Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Mark Weston @markweston19.bsky.social · Aug 29

17% of Brits think it's acceptable to pay the Taliban to take back Afghan migrants who fled the Taliban because it wanted to kill them.

YouGov @yougov.co.uk · Aug 27

With Reform UK saying it would be reasonable to pay the Taliban to return migrants to Afghanistan, how many Britons this would be acceptable?

Acceptable: 17%
Unacceptable: 61%

% acceptable by party
Reform: 35%
Con: 23%
Lab/Lib Dem: 7-13%

yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...

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Reposted by Mark Weston

Gerrit Kurtz @gerritkurtz.bsky.social · Apr 13

The #RSF attack on Zam-Zam camp continues today.

On Friday, they killed "the entire staff of the last medical clinic" left for at least 500,000 people. #Sudan #Darfur
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/12/w...

Sudan Clinic Workers Killed in Zamzam Camp

Relief International said nine employees were killed when gunmen stormed the Zamzam camp in El Fasher, in the western Darfur region.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Mark Weston

Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · Apr 8

Continuing its aid cuts, the United States ends emergency food aid via the WFP, which it had previously pledged to spare. @apnews.com apnews.com/article/usai...

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Reposted by Mark Weston

Megan Ranney MD MPH @meganranney.bsky.social · Apr 6

New measles death in TX - a child. C/w last week:

CURRENT CASE COUNT: 569
Texas: 481 (+59)
New Mexico: 54 (+6)
Oklahoma: 10
Kansas: 24 (+1)

HOSPITALIZATIONS: 58 (+14)
Texas: 56 (+14) have been hospitalized, 11.6%.
New Mexico: 2 (No change). This is 4.5% of NM cases.

DEATHS: 3 (+1)

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Reposted by Mark Weston

Andrew Stroehlein @andrewstroehlein.bsky.social · Apr 4

"At least 274 Kenyan workers, mostly women, have died in #Saudi Arabia in the past 5 years ... Autopsy reports ... describe women with evidence of trauma, including burns and electric shocks, all labeled natural deaths."
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/w...

Why Maids Keep Dying in Saudi Arabia

East African leaders and Saudi royals are among those profiting off a lucrative, deadly trade in domestic workers.

www.nytimes.com

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Mark Weston @markweston19.bsky.social · Apr 1

The coach I'm on in central Ghana just stopped for fuel. Towards the end of the fuelling process, the driver and another guy started rocking the bus to make sure the tank would be filled right to the brim. "This Ghana," the driver told me with a smile when he saw me watching.

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Mark Weston @markweston19.bsky.social · Mar 29

The road between Ghana's two main cities, Accra and Kumasi, is in a parlous state. Even on a Saturday, the 150-mile journey has taken almost six hours.

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digitaldjeli @digitaldjeli.bsky.social · Mar 26

#Sudan This is horrific - there really is no 'good side' in this war www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/202...

Dozens killed in strike on market in Sudan’s North Darfur

Local rights groups accuse military of carrying out attack as army spokesperson says civilians not targeted.

www.aljazeera.com

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Reuters @reuters.com · Mar 21

The Sudanese army seized full control of the Presidential Palace in Khartoum on Friday, Sudan state TV and military sources said, in one of the most significant advances in a two-year-old conflict threatening to fracture the country reut.rs/41GqP1b

Sudanese army seizes full control of presidential palace in Khartoum, Sudan TV and military sources say

The Sudanese army seized full control of the Presidential Palace in Khartoum, Sudan state TV and military sources said, in one of the most significant advances in a two-year-old conflict threatening to fracture the country.

reut.rs

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Reposted by Mark Weston

Nate Schenkkan @nateschenkkan.bsky.social · Mar 19

The detention of Erdoğan’s main rival marks a phase shift in governance in Turkey, to brute-force authoritarianism

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/w...

Turkey Arrests Istanbul Mayor, Key Rival to President Erdogan

Ekrem Imamoglu was detained at his home, according to prosecutors, who said the charges against him were related to corruption and terrorism.

www.nytimes.com

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Mark Weston @markweston19.bsky.social · Mar 17

More dire news from post-truth US:

Alex Wayne @aawayne.bsky.social · Mar 16

Exclusive: NIH officials have advised scientists to remove reference to mRNA vaccines from their grant applications, in expectation the Trump administration intends to abandon most research in the field.

