For years, detainees from Lebanon have languished in Israeli prisons, some without charges, others without sentences — all without justice.

Their bodies bore the cost of occupation through torture, isolation, and medical neglect. Their families bore it through silence, waiting, and erasure. Yet the most enduring violence may not have come from prison walls alone, but from the sustained failure of the Lebanese state to act.

Captives from Lebanon

As Israel violated international law with impunity and acts of terror, Lebanon's institutions watched. They issued statements and moved on — leaving detainees suspended between an occupier that abused them and a state that abandoned them.

There is no official number, but recent Lebanese reports (late 2025) indicate that around 23 Lebanese prisoners are being held by the occupational Israeli forces — including 14 captured during the most recent war.

One of them is Imad Amhaz, a Lebanese detainee who was apprehended during the previous war, who the IOF published a video of his testimony, where Imad looked tired, worn out, and raised lots of suspicion about what he was saying, as if he was forced to say it.

Mohamad Shamas — an experienced journalist specialising in war and Hezbollah — has said:

the video is not an intelligence disclosure but a strategically released media tool, intended to justify attacks on Lebanese infrastructure and embarrass Hezbollah. It serves as a manufactured psychological victory and a way to fill a political and security void through a carefully curated narrative.

Israel has always been a sociopathic entity when it comes to dealing with prisoners, regardless of their nationality. For what Israel did to Lebanese prisoners was not a series of isolated abuses; it was a deliberate system of domination built on illegality. Detention during the occupation of the South was designed to break bodies, erase identities, and terrorise entire communities.

Khiam Detention Centre, Lebanon

Facilities like Khiam Detention Centre operated outside any judicial framework — torture replaced due process and silence replaced law. Prisoners were held without charges, without trials, and without timelines; not because evidence was lacking, but because legality was never the point. It is never a point when it comes to Israeli detention centres, in Palestine or formerly in Lebanon. 

Cells were small, dark, and overcrowded, often underground, with minimal ventilation and little exposure to daylight. Prisoners were frequently kept in solitary confinement, sometimes for weeks or months.

The lack of natural light and silence was itself a form of punishment, designed to disorient and break detainees psychologically, as former Lebanese prisoner Nizar Haidar describes to the Canary, where he was imprisoned for fighting alongside the Lebanese Communist Party against the Israeli occupational forces in southeastern Lebanon back in the 80s. 

He also adds:

interrogation was systematic and brutal. I still suffer from the physical torture, the beatings, stress positions, electric shocks, and suspension

This comes alongside psychological abuse such as threats against family members — many prisoners did not know whether their families were alive or not. In addition to that, there was sleep deprivation and mock executions.

He explains that the:

screams from interrogation rooms were often audible throughout the prison, creating a constant atmosphere of fear.

Prisoners of war

As for today, the imprisoned Lebanese in Israeli prisons during the last war have suffered from deliberate violations, as per the "committee of detained and liberated", of the Third Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war, as well as the Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in times of war, such as:

1. Torture and ill-treatment of prisoners, including physical and psychological abuse such as beatings, strip searches, and threats, beginning from the very moment of capture.
2. Deprivation of basic necessities, particularly water and food, in addition to a severe lack of essential living requirements.
3. Deliberate medical neglect, accompanied by the failure to provide adequate healthcare.
4. Collective punishment imposed by the occupying power on prisoners and their families.
5. Arbitrary arrests without distinction between combatants and civilians, carried out under inhumane conditions.
6. Preventing the International Committee of the Red Cross from visiting detainees, and denying prisoners the right to communicate with their families and with lawyers responsible for following up on their legal status.

On the other hand, if Israel's detention of Lebanese captives is a crime of occupation, then the Lebanese state's response has been one of systematic abandonment.

Government! What government?

For decades, successive governments, presidents, and parliaments have failed to treat detainees as a national priority, reducing their fate to an occasional slogan rather than a sustained political and legal battle. Beyond statements of concern, the state has taken no serious action to document abuses, pursue international legal mechanisms, or apply consistent diplomatic pressure for their release.

Families of detainees have been left to navigate uncertainty alone without clear information, legal support, or institutional backing. The Lebanese government has neither established a permanent body to follow detainee cases nor ensured coordination with international organisations.

In practice, prisoners have been treated as expendable files, activated only when negotiations or political interests require them, then discarded once the moment passes.

This failure is not merely bureaucratic; it is political.

By refusing to confront Israel's violations in international forums, and by failing to mobilise legal accountability mechanisms, the Lebanese state has implicitly accepted a reality in which its citizens can be imprisoned indefinitely without consequence.

Silence, in this context, is not neutrality, it is complicity.

A state that cannot fend for its detained citizens cannot claim sovereignty. The continued neglect of Lebanese prisoners is a stark reminder that while individuals endured torture, isolation, and years stolen from their lives, the institutions meant to protect them chose inertia.

This absence of action has become a second punishment on those taken captive — one imposed not by the colonial occupier, but by their country itself.

Featured image via the Canary

By Mohamad Kleit

On 30 January, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) released the latest tranche of Epstein Files. As we reported, the release contained allegations Trump is 'compromised' by Israel, and that he raped and beat a child.

While it's welcome to finally see these files coming out, it's not welcome to see so many redactions; especially as many of these redactions are likely illegal. It's also not welcome that the Department of Justice (DoJ) is still sitting on files.

In response to this, survivors have now spoken out.

Speaking out

The statement from survivors reads:

This latest release of Jeffrey Epstein files is being sold as transparency, but what it actually does is expose survivors. Once again, survivors are having their names and identifying information exposed, while the men who abused us remain hidden and protected. That is outrageous. As survivors, we should never be the ones named, scrutinized, and retraumatized while Epstein's enablers continue to benefit from secrecy. This is a betrayal of the very people this process is supposed to serve.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre alone reported many abusers connected to Epstein's network, yet the public still does not have the full truth about who enabled him, who participated in his exploitation, and who has been shielded for years. Hundreds of women have come forward with additional reports like hers. The scale of this failure is staggering and indefensible.

The Justice Department cannot claim it is finished releasing files until every legally required document is released and every abuser and enabler is fully exposed. We need to hear directly from Attorney General Pam Bondi when she appears before the House Judiciary Committee on February 11. Survivors deserve answers, and the public deserves the truth.

This is not over. We will not stop until the truth is fully revealed and every perpetrator is finally held accountable. As we have always said, this is not about politics. We hope Democrats and Republicans will stand with survivors in continuing to demand the full release of the Epstein files.

We look forward to hearing from Attorney General Pam Bondi on February 11.

Epstein Files redactions

As we previously reported, the US congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in 2025 which required the Justice Department to publish all of the documents relevant to Epstein. While it was permissible to redact information and images relevant to victims, it was not permissible to redact information to protect individuals' reputations and/or feelings.

It certainly wasn't permissible to delete files after the fact when they clearly did not contain redactable material, and yet this is what we've seen:

File "468," which featured a photograph of Trump with young women in swimsuits burried in a drawer, has been pulled from the DOJ's website.

The original URL for the file now brings you to a page that reads "AccessDenied" pic.twitter.com/dWGnzz5jUZ

— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) December 20, 2025

There are certainly fewer redactions in the latest release, because we've seen information like the following:

JUST IN - Trump accused of raping a 13-yo in newly released epstein files pic.twitter.com/zUA8E96mUt

—

In the run-up to the Gorton & Denton by-election campaign, Green Party volunteers have taken to the streets. And unlike Reform MP Lee Anderson, they seem to have taken their photo in the correct constituency:

Hundreds of volunteers hitting the streets this morning in Gorton and Denton.

Lower bills, tax the super-rich - hope will win.

Only the Greens can stop Reform in this by-election. pic.twitter.com/1lko5FQyu4

— The Green Party (@TheGreenParty) January 31, 2026

Green Party — 'Hope will win'

The Green Party candidate in Gorton & Denton is Hannah Spencer. Writing in Huffington Post, Spencer gave an idea of who she is and what she's hoping to achieve:

I'm not your average politician. I didn't go to university to study politics. I'm a plumber in Manchester - and through that job I spend my days in kitchens, bathrooms and front rooms. And from what I see, people are struggling.

She added:

Of course not everyone in Britain is struggling. In fact, the 50 richest families hold more wealth than 50% of the population. That kind of wealth is unimaginable to the people of Gorton and Denton, and despite widespread calls for a proper wealth tax, it's a wealth that this government seems happy to watch accumulate.

Earlier in the day, Novara's Aaron Bastani reported on the response to Green activists in the area:

Today is the first day where the Gorton and Denton by-election campaign REALLY gets going.

A Green source says they're surprised at just how good the response is on streets they've not canvassed hard in the past.

Meanwhile Labour don't have a candidate yet.

On 30 January, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) released the latest tranche of Epstein Files. As we reported, the release contained allegations Trump is 'compromised' by Israel, and that he raped and beat a child. Now, investigators have identified an email which suggests Trump may have had contact with Epstein long after the president is supposed to have broken off contact:

Trump says he cut off Epstein in 2003.

But in 2011 Epstein called Trump….

About Virginia Giuffre….

After asking his lawyer PI (who was recommended by Trump) if there "are any other alternatives" pic.twitter.com/lDJYGC2lxX

— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) January 30, 2026

Trump's 'vrginnia'

It's important to note that the above doesn't confirm a phone call took place. It's not a good look for Trump, however, considering everything else in the latest release of Epstein Files:

JUST IN - Trump accused of raping a 13-yo in newly released epstein files pic.twitter.com/IbRk7KuSH2

— Ounka (@OunkaOnX) January 30, 2026

MASSIVE BREAKING: A witness swore under penalty of perjury that Donald Trump threatened a young girl, telling her she could "disappear like another 12-year-old female," and then threatened to kill her entire family, according to Epstein-related court records.
This allegation… pic.twitter.com/y22zPWTb10

— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) January 31, 2026

Despite the spelling mistake, journalist Adam Cochran assumed that Epstein was talking about the late Virginia Giuffre. Giuffre accused the disgraced Andrew Windsor (formally prince Andrew) or sexual assault. In 2025, Trump claimed that Giuffre had been an employee at his spa, but Epstein "stole her".

As PBS reported, there have been conflicting statements from Trump and his inner circle as to when the president last had contact with Epstein. The range is between 2003 and 2007 — before Epstein's sex crime conviction in 2008. If Trump and Epstein spoke in 2011, this will show the president has lied about crucial information regarding his relationship with the dead paedophile.

Revelations

The latest release has shone a new light on the relationship between Epstein and the following individuals:

• Andrew Windsor.
• Elon Musk.
• Robin Leach.

And that's really just scratching the surface; there's also this on Trump's secretary of commerce:

Trump's secretary of commerce, Howard Lutnick, said recently in an interview that a 2005 visit to Jeffrey Epstein's home left him so revolted that he cut ties with Epstein.

Emails released today tell a different story, showing Lutnick remained in contact for years afterward,… pic.twitter.com/TryAhDcT1h

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 30, 2026

There are three million pages of documents in this latest release, and we'll continue to update you as people unearth new information.

Featured image via Epstein Files

By Willem Moore

Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool City Region, has slammed the unnamed Starmer stooges who keep briefing against Andy Burnham. It's yet another sign that the PM is losing control of his party.

Cowards

In full, Rotheram said:

Enough already. I've kept my counsel so far because there were assurances from the Prime Minister that anonymous briefings against Andy Burnham would stop.

These gutless people hide behind the cloak of anonymity - just like the keyboard warriors they rail against.

Well, if they want to know what it took to turn devolution from a nice idea into a living, breathing, delivering reality, I'd happily debate them.

If they want to know about the bravery it took to break ranks in cabinet to get an independent panel to investigate the unlawful killing of 97 British citizens - bring it on.

If they want to know what the use of political power is - then we can compare which campaigns they have assisted with compared to Andy. But of course that would require them to go on the record.

These anonymous attacks help nobody but our opponents.

For the sake of our party, please just stop.

For reference, the following is an example of the continued briefing against Burnham:

Cabinet minister on Andy Burnham in the Times:

"He's been handed everything on a plate for his whole career. He's now angry because people won't make way for his second coming. It's typical Andy."

— James Heale (@JAHeale) January 31, 2026

The decision to not let Burnham stand in Gorton & Denton went down poorly with pretty much everyone besides the handful of weirdos and sycophants who support Starmer. And as things stand, it looks the decision could very well lose Labour a previously safe seat:

In Gorton and Denton, Reform beat Labour on current polling…

Unless Andy Burnham is the candidate pic.twitter.com/W7b52Eoei2

— Oli Dugmore (@OliDugmore) January 23, 2026

Starmer's camp on a downward spiral

While this is bad enough, it's made so much worse by the Starmer camp's inability to stop provoking the situation.

People are furious at them.

But because they have no respect for people's intelligence, they think they're one briefing away from everyone buying the propaganda.

Rotheram's intervention has shown that Starmer and his lackey's have zero political instincts, and it's why the PM is not long for his position.

Featured image via BBC

By Willem Moore

The US has arrested the journalist Don Lemon. As people are highlighting, it's a worrying sign the Trump regime will continue lurching right until something stops it:

Don Lemon speaks outside of the courtroom after release: "I have spent my entire life covering the news. I will not stop now … I will not be silenced." pic.twitter.com/zgXKXlDQwC

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 30, 2026

Trump's crackdown

The former CNN anchor was arrested after covering an anti-ICE protest in Minnesota:

"We're not with the activists we're just reporting on them."

This is from Don Lemon's reporting at the St. Paul church. Arresting journalists for simply highlighting what's happening in this country is a gross violation of our First Amendment rights.

He must be released… pic.twitter.com/4I3sKYtuw4

— Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) January 30, 2026

'ICE' is the acronym of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. While the agency exists to enforce immigration laws, Trump has used ICE to sow terror and division in US cities. As we've extensively covered, this has seen ICE agents publicly murder two individuals this month alone — Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.

Obviously, the murder of these people is worse than what's happened to Lemon. At the same time, the arrest should be seen as a continuation of the state-sanctioned oppression of the Trump regime.

They want people scared.

They want people silent.

They want people ignorant.

And Lemon is not the only journalist to face arrest:

These are the four journalists arrested by Trump's fascist DOJ….Georgia Fort, Jamael Lydell Lundy, Don Lemon and Trahern Jeen Crews….probably just a coincidence that they're all Black, right? pic.twitter.com/qFHLQRERfV

— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) January 30, 2026

Independent journalist Georgia Fort was, like Don Lemon, arrested for doing her job: documenting a protest of public concern. When members of the press are taken into custody simply for filming and reporting, it sends a chilling message to every journalist in America. The First… pic.twitter.com/nmFF0pp5b2

— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) January 30, 2026

 

Politician Bernie Sanders and actor Jane Fonda have spoken out on Lemon's behalf:

ICE is occupying communities and shooting Americans.

Now, former CNN anchor Don Lemon has been arrested for covering what ICE is doing.

Arresting journalists is what happens in tin-pot dictatorships.

We must fight back against authoritarianism.

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) January 30, 2026

JANE FONDA: "I know Don Lemon. My husband created CNN. And I will fight for their right to speak… they arrested the wrong Don. This is how autocrats act. We can't fall for it." pic.twitter.com/EWwe3WuVXf

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) January 31, 2026

A Distraction?

Many, many people have suggested that pretty much everything happening right now is a distraction from the Epstein Files:

Trump arrested Don Lemon today to distract from the Epstein file release

Stay focused everybody pic.twitter.com/J8Jrdl72OS

— WTFGOP (@doggintrump) January 30, 2026

Don Lemon was arrested before any of the Epstein child rapists.

— Secular Talk (KyleKulinskiShow@bsky.social) (@KyleKulinski) January 30, 2026

The problem with the 'distraction' narrative is that it ignores the dedicated zealots surrounding Trump:

If you've never heard a speech by Hitler's Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, this speech by Stephen Miller was plagiarized from JG's 1932 speech, "The Storm Is Coming." And these fascist freaks wonder why the democratic free world sees them as Nazis. pic.twitter.com/uTQ5OdDzQ0

— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) September 24, 2025

To these people, the distraction is the Epstein Files; the mission is the crackdown on civil liberties.

