Universities betray public trust by joining MoD ‘Battlefield Advantage’ alliance

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:17 July 2026
• Post last modified:18 July 2026

A coalition of campaign groups has accused UK universities of quietly integrating themselves into the UK’s defence infrastructure after 35 institutions signed up to the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Universities Alliance (DUA). The Ministry of Defence says the alliance aims to: reorientate academia towards Defence and National Security. It wants to strengthen links between universities and the defence sector, and translate research into “battlefield advantage”. Campaigners say the move represents a significant shift in the role of higher education and has taken place without meaningful public debate. Among the founding members are: University of Oxford. University College London. King’s College London.…

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Christian climate protesters including retired vicar convicted for Bath Abbey protest

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:17 July 2026
• Post last modified:17 July 2026

A retired Church of England vicar and three Christian climate activists have been convicted of aggravated trespass. This is after they dropped a huge banner saying “Don’t Crucify Creation” from the tower of Bath Abbey. They’ve accused church officials of prioritising tourism over planetary breakdown and billions of deaths. They were part of a national day of action on September 13, 2025, by Christian Climate Action (CCA). The group called on the Church of England to speak out more clearly and persistently about the Climate and Nature Emergency and the existential threat to people and all life on Earth. The activists…

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Is the UK set for a bumper summer of butterflies?

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:17 July 2026
• Post last modified:18 July 2026

The UK could be on the brink of a bumper summer of butterflies. A warm, dry spring has raised hopes of an abundant season ahead for some of the nation’s best-loved species. 2024 delivered the worst results in the history of Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count. And it led to the declaration of a butterfly emergency. However, a sunnier 2025 offered some encouragement. And with spring 2026 one of the warmest on record, the UK could see a kaleidoscope of colourful butterflies this year. That’s why wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation is calling on the public to get out for its annual…

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Trump underestimated Iran’s resilience, Chatham House hears

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:17 July 2026
• Post last modified:18 July 2026

At Chatham House’s London Conference on 9 July 2026, a panel on “The new geopolitics of the Middle East” noted the failure by Trump to underestimate Iran’s resilience. The comments were made by Professor Mohsen Milani (University of South Florida), who said his comments were not of a political persuasion but were offered as an academic. The video was published by Chatham House on their YouTube channel. He said that American policymakers and think tankers have been wrong about Iran for 47 to 48 years, and that one of the primary reasons is that they have “underestimated the resiliency of a revolutionary…

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Trump’s Gaza peace plan shrinks amid fears of new Israeli offensive

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:17 July 2026
• Post last modified:18 July 2026

Trump and his shambolic Board of Peace (BoP) has discarded its recovery plan for Gaza, opting instead for a “tiny pilot scheme” amid fears of a “new all-out offensive before Israeli elections,” the Guardian reported. The so-called ceasefire hasn’t stopped Israel’s daily bombardment of Gaza. As recently as 16 July, Israeli forces were again striking Palestinians huddled inside tents. Israel is maniacally bombing Palestinians in tattered tents again tonight. Every. Single. Day. Not a single shot from Hamas for more than 10 months & Israel has killed more than a thousand Palestinians since — including more than 200 children. pic.twitter.com/DWzA42MAyq —…

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Trump scared of midterm elections goes back to 2020 fraud, far-left extremism claims

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:17 July 2026
• Post last modified:17 July 2026

On Thursday, Donald Trump stood before the cameras in the White House and delivered a prime-time address claiming that the 2020 election had been stolen. Wall Street Journal defined it as: In his prime-time address, Trump alleged that the U.S. election system had been compromised, ramping up efforts to sow doubts about his 2020 election loss, raise skepticism about the midterms and pressure Congress into passing sweeping voter-ID legislation CODEPINK’s co-founder Medea Benjamin said that Trump was trying to revive false claims of past stolen elections and Chinese interference to delegitimize the 2026 midterm elections. BEWARE: Trump is trying to revive…

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Community Barometer sets out blueprint for high street recovery

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:16 July 2026
• Post last modified:16 July 2026

The 2026 Community Barometer report is the first major report into the health of the high street that focuses on putting place first. The Association of Convenience Stores launched the report, which highlights the use of the ‘Makerfield Test’ as a means to deliver good growth on high streets. The ‘Makerfield Test’ is the idea that a policy must work for somewhere like Makerfield or the government ditches it. There is a stark contrast in the report between the high streets that people feel are getting better and those that are getting worse. Across the UK, only Greater London emerged as…

