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Katie McQue

@katiemcque

Investigative reporter, covering tech and human rights. 2024-'25 Pulitzer Center Fellow - Ocean Reporting Network Bylines inc: Guardian, Washington Post, ICIJ Brooklyn, previously Dubai & London https://katiemcque.com/

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21.11.2024
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Latest posts by Katie McQue @katiemcque

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Migrant workers ‘fear for their safety’ after deaths on Diego Garcia Workers for US defence contractor KBR concerned after colleagues die on island with no hospital-grade health facility

www.theguardian.com/world/articl...

01.03.2026 14:38 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Hundreds of Filipino workers stranded on island amid dispute with U.S. contractor Their employer, KBR, denies Philippine charges that it’s keeping them from leaving the remote American military base on Diego Garcia.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/0...

01.03.2026 14:37 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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Abuses on U.S. bases in Persian Gulf ensnare legions of migrant workers Defense contractors employ thousands of migrant workers on U.S. military bases in the Persian Gulf. Many are trapped by employment practices banned by the U.S. government.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/1...

01.03.2026 14:36 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Read it again: an Indian worker employed by the company earns $500/month. The treatment and low salaries of workers from the global south on US military bases is well documented, including in my own reporting

01.03.2026 14:34 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 2 📌 0
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Four senior officers of the MV Dali cargo ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore two years ago are still detained, despite the fact that no criminal charges have been brought against them.

@katiemcque.bsky.social reports for @theguardian.com.
👉 bit.ly/46qaY9V

04.02.2026 16:53 👍 2 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
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The Pacific Islanders fighting to save their homes from catastrophe Some of climate change's sharpest realities are being felt on small island nations, where extreme weather is claiming homes and triggering displacement. Those able to stay are spearheading inventive a...

The Pacific Islanders fighting to save their homes from catastrophe - @katiemcque.bsky.social @newscientist.com

www.newscientist.com/article/2509...

30.01.2026 17:25 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Courts could send Maduro back to Caracas | The Observer Weak evidence, Trump’s sloppiness and a judge unafraid to rule against the White House threaten to unravel the case against Venezuela’s deposed leader

Courts could send Maduro back to Caracas.

Weak evidence, Trump’s sloppiness and a judge unafraid to rule against the White House threaten to unravel the case against Venezuela’s deposed leader, writes @katiemcque.bsky.social.
https://bit.ly/49MAhoL

09.01.2026 09:24 👍 5 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0
“'I’ve Seen Hell': Inside the Global Crisis of Seafarer Exploitation”

“'I’ve Seen Hell': Inside the Global Crisis of Seafarer Exploitation”

For her second #PulitzerStaffPicks selection, Ocean Editor Jessica Aldred chose @katiemcque.bsky.social’s story “'I’ve Seen Hell': Inside the Global Crisis of Seafarer Exploitation” published in @contextnewsroom.bsky.social.

👉 bit.ly/YIStories25

12.12.2025 14:45 👍 1 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0
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After a cargo ship capsized in Iran, two young Indian seafarers were left stranded—one lost his leg, both lost their wages. Cases of seafarer abandonment have surged 187% in 2024, leaving thousands without pay or support.

✍️ @katiemcque.bsky.social reports

🔗 www.context.news/money-power-...

29.10.2025 10:54 👍 1 🔁 3 💬 1 📌 0
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Life and Loss at Sea: International Shipping’s Seafarer Abandonment Problem When a seafarer lost his leg in an accident, his employer left him on his own in one of the growing cases of ship abandonments. Rakesh Padmamurti was working in the engine room of the cargo vessel SL....

“I went completely underwater, and my leg was separated from my body.”

When Rakesh lost his leg in an accident, his employer left him on his own in one of the growing cases of ship abandonments.