Featured image via USA Today 

By Willem Moore

On 30 January, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) released the latest tranche of Epstein Files. As we reported, the release contained allegations Trump is 'compromised' by Israel, and that he raped and beat a child. Another person featured in the latest release is Peter Mandelson. And once again, Mandelson's connections to Epstein are shaming the Labour government which made him ambassador to the US:

And Mandelson remains in the Lords…?
FT tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/O0MoXC1hWU

— Tim Walker (@ThatTimWalker) January 30, 2026

Criminal?

The Financial Times (FT) has published a lengthy piece discussing Mandelson's connections to Epstein. They also revealed that they first heard about the payments to his husband in September, but they couldn't confirm them until the latest Epstein Files release:

A trove of emails released on Friday finally confirmed one of the biggest secrets in recent British politics, which the FT was first told about last September but had hitherto been unable to print.

The emails proved that in 2009 and 2010 Reinaldo Avila da Silva, the Brazilian partner of Lord Peter Mandelson, was taking regular undisclosed payments of thousands of pounds from Jeffrey Epstein, even after the disgraced American financier had been jailed for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl in July 2008.

Reportedly, Mandelson asked for the paedo Epstein to make these payments in smaller amounts to avoid tax:

BREAKING: Mandelson asked Epstein to frame lump sums and $2k/month payments as loans to his husband to dodge tax https://t.co/cDy4yP0HeV pic.twitter.com/JeKzUtrBHX

— Joe Rich (@joerichlaw) January 31, 2026

We're sorry, but we find it hard to believe Mandelson was so hard up for cash he had to:

1. Beg for cash from a convicted sex offender.
2. Have the cash parcelled out into smaller payments to avoid paying tax.

And if he was that hard up for cash, fuck him.

Maybe he should have got a proper job like the rest of us?

Mandelson's time to go

The FT piece ends as follows:

Downing Street and the Labour Party both refused to comment. One official said Mandelson had taken a leave of absence from the House of Lords and was therefore not technically a Labour peer at present. "Membership of our whip for someone on leave of absence only becomes an issue when/if they apply to return to the House," they said.

But another MP said: "It's time he was suspended, put on a disciplinary and then expelled."

Many others are calling for Mandelson to get the boot (and also that he should be sacked):

Keir Starmer helped expel Jeremy Corbyn from the Labour Party but he still allows Peter Mandelson to remain a Labour peer in the House of Lords. Mandelson who once said 'We're all Thatcherites now,' and that Labour is perfectly at ease with people who are 'filthy rich.' Mandelson… pic.twitter.com/8vJq0I2TVr

— MikeD (@mjdaly57) January 31, 2026

Corbyn was attacked, smeared and thrown out of the Labour Party. Mandelson is still a Lord. They really are rotten to the core aren't they https://t.co/UedyldTARp pic.twitter.com/HTFe0ngZ3I

— Cantona & Best (@bestcanton7) January 31, 2026

If Mandelson was illegally avoiding tax, he needs to face legal consequences.

Given how corrupt the British state is, however, that of course seems unlikely.

Featured image via PNGTree

By Willem Moore

Advance UK is a British political party which was formed by the ex-Reform politician Ben Habib. Habib did not leave Reform UK on good terms, and neither did Nick Buckley, who is now looking to challenge candidate Matt Goodwin in the Gorton & Denton by-election:

I am delighted @NickBuckleyMBE will be standing for @_AdvanceUK in the Gorton and Denton by election.

Nick is a proud patriot, local to the area where he also based his charity, Mancunian Way. His MBE was for charitable work.

Nick offers real change, not the same old or the…

— Ben Habib (@benhabib6) January 31, 2026

From Reform UK to Advance UK

According to the Guardian, Ben Habib quit Reform after "pushing for members to have more power":

Advance UK is a democratic movement. Members endorse our mission, not the other way around. No censorship. No cronyism. Just serious, open politics. pic.twitter.com/lItBkNsKBz

— Ben Habib (@BackBrexitBen) August 9, 2025

Habib has since attacked Farage:

Ben Habib

Previously Reform's deputy leader, until he was ousted by Farage.

"He's not fit to be prime minister" pic.twitter.com/wpZUqo2kJx

— Sebastian Salek (@sebastiansalek) March 13, 2025

As Rose Cocker reported for the Canary:

Advance UK launched back in September 2025. It was founded by tech billionaire Ben Habib, the former deputy leader of Reform UK. Both Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk have thrown their weight behind the far-right newcomers.

Advance UK will actually drive change.

Farage is weak sauce who will do nothing. https://t.co/Vnw2uTdRRi

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2025

Nick Buckley, meanwhile, quit Reform in June 2025, stating:

I have just cancelled my membership of Reform UK.

I gave them 6 months and I am non the wiser what they are about or want. Their campaign is still 'We Are Not Tories Or Labour' - even though they will take any defection from any politician.

The best they can be is a stepping stone from today's failings to something better tomorrow.

At the present moment, they are still worth voting for because there is nothing else on offer with a chance of winning seats.

But do not place all your faith in this party to save us for I cannot see how they do it. They are preparing the stage for something better that will come - and hopefully come soon.

Form

As one pollster noted, Buckley has beaten Reform in an election before (although the situation was very different in 2024):

Gorton and Denton just got a lot more interesting.

Nick Buckley (ex-Reform) ran as an independent for Manchester mayor in 2024 and came 3rd, pushing Reform into 4th place.

If Galloway also announces he is running, then the vote will be so split, 25% will be enough to win. https://t.co/YyO7aLDfQN

— Marwan

On 30 January, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) released the latest tranche of Epstein Files. As we reported, the release contained allegations Trump is 'compromised' by Israel, and that he raped and beat a child. Another person named and pictured in the latest release is Richard Branson, with the exposed communication proving particularly damning for the Virgin billionaire:

On Sept. 11, 2013, Richard Branson emailed Jeffrey Epstein saying it was "really nice seeing you" and added that he'd love to meet again — "as long as you bring your harem." pic.twitter.com/MZlV60GW30

— Amber Woods @ Amber Speaks Up (@AmberWoods100) January 31, 2026

Richard Branson's friendly advice

As revealed by the leaked email, Branson gave Epstein "public relations" advice relating to his conviction for sex crimes:

Billionaire Richard Branson to Epstein: 'any time you're in the area would love to see you. As long as you bring your HAREM!'

'As a single man you seem to have a penchant for women. But there's nothing wrong with that'

RT pic.twitter.com/1n7CApwPLE

— Moh Musthafa Hussain (@musthafaaa) January 31, 2026

In the email above, Branson says:

I think if Bill Gates was willing to say that you've been a brilliant advisor to him, that you slipped up many years ago by sleeping with a 17½ year old woman and were punished for it, that you've more than learnt your lesson and have done nothing that's against the law since and, yes, as a single man you seem to have a penchant for women. But there's nothing wrong with that. Anyway something along those lines.

Epstein was convicted in 2008 — five years before this exchange. He was accused of worse than what Branson references, but escaped potential justice as a result of an "unprecedented" sweetheart deal. As PBS reported:

Epstein allegedly abused dozens of minors at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida. He enlisted girls to recruit other minors to his trafficking ring. And prosecutors said they seized scores of photos of fully or partially nude girls.

Epstein, who has been seen in the past as a friend of President Trump and former President Clinton, first faced other sex crime charges back in 2006 and 2007. At the time, he could have faced life in prison for allegations with underage girls. But the prosecutor in the case, Alex Acosta, now President Trump's labor secretary, struck a more lenient deal.

Epstein served just 13 months in a county jail for these charges. A Miami Herald investigation earlier this year raised new questions about this deal and brought forward new victims.

The US Attorney's Office wrote in 2019:

The indictment unsealed today alleges that, between 2002 through 2005, EPSTEIN sexually exploited and abused dozens of underage girls by enticing them to engage in sex acts with him in exchange for money. Epstein allegedly worked with several employees and associates to ensure that he had a steady supply of minor victims to abuse, and paid several of those victims themselves to recruit other underage girls to engage in similar sex acts for money. He committed these offenses in locations including New York, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida. EPSTEIN is expected to be presented in Manhattan federal court this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry B. Pitman. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman.

While Branson may not have been aware of Epstein's broader operation, he knew about the statutory rape of a 17-year-old, and that Epstein maintained what Branson referred to as a "harem".

Recommendation

As noted, Branson suggested that a recommendation from Bill Gates would work in Epstein's favour. Gates also featured in the latest Epstein Files release:

Wow. In the Epstein emails DOJ dropped, Jeffrey sent himself emails memorializing a fight he had with Bill Gates. In it he says that Bill Gates got STD's from Russian hookers, and then asked Jeffrey for antibiotics that Bill could secretly give to Melinda without her noticing.

In another deadly night of Israeli violations, the death toll in the Gaza Strip rose to 32 after a series of air strikes, despite a supposed ceasefire.

West of Gaza City, near the Al-Abbas intersection, Israeli aircraft struck a residential apartment. Four civilians were killed, including two children and a woman. Others were injured. The apartment housed a civilian family and was reduced to rubble within moments. The strike came without any prior warning.

Israeli airstrikes in West, North and South of Gaza

In the central governorate, Israeli aircraft also targeted eastern areas, causing further casualties and injuries as air strikes continued over populated zones. Another raid hit a residential apartment in Gaza City's Al-Daraj neighbourhood, near the Jabalia bus station. Five civilians were injured, and panic spread through nearby homes.

In the south of the Strip, displaced families sheltering in tents were also targeted. In the Asdaa area north of Khan Yunis, an air strike hit a tent housing displaced people. Seven members of the Abu Hadaid family were killed. Other martyrs were reported in neighbouring tents. The toll remains preliminary and is expected to rise.

In a particularly serious escalation, Israeli aircraft bombed the Sheikh Radwan police station north of Gaza City. Thirteen people were killed.

Among the dead were four female officers from the Palestinian Women's Police Force: Najoud al-Madhoun, Nafisa al-Arabeed, Sara al-Khatib, and Sundus al-Qouqa. Other police officers, staff, and civilians were also killed. Reports indicate that several people remain missing under the rubble.

Local sources have described the ceasefire as a "false truce" that has failed to stop the killings. Instead, they say it has provided political cover for continued attacks. Since the ceasefire was declared on 10 October 2025, more than 590 Israeli violations have been documented. These include air strikes, gunfire, and attacks on civilian areas.

At least 400 civilians have been killed, with more than 900 injured during this period.

With every new raid, the credibility of the ceasefire erodes further. Gaza continues to pay the price for a war that, in reality, has never stopped.

Featured image provided via author

By Alaa Shamali

As we've previously reported, Elon Musk's X/Twitter is rife with foreign accounts who pretend to be Western nationalists. If you're wondering why they do this, the answer is simple; to make money.

Musk pays users he likes for getting likes and retweets, so the people of the world found a way to juice engagement. Specifically, they realised racists in Europe and America are complete morons who will excitedly retweet any old shite that appears on their timeline.

Now, these exo-nationalists are swarming Hannah Spencer — the Green candidate for Gorton & Denton:

The way these accounts have come out in full force is making me more confident we'll win to be honest. https://t.co/3B2HJghQFB

— cez (@cezthesocialist) January 31, 2026

Pricks for clicks

The account above is called 'The British Patriot':

If we click on where the account is posting from, this is what we see:

You see the 'i' symbol to the right of 'United Kingdom'; that indicates they're using a VPN to obscure their location. The reason they're doing this is because they're not actually British. Should the account owner wish to dispute this, please get in touch with evidence.

We won't hold our breath!

You'll note that The Not-British Patriot proudly carries a quote from Elon Musk on their Twitter banner. Musk isn't British, obviously, but he does like interfering in our politics, and he will gleefully promote accounts which suck up to him.

The Not-British Patriot is just one of many false nationalist accounts. The interesting thing is many of these accounts are doing better than actual Brits. If we were some racist dipshit, we'd be complaining these foreigners are taking our jobs — not retweeting them.

As Novara's Aaron Bastani highlighted, The Not-British Patriot was actually claiming the Green candidate was someone else entirely at first:

Crazy that complete lies, about something as important as a democratic election, are now normal.

This account has 250k followers & is followed by a ton of influential people in the media.

This is a *criminal offence* under Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act. https://t.co/dk4Sf41vEG

— Aaron Bastani (@AaronBastani) January 29, 2026

'Criminal' if they're in the UK, anyway, which they're not.

Clearly the UK's legal framework needs to catch up with what's happening here.

Him indoors

According to Spencer, she isn't married (but does seem to be in a relationship):

Hannah Spencer dealing with the lie that she has a husband four months ago.

She's literally just a normal person, the right-wing bots are rattled that the Greens picked a great candidate

On 30 January, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) released the latest tranche of Epstein Files. As we reported, the release contained allegations Trump is 'compromised' by Israel, and that he raped and beat a child. One of the darkest new allegations to emerge is the following:

WTAF
"witnessed Robin Leach strangle a young girl to death at a party". pic.twitter.com/Wf9f3o0ejk

— AnthonyAndrews (@anthon7yandrews) January 30, 2026

Robin Leach in the Epstein Files

Robin Leach was a British-American TV host. Between 1984 and 1995, he hosted Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and he died in 2018.

Journalist Adam Cochran said the following about the accusation against Leach:

This claim is wild for a few reasons:

* Robin Leach wasn't a well known figure after the mid-90s.

* At the time this claim was made, Leach was on his deathbed after a stroke - no real defamation angle.

* Leach and Trump were close friends, Leach was even at Trump's wedding to Maples.

* Leach went to Trump's parties at Trump Golf Course in Rancho Palo Verdes.

* Another claim, claimed there was a sex-trafficking ring at Trump's Golf Course in Rancho Palo Verdes, that involved rape and violent torture - but that one didn't know the names of the men involved.

Those two claims when taken together are compelling enough to investigate.

But, from the release so far… they were never investigated…

Others have made similar points:

You know this shit is real because what American teenager in the 2000s would include Robin Leach of all people in their fake allegations. https://t.co/XI2haggETa

— Notelu (@N0telu) January 30, 2026

There's no political motive or even much of a publicity motive for a false testimony to include Robin Leach many years later.

Ergo I believe that it is likely true.

He was a close associate of at Trump and frequently attended his beauty pageants. pic.twitter.com/EDiCZWrrPz

— Witold U.

On 30 January, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) released the latest tranche of Epstein Files. As we reported, the release contained allegations Trump is 'compromised' by Israel, and that he raped and beat a child. Another person who features heavily in the released documents is Elon Musk. This has come as a shock to some, because Musk previously denied having links to Epstein:

Sent from Musk to Epstein on Christmas Day at 6am. https://t.co/Jx5o80a38H

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 31, 2026

'The ratio'

In the email above, Musk said:

Do you have any parties planned? I've been working to the edge of sanity this year and so, once my kids head home after Christmas, I really want to hit the party scene in St Barts or elsewhere and let loose. The invitation is much appreciated, but a peaceful island experience is the opposite of what I'm looking for.

Reading this, do you feel like Musk was unaware of what Epstein's parties were like? Because it sure doesn't read like that to us.

Epstein responded:

Understood , I will see you on st Barth, , the ratio  on my island  might make Talilah uncomfortable

St. Barts is one of the Virgin Islands, as is Little Saint James (the late Epstein's private island). By 'Talilah', Epstein no doubt means Talulah Riley, who was married to Musk from 2010 to 2012 (and then again from 2013 to 2016).

Currently, we don't know what happened next. Musk may have dumped Talulah for the evening to party on Little Saint James; he could also have met Epstein on St. Barts, or not met up with him at all.

Clearly, however, the two men shared a familiarity which Musk has repeatedly denied.

This was all in 2012 by the way — four years after Epstein was convicted of sex crimes.