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Zionist Greens label Zack Polanski antisemitic in further leaked WhatsApp Messages

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:16 July 2026
• Post last modified:16 July 2026

The Canary can reveal further leaked WhatsApp messages from a secretive, Zionist Green Party group called ‘Greens Against Antisemitism’. The group appears to be orchestrating a campaign to brand opponents as antisemitic while plotting to sink a historic anti‑racist motion: Zionism Is Racism. More leaked Green Party WhatsApps At a time when the Green Party of England and Wales faced a watershed vote on whether to declare itself an anti‑Zionist party, internal messages obtained by the Canary lift the lid on a coordinated effort by a Zionist faction to manipulate the democratic process and drive out members who support Palestinian liberation.…

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A death certificate is not enough for Kashmir’s enforced disappearance victims

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:16 July 2026
• Post last modified:17 July 2026

Abdul Rashid Wani, a timber trader from Kashmir, vanished from Indian military custody in 1997. While a certificate of his death has finally been granted after 29 years, his family is still searching for answers about what happened to him. His son Junaid Rashid, who was five at the time of his father’s disappearance and is now 34, told Agence France-Presse (AFP): The government has now, after 29 years, acknowledged in court that such an atrocity was done. If this had happened earlier, I think Kashmir would look different. Our lives would look different, and my mother’s health would be something…

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UK is raising one of the unhealthiest generations of children in decades

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:16 July 2026
• Post last modified:17 July 2026

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has updated its landmark State of Child Health report, which looks at the health of children across 12 indicators. Nearly a decade after its first publication, this latest analysis has found that children’s health in the UK across all areas is either in decline or has stalled completely. Ranging from infant mortality and mental health to obesity, immunisation, and asthma, the report concludes that widening inequalities, gaps in data and chronic underinvestment are putting the health of a generation at risk. The report found in England: Only 84% of children receive two…

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So much for Number 10 North – top government roles dominated by southerners

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:16 July 2026
• Post last modified:16 July 2026

With evidence mounting daily that Andy Burham’s regime will be absolute continuity nonsense with a mild northern accent, research shows just how thin the veneer of north-ness might be. Ahead of Burnham creating Number 10 North, the Sutton Trust has released analysis of its Elitist Britain 2025 report. It shows that people who grew up in London and the South East dominate the key roles making decisions that affect all our lives. Half of all top government officials got their education in London and the South East. Almost a third went to private schools in those regions. This includes 50% of…

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Campaigners disrupt event showcase demanding venues stop hosting fossil fuel firms

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:16 July 2026
• Post last modified:16 July 2026

Amidst the third heat storm of this year, campaigners demanded an end to London venues hosting events for fossil fuel companies. Fossil Free London campaigners disrupted inside the QEII Centre in Westminster while the venue hosted its annual Summer Showcase. This is an invitation-only event marketed to the events industry where companies can find suitable locations for their corporate events. In protest over London venues hosting oil and gas events, five campaigners entered the 40th birthday party event at the QEII Centre and disrupted the event. They requested to give a birthday speech within the DJ booth when they said: Did…

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Protesters confront NatureScot at biodiversity conference over guga hunt licence

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:15 July 2026
• Post last modified:16 July 2026

A noisy protest erupted outside the Biodiversity + Business Live conference at the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh. Campaigners were challenging NatureScot over its role in licensing the controversial guga hunt. From 8am on 15 July, protesters gathered with placards and megaphones outside the conference, which NatureScot is co-hosting. They accused Scotland’s nature agency of undermining its own biodiversity commitments by licensing the annual killing of gannet chicks. Delegates arriving for the conference, including Scottish government ministers and UK business leaders, faced protesters chanting: NatureScot, shame, shame! Gannets killed in your name! Protect the Wild, one of the groups involved,…

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Craig Mokhiber declares Israel has no ‘right to exist’ in fierce op-ed

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:15 July 2026
• Post last modified:16 July 2026

