The conference brought together Ukrainian and Russian journalists and emphasised the need for unity and more political will to improve the situation. Last year eight Ukrainian media workers were killed and a further two have died so far this year. Many Russian journalists have also been beaten and detained since the conflict started. Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, said governments must stop manipulating the media, and urged for an end to impunity, which is central to guaranteeing the long-term safety of journalists. She reiterated the importance of discussing journalists’ safety at all times, not just during conflict, and issued this statement. As Burundians headed to the polls this week, following weeks of violence, we reissued our safety advisory for journalists working in the country, written by freelance journalist Jessica Hatcher who is currently based in Bujumbura. The risks people in our industry face have been most notably underpinned in India in recent weeks, where there has been a worrying spate of attacks against media workers. In the space of a fortnight, both Jagendra Singh and Sandeep Kothari were allegedly killed as a result of their writing and another journalist was attacked in an apparent reprisal for his critical reporting. These deeply concerning incidents threaten society as a whole and must be independently investigated to deter future incidents and ensure the safety of journalists. At a meeting in London we continued conversations with a number of news organisations and media NGOs about how a set of industry-wide safety standards and practices for freelancers and local journalists can be better implemented. We look forward to building on this momentum in New York at the end of September. Temperatures are now soaring in many countries across the globe where it is the height of summer, and journalists who are not used to working in the heat may need to take extra precautions. Later in July we will be releasing our bi-annual report ‘Killing the Messenger’, which looks at the latest statistics in terms of those journalists and media workers killed as a result of doing their work. For more information about any of the above or to find out more about INSI, please email us at info@newssafety.org or visit our website www.newssafety.org. Image by AFP of a Ukrainian serviceman walking along a path with marks from shelling in Shirokine village on the outskirts of the strategic port city of Mariupol.