. True democracy is the only cure to fascism.

Featured image via the Canary

By Maddison Wheeldon

Pep Guardiola's press conference was not a routine preview of a Manchester City match. Nor was it about tactics, results, or team selection. What happened was something else entirely.

The coach, known for teaching football with philosophical rigour, stepped off the pitch and asked a painful question about an entire profession: why is the press silent? Guardiola, synonymous with modern football and his historic partnership with Lionel Messi at Barcelona, did not shed his role as a coach. Instead, he expanded it.

Guardiola's press conference a place for reflection

In a moment that felt sincere and unplanned, the press conference turned into a space for reflection when a journalist asked him:

Why do these issues matter so much to you?

Guardiola smiled, then replied with frustration:

I appreciate this question, because in ten years — or even the last two — this is the first time a journalist has asked me that. It's as if talking about these issues isn't allowed in your work. I don't know.

This was not a throwaway comment. It exposed a deep failure in media practice, especially when compared to coverage of Russia's war on Ukraine.

Then, sports press conferences became political platforms overnight. Players and coaches were routinely asked for political positions. No one complained about "politicising sport". Neutrality vanished — but only in one direction.

Now, Guardiola speaks against that selective silence. He is not defending himself, but protesting the lack of scrutiny around Israel's war of extermination in Palestine, which has killed more than 70,000 civilians and destroyed the foundations of life. That silence extends beyond Gaza. It reaches Sudan, where war has displaced millions, and a global climate fuelled by racism and hate against migrants.

Guardiola's criticism was not aimed at one journalist. It was directed at an entire media system hiding behind the idea of "separating sport from politics".

That principle has been used to ignore crimes and violations — particularly those committed by Israel — while athletes who express solidarity with Palestine face smears, silencing, and symbolic punishment. This has happened to figures such as Anwar Ghazi, Noussair Mazraoui, and Ons Jabeur.

Sports journalism is not light entertainment or a harmless supplement. It is journalism. It carries responsibility, accountability, and a duty to side with humanity against systems of oppression. Yet many outlets choose safety. They rebrand silence as "sportsmanship" and neutrality as morality. The irony is that these institutions fully understand the power of sport. FIFA president Gianni Infantino once called football "global magic".

That magic becomes dangerous when it escapes the approved script.

Once again, Guardiola left the pitch — not to explain a game plan or an injury — but to offer a lesson:

Never before in human history has information been so visible. What's happening in Palestine, Ukraine, Russia, Sudan. When I see these images, I feel pain. That's why I will do everything I can to help build a better society.

This was not a political speech. It was a reminder of journalism's most basic duty: to see, to ask, and to refuse silence.

This time, the journalists found themselves back in training — while the football manager reminded them of their job.

Featured image via Youtube

By Alaa Shamali

It shouldn't shock anyone that an organisation whose founder and director publicly wrote, "Hinduism is the father of all religions. Islam is a bad copy. Islam is against humanity", is opposed to defining and addressing anti-Muslim hate. What might shock some is that this organisation, Hindu Council UK (HCUK), has the ear of mainstream media outlets like The Telegraph and has the audacity to "warn" the government about how to approach Islamophobia.

Hindutva is migrating across the globe from India

A recent academic investigation called 'Seeing the Sangh' has laid out a comprehensive map of the 'largest far-right network in history'.  This refers to the organisational complex that centres on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), India's dominant group promoting Hindutva ideology, otherwise known as Hindu supremacy or Hindu nationalism.

Hindu supremacy and accompanying anti-Muslim hatred have been exported across the world with devastating effects from cultural soft power to political lobbying to violence. I monitor this closely, and founded Hindus for Human Rights UK (HfHR UK) to help fight Hindutva, caste, and bigotry in the British diaspora.

Not only does Hindutva politics now exist in many countries — notably the UK, the USA, Canada, and Australia — it collaborates with other extremist movements in those countries, with Islamophobia forming the common ground between otherwise strange bedfellows.  The Hindutva movement was complicit in the UK's 2024 racist pogroms; its proponents engage positively with the likes of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Geert Wilders; neo-Nazi mass murderer Anders Breivik was an admirer of Hindutva.

Hindu Council UK and the bigotry of its leadership

'Seeing the Sangh' identifies 2,500 organisations that make up the global RSS network, or Sangh Parivar (RSS family), 26 of which are in the UK. Writer-activist Amrit Wilson explains in Byline Times that the "Hindu right has systematically set up, or taken over, a host of organisations in the UK." including the Hindu Council UK, founded in 1994 by one Anil Bhanot.

Bhanot has published op-eds in the Guardian, been covered widely in mainstream media, and held unique positions like Hindu Chaplain in the Royal Navy and Hindu Advisor to the Ministry of Defence. Yet, in 2024 Bhanot was stripped of his OBE for "bringing the honours system into disrepute" with his Islamophobia.

In 2021 Bhanot posted extreme anti-Muslim and Hindu supremacist tweets (now deleted), describing himself as "Hindutva" and asserting that "Islam is a religion of violence."  He went on, "Islam's dawah is an evil tenet and the sooner it's legislated against in parliament the better. It turns muslims into Shaitans, as in love Jihad too."  Love jihad is an Islamophobic conspiracy theory.  Bhanot summed up: "Hinduism is the father of all religions. Islam is a bad copy. Islam is against humanity" and an "invasion into minds".

Bhanot brazenly defended his hate speech by saying:

I did not do anything wrong and I have not put the honours system into disrepute.  Free speech is a thing of the past now in England.  I am quite upset about it.

Grotesquely, his now-stripped OBE was awarded for "community cohesion".  National Secular Society writes:

HCUK has been highly vocal in its opposition to anti-caste discrimination law. In 2017 its then-director of interfaith relations Anil Bhanot claimed that attempts to outlaw caste discrimination via the Equality Act were a "vengeful" act of Dalits (the bottom tier of the Hindu caste system) stemming from animosity towards 'higher castes'.

To abuse one's senior position at a public-facing organisation to gaslight and block legislation that would protect Dalits is indefensible.

HCUK "warning" the government against Islamophobia definition

But Hindu Council UK is not dissuaded by the indefensible. Despite their director's far-right diatribe and unashamed Islamophobia, HCUK thought it appropriate to write a letter to the Communities Secretary about Islamophobia, "warning" against: creating a "chilling effect" on free speech; helping to reintroduce blasphemy laws, and; suppressing criticism of Islam.

Five organisations, including HfHR UK, responded.

The Hindu Council UK's letter to the government stated that:

Freedom of expression includes the right to offend, to challenge and to criticise ideas, indeed Hinduism encourages intellectual debates that has made it robust.

We therefore question why Hindu Council UK is trying, through the Hindu Manifesto for example, to make it illegal to:

accus[e] those who organise around anti-Hindu hate of being agents or pawns of violent, political agendas.

We believe that this "accusation", though it may be found offensive by some, belongs well within the realm of freedom of expression, the right to offend, and the right to criticise ideas.

No one should be surprised that HCUK is trying to control the discourse around a form of hate — Islamophobia — that its leadership espouses. But why would The Telegraph amplify this malicious lobbying and uncritically parrot the line that HCUK represents all British Hindus?

Demonopolising British Hindu representation

Just as Hindu Council UK attempts to position itself as the voice of all British Hindus, the Telegraph article in question is titled, "Hindus warn Labour against 'chilling' Islamophobia definition", reducing the diversity of the one million-plus Hindus in this country down to the views of a single, bigoted group. This is an insult to British Hindus of conscience.

Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised by this either given The Telegraph's tendency, along with other right-wing entities, to produce anti-Muslim narratives.  My request to The Telegraph to publish a response to their coverage went unanswered, so HfHR UK and four other organisations co-published our response in FORSEA.

We face an uphill battle as the British Hindu voice has long been captured by supremacist, anti-Muslim bigots, and some mainstream publications are only too ready to amplify them.  HCUK is just one part of the UK's Hindutva lobby, accompanied by Hindu Forum of Britain, National Hindu Students' Forum, the VHP UK, and many more.

But there is an extensive network of resistance too — our joint response to the HCUK's "warning" demonstrates the resolve of our five organisations, a small section of the landscape. The monopolistic control over Hindu advocacy that Hindutva groups have enjoyed in this country for years is coming to a close as progressive alternatives like HfHR UK are drawing in British Hindus by the day.

Featured image via the Canary

By Rajiv Sinha

YouGov polling from February 2026 shows 78% of the UK public support rent controls. But why regulate a scam when you can get rid of it? That's what the Green Party is proposing.

The Green Party position

The Green Party has rent nailed in their "Abolish Landlords" policy, which was successfully voted on at their conference in 2025. The motion read:

The Private Rental Sector has failed, it is a vehicle for wealth extraction, funnelling money from Renters to the Landlord Class. This motion makes it clear Green Party policy is to seek the effective abolition of Private Landlordism.

The Green Party believes that secure, affordable Housing is a Human Right, and that a core goal for a Green Government and Green MPs is to create a fairer housing market.

The Green Party believes the existence of Private Landlords adds no positive value to the economy or society, that the relationship between Landlord and Tenant is inherently and intrinsically extractive and exploitative. That the Private Rented Sector exists to transfer wealth from the working classes to Landlords.

The Green Party believes that the Private Sector has fundamentally failed, and is continuing to fail to provide secure and affordable housing fit for working people.

The thing is, the Green Party wants to move towards social housing, which is essentially state landlordism. While it provides money for the government, people already pay council tax. Social rent is like an additional tax on housing.

Instead, home ownership should be provided through affordable monthly payments for the baseline cost of the resources and expertise that it took for the house to be built. 'Cost price' housing should be the aim, not just rent controls or social housing.

Housing bubble

Currently, there is a housing bubble propped up by the super rich buying properties as 'assets' while supply is starved off through a lack of building. The governing party is doing even worse than the Green Party's plans through pledging to provide 1.2% of their housebuilding programme as social or 'affordable'.

Plus, Common Wealth warned in February 2025 that Labour's housebuilding programme risks being dominated by private equity firms charging eye-watering rents in the Build to Rent sector.

The thinktank pointed out that Build to Rent properties in the UK have increased to 20% of all new builds in recent years.

As the Green Party rightly points out, the relationship between landlords and tenants is "inherently… exploitative". But we can do better than state landlordism and rent controls.

Featured image via the Canary

By James Wright

For over half a century, the CIA's World Factbook has been one of the most quietly useful things the federal government has ever produced. A comprehensive, regularly updated, freely available reference on every country in the world—population stats, government structures, economic data, geography, the works. It was the kind of thing that made you think, "Okay, at least some tax dollars are going toward something genuinely helpful."

And then, this week, the CIA just… deleted it. No warning. No explanation. Every single page now redirects to a brief announcement that the Factbook has "sunset." That's it. That's all you get.

Simon Willison, who first spotted the disappearance, didn't mince words about what happened:

In a bizarre act of cultural vandalism they've not just removed the entire site (including the archives of previous versions) but they've also set every single page to be a 302 redirect to their closure announcement.

The Factbook has been released into the public domain since the start. There's no reason not to continue to serve archived versions - a banner at the top of the page saying it's no longer maintained would be much better than removing all of that valuable content entirely..

That's exactly right. If the CIA decided they no longer wanted to maintain the Factbook—fine. You could make an argument for that. But the decision to not just stop updating it, but to actively destroy access to it without any advance notice is something else entirely. You couldn't even grab a final copy before it vanished.

The CIA's official statement on the closure is a masterclass in saying nothing:

One of CIA's oldest and most recognizable intelligence publications, The World Factbook, has sunset. The World Factbook served the Intelligence Community and the general public as a longstanding, one-stop basic reference about countries and communities around the globe.

Okay and… why did you suddenly shut it down? They don't say.

That's followed by a brief history of the publication—it started classified in 1962, went unclassified in 1971, hit the web in 1997—and then this parting thought:

Though the World Factbook is gone, in the spirit of its global reach and legacy, we hope you will stay curious about the world and find ways to explore it… in person or virtually.

Gee, thanks. Super helpful. "We deleted the thing you relied on. Go touch grass or something."

The New York Times reported that the shutdown happened while students at Boston University were literally in the middle of an open-Factbook exam:

The sudden closure of the Factbook's website, with all of its entries no longer available to the public, left Jay Zagorsky's business students at Boston University in the lurch midway through an exam due at midnight the next day.

His exams are regularly open-Factbook, and two questions relied on its famously tidy tables of economic certainty. In an instant, a trusted companion of lectures and late-night problem sets was gone.

"That was a great joy this afternoon," Mr. Zagorsky said in an interview on Wednesday evening, recalling the moment faculty colleagues had begun talking to one another in disbelief. "Oh my god. What do we do? The Factbook just went offline? How do we let them finish the answers on the exams?"