Former senior UN human rights chief, Craig Mokhiber, has written a fierce opinion piece in Mondoweiss denying Israel’s right to exist. In the essay, he calls for the dismantling of the Israeli regime, which is on trial for genocide at the ICJ, charges that the court has found plausible enough to issue a series of preliminary orders — all of which the regime has ignored. Mokhiber calls for Israel to be replaced by a free Palestine with equal rights for all, which is not only a legal requirement but an “existential imperative for all of humanity”. My latest: No, Israel does…

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Young campaigners urge incoming PM to act on outdoor junk food ads

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:15 July 2026
• Post last modified:15 July 2026

The Health and Social Care Committee has just delivered one of parliament’s strongest calls yet for action to protect children from junk food marketing. And Bite Back’s young campaigners are urging the incoming government to seize the moment. After a year-long inquiry, MPs have concluded that children’s health has been undermined by unhealthy food environments and decades of industry influence. They’re recommending stronger protections including action on outdoor junk food advertising. The report echoes the evidence given directly to the Committee by Bite Back campaigners Jayda and Alice. They told MPs how children and young people are surrounded by junk food…

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Animal activists drop giant banner on the Thames demanding foie gras import ban

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:14 July 2026
• Post last modified:15 July 2026

Pressure on the government to ban the importation of foie gras is intensifying. Activists from animal protection organisation Animal Equality have unfurled a giant banner on Victoria Embankment. It says “KEEP YOUR PROMISE: BAN FOIE GRAS IMPORTS”, in direct view of parliament. The action follows the launch of 150 billboards and ads running across south east England sharing the same message. These are likely to reach 30 million passers-by. Foie gras is produced by force-feeding ducks and geese via a metal pipe inserted down the throat, multiple times a day. This cause their livers to swell up to ten times their…

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Ditching donor dinners for dancefloors and putting the party into Green Party

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:14 July 2026
• Post last modified:14 July 2026

Showing that political fundraising doesn’t have to be all fancy dinners and shady crypto-related windfalls, the Green Party is instead heading for the dancefloor. Green Space is taking its “party with purpose” model to Bristol this month, as the community and culture project builds what organisers describe as a repeatable, transparent and people-powered fundraising model for Green politics. The Bristol event, taking place at Sawmills on Sunday 26 July 2026, will be the fourth Green Space party in the series, following two events in London and one in Leeds. Putting the party into Green Party Together, the first three events have…

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Spanish politicians demand Spain doesn’t extradite Fergie Chambers to US

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:14 July 2026
• Post last modified:15 July 2026

Multiple Spanish political parties are calling on the Spanish government not to execute Fergie Chambers’ extradition to the US. Representatives of several political forces have submitted a letter to interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Félix Bolaños García, minister for the presidency, justice and parliamentary relations, as well as to several government delegations. The letter calls on the Spanish executive not to execute the extradition of James Cox “Fergie” Chambers Jr. to the US. And it warns that solidarity with Palestine, in a context of genocide, occupation and apartheid, cannot be criminalised or presented as terrorism. The MPs come from the CUP,…

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Big Oil must foot the bill for urgent heat protection as Europe swelters

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:13 July 2026
• Post last modified:13 July 2026

As deadly heat covers Europe, governments must act quickly to protect lives and force fossil fuel companies to foot the bill. That’s the view of campaign group 350.org. There were more than 10,000 excess deaths across Europe during record-breaking heatwaves in June. Deadly wildfires are still raging in France and Spain. And even in the normally less extreme UK, the death toll has topped 2,700 and multiple fires have taken hold. Climate campaigners urge European governments to take urgent measures to protect the public, especially vulnerable populations, from heat impacts. This includes measures such as upgrading hospitals, care facilities, schools and…

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171% surge in referrals prompts LGBTQ+ youth charity to launch #DeserveBetter campaign

• Post author:The Canary
• Post published:13 July 2026
• Post last modified:14 July 2026

Referrals to LGBTQ+ youth charity The Proud Trust increased by 171% following the Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers. This prompted the charity to launch a major new national campaign highlighting the challenges LGBTQ+ young people continue to face and call for greater understanding, safer spaces and better support. The Proud Trust, one of the UK’s leading LGBTQ+ youth charities, has launched #DeserveBetter, a nationwide campaign calling for greater understanding, safer spaces and better support for LGBTQ+ young people throughout the year. The campaign comes as national research continues to paint a stark picture of…

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