Does the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah signal a shift toward less repression and greater human rights protections in Egypt? Probably not, @samershehata.bsky.social tells us. But it's still good news. theworld.org/segments/202...

“Plenty of folks privately thought Ukraine was toast,” (Tatiana) Stanovaya wrote in a post on X. “Months later, and we’re stuck in the same spot. Russia hasn’t turned its tactical military edge into any strategic breakthrough.” www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Desperate barely begins to describe the situation for more than a quarter of a million people in western Sudan. They’re besieged in the city of el-Fasher, where attacking rebels have built miles of earthen berms effectively walling off the city. theworld.org/stories/2025...

The number of Eastern Orthodox Christians in Britain has risen by 5% over the past decade, to around 430,000, according to a cruncher of religious data

🇪🇬 VIDEO: Freed Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah reunites with family Prominent Egyptian-British human rights defender Alaa Abdel Fattah is released from prison after years behind bars and reunites with his family, following a pardon by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

“We wish his mother didn’t come close to death for this to happen, and that the mothers of thousands of other political prisoners didn’t have to wait to be reunited with their loved ones as well,” www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Dominican Republic Says It Recovered Cocaine From Boat Struck by U.S. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/u...

The horrors for several hundred thousand people in this part of Sudan are beyond words. Produced by @joyhackel.bsky.social theworld.org/segments/202...

Alaa Abd el-Fattah is home now. www.reuters.com/world/africa...

Multiple reports of air defences engaging drones in Moscow and Moscow region. Officials say at least 9 intercepted (they only report successful downings). Blasts heard even in central districts of Russian capital. No reports atow of major damage or casualties.

David Letterman has a big beard now, and some thoughts about the current situation in America. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpAH...

Egyptian authorities announced the presidential pardon of prominent activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah after six years in prison, according to his lawyer Khaled Ali and an announcement by state TV.

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt pardons leading activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah after 6 years behind bars (CORRECTS: A previous APNewsAlert erroneously reported that Alaa Abd el-Fattah has been released).

APNewsAlert: CAIRO (AP) — Egypt releases activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah after 6 years behind bars following presidential pardon.

on.ft.com/46v0Uf9 Israeli ministers call for West Bank annexation after recognition push

The United States, once the leader of a global system of security and economic cooperation, is now acting like a rogue state on the high seas. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

International law experts say the Trump administration’s legal justification for US strikes against suspected drug boats doesn’t hold up. Thanks again to @becingber.bsky.social @bcfinucane.bsky.social @mikeschmitt.bsky.social theworld.org/segments/202...

Pleased to speak with @theworld.org about the legal implications of the lethal U.S. strikes in the Caribbean, and especially to be featured alongside @becingber.bsky.social. The U.S. president is asserting a license to kill outside the law. theworld.org/segments/202...

New statement from The Post on Pete Hegseth’s new crackdown on the press at the Pentagon:

My analysis in @justsecurity.org on Trump's asserted license to kill. 2/n www.justsecurity.org/120568/carib...

Tonight at Russia's Intervision Song Contest you won't find "perversions and mockery of human nature," said Foreign Minister Lavrov, in an apparent dig at LGBTQ-friendly rival Eurovision. The Moscow contest promotes nationalism and "traditional values." @theworld.org theworld.org/segments/202...

These lethal US airstrikes against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean are illegal under international law, says @bcfinucane.bsky.social among others — theworld.org/segments/202...

Yeah that pretty much sums it up.

“A reporter who publishes only what the government ‘authorizes’ is doing something other than reporting,” www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

This appears to be the 3rd lethal US strike in the Caribbean. Once again, the specific "terrorist" entity targeted is not identified. No legal justification is offered for this premeditated killing. President Trump is asserting a license to kill outside of the law. 1/n

On The World 🌎 today: 🌐 @joshuacoe.bsky.social: US eyes return to Bagram airbase in Afghanistan 🌐 @hannahchanatry.bsky.social: The ozone hole above Antarctica is healing 🌐 @joyhackel.bsky.social: Protest music thrives in Iran Tune in 📻 bit.ly/3xyRRfD

“Legal experts have said Trump’s designation of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations has no bearing on the application of international law.” www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

on.ft.com/4pCVF63 How Israel is dismantling the dream of a Palestinian state

On The World 🌎 today: 🌐 @matthewjbell.bsky.social: Trump and Starmer agree to disagree 🌐 @ghadden.bsky.social: French champion wealth while protesting with poor against budget cuts 🌐 @marcowerman.bsky.social: Remembering a legendary Brazilian musician and composer Tune in 📻 bit.ly/3xyRRfD

“He’s a very calm person; he’s the happy serene guy you see,” [Elise] Allen told The Washington Post. “He’s also someone who is not going to make a lot of waves, and I think he’s intentional about that. He wants to take the temperature down a bit.” www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Pentagon lawyers are questioning the legality of these lethal US strikes in the Caribbean — www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

Most Jewish Americans disapprove of the Trump administration withholding funds from colleges to address anti-Jewish sentiment, according to a new survey.

As President Trump arrived in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, dozens of groups came out with demonstrations centered on the Gaza war, Trump’s global tariff blitz, racism, abortion and climate change.

It’s not clear how long this US citizen was held in China. But he was just allowed to leave. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

"The United States and the United Kingdom were once the leaders on the global stage, the diplomatic duo tackling great crises." www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

“There has to be a line between crime and war... We can’t just consider anything that harms the country to be a matter for the military. Because that could potentially include every crime,” said John Yoo, ex-DOJ official and author of the torture memos. www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

Four people were arrested for this last night. apnews.com/video/images...

on.ft.com/3VQWTN9 Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash

He Fled Putin’s War. The U.S. Deported Him to a Russian Jail. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/w...

What was that anti-immigrant rally in London over the weekend all about? Produced by @joshuacoe.bsky.social — theworld.org/segments/202...

IDF Says Ground Incursion Into Gaza City Has Begun; Defense Chief: “Gaza is burning.” - www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

Trump says US struck another Venezuelan drug vessel, killing three - www.reuters.com/world/americ...

News out of Germany reminding me of this story I did from 2016. theworld.org/stories/2016...

On The World 🌎 today: 🌐 @tibizea.bsky.social: A landmark ruling in Brazil 🌐 @biancahillier.bsky.social: Sex testing for women is now mandatory in professional track and field 🌐 @ghadden.bsky.social: An ancient system of forest maintenance needs saving Tune in 📻 bit.ly/3xyRRfD

Meanwhile, in North Korea. www.bbc.com/news/article...

South Korean workers detained by ICE last week have arrived back home — apnews.com/article/sout...

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

Those 300+ workers from South Korea detained in Georgia are now on their way home. South Korea's president today said that the US needs to fix its visa system, or South Korean companies will hesitate to invest here in the United States. theworld.org/segments/202...

A plane carrying more than 300 workers from South Korea who were detained during an immigration raid at a battery factory in Georgia last week left Atlanta around noon Thursday, bound for South Korea.

The decades-old US-South Korea alliance has been through a lot. The raid at the Hyundai plant in Georgia is not likely to break it, as @johndelury.bsky.social told me. But there's a lot at stake. Thanks also to James Kim for his insights on all this. theworld.org/segments/202...