THE GRAND FINALE #QueenWorldCup VOTE!

QUEEN WORLD CUP #QueenWorldCup Wake up, babe, we have the other semi-final to do. ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST v BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY I’m not saying we’ve whittled this down to the hits, but this could have been Stone Cold Crazy v More Of That Jazz. Y’know, like we were cool and edgy. Anyway, VOOOTE

VOTE NOW FOR THE QUEEN WORLD CUP! #QueenWorldCup

QUEEN WORKD CUP #QueenWorldCup Route one: SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER That fast one off Greatest Hits, or that other one off Highlander? Tell me which is better, by 10pm.

NEW: Since October 2023, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit has released dozens of 3D animations illustrating alleged Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian sites The style is now unmistakable: satellite zoom-ins, black & white wireframes, and red-textured houses - a new visual language of war

Chatham House experts and researchers are available to follow on Bluesky. Connect with them here and follow them for their latest analysis on international events and global trends. ⬇️ go.bsky.app/UKHXrog

Viral X posts shared by Elon Musk claim that a 2008 Home Office document advised police that children abused in grooming cases "made an informed choice about their sexual behaviour". BBC Verify has found no evidence that a document with that advice exists. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Protesters are performing Alilo, a Georgian Christmas carol. #GeorgiaProtests Video: Keti Abuladze

Night snack for Rudolf and Santa: done ✅

This is longish, but if you REALLY want to understand the complexities of immigration from a humanitarian viewpoint, you should make the time to watch. I learned a lot. Thank you Zoe, and you didn’t even ask us to buy you a coffee.

BBC Verify has been analysing social media videos and images from Moscow to try to build up a clearer picture of the blast that killed Russian Lt Gen Igor Kirillov and his assistant. @matt-murphy96.bsky.social @joshcheetham.bsky.social @richib.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

How Facebook restricted news in Palestinian territories. After months of claims of 'shadow banning' we looked at the data and found news pages from Palestinian territories had a 77% drop in engagement compared to a 37% rise in Israeli news pages. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Ukraine says it is outraged by the continued export of grain by a Russian-flagged vessel from a sanctioned port in occupied Crimea to Houthi-controlled Yemen. Bellingcat and Lloyd’s List investigate: www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/12...

NEW: How China is setting up shop in Mexico Our visual story explores the increasingly close trade relationship that is causing concern in Washington ig.ft.com/china-mexico...

Latakia, Syria

🇷🇺Med Sea Flotilla🇷🇺 3m📷 from 11 December 2024 of the port of Tartus Russian flotilla still does not feel safe being in port Could be a small patrol/supply vessel coming back into port & heading towards the Syrian navy berths 6x Osa class missile boats still sitting there, no one seems to worried

IT'S THE QUARTER FINALS #BeatlesWorldCup Live (kinda) now to the draw for the quarter finals, to shake things up. The Verify gang have drawn number 3: Help! The Transformers buddies have drawn number 7: In My Life That's it. Today's game: HELP! vs IN MY LIFE Vote: #help or #life by 10pm Go!

🧵Look towards the light. As Rebel forces in Syria advanced across Syria & never stopped a key question was why the Regime evaporated. Syria by night provides some clues on how the Regime's social contract collapsed. Read my analysis here aspistrategist.org.au/just-look-at... & read on

1/ New @hrw.org #Sudan report : The Rapid Support Forces & allied militias carried out war crimes in South Kordofan, killing and raping civilians, and looting & destroying homes in attacks that displaced 10s of thousands & left ghost towns in their wake. www.hrw.org/news/2024/12...

The first #sentinel1 images are available. www.esa.int/Applications... #earthobservation #sar

I occasionally still open Twitter for work reasons and sometimes it pays off.

Scholz, Macron on Monday said they are open to working with #Syria's new leaders after Assad's ouster. "Both agreed they were ready to cooperate with the new leadership on the basis of fundamental human rights and the protection of ethnic and religious minorities," Berlin said.

One of the best things about @afpnews.bsky.social is its ability to cover key moments in history, specifically days like yesterday. Here are some pictures from the wire of a historic day in Damascus. #Syria

At least 1,107 people drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande btw 2017-2023. Last year, more than 1 in 10 victims was a child. Most of the deaths in Texas occurred in Eagle Pass, the focus of Gov. Abbott’s border crackdown. Via @washingtonpost.com @lhreports.bsky.social El Universal. bit.ly/3OKqx3a

"One day the war will be over and I will return to my poem" I hope tomorrow is the day they will return to their poem and they will start writing about life, future, hope.