It didn't end in 2012 either:

This exchange with @elonmusk from 2013, years after it was known Epstein was a pedophile and trafficker, is pretty damning. Why is he so eager to get to the island?
Epstein's response: "always space for you" pic.twitter.com/P0BfTELd8n

— Jason Paladino (@jason_paladino) January 30, 2026

There's more

Additional emails further highlight the relationship between Musk and Epstein:

Elon to Jeffrey Epstein: "Is there a good time to visit?" pic.twitter.com/cCC1CEb89M

— evan loves worf (@esjesjesj) January 30, 2026

Elon Musk in an actual email to Epstein:

"What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?" https://t.co/bcUagvXoBv pic.twitter.com/BdTP6UiN1S

— Fred Lambert (@FredLambert) January 30, 2026

Musk has previously claimed Epstein never toured his other company, SpaceX. The problem is that we now know Epstein emailed Musk to say "thanks for the tour":

This tweet by @elonmusk addressing allegations that Jeffrey Epstein toured SpaceX appears to be a lie. https://t.co/ac4PSI4YYN pic.twitter.com/Kd1jiqXE9j

— TrueAnon (@TrueAnonPod) January 30, 2026

Unbelievable—Jeffrey Epstein appears to bring three girls to visit @elonmusk at SpaceX in 2013. Mary Beth was Elon Musks personal assistant at the time. pic.twitter.com/9T6Fusghqg

— TrueAnon (@TrueAnonPod) January 30, 2026

Seemingly, the tour didn't stop there either:

Looks like they may have gone to Musks house in Bel Air afterwards pic.twitter.com/GomNuHuxGx

— TrueAnon (@TrueAnonPod) January 30, 2026

As TrueAnon further highlighted, Musk's brother Kimball was also mentioned:

Kimball Musk, brother of @elonmusk assures Jeffrey Epstein he won't hurt his "girl" https://t.co/v7IbuNmSWd pic.twitter.com/9EVwB4CqmT

— TrueAnon (@TrueAnonPod) January 30, 2026

Elon Musk — suppression?

Here's what Anthony Andrews said on Musk's website X/Twitter:

Can confirm file exists. I am looking into this as we speak. If so, this should end many high profile people including the owner of this site. https://t.co/C9nz5PTWFI

— AnthonyAndrews (@anthon7yandrews) January 30, 2026

We weren't familiar with Andrews, so we clicked on his name to see his profile, where we were greeted with the following:

We can't confirm what's going on here, but it's not a good look.

Oh, and if any of the above tweets aren't working when you read this, we're sure you can guess why.

Expect more information to emerge over the coming days, as the latest release contains "three million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos" according to the BBC.

Featured image via WEF

By Willem Moore

In response to the latest announcement from the Trump regime, Your Party MP Zarah Sultana has said the following:

Cuba is next on Trump's expansionist hit-list.

The only "threat" it poses is existing as a sovereign state that refuses to bow to US imperialism.

Blocking all fuel supplies is collective punishment and a war crime. It must be opposed.

Hands off Cuba! Hands off Latin America! https://t.co/22dkUEDiam

— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) January 31, 2026

You'll note the Trump regime's announcement was made before the latest release of Epstein Files. As we reported, the release contains allegations Trump is 'compromised' by Israel, and that he raped and beat a child.

Zarah Sultana — 'Hands off Cuba!'

As Drop Site highlighted, a recent Financial Times report claimed:

Cuba has just 15-20 days of oil left, after US pressure helped halt Venezuelan shipments and Mexico's Pemex suspended a delivery. The shortage has already fueled near-daily blackouts and fuel rationing. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that her government provides oil to Cuba via contracts with Pemex and via humanitarian aid mechanisms, the latter she said would continue.

The order tightens a blockade strategy that leverages economic collapse and humanitarian crisis under the guise of national security.

A key driver of regime change in Cuba is secretary of state Marco Rubio, who Trump referred to as "little Marco" when they competed for the presidential nomination in 2016:

This campaign exchanges between Donald Trump and his current Secretary of State is the funniest video you'll see today… Trump called him LITTLE MARCO

As we've reported, Reform's candidate for Gorton & Denton is the academic and establishment insider Matt Goodwin. The constituency has a high percentage of black and minority ethnic voters (44%) — people that Goodwin has suggested are 'not British'. This is already creating a problem for Goodwin, and it won't help that he's has now attracted the support of England's most notorious far-right activist:

Matt Goodwin is desperately trying to pretend he is not racist.

Luckily for him Tommy Robinson has his back… pic.twitter.com/SezC6DF389

— Harry Eccles (@Heccles94) January 30, 2026

Little Tommy Robinson

As we previously reported, Generation Remigration spoke at Robinson's Unite the Kingdom rally. 'Remigration' is the plan to mass deport migrants and their descendants from European countries. And as we said at the time:

We're not quite sure how that will work in Britain given the continuous influxes of populations we've experienced since the Roman Empire, except we are sure, obviously - they're talking about deporting Black and brown people.

Tommy Robinson's friends would happily deport 44% of the Gorton & Denton population; so would Robinson, presumably, given his continued promotion of remigration:

He's 100% correct, the time is now . REMIGRATION https://t.co/jGwMGkz8dF

— Tommy Robinson

During a speech at the Institute for Government's annual conference, health secretary Wes Streeting admitted that Labour austerity, branded as 'efficiency savings', is having an impact on care:

There are some parts of the service that have oversteered and therefore are underdelivering on elective activity

In context, Streeting means the Labour cuts are going too far. But that's quite the understatement. Age Concern warned in October 2025 that corridor care had increased by 525-fold since 2015/16. That follows 5,000 nurses coming forward in January 2025 to expose the dire state of the corridor care crises, with testimonies from staff.

Healthcare funding, dramatic cuts continued by Labour

Historically, healthcare funding had increased by 3.6% every year. That's partly because the population is ageing. But under the Conservatives last government healthcare spending increased at an average of just 1.3% per year. On top of that, the Tories demanded £22 billion in 'efficiency savings' from 2010-15.

In fact, according to the British Medical Association (BMA), there has been a real terms cumulative underspend of £425bn in public health spending since 2009/10.

Following that, Labour has pledged a 2.2% increase in health spending until 2028/29. But that's completely undermined by the governing party mandating 4% 'efficiency savings'. That's actually represents a 1.8% cut, putting staff working long hours under increased pressure.

We are way behind many of our counterparts' healthcare developments, including the number of beds and doctors.

The cuts: in focus

The Lowdown has been investigating how individual NHS trusts are responding to the 'efficiency saving' cuts. They note:

In Hampshire, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust announced the cut of 549 roles as part of a joint plan with the Isle of Wight trust to deliver a 7% workforce reduction and £39m in savings in 2025/26.

A University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust Plan reduces roles by 1,611 in 2025/26, and managers opened a process to find voluntary redundancies in July.

Vacancy freezes were introduced at many trusts, including Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust (FT), Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS FT, and University Hospitals Sussex NHS FT.

Many neoliberals view the health service (and the state in general) as a cash cow they can milk through private provision. We need to restore the NHS as a fully public organisation and improve its services rather than head in the wrong direction.

Featured image via the Canary

By James Wright

It's not just ICE thugs who show contempt for the lives and limbs of those who dare protest against their racist war on peaceful people. It's the whole of MAGA.

Video footage from Nebraska shows a red SUV flying a Trump flag drives at and hits a young high-school girl. The victim is flung aside then the coward behind the wheel speeds off. The children were protesting against the ICE gestapo trying to terrorise minority communities around the US:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Fight For A Future (@fight_for_a_future)

Nebraska is a red  state — i.e. Republican. Its governor Jim Pillen issued an appalling statement implying that by protesting, the students had provoked the violence — though he added that it was "never okay":

Here's a fundamental truth we should all agree upon: Political violence — no matter what — is never okay.

Police say they know the identity of the attacker, also a juvenile, and are 'investigating'.

Fremont Public Schools said school administrators had been supervising the protest at the time of the attack, then:

At one point, a few students entered the street. One student was hit by a car that stopped in front of the crowd and then began moving. We value our relationship with our first responders and their help today. We will continue to work together to keep our students and community safe.

The victim is now reportedly "recovering at home with bumps and bruises".

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

On 30 January, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) released the latest tranche of Epstein Files. As we reported, the release contained allegations Trump is 'compromised' by Israel, and that he raped and beat a child. The disgraced former prince Andrew Windsor also appears in the latest release, and the new allegations are the most extreme accusations attached to him so far:

Prince Andrew tortured a girl before instructing her murder. pic.twitter.com/rSkT2TW4w5

— Fowly (@fowlytweets) January 30, 2026

Redacted

One thing to be aware of with the Epstein Files emails is that usually you're supposed to read them from bottom to top. Most of the names are redacted in the above emails, but the people making the redactions have not applied them consistently. For instance, the name of the middle email sender is redacted, but the email above it retains "Wendy" in the response. As we've reported, many of the redactions are likely in violation of the law.

Commentators online have suggested 'USANYS' is a designation used by the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, suggesting that the original email is a tip off. The higher responses seem to confirm the individuals discussing the original email are overseeing investigations into Epstein in some fashion.

In the initial email, one 'Brian Miller' writes:

Back in the 90s Ghislaine Maxwell recruited a girl from a modeling career . Instead of modeling she was sold as a slave for sex and torture . Prince Andrew was an accessory to her death as he tortured her and me to force her murder

Journalist Adam Cochran drew attention to the release:

An internal email in 2020, related to the Maxwell case, looking into claims that:

* Maxwell recruited a girl in the 90s for "modeling"

* Sold her as a sex and torture slave.

* Prince Andrew was an accessary to her death.

The DoJ was looking into this credibly as of 2020.… pic.twitter.com/nZdEeAwluG

— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) January 30, 2026

His tweet ends:

[Todd Blanche - deputy attorney general] has said there is video/images containing "depictions of death" associated with the unreleased files…

The latest release also contains emails between Windsor and Epstein:

Winter mornings tend to follow a familiar pattern. Outerwear is chosen quickly, often before the day has fully taken shape. The priority is immediate: warmth, protection, readiness to step outside. In this early moment, padded jackets play a decisive role. They are put on without hesitation, used instinctively, and then - almost immediately - forgotten.

This ability to disappear from attention is not accidental. In everyday winter dressing, padded jackets are at their most effective when they stop being noticed. Once they have fulfilled their initial purpose, they fade into the background, allowing the rest of the day to unfold without interruption or awareness of what is being worn.

The role of early decisions in winter dressing

In cold weather, many clothing choices are made before routine takes over. The first layer that matters is often the outermost one. Padded jackets are frequently chosen at this stage because they resolve the immediate need for warmth without requiring further thought.

Once worn, however, their role shifts. They are no longer part of an active decision-making process. The jacket remains present, but it no longer demands attention. This transition - from deliberate choice to background presence - defines how padded outerwear functions in daily life.

Why the best outerwear disappears from focus

Clothing that constantly asks to be adjusted or reconsidered stays visible in the mind. Women's padded coats and jackets work differently. Their design prioritises comfort and consistency, allowing the wearer to stop thinking about them shortly after leaving home.

This absence of friction is crucial. When a jacket does not restrict movement, overheat the body or require frequent opening and closing, it becomes easy to forget. The wearer's awareness shifts away from clothing and towards activity. In winter, when layers can easily become intrusive, this quiet efficiency becomes a defining quality.

Everyday winter dressing without interruption

Daily winter routines involve constant transitions: moving between indoors and outdoors, walking, standing, sitting, commuting. Outerwear that performs reliably across these shifts quickly blends into the background.

Padded jackets support this rhythm by maintaining comfort without noticeable change. They do not mark each transition with a need for adjustment. Instead, they allow the day to continue uninterrupted. This is why they are often remembered only at the beginning and end of the day - worn early, removed late, and largely unnoticed in between.

Familiarity through repetition

Repetition plays a key role in how padded jackets are perceived. Worn regularly, often across consecutive days, they become part of the expected structure of winter dressing. This familiarity reduces their visual and physical presence.

As the jacket becomes habitual, it stops feeling like an added layer and starts functioning as a neutral constant. It neither defines the outfit nor competes with it. Instead, it supports everything else quietly, reinforcing the sense that winter dressing does not need to be actively managed once the right outerwear is in place.

Forgetting as a measure of success

In many cases, forgetting a garment is a sign that it is doing its job well. Padded jackets succeed in everyday winter dressing precisely because they do not remain at the centre of attention. Their effectiveness lies in how quickly they allow the wearer to move past the act of dressing itself.

By resolving warmth early and maintaining it consistently, padded outerwear frees the day from further consideration of clothing. It becomes a background element, present but unobtrusive. In winter, when excess layers and constant adjustment can dominate experience, this quality matters.

Padded jackets demonstrate that outerwear does not need to assert itself to be effective. When worn early and forgotten quickly, they fulfil their role with quiet reliability, supporting everyday winter dressing by staying out of the way once it matters most.

Max Mara and an understated approach to everyday warmth

Warmth, in Max Mara's universe, is never conceived as a purely technical requirement. It is understood as part of a broader dialogue between comfort, proportion and composure -  a quality that should integrate into daily life without altering a woman's sense of self. This perspective reflects the Maison's long-standing belief that elegance is most convincing when it feels natural, balanced and quietly assured.

Rather than treating functionality as a separate layer, Max Mara embeds it within a coherent design vision. The brand approaches everyday dressing with restraint and precision, shaping garments that respond to real conditions while maintaining a refined presence. This philosophy resonates with women who seek clothing that supports their routines without drawing attention to performance itself - pieces that feel considered, reliable and intuitively wearable.

Within this framework, warmth becomes an experience rather than a feature. Max Mara's interpretation of padded outerwear is guided by subtlety: insulation that protects, silhouettes that retain clarity even in colder months, and materials chosen for both their technical qualities and tactile appeal. The result is outerwear that feels aligned with the rhythm of contemporary life, capable of moving effortlessly between environments and moments.

Padded coats and jackets express this understated approach with precision. Lightweight constructions, fluid lines and carefully calibrated proportions ensure freedom of movement while preserving a composed aesthetic. These garments are designed to integrate seamlessly into a wardrobe built on continuity, offering reassurance without rigidity and comfort without excess.

Through this measured vision, Max Mara continues to define an idea of modern elegance rooted in intelligence and restraint. Its designs reaffirm that practicality, when shaped by intention, can become an integral part of a refined and enduring style language.

Image Source: Max Mara

By Nathan Spears

More explosive accusations from today's new release of Epstein files. An FBI report from a "credible" and confidential human source says that US president Donald Trump was "compromised by Israel" and that his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was effectively running his organisation and presidency.

The report links Kushner's family to corruption, Russian cash and the ultra-Zionist Chabad group. It also names Jeffrey Epstein's lawyer Alan Dershowitz as "co-opted by [Israel's intelligence service] Mossad" to control elite students. Kushner's father was convicted of financial crimes but then pardoned by Trump.

Epstein's status as an Israeli intelligence operative — now beyond reasonable doubt — and ties to his "closest friend" Trump provide a likely means of 'kompromat' allegedly making Trump a tool of Israel. The report comes hot on the heels of other released documents detailing witness testimony accusing Trump of raping and beating children provided to him by Epstein. Dershowitz is also accused in the same files of at least being present during the rape — and in at least one case murder — of children.

The allegations would certainly be borne out by Trump's willingness to do what Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu demands — particularly the US collaboration in Israel's Gaza genocide and its heightened belligerence toward Iran, Venezuela and Greenland.

Featured image via ABC

By Skwawkbox

Expect a US attack on Iran imminently. Trump has been moving forces to surround the Islamic Republic for some time, but appeared to be backing away from an assault.

But today's Epstein file disclosures, which have exposed repeated allegations that he raped children — as well as already being accused of attending the murder and disposal of a 13-year-old victim's baby — mean that Trump urgently needs to distract US attention.

The fact that he will cause the deaths of thousands and probably plunge the world into economic catastrophe and potentially a third world war - those considerations will not give him a moment's pause.

