Douglas Herbert

Nick Anderson’s editorial #cartoon captures the wilful brutality driving an American administration that has shocked and horrified much of America, and the world. #PamBondi #Trump

Opinion | I Trusted Jeff Bezos. The Joke’s on Me.

Thought provoking. American #newspapers are vastly improved today from their much-ballyhooed Golden Age of rote reporting when readers “trusted” them. The best #journalism is doing a way better job of reflecting complex societies accurately, fairly and insightfully. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/o...

Talking Europe - 'Keep Europe strong from the inside': Kata Tütto, president of the Committee of the Regions Europe's regions are in danger of being squeezed as the EU considers sweeping changes to the way its 27 member states spend their money, warns the European official tasked with reducing inequalities…

Europe's regions are in danger of being squeezed as the #EU considers sweeping changes to the way its 27 member states spend their money, Kata Tütto, president of the #European Committee of the #Regions, told me in this week’s Talking Europe interview on #France24. f24.my/Bjth

Russia killed Alexei Navalny with frog toxin, UK and allies say Former opposition leader’s death while in Arctic jail at age of 47 result of mixture of diseases, according to Moscow The Foreign Office has blamed the Russian state for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which it said was the result of poisoning from a dart containing frog toxin. The frog poison – called epibatidine – is said to have been used when Navalny, 47, died suddenly on 16 February 2024. Continue reading...

Russia killed Alexei Navalny with frog toxin, UK and allies say

Talking Europe - Are teenagers too young to scroll? Europe weighs social media bans for minors Worries that too much time on social media may be hurting children's mental health, and creating addictions as harmful as alcohol or cigarettes, are sparking growing calls across Europe to block minor...

Too young to scroll? Wish I had had another hour to delve into this discussion with my MEP guests on #France24’s Talking #Europe show at the European Parliament. Feels like we barely scratched the surface. #SocialMediaBans #Internet #BigTech #algorithms
f24.my/BjtR

How The Times Is Digging Into Millions of Pages of Epstein Files

The #NYTimes asks the fundamental questions as it digs through millions of #Epstein files: “How do we do this work? What are we looking for? In what ways are artificial intelligence tools helpful? What judgment calls have we been making or debating?”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/i...

Russia blocks Meta’s WhatsApp messaging service Move follows months of pushing users to state-controlled app

Putin’s #Russia has been tightening the noose for years on Russians’ unfettered access to social media and messaging platforms, on how they conduct their finances & their ability to express themselves freely. This is the latest turn of the screw in a years-long campaign.
www.ft.com/content/468e...

Les États-Unis tournent le dos à la lutte contre le dérèglement climatique Donald Trump va abolir jeudi la « conclusion de mise en danger », un texte fondateur de la lutte contre le dérèglement climatique initié par Barack Obama il y a 17 ans. L’aboutissement d’une véritable...

Donald Trump abolit aujourd’hui l’« endangerment finding », un document qui détermine les réglementations fédérales environnementales, un nouveau signe de la « guerre à la science » des MAGA. Ma chronique géopolitique du 7/10 @franceinter www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/...

“As far as we know, Keir #Starmer never met Jeffrey #Epstein. He never went to Epstein’s island and never sent him raunchy emails. He might be brought down by the Epstein files anyway.” - Katrin Bennhold, The New York Times. (I’d add: #Trump, who did know Epstein, has faced less accountability.)

Talking Europe - 'We will not accept to be treated badly': MEP Brando Benifei, EU's point man for US relations Shared economic and security interests still bind Europe and the United States, even as trust has eroded, insults have flown and rhetoric has hardened in the transatlantic relationship, Brando Benifei...

With Donald #Trump and his #MAGA team assailing #Europe as weak, wavering and in decline, I asked the European MEP tasked with nursing the strained Europe-US relationship: “With friends like that, do you need enemies?” #France24 #TalkingEurope f24.my/Bir9

Punxsutawney Phil is said to have seen his shadow, forecasting 6 more weeks of wintry weather Punxsutawney Phil’s handlers say he’s seen his shadow and is therefore predicting six more weeks of winter weather

Breaking news (…again). #GroundhogDay abcnews.go.com/amp/US/wireS...

A world without nuclear arms control begins on Thursday New Start treaty, which expires this week, capped the number of missiles and warheads in US and Russian arsenals

“I genuinely believe we are now at the threshold of a new #arms race. I don’t think in my lifetime there is going to be another treaty limiting numbers.” -James Acton, co-director of the #nuclear policy programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

The Podcaster Poking at France’s Biggest Secrets

The #NYTimes runs a front-page feature on Philippe Collin, a #French podcaster whose “intricate series” on public radio “are reshaping how French people understand uncomfortable parts of their #history”. An ode to long-format historical #journalism on public #radio. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/25/w...

