Tom Bateman

1. Civilians who escaped Mariupol in recent days have described the growing desperation in the besieged city, including accounts of bodies buried in shallow graves, looting by Chechen fighters, and starving residents being killed when they venture out of shelters to find water

We analysed thousands of Donald Trump’s social media posts in 2026 - here’s what we found. Produced by Katerina Karelli. Graphics by Sally Nicholls and Mesut Ersoz. bbc.co.uk/news/world/us_…

Just in: US State Dept deletes the post involving my question on racism against Indians.

"Asked by visiting reporters in front of U.S. officials recently when she would hold elections, Rodríguez smiled uneasily. “I don’t know,” she said... “Some time”" Great piece on the state of Trump/Rodriguez oil takeover of Venezuela by @VeraMBergen & team wsj.com/world/americas…

I asked Rubio about scrutiny on the decision to launch the Iran war during the daytime when schools were operating, in light of the Congressional questions last week to CENTCOM’s commander over the Minab strike

"Who said that...", US Secretary of State Rubio in response to my question on racism agaisnt Indians in US. US President Donald Trump had endorsed a post terming India "Hellhole"

Stage set for Rubio’s press conference with Indian foreign minister Jaishankar in a roasting Delhi

“A deportation notice wrapped in bureaucratic prose” - @timesofindia front page on how Trump admin’s new green card rules could hit 10s of thousands of Indians in the US. On the day Rubio is in Delhi trying to rebuild ties.

I put to Rubio what the US had heard back from Tehran on Saturday, and we got the first hint of Trump’s purported breakthrough on a prelim agreement #Delhi

Rubio and his wife Jeanette just arrived in India, where they'll visit four different cities (Kolkata, New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur) in a bid to repair U.S.-India relations. First official act: dusting off the shoulders of US ambassador @SergioGor. Video via @tombateman

Journalists around the globe, particularly women and journalists of color, are being targeted for the role they play in ensuring a free and informed society. They should be free to work without harassment.

Rubio calls for Cubans to have same political and economic status as other Caribbean islands but suggests to me this is not nation building - amid growing US threats

Breaking News: The Senate agreed to take up a measure that would force President Trump to win authorization from Congress to continue the war in Iran. nyti.ms/4dkjlrF

Gulf governments are using the Iran war as cover to crack down on journalism. Journalists arrested. Sentenced. Citizenship revoked. Censorship expanded. What is publicly known is only the tip of the iceberg. 🧵 Read CPJ's latest report 👇 cpj.org/2026/05/press-…

Centcom Adm. Brad Cooper told Congress the Minab school strike was “more complex than the average” investigation claiming the school was “on an active IRGC cruise missile base”. Former defence officials told me last month it absolutely wasn't complicated bbc.com/news/articles/…

“Rather than focusing on tactical secrecy, these new measures utilize vague language to criminalize reporting that undermines “state narratives” or “public morale.” By targeting journalists…authorities are bypassing traditional security needs to enforce ideological conformity.”

Since the Iran war started in February, CPJ has documented a crackdown on the press across the Gulf, and tracked unpublicized cases of arrests, intimidation, legal and financial actions against journalists and their media outlets. cpj.org/?p=587895

More than 150 people, including 120 children, were killed in Iran when an airstrike hit a school in Minab. Although a preliminary US military investigation determined Washington was responsible, the Trump administration is yet to formally accept responsibility. Sky's ＠DominicWaghorn is the first international journalist to visit Minab. Warning: contains distressing content.

The U.S. Journalist Assistance Network invites you to join us for a roundtable discussion on covering events in the U.S., including best practices for covering protests, interacting with police and federal law enforcement, and crossing borders. 🗓️5/19 | 1-2:30 p.m. ET cpj.org/USJANcrowds

Axios: Some close advisers to President Trump fear the biggest substantive result of the China summit is heightened danger that Chinese President Xi Jinping will invade Taiwan in the next five years. “This trip signaled a much higher likelihood that Taiwan will be on the table in the next five years,” the adviser added. axios.com/2026/05/17/tru…

"Reporting isn't treason. It's foundational to a free press and the work that America's founders wrote the First Amendment to protect."