And he is already threatening as much.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

The Syrian regime under terrorist-turned-'president' Ahmed al-Sharaa — AKA al-Joulani — has reached a ceasefire deal with progressive Kurdish-led forces in the north of the country. But will the former al-Qaeda extremist now in charge of Syria stay true to his word and respect the country's rich mosaic of diversity?

Syria — Not ideal, but better than no deal

The diverse but largely Kurdish north of Syria (Rojava) resisted the onslaught of Daesh (Isis/Isil) and other extremists during the country's devastating civil war, while trying to build a "multinational, multicultural, multi-religious" democracy centring on women's rights, environmental protection, and a co-operative economy.

Al-Sharaa's invasion this month put Rojava's fighters on the back foot. But it was always going to be difficult to capture all of the territory militarily without significant loss of life, due to firm resistance. Human rights abuses and fears of genocide increased global concern and a push for a peaceful resolution.

On 30 January, an agreement came. Al-Sharaa's forces would take over "oil and gas fields", prisons, and "administrative and civil bodies". In return, fighters from Rojava would have three brigades within a new Syrian military division. Displaced civilians would finally be able to start returning home, and a decree said the state would protect "Kurdish cultural, linguistic and civil rights".

Perhaps the biggest symbolic step was the:

first formal recognition of Kurdish national rights since Syria's independence in 1946.

In particular, people who had remained stateless for decades would finally have Syrian nationality.

It seems the progressive parts of Rojava's revolution may struggle to survive under al-Sharaa's rule, though.

Why it's hard to trust al-Sharaa

Rojava led the fight to defeat Daesh in Syria. And it also resisted attacks from al-Sharaa's Jabhat al-Nusra, Syria's al-Qaeda affiliate during the early years of the Syrian civil war. Al-Nusra and Daesh both reportedly received support from NATO member Turkey, which joined extremists attacking Rojava as an extension of its own war on Kurdish communities at home.

Turkey also supported al-Nusra's successor, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), whose members (including its leader al-Sharaa) now control Syria's government. But just as al-Nusra engaged in torture, abductions, and repression of dissent, there were also "serious human rights violations" in areas under HTS rule.

HTS confiscated hundreds of properties from local Christians. And it reportedly assassinated one non-violent Syrian activist for proudly expressing sentiments such as:

I'm Druze, Alawite, Sunni, Kurdish, Ismaili, Christian, Jewish and Assyrian… I'm the Syrian Revolutionary and proud to be!

It also has a weak record on women's rights. In areas it controlled, for example, it severely restricted women's movement, clothing, and participation in public life.

Following the HTS takeover of Syria in late 2024, the new regime either allowed or failed to stop war crimes against Alawite citizens (with whom tensions continue today). Druze communities have also faced attacks and sexual violence.

Nonetheless, Western governments have rehabilitated al-Sharaa into Syria's leader, and ended sanctions on the country. Al-Sharaa even reached an agreement in early January with Israel, and has just visited Russia (which he once called an enemy).

Understandings with global powers (including Turkey) may indeed have helped to greenlight al-Sharaa's assault on Rojava.

Keep both eyes open

Al-Sharaa and his allies have power. They aren't allies of Iran, are happy to deal with Israel, and have strong ideological connections to Western allies in Turkey and the Gulf dictatorships. For the West, that means Syria is no longer a 'problem'.

The diverse communities of Syria, however, will hope the world keeps paying attention to the country. Because al-Sharaa's record hardly inspires confidence for an inclusive future.

Featured image via the Canary

By Ed Sykes

The Met Police 'Service' has sent cops and a car to remove, or oversee the removal of an ad expressing support for political prisoners held captive by the UK and Israeli governments.

The ad, on a backdrop of barbed wire and guard towers, reads:

From HMP Bronzefield to Sde Teiman - solidarity with all prisoners for Palestine.

But within a short space of time a Met police car and removal workers were scraping it away — solidarity with those oppressed by the state, whether Israel or its Starmeroid UK glove-puppet, is beyond the pale in the current police state:

Given recent events, it would be no surprise at all if the police were responding to the demands of the Israel lobby for its removal.

Featured image provided via the author

By Skwawkbox

The Unite union has been accused of using union resources to canvass support for general secretary Sharon Graham's favoured candidates in elections for its executive council (EC). The union has denied involvement — but the denial missed, or deliberately ignored, the key point in the accusations.

Unite branch secretaries have been receiving calls to ask whether their branch has met to nominate candidates. Branch nominations play a key role in union elections and a significant number of nominations helps portray momentum for the nominated candidate.

All the calls, regardless of the branch's location, have come from the same number — but the person calling gives a different name each time, suggesting a phone-banking operation.

Unite Union asked questions

Skwawkbox asked Unite:

Branch secretaries and others are receiving calls from 07309926817, asking them if their branch has voted yet in the EC elections and if so, who for — and promoting Sharon Graham's preferred candidates. The line is the 'need' to 'have the right people in place'.

The Phonely site classifies the number as a harasser based on feedback from recipients.

Questions:

• How do the phone-bankers have branch officials' numbers?
• How does Unite justify what appears to be a GDPR breach?
• Why is Unite interfering in the election and spending members' money promoting one set of candidates over another?
• Does this indicate SG is worried about the unpopularity of her preferred candidates?

Phonely, a digital voice services provider, reports that the number, at the time of writing, has only started to be reported in the last two days. In that time, more than sixty people have searched for 07309926817. Four people have complained about the number making unsolicited calls, classifying it as "harassing":

Unusually, Unite responded directly rather than through its lawyers. Not unusually at all, it attempted to attack Skwawkbox for asking the question.

The union's press office denied any involvement and tried to dismiss the issue as a 'laughable smear' and to claim that the calls were just "candidates and their supporters" trying to get support:

Another day, another laughable attempt to smear Unite from Skwawkbox. As you well know, the union does not provide money or contact data to anyone involved in internal elections. Candidates and their supporters on all sides will no doubt be campaigning, including using whatever contacts they have within their usual day to day networks, to speak with activists who are eligible to vote during the election.

However, despite being notified in the press enquiry that all the calls were from a single number, Unite did not address this — and it undermines the claim that the calls are coming from various people all contending for support.

Skwawkbox understands that several branch secretaries have already, or are preparing, formal complaints about the data breach. One Unite rep posted to Facebook that:

"Just had a call from someone claiming to be from Unite called Scott Smith and saying he was campaigning for workers unite and wanted to talk about the elections. I told him that I was very concerned as to how he got my private number and he said "probably from a WhatsApp group" which tells me from his tone he's getting a bank of numbers from a unite source that he's work [sic] through. My private number is only on Unite's internal system or amongst people I know. His number is +44 (0)7309926817 ln case he calls anyone else with a different name." Different names, same number

Others have reported different names being given, but the same number.

Another wrote, in a thread about the issue:

That's funny I had a call on Tuesday evening about 6.30pm asking if my branch had made nominations for the EC and I told them we had on Thursday 22nd Jan, he phoned my number but asked for William who is the chair of our branch and I am the secretary, was it not a genuine call then?

A week ago the US President Trump warned Canadian leader Mark Carney not to strike trade deals with China. This week it is UK PM Keir Starmer's turn. Yet the US has itself moved away from China. So what is The Donald thinking?

Starmer has been in Beijing looking to improve relations. It's the first visit by a UK PM since 2018. He said the two countries should:

work together on issues like climate change, global stability during challenging times.

Bold aims. But looking at Starmer's entourage, it's all business, Al Jazeera noted:

The prime minister is accompanied by a delegation of nearly 60 representatives of businesses and cultural organisations, including banking conglomerate HSBC, pharmaceutical giant GSK, carmaker Jaguar Land Rover and the UK's National Theatre.

The visit is also a chance for a reset, Starmer seems to think. Relations have been strained for some years. Starmer said:

China is a vital player on the global stage, and it's vital that we build a more sophisticated relationship where we can identify opportunities to collaborate, but of course, also allow a meaningful dialogue on areas where we disagree.

Trump isn't happy…

Asked about the UK visit on 30 January, Trump said:

It's very dangerous for them to do that.

He immediately then pivoted back to Canada, who he'd slammed days before for deepening relations with China:

 And it's even more dangerous, I think, for Canada to get into business with China.

He added:

Canada is not doing well. They're doing very poorly, and you can't look at China as the answer.

Trump and Carney clashed at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Their war of words followed a lofty speech about the end of the global order from Carney on 23 January. Trump's subsequent speech was customarily rambling and erratic. Though the president backed down over his threats to annex Greenland — for now.

And Trump made sure that he took the chance to fire a warning shot at Carney, who was present:

Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.

But beneath the posturing, there is something else cooking.

Move away from China

The US made it clear in its recent National Security Strategy (NSS) that China is being de-prioritised. The western hemisphere is what matters to US leaders now.

As the Wall Street Journal pointed out on 6 December:

the document… plays down ideological differences between the U.S. and China, instead placing economics and trade front and center in the relationship.

They added:

It names China only a handful of times—almost exclusively in terms of the economic relationship.

Also softened are the previous US administration's commitments to Taiwan, a territory China claims as its own.

Jessica Chen Weiss, a professor of China studies at Johns Hopkins University, told the Journal China would see the NSS as:

a relatively favorable turn in U.S. grand strategy.

It is always hard to know what's going on the brain of Emperor Donald. But his discomfort at the idea of countries he thinks owe him loyalty working with China is clear. Carney's speech was right after all: what for decades passed as a global rules-based order is coming apart. It's been doing so for a while.

It might be this that is weighing on Trump. And that insecurity may account for his cajoling of Starmer and Carney over China. Because fading empires tend to be volatile beasts, if nothing else.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

A newly-released batch of Epstein files shows that a witness accused US President Donald Trump of orally raping a girl of 13-14 years old — then beating her after she bit him during the ordeal. The same girl was raped by deceased(?) serial child rapist Jeffrey Epstein, who described Trump as his 'closest friend':

Another document newly released details horrific accusations against Trump and Epstein of further rapes. It also alleges that Elon Musk, Epstein's lawyer Alan Dershowitz — yet another Israel fanatic — and several of Trump's children were at least present during the crimes:

Yet another lists Trump as one of those implicated in a 'sex party' where one attendee strangled a young girl to death. All this was also witnessed by members of a Mexican drug cartel:

Trump is said to appear more than 12,000 times in the Epstein files — potentially much more. The Department of Justice has released millions more pages today.

Last month's release included records of a woman accusing Trump of raping her as a 13-year-old and, after she became pregnant, being present as her uncle murdered the baby and dumped its body in a huge lake.

The new revelations make a US attack on Iran almost certain, as he bombs to distract.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

The Migrants' Rights Network has issued an urgent callout to allies. The charity is asking that we complete a government consultation on its so-called 'earned settlement' immigration scheme.

The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 12 February 2026. That gives us under two weeks left to act. 

In its statement, the MRN explained that:

Over the last year, we've seen relentless attacks on our communities. Since the Immigration White Paper announcement in May 2025, the Government has attempted to exclude people who have built their lives here.

From citizenship  changes to the misleadingly titled 'good character guidance', and an increase in the salary thresholds for thousands of skilled workers - who now risk being unable to renew their work visas - to the Prime Minister's now-infamous 'Island of Strangers' speech, it's clear in the Government's eyes we are not welcome and do not belong.

'Earned settlement'

Now, Labour has put forward new proposals for an 'earned settlement' model. The MRN didn't mince its words, stating outright that the concept is "rooted in cruelty".

The change could come into force as soon as April of this year. The government consultation itself states that:

'Earned settlement' is a principle that recognises the value of long-term contribution to the UK. Rather than granting settlement automatically after a fixed period, this approach requires individuals to demonstrate sustained commitment (through work, community involvement, or other meaningful contributions) before being granted permanent status.

The proposed framework sets a starting point of 10 years before settlement can be obtained. This duration may be reduced based on positive indicators (e.g. contributing to the Exchequer by earning a certain salary) or extended based on negative indicators (e.g. reliance on public funds).

The MRN pointed out that the change would heap yet more uncertainty on migrants and refugees, and extend waiting times for settlement — if not preventing it altogether in some cases. Likewise, the very concept of 'earned settlement' is rooted in racism and classism, with high-paid workers receiving preferential treatment.

Limitations to the consultation

The consultation itself is a joke. The deadline is on 12 February, but the government expects that it could begin to implement the changes as early as April. This planned two-month gap clearly indicates that Labour has no intention of listening to any dissenting views.

Likewise, the survey features vague, confusing questions, and gives very little opportunity for meaningful feedback. At a fundamental level, the consultation presupposes that migrants' rights are up for debate:

many questions ask you to accept a framework which we fundamentally reject. A framework that suggests settlement should be 'earned' or that some groups should be exempted from longer routes - a proposal that would give others preferential treatment over others. […] It's ultimately an attempt to appease the far-right rather than challenge anti-migrant racism.

Given the clear biases in the consultation, the MRN is under no illusions that it might convince the government to reverse course. However, it's urging us to fill it out anyway:

We are engaging with the consultation as we think it's important to make our voices heard, register opposition to the proposals, and because we have been asked to by community members. Some groups are exploring legal challenges, and we think the consultation data could be useful for this.

How can you help?

In the face of such an obvious stitch-up, it's easy to feel powerless. However, the MRN suggested four ways in which we can help:

1. First and foremost, you should complete the consultation. As the MRN explained, we need to register our opposition to lay the groundwork for resistance further down the line. If you need help, you can check out the MRN's consultation response here.
2. Share the consultation with your group chats, colleagues, family and friends. Anyone can get involved, so it helps to get it in front of as many sympathetic eyes as possible.
3. Check in on your migrant friends and neighbours. These changes will make people's lives worse when they're implemented, but the proposals themselves are designed to make migrants feel unwanted. It's our duty to show people that this isn't the case.
4. Join the 'Not a Stranger' campaign:
   

   Not a Stranger is a migrant-led campaigning group established in June 2025 in response to the UK Government's Immigration White Paper (IWP) proposal. Find out more and join the campaign here.

The UK government's intense hostility is intended to make migrants and their allies feel like there's nothing they can do. They want us apathetic in the face of their right-wing pandering.

We must stand up now and demonstrate that there are still people who believe that we're stronger together, and we won't back down without a fight.

Featured image via Change.org

By Alex/Rose Cocker

Zack Polanski has landed himself in a Twitter spat with Labour's David Pinto-Duschinsky, the MP for Hendon. The Green leader called out Labour's pathetic flip-flopping on abolishing leaseholds.

Labour previously pledged to abolish leaseholds altogether. However, the party recently announced that it would cap the charge at a 'mere' £250.

Given the PLP's spineless U-turn, it's unsurprising that the war of words isn't going in Pinto-Duschinsky's favour. 

The boring part

First, a quick recap for those of us who don't keep up with the thrilling minutiae of the UK housing market.

(Stay with me, please — I promise there's dunks).

Across England and Wales, there are currently around 5 million leasehold properties. Flats make up at least 70% of that number.

As things currently stand, a property's freeholder owns both the building and the land it's built on. By contrast, leaseholders pay for the right to live on that land for a given period of time. That fee is called 'ground rent'. After the lease expires, the freeholder resumes ownership of the property.

On January 27, Keir Starmer announced that Labour will cap ground rent for leaseholders at £250 per year. The party also plans to ban the sale of new leasehold flats.

Yet another U-turn — Zack Polanski unimpressed

However, as the Canary's HG pointed out, Starmer conveniently forgot to mention that the 2024 Labour manifesto stated:

Labour will act where the Conservatives have failed and finally bring the feudal leasehold system to an end.

As HG wrote at the time:

Labour literally promised to end leasehold. Whilst we shouldn't be surprised that Starmer has made yet another U-turn, a £250 cap is a shitshow when it should be zero. And yes, after 40 years, it will change to 'peppercorn', or zero. But why in 40 years and not now?

