Fi Douglas

Do you think Trump realises that Congo Brazzaville isn’t the DRC?

“Truck loads” of food aid is a very convenient term. Is that two, or two hundred? Or more? Or less?

And don’t get me started on the fact that malnourished women and children are highly unlikely to be able to carry these 20kg “food packages”.

Disposable vapes ban: Why people are stockpiling ahead of June deadline Some disposable vape users say they are stockpiling, worried about what they will do after the ban.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This is absolutely ridiculous

"I can keep a disposable one at home and remember to it out with me, but I can't keep a reusable one at home and remember to take it out with me. Otherwise I'll start smoking again."

The WhatsApp groups I’m in contain a strange juxtaposition of resident doctors unhappy with their pay increase, and global health workers unhappy with aid from the US being cut for essential life-saving projects.

UK Lawyers for Israel condemned over claim war may reduce obesity in Gaza Palestinian rights group says remarks criticising a Lancet analysis on impact of the conflict are ‘sickening’

Despicable. These people would probably look at a kid with Kwashiorkors and tell them to lose weight. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

Israel admits mistakes over medic killings in Gaza Israeli forces killed 15 emergency workers in a convoy of ambulances near Rafah on 23 March.

Israel now confessing to committing war crimes. Anyone who believes that this is a one off is deluded or in denial.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

On a lighter note, this is genius.

shitmyreviewerssay.tumblr.com

APA response to Trump administration proposed cuts to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). 10% funding already cut, potentially another 50%.

It is so upsetting that one man is causing such widespread destruction.

updates.apaservices.org/apa-statemen...

Israel blocks entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza PM Netanyahu's office said Hamas was refusing a temporary ceasefire extension, under a proposal by Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff.

Ceasefire or not, blocking humanitarian aid is a crime against humanity. #stopthegencide

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"The TRO blocks the government from taking actions that would disrupt U.S. foreign assistance programs"

globalhealth.org/media/ghc-we...

UK

How to Survive a Warzone: The lives of 4 kids surviving in Gaza A BBC film follows children over nine months including one boy, 11, who volunteered at al-Aqsa hospital.

"I must have seen at least 5,000 bodies"
"he helps clean the blood and dirt from the ambulances"
"they even make him a miniature set of blue scrubs – which he takes great pride in"

He's 11 years old. UK children at that age are still in primary school.

It's horrific.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

‘No to ethnic cleansing’: over 350 rabbis sign US ad assailing Trump’s Gaza plan Jewish creatives and activists also sign New York Times ad after US president’s proposal to ‘take over Gaza’

"Jewish teaching is clear: Trump is not God & cannot take away Palestinians’ inherent dignity or steal their land for a real estate deal. Trump’s desire to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza is morally abhorrent"

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

#genocide #ethniccleasing #gaza #palestine

The clothes hanging out to dry just show that amongst absolute chaos and destruction, life still has to go on....

Fix palliative care before allowing assisted dying Leading end-of-life doctors warn system is struggling, and changing law could make situation worse.

Whatever your views are on assisted dying, it is unacceptable that the Government only provides one thid of the funding for hospice care. Why is end of life care not seen as an extension of NHS provision? #palliativecare #assisteddying #endoflife #NHS

Anyway, for context here is an infographic on the scale of different forms of immigration to the UK in the year to Sept 2024. Note the 73,000 people via "safe and legal" routes.

Great British Welcome | UNHCR UK

Bear with me, the system is even more complicated than I already thought (this is part of the problem, by the way).

In the mean time, here are some positive stories about refugees relocated to the UK via UNHCR... www.unhcr.org/uk/news-and-...

...however across all crises and resettlement globally, that applies to less than 1% of all refugees.

There are three schemes: the UK resettlement scheme (or UKRS), the community sponsorship scheme, and the mandate resettlement scheme. People cannot apply for the first two, they are picked by UNHCR based on vulnerability and protection needs...

...in collaboration with the UK Government decide whether they are a refugee & will refer them to the UK if they meet certain criteria, under three types of resettlement schemes (see freemovement.org.uk/what-safe-an...) However the UK Govt has the final say in whether individuals are granted asylum.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, works to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum & find safe refuge, having fled violence, persecution or war. They identify people around the world with potential resettlement needs...

Safe and legal routes

The UK Government talks about "safe and legal routes" for people seeking asylum in the UK. Let's go through this. (a 🧵...)

Here is the link to UK Government factsheet: www.gov.uk/government/p...

And here is the International Rescue Committee's explanation of this:
www.rescue.org/uk/article/w...

Keir Starmer pledges to close loophole that let Gazan family settle in UK The family won an appeal to come to the UK, after originally applying through a scheme for Ukrainians.

There is an uncomfortable amount of anti-Palestinian sentiment here. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Children executed and women raped in front of their families as M23 militia unleashes fresh terror on DRC First-hand accounts from victims of unthinkable violence paint a gruesome picture of the brutality sweeping the central African country. How long is the West prepared to look away?

A Premier League football team will take to the pitch today with "Visit Rwanda" on their shirts, a sponsorship deal paid for by a government that also spends its money supporting the people behind this.

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

100 heartwarming stories: The truck with 12,000 lights and a lost letter finds its way We're bringing you 100 joyful, inspiring and uplifting stories during the festive season - and you can get involved.

@thakenews.bsky.social

Indeed heartwarming.

To clarify, once someone has been granted asylum & become a refugee, they are no longer an asylum seeker. When there is such negative press around the term "asylum seeker", it is important to get the terminology correct.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c6...

Cheap, smart and efficient: how giant rats are transforming the fight against TB After success in Tanzania, other African countries may introduce the rodents to help sniff out the disease

APOPO HeroRATs (the ones who seek out landmines) are also able to detect TB in sputum samples with 82% accuracy and they correctly "diagnose" 52% of false negative samples.

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Still not sure why you were responding to a statement about UK politics with a question about US politics. 🤷🏻

If you read the original post, you will see that it refers to the UK system.

The absurd delays in processing asylum claims rarely seem to be mentioned by those expressing strong anti-immgrant sensitment. Which isn't terribly surprising given the number of people who don't know the difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee.

AI-enabled foetal monitoring software in Malawi reduces the number of stillbirths and neonatal deaths by 82%, where there is a severe shortage of health workers.

#AI #globalhealth #health #neonatalhealth #maternalhealth #childhealth #technology #LMIC #technology

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...