Story by ORN Fellow @katiemcque.bsky.social for @contextnewsroom.bsky.social. bit.ly/4oxb2eE

27.10.2025 19:57 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

I’m sharing this hoping that someone hiking the same route in Norway might see this. Let’s find @alecluhn!

https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/climate-journalist-alec-luhn-missing-norwegian-glacier/

05.08.2025 15:09 👍 8 🔁 48 💬 1 📌 0
Facebook post with a photo of Alec and contact information: MISSING: Alec Luhn, last seen July 31st in the afternoon. Was headed from Odda, Norway on a solo backpacking trip to explore the glacier @folgefonnanasjonalpark. Planned to stay at DNT Holmaskjer and DNT Breidablikk and finish Monday morning at Årsnes Kai bus station. Red Cross search with volunteers and dogs and helicopters is underway in the area. PLEASE SHARE AND TAG AND REPOST THIS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. If anyone has seen him or has information please contact Drew Avanell Gaddis or Veronika Silchenko

Facebook post with a photo of Alec and contact information: MISSING: Alec Luhn, last seen July 31st in the afternoon. Was headed from Odda, Norway on a solo backpacking trip to explore the glacier @folgefonnanasjonalpark. Planned to stay at DNT Holmaskjer and DNT Breidablikk and finish Monday morning at Årsnes Kai bus station. Red Cross search with volunteers and dogs and helicopters is underway in the area. PLEASE SHARE AND TAG AND REPOST THIS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. If anyone has seen him or has information please contact Drew Avanell Gaddis or Veronika Silchenko

Our friend @alecluhn.bsky.social is missing in Norway's Folgefonna National Park after a backpacking trip to the glacier there. Please share if you're in the area or know people who might be. Come home safe, buddy

www.facebook.com/share/p/18xA...

05.08.2025 10:26 👍 71 🔁 59 💬 4 📌 6
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Oceans Summit Ends in Failure To Protect Marine Life The UN Ocean Conference concluded without consensus on deep-sea mining, bottom trawling, marine-protected areas and other critical issues The third United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice concluded....

Last week, the world gathered in Nice for the @un.org Ocean Conference to discuss the future of our ocean.

Yet, the conference concluded without consensus on deep-sea mining, protected areas, and other critical issues.

ORN @katiemcque.bsky.social reports for @observeruk.bsky.social. bit.ly/448MPTt

20.06.2025 22:06 👍 2 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
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A teenager piloted a Channel dinghy. After it sank, he was charged with manslaughter Ibrahima Bah’s conviction was the first of its kind. But will this new tactic stop the small boats—or achieve justice?

An absolute honour to have been awarded third prize in the Fetisov Journalism Awards for my reporting on the case of Ibrahima Bah, for @prospectmagazine.co.uk

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/pol...

24.04.2025 06:33 👍 9 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 1
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Fetisov Journalism Awards

The story was nominated in the contribution to civil rights category, alongside some truly impressive projects by @katiemcque.bsky.social , @higabyramirez.bsky.social and Tina Xu – I highly recommend reading all the work on the shortlist.

fjawards.com/events/award...

24.04.2025 06:33 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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The global struggle over how to regulate AI Big AI companies have come out hard against comprehensive regulatory efforts in the West — but are receiving a warm welcome from leaders in many other countries.

How should such a potentially powerful tool as AI be regulated?

For Rest of World’s new feature, @katiemcque.bsky.social, @laismartins.com, Ananya Bhattacharya, and @carienduplessis.bsky.social track the global effort to define the role that artificial intelligence will play in democratic societies

21.01.2025 14:07 👍 17 🔁 8 💬 1 📌 2

Thank you for sharing, Natalie

19.12.2024 22:09 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Kenyan single mothers ‘trapped’ in Saudi Arabia as exit visas denied to children born outside marriage Domestic workers who fled abusive employers say their children are not eligible for birth certificates, medical care or education – yet cannot leave

Investigation finds women formerly employed as domestic workers in Saudi Arabia who appear to be “trapped” in the country after being denied birth certificates for children born outside marriage or visas in order to leave and return home @katiemcque.bsky.social

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

19.12.2024 09:22 👍 6 🔁 5 💬 1 📌 0
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13.12.2024 12:54 👍 15272 🔁 2322 💬 226 📌 124