Professors scrambling to figure out how to let students finish exams because a government agency couldn't be bothered to give notice before nuking a 54-year-old publication. That'll teach you to rely on anything from this government, I guess.

The Factbook wasn't just a nice-to-have reference for academics. Lawyers have noted that it was regularly used in asylum cases as a trusted, objective source for country conditions (maybe that's why they killed it?). When you're trying to establish that a country is dangerous enough to warrant asylum, citing the CIA's own publicly available data tends to carry some weight. That resource is now just… gone. With no replacement.

To try to salvage what he could of the Factbook, Willison took matters into his own hands. He found that until 2020, the CIA published annual zip file archives of the entire site to the Internet Archive. He downloaded the 2020 version and threw it up on GitHub with Pages enabled, so at least something remains accessible. It's now six years out of date, but it's better than the nothing the CIA has left us with.

And that's what makes this so frustrating. The Factbook was public domain. It was created with taxpayer money. There was absolutely no legal or technical reason the CIA couldn't have left the existing site up with a banner saying "no longer maintained" or given users time to archive their own copies. Instead, they chose to 302 redirect every single page to their farewell note, as if the goal was specifically to make sure no one could access anything.

There's already a FOIA request in the works to try to obtain both the current data and the explanation for why this happened. But the fact that we need a FOIA request to find out why a public domain government reference tool was suddenly erased should tell you everything you need to know about where we are.

I have FOIAd the CIA World Factbook and the reasons for its removal

— Kevin H Bell (@kevinok.bsky.social) 2026-02-05T04:34:14.460Z

The Times did find one former intelligence official who wasn't sad to see it go:

"C.I.A. is not the Library of Congress," Ms. Sanner said with a laugh. "The intelligence community shouldn't be your librarian."

Sure. But when you've been the librarian for 54 years and people have built workflows around your library, you don't get to just burn it down overnight and tell everyone to "stay curious."

This has all the hallmarks of the current administration's broader war on publicly available information. Data.gov scrubbed of climate information. USAID websites vanishing completely (along with the agency). Government research going dark. The World Factbook is just the latest casualty in what appears to be a systematic effort to make the federal government's own information harder to access.

The CIA hasn't said why they did this. It hasn't said who made the decision. It didn't even release the data in some other format. It just went dark and told everyone just to "stay curious about the world."

Some of us are curious why our own government keeps removing public access to information.

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The long wait for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is nearly over, as the film hits theaters on April 1. To keep the hype train rolling, Illumination and Universal Pictures have dropped a short new teaser. It's exactly 30 seconds long, so you'll probably be seeing it again on TV this Sunday during the Super Bowl.

It does feature some nifty footage that we haven't seen before, including a hungry Yoshi absolutely devouring a Magikoopa. There are also shots highlighting the star cannons from The Super Mario Galaxy games and one shot that shows Rosalina bodying Bowser Jr.

There seems to be a plot point in which Princess Peach and Toad head to some sort of sci-fi mega-city, which should be fun. There's an Octoomba living there, another shout-out to the OG Wii game.

As previously stated, the hotly-anticipated sequel arrives on April 1. The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a total smash, grossing nearly $1.4 billion and becoming one of the most successful animated films ever made. We found the original to be a fun, but safe, trip to the Mushroom Kingdom.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-new-trailer-for-the-super-mario-galaxy-movie-shows-yoshi-absolutely-devouring-a-magikoopa-191807037.html?src=rss

Noble Audio has announced the Sceptre, a pocket-sized USB-C Bluetooth transmitter meant to boost wireless audio quality from phones, laptops and tablets. The device is intended to exceed the quality offered by a device's existing hardware.

Sceptre is powered by Qualcomm's QCC5181 Bluetooth chipset and supports LDAC, aptX Adaptive, AAC and SBC codecs. Of course, to take advantage of the high quality codecs you'll need a pair of headphones that support them. The dongle has a reported wireless range of roughly 66 feet.

Listeners use the Noble app for initial pairing and can then move the dongle between compatible USB-C devices. It also supports pass-through charging with USB-C so users can charge their devices while listening. The company says Sceptre is compatible with iOS, Android and Windows, and the company confirmed with Engadget that iPhones 15 and newer are supported.

We've been pleased in the past with Noble Audio products, like the FoKus Apollo headphones, or the FoKus Rex5 earbuds. The Sceptre from Noble Audio is available for $70.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/noble-audio-has-released-a-usb-c-bluetooth-dongle-for-high-fidelity-transmission-191655786.html?src=rss

There's about $35M up for grabs if your circuits can beat today's limits

It's no lightweight matter. DARPA is putting about $35 million in total funding on the table in the hope that it will spur researchers to work around fundamental physical constraints and build much larger-scale photonic circuits that do more of the computing with light, not electronics.…

In the grand scheme of things — the wanton cruelty, the routine violations of rights, the actual fucking murders — this may only seem like a blip on the mass deportation continuum. But this report from Dell Cameron for Wired is still important. It not only explains why federal officers are approaching people with cellphones drawn nearly as often as they're approaching them with guns drawn, but also shows the administration is yet again pretending it's a law unto itself.

On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security published new details about Mobile Fortify, the face recognition app that federal immigration agents use to identify people in the field, undocumented immigrants and US citizens alike. The details, including the company behind the app, were published as part of DHS's 2025 AI Use Case Inventory, which federal agencies are required to release periodically.

The inventory includes two entries for Mobile Fortify—one for Customs and Border Protection (CBP), another for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—and says the app is in the "deployment" stage for both. CBP says that Mobile Fortify became "operational" at the beginning of May last year, while ICE got access to it on May 20, 2025. That date is about a month before 404 Media first reported on the app's existence.

A lot was going on last May, in terms of anti-migrant efforts and the casual refusal to recognize long-standing constitutional rights. That was the same month immigration officers were told they could enter people's homes while only carrying self-issued "administrative warrants," which definitely aren't the same thing as the judicial warrants the government actually needs to enter areas provided the utmost in Fourth Amendment protection.

The app federal officers are using is made by NEC, a tech company that's been around since long before ICE and CBP become the mobile atrocities they are. Prior to this revelation, NEC had only been associated with developing biometric software with an eye on crafting something that could be swiftly deployed and just as quickly scaled to meet the government's needs. This particular app was never made public prior to this.

ICE claims it's not a direct customer. It's only a beneficiary of the CBP's existing contract with NEC. That's a meaningless distinction when multiple federal agencies have been co-opted into the administration's bigoted push to rid the nation of brown people.

As is always the case (and this precedes Trump 2.0), CBP and ICE are rolling out tech far ahead of the privacy impact paperwork that's supposed to filed before anything goes live.

While CBP says there are "sufficient monitoring protocols" in place for the app, ICE says that the development of monitoring protocols is in progress, and that it will identify potential impacts during an AI impact assessment. According to guidance from the Office of Management and Budget, which was issued before the inventory says the app was deployed for either CBP or ICE, agencies are supposed to complete an AI impact assessment before deploying any high-impact use case. Both CBP and ICE say the app is "high-impact" and "deployed."

This is standard operating procedure for the federal government. The FBI and DEA were deploying surveillance tech well ahead of Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) as far back as [oh wow] 2014, while the nation was still being run by someone who generally appeared to be a competent statesman. That nothing has changed since makes it clear this problem is endemic.

But things are a bit worse now that Trump is running an administration stocked with fully-cooked MAGA acolytes. In the past, our rights might have received a bit of lip service and the occasional congressional hearing about the lack of required Privacy Impact Assessments.

None of that will be happening now. No one in the DHS is even going to bother to apply pressure to those charged with crafting these assessments. And no one will threaten (much less terminate) the tech deployment until these assessments have been completed. I would fully expect this second Trump term to come and go without the delivery of legally-required paperwork, especially since oversight of these agencies will be completely nonexistent as long as the GOP holds a congressional majority.

We lose. The freshly stocked swamp wins. And while it's normal to expect the federal government to bristle at the suggestion of oversight, it's entirely abnormal to allow an administration that embraces white Christian nationalism to act as though the only holy text any Trump appointee subscribes to was handed down by Aleister Crowley: Do what thou wilt. That is the whole of the law.

Police have raided two properties belonging to disgraced former Starmer adviser Peter Mandelson as part of their investigation into misconduct in public office and insider trading.

Mandelson resigned from Labour and the House of Lords after details of his leaks of sensitive government and financial information to serial child-rapist Jeffrey Epstein were exposed by the latest Epstein file release.

Keir Starmer is currently hiding behind Epstein's victims to avoid disclosing records showing what he knew of Mandelson's misconduct before appointing him as adviser and ambassador to the US. Despite, or because of, the cynical exploitation of Epstein's child victims, Starmer's hold on power is rapidly slipping.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

One of child-rapist Jeffrey Epstein's many roles was as a powerbroker and connector of far-right and fascist individuals globally. Messages now show how former Trump advisor Steve Bannon sought the sex-trafficker and paedophile's help to support the European far-right.

The Irish Times reported on 5 February:

The messages mostly date from 2018 and 2019, when Bannon, after being sacked by Trump, regularly visited Europe in his quest to forge a movement in the European Parliament uniting ultra-right wing and Eurosceptic forces from several countries including Italy, Germany, France, Hungary, Poland, Sweden and Austria.

Italy's Matteo Salvini and France's Marine Le Pen, both leaders of far-right and fascist-adjacent political parties, were among those Bannon wanted to see flourish:

Bannon especially set his sights on Matteo Salvini, the Italian deputy prime minister and leader of the far-right League party, who at the time was at the height of his political power.

Opposition parties in Italy have called for investigations:

to clarify whether Epstein influenced the rise of the League after Salvini's name was cited several times in messages exchanged between Bannon and Epstein.

But it wasn't just Italy…

European far-right empire and Steve Bannon

Much the same process happened in France, left-wing party La France Insoumise has now called:

for a cross-party parliament inquiry after several French figures, including Jack Lang, a former minister for culture, and his daughter appeared in the latest Epstein trove

The vast trove of Epstein file also featured:

exchanges between Epstein and Bannon in which Bannon spoke of his desire to raise money for the far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

Germany was also effected. Messages to Epstein showed how Steve Bannon sought to promote the  far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD):

In texts from 2018, Bannon bragged about his influence as an "adviser" to the new right-wing populists and saw the parties' gains in Europe as a chance to use them to his and Epstein's benefit.

The files show:

Epstein's interest in European nationalists.

While a message from March 2019, just before the EU elections, has Bannon saying he is:

 focused on raising money for Le Pen and Salvini so they can actually run full slates.

Epstein courted and engaged with figures from both liberal - Peter Mandelson being a case in point - and conservative global elites. But his own politics were those of a far-right Zionist. On many occasions the files show how the billionaire sex predator had an interest in helping some of the most extreme political forces in the world in their bids for power.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

A new British intelligence agency chief was just announced. Major General Matthew Jones will be Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI). Jones will start the role when he is promoted to Lieutenant General in summer 2026. He will run the revamped Military Intelligence Services (MIS). MIS was announced in December 2015.

The BBC reported in December 2025:

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) will unify all of its intelligence services under a single organisation, as part of its strategy to combat "escalating threats" from adversaries of the UK.

That command now belongs to Jones. Jones is an officer in the British Army's Intelligence Corps. His bio describes a long career in imperialism:

His operational service has included deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the wider Middle East. He currently serves as Director Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, overseeing intelligence collection, capabilities, training, and counter-intelligence.

MIS will work with other agencies:

including GCHQ, MI5 and SIS. Most notably to provide intelligence products for policy makers in the Ministry of Defence and UK Government.

At least one sycophantic right-wing newspaper got a little excited about the appointment…

Tories giddy over cool new spy man

Military intelligence is distinct in some ways from civilian-run intelligence agencies. Military intelligence personnel are not 'spies' or 'spooks' in the commonly held 'James Bond' sense. Their role is to gather, analyse, and collate information relevant to military operations.

If you want to know the nature of a military intelligence soldier look no further than Labour MP and Intelligence Corps veteran Mike Tapp of dog cutlery fame. Grim.

This seems to have been lost on some journalists. The Telegraph giddily described Jones as a "spymaster" known for being "ferociously intelligent".

The slightly more measured Labour defence secretary John Healey said:

Matt has the right skills and experience to lead our Military Intelligence Services as the organisation transforms to raise our war-fighting readiness to help keep the nation safe in this era of rising threats.

At the Canary we don't usually crush on intelligences organisations - we report on them instead. The organisation MIS is effectively replacing was Defence Intelligence (DI).  Back in December we asked the Ministry of Defence (MOD) a question about MIS and its new counter-intelligence component:

Will MIS and the new defence counter-intelligence unit be subject to FOI?

