The idea that UK press hushed up child sexual abuse until Musk is laughable. This is what my colleagues were writing 10+ years ago: "In Rotherham, this ethnic misogyny then ran up against the institutional misogyny of the police and the mostly white council" economist.com/britain/2014...

Iran: ready to talk re nukes: www.1lurer.am/en/2025/01/0...

Very well said @jkirkup and yes there must be a reckoning.

Inside the actual house of Assad – @dominicwaghorn.bsky.social reports from inside the Assads' looted family home with its mess of abandoned items, rather than the more impersonal presidential palace: news.sky.com/story/inside...

Khalil Barakat from the city of #Irbid was imprisoned by the #Syrian regime since 1982 on fabricated charges. He was released from prison a few days ago during the liberation of #Damascus and returned to #Jordan.

In the private rooms of Bashar al Assad’s British born wife, Asma, the autobiography of Barack Obama’s First Lady Michele.

This is really worth reading about Syria newlinesmag.com/argument/lib...

The return of the displaced to their villages and towns in #Syria 😭😭❤️

background

NPR quoting US officials: signs Russia pulling out of Syria. Reports Iran is too. Assad doomed now?

I'm sure Assad will be fine. After all, over 95% of Syrians voted for him barely 6 months ago....

850m euros from 340k donors later, 5 years after its great fire Notre Dame will be reopened officially in a glittering ceremony later. A moment of huge pride for France at a time great political uncertainty

Fascinating read on Syria's rebels. Drones, 3d printers, ingenuity, discipline and being inspired by other militaries, from Ukraine's to the British army all played a role in their stunning progress. Can Assad and his allies rally and repel? www.ft.com/content/aaa8...

Extraordinary events in Syria where rebels appear to have taken Hama, where the country's uprising caught fire in 2011 but also a place synonymous with some of the Assad regime's most merciless brutality, going back to Bashar's father Hafez in the 80s

OTD in 1978 USSR & Afghanistan signed a "friendship treaty". We invaded them a year later. So you can trust us with a peace deal now.

The easiest way to get invaded by russia is to sign a treaty with us.

Mass repressions have begun in Georgia. Opposition leader Nika Gvaramia was just dragged out of his party’s office

WATCH Georgian masked goons rough up and drag away M opposition figure in Tbilisi as their crackdown goes on www.facebook.com/share/r/1Db3...

If South Korean defence ministry does decide to enforce martial law, despite it being lifted by the parliament, the country is heading for a full blown constitutional crisis.

If tonight's events in South Korea are baffling, this might help: www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-...

Sunak June: 'Russian aggression cannot and will not prevail.' Starmer/Macron Nov: 'support for as long as necessary to thwart Russia's war of aggression'. Starmer 12th Dec: 'support their self-defence for as long as it takes to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position for negotiations'.

The number of children killed by Israel in the occupied West Bank during the Gaza war has soared. Israel says it has strict rules of engagement with live ammunition, critics say there is lethal culture of impunity. Our report news.sky.com/story/boy-9-...

In Georgia Giorgi Gabekhadze, the chief instructor of the Tactical Training Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Academy, has resigned. "This is a sure sign of the collapse of the repressive apparatus!" — President @Zourabichvili_S says.

Georgia protesters take to streets for third night over EU talks freeze https://www.ft.com/content/ed3eef47-83da-43fe-98e8-0b07622b571a

#Georgia’s shadowy oligarch leader Ivanishvili and the mps on his payroll are well on the way to putinising the country, muzzling the media, banning opposition parties and unleashing goons onto their own people. Georgians are trying to stand up to all that this weekend and taking a beating for it

Fascinating interview between Zelenksyy and Stuart Ramsay worth a watch. Zelenskyy clearly readying for the possibility of negotiations to end the war but stressing Ukraine can only enter them if it is in a position of strength.

A Ukrainian official said the strike, which hit the town of Marino, was one of 'several' that have targeted the North Koreans in the Kursk region over the past week. Here's what we know: www.ft.com/content/b6fa...

Netanyahu announces Israel Hezbollah truce to be brought before the cabinet after security cabinet approves it.

Earlier this month, a Russian MP said that almost all the employees from two central district police departments in the city of Samara had resigned due to low pay He blamed their "dire financial situation", citing monthly wages of around 40,000 roubles (around $380) t.me/matveevkomme...

Reports of North Korean commander killed with British Stormshadow missiles (unverified), 10000 NK troops in theatre and NK pumping out shells for Russia all underline the extreme dangers of this awful war metastasizing in ways we cannot predict the longer it goes on.

“…There is a revenge team, led by prospective nominees with instructions to rip apart the Justice Department, the intelligence agencies and the Defense Department, hunting down the so-called deep state and anyone who participated in the prosecutions of Mr. Trump.” www.nytimes.com/2024/11/24/u...

Ukraine says Russia attacked it with a record 188 drones last night t.me/kpszsu/23621

NEW: Trump has tapped for his cabinet, two GOP legislators—Rubio & Stefanik—who have each confirmed that Putin attacked the 2016 election to help Trump. In 2020, Rubio even produced a 966-page report detailing this. So there's no hoax, and they know Trump's lying. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

It’s now Friday evening and the Yi Peng 3 is still at anchor. We will continue to monitor over the weekend

Peddler of Trump’s lies about the stolen election to head the US Justice Dept. Arch loyalist more than capable of bringing ruinous prosecutions against her master’s enemies. news.sky.com/story/pam-bo...

There is a danger that political correspondents and very respected ones are briefed into accepting a land for peace deal in Ukraine as a fait accompli. With this war and with this Russia and this US president elect, they should know better #ukraine

At last...the excellent @dominicwaghorn.bsky.social is among us. You should definitely follow him.

“A combination of lower investment and manpower lost to the front is taking a toll. The need to maintain the value of the rouble to pay for crucial imports is a vulnerability for Mr Putin, and one which could soon take a toll on his ability to fight” www.economist.com/finance-and-...

‘It’s very important that the North Korean leadership perceives this escapade as a catastrophic failure, and as quickly as possible, so that more troops aren’t sent in the future.’

For what?

Germany, France, Belgium and the EU should release the $300 billion in frozen Russian assets and give it to Ukraine, now. Don't wait. www.theatlantic.com/internationa...