Our Audible credits were full and about to expire so we made two excellent purchases #JonSnow The State of Us and a pre-order of @johnsweeneyroar.bsky.social The Real Nigel Farage 🙂

Despite advising @specsaversuk.bsky.social press office we need to speak to them by phone for accessibility reasons, they are still refusing to call us. There is little point trying to communicate with a company that will not accommodate people with #disabilities.

For customers with #accessibility issues @specsaversuk.bsky.social also doesn’t list a phone number for customer service, only an online form or social media. That also isn’t accessible to people who need to communicate by phone. Their press office phone number also doesn’t work.

By way of contrast #VisionExpress Oxford Street has plenty of seating, accommodated #accessibility and #neurodiversity and multiple staff spent time in an unhurried way dealing with enquiry. #equality #diversity #success

New #accessibilty #fail is @specsaversuk.bsky.social Tottenham Ct Rd London store advised nowhere for customers to sit other than for eye test. Must stand at a podium. Explained #disability, #equality act & many ppl can’t stand for long. Was told their director thought no cust seating OK… 😠

We were concerned too, but an #Apple spokesman has advised us that Apple Maps never featured the villages not appearing on #AppleMaps, and that additional details shown in other countries are due to the rollout of the new Apple Maps experience which is not yet available for all regions.

They should stop in the first safe country they pass through

Wealthy British nationals fleeing Gulf conflict bypass UK to avoid tax bills

High-net-worth residents of UAE heading to Ireland and France to wait out missile attacks before tax year ends

theguardian.com

BREAKING: The Israeli military says it is dropping charges against five soldiers who were accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee.

Israeli military drops charges against soldiers charged with abusing Palestinian prisoner

The Israeli military says it is dropping charges against five soldiers who were accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee in an encounter partially caught on camera.

bit.ly

Pupils at schools in the eastern Ukrainian city of #Kharkiv have attended classes underground since 2024 as a security precaution against daily Russian drone and missile strikes on the city. 📹 rtenews

Ahead of the May elections, the government has announced the creation of a threat assessment centre and a new national police unit dedicated to tackling threats and harassment against those standing for public office www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/scottis...

Threat assessment centre launched to protect election candidates from abuse

The government has launched a national police unit and threat assessment centre to protect election candidates from abuse.

glasgowtimes.co.uk

Often blamed for natural disasters, an Alaskan lab has become the subject of countless conspiracy theories. @kait.bsky.social visited the HAARP lab to see what it looks like for a team of researchers to contort around suspicion every day:

A Never-Ending Conspiracy Theory in Remote Alaska

Why are some people convinced that nefarious experiments are happening at HAARP?

bit.ly

"Amnesty believes Cândido may be just one of many [ #Predator] targets in the country, based on their findings that they were able to find multiple domains linked to the spyware maker used in 🇦🇴Angola." ✍️ @lorenzofb.bsky.social techcrunch.com/2026/02/17/i...

Intellexa's Predator spyware used to hack iPhone of journalist in Angola, research says | TechCrunch

Amnesty International says it found evidence that a government customer of Intellexa, a sanctioned surveillance vendor, used its Predator spyware against a prominent journalist in Angola.

techcrunch.com

Palmerston, a cat who served as the “chief mouser” for Britain’s diplomatic service, has died in Bermuda. He was about 12.

Palmerston, the Former ‘Chief Mouser’ for Britain’s Foreign Office, Dies

The cat, who was named after a former prime minister, became a social media star. By the time of his death at about 12, he had more followers than many ambassadors have.

nyti.ms

Maximus is recklessly advising employers workers with ME need more exercise to “boost energy,” despite guidance warning exercise causes harm! www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/...

Notorious Maximus is advising employers that staff with ME need to exercise more

Maximus is recklessly advising employers workers with ME need more exercise to “boost energy,” despite guidance warning exercise causes harm!

thecanary.co

🚨 A report by @declassifieduk.org identified 2,000 Brits who served in Israel’s genocide in Gaza—dwarfing the previously reported 54. Any prosecutions on the horizon... www.thecanary.co/uk/2026/02/1...

