An Angel Walks Into a Pub… and Falls: Sculptor Rufus Martin on Humanity — LOST ART While people can’t stop time, sculptors have the rare gift of capturing a moment – something which sculptor Rufus Martin is both joyfully, and painfully, aware of…

My latest in Lost Art Media, a profile of sculptor Rufus Martin and his series of sculptures based on Milton's Paradise Lost in London's Bowman Gallery:

www.lost-art.media/art/an-angel...

Is there anything we can do to alleviate flash floods in the West Midlands Experts say housebuilding and concrete drives are making floods worse, but that there are things we can do.

I dunno, convert some of the endless paved space reserved for cars into green space that can absorb water, maybe?

Sorry, forget it. That could result in a car owner being inconvenienced, which would of course be far worse than the flooding of our cities and towns.

The Reality Of Europe’s Border Crisis: This Is Life Onboard Migrant Rescue Ships It was late afternoon, the heat thick and unmoving, when the call came through. I was the only journalist aboard the Ocean Viking, a search-and-rescue ship patrolling the Central Mediterranean, wh

"In a sea of silence, abandonment and violence, they offer the rarest thing: someone is still looking for you. […]
That your life matters."

Journalist @alexhowl.bsky.social was onboard the #OceanViking during 2 rescues and the shootings by Libyan Coast Guard. 👇

www.service95.com/the-reality-...

The Reality Of Europe’s Border Crisis: This Is Life Onboard Migrant Rescue Ships It was late afternoon, the heat thick and unmoving, when the call came through. I was the only journalist aboard the Ocean Viking, a search-and-rescue ship patrolling the Central Mediterranean, wh

My story for @service95stories.bsky.social on @sosmediterranee.org's Ocean Viking. The Libyan 'coast guard' opened fire, risking the lives of survivors and crew.

It was a privilege to see them in action - truly incredible people

#searchandrescue
#Mediterranean

www.service95.com/the-reality-...

On Sunday I was on board the Ocean Viking when the Libyan coast guard opened fire, circling the vessel several times and shooting while crew and survivors were on the bridge and deck. This direct attack on the lives of at-sea rescuers is unprecedented and demands swift & decisive action from the EU

Forced to watch In 2015, more than 900 migrants on board a fishing vessel crossing from Libya to Italy drowned when the overcrowded vessel sank. Headlines at the time

My review of Barbie Latza Nadeau's book 'Every Body Counts: Money, lies and the hidden trade in human lives' in the TLS: the-tls.com/regular-feat...

As human trafficking becomes the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, Nadeau's book is nothing less than essential reading

The hidden price of luxury: What Europe’s designer handbags are costing the Amazon rainforest Leather suppliers to luxury fashion brands are linked to illegal cattle ranching in the Amazon rainforest, where COP30 will take place this year

THE HIDDEN PRICE OF LUXURY: uncovering leather handbags in the EU and UK exposed to illegal deforestation and land grabs in Brazil’s Amazon.

Our findings raise questions about the supply chains of luxury fashion.

📖 Read the full report: www.earthsight.org.uk/news/hidden-...

Credits: Francesca Volpi / SOS MEDITERRANEE

Credits: Francesca Volpi / SOS MEDITERRANEE

Credits: Francesca Volpi / SOS MEDITERRANEE

Credits: Luigi Lanza

After 3 days sailing from Malta’s SAR region, we reached the distant port of #Savona to disembark 73 survivors.

It was our first time here. Despite the distance, we were met with warmth.

One survivor said quietly: “لا مزيد من الناس السيئين” - “no more bad people.”

Wander Women talks with SOS Méditerranée and Women for Refugee Women Join us at Pimlico Library during Refugee Week to celebrate the contributions and resilience of refugees and people seeking asylum with a special panel talk, led by Alexandra Blanchard and Alex…

📣 #RefugeeWeek event!

Join us for a lively panel discussion with authors of Wander Women, @alexhowl.bsky.social‬ and Alexandra Blanchard, and Dr. Ayla Emminck of @sosmediterranee.org‬.

📍 Pimlico Library, London
⏰ Weds 18 June, 6:15 - 7:15PM
🎟️ Free tickets:

More issues with SMS 2fa. Only use SMS 2FA if there is no other option.

Use a code generator instead.

(or, if possible, use a hardware token like Yubikey or a passkey).

Wander Women talks with SOS Méditerranée and Women for Refugee Women Join us at Pimlico Library during Refugee Week to celebrate the contributions and resilience of refugees and people seeking asylum with a special panel talk, led by Alexandra Blanchard and Alex Howlet...

If you’re around on 18th June please come to Pimlico Library for a #refugeeweek panel with @sosmediterranee.org and @4refugeewomen.bsky.social where women will be talking about search and rescue & experiences of the U.K.‘s asylum system refugeeweek.org.uk/event/wander...

Our latest community journalism pilot, Bradford StoryHub, has just recently launched!

In partnership with Bradford Community Broadcasting, we’ll be supporting locals in Bradford to develop the skills and confidence to tell their own stories and hold power to account

Wander Women talks with SOS Méditerranée and Women for Refugee Women Join us at Pimlico Library during Refugee Week to celebrate the contributions and resilience of refugees and people seeking asylum with a special panel talk, led by Alexandra Blanchard and Alex Howlet...

If you’re around on 18th June please come to Pimlico Library for a #refugeeweek panel with @sosmediterranee.org and @4refugeewomen.bsky.social where women will be talking about search and rescue & experiences of the U.K.‘s asylum system refugeeweek.org.uk/event/wander...

screenshot of a BBC article on the frozen Syrian claims

The government has FROZEN ALL DECISIONS for Syrians applying for asylum or settlement for nearly 6 months😱😱😱

Roughly 7,000 people left in limbo & denied the right to work - this is completely INSANE.

