I’ve just been in Lebanon for a week. It’s quite something going from a country where about one in four people is a refugee, back to the UK where about one in a hundred people is a refugee. And yet the level of hysteria here about welcoming such relatively small numbers seems to rise all the time.

Glad to be part of this new editorial board for @newhumanist.bsky.social with so many thoughtful people…

“William to meet female footballers during Saudi Arabia tour.” - meaning direct participation in sportwashing and regime gender-washing to obscure systemic human rights abuses. www.itv.com/news/2026-02...

Policy paper: Syrian women charting the path of trust and justice towards civil peace in Syria Consultation and analysis of Syrian women’s visions for building genuine, sustainable civil peace. Syrian Women’s Political Movement, with support by @wilpf.bsky.social. syrianwomenpm.org/releases/pol...

What will happen to women’s rights and freedoms in Syria now? This insightful article unpicks worrying signs of patriarchal repression.

Incredible speech by Rajiv Menon KC in the Palestine Action trial. Such clarity and ferocity! Thank you to @jonathan-cook.bsky.social for this: jonathancook.substack.com/p/barristers...

Lead story @pressgazette.co.uk "To the journalists of the Washington Post I say, there is another way.... What if you could try to do journalism in a different way? And persuade a community of readers to build a new kind of journalism?" THANK YOU to our community for making the Nerve a success 🔗👇

Vital reporting on women’s struggle in North East Syria by Matt Broomfield in the Telegraph: www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...?

I still find it shocking that Hillary Clinton can go and whitewash the patriarchal authoritarianism of Saudi Arabia. For all her stated commitment to women's rights, that she will take money from the state where women are denied many basic rights. Incredible. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/w...

What one can see of the agreement between Syrian govt & SDF is striking for its commitment to Kurdish rights, formation of new military units- & silence on women's rights. I hope that the women of NE Syria get peace. I hope they don't have to give up too much in return. hawarnews.com/en/text-of-a...

Good to see Princess Kate is braiding her hair. As are thousands of women across the world to show their support for women under threat in Syria. Style or solidarity?

In the chaos and conflict of Syria, it’s vital that Yazidi voices are heard. Memories of genocide are fresh and fears of the future are real. Thanks @jessiewill.bsky.social for this report www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature...

With the Syrian govt advancing into northeast Syria over the last few weeks, taking control of swathes of Kurdish-held territory, I spoke to people from 2 minority groups – Yazidis and Kurds – who are fearful of the future. For @newhumanitarian.bsky.social www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature...

Holocaust Memorial Day is personally important to me. Today, as always, I return to the memory of those in my family who were killed, forced to flee, tortured in those dark years. Sometimes I now feel this work of memory has been tainted by those who want to use those stories to obscure

Absolutely insane that only 61 percent of Americans think ICE has gone too far. There’s a history book in the making called ‘Trump’s willing executioners’.

Such a wild metaphor for the role of the royal family in Britain. www.channel4.com/news/reveale...

When the American people are so bravely resisting authoritarianism, what position is the British right taking up? They are siding with the state against the protesters, with the killers against the protectors. Below, Melanie Phillips in the Times.

Women are braiding their hair in solidarity with the Kurdish women facing up to oppression in Syria. Not a beauty trend. But very beautiful. www.instagram.com/reel/DT04ikD...

The revolutionary women of Rojava are in grave danger. That has consequences for us all | Natasha Walter

The threat to Rojava is grave and resonates beyond Syria. This is where the phrase Woman Life Freedom was first used. This cannot be where it dies. I write for the Guardian about why we should all be standing by the women in NE Syria in these desperate times. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

“The Kurdish women’s struggle for a different future is also our struggle. Let us recognise our commonality & stand up for the Kurdish people” Our statement on the Rojava Women’s revolution, the threat it faces, & what we’re calling on the UK govt to do 👇🏾 southallblacksisters.org.uk/news/rojava-...

24% of people who voted Labour at the last general election now plan to vote Green or Lib Dem. 0% of those who voted Reform at the last election now plan to vote Labour.

Like so many people, I am watching the news from Syria with alarm. The courage of women in NE Syria has been undeniable. We don’t need to romanticise Rojava to recognise that its achievements were impressive and its vision inspiring.

BREAKING: Medical examiner says death of ICE detainee was a HOMICIDE - a witness says he was choked to death by GUARDS. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

This is surreal. 4 Oglala Lakota men kidnapped by ICE in Minneapolis have finally been located. One of them was released but the other 3 are being held at Fort Snelling, a former concentration camp used to imprison Native people incl. the Dakota 38 during Dakota Wars. ictnews.org/news/north-c...