We got a typically nebulous response:

They'll be subject to the usual FOI rules around intelligence and matters of national security.

For the record, intelligence and national security issues are notoriously hard to get information on. As we reminded readers recently, state secrecy is the real so-called 'English disease'. As legendary security and intelligence reporter Richard Norton-Taylor said:

"National security" is often used to cover up embarrassment rather than genuine, serious threats to the country.

We'll be keeping an eye on MIS, needless to say. Counter-intelligence role

The MOD announcement in December said MIS would cover areas like biometrics, chemical weapons, critical national infrastructure, counter proliferation, UK export controls, medical and biosecurity and more.

Pretty broad then…

MIS will also work with open source, human and geospatial intelligence and counter-intelligence around both state and non-state groups. This focuses:

on the understanding of terrorism, espionage, sabotage, subversion and organised crime threats and vectors, and contests the operating space through proactive and reactive counter-intelligence activities. It entails collection of information, analysis and investigation of both state and non-state actors' intelligence methods, capabilities and activities.

Whether the UK needs a new 'spy' chief or not, it is getting one as the military tries to reorganise its intelligence gathering capabilities. There is no sense of the cost of the new reforms and few hints at how accountable it will be to the public. Business as usual then.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

Content warning: this article contains discussion of rape and sexual assault

After almost a year's silence on the matter, author Neil Gaiman released a statement this week to once again deny the allegations of sexual assault against him.

The allegations against Gaiman date back to 2024. They were first reported on the Tortoise Media podcast Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman. The New York Vulture then published a more lengthy - and widely read - article in 2025 entitled:

There Is No Safe Word

How the best-selling fantasy author Neil Gaiman hid the darkest parts of himself for decades.

Beginning with an initial two, eventually nine women would come forward with allegations including rape, other forms of sexual assault, and non-consensual and un-negotiated BDSM practices. Many of the descriptions are graphic in the extreme, and I try not to repeat them here without need.

'I should have done so much better'

At the time, 14 January 2025, Gaiman put out a statement on his blog denying the accusations. He described re-reading messages from the accusers on the dates of the situations they described as assault - messages which displayed consent.

These messages are now a matter of public record. They do appear to display consent, although the Vulture article framed this as a product of being scared to upset Gaiman.

In his statement, Gaiman also wrote:

And I also realise, looking through them, years later, that I could have and should have done so much better. I was emotionally unavailable while being sexually available, self-focused and not as thoughtful as I could or should have been.

However, he also stated unambiguously that all of his relationships were consensual, and that:

Some of the horrible stories now being told simply never happened, while others have been so distorted from what actually took place that they bear no relationship to reality. I am prepared to take responsibility for any missteps I made. I'm not willing to turn my back on the truth, and I can't accept being described as someone I am not, and cannot and will not admit to doing things I didn't do.

However, production companies moved quickly to cancel adaptations of Gaiman's works across stage and screen. These projects included a musical version of Coraline, a Disney production of The Graveyard Book, and the Netflix adaptation of Dead Boy Detectives. 

'Smear campaign': Neil Gaiman

Gaiman then remained relatively removed from the public eye for over a year. However, on 2 February 2026, he posted a new statement. Again, he denied all of the allegations against himself:

I've learned firsthand how effective a smear campaign can be, so to be clear:

The allegations against me are completely and simply untrue. There are emails, text messages and video evidence that flatly contradict them.

In particular, Gaiman decried the "echo chamber" of journalism reporting on the allegations. He spoke about his conviction that the "truth would, eventually, come out":

I expected that when the allegations were first made there would be journalism, and that the journalism would take the (mountains of) evidence into account, and was astonished to see how much of the reporting was simply an echo chamber, and how the actual evidence was dismissed or ignored.

Then, he went on to single out one blogger whom he believed exemplified the journalistic rigor he'd expected:

I was a journalist once, and I have enormous respect for journalists, so I've been hugely heartened by the meticulous fact and evidence-based investigative writing of one particular journalist, whom some of you recently brought to my attention, who writes under the name of TechnoPathology.

This investigator, Technopathology, produced pages and pages of reporting on Gaiman, under the umbrella title of "Neil Gaiman is Innocent". Gaiman actually linked to the introductory page of the Substack blog in his statement.

Technopathology and 'Neil Gaiman is innocent'

For full disclosure, in writing this article I read a lot of Technopathology's blog, but not all of it. There is an awful lot to get through, and I have other articles to write. The author makes some valid points about the overall timbre of the reporting and its motivations, and some that I found reaching or off-mark. I'll get to them later.

Technopathology's introduction to their extensive project contained a complaint that there was "no room for nuance" in the reporting on Gaiman:

Even requiring evidence was deemed to be ''victim blaming''. No deviation from the party line, (that is to say - utter and complete condemnation) went unpunished.

This type of complaint will be familiar to anyone who observed public reactions to the MeToo movement. Technopathology talks about the importance of the MeToo movement, but couples that with their disbelief in the specific allegations against Gaiman.

In the introduction, the author mentioned something that made me sit up in my seat:

I wasn't completely unprepared, I am after all a journalist and make all of my paltry income from writing. I have a steady beat with technology trade magazines, and used to pen a lot of political articles for The Canary. But I had no idea what form the investigation should take. It was new territory.

So, a fellow (ex-)Canary writer. One other mention of the Canary on the blog indicated that they were around for the inception of the site, long before my time or that of most of the current employees. After a bit of digging, we're confident in our guess on who they are, but that's not terribly important for this article.

Fact and speculation

Some of the points that Technopathology raises in their articles are valid. In particular, they highlight that the allegations against Gaiman were gleefully seized upon and amplified by elements of the far-right, including Nazi-types and transphobes, due to Gaiman's Jewish heritage and outspoken support for LGBTQ+ causes.

However, other conclusions that they draw are much more of a stretch. This includes speculation that one accuser, Caroline Wallner, could in fact have known another, Scarlet Pavlovich, before they made their allegations, which could potentially cast doubt on the similarities in their accounts of Gaiman's behavior.

The problem is that Technopathology's speculation rests on the fact that Wallner is a friend of Michael Stipe, the lead singer of REM:

Interestingly, Michael Stipe is good friends with Tilda Swinton, who Scarlett Pavlovich says personally gave her a scholarship to her school in Scotland. I'm not altogether convinced that there was no prior contact between the accusers, so these degrees of separation are interesting.

This is quite an extraordinary reach, even if it is framed as a speculation.

Consent is consent

However, and most importantly, I feel that Technopathology elides some of the features of the cases that simply shouldn't be ignored. For example, the blogger highlights one exchange between Pavlovich and Gaiman, and the way the Master podcast framed it. Pavlovich told Gaiman that:

I have told Amanda [Palmer, Gaiman's then-wife] that even though it began questionably eventually it was undoubtedly consensual and I enjoyed it.

Technopathology then highlighted their problems with the the reporting of the exchange:

Master of course zooms in on ''questionably'' rather than ''undoubtedly consensual''. Questionable does not mean non-consensual, and it's not certain what element is questionable. There's always ways to do better.

I would point out that if the very first sexual encounter between two people features 'questionable' consent, then that's no consent at all. If consent isn't firmly and unambiguously established beforehand, it can't be gained retroactively when people are left to decide what happened. That's not how this is meant to work.

Pavlovich's relationship with Gaiman began the day she arrived at his house to work informally as a nanny. Gaiman ran her a bath in the middle of the garden. He then later climbed in with her. Technopathology quotes from Pavlovich's interview on Master regarding the encounter:

"He ended up sort of asking me to put my legs down and I ignored him."

We should note that he is 'asking', she is not compelled to put her legs down, thus revealing her body.

But the next time he asks, she does. There is no force here. This is an action freely taken, at Gaiman's request.

"He asked me again and sort of gestured, so I put them down."

Again, the problem with Technopathology's framing here is that when Gaiman made a sexual advance that Pavlovich didn't take up, that should have been the end of it. Anything after that point carries an implicit threat, because it doesn't take a lack of 'yes' as an answer in itself.

Neil Gaiman and Technopathology

Technopathology later writes that:

Reluctant consent vs enthusiastic consent is a big topic of discussion, but its a lot to go into here. Suffice to say, in legal terms, even reluctant consent is still consent - and it's not clear if she was reluctant at the time or if this a later reframing. Certainly the WhatsApp messages affirm an enthusiastic consent, effusively and repeatedly.

Definitions of sexual assault and rape vary from country to country. As such, I'm not particularly concerned with guilt or innocence in the law, and I won't make pronouncements on it.

However, what I will say with confidence is that anyone who was particularly concerned with consent probably wouldn't show up naked to a bathtub someone else was in without asking first.

Even if they missed that detail, making requests that the other person doesn't acquiesce to isn't a prompt to ask again.

Technopathology, among their many articles on Gaiman's purported innocence, analyses a lot of situations and exchanges around Gaiman in similar detail. You can go read them if you like.

However, I chose the bathtub scene as an illustrative example. The fact that Gaiman pointed specifically to Technopathology's Substack as the kind of journalistic integrity he expects is a point that I find damning in itself.

Yes, Technopathology poured at length over the reporting and some of the dubious motivations behind it. They also took it upon themself to scour the accusers' stories for inconsistencies. However, the blogger's actual understanding of consent is very, very different to mine, and - I would hope - most everyone else's, too.

If that's what Gaiman thinks is proof of his innocence, I'd hate to see his definition of guilt.

Featured image via the Canary

By The Canary

Spectators at an All Elite Wrestling (AEW( Dynamite wrestling match in Las Vegas had a message for Donald Trump. It was certainly not one that he will have enjoyed, particularly from a sport popular with what's left of his base.

As the wrestlers posed and glared at each other before the start, a chant from the crowd quickly grew to a volume where the message couldn't be missed - "Fuck ICE".

The commentators were silenced. The wrestlers' glares turned to raised eyebrows. But not in disapproval - at least in one corner of the ring. Challenger Brody King is a vocal opponent of Trump's Gestapo thugs, organises anti-ICE fundraising and community organising and wore an "Abolish ICE" t-shirt before a recent match.

His opponent 'MJF' - real name Maxwell Friedman - might be more of a mixed bag. He has described Palestinian resistance as terrorism - but at the same time said that:

I don't support terrorism, Zionism, genocide [or] genocidal governments, dead innocent Palestinians [and] dead innocent Israelis. I don't support people — any people — dying because of hate.

However, he then repeated typical Israel lobby talking points, claiming that:

people are calling for the death of Jews over something that's happening on the other side of the world.

Given ICE's strong links to Israeli terrorist forces, who knows what he made of the chanting.

You'll definitely enjoy it though:

https://www.thecanary.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/6i65s9kF1O1J38ym1.mp4

Featured image via YouTube screenshot/All Elite Wrestling

By Skwawkbox

The Met Police is refusing to admit the existence of a classified document, which pro-Israel groups used to lobby the government over the proscription of Palestine Action.

In a document produced by We Believe in Israel, Stop the Hate UK, and The Shield of David, it states:

In July 2022, the group was investigated under counter-terrorism protocols following intelligence suggesting contact between some of its members and individuals linked to Hamas-aligned networks abroad (see:Metropolitan Police briefing, classified)

It's well documented that the Zionist lobby group We Believe in Israel (WBII) was a primary actor among those lobbying for the proscription of Palestine Action. It published a report in June 2025, titled 'Palestine Action: A Case for Proscription under the Terrorism Act 2000'. Notably, the Guardian pointed out how Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's statement on the decision to proscribe Palestine Action was "similar" to the wording from this report.

Of course, The Canary's least favourite MP - Luke Akehhurst is the former director of WBII. The self-proclaimed 'Zionist shitlord' previously claimed Israel's actions in Gaza were 'proportionate'.

Importantly, one of the other organisations involved in authoring the most recent report is Stop the Hate UK. This is the same group that has been attacking pro-Palestine activists and journalists.

Met Police refusal to answer

The Canary wanted to know whether the Met Police had shared classified documents with these pro-genocide hate groups, or whether someone had leaked them. We sent a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Met Police. In it, we asked if the Met had authorised the disclosure of the briefing to the three pro-Israel lobby groups. If it confirmed this, we wanted any documents related to the Met signing this off.

Additionally, we stipulated that if the document was not shared, whether the Met was aware of a leak, and whether they had taken action.

It took the Met over two months to respond to the initial FOI request, which is double the legal limit. In it, they stated:

The MPS is aware of a recent newspaper article which contained an allegation. As a result, the following press lines were issued:

IF ASKED: re alleged info shared about CT[counter-terror] investigations linked to Palestine Action with We Believe in Israel? No knowledge of any such information being shared with this group. Refer back to the group for clarification over this reference in their report.

