Demonstrators wave a giant Palestinian flag outside Greece’s Foreign Ministry in Athens, April 30, 2026, during a rally to protest the interception of Gaza aid ships by Israeli forces near Greek waters
THE activist-led mission attempting to sail to Gaza with humanitarian aid set sail for Turkey today, eight days after the Israeli military kidnapped some of its members in a much-criticised raid in international waters off the coast of Greece.
The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), a collection of about 57 mostly small sailing ships, had to stop and take stock on the Greek island of Crete after the Israeli raid on April 30.
During the raid 180 members were taken to an Israeli ship, where, the flotilla activists said, many of them were subjected to beatings and torture before they were handed over to the Greek authorities.
Two men, Saif Abukeshek — a Spanish and Palestinian citizen — and Thiago Avila from Brazil were taken to Israel, where they have been held in detention on trumped-up terrorism charges.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, February 5, 2025
FRANCESCA ALBANESE has been awarded Spain’s highest civilian honour for her work “documenting and denouncing violations of international law in Gaza.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez presented the Order of Civil Merit to the UN’s special rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territory at a ceremony in Madrid on Thursday.
In a post on social media Mr Sanchez said: “Public responsibility also entails the moral obligation not to look the other way.
“It is an honour to award the Order of Civil Merit to a voice that upholds the conscience of the world.”
Ms Albanese said: “Thank you, Mr President, for this recognition, for championing a Europe that belongs to its peoples, in accordance with international law — not above it or in defiance of it — and for solidarity, the lifeblood of the human family.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.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/Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone …
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Global Sumud Flotilla activists, Brazilian Thiago de Avila (C) and Spanish activist of Palestinian origin Saif Abukeshek (not seen), who [were] detained by the Israeli army in international waters off the coast of Crete on the night of April 29, attend their trial in Ashkelon, Israel on May 05, 2026. [Stringer – Anadolu Agency]
UN experts on Friday called for the immediate release of activists detained after Israeli forces intercepted a humanitarian flotilla carrying aid to Gaza in international waters in late April, Anadolu Agency reports.
In a statement, the experts said they were “seriously concerned” by the seizure of 22 civilian boats and the detention of 180 people about 500 nautical miles off Israel’s coast on April 29.
“The attack against a civilian flotilla engaged in a peaceful and strictly humanitarian mission to deliver life-saving goods to the Palestinian people is further evidence that Israel is determined to continue its genocidal policy of suffocating the population of Gaza by any means necessary,” the experts said.
They described the interception as “a blatant violation of international law,” including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and criticized Greek authorities for failing to respond to distress calls from the flotilla despite the boats being within Greece’s search-and-rescue zone, as well as for allowing Israeli forces to intervene.
The experts also expressed concern over reports of severe mistreatment after detainees were released in Crete, saying “at least 35 individuals described severe mistreatment and sexual assault, that may amount to torture, inhumane and degrading treatment.”
They said two activists, Brazilian national Thiago Avila and Spanish-Swedish national Saif Abu Keshek, were transferred to Israel and remain in detention under harsh conditions while on hunger strike.
“As a party to the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel must allow and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza,” the experts said, adding that starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is unlawful.
The experts urged states to take necessary action to prevent genocide and to support all efforts to deliver aid to the Palestinian population.
London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley. Image by Katie Chan, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license via wikimedia.
The Morning Star is calling on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to sack Met Police boss Mark Rowley
MARK ROWLEY is fast becoming a menace to democracy in Britain. The country’s most powerful police officer is daily transgressing the limits — on partisanship, on political interference, on responsibility to all citizens — which have traditionally bounded the public interventions of leading state officials.
Of course, those limits have often been honoured in the breach. But the Metropolitan Police Commissioner has discarded all appearances of impartiality and, indeed, truthfulness.
It has long been clear that he has a special animus for the Palestine solidarity movement. He has sought to restrict its demonstrations on the most specious grounds and arrest its organisers for entirely peaceful and responsible conduct.
After the most notorious of such crackdowns, on the demonstration in January 2025, Rowley hastened to the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which had been pushing for protest curbs, to receive an ovation from them the very next day.
By contrast, he has consistently refused to meet the organisers of the protests. He has been zealous in arresting peaceful objectors to the Palestine Action proscription.
Now he is deploying direct falsehoods in his attempt to rationalise a still more severe crackdown. He has accused the organisers of the huge demonstrations against Israel’s genocide of repeatedly seeking to march past synagogues.