War criminal next door? Over 2000 Brits served in Israel's genocidal military

A new report found that 2,000 Brits served in Israel’s genocide in Gaza—dwarfing the previously reported 54—any prosecutions on the horizon?

thecanary.co

In the latest sign of creeping authoritarianism, the Trump regime is tracking what Epstein Files members of congress are viewing. www.thecanary.co/trending/202...

Trump regime is monitoring lawmakers who view Epstein Files

In the latest sign of creeping authoritarianism, the Trump regime is tracking what Epstein Files members of congress are viewing

thecanary.co

Well done to The National @scotnational.bsky.social for printing the “Not for Publication” attempt by #mandelson to use @ipso.co.uk to prevent being approached or photographed for coverage of the story of his connections with #epstein

The National@scotnational.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Late on Friday evening, a notice was circulated from representatives of Peter Mandelson, via press regulator IPSO and the Press Association news wire, to all media across the UK We've published it in full 👇

Speaking in Brighton this PM, Zack Polanski has announced that Green Party of England & Wales membership is now over 170,000 - which means over 100,000 people have joined the party since his election in September

Had great support from #CommunityFibre over the last few years. Until the beginning of Nov there’s a deal on their website for double speed. I now have a home broadband of 5Gbps 🥳 - They are also really easy to reach and communicate with by phone, unlike some other providers.

We had technical problems with some @sennheiserofficial.bsky.social #microphones now out of warranty. The support from the team at #Sennheiser in Germany was amazing and they have done everything they can to resolve the issue with a great understanding of how vital good #audio is to TV news.

The #journalists killed today by Israel’s “double-tap” hospital attack in #Gaza: Mariam Abu-Daqqa - @apnews.com Hossam Al-Masri - @reuters.com Mohammed Salama - @aljazeera.com Moaz Abu Taha Ahmed Abu Aziz Wounded: Hatem Khaled - @reuters.com

Wear The Peace@wearthepeace.bsky.social · last yr.

On live television for the world to see, Israel is letting us all know that they don’t care if the world condemns this or not, they will murder every Palestinian for this land.

Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif captured the most harrowing #Gaza images before Israel killed him. His nephew, photographer Musab Al-Sharif, initially incorrectly reported as having died in the attack has vowed to continue his work www.instagram.com/musab_alshar... facebook.com/ms.b.alshryf...

EVENT: “Israel, Stop Killing Journalists - NUJ London Freelance Branch Vigil” 13 August 2025, 5.30pm at Downing Street. #StopKillingJournalists #NUJ #Gaza @nujofficial.bsky.social @nujlfb.bsky.social

Deeply shocked by Israel’s deliberate killing of the Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, his colleague Mohammed Qreiqeh and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa. Israel has now killed at least 186 journalists in this war.

For Thames Water #vulnerable customers specifically registered on #priorityservicesregister here is their Priority Services Register emergency contact number which we couldn’t find on their website (due to broken links) #ThamesWater PSR emergency: 08000094544 #disability #Water

Huge #water supply outage in N London tonight but #thameswater #vulnerable customers support is a joke. #Disabled #PSR custs with no water can’t get through on the phone line, the WhatsApp is down & no replies on their Facebook chat. We are tempted to wake the 24hr press officer.

Anas Al-Sharif was one of the most remarkable reporters of his generation. For 673 days, he defied Israeli threats to kill him. Al Jazeera now confirm their crew in Gaza City have all been assassinated: RIP reporters Anas Al-Sharif & Mohammed Qareqea and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher & Mohammed Nofal

Some of the most harrowing images we have seen from #Gaza were taken by #anasalsharif He brought light to what was happening on the ground there and he will be remembered for showing the world the reality of what has been happening in #Palestine

Al Jazeera English@aljazeera.com · last yr.

Al-Sharif killed in what appears to be a targeted Israeli attack on tent housing journalists outside al-Shifa hospital.

Israel plans to occupy Gaza City in north of Gaza Strip, army would first force civilians to evacuate to central strip areas in coordination with US, Israeli forces there would establish temporary civilian infrastructure.-Israel's Ch 12

In a new post on X @johnsimpsonnews.bsky.social has expressed his support for the local journalists covering the story in #Gaza “I’ve got the greatest respect for the many journalists in Gaza who have reported bravely and often at the cost of their own lives to show us what’s happening there…”