It went on to say:

The Metropolitan Police Service can neither confirm nor deny whether it holds any information of relevance as the duty in Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) does not apply by virtue of the following exemptions:

• Section 23(5) - Information supplied by, or relating to, bodies dealing with security matters
• Section 24(2) - National Security
• Section 30(3) - Criminal Investigations
• Section 31(3) - Law Enforcement
• Section 40(5)(B)(a)(i) - Personal Information

Still no answers…

We then asked for an internal review. Specifically, we asked them to reply to the part of our original FOI where we asked:

whether the MPS has investigated/is investigating how this classified document came to be in the possession of the three aforementioned third parties.

It then took them a further three months to reply. When they did, the Met said:

To clarify the MPS is neither confirming nor denying that any documentation i.e. this briefing document, is held. To answer the second part of your request, namely "if the Met was aware of the leak and b) if it has taken any action over it…providing details of this (how it became aware, what action it is taking, procedures going forward)" would inadvertently be confirming that a document existed, had been leaked and the MPS were investigating how this occurred and this is the very matter we are seeking to neither confirm nor deny that the MPS held this information.

So the Met is refusing to say whether a) it shared information with the three pro-Israeli groups or b) information was leaked to the same groups. Additionally, it's also refusing to say whether this 'classified briefing' mentioned by the groups even exists.

It's also unclear what role this report, which mentioned the classified briefing, then played in Yvette Cooper's case for proscribing Palestine Action.

Of course, it's arguably strongly in the public interest to know what the Met knows about this. There's no world in which pro-Israel lobby groups should have access to classified police documents. The Met has questions to answer - but naturally it's refusing.

Collusion with pro-Israel lobby groups certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility. In fact, the Met's constant raids and arrests of pro-Palestine activists and the links with Zionist auditors targeting them make it seem all the more likely.

Feature image via HG

By HG

Soft left New Statesman digital editor Oli Dugmore was a guest on BBC Question Time on 5 February 2026. And he had a scathing verdict on the normalisation of paedophilia at the top of the Labour Party.

Oli Dugmore on BBCQT

Oli Dugmore said that he generally doesn't like to dismiss people according to the worst thing they've ever done - but wouldn't want to be friends with, let alone work with, someone who rapes children. But he said that view is "fringe" among senior Labour figures. Instead, they look at Epstein fanboy Peter Mandelson and think "that's our man in Washington":

https://www.thecanary.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Dugmore-Mandelson-Qt-Subbed-1-hb.mp4

He was also clear that Starmer knew all along about Mandelson's closeness to serial child-rapist and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer didn't need the security services to tell him, because a quick Google search revealed plenty.

Of course he knew.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

Anti-genocide direct action activist Drew Robson has today, 6 February 2025, won his appeal to quash his conviction for criminal damage. Robson occupied the Manchester office of Fisher German, at the time property manager for Israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems. The firm eventually cut all ties with Elbit after a sustained pressure campaign.

Drew Robson wins his appeal

Drew Robson's appeal victory comes hot on the heels of a jury's refusal to convict six members of the 'Filton 24' group of anti-genocide direct action activists. They were the first of their group to face trial and won despite the attempts of a judge to pressure the jury into convicting. If found guilty, all could have faced sentences of up to 20 years prison. The 24 have been jailed for up to 19 months without trial. Some face more than a year's further wait as Starmer seeks to protect Israel by punishing protest and free speech against genocide.

 

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Featured image via screengrab

By Skwawkbox

A jury decided on 4 February to acquit anti-genocide protesters. But because establishment mouthpieces like Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch have a problem with people protesting against Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza, they have chimed in. And many believe they're in contempt of court as a result.

The decision was a "huge victory" for people opposing genocide. But it was also a clear critique of the government's highly controversial and wasteful political decision to proscribe non-violent direct-action group Palestine Action.

The establishment's anger was clear, though. It had done all it could to influence proceedings and moved to attack jury trials. But its efforts to stop fairness prevailing failed.

Entirely reasonable that there's so much fury that a jury of 12 ordinary people, having heard all the evidence, has reached a verdict that does not accord with the directions of the judge, Starmer's government and the billionaire-owned media.

Who do these people think they are?

— Jonathan Cook (@Jonathan_K_Cook) February 5, 2026

Kemi Badenoch chimes in

In this context, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch gave her thoughts. Despite not having been in court, not seeing all the evidence the jurors saw, and no court finding an activist guilty of injuring a police officer, she repeated a dangerous smear relating to the ongoing legal case:

Nothing to see here, just the leader of the opposition committing contempt of court live on national television.

This accusation lead to no conviction after a jury were given the full context. Nobody was "attacked viciously" or has "[gotten] away with it".

The case is ongoing. pic.twitter.com/I5mmlMS0bg

— Defend Our Juries (@DefendOurJuries) February 5, 2026

Kemi Badenoch has expressed very pro-Israel views and maintained close ties with the Conservative Friends of Israel lobby group.

Tory Chris Philp, who is also close to the Israel lobby, added his dodgy take too:

Coming from the same man which met with Elbit Systems when he was a minister

The meeting in April 2023 was to discuss Palestine Action, and involved the police, a representative of the CPS and arms manufacturers.

Isn't the judiciary supposed to be free from political influence? https://t.co/7WozMKNBw8

— Huda Ammori (@HudaAmmori) February 5, 2026

Five defendants admitted to destroying weapons and equipment of Israeli arms dealer Elbit Systems, which has been profiting from Israel's genocide. And the jury accepted that they had acted according to their conscience.

After over 500 days in jail. https://t.co/NWkMnzsGcd

— Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline) February 4, 2026

The government uses remand to imprison those it knows it can't convict. https://t.co/Br4qimBi64

— Ghassan Abu Sitta (@GhassanAbuSitt1) February 4, 2026

This has left the proscription case against Palestine Action in tatters.

It is only a matter of time before the ban will be lifted.

— Huda Ammori (@HudaAmmori) February 5, 2026

BREAKING: Jury unwilling to find guilty 6 Palestine Action activists

Today's judgments are hugely important.

The unwillingness of the jury to find Palestine Action activists guilty further highlights how disproportionate the decision to proscribe the organization was.… pic.twitter.com/GHQEEBLsD3

— Amnesty UK (@AmnestyUK) February 4, 2026

Establishment whine because justice prevailed

The police, meanwhile, also complained:

Police apparently attempting to undermine judicial process…

Officers gave a very questionable account of an incident that had already been sensationalised in the press. A jury didn't convict, because they weren't convinced.

The jury saw all of the evidence.
These lot did not. https://t.co/37MhX5GJK0

— Defend Our Juries (@DefendOurJuries) February 5, 2026

The serious injuries lie https://t.co/BaZR9bzbaU pic.twitter.com/4tf6CkDipW

— Dr Iain Darcy

Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft eye $635B in infrastructure spend

AIpocolypse Four tech megacorps intend to collectively fork out roughly $635 billion this year on capex, much of it for datacenters and AI infrastructure - more than the entire output of Israel's economy and well beyond all global cloud infrastructure services revenue generated last year.…

People who are interested in a live TV streaming service are probably looking for one (or all three) of the following: current sports matchups, breaking news and cable-like channels. We tried all the major providers to see what you get for your monthly bill — particularly in light of the fact that every live TV streamer has raised prices over the past year or two. That said, in most markets, a live TV streaming service is still more cost-effective than cable. And you still don't have to sign a contract. Right now, we think YouTube TV is the most well-rounded option — but the others might have more of what you're looking for. Here are the best live TV streaming services based on our testing.

Editor's note: The blackout of NBC channels on Fubo's service continues, with no end in sight. That means fans hoping to catch the Super Bowl will need to look elsewhere. We've detailed your options below. 

Best live TV streaming services for 2026

How to watch the 2026 Super Bowl with a streaming service

This year, the Super Bowl will take place on Sunday, February 8, 2026 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. NBC has the rights to air the broadcast, which means you can watch it with a live TV streaming subscription to YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV or DirecTV. Sling Blue plans include NBC in certain markets only. NBC channels are dark on Fubo as the company and NBC are still in negotiations. The traditional streaming service Peacock, which is owned by NBC, will also air the game. Those plans start at just $8 per month, which is nearly the cheapest way to watch. However, if you have a digital antenna, you can pick up the game's broadcast signal from your local NBC affiliate for free.

How can I stream NFL games for free?

If you have a digital antenna hooked up to your TV, you can grab games that are broadcast over the airways for your region by tuning into your local CBS, Fox, NBC and ABC stations. You can buy a digital antenna for between $20 and $60. 

Alternatively, you can check out your local sports bar and watch the game for the price of a soda and maybe some nachos. As it turns out, bars and restaurants that provide those games to customers have to pay a ton of cash to do so, so you may as well take advantage of the opportunity.

Will Peacock stream the Super Bowl?

Yes. Peacock is owned by NBC Universal, which holds the rights to stream the big game this year. The Super Bowl will stream on both Peacock (all tiers) and local NBC stations (Premium Plus tier). The cheapest tier of Peacock's service starts at $8 per month. 

Can you stream live football on YouTube?

September 5, 2025 marked the first time YouTube was an official live NFL broadcaster when it aired the Friday night, week-one game of the 2025 NFL season from São Paulo, Brazil. It pit the Los Angeles Chargers against the Kansas City Chiefs (LA won 21-27) and aired worldwide on YouTube for free as well as for subscribers to YouTube TV.

There are no other plans for YouTube to air live NFL games for the 2025-6 season for free.

Best free live TV streaming services for 2026

There are loads of ways to get free TV these days. To start, many standard streaming apps have added live components to their lineups — even Netflix. Peacock Premium Plus subscriptions include regional NBC stations. Paramount+ Premium subscribers can watch on-air CBS programming. The new Fox One service includes multiple live Fox stations. True, if you're already paying for a service it's not technically "free" but at least the live content isn't extra.

The smart TV operating system (OS) you use likely provides free live content too: Amazon's Fire TV, Google/Android TV, Roku's built-in Roku Channel and Samsung's TV Plus all have hundreds of live channels and original programming. Some of the paid services we recommend above have a free version — namely Sling Freestream, Fubo Free (available after you cancel) and DirecTV's MyFree. But if you're looking for more, here are the best free ad-supported TV (FAST) apps with live TV that we tried:

What to look for in a live TV streaming service How to stream live TV

Streaming live TV is a lot like using Netflix. You get access through apps on your phone, tablet, smart TV or streaming device and the signal arrives over the internet. A faster and more stable connection tends to give you a better experience. Most live TV apps require you to sign up and pay via a web browser. After that, you can activate the app on all of your devices.

Monthly Price

When I started testing these cord-cutting alternatives, I was struck by the price difference between live TV and a standard video streaming app. Where the latter cost between $5 and $20 per month, most live TV services hit the $80 mark and can go higher than $200 with additional perks, channel packages and premium extras. The higher starting price is mostly due to the cost of providing multiple networks — particularly sports and local stations. And, in the past year or so, every service has raised base plan prices.

Local channels

Only two of the services I tried don't include full local channel coverage for subscribers and one of those makes no effort to carry sports at all. That would be Philo and, as you might guess, it's the cheapest. The next most affordable option, Sling, only carries three local stations — and only in larger markets — but it still manages to include some of the top sports channels.

When you sign up with any provider that handles local TV, you'll enter your zip code, ensuring you get your area's broadcast affiliates for ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. Of course, you can also get those stations for free. Nearly all modern television sets support a radio frequency (RF) connection, also known as the coaxial port, which means if you buy an HD antenna, you'll receive locally broadcast stations like ABC, CBS, PBS, FOX and NBC. And since the signal is digital, reception is much improved over the staticky rabbit-ears era.

But local channel access is another area where traditional streaming services, like Netflix, are bleeding into broadcast territory. For example, you can watch your local NBC station with a Peacock subscription and you can tune into your area's CBS station through your Paramount+ subscription. Netflix is even getting into the mix with a recently announced deal with one of France's broadcast companies, TF1. The streaming service will now air TF1's live TV channels and on-demand content inside the Netflix app. No word if the concept will expand to other regions, but it's an interesting move to anyone interested in the future of streaming.

Live sports coverage

One reality that spun my head was the sheer number and iterations of sports networks in existence. Trying to figure out which network will carry the match-up you want to see can be tricky. I found that Google makes it a little easier for sports fans by listing out upcoming games (just swap in NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and so on in the search bar). When you click an event, the "TV & streaming" button will tell you which network is covering it.

That just leaves figuring out if your chosen service carries the RSNs (regional sports networks) you want. Unfortunately, even with add-ons and extra packages, some providers simply don't have certain channels in their lineups. It would take a lawyer to understand the ins and outs of streaming rights negotiations, and networks leave and return to live TV carriers all the time. That said, most major sporting events in the US are covered by ESPN, Fox Sports, TNT, USA and local affiliates.

