Although he arrived in Mallorca from Bolivia, Farouk Pino and his wife, Claudia Andrade, have held Spanish nationality for a decade. Pino has been at the helm of Bolivia Centro Social for 15 years, an organization through which he has built networks with associations and individuals of diverse backgrounds living in the Balearic Islands. Concerned about the rise of the far right, this activist makes his voice heard in Palma City Council meetings, where he denounces the policies of Vox and the PP.

The Mallorcan Cooperation Fund has cancelled all events planned for this Saturday to mark the Lighting of Towers, Watchtowers, and Talayots of the Mediterranean for Human Rights due to the poor weather forecast for Mallorca. The institutional event scheduled for 12:55 pm at Bellver Castle was cancelled early this morning, according to the organizers. Hours later, the event planned for 6:30 pm to capture images of the lighting ceremony from Sant Carles Castle was also cancelled. Emergency services (112) maintain an orange alert for strong winds in Mallorca, Ibiza, and Formentera, and for coastal phenomena in Mallorca and Menorca. Additionally, according to the emergency service's social media account, a yellow alert is in effect for strong winds in Menorca, and for coastal phenomena in Ibiza and Formentera.

The report Abandonment and institutional violence towards migrantsThe report, prepared by the Novact Institute and Irídia-Center for the Defense of Human Rights, reveals that the violation of the rights of migrants arriving in the Balearic Islands is systematic. It also highlights the changes that have occurred on the Algerian route to the Islands: while in 2023, 70% of migrants were of Maghrebi origin, by 2025 this proportion had reversed, with 70% of migrants now representing a variety of nationalities. The organizations emphasize the increase in people from Somalia, a country with a 98% asylum recognition rate, a right that is also not being respected in the Islands. Furthermore, the document underscores a well-known fact: the Algerian route is extremely dangerous. In 2024, 517 deaths or disappearances were recorded, and in 2025, 21 bodies washed ashore on the Islands.

The tenth annual Lighting of Towers, Watchtowers, and Talayots for Human Rights in the Mediterranean will take place on January 31, 2026, with the aim of making this sea "a place of life, not death," explained Maribel Arnau, the Island Director of Heritage for the Consell de Mallorca. The objective is to reaffirm the collective commitment to defending human rights and welcoming refugees, and "to highlight our heritage to remind us that these historical sites can also symbolize values we share as a society," she added.

The Committee of Persecuted Writers and the Board of PEN Català have decided to award the 16th edition of the Veu Libre Prize to the Uyghur poet, filmmaker, and activist Tahir Hamut Izgil, one of the most important voices in Uyghur literature and one of the most compelling witnesses to the repression he suffers. Tahir Hamut Izgil was born in 1969 in the Xinjiang region of East Turkestan. From a young age, he stood out as an innovative poet in Uyghur literature, with a body of work influenced by literary modernism and symbolism. He studied at the Nationalities University of China and worked for years as a filmmaker and cultural creator. In the mid-1990s, he was arrested and sent to a labor camp for political reasons. In 2017, when the Chinese government began the mass internment of the Uyghur population, Izgil fled with his family to the United States. Since then he has lived in exile and has become one of the leading international voices denouncing the crimes committed against his people. His memoir, When they come to arrest me at midnight (Edicions 62, 2024), captures with precise and haunting writing the daily life in Urumqi during the early years of repression, and has been acclaimed by critics from media outlets such as The Guardian and The New York Times.

Rosa Estaràs, a member of the Balearic Islands People's Party (PP), has publicly denounced the "political persecution" suffered by Rwandan opposition leader and president of the United Democratic Forces, Victoire Ingabire, currently imprisoned in Kigali. Estaràs made this clear in the European Parliament plenary session this Wednesday, according to the PP party in a press release.

The Spanish government delegate in the Balearic Islands, Alfonso Rodríguez, has pointed out that the islands do not meet the criteria set by Pedro Sánchez's administration for declaring a migration contingency, as they have not tripled their capacity to host migrant minors. Rodríguez noted that this declaration can be requested when the ordinary reception capacity is tripled, a situation that only affects the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla. In the case of the Balearic Islands, the capacity is 406 minors, the islands host 682, and there should be 1,218 to declare a migration contingency.

The Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday a decree establishing the reception capacity of the autonomous communities, including the Balearic Islands, and which represents the final step in implementing the distribution of migrant minors. Spanish government spokesperson Pilar Alegría stated that this is an "important step to guarantee the rights of migrant children" and that it affects "children who arrive alone in our country and who must be given a dignified, supportive, and humanitarian welcome."

Passengers gather at 6:30 a.m. at Maritime Station No. 3 in the port of Palma. There's a ferry to Formentera at eight, and a queue has formed in front of the shipping company's offices to get their boarding passes. On a bench at the back of the building, a young man sleeps, oblivious to the entire oil mill. He's dressed in a tracksuit with a hat covering his face. At his feet, he has a green plastic bag with a sweatshirt inside. He's one of the thousands of people who have arrived by boat in recent weeks. He's resting soundly, while the noise increases as the minutes pass. Spoons can be heard tapping against cups in the cafeteria, a sleepy child cries, and a nervous dog scratches its owner's legs. There are more suitcases and backpacks at every turn. Near the sleeping young man, a woman is burning herself with hot water, oblivious to her surroundings. Groups of young people show their excitement at traveling with their friends.

The Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) has denounced this Tuesday the situations of "abandonment" in "extreme circumstances" suffered by the migrants arriving by boat to the Balearic Islands, according to the statement released by the organization, which points to cases of up to seven hours without assistance. In fact, the organization accuses Maritime Rescue of "institutional racism" and denounces the lack of resources and serious deficiencies in the institution's protocols for dealing with migrants. Furthermore, the Civil Guards point out that this is not a one-off situation but rather a "regular" one. "It affects both the migrants and the agents themselves, exposed to inhumane 24-hour shifts without the necessary support," the statement says.