Kwangu Liwewe

Read my colleague @lisang's piece on the scandals and excesses surrounding Sara Netanyahu. The essay explores allegations of abusive behavior, freeloading, and political interference. I later asked Lisa what prompted her to write it. newlinesmag.com/running-notes/…

Messi’s White House visit wasn’t just a photo op; it changed how many Argentines see him. Can a global icon stay “apolitical”? I asked @palabarces about his @newlines essay on why Messi is judged differently from Maradona. newlinesmag.com/argument/despi…

A US plan to send Afghan allies to DR Congo instead of resettling them in America, alongside a minerals deal, is raising tough questions about outsourcing asylum obligations and global responsibility @newlinesmag newlinesmag.com/spotlight/the-…

A severe financial crisis, triggered by Israel withholding 15 billion shekels in tax revenue (65% of the Palestinian Authority's budget) since the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, is crippling West Bank public services and hospitals, culminating in a general strike.  New Lines Cultural Editor @lsmwilson and @kliwewe discuss how the drastic salary cuts, supply shortages and major recession are connected to unsustainable bank loans, reduced international aid, the expulsion of 200,000 Palestinian workers from Israel, increased settler violence and the West Bank’s economic fragmentation.

The Iran war has brought fresh tension to the U.S.-U.K. alliance, raising real questions about where it goes next. @MickWSmith and @lsmwilson join me on Global Insights @newlinesmag to ask whether the special relationship can weather this storm. newlinesmag.com/podcast/is-the…

🧵Amjad Youssef, a former military intelligence officer under Assad and one of two main perpetrators of the 2013 Tadamon massacre, in which over 280 civilians were killed, has been arrested in Syria. A thread on how @newlinesmag tracked down the mass murderer: newlinesmag.com/reportage/how-…

Does Israel’s strategy in Lebanon risk weakening the state it says it is trying to stabilize? In this Q&A, @dahliasc joins me to discuss the destruction of infrastructure across Lebanon and whether it reflects a broader pattern of targeting already fragile states.

Stop everything and read this. An investigation into how a @WorldPressPhoto award-winning photograph of an execution in Bosnia came to be — and the chilling realization that a man was murdered for the camera. newlinesmag.com/reportage/they…

@newlinesmag is staying close to what’s happening in Lebanon by following events as they unfold and making sense of it all.

@newlinesmag is staying close to what’s happening in Lebanon by following events as they unfold and making sense of it all.

An emerging food movement in the U.S. is helping give Pakistani cuisine its own identity, distinct from the "Indian" label so often applied to all South Asian dining. This push for visibility, discussed by New Lines Editors @bysurbhigupta and @kliwewe, is bringing Pakistani food out of traditional enclaves through supper clubs and cookbooks, and redefining culinary boundaries. 📽️Surbhi Gupta + Kwangu Liwewe Agyei Created by: Mikey Andreasson  Read the full story at the link in our bio. youtube.com/shorts/AqNmmfR…

In the 1980s, Iran fought an eight-year war with Iraq and it left deep scars and shaped how the country thinks about threats and survival to this day. That history is still influencing how Iran responds to pressure. My colleague Danny Postel explains why it matters @newlinesmag

NEW: Trump has backed himself into a corner with Iran. Any deal risks appearing, in his eyes, like a humiliating failure. The weight of that constraint presents a dangerous dynamic as the president threatens escalation, argues Hussein Banai for @newlinesmag. newlinesmag.com/argument/the-l…

Our Culture Editor @lsmwilson explores @djinisinabottle's new essay tracing the unexpected roots of Italy's thousands of food festivals and how they have been used to shape national identity and political mobilization.

Delhi restaurateur Anuj Wadhwa and economist @mihirssharma join me on Global Insights to unpack how the Iran war is driving up fuel costs, hitting tourism, and squeezing households across South Asia. Listen in @newlinesmag newlinesmag.com/podcast/how-th…

NEW: Together with @ChrisOsieck @weatherwar & @wammezz we investigated the environmental impacts on the March 7 strikes on four different oil storage depots in Tehran and Karaj for @newlinesmag Thank you to @kshaheen and @RashaElass for the edit and for making space for this reporting. newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-…

@RAbdiAnalyst Could you kindly get in touch with me. kliwewe@newlinesmag.com Thank you.

#ALERT Troop buildup in South West State (SWS) Frustrated by SWS President Laftagareen's decision to suspend ties with Mogadishu, pull out of ruling party JSP, Hassan Sheikh is reverting to coercion and intimidation. In the last 24 hours, a Fokker 50 aircraft has been airlifting Turkish-trained Haramacad troops to the ancient and picturesque port town of Baraawe (the port was recently leased to Kuwaiti investors. The 500m deal grants Kuwaiti investors a 25-year lease). There are reports these troops could proceed to Buur Hakaba. The show of force by Villa Somalia may be intimidatory but the force projection could backfire and trigger clashes especially if the federal forces embark on coercive dismantling of SWS control. This is the same tactic that led to the Ras Kamboni debacle in late 2024 during which Jubaland forces routed troops sent from Mogadishu to overthrow regional President Ahmed Madoobe. Over 600 SNA forces fled and surrendered to the Kenyan army. Villa Somalia never learns any lesson from history.

A clear shift in the Gulf states’ position on the Iran war in the past few days. Our Middle East editor @kshaheen takes a close look in his new piece in @newlinesmag newlinesmag.com/running-notes/…

In 2011, Iran played a key role in helping the Assad regime crush unarmed protests with staggering violence, before turning those same tactics on its own population in January 2026. @hdagres outlines the parallels for @newlinesmag. newlinesmag.com/argument/what-…

In my latest for @newlinesmag, I write about how the Iran war is hitting global shipping, and it’s not just about oil. Cargo is being pulled, Red Sea routes look shaky, and East African ports could end up paying the price. newlinesmag.com/running-notes/…