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‘To keep Britain safe, Burnham must end US use of British bases’

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/keep-britain-safe-burnham-must-end-us-use-british-bases

 Demonstrators from CND and Fairford Action during an emergency protest outside the main gate of RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, following an attack on Iran by a US B-1 bomber stationed there earlier this week, July 25, 2026

Peace activists and trade unionists to gather at RAF Fairford to protest against US bombers taking off from Britain to strike Iran

WORKERS and campaigners are demanding Andy Burnham put an end to US President Donald Trump’s use of British bases for his war on Iran. 

Activists from around the country are to gather at RAF Fairford on Saturday to tell the new Prime Minister to break from his predecessor and end British complicity in “illegal” and “senseless” US wars.

“Trump’s brutal and reckless illegal war is making the British population a target and pushing the global economy to the brink of recession,” Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament general secretary Sophie Bolt said.

“If Andy Burnham wants to keep the British public safe, he needs to stop dragging Britain deeper into this illegal war on Iran and call time on the use of British bases like Fairford,” she added.

…

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/keep-britain-safe-burnham-must-end-us-use-british-bases

Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it's fun to kill everyone ... unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes' concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country's economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Continue Reading‘To keep Britain safe, Burnham must end US use of British bases’

Bill payers vs billionaires: war windfalls for energy elite as bills set to rise

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/bill-payers-vs-billionaires-war-windfalls-energy-elite-bills-set-rise

 A worker collects engine oil as he works at a degassing station in Zubair oil field near Basra, Iraq

ENERGY firms raked in an excess of £6 billion in Iran war windfall profits this year, it was revealed today as households brace for yet another bill rise at the end of the month.

Campaigners said profits generated in Britain by these companies equate to over £200 for every household in the country, while a further increase in gas prices is expected in the next Ofgem price cap announcement on August 26.

Financial results posted by the world’s top energy firms revealed their British profits are only one part of their global profits, totalling £95bn in 2026.

Analysis from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition (EFPC) revealed the excess profits linked to global energy market disruptions as a result of the US war on Iran, which has increased cost pressures on households in Britain, as well as other countries.

Researchers looked at financial results posted by BP, Centrica, Chevron, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Iberdrola, Shell and Total.

EFPC co-ordinator Simon Francis said windfall profits must be considered alongside previous findings saying a third of households are “on the brink of, or are in energy debt.”

“These price shock profiteers are doing very well out of the Iran conflict, but they are doing little to solve the underlying problems,” Mr Francis said.

“As people brace for the next price cap announcement on August 26 and a third of households are on the brink of or in energy debt, the energy industry watches the profits climb.”

…

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/bill-payers-vs-billionaires-war-windfalls-energy-elite-bills-set-rise

Continue ReadingBill payers vs billionaires: war windfalls for energy elite as bills set to rise

Aid access hampered by more than 900 obstacles in West Bank: UN

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Israeli soldiers conduct patrols along the streets of Qusra, a town south of Nablus in the West Bank, Palestine on August 13, 2026. [Nedal Eshtayah – Anadolu Agency]

Humanitarian operations in the occupied West Bank are being delayed and restricted by a network of more than 900 physical obstacles, including checkpoints, gates and roadblocks, the UN said Friday, Anadolu reports.

Daniela Gross De Almeida, an associate spokesperson, told reporters that the restrictions are limiting humanitarian access and leaving people in need without adequate assistance.

“Our humanitarian partners warn that aid work is being delayed and limited by a network of over 900 physical obstacles including checkpoints, gates, roadblocks, and other restrictions. This hinders humanitarian access and leaves people in need underserved,” De Almeida said.

In the village of Qusra, near Nablus, aid and municipal workers have been unable to reach three Palestinian families who have been trapped in their homes since Tuesday, she said, adding that the families became isolated following the establishment of a settlement outpost near their homes and tightened access restrictions in the area.

“Our colleagues warn that efforts to protect Palestinians have been ineffective, with settlers reportedly reinstalling a tent that Israeli forces had dismantled yesterday,” she said.

Turning to Gaza, she said humanitarians continue to provide vital aid to people in the besieged Strip, despite persistent insecurity and restrictions.

“Last week, we and our partners mobilized rapid support for people who had lost their shelters or were displaced again due to attacks, domestic fires, and other incidents. In more than a dozen reported incidents, people were displaced and lost their belongings due to attacks, impacting nearly 290 households,” she said.

READ: France condemns Israeli occupiers’ seizure of Palestinian homes in West Bank

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UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham admits to blatently lying and engaging in deception to become leader of the UK Labour Party and Prime Minister.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham admits to blatently lying and engaging in deception to become leader of the UK Labour Party and Prime Minister.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it's fun to kill everyone ... unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up

Continue ReadingAid access hampered by more than 900 obstacles in West Bank: UN

‘Syria is Gaza on steroids’: Israeli minister says war with Damascus is ‘absolute certainty’

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Israel Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli. [Shahar Azran/Getty Images]

“Syria is Gaza on steroids, and that is the next war, with absolute certainty”, said Amichai Chikli Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister. “There is no avoiding it.” 

Chikli’s remarks come as Israel is already waging military campaigns across multiple fronts in the region, including Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Iran, while carrying out attacks elsewhere in the Middle East. Israeli leaders have themselves described the conflict as a war on seven fronts

The remarks are not the first time Chikli has openly threatened war against Damascus. In June, he said Israel would wage war on Syria “sooner or later”, claiming that Syria and Turkiye posed a greater challenge to Israel than Iran. “We will wage war on Syria, sooner or later, because it and Turkiye are far more worrying than Iran,” Chikli said at the time.  

