leilama.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

Terribly sad news: SAF media liason Lt Colonel Hassan Ibrahim & Cpt Emad Eldein were killed in an RSF drone strike on Khartoum’s presidential palace yesterday. Col. Hassan was a kind, vibrant man who loved #Sudan & kept us safe while reporting. Emad was in his 20s, just beginning life.

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Saleh no mubarak! Wishing a happy and fruitful Nowrooz to all my family, friends and colleagues celebrating. And hoping with all my might that the coming year is brighter and kinder than the last 💐🌱🌷

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Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @leilama.bsky.social and Robin Brant on the day's stuff, and we meet Palestine's lone violin-maker. monocle.com/radio/shows/...

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“This is essentially a spinning exercise on the part of #Israel’s government to make it look as though Hamas pulled out of the ceasefire negotiations, when in fact they reneged on the terms of phase 2.” Talking #Gaza ceasefire and the resumption of the war on BBC Radio

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We had such a great discussion at the Frontline Club on Friday - thank you so much for joining @leilama.bsky.social and Selma Dabbagh. Email [email protected] so you don't miss for future events...

submitted 13 days ago • 0 comments

Really enjoyed speaking at this @newlinesmag.bsky.social Frontline Club event on telling stories from war zones. My fellow panelist Selma Dabbagh had great insights on the power of fiction vs journalism, & great questions from @faisalalyafai.bsky.social @lsmwilson.bsky.social & a v engaged audience.

submitted 13 days ago • 0 comments

A move in the right direction to give #Syria’s new govt every chance to succeed. Sanctions have been absolutely crushing & barely touched Assad’s inner circle while devastating the lives of everyday Syrians - suffering I saw first hand reporting from regime-held territory in 2023.

submitted 17 days ago • 0 comments

I’ll be speaking at the Frontline Club on Friday evening alongside Palestinian novelist Selma Dabbagh on the power of storytelling in Syria, Gaza & the wider Middle East at this time of rapid change, hosted by @newlinesmag.bsky.social. To join us, sign up here: www.eventbrite.com/e/the-power-...

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

“Blocking humanitarian aid is a clear violation of international law. But Netanyahu’s in a strong position as Trump’s shown he doesn’t care about aid. Hamas won’t give up its only leverage by releasing the hostages w/out IDF withdrawal in return” Talking #Israel-#Gaza ceasefire prospects on @rtenews

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“I look at Basel and I see my brother. Can’t you see that my people, Israelis, can only truly be safe if his people, Palestinians, are free and are also safe? It is not too late for the living. There is another way.” - Yuval Abraham, co-director of #NoOtherLand

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So moving to see this gut-wrenching documentary about the reality of life in the West Bank & settler destruction of Masafer Yatta, made by a collaborative Palestinian-Israeli team, win such a richly deserved Oscar. Please watch No Other Land if you haven’t already www.theguardian.com/film/2025/ma...

submitted 21 days ago • 0 comments

This, by the way, is what it means to use your platform & your privilege to stand up for those who are less powerful than you. Khalid Abdalla is an actor who works in BBC programming; taking this stand (as he’s done throughout the war) does not come without professional risk for him

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The BBC’s cowardly decision to pull its Surving Gaza doc ironically means far more people will likely now find ways to watch it than would have done. Watch from 05.00 this powerful advocacy for the right of Palestinian children to life & childhood from Khalid Abdalla www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjIz...

submitted 23 days ago • 2 comments

BREAKING: Jailed Kurdish independence fighter Ocalan orders the PKK Turkey-based militant group to dissolve and lay down its weapons. Potentially game-changing implications for Turkey, Syria and the whole region. www.middleeasteye.net/news/ocalan-...

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Uplifting news: Mohammad, the little boy we met who was horrifically burned at just 2 years old by a Russian airstrike in Aleppo, is now undergoing vital surgeries he’s waited 5 long yrs for, thanks to generous @pbsnews.org viewers. If you’d like to donate to his ongoing recovery pls reach out.

submitted 25 days ago • 0 comments

I’m incredibly honoured to win the Shifa Gardi Award for Conflict Journalist of the Year. I’m moved to win this in Shifa’s memory, so tragically killed reporting on Mosul’s frontline in 2017, and to join past winners @clarissaward.bsky.social, @alexcrawfreports.bsky.social & @arwadamon.bsky.social.

