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Source: Greenpeace Statement –

Banjul – 5th February 2026

Greenpeace Africa has launched “Sentinels of the Sea”, a major regional expedition aimed at exposing harmful industrial fishing practices, strengthening community-led sustainable fishing practice, and building momentum for stronger ocean protection in Senegal, Gambia, and beyond.

As part of the mission, Greenpeace Africa’s ship will undertake a coastal tour in Senegal and The Gambia, followed by an expedition into the high seas of the Canary and Guinea Current Convergence Zone, a marine area that plays a key role in sustaining fish stocks along West Africa’s coasts.

Communities at the heart of ocean protection

Across Senegal and Gambia, millions of people depend on fish as a primary source of food and income. Yet coastal communities are increasingly facing declining catches, rising costs and growing pressure from underregulated industrial fishing activities.

Through this campaign, Greenpeace Africa is working directly with artisanal fishers and coastal communities, providing training on sustainable fishing practices. This training equips communities to identify and report suspected illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, reinforcing their role as the first line of defence for the ocean.

“Coastal communities are not the cause of the ocean crisis. They are among the first to feel its impacts and they are central to the solution,” said Dr Oulie Keita, Executive Director of Greenpeace Africa.

From coastal waters to the High Seas

The expedition also draws attention to the growing pressure from industrial fishing fleets, both within national waters and in the High Seas, beyond national jurisdiction.

The new High Seas Treaty gives governments the tools they need to protect ocean areas that were previously beyond effective control and extend Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): a space where nature is genuinely protected and fish stocks can recover. Greenpeace Africa is calling for strong action to ensure high seas protection in line with efforts to protect national waters in Senegal and The Gambia.

“You cannot protect coastal fisheries without protecting the high seas. Fish migrate, ecosystems are connected, and protection must reflect that reality,” said Dr Aliou Ba, Ocean Campaign Lead at Greenpeace Africa.

Open Boat in Banjul 

As part of the campaign, Greenpeace Africa will host an Open Boat event in the port of Banjul from 5th to 6th February. 

This opportunity will allow:

• Communities, media and local authorities to visit the ship
• Direct exchanges with Greenpeace Africa experts
• Discussions on ocean protection, sustainable fishing, MPAs and the implications of the High Seas Treaty
• A better understanding of Greenpeace Africa’s work on ocean justice across the continent

A call for action

Through Sentinels of the Sea, Greenpeace Africa is calling on governments and decision-makers to:

• Act decisively against illegal and harmful fishing practices
• ECOWAS countries to champion a fully protected MPA
• Implement the High Seas Treaty without delay
• Place communities at the centre of ocean governance

ENDS

Media contact

Ibrahima Ka Ndoye – West and Central Africa Communications Lead,[email protected] / +221778437172

Notes to editors

• The Sentinels of the Sea mission includes coastal activities documentation, community training, Open Boat event, and a high seas expedition.
• Visual material (photos, video, drone footage) will be made available through Greenpeace’s media library : https://media.greenpeace.org/ 

Source: Amnesty International –

Responding to the European Commission’s preliminary findings that TikTok’s design is addictive and in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA), a landmark EU law meant to create a safer digital space, Lisa Dittmer, Amnesty International Researcher on Children and Young People’s Digital Rights said:  

“For years now, TikTok has been the forefront of Big Tech’s race to capture children’s time and attention at all costs. This announcement is an overdue but welcome acknowledgement of TikTok’s addictive design.  

“The European Commission must now urgently show that it is willing and capable of enforcing the Digital Services Act to stop this abuse and provide children, young people and adults alike with a safer online environment.  

Lisa Dittmer, Amnesty International Researcher on Children and Young People’s Digital Rights

“Amidst current discussions of restrictions on children’s access to social media platforms, governments must remember they also have a duty to protect children’s right to participate in the digital world. To do so, their focus must be on tackling the toxic design of leading social media platforms, including through effectively enforcing laws like the Digital Services Act, as opposed to restricting children’s rights.” 

Source: Amnesty International –

Responding to yesterday’s attempted murder of journalist Carlitos Candangue by armed men reportedly wearing police uniforms, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, said:

“The attempted murder of Carlitos Cadangue, who has been actively reporting on the illegal mining of gold in the province of Manica, is gravely concerning and shows the growing attacks on the country’s journalists simply for doing their job. Authorities must promptly, thoroughly, independently, impartially, effectively and transparently investigate the attempt on Carlitos Cadangue’s life and bring to justice in fair trial anyone suspected to be responsible.  This was a brazen act designed to silence a journalist who has shone a spotlight on the misdeeds of the powerful and to intimidate others from doing the same.  