By @arthurallen202.bsky.social

kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Scientists Say NIH Officials Told Them To Scrub mRNA References on Grants - KFF Health News

Two senior scientists say National Institutes of Health officials advised them to remove references to mRNA vaccines in grant applications, and they fear the Trump administration will abandon a promis...

kffhealthnews.org

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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · Jan 28

It’s only fascism if it’s exactly like 1930s Europe, otherwise it’s just sparkling far right, hyper-nationalist populism that deploys antisemitic & racist propaganda in defense of a nostalgic concept of the traditional patriarchal family supposedly besieged by culturally-foreign & degenerate others.

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Daniel Drezner @dandrezner.bsky.social · Mar 12

I don’t think I’m going to be sleeping very well for *checks notes* the rest of this administration. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/n...

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Zack Beauchamp @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social · Mar 10

A recent report showed that the destruction of just one USAID program, the anti-AIDS PEPFAR initiative, would lead to the deaths of one million people *every year* www.vox.com/future-perfe...

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Alex Dukalskis @alexdukalskis.bsky.social · Mar 12

“A new four-lane highway cutting through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest is being built for the COP30 climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belém.”

Amazon rainforest cut down to build highway for COP climate summit

The infrastructure required to host climate talks in Belém is undermining the cause, campaigners say.

www.bbc.com

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Wim Zwijnenburg @wammezz.bsky.social · Mar 2

The number of civilians casualties from #drone strikes in #Ethiopia is rising sharply with the arrival of new Turkish #drones. The lackluster international attitude on drone warfare is sending states on a killing spree. Strong piece by @zekuzelalem.bsky.social
ecfr.eu/publication/...

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Mark Weston @markweston19.bsky.social · Mar 9

Yes, Lowe is even more of an extremist than Farage:

Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · Mar 9

Just so we're all clear, Rupert Lowe wants to commit to mass deportations (one million plus) and Nigel Farage doesn't.

Upsetting Farage doesn't necessarily make you the good guy.

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Reposted by Mark Weston

Cas Ⓜ️udde @casmudde.bsky.social · Mar 7

Postcard from Trumpland

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Mark Weston @markweston19.bsky.social · Mar 7

Guinea-Bissau looks like it might be the next West African country to leave ECOWAS and, supported by Russia, dump democracy: apnews.com/article/guin...

Reposted by Mark Weston

Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · Mar 7

Since writing this article, I have received messages from federal civil servants who tell me it is accurate, and that they are frightened. Please share this with anyone who doesn't understand the scale of the transformation.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

There’s a Term for What Trump and Musk Are Doing

How regime change happens in America

www.theatlantic.com

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Joey Shea @joeyshea.bsky.social · Mar 7

Earlier this week an Emirati court upheld an abusive 15-year sentence against prominent Emirati human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor.

The UAE continues to target a man who courageously stood up to his abusive govt even when very few would dare.

www.hrw.org/news/2025/03...

UAE: Ahmed Mansoor’s 15-Year Sentence Upheld

An Emirati court upheld an abusive 15-year sentence on March 4, 2025, against the prominent Emirati human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor, who was convicted following a fundamentally unfair trial.

www.hrw.org

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Mark Weston @markweston19.bsky.social · Mar 7

RSF mass grave containing the bodies of over 500 civilians, most of whom had been tortured and starved, found outside Khartoum: www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Evidence of torture found as detention centre and mass grave discovered outside Khartoum

Exclusive: What appears to be a vast burial site found at former Rapid Support Forces base in Sudan, while rescued detainees speak of torture, starvation and deaths of fellow inmates

www.theguardian.com

Mark Weston @markweston19.bsky.social · Mar 6

Happy Ghanaian Independence Day

Reposted by Mark Weston

Mat Nashed @matnashed.bsky.social · Mar 6

The freeze on USAID funding risks exacerbating an already catastrophic hunger crisis in #Sudan, caused by the warring parties who have blocked and weaponised aid throughout the war.

My latest for Al Jazeera.

aje.io/oepv5a

Sudanese starve as soup kitchens close down and warring parties block aid

The pause in USAID funding is exacerbating the hunger crisis in Sudan and compounding the challenge for relief workers.

aje.io

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Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · Mar 4

The US will no longer worry about civilians getting in the way of their bombs:
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03...

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