One more sleep until this book is published! It features about 30 chapters & contributions from my recent PhD students past and present, led by Piki and Tawona and their respective practices, shared, given support and permission to shape shift. 1/

There are various factors but Brexit and its aftermath is the key. It is not a coincidence that Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland all now have governments led by parties that want to leave the UK. England is divided five ways and we will have 7 prime ministers in a decade

A lovely write up about our new book of Poetry @uofgunescorila.bsky.social iona.org.uk/cloth-as-mem...

Siberian Gold Quince blossoms for the first time on the allotment

THIS

*laughs in archivist* It always amuses me at how little historical material is actually not only digitized but also made available online compared to what lay people think.

Gaza: Doctors Under Attack wins BAFTA award after BBC rejection - https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/gaza-doctors-under-attack-wins-bafta-award-after-bbc-rejection

New ‘Nakba’ in Jerusalem: Israel steps up Silwan demolitions near Al-Aqsa - https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/new-nakba-jerusalem-israel-steps-up-silwan-demolitions-near-al-aqsa

Shireen Abu Akleh’s family issued a public statement affirming that they “will not stop” pursuing “justice for Shireen through all available avenues,” to mark the fourth anniversary of her murder. Read the full statement: cpj.org/2026/05/cpj-... #JusticeForShireen

If you oppose antisemitism from the left but don’t oppose antisemitism from the right, you don’t oppose antisemitism. You oppose the left.

Israel continues to violate a 'ceasefire' agreed to in October with hundreds more killed across the Strip.

𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗔𝗗𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗟𝗘 𝑫𝒐𝒆𝒔 “𝑼𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈” 𝑳𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓? Elies van Sliedregt examines the enduring consequences of refugee exclusion under Article 1F(a) of the Refugee Convention for individuals associated with core international crimes (CICs) doi.org/10.1093/rsq/... #Caughtbetweenjusticeandinjustice

UN condemns confrontation in occupied West Bank as 'appalling and emblematic of the dehumanisation of Palestinians' https://aje.news/5wx50k

Truly historic & moving scenes from the inaugural session of the Hungarian Parliament. A children’s tambura band from a tiny village playing a folk song often described as the unofficial Roma anthem. MPs were tearing up & so were many more of us watching. After all those years of hate. 🎥 telex.hu

Just beautiful

The Edinburgh New Town Church (formerly St Andrew's and St George's West) is gearing up for its massive annual book sale in aid of Christian Aid Scotland, a beloved Edinburgh institutional fixture since 1972 The church is taking book donations this week and next and the sale begins on 9th May (1/2)

From the perspective of an England-based, Westminster-weary journalist, Scotland’s political culture often feels like a breath of fresh air

Another Israeli strike hits south of Beirut - https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/another-israeli-strike-hits-south-beirut-hezbollah-launches-drone-north

A Reform government is not inevitable. But more of the same will only make it more likely. Great to speak to the brilliant @trillingual.bsky.social about the rise of the British radical right - and what comes next, for Reform, Farage and all of us democracyforsale.substack.com/p/a-reform-g...

The Labour Party and the Tory Party are the mother and father of the new British far-right. Their failures and cruelties birthed Reform and made their bigotries acceptable in the eyes of millions. Hell mend them for that. The two parties will be damned in the history books as failures and scoundrels

“A Desert Liturgy in Verse” My new book review, in the @christiancentury.bsky.social , on Diana Woodcock’s Holy Sparks, #poetry written in the desert, where Muslim and Christian sensibilities meet in ecological witness and reverence for creation: www.christiancentury.org/article/dese... #booksky

“Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.” - George Orwell, 1984 Last night at the #AmnestyMediaAwards 2026, Adrian Lester delivered this powerful excerpt from 1984. Two plus two make four, and peaceful protest is a human right.

In this blog post Erdem Avsar, contributor to our new Open Access book "Exploring Restorative Intercultural Practices: Fire Stories" reflects on the value of gatherings and restorative storytelling in academia.

Good morning ☕️

The @scottishgreens.org missed out on a second list seat in Mid Scotland & Fife by 0.1pts - the so-called Independent Green Voice polled 0.9%. This is a clear wrecking tactic by the far right and needs to be sorted! #SP26

I believe the Real Greens have just been IGV'd out of a second seat in Mid Scotland and Fife. Huge questions for Electoral Commission to answer after two elections of this.

Here here 🙌

Shout out to @lauraewebster.bsky.social and her whole team @scotnational.bsky.social who have absolutely put in a shift or seven to bring analysis, humour and coverage of the Scottish Elections. I know you are a small team but you have been mighty: www.thenational.scot/news/2608223...

