Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Luke Moffett @lukemoffett.bsky.social · 1d

At least 24 killed as paraglider drops bombs at Myanmar Buddhist festival it comes as the junta is running low on aircraft but is increasingly heavily bombarding civilians aligned with rebel groups #warcrimes
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Myanmar: At least 24 killed as paraglider bombs Buddhist festival

Locals told the BBC the destruction from the motorised paraglider made it hard to identify victims.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · 3d

Robot personhood/rights is conceptually bogus and legally puts more power/rights in the hands of those that develop and deploy robots/AI systems

firstmonday.org/ojs/index.ph...

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Mark Kersten @markkersten.bsky.social · 6d

As Lemkin knew, genocide hides in plain sight. “Genocide is so easy to commit because people don’t want to believe it until after it happens.”

Raphael Lemkin Coined the Word Genocide. What Would He Say Today? | ⁦‪@TheTyee‬⁩ thetyee.ca/Culture/2025...

Raphael Lemkin Coined the Word Genocide. What Would He Say Today? | The Tyee

The haunting story of the refugee driven to name and prevent the greatest crimes of all.

thetyee.ca

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Climate Policy @climate-policy.bsky.social · 9d

🚨 NEW ISSUE: Issue 8 is out now, with the latest on #climatefinance, agro-pastoral #adaptation, the gap between #mitigation targets and #climatepolicy, the IMF's #climatepolicy approach, & more 💡

📣 Insights from @benclift.bsky.social @aliceclimate.bsky.social @lukemoffett.bsky.social & more ⬇️

Climate Policy, Volume 25, Issue 8 (2025)

www.tandfonline.com

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REPAIR @reparationsres.bsky.social · 10d

In case you missed it, our latest REPAIR lecture on 'Seeking Reparations in an Age of Impunity' by Prof. @lukemoffett.bsky.social is now available online, open access.

➡️Watch it here:
www.reparationsresearch.eu/lectures/see...

Seeking Reparations in an Age of Impunity — REPAIR

Reparations in international law are intended to remedy wrongful acts, and state practice in many countries sees them being used to remedy a wide range of historical and contemporary harm. Despite mos...

www.reparationsresearch.eu

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The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · 17d

Latest Northern Ireland legacy deal fails the test, victims’ group says

British-Irish framework should have dealt with ‘lingering issues of concern’, SEFF says

www.irishtimes.com

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Craig Martin @craigxmartin.bsky.social · 19d

This post by @profmarkovic.bsky.social on @ejiltalk.bsky.social provides an excellent analysis of the legal standards applicable to the crime of genocide, and an important perspective on when it does and doesn’t apply - all media should read it!

Proving Genocide

This week, a UN commission of inquiry found that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. NGOs and various other bodies have of course made that finding before. Proving genocide, in Gaza or elsewhere, invariably turns on proving the specific intent of the perpetrators. In this post, I do not want to get into the Gaza […]

www.ejiltalk.org

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Luke Moffett @lukemoffett.bsky.social · 20d

Ireland commits to co-operate with new Troubles legacy body to deal with the past in Northern Ireland, but without consultation with victims can it succeed?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Troubles: Ireland commits to co-operate with reformed UK legacy body

A new framework seeks to heal a rift between the UK and Irish governments created by the Legacy Act.

www.bbc.co.uk

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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 20d

AI could never replace my authors. But, without regulation, it will ruin publishing as we know it | Jonny Geller

Basic principles need to be enshrined to protect the sacred craft of storytelling from this automated onslaught, says literary agent Jonny Geller

www.theguardian.com

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Luke Moffett @lukemoffett.bsky.social · 21d

Thanks Boyd!

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The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · 23d

Long-established laws of war are being ‘blatantly disregarded’, top UN official says

Several governments ignore human rights, which are the ‘medicine to heal a fractured world’

www.irishtimes.com

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MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · 26d

🤬 The FPV drone barely manages to hit the Russian Molniya drone, but in the end it captures a war crime by Putin's soldiers, a strike on a civilian vehicle and the deliberate killing of civilians in the Kramatorsk area of the Donetsk region.

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Luke Moffett @lukemoffett.bsky.social · 26d

Ros Atkins on... Israel's war in #Gaza and proportionality
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Ros Atkins on... Israel's war in Gaza and proportionality

BBC Verify asked experts, in the UK and elsewhere, if Israel’s actions in Gaza have been proportionate.

www.bbc.com

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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 29d

In case they visit the US, 18 U.S. Code § 2441.

