"US immigration enforcement has evolved into a rapidly growing multi-billion-dollar industry in which profitability increasingly dictates policy and enforcement priorities." By: @tylermcbrien.com inkstickmedia.com/the-us-immig...

Across 7 countries barred from US aid, >6.2m people are facing “extreme or catastrophic conditions,” per UN. But they have little to offer US in return for help. In other cases, State Dept has restored/offered aid in exchange for desirable mineral rights, or as payment for accepting US deportees

Chevron, Iraq agree to exclusive talks over West Qurna 2 oilfield reut.rs/3OEggZu

Washington is leveraging its power to intimidate countries that are trying to protect the planet. foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/18/t...

As Damascus and its backers move to remake Syria in their preferred image, the Kurds will face major challenges in maintaining the compromises they have managed to salvage, writes @wrodgers2.bsky.social. www.chathamhouse.org/2026/02/what...

Kurdish-French scholar Hamit Bozarslan’s insight that “the heart of Kurdistan is currently beating in Rojava” appears more than vindicated by the reaction of ordinary Kurds to the recent events in Syria.

NEW from me for @chmenap.bsky.social: Syria's Kurds suffered a dramatic setback over the past month, but the response from ordinary Kurds and their leaders was remarkable as cross-border solidarity skyrocketed. www.chathamhouse.org/2026/02/what...

Kurdish forces suffered a major setback as the Damascus government seized northeast Syria and cemented its partnership with Washington — yet Kurdish cross-border solidarity has been renewed, writes @wrodgers2.bsky.social. Read the new Expert Comment ⤵️ www.chathamhouse.org/2026/02/what...

Chants of “Free Free Rojava, Free Free Rojhelat, Free Free Kurdistan” at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.

“We have had from President Trump what amounts to a revolution. It is not grandiose to call this the end of the Western alliance.” This week Bronwen Maddox delivered the Director’s Annual Lecture at @chathamhouse.org, chaired by Matt Frei (@channel4news.bsky.social) Find out more ➡️ bit.ly/4pHKSpH

NEW from me for @amwajmedia.bsky.social: the Kurdistan Region is closely watching the protests in Iran, with the leadership adopting a quiet caution amid great risk. So far the Iranian Kurdish parties have expressed unity, but can they seize an opening? amwaj.media/en/article/d...

I was quoted in this piece by Winthrop Rodgers: “The region has never really escaped the legacy of dictatorship, and in Syria, it has worsened. The old Baathist denial of Kurdish rights is back, now reinforced by ethnic chauvinism and religious extremism.”

NEW from me in @thenewarab.bsky.social: Kurds around the world are watching events in Aleppo and Iran with outrage and trepidation. They reinforce both the centrality of Kurds in the changes taking place in the Middle East and the precarity of their position. www.newarab.com/analysis/ale...

NEW from me in @thenewarab.bsky.social: Kurds around the world are watching events in Rojava and Rojhelat with outrage and trepidation. They reinforce both the centrality of Kurds in the changes taking place in the Middle East and the precarity of their position. www.newarab.com/analysis/ale...

“In a sense Iran’s firewall is the inverse of China’s great firewall…In Iran, the government has essentially blacklisted the entire internet and is experimenting with “white listing” some essential services to keep its sputtering economy functional.” www.ft.com/content/5d84...

New paper: 'Austerity and Resistance: The Public Salary Crisis in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq' Winthrop Rodgers discusses how a decade-long financial crisis in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) has hit public servants the hardest. 📚 Read here: https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/130368/

Love watching the Rangers get embarrassed

Around 80 STV journalists turned out on picket lines outside broadcaster STV’s headquarters in Glasgow and Aberdeen today as staff face compulsory redundancies pressgazette.co.uk/news/up-to-8...

JUST IN: President Trump said his administration is moving to ban large institutional investors from buying single-family homes in a bid to reduce home prices reut.rs/4ps3cmC

"the chatbot generated about 6,700 [images] every hour that were identified as sexually suggestive or nudifying, according to Genevieve Oh, a social media and deepfake researcher....Oh calculated that 85% of Grok’s images, overall, are sexualized." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

“Banaz’s law proposes that defendants are prevented from using “honour” as a defence; that “honour”-based abuse is explicitly recognised as an aggravating factor in sentencing, backed by statutory guidance shaped by women and campaigners.” www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Five years ago.

Trump issues first official US statement in Venezuela attack, says the US captured Maduro. Presumably this answers what the helicopters in Caracas were doing. Still unclear if so, and how many people were killed in the attacks. Venezuela as of now, 431am ET, hasn't confirmed Trump's claim

U.S. launches military strikes on Venezuela as Trump escalates pressure on Maduro regime, sources say www.cbsnews.com/live-updates...

