Two controversial US political commentators accused of spreading anti-Israeli rhetoric have been barred from entering the UK. Cenk Uygur and his nephew Hasan Piker (pictured above) had been due to appear at the SXSW London culture and tech festival this week, but their visas were revoked by the Home Office on the grounds that their presence “may not be conducive to the public good”.

Why have they been banned?
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood decided to ban the pair “due to fears they could fuel antisemitism”, said The Times. Home Office decisions to refuse or cancel an electronic travel authorisation, which allows foreign nationals travel to the UK for up to six months, are “based on an assessment of the potential risk an individual may pose to UK society”. 

Turkish-American Uygur, who hosts the left-wing “The Young Turks” political talk show, has repeated “classic antisemitic tropes, such as the claim that Israel controls America”. Piker, who runs his own stream, has stood by his characterisation of Hamas as “1,000 times better” than Israel, arguing he is not antisemitic but anti-Israel.

Who else has been banned?
In May, 11 “far-right agitators” were barred from entering the UK to join Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom rally in London. Islamist hate preachers have also been prohibited from entering the country, as has US rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, due to his history of antisemitic remarks.

What has the reaction been?
“Are we free any more?” Uygur said in a series of posts on X. “This is oppression of Western citizens by our own governments on behalf of a different country!” Britain has “revoked my visa as well”, Piker replied. “All at the behest of Israel. The West is betraying ‘liberal values’ for a genocidal fascist foreign government.”

Left-wing outlet Novara Media’s Ash Sarkar, who was due to chair a discussion with Piker at SXSW, said the decisions were evidence of an “authoritarian turn motivated by Labour’s fear of being called antisemitic, and fear of being called out for their position on the genocidal war on Gaza”. But surely there “must be a distinction”, said broadcaster Jonathan Sacerdoti in The Spectator, “between protecting open argument and importing those whose public role is to turn conspiracy into cash”.

Millions of dating app users have “grown used to vetting partners with the flick of a finger”, said Catherine Pearson in The New York Times. But Bumble has “announced plans to kill off the swipe feature”, while newcomer app Breeze is taking another route.

Ending ‘superficial, snap judgements’
Many users are experiencing “dating app burnout”, said Pearson. In a bid to tackle the issue, Bumble is losing the swipe function and embracing AI-powered algorithms to re-engage those who “crave an experience that feels less overwhelming and more purposeful”. The aim is to “end superficial, snap judgements”.

Meanwhile, “Breeze is a welcome disruptor in the dating app landscape,” said Isabella Silvers in The Telegraph. Since launching in Europe in 2020, after winning investment from the Dutch version of “Dragon’s Den”, the app has clocked up more than two million downloads. Users join “matching pools” that bring together “like-minded daters”, based on everything from hobbies (“outdoor lovers”) to niche interests (“rat owners/lovers”). So far, Breeze has arranged more than 737,000 dates, “resulting in 10 babies – that it knows of”.

‘Evidently working’
The key to Breeze’s success seems to be “payment and consequences”, said Silvers. Users receive a “select number of profiles” at 7pm every day. After accepting a match, they specify their availability and pay a £9.50 deposit to secure a drinks date (or £4.50 for a “walk and talk”), “before being allowed to make a decision on anyone else”. The chat function for matched users is only opened up four hours before the date – prompting last-minute date confirmations, rather than “meaningless messaging”.

Breeze is “evidently working”, especially in the Netherlands, where it’s “the third most popular and fastest-growing” dating app, said Lydia Spencer-Elliott in The Independent. “But can it save Britain’s dismal dating scene?” It can certainly save us from being stood up or ghosted or “strung out” for weeks with no follow-through. But “what it absolutely can’t save” us from “is ourselves”. It’s “knackering” to keep “riding the rejection rollercoaster of the dating-app landscape” – and, sometimes, “the best remedy is to give it all a rest”.

Naomi Osaka celebrates scoring a point against Aryna Sabalenka during their singles match at the French Open. The Japanese tennis champion was later knocked out of Roland Garros, but has won over fashion fans with her eye-catching on-court outfits.

Julien de Rosa / AFP / Getty Images

Forget “bleak dormitories with creaking iron beds and draughty communal spaces”, said Georgie Duckworth in The Guardian. A new generation of UK hostels are offering a comfortable place to stay without the hefty price tag that often comes with cabins, cottages and lodges.

As staycations boom in the face of uncertainty over the war in the Middle East and soaring airfares, holidaymakers are looking for affordable places to stay closer to home. These reasonably priced accommodations encourage “outdoor pursuits and socialising”, with a range of private rooms for families and communal rooms with bunk beds. One of the best is The Rocks in Pembrokeshire: a “bright and stylish” hostel with a cosy shared lounge, and firepits for “stargazing and marshmallow toasting” in the evenings. Rooms are “snug but smart”, with “soft sheets and Welsh woollen blankets”.

The Youth Hostel Association offers rooms in a “beautiful building in a luxury location” for a fraction of the price of other staycations, said Catherine Lofthouse in The Sun. My “favourite” is Chester Trafford Hall, an “old Georgian mansion set in lovely grounds”. In a great “blend of city and countryside”, visitors can enjoy walks from the doorstep, or “hop on the bus” to the city centre to “wander through the historic streets”.

There are plenty of completely “off-grid” escapes, too, for “wild adventurers” and “digital detoxers”, said Freya Parr on BBC Countryfile. Consider travelling off the beaten track to Ulva – a small Scottish island off the west coast of Mull. Here, you’ll find the community-owned Ulva Hostel, which sleeps just 14 people. Offering a comfy living area, shared kitchen and a sauna, with additional camping pitches available outside, it’s the “perfect spot” from which to explore the remote, car-free island.

Ukraine’s forcibly transferred children must not be a bargaining chip
Tatiana Vorozhko on Al Jazeera
More than 20,000 Ukrainian children have been “forcibly transferred to Russia”, writes Tatiana Vorozhko, who documents war crimes for The Reckoning Project. Ukraine has made “intense efforts” to “bring them back”, but for Moscow, they’re a “yet another negotiating chip”. This issue “cannot be put on hold” alongside “stalled” peace talks. “Each passing day” further “deepens the pain of separation”. “There is no principle more universal than the belief that children belong with their parents.”

Nigel Farage’s Desert Island Discs appearance would have been one of the great hate-listens
Kat Brown in The Independent
The BBC has denied rumours that Nigel Farage is banned from being a “Desert Island Discs” guest, a scenario that could provide a “fascinating psychological insight into someone very strange”, writes Kat Brown. He doesn’t listen to music, so choosing the discs “could prove a bit of a problem”, as could “looking back” over his life. “How uncomfortable” to “revisit his schooldays, let alone his bank account”. And being stuck on “an island, with no audience to perform to”? “Unthinkable.”

Barbarian phone addicts must be permanently banned from the theatre
Celia Walden in The Telegraph
Rosamund Pike has publicly shamed an audience member for “texting during the finale of her West End play”, writes Celia Walden. Good, because “when you behave like a child, you should be treated like one”. “Theatre relies on our ability to suspend disbelief”: when that’s “severed by a phone bleeping”, the “magic” is ruined. Anyone “so morbidly, surgically attached” to their phone that they can’t put it away should be banned “for life” from “theatreland”.