The people didn’t desire fascism but the English voting system left them with no alternative and their chosen Government in 2024 promised change but refused to change, because it clearly desired fascism. The more fragmented parties become the worse the First Past the Post system becomes.

I fear Labour people risk falling into an ecological fallacy visible from space when reacting to these results. Here is what is very clear in results so far: Labour are losing *seats* to Reform, but... Labour are losing *votes* to the Greens Greens split the vote, Ref comes thru middle

A please @labouruk.bsky.social, stop saying that it's up to us to stop Reform. YOU could stop a Reform government in 2029, by introducing the proportional representation so many in the country have been clamouring for. The only way Farage can win is through our crazy first-past-the-post system.

Every Moment Is a Life: A Gaza anthology curated by Susan Abulhawa is a tour de force - https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/every-moment-life-gaza-anthology-curated-susan-abulhawa-tour-de-force

The Press watchdog Ipso has ruled that publications are entitled to describe Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05...

Important data point here: “A sharp fall in Labour's performance is accompanied more often by an above average Green performance than it is by a strong Reform performance”. The Greens have already hurt Labour even before any direct gains.

This thread from @zekuzelalem.bsky.social is very important for understanding the unforeseen consequences of Epic Fury and the end of international rules and norms everywhere Thanks Zecharias 🙏🏾

N.B Iran observers: US going as far as warming up to Eritrea over its Red Sea oil corridor in this manner appears to be an effort to soften the economic fallout upon accepting that "Epic Fury" will not achieve its Hormuz related objectives, despite no one in the Trump admin publicly admitting it.

To get an idea of the sort of atrocities that resulted in Eritrea being sanctioned, here's an investigation I produced for VICE News from way back in Feb 2021, on ethnic cleansing of villages and massacre of villagers in Ethiopia's Tigray region by Eritrean soldiers.

Anyways, the other day @reuters.com reported that the US was considering lifting 5 year old American sanctions placed upon Eritrea's government for its role in the 2020-2022 Tigray war. The US clearly wants to get in on the strait craze.

Eritrea, lies south of Saudi Arabia, off the Red Coast and the strategic Bab El Mandeb strait lies off its coastline. Key word, strait. You see where I'm going with this. The value of Eritrea's position off the Bab el Mandeb has suddenly skyrocketed, with the uncertainty around the Hormuz.

So why am I raising Ciham's story here? Because global powers are falling over themselves to establish ties with Eritrea's leader who for decades they dismissed as an eccentric, pro-Moscow dictator. This despite him standing accused of, among other things, overseeing a genocide from 2020-2022.

Those of us who are of Eritrean parentage can confirm for you: most of our families haven't had a family reunion in decades. Returning to Eritrea is unthinkable if youve fled the military. Criticizing the gov could mean ending up like Dawit Isaak, the longest detained journalist in the world today.

Eritrea is somewhat closed off. It is literally bottom of the RSF press freedom rankings (worse than North Korea) and due to the country's mandatory and indefinite military conscription, it is one of the largest producers of refugees in the world, despite a population of barely 5 million.

THREAD: So you may or may not recognize this little girl, but it's timely to learn about her now, as Iran's Hormuz deadlock is pushing desperate regional & global powers towards alternative trade corridors. This is Ciham Ali Abdu, an American citizen. She hasn't been seen or heard from since 2012.

🚨The Results Day live blog is here Your source for all of today's Scottish election news, declarations etc Keep it bookmarked and you can dip in and out throughout the day

Quite nuts that this speech on World Press Freedom Day doesn't mention the country responsible for the most killings of journalists (by far) last year: Israel (Russia is mentioned five times, for context) www.gov.uk/government/s...

ECtHR: Criminal conviction of protest organiser breached Article 11 (freedom of assembly & association). She herself had not breached any conditions the authorities had imposed and any disruption by other protesters was in spite of her instructing them to comply. The conviction was disproportionate.

I woke early in the morning to place my first ever vote into a box of imperfect choices. The cold morning air accompanied me to the polling station, and somehow that breath of dawn — quiet, honest, alive — felt more hopeful than every promise on the ballot.

UNHCR Egypt - Fact Sheet - May 2026 #Refugees

Polls are open! Remember, you don't need ID, you can drop off your postal vote if you forgot to send it, and watch out for the spoiler candidates - look for the Scottish Green Party name and logo. We can stop the far right, bring hope back to politics, and demand better for Scotland. #VoteGreen