I should also point out that traditional streaming services have started adding live sports to their lineups. Peacock carries live Premier League matches, Sunday Night Football games and aired the 2024 Olympic Games from Paris. Thursday Night Football as well as NBA and WNBA games are on Amazon Prime and Christmas Day Football airs on Netflix. HBO Max (formerly, er, HBO Max) now airs select, regular season games from the NHL, MLB, NCAA and NBA with a $10-per-month add-on. 

You can watch MLS games with an add-on through the Apple TV app, and Apple TV+ (now just called Apple TV) includes some MLB games. Roku users can watch the just-added free sports channel and those who subscribe to Paramount Plus can see many of the matches aired on CBS Sports, including live NFL games. In 2025, January's Super Bowl was live-streamed for free on Tubi. While all of these alternatives may not cover as much ground as live TV streamers, they could end up being cheaper avenues to the sports you want.

And if sports is all you're after, there are sports-only plans that are a touch cheaper, too. The promised sports streaming service from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. called Venu was cancelled early this year. But on August 21, ESPN launched its own streaming service that includes all ESPN channels and costs $30 per month. Fubo Sports is $56 monthly and includes local broadcast stations from ABC, CBS and FOX plus a slew of sports networks (CBS Sport and FS1 among them) as well as all networks included with ESPN Unlimited.  

Fox launched its own standalone service in August as well and it includes Fox Sports and all other Fox properties (News, Business, Weather) for $20 monthly. DirecTV also has a $70-per-month, sports-only streaming package called MySports and Comcast has a sports and news bundle for that same price (as long as you're an Xfinity customer with auto-pay, otherwise it's more expensive).

Traditional cable networks

Dozens of linear programming networks were once only available with cable TV, like Bravo, BET, Food Network, HGTV, CNN, Lifetime, SYFY and MTV. If you only subscribe to, say, Netflix or Apple TV+, you won't have access to those. But as with sports, standard streamers are starting to incorporate this content into their offerings. After the Warner Bros. merger, Max incorporated some content from HGTV, Discovery and TLC. Peacock has Bravo and Hallmark shows, and Paramount+ has material from Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central.

Other entertainment channels like AMC+ have stand-alone apps. The Discovery+ app gives you 15 channels ad-free for $10 per month (or with ads for $6 monthly). And a service called Frndly TV starts at a mere $7 per month and streams A&E, Lifetime, Game Show Network, Outdoor Channel and about 35 others. Of course, most live TV streaming options will deliver more sizable lists of cable networks, but just note that you may already be paying for some of them — and if all you need is a certain channel, you could get it cheaper by subscribing directly.

On-demand streaming

Most live TV subscriptions include access to a selection of video-on-demand (VOD) content, like you would get with a traditional streaming service. Much of this content is made up of the movies and TV series that have recently aired on your subscribed networks. This typically doesn't cover live events and news programming, but I was able to watch specific episodes of ongoing shows like Top Chef or BET's Diarra from Detroit. Just search the on-demand library for the program, pick an episode and hit play.

Partnerships, like Hulu's relationship with Disney, and add-ons, such as bundling Max with your YouTube TV subscription or Starz with your Sling plan, will let you watch even larger libraries of on-demand content. But again, if VOD is all you're after, paying for those networks directly instead of through a live TV plan will be far cheaper.

Digital video recordings (DVR) limits

Every option I tried offers some cloud DVR storage without needing a separate physical device. You'll either get unlimited storage for recordings that expires after nine months or a year, or you'll get a set number of hours (between 50 and 1,000) that you can keep indefinitely. Typically, all you need to do is designate what ongoing TV series you want to record and the DVR component will do all the hard work of saving subsequent episodes for you to watch later. You can do the same thing with sports events.

Aside from being able to watch whenever it's most convenient, you can also fast-forward through commercials in recorded content. In contrast, you can't skip them on live TV or VOD.

Simultaneous streams and profiles per account

Each plan gives you a certain number of simultaneous streams, aka how many screens can play content at the same time. And while most providers will let you travel with your subscription, there are usually location restrictions that require you to sign in from your home IP address periodically. Stream allowances range from one at a time to unlimited screens (or as many as your ISP's bandwidth can handle). Some plans require add-ons to get more screens.

Most services also let you set up a few profiles so I was able to give different people in my family the ability to build their own watch histories and libraries, set their favorite channels and get individual recommendations.

Picture-in-picture mode and multiview

Picture-in-picture (PiP) usually refers to shrinking a video window on a mobile device or computer browser so you can watch it while using other apps. Sling, YouTube TV, FuboTV, Philo, DirecTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV all have PiP modes on computers and mobile devices. 

Another feature, multiview, lets you view multiple (usually four) sports matches or other live content at once on your TV screen. YouTube TV, FuboTV and now DirecTV all let you do this. With YouTube TV, you can select up to four views from a few preset selection of streams. FuboTV offers the same feature, but only if you're using an Apple TV or Roku streaming device. DirecTV lets you do so through "mixes" which include sports, news, business and kids variants with a set four channels in each mix.

4K live streams

Right now, just FuboTV, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream offer 4K live streams — but with caveats. YouTube TV requires a $20-per-month add-on, after which you'll only be able to watch certain live content in 4K. DirecTV Stream has three channels that show live 4K content — one with shows and original series, and two with occasional sporting events. You don't have to pay extra for these but you do need to have either DirecTV's Gemini receiver, or a device from Fire TV, Apple TV or Roku. You'll need those same streaming devices to watch the select 4K programming on Sling as well. FuboTV shows certain live events in 4K but access is limited to the Elite and Premier packages, not the base-level Pro plan.

Of course, watching any 4K content also requires equipment that can handle it: a 4K smart TV or 4K streaming device paired with a cord and screen that can handle 4K resolution.

Tiers, packages and add-ons

Comparing price-to-offering ratios is a task for a spreadsheet. I… made three. The base plans range from $28 to $85 per month. From there, you can add packages, which are usually groups of live TV channels bundled by themes like news, sports, entertainment or international content. Premium VOD extras like Max, AMC+ and Starz are also available. Add-ons cost an extra $5 to $20 each per month and simply show up in the guide where you find the rest of your live TV. This is where streaming can quickly get expensive, pushing an $80 subscription to $200 monthly, depending on what you choose.

How to stream live TV for free

I also downloaded and tried out a few apps that offer free ad-supported TV (FAST) including Freevee, Tubi, PlutoTV and Sling Freestream. These let you drop in and watch a more limited selection of live networks at zero cost. Most don't even require an email address, let alone a credit card. And if you have a Roku device, an Amazon Fire TV or Stick, a Samsung TV, a Chromecast device or a Google TV, you already have access to hundreds of live channels via the Roku Channel, the live tab in Fire TV, through the Samsung TV Plus app or through Google TV.

How we tested live TV streaming services

When I begin testing for a guide, I research the most popular and well-reviewed players in the category and narrow down which are worth trying. For the paid plans, just six services dominate so I tried them all. There are considerably more free live TV contenders so I tested the four most popular. After getting accounts set up using my laptop, I downloaded the apps on a Samsung smart TV running the latest version of Tizen OS. I counted the local stations and regional sports coverage, and noted how many of the top cable networks were available. I then weighed the prices, base packages and available add-ons.

I then looked at how the programming was organized in each app's UI and judged how easy everything was to navigate, from the top navigation to the settings. To test the search function, I searched for the same few TV shows on BET, Food Network, HGTV and Comedy Central, since all six providers carry those channels. I noted how helpful the searches were and how quickly they got me to season 6, episode 13 of Home Town.

I used DVR to record entire series and single movies and watched VOD shows, making sure to test the pause and scan functions. On each service with sports, I searched for the same four upcoming NHL, NBA, MLS and NCAA basketball matches and used the record option to save the games and play them back a day or two later. Finally, I noted any extra perks or irritating quirks.

All live TV streaming services we've tested:

• Philo

• Sling

• YouTube TV

• Hulu + Live TV

• DirecTV Stream

• FuboTV

• Freevee

• Tubi

• PlutoTV

• Sling Freestream

• Plex

Live TV Streaming FAQs What is live streaming?

Streaming simply refers to video content that is delivered to your screen over the internet. Live streaming can be split into two categories: linear programming and simultaneous transmission. That first one is similar to what you get with cable or broadcast TV, with channels that play a constant flow of movies and shows (sort of what TV looked like before Netflix). Simultaneous streaming lets you watch live events (like a basketball game) or a program (like the evening news) as they happen.

What is the difference between streaming and live streaming?

Standard streaming, the most popular example being Netflix, lets you pick what you want to watch from a menu of choices. It's also referred to as "video on demand." Live streaming refers to sports and news events that you can stream as they happen in real time. It also refers to channels that show a continuous, linear flow of programming.

What streaming service is best for live TV?

FuboTV does the best job of letting you organize live channels to help you find just what you want to watch. The interface is uncluttered and when you search for something, the UI clearly tells you whether something is live now or on-demand. YouTube TV also does a good job making that info clear. Both have just over 100 live channels on offer.

What is the most cost effective TV streaming service?

Free TV streaming services like PlutoTV, Plex, Tubi and FreeVee show plenty of ad-supported TV shows and movies without charging you anything. Of course, they won't have the same channels or content that more premium subscriptions have. Ultimately it depends on what you want to watch and finding the service that can supply that to you in the most streamlined form so you're not paying for stuff you don't need.

Is it cheaper to have cable or streaming?

A basic cable package used to be more expensive than the base-level live TV streaming service. But now that nearly all major providers have raised their prices to over $75 per month, that's no longer the case. And with add-ons and other premiums, you can easily pay over $200 a month for either cable or a live TV streaming service. But those who want to cut the cord will appreciate that streaming services don't have contracts. 

What streaming service has all the TV channels?

No service that we tested had every available channel. Hulu + Live TV and DirecTV Stream carry the the highest number of the top rated channels, according to Neilsen. Hulu's service also gets you Disney+ fare, which you can't get elsewhere. FuboTV has the most sports channels and YouTube TV gives you the widest selection of add-ons.

What is the most popular live TV streaming platform?

YouTube TV has the most paying customers. According to 2024's

Finding a gift for the tech nerd in your life can be tough. They likely have all the tech they need and then some, but you can add to their kit with the right accessories. Apple, Samsung, Sony and other big tech companies all have affordable gear that comes in at $100 or less, you just have to know where to look. Below are some of our favorites, but it's worth remembering: you can often find alternatives that are just as good (and sometimes better) than these. But for the people in your life for which brand names really do matter, these gifts will speak to them.

Best tech gifts for $100 or less

Check out the rest of our gift ideas here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/the-best-tech-gifts-for-100-or-less-from-apple-nintendo-google-and-others-130038608.html?src=rss

Attackers may have snapped user locations and activity information, message warns

Legacy image-sharing website Flickr suffered a data breach, according to customers emails seen by The Register.…

Spotify is rolling out a feature called About the Song which lets fans learn a bit more about their favorite tunes. This "brings stories and context" into the listening experience, sort of like that old VH1 show Pop Up Video.

How does it work? The Now Playing View houses short, swipeable story cards that "explore the meaning" behind the music. This information is sourced from third parties and the company promises "interesting details and behind-the-scenes moments." All you have to do is scroll down until you see the card and then swipe.

This is rolling out right now to Premium users on both iOS and Android, but it's not everywhere just yet. The beta tool is currently available in the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia.

Spotify has been busy lately, as this is just the latest new feature. The platform recently introduced a group messaging feature and prompt-based playlists.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/spotify-now-lets-you-swipe-on-songs-to-learn-more-about-them-164558366.html?src=rss

Good deals on Apple products aren't as frequent as we'd like them to be, but if there's one of the company's products that does seem to enjoy pretty regular price cuts, it's the AirTag. Right now you can pick up a four-pack of Apple's diminutive first-generation Bluetooth trackers for $64, which translates to 35 percent off and a near record low price.

Bear in mind that this deal brings the price per AirTag down to about $16 if you were to buy them individually, and when not on sale they usually cost $29. The single first-gen AirTags are also on sale right now, and you can pick one up for 41 percent off at $17.

If you use Apple devices and consider yourself to be a serial thing-misplacer, AirTags are extremely useful. Adding one to your account takes a single tap, and with Apple's Find My network so well established, locating missing items has never been easier.

Using your iPhone you can trigger a sound from the AirTag's built-in speaker, or alternatively Precision Finding can be used to pinpoint its location via Find My. You just follow the instructions on your iPhone, paying attention to the vibrations that signal you're getting closer.