As Zack Polanski pointed out, Labour hardly look like they're on the renters' side here:

How quickly did "abolish leasehold" become work with managing agents and insurance companies to "reform?"

Labour constantly showing where their loyalties lie - and it's definitely not with the people. https://t.co/fZhL5Ypizz

— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) January 9, 2026

Likewise, Labour have also neglected to do anything to stop renters being hit with out-of-control service charges. Notionally, these are variable fees that landlords charge for improvements, insurance, repairs, maintenance, or management costs etc.

As such, there's nothing stopping landlords from simply hiking their service charges to make up for lost ground rent. In some areas of the country, leaseholders are already paying service charges of up to £16,000 a year.

Take the L, buddy

Fortunately for us at the Canary, Labour can never take a loss without digging themselves deeper. Enter the honourable member for Hendon:

Labour MPs discussing in detail with brokers and regulators practical steps to actually bring down leaseholders' insurance costs. @ZackPolanski sniping on social media with no plan. Same old Greens.

What's your actual plan, Zack? Are you going hypnotise insurers to lower rates? https://t.co/fi5U9iGy9W

— David Pinto-Duschinsky MP (@DavidPintoD) January 9, 2026

Anyone else getting bored of the fucking 'hypnotist' bit? These people have one joke, seriously.

If your party isn't in the pockets of landlords and their cronies, then abolishing ground rent is the plan. You simply don't have to worry about appeasing leeches for taking away one of their methods of sucking money from the hands of renters.

Zack Polanski — 'Replace Labour, abolish leasehold'

So, Polanski quickly pointed out that he has a plan. It happens to be exactly the same as Labour's stated plan back in 2024 — 'abolish leasehold':

As for what we're going to do David - I've repeated it lots. But happy to again:

Replace Labour.

Abolish Leasehold.https://t.co/0qbagSvIYp

— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) January 29, 2026

Oh yes, sorry — "Replace Labour, Abolish Leasehold". Labour is apparently already working on keeping itself out of power in the next election, so Polanski's following the PLP on two counts there.

Labour's pathetic attempt at 'abolishing' leasehold is a fig leaf, and nothing more. The party promised to end this feudal system, but wound up siding with the landlords after all. £250 ground rent is a far cry from zero, and renters have no protection from jacked-up, retaliatory service charges.

Zack Polanski is advocating for real change. That simply doesn't compute for a Labour party that's forgotten what it's like to be on the side of the people.

Featured image via the Independent

By Alex/Rose Cocker

During the Nakba of 1948, zionist paramilitaries — from which the Israeli 'Defence' Force (IDF) was formed — destroyed hundreds of Palestinian villages. They also forcibly displaced around 750,000 of Palestine's 1.4 million Arab population. As a result of this mass displacement and expulsion, Palestinian refugee camps were established in the West Bank. These were managed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), especially set up after 1948 for the welfare and human development of Palestinian refugees.

3,500 Palestinians from Jerusalem were displaced during the Nakba. Eventually they ended up in Shuafat Refugee Camp

UNRWA closes in Jerusalem

In the old city of Jerusalem, UNRWA hosted around 500 Palestinian families, approximately 3,500 people, in its Centre for Refugees. But in 1964, these refugees were moved from Jerusalem's old city, which is now the Jewish Quarter, to Shuafat Refugee Camp. Each family was given a plot of land, but nothing more, and until the 1970s there were no roads or electricity either.

Dr. Salim Anati was brought up in Shuafat Refugee Camp. He is a retired doctor who worked in UNRWA's health centre there, before its closure by the Israeli occupation. 

Around 42,000 people now live inside the one square kilometre camp. Another 40,000 people live in the area adjacent to it, and the numbers continue to rise. According to Dr. Anati, five or six thousand people have made Shuafat Refugee Camp their home in the past few years alone. Buildings are constructed upwards to save space. But as with all Palestinian structures, planning permission is not granted, and so home demolitions are common.

The Camp is technically within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries, and many residents hold Jerusalem ID cards. But in 2003 the occupation built the separation barrier. This now surrounds the whole area and separates the refugee camp from Jerusalem. 

Dr. Anati says life is very hard for the residents. Many of their problems stem from a checkpoint at the entrance to the camp. This is manned 24 hours a day by the Israeli occupation.

Checkpoint makes life very difficult for residents of Shuafat Refugee Camp

Dr. Anati says:

If we want to go to Jerusalem, we have to pass the checkpoint. This restricts the movement of the people, and creates economic and psychological problems for them. People here used to go smoothly to East Jerusalem, but now they are losing their jobs, and there is around 47 percent unemployment.

There are problems with the checkpoint now, and people started to accept the situation, so they don't leave the camp. It's like a big jail here, of more than 80,000 in the area. Many Palestinians are also beaten at the checkpoint, or shot and killed by the Israeli police for no reason. It's collective punishment for the refugees. They want to get rid of them, so that they can't take back their homes from 1948.

For several years now, the Israeli occupation has made every effort to paralyse UNRWA in any means possible. And now the Agency has been banned from operating in 'Israel' and the occupied Palestinian territories. Just last week, 'Israel' brought in bulldozers and tore down UNRWA's headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem. In a statement, UN Commissioner General, Philippe Lazzarini, said this latest attack was part of an "ongoing attempt to dismantle the status of Palestinian refugees, and erase their history."

As a result, all UNRWA facilities in refugee camps in the occupied territory are now closed. And have had their electricity, water and communications cut. This includes the three schools in Shuafat camp, and the health centre where Dr. Anati used to work.

UNRWA also used to collect rubbish, take care of the streets, water and sewage system, and run health awareness programmes.

He says:

These have all stopped now. We don't know what will happen in the future. They say the municipality will take care of these things, but the people must pay tax for the services. All people would be forced to pay. The people are in a bad place, things are very difficult and they are suffering.

Kids can't go to school here now, and the health centre is closed so there is no more medication for the community. Children aren't vaccinated any more. Women, the elderly, disabled and chronically ill are also affected.

But Israeli occupation forces have not only gone after UNRWA in Shuafat refugee camp. They also harass and impose conditions on other facilities important to the community. On 28 January, a fine equivalent to more than £60,000 was imposed on Shuafat refugee camp's youth centre, which provides education and vital activities for children aged between 12 and 17 years.

Children severely traumatised by the almost daily violent raids

Dr. Anati and some of his friends from the refugee camp, established Al Quds Charitable Trust, back in 1993, with the aim of easing the hardships of the residents of the camp. Things have become increasingly difficult in the West Bank since the start of the genocide in Gaza, Dr. Anati describes the situation as collective punishment and says more people than ever are asking for the charity's support and assistance. Many benefit from the physiotherapy sessions, whilst a lawyer is available to provide essential legal advice.

The charity's centre also teaches women handicrafts and embroidery, with the aim of these skills providing a livelihood for them and their family. Several Bedouin communities close to Shuafat camp, who are regularly targeted by Israeli occupation authorities and settlers, are also supported. Many activities are also organised for children.

Dr. Anati says:

We work with the YMCA in Jerusalem, to provide psychosocial support. We also now have a speech therapy programme, that we didn't have before. Children are really affected by the daily raids on the camp. They get traumatised and have nightmares, bed wetting, difficulties speaking and writing. So we try and help them.

These violent raids, carried out by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) and border police, have been increasing since October 2023, but over the past two months they have occurred on an often daily basis, at all times of the day and night, without warning. Children returning home find themselves being chased, beaten, shot at and arrested for no reason at all. The Israeli occupation also attacks people in their homes, often smashing down their doors and causing widespread destruction. These raids do not only have a psychological impact on those living in the refugee camp but also can cause them severe health issues — due to the widespread use of tear gas, which can often lead to infections and suffocation.

But tear gas is not the only cause of health problems. Chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure are increasing among the population, as are respiratory and gastrointestinal problems.

UNRWA closure creates a growing number of health problems

Dr. Anati explains:

Nowadays, no less than 20 percent of the population in this camp have diabetes. Health conditions are deteriorating because of the stress and pressure, unhealthy conditions, and psychosocial problems here. And the lack of medicines also has an influence on and adds to the complications these people face.

The Al Quds Charitable Trust is run entirely by volunteers. It has no regular funding source. Unfortunately, due to Israeli occupation's restrictions, no Palestinian charities in Jerusalem are permitted to receive any funding through their bank accounts — they rely entirely on the generosity of visitors. But despite the numerous efforts to drive Palestinians away from Shuafat refugee camp, its residents remain determined to stay. 

Dr. Anati and others like him continue working to keep the services and sense of community going, that UNRWA, until very recently provided. Although the Israeli occupation wants these Palestinians to leave, they are going nowhere. And in the face of recurrent raids, poverty and isolation behind the separation barrier, life inside the camp has become a daily act of resistance and resilience.

Featured image via UN RWA

By Charlie Jaay

ICE's war on the US people — under the guise of a racist 'immigration' purge — continues to spread. After murders and maimings in Minnesota and the tear-gassing of peaceful protesters in Texas, the viciousness has hit Colorado.

Citizens of Durango, a small Colorado town of fewer than 20,000 people, were holding their weekly peaceful protest against ICE violence and racism. Several people were filming the protest — by now a must-do activity to capture the lawlessness of the 'law enforcement' mob.

Suddenly, a masked ICE agent is filmed snatching an elderly woman's phone from her as she uses it to record. The thug then physically attacks the woman and throws her down a hill, assisted by others from the 'Trump Gestapo'. The attackers then retreat behind a fence:

https://www.thecanary.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/tEQf5aEQmZTEmq01.mp4

The vicious attack follows a period of openly racist escalation in the area. As the Durango Herald reported on Monday, ICE stormtroopers have begun leaving 'ace of spades' cards in the vehicles of victims of their raids. White supremacist groups have long used the symbol as a means of intimidation:

Image provided by a victim's family.

Alex Sanchez of the Voces Unidas immigrant advocacy group, said:

We are disgusted by ICE's actions in Eagle County," he said in his post. "Leaving a racist death card behind after targeting Latino workers is deliberate intimidation rooted in a long history of racial violence. This is an abuse of power.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

Nigel Farage has been in Dubai to drum up donations and lavish praise upon the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Reform UK leader is a man all too eager to blame Britain's problems on Muslims. But the truth is Farage knows a good thing when he sees it. And by 'good', we mean rich.

Middle East Eye (MEE) exclusively reported details of Farage's Dubai visit on 28 January:

On Wednesday evening, he gave a keynote speech at a private party hosted by GB News, the right-wing British television channel for which Farage is a presenter.

Wait, what? Muslim-bashing nativist channel GB News was in Dubai too? You heard right. And there's more:

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE's minister of industry and advanced technology, attended the party, which was held on the rooftop of the high-end Ritz-Carlton hotel and attended by around eighty people.

Farage made some very appreciative noises about the UAE in his speech to Emirati officials:

We have a lot to learn from you, my dear sirs. We recognise you are our friends.

Adding:

A Brexit London, a Reform London, will remember you.

But what could an upstanding British MP like Nigel Farage possibly admire about a violently authoritarian, genocidal dictatorship with bottomless wealth?

Truly a mystery for the ages…

An international nexus of complete weirdos

Also in attendance at the party was major funder of GB News, Christopher Chandle, who "loves Britain but is too pessimistic to live there". Then there was Reform London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham, and the disgraced ex-Tory chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, who recently defected to Reform.

MEE said that Farage had been on a charm offensive in the run-up to the visit. In September he publicly called for a UK ban on the Muslim Brotherhood. The UAE has already banned the group.

The Muslim Brotherhood is an international political party and tendency founded in Egypt in 1928. It advances a form of political Islam. The Brotherhood is banned in Egypt and several Gulf dictatorships.

According to MEE:

it is considered a major threat by many autocratic governments in the Middle East and North Africa.

This is because, in rare instances in which free elections are held in the region, parties affiliated with the organisation often win outright or form the largest opposition party.

Farage, a fanatical supporter of the massively rich, spent some time hobnobbing with billionaires based in the region.

MEE reported that the Reform chief had also hosted a private lunch:

with the backing of Dubai-based Indian billionaire Sunny Varkey at Rockfish, a beachside restaurant.

They added:

The lunch was reportedly attended by wealthy UAE-based donors. Farage had visited Abu Dhabi just last month on a trip reportedly paid for by the UAE government.

Apparently the UAE has been keen to cosy up to Reform:

owing to a shared opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood.

That may well be the case. But it sounds like a partial explanation, at best.

Farage, a multi-millionaire banker, knows the value of money. And on balance of probability, he does not spend his time in rooms full of billionaires simply because he enjoys giving speeches.

In the UAE, Farage has a kindred spirit — and a potential financial backer with a keen interest in the shape of Britain's next government.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

On 29 January, the EU added the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — a key proponent of Tehran's security apparatus and economy — to its list of terrorist organisations.

They announced on the same day sanctions against a further 15 individuals and six entities in Iran, citing involvement in "serious human rights violations". The move responds to Iran's violent crackdown on anti-government protests which began last month.

Meanwhile, the US is building up military power near Iran, with president Trump deploying the military "armada" to the Middle-East, as the clouds of war loom.

Deadly crackdown

Regarding the protests, Bloomberg reported that:

Demonstrations erupted in Tehran late last month after the rial tumbled to a record low, pushing up the price of staples and deepening an economic crisis tied to the sanctioned country's global isolation. Protests have since spread across Iran, spurring its authoritarian religious and military leadership to threaten severe repercussions for what they call "rioters."

Iranian authorities imposed an internet blackout across the country back on 8 January. Because of this, it has been difficult to assess the scale of the violence perpetrated by security forces. Although international news organisations have had little access to Iran, BBC has verified videos of security forces firing live ammunition at protesters.

The Norway-based Iran Human Rights group has estimated that the death toll could top 25,000. However, Tehran has said that only 3,100 people were killed, who it accused of attacking bystanders and security personnel.

'Repression cannot go unanswered'

In response to Iran's deadly repressive actions, Italy spearheaded a push within the EU to add the IRGC to its terror list.

This wasn't the first time the designation had been suggested. However, France previously opposed the move, fearful that sanctions would dent  diplomatic relations with Iran.

However, on 28 January, France abandoned its usual line on Iran. Instead, it added its political weight to the push to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. The EU's addition of the IRGC to the terror list sees it ranked alongside the likes of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

The IRGC is Iran's primary armed force. It boasts land, air, and sea capabilities, along with an estimated 190,000 active personnel. It also controls the Basij Resistance Force, a paramilitary group within Iran that numbers in the hundreds of thousands.

On 29 January, EU high representative Kaja Kallas posted on social media:

Repression cannot go unanswered. EU Foreign Ministers just took the decisive step of designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation. Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise.

In designating the IRCG as a terrorist force, the EU joins the US, Canada and Australia. Other countries have already made similar moves.

Sweeping sanctions

The other 15 individuals subject to EU sanctions include members of Iran's judicial system, several IRGC commanders, ranking officers of the police and the Law Enforcement Force (LEF), and Eskandar Momeni, the head of Iran's National Security Council.

The European Council specifically cited their use of violence, arbitrary detention, and censorship during the protests.

Meanwhile, the sanctioned entities were those responsible for the internet blackout and censorship activities. They consisted of the Seraj Cyberspace Organization, Iranian Audio-Visual Media Regulatory Authority (SATRA), Working Group for Determining Instances of Criminal Content (WGDICC), and three software companies.

In its statement, the European Council explained:

Restrictive measures related to human rights violations in Iran now apply to a total of 247 individuals and 50 entities. They consist of an asset freeze, travel bans to the EU, and a prohibition to make funds or economic resources available to those listed.

However, in spite of the sanctions and re-designation of the IRGC, Kallas reportedly expects that the EU's diplomatic channels with Iran will remain open.

'Fanning the flames'

For his part, Abbas Araghchi — the Iranian foreign minister — dismissed the EU's pronouncement as a "stunt" and a "major strategic mistake".

He highlighted that the US was clearly amassing military power within close reach to ran. Araghchi stated that rather than trying to prevent "all-out war in our region", the EU was "busy fanning the flames".

