When the US admits that they killed any “military-aged men” who walked within 3km of a downed pilot they mean any boy lanky enough to be a teenager and any middle-aged man able to walk unaided with a cane got shot in the head for the crime of walking.

Étienne Davignon, a 93-year-old ex-Belgian diplomat, should stand trial for alleged complicity in the 1961 murder of Patrice Lumumba, a Brussels court has ruled. He is the only person still alive among 10 Belgians the Lumumba family has accused of involvement in the killing

These Sudanese students are incredibly impressive and have already overcome so much. Nor only have they been treated appallingly, we all miss out due to their enforced absence. as.ft.com/r/ed6b0373-d...

One of the 'helping out other teams' things I did in Sudan was being on the interview panel for potential Chevening scholars. All incredibly impressive people that worked really hard to get to that point. To be on the cusp of a huge opportunity and then have it snatched away... Unconscionable.

Thinking again of the brilliant Sudanese students I’ve been fortunate enough to teach. This government policy makes us, and our universities, weaker.

I spoke to @apache.be about the dispute over colonial-era geological archives from Congo held in a Belgium museum. New demand for copper and other minerals has given long-neglected mining archives a new economic significance: apache.be/2026/03/03/c...

Similarly, the Sudanese students I’ve taught have been incredibly accomplished, and have been working actively to improve lives in Sudan and in the UK. I’m lucky to have taught them, and other students are lucky to have studied alongside them. We are weaker as well as crueler for this rule change.

I have personally seen the applications of many Afghani students to our gender studies programme: people who have started grassroots LGBT orgs; who have fought for women's education; who want to come to the UK to study to make their country & the world better... www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

A reminder that if you live in England or Wales & were born between 1970-1990 – or even before 1970 – you can help protect your community by getting the MMR vaccine free from your NHS GP now. I did last year. www.nhs.uk/vaccinations...

When people talk about the idea that some universities must go under, there’s a certain tendency to behave as if these smaller local campuses are negligible- regrettable casualties perhaps but not ‘real’ universities. This report does a great job of illustrating why that’s wrong.

A DR Congo supporter has watched all their of three African Cup of Nations 2025 games holding his pose as the statue of Patrice Lumumba, who was born a century ago in 1925, and assassinated as prime minister in 1961 shortly after independence www.telegraph.co.uk/football/202...

And the playlist! (More articles should come with a playlist!)

Enjoying @jimmy-pieterse.bsky.social’s article on campus radio in South Africa

One of the reasons that emergence of ‘cold spots’ of subject provision matters: 52% of 18 year olds from the most disadvantaged backgrounds (the most deprived quintile in the Indices of Multiple Deprivation) plan to live at home when they go the university www.thetimes.com/article/22cc...

The number of global deaths of children under-5 is projected to increase this year (from 4.6m to 4.8m) for the first time this century. (FT) The price of aid cuts.

I’ve a lot of affection for Northwestern and respect for faculty there (who voted against this!) But this is deeply shameful.

Columbia and Northwestern are the academic homes to the most prestigious journalism schools in the country and they are the two universities that caved to the Trump administration’s extortion demands that are directly connected to the First Amendment. Just gonna sit with that for a while.

What a weird view of the working classes! My working class Nan left school at 14, but seemed happy that her grandkids had more options. Her working class husband moved long distances for work & the life he wanted. It doesn’t honour them to remove opportunities and choices from their descendants!

A tragic bridge collapse 🏗️ at the Kalando mine ⛏️ in the DRC 🇨🇩 has claimed at least 50 lives 🕯️ and left many injured 🚑. This heartbreaking event 😔 underscores the urgent need for safer conditions ⚠️ for artisanal miners.

Wole Soyinka's US visa revoked

Another to add to my list of favourite journal article titles…

I would really appreciate a regular “hello olds! Here’s what politics looks like on teen TikTok” newsletter.

I worry about this, and also about universities avoiding students from political / religious/ sexual minorities within foreign countries, who might make (justified) asylum claims.

"Belgium’s federal prosecutor referred a 92-year-old former diplomat, Étienne Davignon, to the Brussels criminal court over alleged war crimes related to the killings." Belgium marks Congo’s slain leader Lumumba's 100th birthday w exhibition – & possible trial: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Rest in peace Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...

I have a programme that uses AI to "narrate" academic articles etc and it can be useful, although always a bit odd. What I love (or hate!) about fiction audiobooks, though, is the way the narrator interprets the text and the characters. I worry about great readings becoming harder to find.

Remarkable to think this may be the first pope in history to have partaken of Malört, or even to know what Malört is. Watch out for his communion wine

Le philosophe congolais Valentin-Yves Mudimbe est décédé à l'âge de 83 ans

If the UK was really, really smart, it would now plough tens of billions into research centres and take in all the American academics fleeing the US. Spoiler: the UK is not smart. 🇬🇧

This is a national scandal. When will the government wake up and realise they are presiding over the rapid implosion of the UK's world-renowned university sector?