Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · 20h

From Colombia’s battlefields to Sudan’s war zones: hundreds of Colombian mercenaries are fighting in Sudan, accused of training child soldiers and helping fuel one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

‘War is a business’: the Colombian mercenaries at Sudan’s battlefront

A soldier of fortune tells of lucrative contracts, the siege of El Fasher and training child fighters to ‘go and get killed’

www.theguardian.com

Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · 21d

The rebels visited the brothel armed and masked. They would order the women to line up, put their guns in their mouths and rape them.

"It was ugly," says Valeria. "A place filled with women and underage girls – all of us tricked and trapped."

Report from Cúcuta.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Amid rising violence in Colombia, girls and women are being held as sex slaves: ‘No woman is safe’

The Catatumbo region, home to huge coca fields, has been ravaged by a fight for control between two armed groups

www.theguardian.com

Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · 23d

On 18 March 1976, Tenório Júnior, a Brazilian pianist who had played alongside some of Latin America’s greatest musicians, disappeared from the streets of Buenos Aires.

For nearly 50 years, his fate has remained a mystery – until now.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
@eaafoficial.bsky.social

Reposted by Harriet Barber

Sam Jones @swajones.bsky.social · 24d

The bossa nova pianist Francisco Tenório Cerqueira Júnior went out for cigarettes after a concert in Buenos Aires in March 1976 – a forensic team has finally revealed his fate. By @harrietbarber.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Brazilian musician identified as victim of 1976 killing by Argentina military

The bossa nova pianist Francisco Tenório Cerqueira Júnior went out for cigarettes after a concert in Buenos Aires – a forensic team has finally revealed his fate

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Harriet Barber

Tom Phillips @tomphillips.bsky.social · 24d

“For nearly 50 years, his fate has remained a mystery, sparking desperate searches, raising suspicions of government complicity, and inspiring international documentaries. Now the mystery has been solved,” writes @harrietbarber.bsky.social

Brazilian musician identified as victim of 1976 killing by Argentina military

The bossa nova pianist Francisco Tenório Cerqueira Júnior went out for cigarettes after a concert in Buenos Aires – a forensic team has finally revealed his fate

www.theguardian.com

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Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · 28d

Millions of years ago, Panama emerged from the sea, connecting North and South America and birthing astonishing biodiversity: 1,000 bird species, hundreds of mammal species, and habitats including lush cloud forests, mangroves and vibrant seas.

My latest in @thenewworldmag.bsky.social.

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Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · 29d

Turned away at US border, Venezuelans languish in Panamanian purgatory. My report from Miramar.

Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · Aug 14

As many as 96 people are now thought to have died in Argentina after being treated with medical-use fentanyl that was tainted with bacteria. Investigators warn the number may continue to rise.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a... @theguardian.com

Argentina rocked as contaminated medical fentanyl kills up to 96 patients

Dozens of hospital patients treated with opioid for unrelated conditions suffered serious bacterial infections

www.theguardian.com

Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · Aug 14

Peru has enacted a sweeping amnesty law in Peru, shielding military and police from prosecution over human rights abuses committed between 1980 and 2000. Rights groups say it will deny justice to thousands of victims.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a... @dancollyns.bsky.social

Peru enacts amnesty for military and police accused of human rights abuses

Families of victims and advocacy groups condemn law that covers internal armed conflict from 1980 to 2000

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Harriet Barber

The New World @thenewworldmag.bsky.social · Aug 14

🗞️ Our latest issue is on sale - Look who’s back! 👀

Featuring Matthew d’Ancona, @sonia-sodha.bsky.social, @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social, @harrietbarber.bsky.social, @jamesrball.com and more

Subscribe for £1: buff.ly/zwIwzGA

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Reposted by Harriet Barber

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Aug 13

‘A whole spectrum of hatred’: women face increased violence in Milei’s Argentina as rights are eroded

In a country once lauded as a progressive bastion in Latin America, protections are being dismantled by a populist leader, and gender-based offences are on the rise

www.theguardian.com

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Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · Aug 13

Javier Milei’s government has dismantled Argentina’s gender ministry, cut services for abuse survivors and plans to strike femicide from the penal code. Rights groups warn changes are already impacting protections and could worsen violence against women.

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

‘A whole spectrum of hatred’: women face increased violence in Milei’s Argentina as rights are eroded

In a country once lauded as a progressive bastion in Latin America, protections are being dismantled by a populist leader, and gender-based offences are on the rise

www.theguardian.com

Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · Aug 13

Javier Milei vowed to take a “chainsaw” to Argentina’s state. Inflation is down – but inequality is deepening and unemployment rising. My analysis for The New World on the president’s high-stakes gamble.

🔗 www.thenewworld.co.uk/harriet-barb...

Javier Milei’s broken chainsaw

Argentinians like what their president has done on inflation. The problem is that plenty of them hate everything else about him

www.thenewworld.co.uk

Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · Aug 12

Twenty-five more bodies have been recovered from Neiva Cemetery, thought to be victims of Colombia's decades-long armed conflict.