Araghchi also stated that Iran's military was waiting "with their fingers on the trigger", and would "immediately" respond to a US attack.

Regarding the American forces amassing near Iran, the Canary's Joe Glenton explained:

The presence of a credible military force, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, tells its own story. The Lincoln - with her gigantic airpower and accompanying warships — was rerouted on short notice from the Indo-Pacific to the Arabian sea for whatever task Trump envisions.

Trump insists on referring to the fleet as his "beautiful armada" and has pulled US troops out of Qatar. He has talked about protecting protestors as part of his rationale, but also about forcing Iran into submission over a nuclear deal.

Questions currently hang over whether Trump's military power in the region is intended as a show of force, or is a prelude to US strikes on Iran. When asked if he planned to hold talks with Tehran, Trump stated:

I have had and I am planning on it. Yes, we have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn't have to use them.

On the brink

Economic sanctions from the UN and US have already made it near-impossible for Iranian nationals to buy foreign currencies, having cut them off from global banking. Likewise, America also sanctions massive shares of trade with Iran, particularly in the oil markets.

This, in large part, contributed to the recent collapse of the Iranian rial and the country's soaring cost of living. And, in turn, the economic collapse helped spark the last month of deadly protests. In spite of Trump's posturing about helping the demonstrators, he clearly worked to engineer this very situation.

Meanwhile, the EU's designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organisation is a highly unusual move. Typically, the European Council reserves the 'terrorist' label for non-state actors, rather than a country's military.

As such, and despite the fact that the EU has historically tried to hold itself apart from Washington-Tehran conflicts, the bloc now appears to have aligned itself — deliberately or otherwise — with US interests.

Amid ever-escalating sanctions, extreme civil unrest, and US military threat, the Iranian authorities appear to be cornered. They will have little option other than to join 'negotiations' Trump — which is doubtless what the US dictator wanted all along.

Featured image via the Canary

By Alex/Rose Cocker

Trump's fascist war on peaceful resistance to his racist ICE purge has moved to Texas. ICE thugs and National Guard troops attacked an entirely peaceful anti-ICE march outside ICE's Dilley, Texas concentration camp. Dilley is the camp holding five-year-old Liam Conejos Ramos and his father after ICE abducted Liam to arrest his dad. Liam was described as 'depressed and lethargic' by a Democrat congressman who visited him yesterday.

Conditions in the camp appear grim. A lawyer who stood outside its wall as the march passed recorded detainees, mostly women and children, screaming for help and freedom:

https://www.thecanary.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Texas-March-Attacked-Prisoners-Scream-1-hb.mp4

Trump's police state continues to grow.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

Activists staged a Marie Antoinette-themed performance at the office of Rupert Murdoch's News UK today, 30 January. They disrupted staff and visitors with theatrical calls to address deep power inequality throughout UK society.

"Stop printing Murdoch's lies"

"Stop printing Murdoch's lies" and "They are eating all the cake, take the power back" echoed across the foyer, as activists performed a scripted stunt. It left passers-by stunned and intrigued, with others unable to return to their desks post-lunch.

Playing on Marie Antoinette's famous and ill-fated quote "Let them eat cake" in the lead-up to the French Revolution, the campaigners called for the re-establishment of real democracy through redistribution of power across our society.

https://www.thecanary.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/newsfall-1.mp4

Rose Hopkins, a spokesperson for the Let's Eat Cake campaign said:

For too long, we have allowed a super-rich minority to control the narrative, dictate our economy, and manipulate democracy. While they eat all the cake, they villainise people who are desperately trying to pick up the crumbs and pit them against each other.

The action came after Oxfam released its annual survey of global inequality. It highlights that the super-rich have grown their collective wealth by 81% since 2020. And they're increasingly using their wealth and power to influence politics and society.

Max Lawson, co-author of the report, said:

The economically rich are becoming politically rich the world over, able to shape and influence politics, societies and economies.

In the past, rich people were perhaps more coy about pulling the levers of power, but it's becoming more and more brazen, this kind of marriage between money and politics.

Just three corporations (DMG, News UK and Reach) are responsible for 90% of UK national newspaper circulation. Meanwhile, our online pathways to news are dominated by a handful of American tech giants - predominately Facebook, X and Google.

Featured image and video via Let's Eat Cake

By The Canary

Kidnapped Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro could qualify as a prisoner of war (POW). Maduro was snatched from Caracas by the US in a deadly raid on 3 January. But the US has insisted that's armed conflict with Venezuela.

Legal experts from the NGO Just Security now say Maduro could qualify. Maduro and his wife were kidnapped by US special forces, and transported to New York.

In his initial hearing, the former leader claimed prisoner of war status, and pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons offences that he was eventually formally charged with by a US district court.

The first question to consider is whether the US and Venezuela were engaged in an armed conflict. The US amassed military forces in the region for months before the assault. It also carried out dozens of deadly airstrikes against alleged 'narco-terrorist' boats.

The US special forces raid which captured Maduro may have killed up to 100 people. But war was never formally declared. Just Security has suggested that:

By using its armed forces to attack Venezuela, the United States triggered an IAC [international armed conflict] with that State. Under the four 1949 Geneva Conventions, to which all States are party, an IAC exists in "all cases of declared war or of any other armed conflict which may arise between two or more [States], even if the state of war is not recognized by one of them.

Regardless of whether this constitutes war cannot be determined by the intensity of fighting. As the US-based NGO stated:

Any unconsented-to military operations by one State in the territory of another State, including its national airspace and territorial sea, should be interpreted as an armed interference in the latter's sphere of sovereignty and thus may be an international armed conflict.

If that is the true, Maduro is a prison of war. And has the rights of one.

Is he a POW?

There are various categories that qualify individuals as POWs. Mostly for military personnel and combatants. But some civilians can qualify too. Just Security said:

We do not know if Maduro is on the Venezuelan armed forces' rolls. He does not appear to hold a classic military rank like "General" or otherwise serve as an officer in the Venezuelan armed forces, although he occasionally wears a uniform for ceremonial purposes (as do heads of State of many countries like the UK).

However, a 2008 law in Venezuelan reminds us that the president (even at the time of his kidnapping) held the rank:

"Commander-in-Chief" and that he can exercise operational command directly or through an active-duty officer.

Therefore:

he almost certainly qualifies as a prisoner of war on this basis alone. But even if that was not the case, there are other theories that could be proffered to support entitlement to that status.

Just Security look at other ways in which Maduro might qualify. But the important point is that POW status gives captives particular rights…

POW rights: what do they mean?

Just Security said if you're a POW, the Geneva Convention entitles you:

to specific treatment with respect to… food, housing, medical care, work, contact with the outside, and ICRC visitation.

The ICRC is the International Committee of the Red Cross.

And this is where the US has to tread carefully. In theory anyway, the Trump administration does not seem to feel overly restrained by international law…

However, legally, Just Security said the US must do one of three things:

1) afford him that status, 2) seek a judicial determination of his status, or 3) convene an Article 5 tribunal to make a status determination.

Basically, they need to clarify Maduro's status, because:

…failure to take one of these three steps would constitute a violation of U.S. obligations under the third Geneva Convention and customary international law.

Trump's belligerence, both at home and abroad, suggest he isn't too concerned about the rule of law — that won't bode well for Maduro. While American judges have challenged Trump's erratic behaviour, Maduro's anticipated trial in March 2026 will serve as a key test for the Trump's 'frontier justice' approach to foreign policy.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

A week after the Canary first reported on the abysmal care of 23-year-old severe myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) patient Savannah Victora-May, and Queen Elizabeth Hospital's (QEH) continued intransigence is putting her life at risk.

Far from stabilising her condition, Savannah, under their care, is enduring a slow and excruciating death via dehydration and malnutrition.

Now, it turns out that a clinician with a history of psychologising ME could be behind this.

Severe ME patient Savannah: still being starved by an NHS hospital

On Friday, urgent appeals by Savannah's advocates forced the hospital to restore fluids. That day, Savannah attempted to demonstrate 'compliance' by drinking 60mls. The effort caused her to pass out from pain:

like my stomach is ripping from the inside.

However, over the weekend, Savannah was still experiencing dehydration leaving her "gasping for air".

She learned on Monday that her clinical team had rewarded her attempt by giving her just 10ml of fluids every hour.

Leading ME expert Dr Weir had already advised that Savannah needs a minimum of 3L fluids per day to counteract her low blood volume. After tireless pressure from Weir and Sam Pearce, author of World ME Alliance (WMEA) resources on severe ME, her doctor finally agreed to administer 3L on Monday afternoon.

Nevertheless, Savannah is still facing significant risk. On Monday 26 January, Savannah said:

Today is a victory as I have fluids back but I am in extreme danger, extreme. I still have no nutrition at all. They're saying they want to remove my IV access through my PICC line. My subcutaneous painkillers are still due to be reduced further.

Savannah's last meal was 5 chips, 12 days ago. Since the hospital withdrew her anti-nausea medication, eating orally causes unbearable pain and post-exertional malaise (PEM). For the last 7 years, Savannah has relied on an NJ tube for nutrition. Yet, QEH continues to dismiss Dr Weir's call to provide her with total parenteral nutrition (TPN).

The hospital has also halved her pain injections. Currently, it is giving her paracetamol every 6 hours through an intravenous drip. Now her medical team have started giving her a patch that's a quarter the dose of her injections — which had previously caused her allergic reactions.

Savannah said:

They've removed the cornerstone of my pain control so ice cubes are literally the only way I'm able to stay breathing from the acid fire inside of my body.

On Tuesday, Savannah lost consciousness after 12 hours without pain relief. She expressed after waking that:

It's not pain, it's another plane of existence that no human could and should be forced to endure.

Gaslighting and psychologisation

A female doctor at QEH told her she is "doing very well" under this new regime. She asked Savannah:

How are you going to live if we keep medicalising this?

On Tuesday, a psychiatrist woke and interrogated her for half an hour. Savannah had to repeatedly defend the biological neuroimmune basis of ME as he asked questions like "have you ever been sexually abused?", "how is your parents' relationship?" and "how was it growing up as the middle child?"

He returned on Thursday to ask Savannah why she wasn't getting out of bed.

Savannah said:

I've spent the entire night screaming and he's coming in and asking me about the power of suggestion.

She added:

They just say they don't believe it's psychological. They say they think it's a real chronic illness. They just…won't feed, hydrate, medicate, treat, listen to or help me.

A biopsychosocial clinician behind her care?

On Monday, Savannah reported that the reason for this persistent gaslighting seemed to finally fall into place. A staff member mentioned Dr Gerald Coakley — a rheumatologist who worked at QEH for over 20 years (until 2023). Coakley is another Graded Exercise Therapy (GET) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) proponent. He has practiced these at his private 'Fatigue Clinic London' since 2007.

He refers patients to Vitality 360 — a private fatigue clinic company owned by Jessica Bavinton, an author of the disgraced PACE Trial. Coakley also co-authored a 2022 book on ME with BACME trustee and Vitality 360 executive manager Beverly Knops. This aired his grievances over the 2021 NICE guidelines.

Savannah noted:

People report really bad experiences with him. And he seems to be leading my care, without my consent, making decisions I do not feel safe or comfortable with, and without having ever met me. He apparently has sent the hospital NICE guidelines that say that opioids should be reduced and so should parenteral or non oral fluids and nutrition.

Of course, nowhere in the 2021 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines for ME does it actually state this.

How you can help Savannah

Thanks to the community's pressure, Action for ME has now stepped up to help.

Savannah said:

I am very grateful that CEO Sonya Chowdhury has stepped in personally to assist and offered to advocate for me in medical management meetings. Unfortunately, QEH have so far not taken up her offer.

Sam, who is in constant contact with Savannah, has said she is now:

worried she is going to die of organ failure.

She added:

The extreme level of pain she is now being subjected to is pushing her heart beyond what is sustainable for such a compromised body. Her suffering is medieval in its brutality and completely unnecessary.

Sam is asking for anyone who can to contribute to a GoFundMe for Savannah. This would cover medical treatment costs, including private pain management, a syringe driver, and ME-literate nursing support.

Savannah has high hopes for her future. She wants to get her A Levels, study medicine, and become a doctor. But as it stands, QEH is failing to even stabilise her. Far from it in fact. As people living with post-viral disease the world over are painfully aware, it wouldn't be the first time a hospital has killed a severe ME patient through medical arrogance and negligence.

However, we can't let an NHS hospital kill Savannah - or any other severe ME patients - on our watch.

Feature image via the Canary

By Hannah Sharland

A coalition of professionals — including media and legal experts — are urging the UK government to stand-up to the war on free speech by the rich and powerful. In an open letter calling for action, its members warned that democracy cannot survive under the current conditions. The battle for free speech has never been more urgent in the UK.

Democracy under attack

The letter, circulated on 28 January, comes from professionals across multiple professional fields, and they contend that:

wealthy and powerful claimants have misused the British justice system and the costs associated with participating in pre-trial and court proceedings to stifle protected speech and public participation … democracy cannot be sustained without everyone being able to express themselves, challenge wrongdoing, or inform others.

They also insist that the right to free speech is critical for a functioning democracy.

It is the Government's duty to protect us from this system being weaponised against free expression

Wealthy parties use 'strategic lawsuits against public participation' (SLAPPs) as a tool to silence ordinary people who speak out via "costly, stressful and unpredictable legal action".

The Canary itself has faced such attacks. And we absolutely agree with the signatories that SLAPPs seriously undermine journalistic efforts to give people the full picture about who has power in our society and how they often harness that power against the rest of us.

The letter to prime minister Keir Starmer calls on him to add into the 2026 King's Speech measures through which parliament can:

establish robust, accessible and universal protections against abusive legal threats and actions.

The rich escape scrutiny

The professionals explain in their letter the impact these legal attacks have on people without the resources to fight back — namely most of us. They say that:

SLAPPs actively prevent a level playing field between those with deep pockets a nd those for whom affording to mount a defence can draw vital funds away from their families and businesses. The financial inequality so frequently at the heart of SLAPPs can force targets to choose between realising their fundamental rights and economic security. This must end.

From our own experience, wealthy and unscrupulous political donors can discourage publication of articles about them too easily by threatening legal action. We strongly suggest that readers familiarise themselves well with the people and organisations that fund our high-profile politicians, though.

Unfortunately, this situation has long been the case. In fact, it's probably been a key factor in ensuring the super-rich treat our political system as a plaything to protect their grubby interests. Moreover, free speech continues to be threatened by these persistent legal challenges.

Back in 2012, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism was discussing how:

British libel laws help rich villains escape the scrutiny of the press

They continued to say that the British legal system is:

exploited by the wealthy and powerful to censor the truth.

These issues are also highlighted by OpenDemocracy, stating that journalists are:

threatened with seven-figure legal fees, so we preemptively avoid any discussion of oligarchs known to be litigious.

Even the risk of legal action is enough to force self-censorship. As it admitted:

Just the prospect of dealing with Britain's ruinously expensive lawyers was enough to make a cash-strapped media organisation back down.

This way, it said, the rich and powerful:

suppress scrutiny on an industrial scale

And it rightly asked:

how many oligarchs successfully slipped into the upper reaches of the establishment because Google revealed nothing bad about them when they offered a political donation

In short, there's a good reason many have called the UK "Libel Capital of the World". Because the global rich and powerful know we have a system that serves them well. Therefore, defending free speech is about upholding accountability.

This is a fight we must all support!

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported in 2023 on how extreme wealth can protect the most powerful people from "legitimate scrutiny", and how:

mounting a defence is so expensive that it creates an inherent imbalance of power

The new open letter demanding change is very important. And if we think democracy is worth fighting for, then we absolutely need to support the campaign against SLAPPs. In summary, the right to free speech remains under threat and it is vital that it be defended robustly. We just think it'll be a tough, uphill struggle considering how much our political class is in the pockets of the rich and powerful.