The remaining three hunger strikers have ended their strike. A good moment to reflect on how falsely labelling them as terrorists dehumanises the prisoners. Thought-provoking piece for the Nerve by @natashawalter.bsky.social www.thenerve.news/p/palestine-...

“Some of us fear that we have swapped one unelected despot for another.” Armando Ledezma writes about Venezuela in the lead-up and the aftermath of the Trump Administration's capture of Nicolás Maduro. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Good, informative article by Narges Bajoghli on Iran and whether this rebellion is a revolution - or what it would take to turn it into a revolution. time.com/7345623/iran...

What's absolutely insane about this poll is this: 36% of Americans believe the ICE agent was right to kill Renee Good. I cannot take comfort in the fact 52% of Americans say he was not justified. More than one in three approve this murder. zeteo.com/p/ice-renee-...

Fine tribute here from @andrewcopson.bsky.social @humanists.uk to the pioneer campaigner Diane Munday, who has died aged 94. A truly courageous feminist who fought for abortion rights & assisted dying over many years. I admired her so much. humanists.uk/2026/01/11/h...

This political moment in the US is incredibly clarifying about the British right. In the Times yesterday, Fraser Nelson blamed the killing of Good on... immigration. Today, Camilla Long blames it on... Democrats, & trans rights. The left is always to blame, even for the rise of fascism.

Piles of bodies, internet shutdown, live ammunition… incredible courage from protesters in Iran who continue with their defiance despite this horrific crackdown. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

I wrote for @thenerve.news about how dehumanising protesters also dehumanises us. And how we need to take back our humanity.

Really enjoyed reading @natashawalter.bsky.social’s book Before the Light Fades 💙📚 deadgoodreading.com/before-the-l...

My first app download of 2026, thanks to @natashawalter.bsky.social @patrickbarkham.bsky.social

What in the Gestapo is going on in Grand Rapids? Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.

Absolutely amazing interview with Alice Oswald about her art and her arrest. The courage, the passion, the poetry! www.theparisreview.org/interviews/8...

2026 begins with even greater clarity about where the unbridled power held by male politicians and oligarchs is taking us. Into an ever more dangerous world. Now, more than ever, resistance is both incredibly difficult and utterly essential.

The US attack on Venezuela is an illegal act of aggression against a sovereign country (with lots of oil). Venezuela has become a more deeply repressive dictatorship & urgently needs democratic solution but this is unjustified & unjustifiable. Look forward to seeing swift UK Government condemnation.

The sexist, antisemitic abuse that Bella Wallersteiner has received on X is completely outrageous. This is where normalising racism and misogyny is taking us. Horrific.

I've been tracking the spread of nonconsensual deepfakes on X for more than two years. Here's a timeline of how Musk's leadership allowed the practice to flourish from a once-underground market to a viral trend, with little recourse for victims or legal enforcement. spitfirenews.com/p/grok-csam-...

As Grok is used to spread images of women and girls undressed, misogyny is being encouraged and reinforced by Twitter/X. Good to see the French authorities trying to act, but where is the British government on this? Does it have the stomach for this fight? www.politico.eu/article/fran...

The system is failing Black, minoritised and migrant women. We say: NO MORE. This year we held a vigil and parliamentary drop-in calling for: 📌 Banaz’s Law (‘honour’-based abuse as aggravating factor) 📌 Abuse-driven suicide = murder 📌 Abolish NRPF 📌 Public inquiry on femicide

Distracting myself from proof-reading by scrolling clothes I will never buy, I realise I must have translate-from-French enabled on my browser because the Net-a-porter sale is coming up as this - or is it a new category that's honest about the impact of clothing waste...?

Ha, I come across as a bit of an idiot in this lovely article by @patrickbarkham.bsky.social but that's okay - I am happy to be the daft amateur next to the proper birders. I do really know the difference between a song thrush and a female blackbird, honestly... www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Left: Greta Thunberg arrested for holding a placard in London Right: Labour's Baron Hain, "This gov is treating Palestine action as equivalent to ISIS or al-Qaeda, which is intellectually bankrupt, politically unprincipled and morally wrong. I'm deeply ashamed"

I wonder how many people who are eagerly dismissing the idea that Nabokov wrote Lolita with sympathy for the paedophile have read his even more tricky Ada. The hero is a member of the Villa Venus brothel network where the rich elite get to have sex with 10 year old girls.

We are urging people to call prisons now to ask about the wellbeing and medical treatment of Palestine Action-linked prisoners on hunger strike.

✍️ Here I found, by Malika Read this beautiful piece by Malika, a member of our network, reflecting on the community she has found at Women for Refugee Women. "When I feel scared, here I feel safe. When I have tears, here I find smiles. When I feel sad, here I find happiness."💜 1/2

Congratulations to all who made this happen!