For years, Syrian advocates and civil society have been preparing for this day. They are ready to work with all segments of society to build a country and government that meets its people's aspirations. They deserve our support & they should be given the space & freedom to do so.

With all eyes on Syria, it bears remembering the US role in the conflict. In an epic two-part 2019 investigation, former Mother Jones reporter Shane Bauer traveled to Syria to get a firsthand look at American involvement in the conflict.

For the latest updates, read:

WATCH: I asked our correspondent in Damascus , Iina Sinjab, about how it felt to witness this weekend’s events. Lina is Syrian.

11am in Moscow: now Syria is top story on Russian state TV. “We start the bulletin with the situation in Syria. The country’s government is in talks with armed groups that entered Homs & Damascus…the situation is developing fast…”

I am still laughing 😂

#MusicFlashbacks this evening in our household. This absolute tune is 16 YEARS OLD but it hasn't aged a single day. I don't know what more to ask for I was given just one wish #MusicSky #NowPlaying www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4rZ...

The first ice-free day in the Arctic Ocean could occur before 2030 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#Ecuador will wrap up 2024 with a state of exception in six provinces, Quito and Camilo Ponce Enríquez municipality, plus curfews in 19 cantons. Their recurrent use has made these measures the norm, stripping them of their exceptional character. gk.city/2024/10/03/e...

Couldn't agree more Felicity! I've been so disappointed with the disproportionate and reductive way this story has been covered in the media. My colleague Niamh has written a brilliant and balanced blog for The Grocer though: www.thegrocer.co.uk/comment-and-...

NEW: Kherson’s civilians have become the target of an experiment without precedent in modern European warfare: a concerted Russian campaign to empty a city by stalking its residents with drones. W/ @christopherjm.bsky.social @inari-ta.bsky.social @cen4infores.bsky.social on.ft.com/3ZzjHUi

There are already many articles for which there is more attention on Bluesky than on other comparable micro-blogging sites, meaning the academic community and the general public have clearly adopted Bluesky as one of its core places to disseminate and discuss new research. A Place of Joy.

Spoke to people inside Aleppo, who described being treated well by HTS fighters but apprehension at war returning to the city. "Nineteen Eighty-Four is applied in Aleppo. Assad’s image is on every building, streets, on every corner. He is controlling their minds." www.bbc.com/news/article...

"We will eradicate pro-North forces and protect constitutional order" - that's the opening of The Chosun Ilbo, the oldest active South Korean newspaper as President Yoon Seok-Yeol announces marial law in the country

Extremely important point

**BREAKING** First signs Russian Navy is evacuating ships from Tartus, Syria You heard it here first, please share www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...

🚨 SPECIAL ISSUE ALERT 🚨 Working on disinformation and (generative) AI? I am editing a special issue with Aqsa Farooq as part of our EDMO work. 🗓️ Deadline: December 31, 2024 Please share 🫶🏼 #disinformation #academicsky #commsky #polcom #csssky edmo.eu/edmo-news/ca...

🚨 TOMORROW! 🚨 Join @propublica.org reporter, @craigsilverman.bsky.social, on a 60-minute workshop that offers an in-depth look at the year’s most useful free and paid tools to analyze documents, verify images and videos, background individuals, and much more. 👉 bit.ly/3V4dTj5

The current protest, outer end. This depicts the area after the Parliament building. It’s countless people again, and it’s not the weekend anymore. #GeorgiaProtests 📷 Ezz Gaber

Some impressive photos from @afpnews.bsky.social from Tbilisi #GeorgiaProtests

The battles in Syria entered their 6th day after the Joint Operations Administration launched an operation called "Deterrence of Aggression". The aim is to protect civilians from the Syrian regime's bombing and returning refugees to the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib.

There are again various protests and marches in the regions and in Tbilisi before the main evening battle, but you know things are serious when the regime party office people clash with protesters in a small town like Zestaponi! #GeorgiaProtests

Meanwhile... Reuters confirms that the US and the UAE have discussed the possibility of lifting sanctions on Syria if Assad distances himself from Iran and halts weapons transfers to Hezbollah... Pretty busy day in the Middle East. www.reuters.com/world/us-uae...

The IDF confirmes that #Hezbollah launched two projectiles toward the area of Har Dov in #Israel from #Lebanon. The projectiles fell in open areas. No injuries are reported. Is this already the end of a very fragile ceasefire? t.me/idfofficial/...