I was on site with the forensic scientists in July. Read my report about the search for the missing here.
www.thetimes.com/world/latin-...

I shot innocent people to meet kill quotas. Now I help families find them

Troops shot thousands of civilians in Colombia’s civil war then dressed them as guerrillas. Decades later they’re avoiding jail by tracking down the bodies

www.thetimes.com

Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · Aug 11

Colombian senator and 2026 presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe, who shot in the head at a campaign rally in June, has died today after nine weeks in intensive care and multiple surgeries.

Latest at @theguardian.com.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Colombian senator Miguel Uribe dies after June campaign shooting

Rightwing presidential hopeful, who had been in hospital in Bogotá since shooting, has died aged 39

www.theguardian.com

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Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · Aug 8

Argentina is building its largest crude export port on Patagonia’s coast, near a UNESCO marine sanctuary home to whales, penguins & sea lions. Scientists warn spills could devastate wildlife. My report for @theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/global-devel... @andreinetto.bsky.social

‘We’ve begun oil spill response training’: Patagonia prepares for the largest crude oil export port in Argentina

Wildlife experts warn huge facility on the Valdés peninsula in Patagonia could be devastating for ‘a treasure chest of wildlife’

www.theguardian.com

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Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · Aug 7

Gracias a Buscarita y su nieta Claudia, y ‪@abuelasdifusion.bsky.social‬.

Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · Aug 7

Argentina’s dictatorship disappeared 30,000 people and kidnapped hundreds of babies of its opponents. For nearly 50 years the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo have searched for the missing grandchildren.

My interview with Buscarita Roa, one of the last surviving Abuelas. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

I am one of the last of the Abuelas – the grandmothers still searching for Argentina’s ‘disappeared’. I’m 87, but I will never give up

Nearly 50 years ago, my son and his wife were tortured and killed and their baby was taken by the military regime. Two decades later, I found her – but hundreds of grandchildren are still missing

www.theguardian.com

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Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · Jul 11

An emerging threat that is transforming the transnational criminal landscape: the unmanned narco sub.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Colombia identifies new threat in drug war: the autonomous narco drone sub

Country’s navy announced seizure of uncrewed narco sub, first capture of such a vessel in Colombian waters

www.theguardian.com

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Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · Jun 27

Gangs in Colombia are increasingly recruiting children into their ranks, with a notable number coerced over TikTok and Facebook, the United Nations has warned.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Colombia gangs lure children to join ranks via TikTok, UN warns

Armed groups post videos of weapons, cars and parties to social media to depict ‘perks’ of lifestyle, say experts

www.theguardian.com

Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · Jun 13

The attempted assassination of a Colombian presidential hopeful has reignited fears of a return to a bloody past when organized crime and rebel groups murdered candidates, journalists, judges with impunity.

Latest for the @theguardian.com.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Assassination attempt in Colombia sparks fears of return to bloody past: ‘It’s a devastating moment’

Attack on presidential candidate is oreminiscent of some of the darkest chapters of the country’s history

www.theguardian.com

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Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · Jun 9

Miguel Uribe Turbay, the rightwing Colombian presidential candidate who was shot at a campaign rally on Saturday, has reportedly shown little response to medical interventions and needs “a miracle” to survive, his wife has said.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j... @theguardian.com

Shot Colombian presidential candidate needs ‘miracle’ to survive, wife says

Miguel Uribe Turbay from opposition party who was shot on Saturday is showing ‘little response’ after surgery

www.theguardian.com

Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · Jun 2

Colombia’s female prison population has increased more than fivefold since 1991, largely driven by drug laws that disproportionately punish women.

Now Colombia is attempting a new approach – pivoting from punishment to rehabilitation.

www.theguardian.com/global-devel... @mickessler.bsky.social

‘People think prison is for rehabilitation. It is all lies’: could community service work better than jail?

Colombia has seen a surge in the number of female inmates – many poor, from rural areas and convicted of drug offences. Now a radical scheme could release thousands to support their families

www.theguardian.com

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Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · May 29

During the 1990s, Peru’s govt carried out a ruthless campaign of forced sterilisation, depriving thousands of women of the right to bear children.

Now, for the first time, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has held a public hearing on the abuses.
www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...

‘Historic milestone’ as court hears the horrors of Peru’s forced sterilisation programme

Thirty years on from the abuses, a public hearing details how hundreds of thousands of women were deprived of the right to bear children

www.telegraph.co.uk

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Harriet Barber @harrietbarber.bsky.social · May 28

Argentina is being used as a “testing ground” for stripping back abortion rights internationally as the state cuts funding for contraceptives and ends the distribution of abortion pills, Amnesty has warned.

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

Argentina used as a ‘testing ground’ for eroding abortion rights, warns Amnesty

Alarm as Javier Milei’s government curbs state supply of abortion pills and seeks to reverse landmark legalisation

www.theguardian.com

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