Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Norman Aselmeyer @aselmeyer.bsky.social · 1d

Here’s the term card for the Northeast Africa Forum in Oxford, a research seminar focused on the broader East Africa region. We meet on Tuesdays at 4 p.m., and most sessions are also held in hybrid format. @jasonmosley.bsky.social @mwangimwaura.bsky.social @terrefebiruk.bsky.social

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Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 2d

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed.
trib.al/9Sxu9IN

Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.

trib.al

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 2d

If U.S. states have any degree of sovereignty, if there’s any states’ rights at all, it is the right not to be invaded by the armed forces of another U.S. state.

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David Gilbert @davidgilbert.bsky.social · 2d

Over the weekend, Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller repeatedly attacked judges, calling them part of an "organized terrorist attack" on the US government....

On Saturday, the home of a judge who ruled against Trump, went up in flames

time.com/7323442/sout...

House of South Carolina Judge Criticized by Trump Administration Set Ablaze

Authorities are investigating a fire at the home of a South Carolina judge who had reportedly received death threats in what could be the latest incident of political violence across the country.

time.com

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Zakeriye Ahmed @zakeriye.bsky.social · 4d

🚨 #MOGADISHU

Al-Shabaab militants stormed Godka Jilicow, a high-security spy agency prison near #Somalia's presidential palace.

The attack began with car bomb, followed by gunmen. Reports say 8 attackers: 4 killed, 4 still fighting inside. Elite Gaashaan forces deployed.

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Kristina Cooke @kristinacooke.bsky.social · 4d

I spoke to a Venezuelan woman who was arrested in this raid and later released with her 4yo son. She said agents broke down their door, pointed guns at them and made sexualized remarks about Venezuelan women. When she returned to her apartment it was boarded up and all her possessions were gone.

Ted Hesson @tedhesson.bsky.social · 4d

US Border Patrol raid sweeps in citizens, families as Chicago crackdown intensifies, w/ @reneehickman.bsky.social @kristinacooke.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

US Border Patrol raid sweeps in citizens, families as Chicago crackdown intensifies

U.S. Border Patrol agents deployed to Chicago led a late-night raid on an apartment building this week, rappelling from helicopters onto rooftops and breaking down doors in an operation authorities said targeted gang members but which swept up U.S. citizens and families.

www.reuters.com

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Zakeriye Ahmed @zakeriye.bsky.social · 7d

🚨 #SOMALIA

President Hassan and Jubaland leader Ahmed Madobe are set to meet in Kismaayo, even as courts in Mogadishu & Kismaayo pursue treason cases against both.

Neither case has been dropped — underscoring how Somalia's judiciary is used as a political tool.

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 4d

Russian drones struck two passenger trains in northern Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least one person and injuring dozens of others in the region of Sumy, Ukrainian officials said.

Russian Drones Hit 2 Passenger Trains, Ukraine Says

The drone strikes killed at least one person and injured dozens of others, officials said. The attack came amid rising alarm about the status of a nuclear plant relying solely on generators.

nyti.ms

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 4d

This is an administration that does sizzle reels of ICE abusing communities. They want the visuals of dominance, regardless of the law.

Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 4d

I don’t understand the supposed legal basis for this.

DOJ requested a summons—*not* an arrest warrant—under Rule 9 of the FRCrP.

Are they going to go back to the magistrate and ask for a warrant, even though Comey hasn’t failed to appear? If not, what’s the exigency for a warrantless arrest?

The FBI is now actively working to put together a team to arrest Comey between now and his court appearance on Thursday, but other FBI supervisors have also refused to cooperate, said a source knowledgeable about the conversations and a law enforcement source familiar with the situation. The expectation is that the FBI will eventually find somebody.
CBS News has reached out to the FBI for comment. Comey's lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, declined to comment to CBS
News.
Reuters was first to report that an FBI agent was sidelined for refusing to help with a perp walk.

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David Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · 7d

ICE lied about the person it shot, claiming he was a "criminal," but NBC finds that he had no criminal history whatsoever. Not even traffic tickets in 12 years! It also lied about the extent of the injuries to its agents....

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 6d

Surreal moment for America. Needless to say, if the normal police ever pulled something like this — pulling every single person out of an apartment building and handcuffing them to run warrant checks — they would be sued into oblivion.

Yet ICE is going to get away with it entirely.

"It was scary, because I had never had a gun in my face," Fisher said. "They asked my name and my date of birth and asked me, did I have any warrants? And I told them, 'No, 'Ididn't."
Fisher said she was handcuffed before being released around 3 a.m., and she was told that if anyone had any kind of warrant out for them, even if it was unrelated to immigration, they would not be released.

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James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 6d

Fucking hell - awful.

On top of a serious racial assault in Bristol last night as well. Feels like things are very much spinning out: we need to take this shit on in every way.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 6d

Manchester synagogue attack latest: police say suspect shot after four people injured by vehicle and stabbings

Police say they are responding to an incident in Crumpsall, Greater Manchester Greater Manchester Police said a suspect has been shot and four people have suffered injuries caused by a vehicle and stabbings at a synagogue in Crumpsall north of the city. The force said: Police were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, on Middleton Road, Crumpsall, at 9.31am by a member of the public, stating he had witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public, and one man had been stabbed. GMP declared PLATO and a major incident at 9.37am. Shots were fired by Greater Manchester Police firearms officers at 9.38am. One man has been shot, believed to be the offender. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 7d

My thoughts on the Quantico meeting

Trump’s Speech to Generals Was Incitement to Violence Against Americans

Military leaders’ quiet professionalism offers hope amid a maelstrom.

foreignpolicy.com

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“Hey man did you get QA to sign off?” Gigan @gigansprogress.bsky.social · 7d

Kind of a big deal to see this from RUSI

RUSI @rusi.bsky.social · 7d

'Partners will need to be prepared for the use of US military power in a way that is deeply uncomfortable' writes @mtsavill.bsky.social in the latest RUSI Commentary.

