BBC State Department correspondent. Former Middle East. Foreign policy & international relations. Signal tom.6441 https://xitter.cf/t.co/fLCMP8nTQ8 email [email protected]
Washington, DC
Joined January 2009
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1. Civilians who escaped Mariupol in recent days have described the growing desperation in the besieged city, including accounts of bodies buried in shallow graves, looting by Chechen fighters, and starving residents being killed when they venture out of shelters to find water
Tom Bateman retweeted
🚨 BREAKING: Aleksandar Vučić announced the end of his 12-year reign as the most powerful man in Serbia today following a pivotal election that swept the Student List protest movement to victory.
Full story: vist.ly/5pxap
Tom Bateman retweeted
60 Minutes obtained the names of 63 people on a deportation flight from Texas to West Africa. Of the 19 people we reached who were sent to Ghana, 17 say Ghana then transported them against their will to their home countries — places U.S. immigration judges had ruled they should not be returned to.
A Department of Homeland Security lawyer told 60 Minutes he was not aware of cases in which Ghana had sent deportees home against their will. He also said he believes third-country removals have prevented crimes and made Americans safer. cbsn.ws/4yNhS4B
Tom Bateman retweeted
Breaking News: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated Flávio Bolsonaro to stay president of Brazil, halting the right’s march in Latin America. Follow live updates. nyti.ms/4iFMwIg
Tom Bateman retweeted
In Hebron, an IDF sniper casually aiming his laser at our car full of clearly marked journalists.
Tom Bateman retweeted
The situation is dire in Taiz, Yemen. We managed to get out of the city as the Houthis encircled it. But our report from inside shows how desperate the situation is for those trapped there. With @McGarwen @CunninghamCSky @ahmedbaider1 Watch our report here: share.google/8D3EjYKQa86vVjV…
I am following with concern the grave humanitarian situation in Yemen, particularly in the city of Taiz, where the population is suffering from a lack of food, water and medical care. I make a heartfelt appeal for hostilities to cease and for the Yemeni people and all the peoples of the region to be guaranteed the right to live in peace.
Tom Bateman retweeted
BREAKING: Taybeh, the last entirely Palestinian Christian village in the West Bank, is under a complete blockade by Israeli forces: no one allowed in or out.
I spoke with a resident of Taybeh who described the impact of the movement restrictions:
"You can’t plan your day. Checkpoints close suddenly and you get stuck and delayed and your day gets messed up. It’s frustrating, it wastes you time, you get emotionally and physically drained.
What bothers me the most is you’re no longer in control of your life becasue you’re no longer in control of your time, your route or your plans.
You start working out your day according to the closures, change appointments, cancel and postpone things you have to get done.
They control your movement, so they control you."
Tom Bateman retweeted
As turnout in Texas nears 3 million votes, Hispanic turnout is now exceeding presidential levels. More Hispanics have voted than did at this point in the 2024 presidential election. What's driving this huge increase? Young voters.
Tom Bateman retweeted
Israeli forces demolished homes and damaged roads in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, forcing around 1,200 Palestinians to leave their homes a day after a Palestinian attack killed two Israeli soldiers reut.rs/3ULnOwX
Tom Bateman retweeted
Oct 24 (Reuters) - The United States updated travel advisories for countries across the Gulf and Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon and Israel, citing what it described as the threat of increased Iranian-supported Houthi regional aggression, according to security alerts issued by US missions.
An uncontained crisis for Gulf economies deepened by ecological crisis
“Ras Al Khaimah is also home to Wynn Resorts' planned casino resort..The Las Vegas operator..won the UAE's first commercial gaming licence in 2024..The smell remained pungent across Umm Al Quwain on Friday”
UAE's Ras Al Khaimah shuts all beaches as neighbours grapple with oil spill reut.rs/3ULbXPx reut.rs/3ULbXPx
Tom Bateman retweeted
At least nine people were killed and 34 were injured after gunmen opened fire on a church in Karak, Jordan, on Friday. abcnews.link/XdO4iJa
Tom Bateman retweeted
Israeli forces continue large-scale assault on Hebron, forcibly displacing Palestinian families
english.wafa.ps/Pages/Detail…
Tom Bateman retweeted
"Deeply disturbing."
UN human rights chief Volker Türk reacts to a BBC investigation finding evidence that the RSF systematically destroyed hospitals in Sudan, stating the actions may amount to war crimes. bbc.in/3W1oONU
"While any of a handful of other competitive Senate contests could help determine the new balance of power in Washington, none comes close to matching the mounting racial and religious menace and meanness in Michigan."
nytimes.com/2026/10/23/us/ro…
Tom Bateman retweeted
NEW: The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals says the Constitution’s due process clause does not require bond hearings for people in ICE detention, overruling dozens of judges across Texas who disagreed.
politico.com/news/2026/10/23…
Tom Bateman retweeted
BREAKING: The 5th Circuit has ruled that ICE detainees with pending immigration proceedings have no constitutional right to a bond hearing, regardless of the length of their detention.
The en banc ruling appears to be 10-7.
s3.documentcloud.org/documen…
According to Azab, "arrests are clearing the ground for major political decisions that authorities want made without independent journalists asking questions — including who will succeed...Sisi after 2030, and whether Egypt will join Saudi Arabia’s war against the Houthi[s]"
My analysis for @pressfreedom on Egypt’s unprecedented crackdown on the press, from jailing the entire Matsdaash newsroom to putting @MadaMasr Editor-in-Chief Lina Attalah on trial. I look at how authorities have turned journalism itself into a crime. cpj.org/2026/10/whos-next-in…
Tom Bateman retweeted
My analysis for @pressfreedom on Egypt’s unprecedented crackdown on the press, from jailing the entire Matsdaash newsroom to putting @MadaMasr Editor-in-Chief Lina Attalah on trial. I look at how authorities have turned journalism itself into a crime. cpj.org/2026/10/whos-next-in…