Featured image via the Canary 

By Ed Sykes

The Police Ombudsman in the North of Ireland has ruled that police failed in their duties when arresting a woman at a pro-Palestine protest in Belfast. Máire Mhic an Fhailí spoke to police in Irish after she was stopped for wearing a Palestine Action t-shirt in August 2025. When asked for her name and address, Mhic an Fhailí provided the information in Irish. Notably, Irish is an official language in the Six Counties.

Other protesters were also stopped by the cops for wearing the same t-shirt, but were allowed to go free after giving their details in English.

After some back and forth, police arrested the 74 year old grandmother and bundled her into the back of a police van. The police gave the reason for arrest as a breach of anti-terror laws. However, the fact that others wearing the same 'offending' t-shirt were let go is remarkable. Mhic an Fhailí was arrested, which meant she was targeted for speaking Irish. Amnesty International branded the arrest as "outrageous."

The Irish News reports that the arresting officer:

…likely fell short of expectations set out for officers in the PSNI Code of Ethics.

The code, which is currently being revised, stipulates that officers must:

…discharge the duties of the office of constable, with fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality, upholding fundamental human rights and according equal respect to all individuals and their traditions and beliefs…

Happy to get a taser out, but not a phone

Neither fairness nor impartiality were shown to the activist in this instance. The Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) code also states that detained persons have a right to "interpretation and translation services".

Almost everyone will by now have had the experience of stopping to assist someone whose language is not the same as our own. The normal thing to do is to access through our phones translation applications to communicate. Moreover, we do this despite having no statutory requirement.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), in contrast, are now bound by such a responsibility. Yet it was apparently too much trouble to swipe on their mobile to avoid needless arrest, and the subsequent lengthy ombudsman investigation. Clearly they display more hesitance when reaching for a phone than for a taser.

Mhic an Fhailí herself pointed out that the matter ought never have got to the ombudsman stage:

We shouldn't still be fighting for the right to give any details in Irish. That should be a given now. We shouldn't be at the point where we're still having to go to the ombudsman and wait on the ombudsman to decide whether the police are in the right or the wrong.

The officer in question will now face "performance procedures", a form of disciplinary action. However, the problem clearly cannot be whitewashed by blaming one individual. Numerous officers were present at the arrest and all failed to handled the matter correctly.

Ombudsman ruling welcome, but misses the point

The Police Ombudsman found that the behaviour of the officers:

likely fell short of expectations set out for officers in the PSNI Code of Ethics.

The Canary was present on the day and observed this first hand. However, the ombudsman's other rulings don't correlate with the facts. These include the decision that the West Belfast woman was not "treated differently than others because she spoke Irish". As outlined above, clearly she was.

The ombudsman also found:

…no misconduct regarding her other complaints that an older officer escalated the situation because she spoke Irish…

This is false. A younger officer was still attempting to get Mhic an Fhailí to answer in English, before an older officer stepped in and proceeded with arrest. This was clearly an escalation, and stemmed from speaking in Irish. The ombudsman also found it was not the case that:

…police failed to consider potential disabilities.

Again this was not the case, as the arrest was carried out with insufficient care given the arrestee's age, as footage shows.

Police have featured in similar shameful scenes in England as they cage frail people at peaceful pro-Palestine Action demonstrations in England. Mhic an Fhailí remains the only person the PSNI have arrested in Ireland for supporting Palestine Action. However, they have travelled to England to assist in pro-holocaust policing.

Nonetheless, the ombudsman ruling comes at a significant time. It comes a day after the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022 comes into full effect. Consequently, it means public bodies must ensure services are accessible to Irish speakers.

The solicitor who took the case to the ombudsman, Kevin Winters, said:

This decision puts a marker down for PSNI acceptance and respect for the Irish language. We ought never again to witness such an unacceptable policing response to a citizen's absolute entitlement to speak in Irish.

So in future, when you're being dragged off by the cops for whatever the latest thought-crime is, at least perhaps they'll do so in a culturally sensitive way.

Featured image via Irish News

By Robert Freeman

Member of London's Irish community gathered on 29 January to mark the anniversary of the UK government's Bloody Sunday massacre of innocent civilians in Derry.

Skwawkbox's friends 'BetterThanReal' and Chiara Contrino were there to make a recording of the event for Skwawkbox and the Canary readers. It was the first such commemoration since a British judge acquitted 'Soldier F', one of the British troops who perpetrated the massacre. Solidarity with Gaza was another strong theme at the commemorative event.

Sinn Féin MP John Finucane — whose father Pat was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries working with the British government — spoke about the families' quest for "justice and dignity" and government-directed disinformation and smears against the 26 unarmed, innocent victims of the massacre.

Finucane told how eight British soldiers — who had lied to the Bloody Sunday inquiry — were just told that they'll not be prosecuted for their perjury:

https://www.thecanary.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Finucane-Bloody-Sunday-hb.mp4

Chiara Contrino's photographs, published with permission:

BetterThanReal captured these images:

Thanks to the intrepid photographers and solidarity with the Bloody Sunday families.

Featured image via Skwawkbox

By Skwawkbox

Greater Manchester Police has announced that it will be taking no further action on Reform UK candidate Matthew Goodwin's complaint about a Labour party tweet. Goodwin had claimed that a post by Labour misrepresented him and breached electoral law. Goodwin's pearl-clutching disgusted even right-wing hack Dan Hodges:

Next time anyone in Reform bangs on about policing tweets remind them of this… https://t.co/sGjChMy3ZW

— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) January 29, 2026

Goodwin's party boss Farage has his own record of hypocrisy, having promised to stop people doing, if he ever gets into power, exactly what Goodwin did — trying to intimidate people for social media posts:

I don't think enough is being made of this insane turn of events by Reform UK.

This is from the very same source in 2024, talking about how Allison Pearson's police tweet investigation had been dropped.

With a handy contribution from Reform UK leader — Nigel Farage.

"Farage… https://t.co/pcwis6PQZ6 pic.twitter.com/k6fD3PUXMW

— Don McGowan (@donmcgowan) January 29, 2026

Farage's deputy Richard Tice is no stranger to hypocrisy — and no better on this particular form of it:

Tice will be happy pic.twitter.com/vwiW1RJMun

— Sebastian Coe (@SEBdotCOEdotUK) January 29, 2026

And the party's supposed aversion to prosecuting hate speech was also exposed this week when Tory party leader Kemi Badenoch attacked new Tory-to-Reform defector Suella Braverman:

There's this also, and the case Anderson won for someone telling him he was a wa***r.. they hate free speech https://t.co/6q08reFzpa

— Just Laurie (@Birax) January 29, 2026

Braverman herself was no better, at least by the supposed robust free speech standards her new party claims to champion:

Very disappointing that it has come to this.

A false and defamatory statement has been made by the @Conservatives about me.

No private or public apology has been made to me.

And there has been no acceptance that it was false.

Disgusting behaviour by a once great party. https://t.co/6arEwRcSmt

— Suella Braverman (@SuellaBraverman) January 29, 2026

Horrors and hypocrites the lot of them — including Keir Starmer and his lackeys who are always trying to out-fash the fash.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

The story did not begin with Israel's announcement that it had found the body of prisoner Ran Gueli in the Gaza Strip. It began much earlier, underground.

There, where war is meant to end and silence begin, Palestinian cemeteries were turned into sites of military operations. In the search for a single body, hundreds of graves were opened and the dead removed from their final resting places. This rare act in modern warfare raises a chilling question: how far can war go, and do the dead retain any sanctity?

The search that led to the cemeteries of Gaza

According to field data and corroborating testimonies, occupying forces began digging inside civilian cemeteries days before the official announcement.

The operations focused on areas previously subjected to ground invasions in the Gaza Strip.

The exhumations were not isolated incidents. They were systematic and repeated. Graves were opened, remains removed, and bodies transferred for examination in an attempt to locate Israel's last missing prisoner. Palestinian and media estimates indicate that around 250 graves were exhumed during these operations, based on Israel's belief that Ran Gueli was buried in one of them.

The announcement 

When the Israeli army later announced it had identified the body through official matching tests, it framed the event as an "operational achievement" and the closure of the hostage file.

The statement, however, omitted the cost of that outcome: hundreds of desecrated graves and families discovering their dead had not been left in peace. Israel did not disclose how many graves were exhumed, what happened to the remains, or whether bodies were reburied according to humanitarian or religious procedures.

This silence leaves behind a moral and legal void far greater than any military statement.

Among the dead 

The search for Ran Gueli's body was not a forensic process confined to laboratories. It was a brutal journey through Palestinian cemeteries.

Bulldozers tore through soil marked by names, dates, and memories, searching for one body among hundreds.

The dead were not anonymous remains. They were parents, children, and grandparents buried with the hope that death would end their suffering. For their families, this was not a wartime operation. It was a violation of memory and mourning. Death itself was dragged back into the conflict.

Where does the law stand?

International law experts and human rights organisations stress that cemeteries are protected civilian sites.

Exhuming hundreds of graves to locate a single body raises serious concerns of disproportionate force. Even in the most brutal conflicts, the dead are meant to remain sacred. Military necessity does not override this principle when no immediate threat exists.

Human rights groups argue that what occurred may constitute systematic desecration of the dead and a violation of established legal obligations.

Condemnation without accountability

In Palestine, the incident was described as both a moral and legal crime. Calls were made for an independent international investigation.

Internationally, the response has been muted, closer to silence than accountability.

This echoes broader accusations of double standards in responses to violations during the war on Gaza. The absence of consequences risks setting a precedent in which cemeteries, like homes and hospitals, become legitimate targets.

Destroying the memory of the dead in Gaza

The exhumation of around 250 Palestinian graves to recover one Israeli prisoner signals a grim new phase of the war.

When graves are violated in the name of security, the boundary between life and death collapses.

If even the sanctity of graves is no longer respected, what limits remain on the conduct of war?

Featured image via Anadolu Ajansi

By Alaa Shamali

Spanish coach Pep Guardiola, manager of English club Manchester City, has once again shown public support for the Palestinian people amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Guardiola made his stance clear today at a conference held alongside a charity campaign supporting Palestine in Barcelona. He wore a Palestinian scarf and opened his speech in Arabic, saying: "Peace be upon you."

His remarks reaffirm his solidarity with Palestinians, draw attention to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and renew debate over the international community's responsibility toward civilians:

https://www.thecanary.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/WhatsApp-Video-2026-01-29-at-11.01.06-PM.mp4 Guardiola delivers a moving speech 

During his speech, Guardiola spoke about images of Palestinian children who have lost their parents beneath the rubble of bombed homes. He said:

When I see a child over the last two years begging for his mother, buried under the rubble, I feel that we have left them alone, abandoned, neglected

He described children's suffering as a direct appeal to the world:

I always imagine that this child is saying: Where are you? Come and help us. And so far, we have not done so.

Guardiola argued that international silence deepens the harm:

What the bombs cause — and what they want to cause — is silence. They want us to look the other way. That is their only goal.

Strong criticism of political leaders

Guardiola also launched a sharp attack on political leaders, calling them "cowardly authorities."

They send innocent young people to kill innocent people," he said, "while they stay at home with the heating on when it's cold and the air conditioning on when it's hot.

He stressed that taking action begins with refusing to stay silent:

We have to take a step forward. Just being there already means a lot — a lot.

A message of solidarity and humanity

Guardiola concluded with a clear message of solidarity:

We stand before the world to show that we are on the side of the weakest. In this case, that is Palestine — and all just causes.

His intervention highlights his ethical stance as one of the world's most prominent sports figures. It also increases pressure on governments and international bodies to act, warning that silence or indifference amounts to a betrayal of basic human rights.

Featured image via Facebook

By Alaa Shamali

In a rare move that has drawn international attention, former Swedish goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl has refused FIFA's invitation to join the 'FIFA Legends' team ahead of the Women's World Cup.

Her decision was not merely symbolic. It was a direct protest against the use of sport to whitewash institutions, while Palestinian footballers in Gaza are killed and denied the safety to play.

Rejecting the FIFA award and upholding human values

Lindahl said that taking part in any activity linked to FIFA's 'Peace Award' would exploit her image to sanitise the organisation's actions toward Palestinian athletes.

She stated:

Sport is not about slogans or promotional images. It is a platform for justice and human rights. Remaining silent about the killing of athletes in Gaza betrays the values and spirit of the game.

She added that FIFA lacks credibility if it continues to ignore daily violations against Palestinian players.

An explicit call for FIFA to protect Gaza's players

Lindahl went beyond rejection and issued a direct call for FIFA to act immediately to protect footballers in Gaza.

She noted that hundreds of Palestinian athletes have been killed or injured during the conflict. Any inaction, she argued, amounts to tacit complicity in these violations.

Lindahl stressed that Palestinian athletes must be guaranteed the right to play safely. She urged FIFA to transform sport into a tool for justice rather than a public relations exercise.

A bold stance that exposes sporting conscience

Her stance comes amid growing scrutiny of international sporting bodies operating during conflicts. It places clear moral pressure on FIFA to take a decisive position.

Lindahl has shifted from sporting legend to a global advocate for human rights in sport. She insists that football must reflect justice and humanity, not serve as symbolic cover for institutional silence.

An ethical test for world football

Lindahl's message is stark: players in Gaza deserve life and justice before ceremonies or symbolic awards.

Her stand places FIFA before a genuine moral test and reopens debate about the responsibility of sporting organisations to protect civilian athletes and uphold human rights.

Featured image via Chelsea FC

By Alaa Shamali

In a sane world, this would be shocking. We're not in a sane world. Tory peer and former Cabinet minister Michael Gove is a shameless supporter of Israel who, in government, tried to push through 'friends of apartheid' legislation banning local authorities from boycotting Israel. But he's also not the least bit shy about Israel's grossly undue influence in British politics. So much so that he's happy to admit he wants more of it. On camera:

Instagram seems to have set the 'reel' so it can no longer be opened and embedded, but Skwawkbox was able to retrieve the video file. Well done to the interviewer for holding Michael Gove to account:

https://www.thecanary.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/SnapInsta-Ai_3820699131556211059.mp4

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

TikTok has permanently banned Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda, whose documentary It's Bisan from Gaza and I'm still alive won multiple awards and broke millions of hearts. She had more than 1.4m followers on the platform.

The deletion is another assault on decency in the app's war on Palestinian and pro-Palestinian speech. Thousands of creators have seen their content shadowbanned, while even the word 'Zionist' is treated as hate speech. TikTok has installed Israeli cyberspies to run the programme since the Israel-fanatic Ellison billionaires bought it, hiding Israel's genocide in Gaza.

Owda announced the censorship, which follows repeated 'restriction' attacks, in a video via the 'Pulse of Palestine' account. She attributed the decision to a speech by Israeli war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu described the TikTok purchase as the "most important" "battlefield" in Israel's attempts to sanitise its evil, bloodstained image. Not just an image, but a reality:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by PalPulse (@pulseofpal)

The enemy of decency has also planned ahead to try to keep Owda's reporting hidden. The Palestinian-created UpScrolled app is at the top of international app charts as users abandon TikTok's corrupt cover-up — but the occupation has created dozens of 'Bisan Owda' accounts in an attempt to prevent users finding the real Owda on UpScrolled or even identifying whether she has one there yet:

Some of the many Bisan Owda clones - the real one may be among them.

Skwawkbox is trying to find the real one and will let readers know. Israel has murdered hundreds of journalists and their families. It must not be allowed to silence Bisan Owda.

Featured image via UN Women

By Skwawkbox

A new report has found that UK universities still aren't doing enough to support disabled students. The 2025 Access Insights report from Disabled Students UK found that 63% of disabled students have gone without adjustments.

Disabled students

Disabled Students UK surveyed over 1,000 students from over 100 universities about their experiences. This is the third year the study has run and the largest into Higher Education accessibility in the UK. It's particularly relevant now with the government focusing on getting young disabled people into education.

So you'd think with the push to get disabled people into education that it would at least be accessible, right? Wrong.

As the report says

Disabled students are not new in Higher Education. What is new is the growing body of evidence that shows, year after year, where and how our systems continue to fail them.

