Malian TikToker killed by suspected jihadists after pro-army posts

Another interesting story from @restofworld.org

Syria tech transformation plans restofworld.org/2025/syria-t...

“After a devastating attack left almost 100 people injured in an Indonesian school, the country's president is now mulling over the idea of "restricting online games" because they allegedly make "violence a normal thing."” #Indonesia

UAE AI chips

The digital landscape is complicated, fragmented and dynamic: rather than following one person’s “ideology”, young people are immersed in a constant stream of content.”

YouTube Shorts Veo 3 in MENA: "The Google-owned platform also plans to broaden the reach of its auto-dubbing feature, currently available to about 51,000 Egyptian creators translating Egyptian Arabic to English — an AI-powered translation tool enabling creators to reach global audiences."

UAE deepfake AI warnings: "A deepfake scam uses AI to manipulate victims into sending money, revealing sensitive information, or taking other actions beneficial to the scammer."

Excellent from @newlinesmag.bsky.social on an underrepresented subject …

🇲🇱 Truckers defy death to supply jihadist-hit Mali with fuel Dozens of Malian truck drivers risk their lives every day to supply the capital, Bamako, with fuel as a blockade by Al-Qaeda-linked group JNIM creates chronic shortages

Allégorie de la situation mondiale depuis janvier 2025...

BBC really burying the lede there

New Prevent data released, and for the first time it includes the ethnicity of those recommended. Of 8,778 referrals in 2025: 65%White 19% Asian 8% Black 8% Other Musk, Robinson, Lowe etc, are responsible for radicalisation of young white men.... news.sky.com/story/highes...

A newly identified Android spyware targeted Galaxy devices for close to a year, including users in the Middle East, researchers exclusively tell TechCrunch.

The FBI has subpoenaed the domain registrar of archive.today, demanding information about the owner.

"From ransomware and credential stealing to new malware strains, even posing as capture-the-flag (CTF) participants to manipulate chatbots, threat actors are officially embracing AI tools like never before, enhancing all stages of the cyberattack lifecycle, Google threat intelligence warns."

Meta's fraud problem: The social media giant projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, documents seen by @Reuters show reut.rs/4qJTpdH

Interesting reflections on the dynamics of politics in Bradford (and beyond) from @politicshome.bsky.social

Important work and findings from @skynewsrss.bsky.social with methodological details

Mamdani’s victory is a rebuke to the failed strategies of the Democratic party | Moira Donegan

Left-wing European politicians are celebrating this morning after democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won New York City’s mayoral election.

Mamdani sends four-word message to Trump in victory speech

Alex de Waal writing on BBC News on #Sudan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo: ‘He made his money selling camels and gold. Now this warlord controls half of Sudan‘

My first thought was 'How does this fit into the narrative spun by Matt Goodwin and co'? And then I realised I was only thinking that because of this chap's name. So in a way, their rot has already set in, even within myself.

I’m sure Matt Goodwin will be along shortly to tell us all whether LNER Customer Service Host Samir Zitouni counts as British or not. news.sky.com/story/train-...

A total and utter hero

Important report from Yousra Elbagir #Sudan @skynewsrss.bsky.social: “A Sky News joint investigation with Sudan War Monitor and Lighthouse Reports reveals the harrowing fate of civilians and soldiers who fled Al Fashir in the hours after senior commanders and officers left the infantry division.”

online elements in this case

China academic intimidation claim referred to counter-terrorism police

AI and visual impairment ...

Important issues in this article from @kdenkwrites.com @theleaduk.bsky.social

TikTok-loving 'Butcher of the Century' captured after live-streaming executions of civilians after bloody Sudan siege

This was a great article in today’s @theguardian.com

In a study of some 20,000 election-related posts in the Netherlands, researchers from the University of Amsterdam and the University of Mainz found that over 400 posts were AI-generated.  What does that means for European politics and for its voters? 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/elec...

How al-Qaida-linked jihadist group JNIM is bringing Mali to its knees

Social media links to the ongoing story …

The generation that experienced WW2 knew how bad things could get. The horrors that they had directly experienced in Coventry, on Omaha, at Belsen, Bastogne, Dresden, Nanjing & Tokyo meant that they understood how dangerous THIS was. This is where all that started.

“Individuals on the ground sent a message that reached us Monday morning that 1,200 were dead,” Nathaniel Raymond, the lab’s executive director, said. “By that evening, they said 10,000. By Tuesday, we couldn’t reach them anymore. We assume our ground contacts are dead.”

The paperback version of my book ‘Islamic Algorithms‘ will be available later this month, and is available to pre-order here or via your local book shop.

Bellingcat has geolocated footage of a mass killing outside the recently captured Sudanese city of El Fasher. In the video, which has circulated widely online, RSF commander Abu Lulu can be seen firing his weapon at what appears to be ten unarmed men sitting on the ground. Image: @vantortech

New YouGov polling on ethnic minority attitudes Labour struggling, though less than among majority group. Greens have an opportunity Tories struggling, some progress with Indian voters 2/3 of ethnic minorites think Reform is a racist party 1/6 like them yougov.co.uk/politics/art...

Recommended podcast

Just found this interesting discussion: "The Pre-Upload Age: Welcome to the Muslim metaverse" by Raza Tariq in Dazed, May ‘25 (briefly referencing ‘Islamic Algorithms‘). www.dazed.me/opinion/the-...

An interesting discussion on that work/life (im)balance, and a suggestion that AI might help manage the information flow (although it might also put people out of work...)