A reminder again that the above deals apply to the first-generation AirTag only. Apple introduced a refreshed tracker with greater range and a louder speaker last month, which retails at the same price as its predecessor. For deals on the new AirTag, you may have to wait a bit.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/get-a-four-pack-of-first-gen-airtags-for-only-64-163619159.html?src=rss

UK leaps to sixth in global flood charts as mega-swarm unleashes 31.4 Tbps Yuletide pummeling

Cloudflare says DDoS crews ended 2025 by pushing traffic floods to new extremes, while Britain made an unwelcome leap of 36 places to become the world's sixth-most targeted location.…

Mark Ruffalo has taken to Threads to issue a brutal takedown of Kevin O'Leary after the billionaire mocked Billie Eilish's recent Grammy's speech in which she condemned ICE federal agents in the US.

O'Leary appeared on Fox News slating famous people who decide to 'get political'. However, the right-wing pundit might consider that their political decisions shape the lives of every citizen they govern, and that democracy demands people have a voice. Including celebrities.

Of course, it can't possibly be that the super-rich old white guy has vested interests in the current hostile immigration policy in the US:

Israel have been accused of spraying mysterious chemicals inside Lebanon.  Now the Lebanese PM and rights groups have called the attack a 'crime' after it emerged the chemicals were a potentially cancer-causing compound.

Prime minister Joseph Aoun called it an act of "aggression":

This is an environmental and health crime against Lebanese citizens and their land.

These dangerous practices that target agricultural lands and the livelihoods of citizens and threaten their health and environment require the international community and relevant United Nations organisations to assume their responsibilities to stop these attacks.

Israel accused of yet another war crime

Unifil, the UN mission in Lebanon, said shortly after the attack that they'd been told about the airborne operation. They also said that it had stopped peacekeepers carrying out their duties:

Peacekeepers could not perform normal operations near the Blue Line along about a third of its length and were only able to resume normal activities after over nine hours.

The Blue Line is a 120km strip which marks the line of Israel withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000. The UN and Lebanese army tested the chemicals. Those tests now seem to have come to a conclusion.

The Guardian said:

Lebanese authorities said that laboratory analysis identified that the spray contained glyphosate, a potent herbicide that was in 2015 classified by the World Health Organization as "probably carcinogenic to humans".

Lebanon's ministries of agriculture and the environment said some samples showed glyphosate at:

20 and 30 times higher than normal [use].

They said such high concentrations would:

damage vegetation in the targeted areas, with direct repercussions on agricultural production, soil fertility and ecological balance.

Others said this was another example of Israel's scorched earth policy.

War crime?

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said the "deeply alarming" attack may constitute a war crime:

The deliberate targeting of civilian farmland violates international humanitarian law, particularly the prohibition on attacking or destroying objects indispensable to civilian survival.

They added:

Large-scale destruction of private property without specific military necessity amounts to a war crime and undermines food security and basic livelihoods in the affected areas.

Euro-Med said they directly observed the spraying, which they considered part of

a systematic destruction of agricultural land.

The NGO warned:

This incident cannot be viewed in isolation from the scorched-earth policy pursued by the Israeli army.

Israel sprayed farmland with "pesticides of unknown composition in Syria in January 2026, causing:

widespread crop destruction, posing a serious threat to economic and food security and violating farmers' rights to work and to an adequate standard of living by destroying their primary sources of income without military justification.

Strip aways Zionist claims about birthright and indigeneity and you'll find nothing more mystical, historical or religiously motivated than an old-fashioned settler land grab. From Syria to Lebanon, Gaza to the West Back, the Israeli state will keep displacing locals and expanding its territory by whatever means it can, for as long as it can, until someone stops it.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

Zack Polanski has called out Wes Streeting for his relentless social media attacks during an interview with The London Standard.

Polanski pointed out that, unlike Streeting, he's a gay man who is not willing to throw the trans community under a bus.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Standard (@thelondonstandard)

In an interview with The London Standard, Polanski said:

Wes Streeting is attacking me every day on social media because I'm another gay man in politics who is not willing to throw the trans community under the bus and that exposes his abject immorality.

Polanski, a consistent vocal ally to trans communities, showed what sets him and the likes of right-wing brown-nosing cunt Streeting apart. He told the Evening Standard:

He must know what it's like to be othered but he's more bothered about power than protecting the other. It's disgraceful.

Of course, Streeting could use his lived experience of othering as a gay man in politics to recognise and challenge shared oppressions. Instead, he's sold out and used his privilege to demonise an already besieged group of people.

As Health Secretary, he's in the prime position to shape policies to improve healthcare access for trans people. Despite this, though, he's so far only surrendered to the transphobes.

Polanski takes on shady Streeting

Separately, Polanski also pointed out Streetings' links to Palantir, Peter Mandelson, and his lobbying company, as well as Palantir's new £330m NHS contract.

Respect. Zack Polanski on the urgent questions that need asking about Palantir, Peter Mandelson and his lobbying company, Wes Streeting and Palantir's £330 million NHS contract. https://t.co/MmZ0iviBBZ

— Andy Worthington (@GuantanamoAndy) February 5, 2026

Streeting's partner, Joe Dancey, also used to work as Peter Mandelson's assistant when he was an MP. He attempted to scrub that from his LinkedIn profile this week. Luckily, social media users have the receipts.

Then and now: Joe Dancey's LinkedIn profile on 18 Sept 2025 and today.
Spot the difference!

[Dancey is Wes Streeting's partner] pic.twitter.com/LCxQ2DwHFd

— Labour Right Watch (@LabourRightWtch) February 4, 2026

Previously, Polanski has also pointed out that Streeting has taken hundreds of thousands of pounds from private healthcare companies. Polanski has taken zero.

Murdering children is bad, Louis.

Wes Streeting may have taken over a quarter of a million pounds in private healthcare donations - but I haven't.

So it's quite simple to tell the truth. pic.twitter.com/RIgWEXmwgc

— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) January 22, 2026

The fact that Streeting feels the need to attack him on social media surely shows just how much the Green leader has him rattled.

From his vile transphobia to his links to Palantir and Epstein-pedo-bestie Peter Mandelson, Polanski is showing Streeting for the power-shielding wanker he is. We're very much here for it.

Featured image via HG

By HG

The Trump administration keeps demonstrating that it really hates affordable broadband. It particularly hates it when the government tries to make broadband affordable to poor people or rural school kids.

In just the last year the Trump administration has:

• Rewritten the infrastructure Act at the behest of telecom giants, ensuring that they can take $42.5 billion in taxpayer money without worrying about making sure the resulting broadband is affordable.
• Illegally threatened to withhold broadband grants from states that try to hold telecom monopolies accountable for overbilling or anti-competitive behavior.
• Destroyed a popular program that provided free broadband to poor rural school children.
• Tried relentlessly to destroy an FCC program that provides cheaper broadband to schools and rural communities (many of which voted for Trump).
• Dismantled the FCC's ability to stop telecom giants from ripping you off with hidden fees and usage caps.
• Illegally destroyed a law passed by Congress mandating the fair deployment of broadband to poor people and minority communities.
• Hijacked a program aimed at providing affordable fiber in order to slather Elon Musk with subsidies.

I'm sure I missed a few.

This week, the administration's war on affordable broadband shifted back to attacking the FCC Lifeline program, a traditionally uncontroversial, bipartisan effort to try and extend broadband to low income Americans. Brendan Carr (R, AT&T) has been ramping up his attacks on these programs, claiming (falsely) that they're riddled with state-sanctioned fraud:

"Carr's office said this week that the FCC will vote next month on rule changes to ensure that Lifeline money goes to "only living and lawful Americans" who meet low-income eligibility guidelines. Lifeline spends nearly $1 billion a year and gives eligible households up to $9.25 per month toward phone and Internet bills, or up to $34.25 per month in tribal areas."

For one, $9.25 is a pittance. It barely offsets the incredibly high prices U.S. telecom monopolies charge. Monopolies, it should be noted, only exist thanks to the coddling of decades of corrupt lawmakers like Carr, who've effectively exempted them from all accountability. That's resulted in heavy monopolization, limited competition, high prices, and low-quality service.

Two, there's lots of fraud in telecom. Most of it, unfortunately, is conducted by our biggest companies with the tacit approval of folks like FCC boss Brendan Carr. AT&T, for example, has spent decades ripping off U.S. schools and various subsidy programs, and you'll never see Carr make a peep about that. Fraud is, in MAGA world, only something involving minorities and poor people.

The irony is that the lion's share of the fraud in the Lifeline program has involved big telecom giants, like AT&T or Verizon, which, time and time again, take taxpayer money for poor people that the just made up. This sort of fraud, where corporations are involved, isn't of interest to Brendan Carr.

In this case, Carr is alleging (without evidence) that certain left wing states are intentionally ripping off the federal government, throwing untold millions of dollars at dead people for Lifeline broadband access. Something the California Public Utilities Commission has had to spend the week debunking:

"The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) this week said that "people pass away while enrolled in Lifeline—in California and in red states like Texas. That's not fraud. That's the reality of administering a large public program serving millions of Americans over many years. The FCC's own advisory acknowledges that the vast majority of California subscribers were eligible and enrolled while alive, and that any improper payments largely reflect lag time between a death and account closure, not failures at enrollment."

Brendan Carr can't overtly admit this (because he's a corrupt zealot), but his ideal telecom policy agenda involves throwing billions of dollars at AT&T and Comcast in exchange for doing nothing. That's it. That's the grand Republican plan for U.S. telecom. It gets dressed up as something more ideologically rigid, but coddling predatory monopolies has always been the foundational belief structure.

This latest effort by Carr and Trump largely appears to be a political gambit targeting California Governor Gavin Newsom, suggesting they're worried about his chances in the next presidential election. This isn't to defend Newsom; I've certainly noted how his state has a mixed track record on broadband affordability. But it appears this is mostly about painting a picture of Newsom, as they did with Walz in Minnesota, as a political opponent that just really loves taxpayer fraud.

Again though, actually policing fraud is genuinely the last thing on Brendan Carr's mind. If it was, he'd actually target the worst culprits on this front: corporate America.

UiPath, the Romanian unicorn, has agreed to buy WorkFusion, bringing a specialist in AI agents for financial-crime compliance into its fold as part of a broader push into agentic automation for the banking sector. The deal closed in UiPath's first quarter of fiscal 2027; financial terms were not disclosed. WorkFusion's software focuses on repetitive and resource-intensive parts of compliance work, from customer screening and anti-money-laundering (AML) checks to know-your-customer (KYC) investigations. "Financial institutions need intelligent solutions to combat sophisticated financial crimes and navigate evolving compliance requirements," said Daniel Dines, CEO of UiPath. Those capabilities now sit alongside UiPath's existing automation…

This story continues at The Next Web

Most people wouldn't leave their phones behind when they so much as go for a drive, but NASA astronauts have had to leave their phones on Earth while they went to work 250 miles away at the International Space Station. That is, until now.

In a post on X, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman shared that the Crew-12 and Artemis II astronauts will be allowed to bring smartphones along for the journey to the ISS and beyond. "We are giving our crews the tools to capture special moments for their families and share inspiring images and video with the world," Isaacman said.

While these won't be the first smartphone images captured in space — that distinction belongs to a trio of miniature phone-based satellites sent into Earth orbit in 2013 which succeeded where the earlier British STRaND-1 project failed. But thanks to the upcoming Artemis II mission, we can look forward to the first smartphone images from the moon's orbit. The March (for now) launch will be the agency's first crewed moon mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.

The crews' personal devices will be far less cumbersome to use than the old Nikon DSLRs they were previously limited to for high-quality still images. Ideally, this means more spontaneous pictures that can be shared with friends and family back on Earth.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-will-now-allow-astronauts-to-take-their-smartphones-to-space-151310548.html?src=rss

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The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are coming up. (Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images) Mattia Ozbot via Getty Images

The 2026 Winter Olympics are taking place in Italy this year, with all the action taking place in Milan and the Alpine city of Cortina. This year marks the fourth time Italy has hosted the Winter Games; most recently, Turin hosted in 2006. Of the 16 sports that will be featured at the Winter Olympics, there will be 15 returning favorites, including figure skating, Alpine skiing, curling, ice hockey, speedskating, snowboarding, freestyle skiing and ski jumping, and one entirely new sport, snow mountaineering. (Will it be as big a hit as the 2024 Summer Games' new addition, breaking? It remains to be seen.)

Live coverage of every event at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will be available to stream on Peacock — though thanks to the time difference between Italy and the U.S., to watch many of the events live, you'll have to wake up (or stay up) until 2AM or 3AM ET. Primetime replays and select live coverage will air on NBC. The games officially kick off with the opening ceremony on Feb. 6, 2026.

Here's what else you need to know about watching the 2026 Winter Olympics.

How to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics

Dates: Feb. 6 - Feb. 22

TV channel: NBC

Streaming: Peacock

When are the 2026 Winter Olympics?