submitted 26 days ago • 2 comments

Latest Briefing on Monocle Radio. Chris Cermak on Germany's election, @mykolabielieskov.bsky.social on Ukraine's three years of resistance, @leilama.bsky.social and Hanna Davis on Nasrallah's funeral and @feap.bsky.social with the headlines from Brazil. monocle.com/radio/shows/...

submitted 27 days ago • 0 comments

The definitions in this proposed Israeli law are so broad that "any journalist publishing an investigation that suggests a crime committed by IDF forces would also be at risk of imprisonment if the bill is passed." www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

submitted 31 days ago • 1 comment

Join us tomorrow when I’ll be speaking at Harvard University’s @weatherheadcenter.bsky.social forum on #Syria & Middle-East power dynamics, alongside a brilliant panel: Qutaiba Idlibi, Marwa Daoudy & Ibrahim Al Assil. Starting at 12pm ET/5pm GMT, here’s the link to register: wcfia.harvard.edu/events

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“This is a world leader, who recently hosted another with an ICC warrant out for his arrest, proposing state-sanctioned ethnic cleansing as a business. The rule of international law has gone out the window” Talking #Trump’s Gaza plan & #Israel peace talks on Monocle Radio monocle.com/radio/shows/...

submitted 34 days ago • 0 comments

Register for our first spring online Weatherhead Forum, "Syria and Shifting Power Dynamics in the Middle East," on February 19 at 12pm, with panelists Ibrahim Al-Assil, Qutaiba Idlibi, and @leilama.bsky.social. Details and registration: loom.ly/U76wTaE

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“What is clear is Ahmed al Sharaa is an extremely smart guy. I don’t necessarily buy everything he said yesterday, but he has an enormous amount on his plate right now to rebuild Syria.” Talking #Syria’s future & the politics of refugee return in Europe on Monocle Radio monocle.com/radio/shows/...

submitted 51 days ago • 0 comments

Latest Briefing on Monocle Radio. Includes @leilama.bsky.social on Hamas's overdue confirmation of the death of Mohammed Deif, @jmackin2.bsky.social on the impact of DeepSeek, and Peter Greste on his hunger strike in support of his friend Alaa Abd el-Fattah. monocle.com/radio/shows/...

submitted 51 days ago • 0 comments

A while back I asked folks why they’re joining Bluesky and the most common response I saw was, “I just want a good place to get my news” and, yall, no. Bad. GET YOUR NEWS FROM THE NEWS PBS Newshour is FREE FOR EVERYONE. youtu.be/PMOYN8JWdUk?...

submitted 56 days ago • 2223 comments

“Following hundreds of violations of the ceasefire deal since November, now #Israel’s govt wants the IDF to stay in parts of south-east #Lebanon. That’s extremely concerning for Lebanese who remember the last occupation of the south.” Talking Lebanon ceasefire on @bbcscotlandnewsnot.bsky.social

submitted 55 days ago • 1 comment

UNDP chief: Gaza must “rebuild 60 years of lost development.” The war has caused a level of destruction in Gaza "without precedent," UN Development Program chief Achim Steiner says. The reconstruction costs will run into the tens of billions of dollars. www.dw.com/en/undp-chie...

submitted 58 days ago • 1 comment

PBS News' Nick Schifrin asked Sigrid Kaag, U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, if she believes Gaza can be rebuilt. Kaag: "I think it's our collective responsibility. ... We owe it both to Israeli citizens and we owe it to the Palestinians."

submitted 65 days ago • 10 comments

Israel’s Cabinet approved a deal early Saturday for a ceasefire in Gaza that would release dozens of hostages held there and pause the 15-month war with Hamas, bringing the sides a step closer to ending their deadliest and most destructive fighting ever.

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“The Assads were a mafia. They blamed US sanctions but I saw people driving fancy cars, living in luxury.” In Bashar’s hometown of Qardaha & across Latakia, residents process painful pasts & nervously wait to see what a new #Syria brings. Our report @pbsnews.bsky.social www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

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Today I’m speaking at RiskPal’s annual Journalist Safety Outlook for 2025. Join us at 3pm GMT/10am EST for a look at political trends, global risk and security in the year ahead. Register here: share.hsforms.com/1abD5waJ9T6-Lp…

submitted 67 days ago • 0 comments

Tonight on @pbsnews.bsky.social: Inside Bashar al Assad’s hometown. Tune in at 6pm ET/11pm GMT.

