Barbara Franchi

I’ve been in touch with Maisa and know how tough it’s been for her and her family.

They are trying to raise enough funds to pay for food, the prices which continue to get raised higher and higher each week.

You can donate directly to them here:
www.paypal.com/pools/c/9gnU...

Adam Shatz · The World since 7 October The inability of Western powers to condemn Israel’s conduct – much less bring it to an end – has made a mockery...

‘Massacres that would have caused a scandal a decade ago are now an almost daily occurrence. According to the Gazan Health Ministry, more than 57,000 people have been killed in the war so far, roughly 17,000 of them children.’

Adam Shatz on the world since 7 October: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Empire is gonna empire, and subalterns better stay subalterns forever. As ever, he placed more emphasis on Hamas, their being terrorists, and the (right) need for the immediate release of hostages. What’s happening in Gaza is vague ‘horror’ and ‘haunting images’- the Othering language of the Gothic.

Protesting over Gaza’s starvation feels like screaming into a void – but we mustn’t stop | Nesrine Malik Political platitudes and a few trucks of aid won’t save the children dying now. But they show leaders can’t ignore public opinion for ever, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik

I mean, it’s not as if Macron’s ever-deferred ‘promise to recognise the Palestinian state’ is any better, is it? Have you read Nesrine Malik’s column yesterday? It’s on this continuous waiting for Godot of the political class and the value of our protesting. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Superb and important article.

Amjad Iraqi | Walking Corpses Israel’s allies are still buying time for Israel to change course or come to a deal with Hamas over how many trucks to...

www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/ju... "Officially this policy is intended to strip Hamas of its governing capacity and force it to surrender, or at least to accept Israel’s demands. But starvation isn’t static; it worsens with every hour. Time is running out."

Soad and her family could really use some more support - you can donate here: www.gofundme.com/f/providing-...

A pile of books by A. S. Byatt, visible from the spine, on a library desk.

A day of research and writing at the Lit and Phil.

The fight to keep measles out of nurseries raises issues of freedom and responsibility | Letter Letter: Parents’ ‘personal choice’ should not extend to putting other children at risk, say Dr David Elliman and Prof Helen Bedford

“Perhaps children who are not immunised should be excluded from nursery. What all too often happens is that the child who cannot be immunised is excluded. Is that right?”

V thoughtful letter from Great Ormond Street profs in response to my measles column. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

We only dream of a safe place… Help us protect my child from fear and bombs Support our family to find safety and rebuild our lives

@barbarafranchi.bsky.social
Every day, hope fades a little more. Please, help us hold on. 🥹 Please, help our children sleep safe. Our hearts are breaking.
Your support is the light at the end of our tunnel. ☺️
https://kutt.it/Help_Abed_Family

Please donate to Sakher if you can - the need is so urgent and he is facing starvation.

www.gofundme.com/f/no-food-no...

Muhammad and his sister are desperate for food - please donate if you can, and share: www.gofundme.com/f/there-is-n...

Now that we know that the Women’s Euro Final will be #Lionesses VS #LasRojas, I can’t wait to read the menswear guy’s comments on what the respective Royals will be wearing on Sunday!

Ministers urged to help students trapped in Gaza with places at UK universities Forty people who have been offered scholarships unable to travel without biometric data they have no way of getting

The UK government is blocking Palestinian students in Gaza from taking up UK scholarships.

Some have been killed while waiting @theguardian.com

We’ve written to the Home Secretary demanding action and @drjogrady.bsky.social will be on @lbc.co.uk at 4 PM urging the govt to step in.

tr.ee/HjzPtS

At risk of sounding like a Luddite, but: paper diaries and calendars, learning how to schedule and write things down in one place, and one place only, consistently, is, I fear, a skill many people who’ve been socialised to rely on automatic reminders, have now lost.

I’m witnessing the deliberate starvation of Gaza’s children – why is the world letting it happen? | Nick Maynard A permanent ceasefire, the free and safe flow of aid, and the lifting of the blockade are needed now – all could be achieved with political will, says UK surgeon Nick Maynard

"This is my third time in Gaza since December 2023 as a volunteer surgeon with Medical Aid for Palestinians. [...] nothing has prepared me for the sheer horror I’m witnessing now: the weaponisation of starvation against an entire population."

Look at those tents - there are presumably people living in them. Hell. elpais.com/internaciona...

I absolutely loved Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring and The Lady and the Unicorn when I was about 15. A.S. Byatt’s three Matisse Stories and Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, based on Velázquez’Nat Gallery painting, are succinct but superb on art making and class.

Cover of the novel raw content by Naomi Booth.

What a wonderful, visceral, and elemental book this is! A brutal and honest portrayal of early motherhood, trauma, mental health struggles, and renewal. I feel so honoured to be able to call Naomi my colleague, and this book is a real treat. Highly recommend!

Heartbreaking to read of a child in the UK dying from an entirely preventable infectious disease.

Measles can be a vicious & deadly illness.

The MMR vaccine offers superb protection & there is NO link between the vaccine and autism, contrary to what many medical charlatans try to peddle. (1/3)

Incontrovertible evidence, now, of *police* investigating families supporting their kids with gender affirming healthcare in the UK. For trying to do the best for your child, following best practice in most of the world, here you get a visit from the police.

Thank you, Wes Streeting.

And the Universal Credit bill has passed. Some of the sickest people in the country will suffer needlessly more now. There is no justification, no excuse. Just ugly, cruel choices by ministers too cowardly to tax the wealthy rather than cut the poor. A shameful day for Starmer’s Labour.

Marseille airport cancels all flights as wildfire encroaches on city Authorities urge residents to stay indoors and say 720 firefighters battling blaze * Europe live – latest updates A fast-moving wildfire fanned by gale-force winds has forced Marseille airport to cancel all flights and was encroaching on France’s second-largest city, officials said, as firefighters around the Mediterranean battled blazes sparked by an intense heatwave. The prefecture of the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur region issued an alert on Tuesday urging inhabitants of Marseille’s 16th arrondissement to stay indoors, close doors and shutters and hang wet laundry around openings to avoid the risk of smoke inhalation. Continue reading...

Marseille airport cancels all flights as wildfire encroaches on city

Also, without wanting to sound the alarms for what may turn out to be a Mengele-style experiment, which categories of infants will they go to first? How will informed consent and, dare I ask, ethical approval from medical professional bodies (ie the people who know how to perform MRI scans) work?

This! Whenever I hear people say ‘let’s just check on Chat GPT’ when searching for info that a search engine should provide, I despair.