The attempted murder of Carlitos Cadangue, who has been actively reporting on the illegal mining of gold in the province of Manica, is gravely concerning and shows the growing attacks on the country’s journalists simply for doing their job.

Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa

“Authorities must also take urgent steps to effectively uphold the human rights of everyone in the country and protect journalists from harassment, intimidation and threats to their lives, whether from state actors or private individuals. They must ensure the safety and security of journalists, human rights defenders and activists in the country and end the prevailing culture of impunity which continues to fuel these attacks.”

This was a brazen act designed to silence a journalist who has shone a spotlight on the misdeeds of the powerful and to intimidate others from doing the same.  

Tigere Chagutah

Background

On 4 February, unknown armed men, whom the journalist said were dressed in the uniform of national police fired dozens of bullets at the vehicle of the SOICO Television (STV) journalist Carlitos Cadangue in Chimoio city, Manica province, at around 6pm. At the time, Carlitos Cadangue was driving home with his son. Before the attempted murder, Carlitos Cadangue received death threats following his reports on illegal mining in the province of Manica, leading to the suspension of all mining companies operating in the province, including those involved in illegal mining.

Amnesty International has reported on other journalists who have been murdered or forcibly disappeared. João Chamusse, the editor of the journal Ponto por Ponto was found dead in his home on 14 December 2023. Arlindo Chissale has not been seen since 7 January 2025. Witnesses who spoke with his family revealed that on the day of his enforced disappearance, they saw him being removed from a public minibus and beaten before being driven away by alleged members of the defence and security forces.  

Source: Oxfam –

Responding to today’s Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC) alert Oxfam’s Fati N’Zi-Hassane, Oxfam in Africa Director, said:   

“It is deeply alarming that famine-level malnutrition has been confirmed in two additional areas of North Darfur that were previously not at risk. This is in addition to the extreme hunger levels already being experienced by communities who have suffered nearly three years of brutal war. 

“We express solidarity with the people of Sudan and remain committed to supporting those seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. The consequences of the conflict are now being felt heavily in South Sudan, where renewed violence and deepening hunger are colliding, stretching an already fragile country to breaking point – a direct result of global failure to act.  

 “Oxfam is supporting refugees and returnees in Chad and South Sudan providing life-saving assistance such as water, food, cash and hygiene support but deep funding cuts to humanitarian action are stripping away lifelines, leaving families with nothing and driving millions closer to the edge.”

/Ends 

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

Photos and videos of the Olympic rings installation and Greenpeace protest can be downloaded via the Greenpeace Media Library

February 5, 2026. Milan – This morning, Greenpeace activists unveiled a giant replica of the Olympic rings tarnished with black oil, accompanied by the words “Sponsored by Eni” in the Piazza Duomo in Milan, where the Olympic flame is expected to arrive later today. 

The eye-catching installation standing at three metres high, is made from wood and metal with recycled plastic waste moulded to look like oil dripping from the rings. 

Activists also displayed banners reading “Kick polluters out of the Games”, in a protest against one of the Games’ major sponsors, Italian oil and gas giant Eni, whose annual emissions could melt enough glacier ice to fill 2.5 million Olympic swimming pools.

Greenpeace Italy has released a hard-hitting video (featuring the same image of the Olympic rings used in the Milan installation) depicting an avalanche of oil cascading through the Games, creating chaos as it engulfs athletes along the way. The video denounces Eni and the impact oil giants are having on the Winter Games.

Greenpeace UK climate campaigner, Phillip Evans, said:

“The Olympic rings are meant to symbolize unity and respect amongst the continents and people of the world, yet the IOC is partnering with destructive oil and gas companies who are driving the climate crisis; fuelling more storms and floods, more droughts and more wildfires.”

“These corporate polluters are literally stealing our winters. The IOC needs to recognise the hypocrisy of their toxic partnership with Big Oil and commit to ending fossil fuel sponsorship across all Olympic Games.” 

Greenpeace Italy and Greenpeace International have sent an  open letter  to the IOC asking it to ban fossil fuel sponsorships, building on its legacy of banning tobacco advertising in 1988.