Venezuela says it rejects "military aggression" by the US reut.rs/4pYL9pn

‘Just an unbelievable amount of pollution’: how big a threat is AI to the climate?: Defenders say AI can do good to fight the climate crisis. But spiralling energy and water costs leave experts worried During a golden sunset in Memphis in May, Sharon Wilson pointed a thermal imaging camer...

Thomas Byrnes, CEO of MarketImpact...has been tracking aid cuts throughout the past year and said the $2b was significantly less than the $3.38b in funds given by the US to the UN in 2025, all of which was provided under the previous Biden administration. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Now that the Sunnis have united and chosen a speaker, the onus is on the Kurds to do the same regarding the presidency. But the prospects seem quite dim, as I lay out in my latest for @thenewarab.bsky.social www.newarab.com/analysis/why...

Now that the Sunnis have united and chosen a speaker, the onus is on the Kurds to do the same regarding the presidency. But the prospects seem quite dim, as I lay out in my latest for @The_NewArab. www.newarab.com/analysis/why...

An old man said to me "Won't see another one" And then he sang a song "The Rare Old Mountain Dew" I turned my face away And dreamed about you

Take a Look Back at @inkstickmedia.com Year in Books for 2025 Includes my review of Nicole F. Watts’ excellent “Republic of Dreams,” which you should have recieved or been given for Christmas. inkstickmedia.com/take-a-look-...

I had a very productive 2025 reporting on Iraq's Kurdistan Region. Here's a selection of some of my work over the past year. I focused on geopolitics, soft power, human rights, the environment, and the federal elections, while tackling some longer research pieces. A big ol' thread 🧵

Austerity and the salary crisis are the most important issues for ordinary people in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. Yet, they get bafflingly little attention from outside observers. My new paper for @lsemiddleeast.bsky.social seeks to redress that and outline how austerity works in practice. 🧵

NEW from me for EPIC: A little more than 9% of the total votes cast in the Nov. 11 election were invalid, likely spoiled deliberately in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. For most, it's a private protest against a lack of options and reflects deep frustration and mistrust. enablingpeace.org/a-vote-again...

Across the decades since Iraqi Kurdistan gained semi-autonomy, the hopes of ordinary Kurds have gradually eroded. They remain fiercely protective of their political rights, but the ruling parties’ constant dysfunction has left them pessimistic about the future. By: @wrodgers2.bsky.social

The new US consulate compound in Erbil is set to open very soon. Almost 2 years ago, I wrote for @newlinesmag.bsky.social that the US will remain important in the Kurdistan Region, but the "purposes, intentions and significance embodied in the new buildings are no longer as relevant."

Exclusive: US to launch new phase of Venezuela operations, sources say reut.rs/4oekAL4

this could mean several different things, none of which are reassuring

The 20-year-old welder’s killing by her coworker has prompted women in trades across the country to speak out about the harassment they face and the protections they need.

NEW from me for @amwajmedia.bsky.social : Kurdish parties will be intimately involved in Iraq’s post-election govt formation process, but will likely not play as decisive a role as in past cycles. Necessity for a broad coalition and dysfunction between KDP & PUK will dilute their influence.

‘I never wanted to sing into a vacuum’: Scottish folk pioneer Dick Gaughan’s fight for his lost music

We’ll never forget Jamal Khashoggi, and we advise those who care about free speech and a free press to do the same.

We need your help. @waterstones.bsky.social, without any direct communication with us, will be opening their 6th Edinburgh branch less than 100 metres from our front door at the Foot of the Walk in Leith. Please read on for more information www.heraldscotland.com/news/2562908... (1/2)

Meta's court victory yesterday marks an end to years of FTC fights intended to break up the company's family of apps.

"Dig that old We’re On The March With Ally’s Army t-shirt out of the loft – Scotland are going to the World Cup."👉 www.heraldscotland.com/spor...

Iraq scored a penalty 17 minutes into stoppage time to claim a dramatic 2-1 home win over the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and secure a 3-2 aggregate playoff victory over their neighbours that keeps the country's World Cup qualification dream alive. www.reuters.com/sports/socce...

Report on Scottish higher education sector’s support for conflict settings rse.org.uk/report-on-sc...

NEW from me in @thenewarab.bsky.social : A flattened and fractured landscape after the Iraqi parliamentary elections will lead to complex bargaining over the next government, which may take some time to form. www.newarab.com/analysis/ira...