"It is with complete commitment to the Ukrainian people that I have the honour of presenting this Reconstruction Transport Strategy for the city of Kharkiv, developed as part of the enduring partnership between the United Kingdom and Ukraine." www.gov.uk/government/p... @kateinkharkiv.bsky.social

Just a bit racist then. Immigration and Asylum Bill 2026: equality impact assessment assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a43e2...

Government is either being ripped-off by hotels or the dispersal units provide less than basic facilities. Or both. "The Home Office estimates the average cost per person per night of accommodating asylum seekers is £23.25 in dispersal accommodation and £144 in hotels..." www.gov.uk/government/n...

with the inevitable consequence that refugees who WORK but have a low income - nurses, shop workers, cleaners etc - will NEVER be eligible for ILR because they will never earn above this threshold and/or will never be able to afford it. astoundingly evil AND astoundingly STUPID...

"Tim Bearder and his Liberal Democrat-led Oxfordshire County Council were vindicated. Four people associated with Raise the Colours agreed to stop hoisting England flags on lamp-posts after the judge granted the council a high court injunction." www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

"Shabana Mahmood should be moved out of the Home Office and her asylum policies of 'performative cruelty' ripped up by Andy Burnham’s administration, Alf Dubs has said." www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Thread of appreciation and a petition to sign. www.change.org/p/stop-redun...

Let's talk about the weather...

Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled, Scots, wham Bruce has aften led; Welcome to your gory bed, Or to victory!

We now go live to the #Encaenia ceremony in the Sheldonian Theatre (if today were Weds, 13 June 1866)... "At ten o'clock the ladies were admitted; there was a great crush for places; and we hear that by an oversight the Regius Professors had not their usual share of ladies' tickets."

Oxford University had relaxed the academic dress code for Encaenia tomorrow, "In light of the warning, the usual expectations regarding formal attire have been relaxed across all Encaenia events. Guests are welcome to dress in a way that is comfortable and appropriate for the conditions."

"The ​UN commission said in its report that Palestinian children were deliberately targeted & killed during the ‌war, including after a ceasefire came into effect ‌in Oct 2025. It said this was a key element in establishing genocidal intent by Israeli authorities.." www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Commemoration week, Oxford "Certain journals have lately taken it into their heads to abuse this holiday festival of ours. We are told that it is a Saturnalia of muscularity, an occasion for extravagance, and an utter break-up of University discipline." -- Oxford Undergraduate's Journal, June 1871

The three stages of cherry clafoutis.

#WorldRefugeeDay This year marks 30 years of @asylumwelcome.bsky.social, a charity offering warmth, dignity & practical support to people seeking sanctuary in Oxfordshire. Asylum Welcome, and those they support, need all the help we can give. www.asylum-welcome.org/donate/?mtm_... #RefugeesWelcome

Kyiv Independent is the leading English-language newspaper in Ukraine. Founded on 2021 and led by Daryna Shevchenko & Olga Rudenko, @kyivindependent.com is independent, award-winning & free to read. Currently seeking 4,000 new members, with just 620 remaining. kyivindependent.com/membership/?...

#Wordle1825 Every starting word has its day... Wordle 1,825 1/6 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Country Diary (Ballaugh, #IsleofMan) "To many Manx residents they are lovable creatures. Wallaby pictures appear in social media posts, and are featured in journals worldwide. But their popularity is on the wane, as people learn the downside of their numbers." www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Broad bean harvest

"The Centralised Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility at Chornobyl sits within a vast exclusion zone, well outside any immediate military necessity. Striking nuclear infrastructure in such an environment is not coincidence - it is reckless & wilful irresponsibility." www.gov.uk/government/s... #IAEA

UK statement to the OSCE "International borders must not be changed by force, Ukraine’s sovereign right to choose its own security arrangements must be fully respected, and any just and lasting peace must be underpinned by robust security guarantees." www.gov.uk/government/s... #OSCE #SlavaUkraini

In a letter dated 8 June the Secretary of State has decided to refuse Botley West Solar Farm's request to extend the RFI response deadline to 25 September 2026. The deadline of 23:59 on 9 June 2026 for response to the RFI therefore remains. nsip-documents.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/published-do...

In response to the Humble Address of 4 February 2026, this publication was laid in the House of Commons on Monday 01 June 2026... ...Part of a Return relating to the appointment of Lord Mandelson as HM Ambassador to Washington, Volumes I-III www.gov.uk/government/p...

z39.50

"Moscow has made further threats to strike the heart of Kyiv & warned diplomatic missions to leave Kyiv. Such threats are unwarranted, irresponsible & completely unjustified. Any attack on a diplomatic mission would constitute a further escalation in Russia’s illegal war." www.gov.uk/government/s...

