US air force personnel prepare to load munitions on to a heavy bomber aircraft at the RAF Fairford airbase in Gloucestershire. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA
Trade unions say UK prime minister must begin by revoking permission for US to use RAF bases for airstrikes in Gulf
Trade unions have called on Andy Burnham to tackle the cost of living crisis at its source by pressuring Donald Trump to bring the conflict in the Middle East swiftly to an end.
Leaders from 10 unions, including Unison, the UK’s largest, urged the prime minister to oppose further fighting in the Gulf to help bring down energy and fuel costs.
To put pressure on Trump, unions said Burnham must begin by revoking permission for the US to use RAF bases to launch airstrikes on Iran.
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The general secretaries of 10 UK trade unions, representing more than 2.3 million workers, said in their letter to Burnham that he should do more to oppose “the US and Israel’s devastating, illegal war on Iran”, which was “deepening the cost of living crisis faced by our members and the British public”.
“Since the war started, the average British household has seen its annual energy bill rise by £221, while monthly food bills are forecast to rise by £32.80. Without an end to the war, there will be no end to this cost of living crisis,” they wrote.
The general secretaries said they were encouraged by the new government’s focus on the cost of living and the measures it was taking “to make life more affordable”.
But they said they were “deeply concerned” that it had “authorised US airstrikes to be conducted from bases on British territories as part of the escalating war against Iran”.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham admits to blatently lying and engaging in deception to become leader of the UK Labour Party and Prime Minister.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.
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a news conference on June 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“When the Trump administration declares a crisis ‘under control’, it’s time to brace for the worst yet to come,” said one critic.
The United States under Trump-appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is currently experiencing major public health crises, including record-high measles cases, an outbreak of a parasite that causes explosive diarrhea, and potential salmonella contamination that led to a recall of nearly two million egg cartons.
Numbers released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday revealed that there have been 2,318 recorded cases of measles this year, the highest number of cases recorded since the virus was declared eliminated in the country more than two decades ago.
Some public health experts who spoke with The New York Times said that lower uptake of the measles vaccine was to blame for the outbreak.
Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health, told the Times that “this is just going to keep happening” in the US unless vaccination rates improve.
“It’s going to mean living in a perpetual state of vulnerability and risk until we get vaccination levels up,” Nuzzo emphasized.
Dr. Jonathan Temte, a former chairman of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee, placed blame for the outbreaks on the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the leadership of Kennedy, who prior to becoming America’s top public health official was best known as an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist.
“We have seen virtually no national messaging,” said Temte. “We’ve seen no ad campaigns… I think that really tells us something about their priorities.”
Brad Woodhouse, president of Protect Our Care, also slammed Kennedy’s leadership at NHS, accusing him and President Donald Trump of being on “a suicide mission to scare America families away from vaccines without cause or evidence.”
“What they’ve accomplished is a huge dip in vaccination rates and the worst measles crisis in 35 years,” Woodhouse added. “While the nation’s measles elimination status is doomed, the Trump CDC apparently has not spent a dime on public service ads promoting the one thing that will get us out of the woods: the measles vaccine.”
Measles isn’t the only disease spreading throughout the country, as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Friday that “four new states… are now considered part” of the outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a foodborne illness that causes explosive diarrhea.
The FDA has said that iceberg lettuce sourced from Taylor Farms de Mexico is likely the source of the outbreak, which so far has led to nearly 2,000 infections and almost 100 hospitalizations.
News about the continued spread of the outbreak came two days after the FDA revealed it was investigating another potential source of cyclospora, the parasitic bacteria that causes cyclosporiasis.
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), who earlier this week demanded answers from Kennedy about his decision to terminate the CDC’s previously required surveillance of cyclospora, sent the HHS secretary a letter on Friday ripping his leadership of the department.
“Your silence amidst an ongoing outbreak of diarrheal disease,” Ossoff wrote, “is indicative of the reckless arrogance with which you demolished America’s public health defense.”
Woodhouse, in a statement released Thursday, noted that Kennedy had declared the outbreak “under control” this week even though federal data shows it growing.
“If history is any judge, when the Trump administration declares a crisis ‘under control’, it’s time to brace for the worst yet to come,” said Woodhouse.
The FDA also announced on Wednesday that Midwest Poultry Services was voluntarily recalling nearly 1.6 million cartons of eggs over potential contamination by the bacteria salmonella.
As the FDA noted, salmonella infections often result in a number of unpleasant conditions, including “fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.”
Economist Dean Bakersummed up the current situation in the US in a Friday social media post: “War, diarrhea, measles, and now salmonella, that’s pretty damn MAGA!”;
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 he wishes someone would lock him up, small Orca speaks bluntly.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.
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U.S. Navy warplane takes off from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during Operation Epic Fury targeting Iran in the Gulf of Oman, on March 01, 2026. [U.S. Navy / Handout – Anadolu Agency]
Bahrain and Kuwait quietly deployed fighter jets to strike targets within Iran earlier this month, marking their first known direct military response against Tehran, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing “people familiar with the matter.”
The strikes hit facilities used to store drones and missiles, along with other military installations, according to the report.
The United Arab Emirates, which had previously launched several attacks on Iran during the early stages of the conflict, reportedly contributed intelligence on potential targets and provided defensive air support, reflecting growing coordination among Arab states in countering Iran, the report said.
For several weeks, Iran has concentrated its retaliatory attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait, both home to US military bases.
Although the two Gulf nations maintain relatively modest air forces equipped with American and European-made fighter jets, they were unwilling to allow Tehran to continue striking them without responding, the report said.
Regional tensions have escalated over the past two weeks after US President Donald Trump announced on July 8 that the ceasefire outlined in the Islamabad MoU was no longer in effect.
Since then, the US and Iran have exchanged strikes, with Washington targeting sites inside Iran, while Tehran says it has attacked US military facilities and equipmnt across several countries in the region.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says he wishes someone would lock him up, small Orca speaks bluntly.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.
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Commercial vessels and oil tankers preparing to transit through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most critical strategic waterways for global trade flows, maintain their wait in the Gulf of Oman, on June 17, 2026. [Shady Alassar – Anadolu Agency]
An Omani diplomatic delegation arrived in Tehran for talks with Iranian officials on mechanisms governing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported Friday.
The report said the delegation’s visit was part of ongoing consultations between Iran and Oman aimed at establishing appropriate mechanisms for managing ship traffic through the strategic waterway.
Separately, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a phone call with his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi on Friday, during which they discussed the latest regional developments, maritime security, and the movement of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf following what Tehran described as the Iranian armed forces’ “reciprocal and proportionate” responses to US attacks against Iran.
The two ministers also stressed the importance of safeguarding maritime security and reviewed regional cooperation and initiatives aimed at preventing further escalation and promoting peace, stability, and security in the region, the ministry added.
No further details were immediately provided about the Omani delegation or the duration of its talks.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says he wishes someone would lock him up, small Orca speaks bluntly.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.
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Israeli soldiers block the road leading to Nablus Hospital, after raiding the hospital and detaining a wounded Palestinian, and his sibling in Nablus, West Bank, Palestine on July 24, 2026. [Nedal Eshtayah – Anadolu Agency]
Israeli forces detained at least 70 Palestinians in raids across the occupied West Bank on Saturday, while eight others were injured in a separate attack by occupiers, according to Palestinian media and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Anadolu reports.
The official Voice of Palestine radio said Israeli forces arrested more than 40 young Palestinian men in an ongoing raid on the town of Tell, west of Nablus in the northern part of the occupied territory.
Israeli troops seized a house in the town and converted it into a field interrogation center, the broadcaster said.
It added that Israeli forces were carrying out extensive raids on homes across the town while surrounding it from all directions.
On Friday, Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered a “wide-scale military operation” in Palestinian villages across the West Bank following an attack near the illegal Havat Gilad settlement that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others.
According to sources and witnesses, Israeli occupiers later attacked several Palestinian communities in the Nablus governorate, setting fire to Palestinian homes and other property.
Four Palestinians were killed on Friday in an attack by Israeli occupiers and Israeli forces on the town of Tell, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli forces launched widespread raids before dawn in the city of Jenin and several towns and villages across the governorate.
Troops also searched a number of homes and detained five Palestinians, while military operations continued in several parts of the governorate, according to local sources cited by the agency. Separately, Israeli forces detained three Palestinians in the Bethlehem governorate.
In another incident, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said eight Palestinians were injured, including six who were shot with live fire, in an attack by Israeli occupiers on the village of Farata, east of Qalqilya in northwestern West Bank. The organization did not immediately provide further details on the attack or the condition of the injured.
In northern West Bank, the Israeli army detained at least six Palestinians during extensive raids across neighborhoods and towns in Jenin, amid a heavy military deployment and continued troop movements.
The Israeli army also raided the city of Tubas and the Al-Far’a refugee camp in northern West Bank, launching a large-scale campaign of raids on Palestinian homes.
In the central West Bank, the army detained 13 Palestinians from various areas across the Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate.
In the southern West Bank, Israeli forces raided Hebron and detained eight Palestinians.
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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 he wishes someone would lock him up, small Orca speaks bluntly.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.