Denmark’s PM, Mette Frederiksen, speaking at #SciencesPo, warns about the pernicious effects of social media on our ability to concentrate and look at the big picture.”The algorithms support the very black and white way of looking at the world. But #democracy is the opposite. It’s the opposite.”

“We are under huge pressure. We are trying to push back from the outside, but handle our people who are afraid…scared…The feeling in #Greenland hasn’t been good.” : Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the prime minister of Greenland, speaking alongside his #Danish counterpart at #SciencesPo #Europe #NATO

The #NYTimes: “Our goal isn’t to establish guilt or innocence. We aren’t a court of law. Instead, we establish what we call ground truth: what happened, how it happened and who might be responsible. We follow the visuals wherever they take us, not to a predetermined conclusion.”

How We Determined That Minneapolis Videos Contradicted Federal Officials

This is vital public-service reporting from the Visual Investigations team at the #NYTimes. “How We Determined That #Minneapolis Videos Contradicted Federal Officials” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/i...

Quotable: “No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices.” - Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965), a #radio and #TV reporter who was one of the early pioneers of American broadcast #journalism. #tyranny

The question put to a panel of commentators this morning on LCI, a #French 24-hour news channel: “Is #America breaking up?” #USA

The #NYTimes reports: #Minneapolis

‘Enough Is Enough’: Hundreds of Minnesota Businesses Take Stand Against ICE

I've covered a lot of protests and resistance movements of various kinds in my days on this earth -- I've never seen anything quite like this epic day in Minneapolis today.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/u...

Videos From Minnesota Show How Aggressive ICE Has Gotten During Arrests and Encounters With Protesters For weeks, residents have documented the impact of President Trump’s mass deportation campaign and captured many violent confrontations on camera.

Happening now in Donald #Trump’s U.S. Eyewitness testimony from local residents & officials suggest that ICE agents are increasingly a law unto themselves, no matter how much they may try to couch their actions in legalistic language. #immigration #Minneapolis www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Trump's jibes are wearing thin for many of Europe's leaders The ball is in the court of European leaders ahead of Thursday's emergency EU meeting in Brussels, writes Nick Beake.

"’Without us, right now you'd all be speaking German,’ President Donald #Trump told his audience at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps on Wednesday. He may well have forgotten #German is the most widely spoken of the four official languages in #Switzerland.” www.bbc.com/news/article...

One year into Trump’s second term: increasingly repressive US president on track to join ranks of world’s worst press freedom predators After winning re-election in 2024, Donald Trump promised to be a dictator “on day one.” When it comes to press freedom, he has kept his word, extending the war on the press he launched while running f...

The noose is tightening on an independent #press as Donald #Trump’s presidency enters its second year. (Source:: Reporters Without Borders) #journalism #pressfreedom
rsf.org/en/one-year-...

Really enjoyed a 45-min #France24 special with journalist/filmmaker David Thompson, brilliantly presented by Pauline Paccard, digging into JD #Vance’s arc from calling #Trump “Hitler” to becoming one of the most powerful VPs in US history, and a potential #MAGA heir.

And then this happened. #Trump #Greenland

‘Yankee, Go Home’: Greenlanders Protest Trump’s Takeover Plans

“Make America Go Away” : The slogan on a hat worn by a participant in a protest in Copenhagen against Donald #Trump’s bid to acquire or seize #Greenland, a part of the Kingdom of #Denmark that enjoys broad autonomy. (Source: NYTimes) www.nytimes.com/2026/01/17/w...

A valid question: Why does Donald #Trump support protesters in #Iran, but not in #Minneapolis? Here’s a CNN report on a U.S. citizen whom
ICE asked for his paperwork, and then detained, “because of your accent”. He was subsequently released. www.instagram.com/reel/DTn1EDo...

Inside the Scam Complex’s Detailed Playbook

Remarkable reporting on an off-the-beaten-track topic. This is #journalism in its purest sense: revealing neglected corners of the world in all its multi-faceted complexity. #Myanmar #scams www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/w...

‘Like a Military Occupation’: Clashes Rise With Federal Agents in Minneapolis

Greetings from the U.S., in the midst of a week-long visit. Stories like this are vivid testament to why being apathetic about the “news”, or disengaging out of frustration or fatigue, can be seen as a kind of tacit complicity. #ICE #immigrants #Minneapolis
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/u...