Statement from the Isle of Man TT races (1730). "A red flag was issued at 1330 in response to an incident during the opening Free Practice session of the 2026 #IsleofMan TT Races. The session was immediately stopped and all racing activity around the Mountain Course was suspended..." #IOMTT #TT2026

Encyclical Letter MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS On safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence 'What can be stated, however, is that we must avoid the misconception of equating this type of “intelligence” with that of human beings.' www.vatican.va/content/leo-... #MagnificaHumanitas

Joint Statement on the West Bank "International law is clear: Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal. Construction projects in the E1 area would be no exception... Businesses should not bid for construction tenders for E1 or other settlement developments." www.gov.uk/government/n...

Encyclical Letter Magnifica humanitas, on preserving the human person in the age of artificial intelligence. The Pope will be present, along with several speakers: ... Prof Anna Rowlands, theologian @durham.ac.uk; Christopher Olah, co-founder of @anthropic.com... www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news...

Good for Horden (and Peterlee and Easington)! www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Immigration make Britain brilliant

King's Speech 2026 At moments like these, we face a choice. We can choose to sink into the politics of grievance and division. Or... ... I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may rest upon your counsels All the speech and background notes. www.gov.uk/government/p...

"The young Godot is run ragged by his never-ending to-do list; Krapp fills the empty days with the tapes listed in his old ledger. Godot assures us he has places to go; Krapp’s land could be as uninhabited... as it seemed to him 30 years earlier." www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/m...

Still has enough MPs from which to make appointments, so there. 🙉 www.gov.uk/government/n...

The criminals have offered “assurance”. Ffs Also they’ve offered assurance that no one will be extorted. They haven’t mentioned not selling on the data for scams

"The agreement, Instructure said, involved the return of the stolen data and confirmation that the data had been destroyed at [ShinyHunters] end. Instructure added that it had been informed that none of its customers would face extortion as a result of the theft." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/u...

Why mega-platforms may not be any more secure than the server in your broom cupboard. A thread I don't have time to write.

Glyphosate "probably carcinogenic to humans” Renewal Group "According to Farmer’s Weekly, the Glyphosate Renewal Group, a coalition including Bayer, Syngenta, Nufarm and others, has made a number of submissions to officials at the Health and Safety Executive..."

United Kingdom statement to the OSCE 'As our King told the US Congress last week, our “unyielding resolve is needed for the defence of Ukraine and her most courageous people – in order to secure a truly just and lasting peace”.' www.gov.uk/government/s... #OSCE #SlavaUkraini

...in spite of the tennis the labours abandoned left unfinished graver still abode of stones in a word I resume alas alas abandoned unfinished the skull the skull in Connemara in spite of the tennis the skull alas the stones Cunard tennis... the stones... so calm... Cunard... unfinished...

"In the end, the AI revolution will not be won by those who replace people fastest, but by those who empower them best. It might be the road less traveled, but it’s the one that will make all the difference." By Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Jeffrey T. Hancock and Kate Niederhoffer hbr.org/2026/04/why-...

"The Pentagon had previously confirmed deals with Elon Musk’s xAI, OpenAI and Google. In addition, the Pentagon said it had reached deals with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Nvidia and Reflection AI, a start-up." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/u...

"[DHS] would have found that the rapid transformation of a cargo-processing facility with 4 toilets and 2 water fountains into a temporary residence for [1000s], would jeopardize the surrounding ecosystem... most notably through likely overtaxing of the sewer system." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/u...

Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, 25 April 2025 "There’s a haloed quality to sounds produced on this stage. The Scottish Ensemble’s launch programme of Shostakovich’s C minor Chamber Symphony & Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings proved this again and again." www.theguardian.com/music/2026/a...

Slow Moose TV www.svtplay.se/video/jJyodQ...

I’ve been hearing so much anger and disappointment from frontline workers about the BBC investigation into fraudulent asylum claims. One of the most damning responses has come from one of the experts they interviewed, solicitor Ana Gonzalez. It’s really worth reading her response in full:

"This Sunday marks the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster, one of the most devastating nuclear disasters in history... we cannot ignore that nuclear safety risks have once again become acute owing to Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine." www.gov.uk/government/s... #OSCE

"It's shrimp taco time" NYT Cooking trolls Trump.

Trump the master strategist. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04...

Not even the end of the queue for Record Store Day at Truck Store, Oxford truckmusic.store/collections/...