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NEW: US says the RSF has comitted genocide in #Sudan & sanctions its leader General Hemedti (Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo). This is a major step after nearly 2yrs of war in which US advocated negotiating w/RSF. But most of Hemedti’s wealth is held in the UAE… www.al-monitor.com/originals/20...

submitted 75 days ago • 0 comments

After nearly three decades, a Minnesota summer camp for kids with HIV/AIDS is closing and up for sale... because retroviral drugs are so effective that there aren't enough campers. Science works, y'all. www.startribune.com/closure-of-n...

submitted 86 days ago • 328 comments

In an abandoned factory outside Damascus we found millions of dollars’ worth of the battlefield drug captagon, and evidence of the methods #Syria’s regime used to smuggle it across the region. Our report @newshour.bsky.social www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

submitted 86 days ago • 0 comments

Tonight on @pbsnews.bsky.social.

submitted 87 days ago • 0 comments

What much of my Christmas Day looked like… Already well worth the wait @lindseyhilsum.bsky.social! A moving collection of poetry & powerful recollections from a life spent in the thick of world events. Get your copy now from all good bookstores (pick a local independent one if you can 😉)

submitted 87 days ago • 0 comments

Christmas can be hard & lonely. If you’re struggling today, please know it will get better. If you have the strength to reach out, call @samaritans on 116 123 for free. They’re always there to remind you you’re not alone, & to help you see the coming light through the darkness ❤️

submitted 88 days ago • 0 comments

“Every night without fail, a mobile phone rings in the Holy Family church in Gaza, and a parish priest answers. The voice at the end of the line is that of Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church and spiritual leader to a global flock of 1.4bn people.” www.ft.com/content/03ea...

submitted 88 days ago • 0 comments

An in-depth conversation from Aleppo on @podsaveamerica.crooked.com about Syrians’ hopes & dreams; uncovering torture sites & mass graves; HTS’ foreign relations; Austin Tice & more. To understand how much has changed in just 3 wks, take a listen. Starts 01:05:00. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...

submitted 89 days ago • 0 comments

When your husband torturing, gassing and murdering hundreds of thousands of your countrymen for over a decade is no concern but an unplanned move to Moscow is grounds for divorce, you can bet there’s an international arrest warrant in your future.

submitted 90 days ago • 2 comments

I’ll be on Sunday with @lewisgoodall.com on @lbc.co.uk this morning at 11.45am GMT talking about what I’ve been seeing & hearing travelling across #Syria in the days since Assad’s fall.

submitted 91 days ago • 0 comments

“There’s suddenly so much shock & outrage, but it’s important to remember Western nations knew what Assad was doing in these prisons & w/ chemical weapons thanks to brave Syrians who snuck out evidence, and yet did nothing.” On @NPR talking about our reporting across #Syria.

submitted 92 days ago • 0 comments

This is the only chance for Syrians to see justice for the hellish abuse they’ve endured. Incredibly brave people have risked their lives over the years to get info out. #Syria needs international support now to properly collect & document the wealth of evidence at these sites before it’s too late.

submitted 92 days ago • 0 comments

Wishing a healing Shab-e-Yalda of renewal to my family, friends & colleagues and all Iranians around the world who celebrate with us. It’s been a truly terrible year. But we’re ending it on a note of hope. Hold on; it’s always darkest before the dawn.

submitted 93 days ago • 0 comments

Our story coming soon on @pbsnews.bsky.social

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In an abandoned factory outside Damascus we found millions of dollars worth of of captagon, and the hastily abandoned tools used to manufacture and smuggle it. It was these little white pills that kept Assad’s narcostate afloat, even as #Syria’s economy collapsed.

submitted 93 days ago • 0 comments

I’ll be live on @npr.org’s 1A foreign news roundup in 15 mins talking about what I’ve seen and heard travelling across #Syria in recent days.

submitted 93 days ago • 1 comment

“I wish for Bashar Al Assad not to die until he sees the agony of mothers; my mom’s agony, who wakes up everyday asking about her little girl.” Silenced & terrorised for years, victims of Assad’s chemical weapons attacks are finally searching for answers. And for healing. www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

submitted 93 days ago • 1 comment

The abandoned Assad family home in #Syria’s coastal Latakia province.

submitted 94 days ago • 1 comment