Research conducted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reveals the likelihood that, in the next 50 years, snow and the conditions needed for future Winter Olympics, will be at risk in half of all the potential host cities.

Contact:

Greenpeace UK Press Office – Press UK or 020 7865 8255

Gaia Maione, Press Officer, Greenpeace Italy Gaia Maione or +39 340 571 80193

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

Greenpeace activists stage protest outside Shell HQ contrasting extreme weather damage costs to oil giant’s profits – photographs available here

Shell’s 2025 annual profits statement of £13.6 billion stands in stark contrast to the misery suffered last year by communities across the UK – who endured successive storms, floods, wildfires and drought – amounting to losses and damages exceeding £2.8 billion.

Following the profits announcement, Greenpeace activists staged a protest outside Shell’s London HQ, holding giant figures comparing Shell’s annual profit with the UK’s 2025 bill for damages caused by extreme weather. 

In 2025, insurance pay-outs of £936 million were made to thousands of homeowners and businesses recovering from weather-related property damage, according to the latest available data; while the UK’s hottest spring and summer on record proved disastrous for farmers whose crop losses exceeded £800 million. The impacts from wildfires were felt across the country with damages climbing beyond £478 million; meanwhile local councils are facing spiralling costs spending on average £566 million on clear-up operations in the wake of flooding events. 

UK damages are a drop in the ocean when it comes to the costs of extreme weather events globally – with the 10 most expensive disasters of 2025 totalling over £90 billion in estimated losses. This is still a fraction of the true cost of last year’s extreme weather which remain hidden.

In response to Shell’s profits announcement, Maja Darlington, Greenpeace climate campaigner said:

“Shell’s dirty profits are an insult to communities who have been on the frontlines of extreme weather events fuelled by climate-wrecking oil and gas emissions. The oil giant’s profits could cover the UK’s £2.8bn climate damage bill from floods, fires, storms and droughts almost five times over. 

“Extreme weather, and the damage it is causing, will only get worse as fossil fuel-driven climate change intensifies. It is reprehensible that Shell is allowed to act with impunity. Governments must make these oil giants pay for the climate chaos they have created.  While they wallow in their profits, home-owners, shop-keepers, farmers and firefighters are paying the price.”

Ends

Contact: Greenpeace UK Press Office –press.uk@greenpeace.org  or 020 7865 8255

Notes to editors:

Photos of the Greenpeace protest outside Shell are available here

Wildfire damages calculation based on the £10,000 estimated cost per hectare burned  as identified in Moorland Association research paper and the area using data from Copernicus .

Source: Amnesty International –

• HelpAge International survey reveals toll on physical and mental health of older people
• Severe shortages of nutritious food, medicine and shelter contributing to inhumane conditions
• “The rights and needs of older people in Gaza must not be ignored” – Erika Guevara-Rosas

Older people in Gaza are suffering an overlooked physical and mental health crisis amid Israel’s ongoing blockade of aid and essential medicines and the recent ban on humanitarian organizations, new research by HelpAge International and Amnesty International has revealed.

In a health survey by HelpAge International, older people said that food scarcity had caused them to skip meals, including to ensure other family members could eat, while others said they had to ration medications for serious health conditions because of lack of access.

Internally displaced older people also described to Amnesty International how their lack of access to nutritious food, adequate shelter and healthcare was causing extreme harm due to the continuing blockade imposed by Israeli authorities. Interviewees had been displaced multiple times since October 2023.

“During armed conflict, older people’s needs are often overlooked. In Gaza, older people are enduring an unprecedented physical and mental health collapse as a direct result of Israel’s deliberate infliction of conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns.

“HelpAge International’s survey reveals how Israel’s ongoing unlawful, cruel and inhumane restrictions on the entry of life-saving aid have impacted older people’s ability to access critical healthcare and medications and has limited their access to nutritious food and to adequate shelter.  

“The rights and needs of older people in Gaza must not be ignored. Many continue to endure degrading living conditions and desperate humanitarian situation following the destruction of their homes and repeated displacements. Israeli authorities must immediately and unconditionally lift their blockade, and allow the unhindered entry of essential supplies, including medicine and shelter materials.”

During the winter months, Palestinians in Gaza – most of whom live in dilapidated tents or makeshift shelters – have also had to endure overflowing sewage and floodwaters, and have been exposed to heavy winds. Israel has also suspended the registration of 37 NGOs operating in Gaza and the West Bank as of 1 January. and they have been ordered to cease their operations within 60 days.