The only home had by some 1,500 men women and children has been reduced to ashes. This is a dire and deeply tragic situation, that was entirely preventable. It is important to remember, these are not criminals to be interned, but individuals experiencing the deepest tragedy of their lives, fleeing war, persecution and violence. They don't need our pity, but they deserve dignity and respect, because without this, their suffering will only be intensified.
The reason we're protesting tonight is because London - and the UK - must show that it will not sit back while human rights abuses are perpetrated on our European doorstep. We can't celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of decriminalisation of homosexuality if we ignore the persecution of LGBT people today.
An hour and a half northeast of South Sudan's capital Juba by light plane, near the border with Ethiopia, the parched red earth below is dotted with bright green trees. Within weeks, the wet season rains will turn this 'runway' or strip of bare earth that we land on, into a muddy quagmire, making access incredibly difficult. Travelling by four wheel drive to one of Save the Children's treatment centres for malnourished young children, we travel down a picturesque avenue of trees, their canopies providing welcome relief from the hot day.
The doctors told me that the baby was already going to a good home but said I should talk to the birth mom and tell her of our interest in adopting the newborn. I did just that - I told her about my family, how we wanted more children and how much we would love and care for the baby girl. I then left, hopeful, and returned to work.
This week the Department for Work and Pensions published analysis on the range of disadvantages workless families face, including conflict between parents, drug and alcohol dependency, or mental health problems. While the first job of this department is to do everything we can to support people into work, we know that wider issues like these can prevent families from getting on with their lives, leaving children without the stability they need.
The father-of-three has since dismissed the comment about his 9-year-old's future celibacy as 'a joke', but I seem to have missed the punchline. Written by the forefathers of patriarchal society, such throwaway comments are far from harmless. Instead they shape our values and spread the message that women and girls' bodies are the property of the men around them.
As if there wasn't enough pressure on women to retain a youthful glow and a slim figure, there are countless trends that dictate what we should be doing with our vaginas. These days you can pick up a Vajazzle Kit in Poundland, because apparently the "less is more" mantra doesn't apply to our nether regions.
The mayonnaise was hurled in the same bag as the ibuprofen, crushing the weak and vulnerable brioche buns in the process. The bread was bullied in to the bottom of another bag, resulting in the loaf being squashed and killed in action by the carrots and cheaply priced duck breasts. And the milk was required to share a bag with mouthwash and garden bin-liners. Complete mayhem.
It's hard but vital we keep the conversation going about our bodies, however difficult that might seem because that honesty will enable us to feel less alone, and more badass about ourselves. All shapes and sizes are beautiful and remember that we did good mama, we made babies and are raising children.
And it struck me - a plate of food is not just a plate of food. It is representative of an almost infinite list of political issues. And that means that when we sit down to eat or cook or grow food, we aren't just fuelling our bodies, we are making surprisingly political choices.
In the end only Labour can make sure it's disciplinary procedures follow through on the rhetoric of zero tolerance. Until then those who've decided to remain are involved in an important but decidedly unglamorous battle. We shouldn't have a go at them any more than we should those who've, understandably, decided enough is enough
Recognising that Russia's actions in Ukraine and Syria presented the two most urgent challenges, we recommended that the UK should conduct a meaningful and regular political dialogue with the Russian Government in a spirit of 'frankness and honesty' while maintaining the UK's core values. In that spirit, we welcomed the announcement soon after, that Boris Johnson would personally go to Moscow.
By delivering this treatment on the NHS to those most at risk - and combining it with other vital tools in our HIV prevention armoury, such as condom use, regular testing, and early diagnosis and treatment - this could mark the beginning of the end for HIV transmission in Scotland.
The government's failure to tackle the scandal of late payments is stopping businesses like ours from growing and forcing 50,000 companies out of business each year. Despite late payments killing jobs and holding back economic growth, they are yet to act.
The mere fact that it's a cause for celebration because no horse died at Aintree this year says everything that anyone should need to know about the Grand National and the horse-racing industry generally.
"If we don't say the last Labour government was good, why would anyone vote for the next one?" That question was recently posed to Progress readers by Harriet Harman. The obvious answer is that no one will. Yet the prevailing mood within the Labour party today towards that period of power is one of measured indifference - or, at worst, open disdain.
You see we are not just physical beings; we need to emcompass in our care the psychological, emotional and social aspects of pregnant women. Holistic midwifery approaches the woman from a bio-psycho-social perspective and in doing so, liberates and empowers her.
I started gently, casually, by reactivating Tinder and adjusting my personal statement to reflect my change in circumstances. I made it clear that I was not ready for a relationship but would like some male company. It was a clumsy beginning. The first person who approached me got short shrift when he asked me about my taste in books, films and music.
My boy was made in Italy, took his first breath in the UK, cut teeth in Hong Kong, was pre-schooled in Australia and primary schooled back in the UK. His sister's birth certificate bears a picture of the Sydney Harbour Bridge but her passport's a very regal British burgundy, which was issued in New Zealand.
I was raised female in a house where Feminism wasn't a dirty word, but one to wear proudly, and while I don't feel biologically or socially that I am a woman, I will absolutely defend women's rights. These women -- from Fay Weldon to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie -- are doing incredible, vital, and important work, but they're falling at the first hurdle into a trans-exclusionary world that only the status quo benefit from. They keep being asked how terrifying it is when the transfolk come for their pie, and the great glaring truth they're all missing is: we're not.
The reason the women of 1997 saved my life was not because they handed me benefits, or 15 hours of free childcare to give me a break. It is because they allowed me to get out of my house and become something. What is lost in missed contributions to both the Treasury and society must run to billions of pounds. Thousands of missed opportunities for innovation, lifesaving medicine, beautiful things and technical revolutions. What could have been if only we'd thought to remember the women keeps me awake at night. What have we missed?
Violence can never and should never, be justified under the banner of culture. Men do not allow violence to be perpetrated against them, or to be justified or excused as culture, and neither should women. Any act that causes physical or psychological harm and creates an environment where one does not have access to the same rights and opportunities as others, must be condemned.