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Private firms providing services to NHS made £1.6bn profit in two years, research finds

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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/apr/13/private-companies-nhs-services-profit-chpi-research

The profits would be enough to pay for 9,178 doctors or 19,428 nurses during the period. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

[Guardian] Exclusive: MPs say profit-making levels in England are ‘scandalous’ and call for cap on amount private companies can make from NHS

Private firms providing services to the NHS including healthcare and consultancy have made £1.6bn in profits over the last two years, research reveals.

The findings – on the basis of contracts worth £12bn – have prompted claims of “scandalous” profiteering, concern that the health service is being “taken for a ride” and calls for ministers to impose a cap on maximum profit levels.

The £1.6bn in profits made in 2023-24 and 2024-25 would have been enough to pay for 9,178 doctors or 19,428 nurses during that time, according to the Centre for Health and the Public Interest.

Its findings are based on analysis of NHS contracts in England, with 760 private firms providing services including diagnostic tests such as CT scans to patients, and treatments including hip and knee replacements, and for skin problems and mental health conditions.

The thinktank found:

  • £2bn of the £12bn of contracts went to firms with owners based outside the UK.
  • £533m of that £2bn went to companies owned by people living in tax havens such as Jersey and the Cayman Islands.
  • Firms, especially those owned by private equity outfits, used £353m of their £12bn NHS income to pay interest on debts.

…

Original article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/apr/13/private-companies-nhs-services-profit-chpi-research

Continue ReadingPrivate firms providing services to NHS made £1.6bn profit in two years, research finds

Asylum seekers removed from UK in waist and leg restraints, report finds

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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/13/asylum-seekers-removed-uk-waist-leg-restraints-one-in-one-out-france

The report found no use of force on a later flight carrying 32 detainees who had been collected from three removal centres including Harmondsworth. Photograph: Shutterstock

Inspection reveals use of force after protest by detainees being deported under ‘one in, one out’ scheme

Asylum seekers who protested against being forcibly removed to France under the Home Office’s controversial “one in, one out” scheme, were transported out of the UK in waist and leg restraints, an inspection report has revealed.

The report by the chief inspector of prisons for England and Wales, Charlie Taylor, inspected a flight to France that took place on 20-21 January this year and on which it found no force was used.

However, it also referenced a flight on 16 January where force was used after a detainees’ sit-down protest the previous evening. The protest was ended after the deployment of “specialist national resources”, said the report, which was published on Monday.

Thirty-two detainees onboard the 20-21 January flight were small boat arrivals who were forcibly removed to France in exchange for a similar number in France brought to the UK legally. Many asylum seekers who arrive in the UK on small boats have experienced persecution including torture and trafficking.

Four use-of-force incidents were recorded in connection with the 16 January flight. Waist restraint belts were applied three times.

…

Original article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/13/asylum-seekers-removed-uk-waist-leg-restraints-one-in-one-out-france

Keir Starmer refuses to be outcnuted by Nigel Farage's chasing the racist bigot vote.
Keir Starmer refuses to be outcnuted by Nigel Farage’s chasing the racist bigot vote.
Continue ReadingAsylum seekers removed from UK in waist and leg restraints, report finds

Israeli forces fire teargas at schoolchildren holding West Bank sit-in

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/13/israeli-forces-fire-teargas-at-schoolchildren-holding-west-bank-sit-in

Palestinian students at an outdoor lesson after Israeli settlers blocked the road leading to their school in the village of Umm al-Khair. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Incident took place on first day back at school in small village, as settlers blocked pupils’ access

Israeli forces have fired teargas at Palestinian schoolchildren who were staging a sit-in in the occupied West Bank after settlers blocked access to their school.

The Israeli military said it had dispersed an “unusual gathering”, but did not specify whether its troops had fired teargas at the children on the first day of class since the start of the Iran war.

The incident took place at Umm al-Khair, a small village in the southern West Bank region of Masafer Yatta.

Schoolchildren there had been due back in class on Monday for the first time in more than 40 days, after lessons were suspended as a result of the Israeli-US attack on Iran on 28 February.

A group of schoolchildren and Palestinian residents had gathered near a barbed wire fence erected by Israeli settlers, which blocked access to the school.

Schoolchildren and some local adults were holding an open-air class as a sit-in to demand access when troops fired the teargas, witnesses said.

“We were sitting and they threw a grenade [teargas canister] at us. I got scared and started screaming and ran away,” said 12-year-old Sarah al-Hathaleen.

“I started crying. A woman hugged me and stayed with me. We were very scared.”

…

Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/13/israeli-forces-fire-teargas-at-schoolchildren-holding-west-bank-sit-in

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Continue ReadingIsraeli forces fire teargas at schoolchildren holding West Bank sit-in

Tehran threatens all Gulf ports in retaliation to US blockade

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/tehran-threatens-all-gulf-ports-retaliation-us-blockade

 Women walk past a banner depicting the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S. and Israel strikes on Feb. 28, in northern Tehran, Iran, April 12, 2026

TEHRAN threatened all ports in the Gulf today in retaliation for the US military blockade on Iran’s ports as negotiation talks failed.

…

The US’s restrictions, which include “the entirety of the Iranian coastline, including ports and energy infrastructure,” were expected to begin today.

It was not immediately clear if they had kicked off.

The US military’s Central Command announced that the blockade would be enforced “against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas.”

It said that it would include all of Iran’s ports on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

…

Iran issued threats of its own, broadcasting today: “Security in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is either for everyone or for no-one.

“No port in the region will be safe.”

…

Original article at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/tehran-threatens-all-gulf-ports-retaliation-us-blockade

Keir Starmer explains that UK is participating defensively in Trump and Israel's criminal war for Israel's genocidal expansion in Iran and states that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said "I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is participating defensively in Trump and Israel’s criminal war for Israel’s genocidal expansion in Iran and states that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Donald Trump warns against following the Onaquietday.org blog, says that he's heard that she's a which with a black cat and a dangerous kitchen.
Donald Trump warns against following the Onaquietday.org blog, says that he’s heard that she’s a which with a black cat and a dangerous kitchen.

Continue ReadingTehran threatens all Gulf ports in retaliation to US blockade

Strait of Hormuz ‘Is Open For Us,’ Says China’s Defense Minister as US Blockade Begins

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Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun attends a luncheon in Kuala Lumpur on October 31, 2025. (Photo by Hasnoor Hussain/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

“We have trade and energy agreements with Iran. We will respect and honor them and expect others not to meddle in our affairs.”

Although President Donald Trump has ordered the US military to enforce a blockade around the Strait of Hormuz, Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun warned on Monday against any effort to obstruct Chinese vessels.

As reported by Business Today, the Chinese defense minister emphasized that his country and Iran have reached an arrangement allowing the safe transportation of Chinese ships through the strait, and he said the US should not subject them to its blockade.

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“Our ships are moving in and out of the waters of the Strait of Hormuz,” the defense minister said. “We have trade and energy agreements with Iran. We will respect and honor them and expect others not to meddle in our affairs. Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, and it is open for us.”

Trump announced a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, saying the US would not allow any ships that had cut deals with Iran for safe passage to be let through.

The blockade announcement came after US negotiators, led by Vice President JD Vance, failed to reach a peace agreement with their Iranian counterparts to bring an end to the conflict, which Trump launched illegally without any congressional approval six weeks ago.

The failure to reach a peace deal sent the price of oil upward yet again, as the price of Brent crude oil futures and WTI crude oil futures approached $100 per barrel.

Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Continue ReadingStrait of Hormuz ‘Is Open For Us,’ Says China’s Defense Minister as US Blockade Begins