Emma Penney

I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a warzone. I have no words. I'm devastated.

Ethnic cleansing is unfolding in northern Gaza. We are witnessing an intensification and acceleration of military tactics previously used by the Israeli military throughout the Strip, this time aimed at enforcing large-scale displacement from the north. Analysis of Israeli ground operations reveals a new military corridor slicing through the fabric of northern Gaza from east to west, further isolating northern Gaza from the rest of the Strip. Meanwhile, hospitals in Jabalia are under attack once again, some for the third time, and aid remains obstructed, exacerbating an engineered famine. gaza.forensic-architecture.org

My remarkable friend @moehash1 made this important and moving film. We can’t forget what’s happening to those in Sudan. bbc.com/news/videos/cl…

Nothing strikes greater fear into my bones than this chicken

I was asked by The Sunday Times to write a personal piece about “the Alex Salmond I knew”. Here it is: Alex Salmond, an alpha male who always wanted to show he was the better man thetimes.com/article/ac6631…

Many congratulations to ARUNDHATI ROY on winning the PEN Pinter Prize 2024 — Read her acceptance speech here: thewire.in/rights/palesti…

More than 41,800 people have been killed in a year of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The health ministry in Gaza has confirmed the identities of more than 34,000 of them. Here are their names.

Just saw the remains of 20-year-old Palestinian journalist Hassan Hamad reduced to a plastic bag and a shoebox. According to a fresh tally from CPJ, 123 journalists have now been killed in Israeli strikes. If you're a journalist and you're not speaking out in solidarity ... why?

We’re feeling the Iranian missiles in Amman. My building is shaking

Wow. It’s 2024 and I’ve just had to crawl along the floor of this LOT Polish airline to get to the toilet during a flight back from Warsaw as “we don’t have onboard wheelchairs. It’s airline policy”. If you’re disabled and you can’t walk this is just discriminatory.

Meet our two new trustees - Emma Penney and James Mole! Emma and James will be joining the charity as appointed trustees for a three-year term effective immediately. spajournalism.com/two-new-truste…

Smith worked in counter terrorism at the UK Embassy in Dublin and resigned on Friday in an email sent to a wide distribution list including hundreds of government officials, embassy staff and special advisors to Foreign Office ministers. Story first broken by @HindHassanNews

Mark Smith says in statement since resignation that as former arms export compliance assessor... “To export arms to any nation, the UK must be satisfied that the recipient nation has in place robust procedures to avoid civilian casualties and to minimize harm to civilian life...

Here is Ismail’s tribute to himself and the dying humanity. “Let me tell you, my friend, that I no longer know the taste of sleep. The bodies of children and the screams of the injured and their blood-soaked images never leave my sight. The cries of mothers and the wailing of men who are missing their loved ones never fade from my hearing. I can no longer bear the sound of children’s voices from beneath the rubble, nor can I forget the energy and power that reverberates at every moment, turning into a nightmare. It is no longer easy for me to stand before the rows of coffins, which are locked and extended, or to see the dead people more than the living who are fighting death beneath their homes, not finding a way out to safety and survival. I am tired, my friend…” Ismail Al-Ghoul Al Jazeera Correspondent in Gaza

That’s my mate @BarnabyPap !! He’s very clever and thoughtful

We’re hosting a Black British History quiz night for trivia lovers & history buffs alike, hosted by the brilliant @ChantayyJayy at the legendary @BUSTERMANTIS 🍴🇯🇲 Come along with a full team or just you! 📆 17th August 2024 📍Buster Mantis, London 🎟️ tr.ee/cx_8O7p2Sp

A few years ago I was in one of those ramshackle hair salons in South London having my hair braided. The salon was run by a fabulous woman of African heritage & to pay the high rent, she rented out corners of the shop to people who provided other services including nails, false eye lashes, eyebrow threading etc. I didn't always appreciate the place as it was noisy & untidy. But there was always something equally enjoyable about the experience; the gossip, the unsolicited advice about improving my appearance or relationship, the craziness, the music, the people trying to sell you pretend Gucci bags, & the children running around if you went at the weekend. It was a place of escape & one where I felt safe. I happened to be there one day when immigration enforcement turned up. Everyone froze, including me, as the operation is one of true terror; it could easily have been an armed robbery such was the menacing command to stay where we were. I noticed a customer returning from the bathroom make down a side corridor which I knew led to a back exit; I've seen the movies & thought I didn't fancy her chances as they'd have had that covered. They hadn't & I never saw her again. The immigration officers went straight for the nail person who was of Vietnamese heritage. She had all the right papers. They then turned to the African heritage staff who were all British citizens. The owner was made to go to her flat above the business to retrieve evidence of her British status. None of us customers were questioned. One burly red-faced officer said something that sounded like false intelligence, but I can't be sure. I watched on curiously but angry, promising myself that I'd only intervene if necessary. Immigration enforcement came & immigration enforcement left after about an hour of questioning & checking. When they'd driven off, the only white member of staff, doing the eye lashes, looked ashen! I looked quizzically at her. She was unsure of her immigration status as her father had told her he'd sorted it but she was unsure. She was Albanian. She was the only person working in the place not to be questioned which was not lost on any of us including white customers waiting for nails and eye lashes. The workers all laughed, & it was business as usual but not for the owner who said that that was the third time & she was fed up of it. She felt targeted & harassed. She wanted to close shop. She did though I don't know if this was the reason. In the next few weeks, the Home Office will mount similar operations across countless businesses. There are issues in some of these industries, sure. I've long worried about some of the women in the nail shops. I also know that a large number of them have regularised their stay in the UK & if they started off as trafficked victims, have managed to escape this evil & live their lives on their own terms. This is not an easy feat but it happens. Others won't be so lucky. But the exercise afoot is not concerned with whether people have been trafficked, or of their working conditions. What will happen is that British people, settled people, people with leave to remain, mainly Black & Brown people, will be harassed & terrorised in front of petrified & suspicious customers, thereby causing much harm to legitimate businesses. And like the #HostileEnvironment, the exercise will impact more on people legitimately in the UK, like the experiences of the #Windrush victims, than it will to curb illegal migration as the National Audit Office reported of said policy. This will be all the more the case that the operation was announced ahead of time.

Today was my last day at @BBCRadio4 as in September I’m heading off to Jordan to improve my Arabic and hopefully do some journalism. If you’re ever in need of a producer/reporter/podcast editor - I’m fairly nice and competent and keen for work. Lots of love to my WATO PM gang x

We need Black and minority ethnic journalists not just reporting the news, but also shaping the news agenda. Applications for the #NUJ George Viner Memorial Fund providing bursaries to Black and minority ethnic student journalists close 31st July. nuj.org.uk/about-us/nuj-c…