Not Business as Usual: Why Trump’s War Department Rhetoric Matters

Much of the language coming out of the gathering of US military leaders this week could be dismissed as political spectacle. But international partners of the US should take seriously the US Administr...

www.rusi.org

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Rachel Savage @rachelmsavage.bsky.social · 8d

South Africa's ambassador to France, Nkosinathi Emmanuel "Nathi" Mthethwa, was found dead at the foot of the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Tuesday.

The Paris prosecutor's office said he had booked a room on the 22nd floor and a secured window had been forced open. It said the investigation was ongoing

South Africa's ambassador to France found dead at foot of Paris hotel tower

South Africa's ambassador to France was found dead on Tuesday at the foot of the Hyatt Regency hotel, a high-rise tower in the west of Paris, the Paris prosecutor's office said.

www.reuters.com

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 9d

Horrifying— Barbara Gomes Marques went with her US citizen husband and lawyer on 9/16 to a green card appointment at USCIS office in downtown LA where she was tricked into walking down a hallway away from them, was snatched by ICE and never came back. She now faces imminent deportation in Louisiana.

Los Angeles man demands answers after wife was detained at scheduled green card meeting

A man is speaking out and asking for help after his wife was detained by federal agents at the end of a scheduled green card hearing in downtown Los Angeles in early September.

www.cbsnews.com

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Bill Wolkoff @billwearsties.bsky.social · 11d

Indie director Barbara Marques has been kidnapped by ICE. She is legally married to a U.S. citizen & was at a green card mtg when she was abducted and prevented from seeing her lawyer. Her husband Tucker May does not know where she is. Please spread the word so he can find her /1

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 12d

(ABC News) - Russia is selling military equipment and technology to China that could help Beijing prepare for an airborne invasion of Taiwan, according to an analysis of leaked Russian documents by a London think tank.

abcnews.go.com/Internationa...

Russia is helping China to prepare for potential invasion of Taiwan, think tank says

Analysis from the Royal United Services Institute in London says Russia is selling military equipment and technology to China that could help Beijing prepare for an airborne takeover of Taiwan

abcnews.go.com

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 18d

This is it, essentially. The core of it. The goal of ICE detention in the mass deportation system is to make people give up their case without fighting; to have an officer say “if you want to see a judge and plead your case, you’re going to be jailed for months and months, so why not give up now?”

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 18d

Advocates say the Trump administration’s goal is clear: make the pre-deportation process so punitive that targets give up and leave voluntarily. The administration and its allies see the detention policy as a corrective to decades of catch-and-release policies www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

Trump’s new detention policy targets millions of immigrants. Judges keep saying it’s illegal.

The administration says the sweeping detentions are a key prong of Trump’s deportation strategy.

www.politico.com

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Kristof Titeca @kristoftiteca.bsky.social · 16d

Please sign this petition for the release of Joseph Figueira Martin, a humanitarian who's been arbitrarily detained (for close to 1,5 years..) and tortured in the Central African Republic. petitions.protecthumanitarians.org/en/petitions...

Sign the Petition: Free Joseph Figueira Martin! Humanitarian arbitrarily detained and tortured in the Central African Republic

Sign the petition to protect those who risk their lives to save others.

petitions.protecthumanitarians.org

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Zakeriye Ahmed @zakeriye.bsky.social · 21d

BREAKING: The US military says it carried out airstrikes in #Somalia’s northeastern Sanaag region on September 13, killing a local elder, Omar Abdullahi Abdi.

US Africa Command (AFRICOM) described Omar as an al-Shabaab weapons dealer, though no evidence was publicly provided to support the claim.

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Tomas Hirst @tomashirstecon.bsky.social · 25d

This is the owner of X actively campaigning to take down the elected government of a country he is neither a resident nor a citizen of - and using threats of violence in the streets to further his aims www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

“My message is to them: if this continues, that violence is going to come to you, you will have no choice. You’re in a fundamental situation here. Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die, that’s the truth, I think.”

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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 26d

Two key things to point out re: Trump sending National Guard troops to Memphis:

1) Unlike in blue states, there’s just no need for this; even if circumstances warranted, Governor Lee, who still commands the TN National Guard, could’ve just sent them in himself; and

2) Chicago (and Illinois) won.

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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 28d

The assassination of Charlie Kirk is apparently the latest in a string of terrifying acts of political violence in the U.S. “A society that resorts to violence to solve its problems starts to surrender its claim on being a society,” @dgraham.bsky.social writes.

The Horrifying Assassination of Charlie Kirk

The shooting of the conservative activist is the latest act of political violence in the United States.

bit.ly

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Euromaidan Press @euromaidanpress.bsky.social · 28d

For months, Russia used motorcycles and infantry around Pokrovsk. No tanks in sight.

Then satellite images showed something terrifying: 150,000 troops moving south with armored vehicles. euromaidanpress.com/2025/09/11/p...

Russia saved armor all year for this moment—150,000 troops close in on Pokrovsk

Russian reinforcements are surging toward Pokrovsk. But so are Ukrainian reinforcements. A big fight looms.

euromaidanpress.com

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