The Winter Olympics officially begin with the opening ceremony on Feb. 6, although some events will start as early as Feb. 4). The Milano Cortina 2026 games will run through Feb. 22. The closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics will take place in the Arena di Verona on Feb. 22.

Where are the Winter Olympics this year?

The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Northern Italy, primarily in Milan and also the Alpine mountain resort town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, where events like bobsled, skeleton, alpine skiing, curling, para snowboard, and more will take place.

What channel are the Olympics on?

The 2026 Winter Olympics will air on NBC and stream live on Peacock.

How to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics without cable

When is the Winter Olympics opening ceremony?

The Milano Cortina 2026 opening ceremony will be held on Feb. 6, 2026. Due to the time difference, the ceremony will kick off around 2PM ET/11AM PT.

Winter Olympics time difference

This year's Olympic Games are in Italy, which is 6 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time. Meaning that some events will start bright and early for U.S. viewers, and live coverage will likely wrap up around 4PM ET each day. NBC will have primetime replays of the biggest moments each night.

2026 Winter Olympics TV/streaming schedule:

All times Eastern.

Wednesday, Feb. 4 (early competition starts)

• Curling (round robin) - 2AM (Peacock - Live)

• Curling (round robin) - 8AM (Peacock - Live)

• Alpine skiing training - 3-6AM (Peacock - Live)

Thursday, Feb. 5

• Curling (round robin) - 2AM (Peacock - Live)

• Curling (round robin) - 8AM (Peacock - Live)

• Freestyle skiing qualifications - 4AM (Peacock - Live)

• Snowboard qualifications - 6AM (Peacock - Live)

Friday, Feb. 6 - opening ceremony

• Curling (round robin) - 2AM (Peacock - Live)

• Figure skating (team event short programs) - 6AM (Peacock - Live)

• Snowboard slopestyle qualifications - 6AM (Peacock - Live)

• Speedskating (early distances) - 8AM (Peacock - Live)

• opening ceremony - 2PM (Peacock - Live)

• opening ceremony - 8PM (NBC - Primetime)

Saturday, Feb. 7

• Alpine skiing (men's downhill) - 3AM (Peacock - Live)

• Snowboard slopestyle finals - 6AM (Peacock - Live)

• Speedskating medals - 7AM (Peacock - Live)

• Figure skating (team free programs) - 8AM (Peacock - Live)

• Hockey (group play begins) - 10AM (Peacock - Live)

Sunday, Feb. 8

• Alpine skiing (women's downhill) - 3AM (Peacock - Live)

• Freestyle skiing moguls finals - 6AM (Peacock - Live)

• Figure skating (pairs short program) - 8AM (Peacock - Live)

• Luge (singles runs) - 9AM (Peacock - Live)

• Hockey (group play) - 12PM (Peacock - Live)

Monday, Feb. 9

• Biathlon sprint - 5AM (Peacock - Live)

• Speedskating medals - 7AM (Peacock - Live)

• Figure skating (pairs free skate - medals) - 8AM (Peacock - Live)

• Curling (round robin) - 9AM (Peacock - Live)

• Skeleton (heat 1-2) - 11AM (Peacock - Live)

Tuesday, Feb. 10

• Alpine skiing (giant slalom) - 4AM (Peacock - Live)

• Snowboard halfpipe qualifications - 6AM (Peacock - Live)

• Figure skating (men's short program) - 8AM (Peacock - Live)

• Curling (round robin) - 10AM (Peacock - Live)

Wednesday, Feb. 11

• Nordic combined - 4AM (Peacock - Live)

• Freestyle skiing aerials finals - 6AM (Peacock - Live)

• Figure skating (men's free skate - medals) - 8AM (Peacock - Live)

• Speedskating medals - 11AM (Peacock - Live)

Thursday, Feb. 12

• Alpine skiing (slalom) - 4AM (Peacock - Live)

• Snowboard halfpipe finals - 6AM (Peacock - Live)

• Figure skating (ice dance rhythm dance) - 8AM (Peacock - Live)

• Curling (medal round qualifiers) - 10AM (Peacock - Live)

Friday, Feb. 13

• Biathlon pursuit - 5AM (Peacock - Live)

• Figure skating (ice dance free dance - medals) - 8AM (Peacock - Live)

• Skeleton finals - 10AM (Peacock - Live)

• Hockey (quarterfinals) - 12PM (Peacock - Live)

Saturday, Feb. 14

• Alpine skiing (team combined) - 4AM (Peacock - Live)

• Cross-country skiing distance race - 6AM (Peacock - Live)

• Figure skating (women's short program) - 8AM (Peacock - Live)

• Speedskating medals - 11AM (Peacock - Live)

Sunday, Feb. 15

• Snowboard cross finals - 6AM (Peacock - Live)

• Figure skating (women's free skate - medals) - 8AM (Peacock - Live)

• Luge relay - 11AM (Peacock - Live)

• Hockey (semifinals) - 1PM (Peacock - Live)

Monday, Feb. 16

• Freestyle skiing dual moguls - 6AM (Peacock - Live)

• Cross-country skiing team sprint - 8AM (Peacock - Live)

• Curling (medal games) - 10AM (Peacock - Live)

Tuesday, Feb. 17

• Biathlon relay - 5AM (Peacock - Live)

• Speedskating team pursuit - 7AM (Peacock - Live)

• Hockey (placement games) - 12PM (Peacock - Live)

Wednesday, Feb. 18

• Alpine skiing (final technical events) - 4AM (Peacock - Live)

• Freestyle skiing big air - 6AM (Peacock - Live)

• Curling (gold medal match) - 9AM (Peacock - Live)

Thursday, Feb. 19

• Cross-country skiing marathon - 6AM (Peacock - Live)

• Snowboard parallel events - 8AM (Peacock - Live)

• Hockey (bronze medal games) - 1PM (Peacock - Live)

Friday, Feb. 20

• Biathlon mass start - 6AM (Peacock - Live)

• Speedskating final medals - 8AM (Peacock - Live)

• Figure skating gala - 1PM (Peacock - Live)

Saturday, Feb. 21

• Men's hockey gold medal game - 12PM (Peacock - Live)

• Women's hockey gold medal game - 3PM (Peacock - Live)

• Men's hockey gold medal game - 8PM (NBC - Primetime)

Sunday, Feb. 22 - closing ceremony

• Cross-country skiing final event - 6AM (Peacock - Live)

• closing ceremony - 2PM (Peacock - Live)

• closing ceremony - 8PM (NBC - Primetime)

More ways to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics on NBC

While Peacock is the best way to watch the Winter Olympics, there are other options if you restrict yourself to the NBC broadcasts. As our guide to the best live TV streaming services to cut cable notes, both YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV are excellent options, but you'll want to skip Fubo until and unless the service resolves its contract dispute with Comcast, as NBC channels remain unavailable for now.  

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/olympics-2026-how-to-watch-schedule-of-events-and-everything-else-you-need-to-know-about-the-winter-games-172409755.html?src=rss

Uber must pay a passenger who accused one of its drivers of rape $8.5 million, a federal jury in Phoenix has ordered. The jury found Uber liable for its driver's misconduct, determining that the driver was an agent of the company. Part of Uber's defense was that it's not responsible for what its drivers do, as they are independent contractors. This decision is for but one of the 3,000 similar cases against Uber that have been consolidated in federal court. It was a bellwether trial meant to determine the possible outcomes of the other cases, as well as the possible settlements. As The Guardian explains, the results for this case could be used as a precedent for all the other pending lawsuits if the verdict is upheld by the appeals court.

The case chosen for the bellwether trial was filed by Jaylynn Dean, who said she was raped by her Uber driver in 2023. Dean said she was intoxicated when she ordered an Uber to take her back home from her boyfriend's apartment after celebrating passing a test for her flight attendant training. The driver allegedly stopped at a dark parking lot and raped her in the backseat.

Uber argued that the driver had no criminal history, had completed training and had excellent passenger feedback. The company's camp also presented its safety measures, including the development of a machine-learning tool that can assess the risk of potential rides. But Dean's lawyers showed evidence during the trial that she was tagged as high risk for a serious safety incident just before her ride arrived and that she wasn't notified about it. They also presented documents suggesting that Uber resisted introducing in-car cameras, because it would slow down growth. "Women know it's a dangerous world. We know about the risk of sexual assault," Dean's layer said in her closing arguments. "They made us believe that this was a place that was safe from that."

Despite the jury holding Uber liable for the incident, it determined that the company wasn't negligent when it comes to safety practices and its app's safety systems were not faulty. "This verdict affirms that Uber acted responsibly and has invested meaningfully in rider safety," an Uber spokesperson told The New York Times. He also said that Uber plans to appeal the jury's decision. In addition to the 3,000 lawsuits consolidated in federal court, Uber is also facing 500 similar cases in California state court. Last year, a California jury found that the company was not liable for a sexual assault that the plaintiff alleged her driver had committed back in 2016.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/uber-ordered-to-pay-85-million-to-passenger-who-accused-a-driver-of-rape-141800931.html?src=rss

One of the more surprising tech developments in 2025 was Google bringing two-way support for Apple's AirDrop functionality to its Pixel 10 series of phones. At the time, Google said it intended to expand the feature to other devices at a later date, and that date could be just around the corner.

At a press briefing attended by Android Authority at Google's Taipei office, Eric Kay, Android's Vice President of Engineering, confirmed that AirDrop interoperability will expand in 2026. "We spent a lot of time and energy to make sure that we could build something that was compatible not only with iPhone but iPads and MacBooks," he said. "Now that we've proven it out, we're working with our partners to expand it into the rest of the ecosystem, and you should see some exciting announcements coming very soon."

Right now, Pixel 10 users can send and receive files and photos between Apple devices and Android using Quick Share. For an Android device to receive from an iPhone, they have to set their Quick Share visibility settings to "everyone for 10 minutes" and make sure they're in "receive" mode on the Quick Share page.

It's a similar story for an Android-to-Apple file share. You have to set your iPhone, iPad or Mac's Airdrop visibility to "anyone for 10 minutes," which enables someone from outside your contacts to use Quick Share on their Pixel 10.

When this feature launched, it wasn't clear how much involvement, if any, Apple had had, or if the infamous walled garden would once again banish Android-minded intruders in a subsequent software update. But that hasn't happened, and back in November, Qualcomm confirmed that devices powered by its Snapdragon chips would also soon be able to transfer files to iPhones using Quick Share, suggesting that Pixel exclusivity wouldn't last for much longer.

Google's own willingness to play nice with Apple gear is seemingly a move designed to make the lives easier of anyone thinking about making the jump from an iPhone to an Android device. As reported by Android Authority, Kay also said his company was committed to making it as simple as possible to transfer data when switching.

It wasn't that long ago that the idea of Apple and Google teaming up to make device-hopping more consumer-friendly was the stuff of fantasy, but in December it emerged that the longstanding rivals were working on a new simplified data transfer system. Each company already offers a method for swapping ecosystems, but a new build of Android Canary hinted at something that would work at the operating system level.

Last month, Apple and Google also released a joint statement confirming previous reports that the new version of Siri will utilise Google Gemini's models, effectively resulting in a Google-powered voice assistant on your iPhone.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/google-will-soon-offer-airdrop-support-on-more-android-devices-141523521.html?src=rss

Windows giant might try turning it off and on again to see who notices

Microsoft has laid out a timeline for the disablement and shutdown of Exchange Web Services (EWS) in Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online.…

Labour Together is part of the shady right-wing infrastructure that, along with Peter Mandelson, helped to undermine the left and boost Keir Starmer into power. And a new report reveals how Labour Together spent tens of thousands of pounds getting a dodgy company to investigate journalists looking into all this. This behaviour shows it's not just Mandelson that should never be near government again. It's the whole sinister machinery that put Starmer where he is today, including his right-hand man and Mandelson protege Morgan McSweeney.

"Dark shit" from the Labour right machine thanks to Morgan McSweeney

Journalists Khadija Sharife and Peter Geoghegan have reported that Labour Together paid APCO Worldwide "at least £30,000" in 2023 to dig dirt on reporters who were uncovering Labour Together's actions. In the past, APCO has worked with companies like Israeli arms dealer Elbit and big tobacco firms.

To win the Labour leadership campaign in 2020, Keir Starmer's team hid where he'd been getting his support from. In particular, his backers in Morgan McSweeney's Labour Together had concealed donations to the value of £730,000 from 2017 to 2020.

Labour Together wanted to defeat the left via "soft branding that made them seem warm and cuddly". So funding from pro-Israel millionaires would not have been a good look. And when journalists Gabriel Pogrund and Harry Yorke revealed in 2023 the funding Labour Together hadn't declared, the shady group clearly panicked.