Attitudes improving, but access worsening

One good thing discovered in the survey is that attitudes from staff are better than in previous years. There's also seemingly a greater understanding of disability now. However, 20% have been made to feel unwelcome by staff. As the report notes, this goes alongside structural barriers that stop disabled people from progressing and doing as well as their nondisabled peers.

The report found that although support can be agreed by staff, it isn't necessarily delivered. Less than half of those surveyed said their approved adjustments were consistently implemented. 63% of disabled students ended up studying without their adjustments. A big reason for this is that chasing them up repeatedly takes too much time and energy. Just 44% said that all their agreed adjustments had been followed through with.

The amount of disabled students being able to get official personalised support from Disability Services fell last year. 66% of disabled students had a support plan, down from 77% in 2024.  The proportion of declared students with a support plan fell from 77% in 2024 to 66% in 2025 and fewer students met with a Disability Advisor, suggesting a shift towards more informal or automated models of support under growing capacity pressure.

Disabled students can't physically get to class

Many students were concerned that measures which came into place at the start of the COVID pandemic are now being rolled back. These of course made studying more accessible for disabled students. The survey found that remote or hybrid lectures are being stopped. Even measures such as lecture recording don't happen as much.

As the report says:

These decisions are frequently justified as restoring educational quality or campus experience, yet they disproportionately exclude already marginalised students.

This represents a failure to learn from evidence. Universities have seen that these measures work. Choosing not to retain them is a choice that prioritises convenience or tradition over accessibility.

On top of this, students are still struggling to physically access lectures. Disabled students are still struggling against inaccessible buildings, unsuitable teaching spaces and inflexible timetabling.

Accessible uni accommodation also a problem. Students report that this is limited and often more expensive than other accommodation options. 47% of disabled students said they had to pay extra for accessible student housing.

Access fails make disabled students feel unsafe

Scarily, the report found a "significant proportion" are not confident that they would be able to safely evacuate their university buildings in a fire.

The report also found that despite all the access failures, many students did not feel safe or confident enough to challenge decisions or chase up support. Awareness of the complaints support is also low, so many do not report issues. Some who did complain said that their treatment had worsened afterwards.

Students also reported that complex systems were hard to navigate. This means those with less capacity for these tasks are less likely to seek help for access failures.

As a result, failures are not formally recorded, so universities are unaware of them. And the only people who face consequences are the disabled people whose lives are made worse by access failures.

Despite this, students said that staff are more supportive and understanding. However lack of training and being unclear about their responsibilities towards disabled students undermined this.

What needs to happen

Disabled Students UK have some recommendations for UK universities to make studying easier for disabled students

They say that agreed support must be met, and this should be monitored across the students' time at uni. There should also be consequences when needs are not met. DSUK also says the administrative burden on students must be reduced. Disability Services should also work alongside other parts of the university, as opposed to being there to compensate for inaccessibility. It must also be easier and safer for disabled students to raise issues, without fear of mistreatment.

The organisation wants universities to take clear ownership of accessibility. It also expresses how important it is that any cost-cutting exercises are assessed on how they would impact disabled students. They also want universities to avoid rolling back measures that clearly help disabled students.

Labour once again proves they don't care about disabled people.

Let's not forget that this is all happening while the government is obsessed with young disabled people who are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET). You'd think then that they'd be investing more to ensure that disabled people can actually get into education. But that would assume that they actually want to help disabled people into education, instead of just demonising us.

Because it's far easier to call disabled young people lazy, than it is to actually support them to thrive.

Featured image via Studying in the UK

By Rachel Charlton-Dailey

Labour's deputy leader Lucy Powell is pushing the idea that only Labour can beat Reform in Gorton & Denton. The problem is she's using a highly dubious poll to make that argument:

This is why I've been saying what I have - only voting Labour defeats Reform. A vote for the Greens or any other party risks a Reform MP in Manchester. https://t.co/7YjTaBum2Q

— Lucy Powell MP (@LucyMPowell) January 28, 2026

What's so dubious about this poll, you ask?

Let's get into it.

Sample size

The eager pollsters among you have probably noticed that Find Out Now used a sample size of 143 people. 1,000 people is considered a good sample size, with the British Polling Council noting:

Statistical theory indicates that the more people who are interviewed in a poll, then, other things being equal, the more likely it is that it will accurately reflect the views of the population.

However, there is a law of diminishing returns. A poll of 2,000 people is not twice as likely to be accurate as one of 1,000 people. As a result, there is no "minimum" sample size which is acceptable. But bearing in mind cost and likely accuracy, the established norm for an opinion poll in Great Britain is that it interviews at least 1,000 people.

A sample size of 143 people is 1.5 tenths what you'd expect; i.e. you should assume a high degree of inaccuracy.

Less than 100 once you exclude undecided voters, completely fucking insane that they think this is at all scientific. They did one like this for Great Yarmouth but that at least was a hypothetical one for GE29, this is for an imminent by-election and it's basically disinformation

— Stats for Lefties

Executed Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti was known to federal agents before they killed him, sources claim. They also beat him up and broke his rib days before he was shot to death. Sources told CNN that Pretti had a run-in with federal agents prior to them killing him on 24 January:

Pretti's name was known to federal agents.

CNN added:

It's also not clear whether the federal agents who encountered Pretti on Saturday recognized him before they confronted him - eventually wrestling him to the ground, taking a gun from his waistband and then fatally shooting him.

The same report explained:

about a week before his death, he suffered a broken rib when a group of federal officers tackled him while he was protesting their attempt to detain other individuals.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denied knowledge of the encounter. But CNN said it had seen documents which showed federal agents routinely gathered data on "agitators". Agents reportedly:

capture all images, license plates, identifications, and general information on hotels, agitators, protestors, etc., so we can capture it all in one consolidated form.

Pretti was even treated for his injuries:

Pretti was later given medication consistent with treating a broken rib, according to records reviewed by CNN.

Days later Pretti was dead, shot by a group of agents in a Minneapolis street in broad daylight. He was legally carrying a sidearm. He made no attempt to draw it and had been disarmed and wrestled to the ground well before before he shot dead execution-style.

Alex Pretti vs trigger-happy paramilitaries

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has fired shots 16 times since July, according to Trump aides.  DHS control the notorious Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The most recent killings in Minneapolis have caused worldwide outrage, but the paramilitary thugs have been trigger-happy for years.

The Washington Post said on 27 January:

At least 10 people have been struck by bullets — including four U.S. citizens. Three people have been killed.

The Trump regime has repeatedly doubled down. The January killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis were both blamed on the individuals killed, despite ample evidence to the contrary.

The Post reported:

None of the officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Border Patrol or Homeland Security Investigations has faced criminal charges in any of the shootings, nor has the administration announced any internal disciplinary measures against them.

Explanations for this culture of impunity have varied. Poor training is one excuse. But now DHS is looking to expand its pool of recruits by pitching to military lovers, combat sport fans and gun enthusiast.

Gun nuts and wanna-be soldiers

Journalist Drew Harwell told Democracy Now that the next big recruiting drive would use fascist-themed marketing to attract gun fans and military lovers:

Harwell was there to discuss his major report into a well-funded recruiting drive for new ICE members.

His December 31 investigation warned:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are planning to spend $100 million over a one-year period to recruit gun rights supporters and military enthusiasts through online influencers and a geo-targeted advertising campaign…

This was:

part of what the agency called a "wartime recruitment" strategy it said was critical to hiring thousands of new deportation officers nationwide.

A leaked government document described how targeted ads would reach:

people who have attended UFC fights, listened to patriotic podcasts, or shown an interest in guns and tactical gear.

Clearly DHS is looking for quantity, not quality.

Deadly databases

US reporter Ken Klippenstein had more to say about the collection and use of data to crush dissent in the US. He scoffed at Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin's claim:

There is NO database of 'domestic terrorists' run by DHS.

Why? Because two US security officials had told him that was a straight-up lie:

Two senior national security officials tell me that there are more than a dozen secret and obscure watchlists that homeland security and the FBI are using to track protesters (both anti-ICE and pro-Palestinian), "Antifa," and others who are promiscuously labeled "domestic terrorists.

They even named the technology used to gather information:

the secret lists and applications go by codenames like Bluekey, Grapevine, Hummingbird, Reaper, Sandcastle, Sienna, Slipstream, and Sparta (including the ominous sounding HEL-A and HEL-C reports generated by Sparta).

An anonymous DHS lawyer connected the practice directly to the War on Terror in just the latest expression of the accelerating 'imperial boomerang' effect:

We came out of 9/11 with the notion that we would have a single 'terrorist' watchlist to eliminate confusion, duplication and avoid bad communications

They added:

since January 6, not only have we expanded exponentially into purely domestic watchlisting, but we have also created a highly secretive and compartmented superstructure that few even understand.

DHS, which controls Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol, looks less like an immigration department but the day. As well as killing protestors, it has been collecting data into secretive lists. Senior 'immigration enforcement' figures like Greg Bovino have complained about those branding ICE and DHS a modern-day Gestapo. If it bothers them that much there is a simple fix: stop acting like the Gestapo.

Featured image via MedpageToday

By Joe Glenton

Transphobic pressure group Sex Matters has just had its legal case against a London swimming pond dismissed by the High Court.

Sex Matters claimed that allowing trans people to use the changing facilities aligned with their identities at the Hampstead Heath ponds amounted to discrimination. The judge, in reply, told them to take the case to the lower county court where it belongs.

And in a further blow, a consultation published by the City of London Corporation (CLC) — which runs the pools — found that the vast majority of respondents support trans people getting changed wherever they like.

Sex Matters — 'The wrong way for doing these things'

Sex Matters — which is currently under investigation by the Charity Commission — argued that the CLC's trans-inclusive changing policy was unlawful and discriminatory.

They based this assertion on the 2025 Supreme Court ruling that status as a woman is defined by sex as-assigned-at-birth under the Equality Act 2010. This ruling led to an immediate interim ban on trans people using their chosen single-sex spaces. However, the guidance was later taken down, and is currently being redrafted.

Daniel Stilitz KC, representing the CLC, pointed out that the trans-inclusive policy had been in place since 2017. As such, Sex Matters' claims were out of time, along with being:

unhelpful, premature and the wrong way for doing these things.

Justice Lieven, who presided over the case, clearly agreed that with that last point. She dismissed Sex Matter's challenge, informing the group that the "appropriate forum" for their case was the lower-level county court.

'Significant time and resources'

Following Lieven's decision, the CLC highlighted that Sex Matters' case had diverted the corporation's attention and funding away from its actual job. This includes managing charitable funds supporting London communities.

A spokesperson for the corporation announced:

This case has required significant time and resources, which could otherwise be focused on managing Hampstead Heath as a charity and providing high-quality public services.

We have now published the results of a consultation on future access arrangements at the heath's bathing ponds.

The findings will be presented to City Corporation committees, which will consider them alongside legal duties, equality impact assessments, safeguarding responsibilities and operational considerations.

In the meantime, the current admission rules will remain in place until a final decision has been made by members.

The results of that consultation are particularly damning for Sex Matters. The research surveyed more than 38,000 members over the course of two months. It found that the vast majority of respondents backed the corporation's trans-inclusive changing policy.

The CLC also published findings showing that:

Of six options considered for the Kenwood Ladies, Highgate Men's and Hampstead Mixed Ponds, the most popular, with support from 86% of respondents, was retaining the existing access arrangements, in which trans men and women are able to use the pond of their choice.

The same percentage opposed introducing strict single sex access, 90% of people rejected requiring trans swimmers to use separate changing rooms or have separate swimming sessions, while 66% opposed making all ponds mixed sex. […]

Alongside the consultation, feedback was received from pond users via a series of independently-run focus groups. Here also, retaining current trans-inclusive arrangements was the option receiving broadest support, while introducing strict single sex rules or making all ponds mixed-sex ponds received very little support.

Overwhelming support

So, what lessons can we take from both Sex Matters' case itself, and the CLC's consultation results?

First, as the corporation stated, transphobic lawfare like that from Sex Matters is diverting time and resources away from charitable endeavours.

This echoed sentiments recently voiced by third-sector organisers in a recent open letter to the Charity Commission. The signatories stated that transphobic pressure groups were trying to strong-arm their organisations into adopting unwanted trans-hostile policies.

Second, it wasn't even the case that the consultation respondents simply didn't care about having sex-specific spaces at all. Two in every three respondents opposed making all of the ponds mixed-sex.

From this, we can conclude that even when the respondents supported the idea of having pools dedicated to men and women only, they wanted those categories to include trans men and women, respectively.

And so, third and finally, Sex Matters' case wasn't actually representing women at all. Rather, it represented a small group of cis women who were hostile towards the mere presence of trans women and non-binary people. And, as the CLC clearly demonstrated, these transphobes were a tiny minority of the pool-users.

Featured image via the Outdoors Swimming Society

By Alex/Rose Cocker

Since its hostile takeover by the pro-Israel Ellison billionaires, the US version of the TikTok app has begun an immediate war on pro-Palestine, anti-genocide, anti-Trump and anti-ICE speech. The platform had claimed that the sudden and complete 'shadow-banning' of left-wing and anti-Zionist content last weekend was a technical issue. However, reality suggests that users should immediately delete the app if they want to be able to find out real news, talk freely — or even keep their health data confidential.

It's not just TikTok shadow banning content critical of ICE. Instagram users are reporting that they cannot share content around the proposed Jan. 30th Minnesota solidarity strike and strike content won't show up in their feeds. This is mass censorship.

— Lee Fang (@lhfang) January 28, 2026

Users are now reporting even more specific targeting of content that might be construed as negative towards Israel and its supporters. The firm's new CEO has also admitted boasted that the app now treats any negative use of the word 'Zionist' as hate speech:

Just a technical glitch

Experts quickly rubbished the platform's claim that its blocking of videos related to Israel's genocide, murders by Trump's ICE thugs and even the mention of the name 'Epstein' was a technical glitch. For example, technology professor Ioana Literat told technology website Ars Technica that users were "absolutely right" to "fear" the changes:

users' fears are absolutely justified … Even if these are technical glitches, the pattern of what's being suppressed reveals something significant. When your 'bug' consistently affects anti-Trump content, Epstein references, and anti-ICE videos, you're looking at either spectacular coincidence or systems that have been designed—whether intentionally or through embedded biases—to flag and suppress specific political content… [users'] pattern recognition isn't paranoia, but rather digital literacy.

The app is not just blocking content supportive of Palestinians or critical of Trump or Israel. It is also forcing Israel to the top of searches within the app. Some of the videos and screenshots show Israel appearing at the top of searches for Oracle, the Ellisons' company — which might be explained away. But others show Israel being listed at or near the top of searches for completely unrelated words:

Even more sinisterly, searching for the word "Palestine" brings up Israel first:

TikTok also appears to be censoring UpScrolled, the Palestinian-designed app that has hit the top of app charts since the TikTok Zionisation:

NEW: TikTok is censoring @realUpScrolled account now. pic.twitter.com/1y4as8QRAH

— YourFavoriteGuy (@guychristensen_) January 28, 2026

And the app is reading direct messages to block even the mention of the word 'Epstein', the name of the serial child-rapist, Israeli intelligence asset and "closest friend" of Donald Trump whose records the Trump regime continues to block:

https://www.thecanary.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/SnapInsta-Ai_3819425581906332925.mp4 Tiktok US new terms and conditions

The app's new terms and conditions also now allow its owner to access even private direct messages to harvest information on users' physical and mental health:

TikTok has also hired, to senior posts, a host of members of Israel's notorious and murderous cyberspy outfit Unit 8200:

The message to readers is simple: human beings with a conscience cannot afford to use, let alone trust, the US version of TikTok. They no longer can use it to spread the word on the actions of the genocidal ethnostate, the fascist Trump regime or any other political topic that might inconvenience the powerful.

If you live in the US, delete it immediately and switch to one of the very short list of non-corporate alternatives.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox