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UK, Finland condemn ‘unacceptable’ Israeli attacks on journalists in Lebanon

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

The flowers on the chair, where Halil’s photo, press vest, and helmet were placed, is seen during funeral ceremony for journalist Emel Halil, who was killed in an Israeli military strike targeting the village of Tayri, in Nabatieh, Lebanon on April 23, 2026. [Elif Öztürk – Anadolu Agency]

The UK and Finland on Saturday condemned attacks on journalists and media workers in Lebanon, calling for urgent measures to ensure their safety, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, the two countries, acting as co-chairs of the Media Freedom Coalition, said journalists play a vital role in exposing the realities of war and must be protected.

“Journalists and media workers play an essential role in putting the spotlight on the devastating reality of war. Attacks on journalists in Lebanon, including journalist Amal Khalil killed in an Israeli strike on 22 April, are unacceptable,” they said.

“As co-chairs of the Media Freedom Coalition, the UK and Finland strongly condemn all violence directed against journalists and media workers,” the statement added.

They urged all parties, including Israeli authorities, to ensure that media workers in Lebanon can operate freely and safely.

READ: 27 journalists killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon, press union says 

“We call on the Israeli authorities and all other parties to make every effort to ensure that media workers in Lebanon can conduct their work freely and safely,” they said.

This came as the Lebanese Press Syndicate Editors reported that at least 27 journalists and media workers have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon since March 2, with many others wounded.

The syndicate said journalist Amal Khalil was killed in an Israeli strike on Wednesday in the southern town of Tayri, while her colleague Zeinab Faraj was wounded. It added that Khalil had previously received death threats from the Israeli army.

“With her killing, the number of journalists and media workers killed has risen to 27, in addition to a large number of injured,” the syndicate said. It condemned what it described as Israel’s deliberate targeting of journalists and called on international and Arab press organizations to support Lebanese media workers.

According to Lebanon’s state news agency, Israeli forces prevented rescue teams from reaching the wounded journalists during the attack and targeted roads linking Tayri and nearby areas to block emergency access.

READ: Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil killed in Israeli strike in southern Lebanon

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

Nigel Farage 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.
Nigel Farage 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/
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 calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait 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 Strait 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 ReadingUK, Finland condemn ‘unacceptable’ Israeli attacks on journalists in Lebanon

Palantir manifesto described as ‘ramblings of a supervillain’ amid UK contract fears

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https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/21/palantir-manifesto-uk-contract-fears-mps

Alarm caused by posts of Alex Karp, tech firm’s CEO, championing US military dominance and of AI weapons

The US spy tech company Palantir published a manifesto extolling the benefits of American power and implying some cultures are inferior to others – in what MPs have called “a parody of a RoboCop film” and “the ramblings of a supervillain”.

“Some cultures have produced vital advances; others remain dysfunctional and regressive,” wrote Palantir in a 22-point post on X over the weekend, which also called for an end to the “postwar neutering” of Germany and Japan.

The post exhorted the US to reinstate a military draft, saying that “free and democratic societies” need “hard power” in order to prevail.

It also predicted a future dominated by autonomous weapons: “The question is not whether A.I. weapons will be built; it is who will build them and for what purpose. Our adversaries will not pause to indulge in theatrical debates about the merits of developing technologies with critical military and national security applications. They will proceed.”

…

It led to criticism from several MPs, who said that it raised yet more questions about the UK’s portfolio of contracts with the company. Palantir has built up more than £500m in contracts in Britain, including a £330m contract with the NHS, as well as deals with the police and Ministry of Defence. These deals have come in for increasing criticism.

“Palantir’s manifesto, which embraces AI state surveillance of citizens along with national service in the USA, is either a parody of a RoboCop film, or a disturbing narcissistic rant from an arrogant organisation,” said Martin Wrigley, a Liberal Democrat MP who is a member of the commons science and technology select committee.

“Either way it shows that the company’s ethos is entirely unsuited to working on UK government projects involving citizens’ most sensitive private data.”

…

The original article is at https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/21/palantir-manifesto-uk-contract-fears-mps

Continue ReadingPalantir manifesto described as ‘ramblings of a supervillain’ amid UK contract fears

What role has UK played in Israel’s war on Gaza?

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[Easily watched/heard at X 1.5 speed]

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 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 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 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.
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.

Continue ReadingWhat role has UK played in Israel’s war on Gaza?

UK has not given US permission to use RAF bases for Iran strikes

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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj98egkl7l1o

US President Donald Trump has expressed his opposition to the Chagos deal

The British government has not given permission for the US to use UK military bases to support potential US strikes on Iran, the BBC understands.

The US has in the past used RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, and the UK overseas territory of Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, to carry out strikes in the Middle East region.

The Times reports that US President Donald Trump’s latest criticism of Sir Keir Starmer’s deal to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius and lease back a joint UK-US military base was prompted by the UK withholding permission to use bases.

A UK government spokesperson said: “As routine, we do not comment on operational matters.”

The US has been pressuring Iran to agree to curb its nuclear programme.

It has threatened possible strikes if it fails to do so and has moved warships, aircraft and other military assets to the region in preparation for a possible strike.

At the same time, some progress has been reported at talks between American and Iranian negotiators in Switzerland.

…

Insiders believe the Pentagon’s preparations for possible strikes on Iran – which could potentially be launched from Diego Garcia – may have shifted the president’s understanding of the significance of the island, the largest in the Chagos archipelago.

…

rticle continues at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj98egkl7l1o

Continue ReadingUK has not given US permission to use RAF bases for Iran strikes

Big Tech Faces More Probes Over AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material

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

Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, and Elon Musk attend the Inauguration of Donald J. Trump in the US Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson – Pool/Getty Images)

“These platforms are attacking the mental health, dignity, and rights of our sons and daughters,” said the Spanish president. “The state cannot allow it. The impunity of the giants must end.”

Big Tech firms are coming under greater scrutiny for the proliferation of child sexual abuse material generated by artificial intelligence-powered chatbots on their social media platforms.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) announced on Tuesday that it was invoking the European Union’s data privacy regulations to open an investigation into Grok, the AI chatbot featured on Elon Musk’s X platform, after it was used to generate nonconsensual deepfake images, including sexualized images of children.

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In announcing the investigation, DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said that the commission has been in contact with X for weeks after reports first emerged of Grok being used to generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Doyle said DPC has since decided to launch “a large-scale inquiry which will examine [X’s] compliance with some of their fundamental obligations” under European privacy laws.

Spanish President Pedro Sánchez said on Tuesday that his government would ask Spain’s Public Prosecution Service to “investigate the crimes that X, Meta, and TikTok may be committing through the creation and dissemination of child pornography by means of their AI.”

“These platforms are attacking the mental health, dignity, and rights of our sons and daughters,” Sánchez emphasized. “The state cannot allow it. The impunity of the giants must end.”

The probes announced by Ireland and Spain mark just the latest actions by European governments against US-based tech giants. Earlier in February, law enforcement authorities in France raided the office of X in Paris, which the Paris prosecutor’s office said was part of an investigation aimed at “ensuring that the X platform complies with French laws, insofar as it operates on national territory.”

The UK government’s Information Commissioner’s Office has also announced an investigation into X that the agency said encompasses “their processing of personal data in relation to the Grok artificial intelligence system and its potential to produce harmful sexualized image and video content.”

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

Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.

Continue ReadingBig Tech Faces More Probes Over AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material