Now under Josh Simons (who is currently a minister), Labour Together got APCO to look at potential "leverage" they could exert over "significant persons of interest", from Pogrund and Yorke to other journalists (including Declassified and ex-Canary reporter John McEvoy). They clearly hoped to discredit this reporting.

A political think tank hiring private investigators to target journalists and their sources. Why? Because unlike those in our profession who enjoy cosying up to power, they chose to report the facts. This should be treated as a scandal.

— Taj Ali (@Taj_Ali1) February 5, 2026

While sources insist Morgan McSweeney didn't make the call, it appears he "was aware of it". None of the relevant parties responsible wanted to respond on record. But even former Labour Together member Jon Cruddas said:

This is dark shit.

And that wasn't the only time Labour Together did this either. Around the same time, it also hired investigators to look at Paul Holden - author of The Fraud - and Andrew Feinstein (who slashed Starmer's vote count in 2024).

"Deeply sinister"

Upon discovering that Labour Together had gone after him over his journalistic work, John McEvoy told the Canary:

The news that Labour Together, the brainchild of Keir Starmer's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, was paying a PR firm to investigate journalists including myself is deeply sinister. Even more so that McSweeney was reportedly aware of this operation.

This is a man who owes his political career to the disgraced Peter Mandelson, friend of the world's most notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

He represents the rot at the heart of the Labour Party, and should be nowhere near power.

Starmer apparently still has "full confidence" in McSweeney, despite the latter pushing for Mandelson's ongoing involvement despite his close friendship to Epstein. Starmer would have been nothing in Labour, of course, without McSweeney's shady operation.

I have just learned that Labour Together, the think tank run by Keir Starmer's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, paid a PR firm £30,000 to secretly investigate me alongside other journalists.

Deeply sinister news. McSweeney should be nowhere near power.https://t.co/pM1Fmuk22E pic.twitter.com/wsSKBHcliI

— John McEvoy (@jmcevoy_2) February 5, 2026

Labour Together, Starmer, McSweeney, and Mandelson: "the rot at the heart of the Labour Party"

Labour Together has funded countless right-wing politicians, as have numerous millionaires backing the organisation or sharing its aims. This includes figures right at the top of the Labour Party, from Starmer to Rachel Reeves, Shabana Mahmood to David Lammy, and Yvette Cooper to John Healey.

One Labour Together donor, pro-Israel lobbyist Trevor Chinn, has been a key funder of efforts to empower Starmer and his ilk. And Chinn has managed to advocate inside the government for Israel's genocidal regime as a result.

There is also significant overlap between politicians getting money both the Labour Friends of Israel lobby group and either Chinn or Labour Together.

We strongly recommend you remember the names of everyone with links to this operation. Because it is nothing short of a scandal. And until this stops and there's full transparency, the little democracy we have in the UK will continue to be severely compromised.

Thanks to Paul Holden's 'The Fraud', the Labour Right's vehicle Labour Together is in the spotlight again. Here's the core of its funding network constructed from Electoral Commission data. Donors blue, 'donees' red. pic.twitter.com/R3FD4beZ35

— Tom Mills (@ta_mills) October 30, 2025

Featured image via the Canary

By Ed Sykes

Keen to divert attention away from the fact he's a massive fucking pedo, Donald Trump announced a new drugs initiative yesterday. TrumpRx will apparently give users "the world's lowest prices on prescription drugs". However, as with most of the pervert in chief's plans, this will benefit very few average Americans.

TrumpRx is too good to be true

TrumpRx is a direct-to-consumer marketplace that gives discounted drug prices direct from manufacturers. This is done using Most Favoured Nation pricing. This basically ensures a consumer gets the product at the lowest possible price in other countries. Customers get a coupon card which they can take to participating pharmacies.

The prices listed for drugs are, by all accounts, huge discounts, anything from 33-93% off. But as a British person, it also brings into stark focus just how much disabled Americans are expected to pay per month for vital medication. What do you fucking mean it's five hundred dollars a month for an asthma inhaler?!

There is, however, of course, a catch. The discounted drugs can only be purchased in cash. This means only those who can afford to buy the medication in the first place can access it. Most sick and disabled citizens rely on health insurance or government schemes such as Medicaid to afford their sky-high medication.

It's also not clear yet whether buying these drugs in cash will count towards health insurance deductibles in the way that traditional prescribing will. Which means patients could be shelling out what they think is a lower price every month, whilst facing higher-than-usual insurance bills.

This means that, once again, while Trump is appearing to help all Americans, he's only serving the wealthy few.

Trump stretching the truth again

The TrumpRX site boasts

Thanks to President Trump, the days of Big Pharma price-gouging are over. Leveraging the full weight and power of the United States of America, the President has ensured every American gets the lowest prices on prescription medications in the developed world.

This is, however, not true. According to Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker analysis, four other countries sell Ozempic for less than the $100 TrumpRx is boasting. These are also the manufacturer prices - not what the consumer often actually ends up paying. TrumpRx also has to warn that those with insurance could actually end up paying more than usual.

CNN pointed out that some of the medications listed are already available at the discounted prices Trump is bragging about

For instance, GoodRx lists multiple pharmacies where consumers can pick up Pfizer's Duavee, which is used to treat menopause symptoms, for $30.30 without insurance - the same price as on TrumpRx.

This isn't even Trump's idea, as many pharmacies and manufacturers already do this. As CNN also points out, Mark Cuban has been running Cost Plus Drug since 2022. Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk also has NovoCare, and Eli Lilly has Lilly Direct.

TrumpRx could drive up the drive of medication for those who need it most

There's also the fact that you don't require a prescription to purchase the drugs on TrumpRx. With a huge array of very popular and profitable drugs on offer, it could drive up the price for those who desperately need them. This could particularly be true in the case of Ozempic and other "weight loss" drugs, which are actually vital diabetes medications.

There are also fears that with these drugs being readily available at "knock-down" prices, greedy insurance companies might stop covering them. After all, if the government is claiming they're cheap, you don't need insurance for them, surely.

Stacie Dusetzina, a health policy professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center told a briefing hosted by KFF [also in the CNN article linked]

Even when you have very large discounts provided for brand-name drugs, they still end up with prices that are not really that affordable to the average person. We know from research that once a price goes above about $100 a month, that a lot of people stop filling their drugs at that price point.

Let's face it - Trump doesn't serve the average American

The fact of the matter is, this won't make much difference to those actually struggling with the costs of medications. It won't do anything to ease the pressures of sick and disabled Americans who have to fight with insurance companies and their own government to get the medication they need to survive.

But it will once again benefit the rich, because let's not forget who Trump really cares about.

Featured image via the Canary

By Rachel Charlton-Dailey

Council leaders have warned that four in five local councils will soon face 'bankruptcy' from rising special educational needs and disability (SEND) costs. And private schools are compounding the issue.

Tens of billions to private schools

The approaching 'insolvency' is largely due to the amount private schools are charging for council budgets.

In 2024, 132,510 SEND pupils were at private schools - a 70% increase on 2016. The vast majority of SEND children have low or middle-income parents who rely on government funding for their school places. Very few are from affluent families who can afford these places for their SEND children.

It costs councils an average of £61,500 per pupil for SEND children to go to private school, because of Labour's failure to invest SEND capacity in state schools. That means private schools are earning £8.1bn per year from SEND pupils. And the majority of that is coming out of council budgets, with many local authorities demanding higher council tax rises to help pay off increasing deficits.

In fact, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said 95% of councils are operating SEND deficits. And they are cutting services or taking on more debt to pay for it.

Private schools' SEND places cost almost three times as much as state places. And fee-charging schools can charge over £250,000 to educate SEND children.

SEND pupils must "achieve their potential"

Amanda Hopgood, the chair of the LGA's children, young people and families committee, said:

Councils are committed to supporting every child and young person to achieve their potential and clearly what is important is that children and young people get the support they need. But under the current system, the rise in support need has left many councils buckling under the strain.

While many private schools are non-profit, they take high salaries and are generally only available to students who are born rich. Hence, they take resources and expertise away from those who attend public ones.

At the same time, neoliberals in government and profiteers in the corporate sector view state funding as a cash cow to be milked. It's the opposite of efficiency and prudence with state finances. Dressing it up as such is Orwellian.

And when it comes to SEND pupils in private schools, it's literally extraction to the point of insolvency for councils.

Featured image via the Canary

By James Wright

Political prisoner Umer Khalid, one of 24 'Filton 24' prisoners jailed for up to 19 months and counting for opposing genocide, ended his hunger strike last month. His decision came after prison authorities agreed to review the punitive conditions in which he is being held. These included banning his religious observance and restricting visits.

But his family say little or nothing has changed and they're still being blocked from seeing him. In fact, it's worse than before as he's now deprived of meetings with his lawyer.

Umer Khalid: desperate situation

In a statement, they asked supporters not to call or visit the prison or risk anything outside "formal routes" that his family is pursuing. However, they say they can no longer remain silent over Umer Khalid's situation as they are "terrified for [his] life":

For now, we please request that nobody calls into the prison, tries to locate Umer, or escalates this beyond the formal routes being followed by Umer's legal team. Updates with actions you can take will follow as they are received.

We've stayed silent long enough, but now I'm terrified for my son's life. My son has been on remand for seven months. During this time, we have had daily contact. After a 17-day hunger strike and four days without water, he was hospitalised on Monday, 26 January.

Since then, the prison has kept him incommunicado. We have had zero contact for over 10 days now. They are blocking him from his family and, alarmingly, from his solicitor.

A mother should not have to wonder whether her son is alive or dead while he is in state care. Access to his solicitor and contact with his family are basic human rights — especially during a medical crisis. We are demanding answers and the right to hear his voice. Please share this and amplify our voices. We cannot let him be forgotten in that hospital bed.

The Starmer regime's political persecution of the Filton humanitarians has been further exposed and disgraced recently by the refusal of a jury to convict the first six to go on trial on any of the trumped-up charges against them. The trial exposed the lies of the state and of arms manufacturer Elbit to smear and criminalise them.

Yet despite this, the regime continues to hold the others - and even one of those acquitted - in prison without trial. This is as clear a case as could be of 'making the process the punishment' and Starmer wants to end jury trials to withhold justice. All of this is to protect Israel and its ethno-fascist genocide.

Enough is enough. It's long past time for Starmer's authoritarianism and collaboration in genocide to end. He and his cronies are the ones who should be behind bars.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

Well, Nigel Farage has officially lost the plot. The Reform UK leader has just revealed that Jeremy Kyle - the poverty-porn mogul - has a secret role within the party. Hilariously, he's media training Reform's candidates.

Jeremy Kyle lol, one of the most hated TV presenters of all time.

Well, expect reform politicians to bully their opponents until they top themselves. pic.twitter.com/apaxqRVLzL

— Inevitable Pinky

Ford may be discontinuing its F-150 Lightning pickup but it hasn't given up on electric cars. CEO Jim Farley just teased the automaker's electric pickup based on its new Universal Electric Vehicle platform that he called "one of the most audacious and important projects in Ford's history."

The Universal EV platform will be used on a family of affordable EVs sold around the world, but will start with a mid-sized pickup for the US built in Louisville, Kentucky. It's set to go on sale next year with a target price of $30,000.

An early peek at our brilliant team working on the Universal Electric Vehicle project - one of the most audacious and important projects in @Ford's history. American innovation is how we compete and win against China and the rest of the world.

➡️ The team is spending countless… pic.twitter.com/Un4eCe258L

— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) February 5, 2026

Farley discussed some of the tech going into the pickup, particularly the aerodynamics, a key aspect if Ford is to compete with rivals. "The team is spending countless hours getting every last drop of aero efficiency on the mid-size electric pickup," he noted. Farley also discussed the "simplified aluminum unicastings [that] condense over 146 parts into two" as a way to boost production efficiency.

Ford will invest $5 billion, including $2 billion at the Louisville factory on top of $3 billion already announced for its BlueOval battery plant. It will expand the Louisville facility by 52,000 square feet and "create or secure" nearly 4,000 direct jobs, the company said late last year.

Ford hasn't yet revealed the pickup's name or shown a photo, but it's supposed to have more interior room than a Toyota RAV4. Buyers will be able to lock bikes or surfboards into the pickup bed, mooting the need for roof or trailer hitch racks. It will have a low center of gravity from the battery, instant torque and a 0 to 60 mph time "as fast as a Mustang EcoBoost [around 4.5 seconds], with more downforce," Ford said.

Jim Farley famously imported a famously fast and high-tech Xiaomi SU7 EV from China and drove it daily, telling a podcaster he didn't want to "give it up." Hopefully, his experience will result in more tech-forward Ford EVs based on the Universal platform.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/ford-shows-off-the-tech-going-into-its-30000-electric-pickup-truck-140000509.html?src=rss