Chikli’s latest threat comes as Israeli forces already occupy Syrian territory and carry out repeated incursions into the country. Following the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s government in December 2024, Israel declared the 1974 Disengagement Agreement void, moved into the UN-monitored buffer zone adjoining the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and established military positions deeper inside southern Syria. 

Israeli operations have continued despite the new Syrian leadership repeatedly signalling that it does not seek war with Israel. Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has called for Israeli forces to return to the positions they held before Assad’s fall, while Israel has demanded a demilitarised zone extending through much of southern Syria.  

READ: Katz says Israel to remain in ‘security zones’ in Lebanon, Syria, & Gaza

Only days before Chikli’s comments, Israeli troops again entered Quneitra province, erected checkpoints and searched civilians and vehicles. Israeli forces have conducted repeated raids, searches, arrests and artillery attacks across southern Syria in recent months. On Friday, Syrian state media reported that Israeli forces opened fire towards civilian homes in the Daraa countryside, forcing some residents to flee.  

The declaration that another war is an “absolute certainty” comes as Israel’s aggression has expanded across multiple fronts. Israel continues to control territory illegally in Palestine, has seized a swathe of southern Lebanon following its latest war with Hezbollah and occupies additional Syrian land beyond the Golan Heights. Israel also launched a major war against Iran alongside the US earlier this year.  

In Lebanon, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said this week that Israeli troops would remain in what Israel calls a “security zone” until Hezbollah is disarmed, ordering the army to prepare for an “extended presence”. Washington responded that a permanent Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon would contradict commitments made under the US-backed agreement with Beirut.  

Israel’s increasingly aggressive regional posture is widely seen as a contributing factor in the reordering of security relations across the Middle East. Last week, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan signed the landmark Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, under which an armed attack against one of the three countries will be regarded as an attack against all.  

The pact brings together three of the Muslim world’s most consequential military powers: NATO member Turkiye, nuclear-armed Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the region’s largest Arab economy. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has compared its collective-defence provision to NATO’s Article 5, under which an attack against one member is treated as an attack against all.  

READ: Israeli army opens fire on civilian areas in Daraa, southern Syria: State TV

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham admits to blatently lying and engaging in deception to become leader of the UK Labour Party and Prime Minister.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham admits to blatently lying and engaging in deception to become leader of the UK Labour Party and Prime Minister.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it's fun to kill everyone ... unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up

Continue Reading‘Syria is Gaza on steroids’: Israeli minister says war with Damascus is ‘absolute certainty’

Lebanese PM, speaker urge clear timetable for Israeli withdrawal

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

A view from Christian-majority border towns of Kawkaba and Ebel as-Saqi in the Marjayoun and Hasbaya districts of Lebanon on July 06, 2026. [Ramiz Dallah – Anadolu Agency]

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri discussed the military track of the negotiation framework and developments in southern Lebanon with US officials on Friday, Anadolu reports.

The Lebanese Presidency of the Council of Ministers said in a statement that Salam received US Ambassador to Beirut Michel Issa and Gen. Joseph Clearfield, head of the military coordination group for Lebanon.

The meeting addressed the military track of the negotiation framework, along with the latest developments in southern Lebanon, the presidency added.

“Salam stressed the need for Israel to stop destruction operations, expand the scope of pilot areas, and set a clear timetable for Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory,” the statement said.

In a related development, Berri met in Beirut with the US ambassador and Clearfield, his office said.

According to a statement from Berri’s office, the meeting discussed conditions in southern Lebanon and the group’s work following the start of identifying “pilot areas,” as well as the mechanism for verifying an Israeli withdrawal and deploying the Lebanese army.

“Israel has not stopped its violations and attacks on Lebanon,” Berri said, pointing to the continued destruction of villages, bulldozing of fields and agricultural areas, burning of forested areas, and targeting of heritage sites.

READ: Lebanon banker exposed as major force behind normalisation drive with Israel

“The key to stability remains forcing Israel to stop its war and withdraw to the international border,” Berri added.

After the meeting, the US ambassador described the atmosphere as “positive.”

Issa told reporters that negotiations between Lebanon and Israel “will continue,” without specifying a date for the next round, according to the statement.

Discussions on expanding the “pilot areas” would follow an evaluation of the current areas, while consultations were still ongoing on countries that would participate in the monitoring mechanism, he added.

On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tel Aviv would not withdraw from Lebanon unless Hezbollah is disarmed.

Speaking at a ceremony, Katz said the Israeli army currently controls 700 square kilometers of Lebanese territory, about 7% of Lebanon’s total area, according to Israel’s Channel 7.

On Wednesday, a US State Department official said a permanent Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon would contradict commitments included in the framework agreement and would not serve peace.

Israel has continued its assault on Lebanon since March 2, killing 4,335 people and injuring 12,277 others, while displacing more than 1 million, according to Lebanese authorities.

Israel occupies areas in southern Lebanon, some for decades and others since the previous war between 2023 and 2024. During the current assault, it has advanced more than 10 kilometers into Lebanese territory.

READ: Israeli army attacks southern Lebanon, demolishes buildings despite framework deal

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham admits to blatently lying and engaging in deception to become leader of the UK Labour Party and Prime Minister.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham admits to blatently lying and engaging in deception to become leader of the UK Labour Party and Prime Minister.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it's fun to kill everyone ... unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up

UK signs $22M agreement to support Lebanese army, security forces

Continue ReadingLebanese PM, speaker urge clear timetable for Israeli withdrawal