Reform UK fulfils pledge to scrap LTNs in its council areas as none exist All 10 council areas controlled by rightwing party tell the Guardian they have no low-traffic neighbourhoods

Reform UK exemplifies a new model of politics shaped by the logic of the attention economy, where virality and outrage matter more than governance, delivery, or outcomes.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Javier Alvarez / SOS MEDITERRANEE

Italian authorities have assigned @sosmediterranee.org
a distant PoS in #Ancona 1497km away, approx. 4d of travel. Onboard are 276 survivors, including 6 children and 3 babies. This decision keeps us away for many days from the area at sea where most vital lifesaving operations take place

„So trieben wir, Leute wurden krank. Einige starben … Einige hatten denselben Traum, dasselbe Ziel, aber sie kamen nie an.”

Abdou hat es vom #Senegal nach #Tenerife geschafft u. konnte s. Geschichte @ejfoundation.org erzählen.

Tausende werden sie nie erzählen können.

@oceanographicmag.bsky.social

The deadly route to Europe: Senegal's illegal fishing crisis The Environmental Justice Foundation investigates how illegal fishing in Senegal is forcing young fishers to take desperate choices.

“So, we stayed there and people started getting sick. Some died. May their souls go to paradise. Some of them had the same dream and purpose, but they never arrived.”

@oceanographicmag.bsky.social new long read from @ejfoundation.org latest report

oceanographicmagazine.com/features/the...

Foreign overfishing in Senegal fuels migration to Spain, a report finds A report from a London-based environmental group says illegal overfishing and destructive practices by foreign vessels are responsible for increased irregular migration to Spain from Senegal in West A...

New report from @ejfoundation.org covered by @apnews.com

“I get so angry when (foreign nations) complain about immigration because they are the real pirates and what they did is worse than clandestine immigration. It’s theft, plundering our resources ... while we suffer"

apnews.com/article/migr...

Adrift: Senegal’s coastal crisis and the deadly route to Europe YouTube video by Environmental Justice Foundation

The consequences of industrial fishing are contributing to the troubling increase in migrant deaths at sea. Senegal’s fisheries must be returned to the Senegalese people.

Senegal's government, the European Union, and industrial fishing entities must ensure stronger governance and transparency now.

Abdoulaye Sady, stands next to the sea in Tenerife

View of Tenerife from the sea

Thieboudienne - a traditional rice and fish dish from Senegal.

The route from Senegal to the Canary Islands is one of the deadliest. Tragically, there were over 3,000 deaths in 2023 alone.

Our film follows one young Senegalese fisher, Abdou, who is forced to make this journey. He says, “some people had the same dream and purpose as me, but they never arrived.”

📣 New report and film

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and overfishing in Senegal are devastating fish populations and coastal communities, leading to increased forced migration to Europe across the world’s most deadly migration route.

Hear their stories 🎬

Old mobile phones and keyboards. Overlaid text reads: FT Exclusive: EU issues US-bound staff with burner phones to avoid espionage

Breaking news: The European Commission is issuing burner phones and basic laptops to some US-bound staff to avoid the risk of espionage — a measure traditionally reserved for trips to China www.ft.com/content/20d0...

‘I became like a slave’: why 43 women are suing the secretive Opus Dei Catholic group in Argentina Lured by promises of an education but allegedly trapped in servitude and self-mortification, the former members are suing the ultra-conservative organisation over their ‘exploitation and abuse’

"I became like a slave, without any capacity to think or act or do.”

43 women in Argentina have accused Opus Dei – a secretive Catholic group – of coercing them as children and adolescents into a life of domestic servitude.

This is their story.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

An unexplained death, ‘abuse and slavery’: Indonesian fishers reveal life on long haul vessels The death of a fisher on a Chinese-owned trawler in the Indian Ocean illustrates the lack of accountability in the seafood industry, say advocates

Shocking & important story on treatment of migrant fishing crew from @heldavidson.bsky.social featuring @ejfoundation.org.

After one Indonesian crew member died at sea, his family were given £9.60 as compensation.

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Net Free Seas: ridding Thailand's waters of ghost nets and reducing plastic pollution YouTube video by Environmental Justice Foundation

Fishing is often these communities’ only source of income. Their livelihoods are severely impacted by plastic pollution, as fish that could be caught and sold are instead entangled in these nets.

To address this issue, Net Free Seas connects communities with recyclers, who pay them directly.

Trapped at sea: exposing North Korean forced labour on China’s Indian… This briefing finds that a fleet of Chinese tuna fishing vessels operating in the Indian Ocean reportedly used North Koreans as crew between 2019 and…

Read the full report here: ejfoundation.org/reports/trap...

North Koreans on Chinese Tuna Boats Boost Revenue for Kim Jong-un (Gift Article) Thousands of miles from home, North Koreans work on Chinese tuna longliners in the Indian Ocean for pay that goes to their leader, a new study says.

“Their families don’t have any idea whether they are still alive or not"

@nytimes.com coverage of @ejfoundation.org new report revealing that Chinese fishing vessels used North Korean labour in breach of UN sanctions. The NK crew spent up to 10 years at sea

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/w...

Standing up to the authoritarian wave requires more than cheerleading for democracy; it demands making democratic societies more participatory, responsive, and adaptable at all levels, from local to national, in response to the societal shifts driven by the Internet over the past 15 years.

Trump Team Plans Cuts at HUD Office That Funds Disaster Recovery Staff at the office, a branch of the U.S. housing department that Congress uses to address the worst catastrophes, would be reduced by 84 percent.

Breaking News: The Trump administration plans to cut 84% of staff at the office that funds the U.S.'s disaster recovery, raising questions about how the country will rebuild from hurricanes, wildfires and other calamities made worse by climate change.