That is a lie, as Rowley knows. The campaign has never sought to march past synagogues nor protest outside them in any way. Had they done so, it would indeed have been a matter of concern.
US President Donald Trump speaks during a military mothers celebration in the East Room of the White House on May 6, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“Americans deserve to know whether your administration considered the many ways your war would increase the day-to-day cost of living,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the president.
A group of US House Democrats is demanding that President Donald Trump be transparent with the American public about the extent to which his administration planned for the dramatic price hikes caused by the war in Iran over the past two months.
“You have unleashed chaos, undermined our national security, and escalated the conflict by threatening war crimes, including wiping out an entire civilization and destroying civilian infrastructure,” says the letter sent to the president on Wednesday by the five Democrats, who all serve leading opposition roles in House committees.
The letter was signed by Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), the ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce; Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), the ranking member of the Agriculture Committee; Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the Natural Resources Committee; and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), the senior House Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee.
Gas is over $6 bucks a gallon in parts of California. Instead of lowering prices, President Trump is spending a billion dollars a day on a war with no mission and no end in sight. What happened to America First?
The Democrats accused Trump of having launched the war “without coherent or realistic strategic objectives,” and without a plan in the event that Iran restricted travel through the Strait of Hormuz, which has led to economic havoc.
“The impacts of your war will be felt for years, and the consequences of your reckless decision to drag America into war are increasingly falling on the American public,” the lawmakers said.
They cited reports that consumer prices are now growing faster than at any point in nearly two years, with no sign of slowing down due to a 50% spike in crude oil prices, which has also driven gas prices above $4.50 per gallon on average across the US, up more than $1 from the war’s beginning.
The lawmakers also noted the cost of the actual war to US taxpayers, which was reportedly about $2 billion per day during the first week of attacks.
While the Pentagon has claimed the war has only cost about $25 billion since it began in late February, Stephen Semler, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, estimates that when armament use, troop deployments, and other factors are considered, the true cost over 60 days has been more than $71 billion, almost three times higher.
Trump is telling Americans to be grateful their skyrocketing gas prices aren’t even higher:
"I also thought oil would go up to 200, 250, maybe 300, and I knew it would be short term, but I thought it would go. I looked today, it's, like, at 102. That's a very small price to pay" pic.twitter.com/0mB1hVQbpX
Trump said during a press conference on Tuesday that when he decided to launch the war, he expected price increases to be even worse than they turned out to be.
“I also thought oil would go up to $200, $250, maybe $300, and I knew it would be short-term, but I thought it would go. I looked today, it’s, like, at $102,” he said, referring to the price of a barrel of oil. “That’s a very small price to pay for getting rid of a nuclear weapon from people who are really mentally deranged.”
The American public does not seem to agree. Trump’s approval rating has plummeted to unseen lows since the war began, with just 35% now approving of his handling of the economy, according to an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll out Wednesday.
The same poll found that more than 8 in 10 said gas price hikes were straining their household budgets, and a majority (63%) blamed Trump for the increases. Roughly the same percentage said the overall economy was not working well for them personally, while 61% said they believed the war in Iran had done more harm than good.
The Democratic lawmakers inquired about the extent to which the Trump administration had prepared for Iran to cut off the Strait of Hormuz, which they said had been “long predicted” by experts.
They pointed to statements by administration officials, including US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, who said just over a week before the war was launched that, thanks to Trump’s “energy dominance agenda,” prices would likely only “blip,” as they had during June’s 12-day war.
They also cited reports that Trump “did not consult” with Wright, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, or Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to assess the likely impacts of an attack on oil markets.
The lawmakers noted predictions from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in March that the war will push inflation to 4.2% this year, up from 2.6% the previous year. Analysts have predicted that an increase in inflation to just 3% would cost the average household with $5,000 in monthly expenses an extra $1,800 per year.
Asking Trump to provide documents detailing the White House’s communications with executive agencies, the lawmakers said, “Americans deserve to know whether your administration considered the many ways your war would increase the day-to-day cost of living, and what steps you are now taking to protect Americans from the fallout of your foolhardy rush to war.”
Demonstrators wave a giant Palestinian flag outside Greece’s Foreign Ministry in Athens, April 30, 2026, during a rally to protest the interception of Gaza aid ships by Israeli forces near Greek waters