Not now, but in the future DOJ HRSP may have the appetite.

Wesley Morgan @wesleymorgan.bsky.social · 29d

IDF sniper from Chicago who says he killed Gazan teenager just for trying to retrieve his brother's corpse: “They’re thinking, ‘Oh I don’t think [I’ll get shot] because I’m wearing civilian clothes and I am not carrying a weapon' and all that, but they were wrong. That’s what you have snipers for.”

The Gaza family torn apart by IDF snipers from Chicago and Munich

Five-month investigation reveals how four members of one family were shot and killed in a single day and highlights a pattern in which Israeli troops target unarmed civilians

www.theguardian.com

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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · Sep 8

Last week I told @npr.org that there’s a word for premeditated killing outside of armed conflict: murder.

None of the Trump administration’s weak justifications for the lethal strike in the Caribbean have dissuaded me from applying that label here.

www.npr.org/2025/09/05/n...

International Crisis Group adviser on legality of U.S. strike on Venezuelan boat

President Trump ordered a strike on what he says was a Venezuelan vessel carrying drugs, killing 11 people. NPR asks Brian Finucane of the International Crisis Group if it violated laws.

www.npr.org

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Just Security @justsecurity.org · Sep 5

Mark Nevitt, former naval line officer and JAG writes:

"Applying a new label to an old problem does not transform the problem itself – nor does it grant the U.S. president or the U.S. military expanded legal authority to kill civilians."

www.justsecurity.org/119985/label...

Labels, Not Law, to Justify Lethal Force: Venezuela Boat Strike

A new label does not transform a problem or grant the U.S. president or the U.S. military expanded legal authority to kill civilians.

www.justsecurity.org

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Just Security @justsecurity.org · Sep 5

Northern Ireland’s courts may deliver long-awaited answers — and perhaps accountability — for survivors and bereaved families of the conflict from 1969 to 1998, write @dooleydooley.bsky.social and @suchitauppal.bsky.social:

www.justsecurity.org/120044/septe...

September Could Finally Bring Answers for Northern Ireland Families

Northern Ireland’s courts may deliver long-awaited answers for survivors and bereaved families of the conflict from 1969 to 1998.

www.justsecurity.org

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Mark Kersten @markkersten.bsky.social · Sep 4

“Gaza’s famine is man-made. And those who are making it happen are doing their best to conceal their crime. The Israeli government is reading from the same playbook as many architects of calamity from the past 100 years.” - must read, by Alex de Waal 👇 observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

Those who cover up famine in Gaza use a familiar playbook

The Israeli government is using the same method as many architects of calamity from the past 100 years

observer.co.uk

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Adil Haque @adhaque.bsky.social · Sep 4

"Only one in four detainees from Gaza are identified as fighters by Israel’s military intelligence"

"Those jailed for long periods without charge or trial include medical workers, teachers, civil servants, media workers, writers, sick and disabled people and children."

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Sep 4

Israeli military database indicates only a quarter of Gaza detainees are fighters

Elderly woman with Alzheimer’s, medical workers and children among 6,000 Palestinians held Only one in four detainees from Gaza are identified as fighters by Israel’s military intelligence, classified data indicates, with civilians making up the vast majority of Palestinians held without charge or trial in abusive prisons. Those jailed for long periods without charge or trial include medical workers, teachers, civil servants, media workers, writers, sick and disabled people and children. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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REPAIR @reparationsres.bsky.social · Sep 2

See the event page here: www.reparationsresearch.eu/lectures/see...

Seeking Reparations in an Age of Impunity — REPAIR

Reparations in international law are intended to remedy wrongful acts, and state practice in many countries sees them being used to remedy a wide range of historical and contemporary harm. Despite mos...

www.reparationsresearch.eu

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Luke Moffett @lukemoffett.bsky.social · Sep 3

Experts tell BBC Verify US ‘drug boat’ strike may have broken international law www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c2...

BBC Verify Live: Was fatal US strike on Venezuelan 'drug boat' legal?

Latest updates from the BBC's specialists in fact-checking, verifying video and tackling disinformation.

www.bbc.co.uk

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REPAIR @reparationsres.bsky.social · Sep 2

Seeking Reparations in an Age of Impunity - Register to attend our next hybrid lecture by Prof. @lukemoffett.bsky.social about #reparations in an age where progress on redressing the past is witnessing a rollback.

📅 16 September, 1pm CET
📍 UvA Anthropology C5.00 & online
➡️ More info & registration: