BBC News just interrupted its coverage to go, live, to Nigel Farage - a man with no contitutional standing in our setup - responding to the budget - a document which nobody has seen yet. WHY
@autumnlight.bsky.social
Public libraries are trusted local institutions with an impressive record of adapting to changing social needs.
Public libraries are doing more for their communities, but they need support
Public libraries are trusted local institutions with an impressive record of adapting to changing social needs.
tcnv.link
“Every unhappy nation is unique. But the mood overlap between countries such as Hungary and Serbia, both of which have recently thrown out rightwing populists in corruption-dominated elections, and today’s America is striking.” My column as.ft.com/r/c8ced69e-f...
US voters and Trump’s overflowing swamp
America’s affordability crisis and corruption are now treated as two sides of the same coin
as.ft.com
U.S. sanctions relief is giving Russia breathing room on oil exports — and quietly testing the credibility of the whole Western sanctions regime. How bad is it? Thread 1/9
Nostalgic Nightmares in Romania | “The country has made huge progress since joining the European Union. But danger signs are mounting.” William Echikson https://cepa.org/article/nostalgic-nightmares-in-romania/
Nostalgic Nightmares in Romania
Romania has made huge progress since joining the European Union. Though Bucharest thrives, progress is not distributed equally.
cepa.org
Start your week with the latest @bearmarketbrief.bsky.social : read about Russia's government reshuffle, progress on peace talks, crackdown on pluralism at the regional level and more! Subscribe to have it in your inbox every week! bearmarketbrief.substack.com/p/shuffling-...
Shuffling the board
State Duma approves major cabinet changes that strengthen the role of the Finance Ministry
bearmarketbrief.substack.com
Key paragraph from latest report of Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, documenting Russian war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Jorge Liboreiro@jorgeliboreiro.bsky.social · 17h agoRussia’s intense and systematic bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure amounts to a crime against humanity, United Nations investigators concluded.
A growing number of Russian soldiers who were still schoolchildren when the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began are being killed in the war.
‘Still Just a Child’: The Russian Teenagers Fighting and Dying in Ukraine - The Moscow Times
“Why?! A young soldier who’d never seen combat … Still just a child,” Svetlana Serezhkina, a resident of the Moscow region, wrote on social media after news emerged of the death of Alisher Svirin, the...
themoscowtimes.com
People still talk about the foreign policy of the Trump administration as if (a) it's designed to advance US national interests, rather than private ones and (b) there's a reasonable expectation of competence and coherence. Neither of these things is correct.
Young adults have found a new outlet for their existential stress: running a marathon, Maggie Mertens reported in 2024.
The New Quarter-Life Crisis
Running a marathon has become a milestone for a growing number of young adults.
bit.ly
Alexander Kondratov, a production designer for the Russian TV series Liquidation, has died in a Moscow hospital after being jailed on treason charges. The 52-year-old, who lived in Kyiv, was detained while visiting Russia to renew his passport. meduza.io/en/news/2026...
Russian TV production designer dies in Moscow hospital after arrest on treason charges — Meduza
Alexander Kondratov, the production designer for the Russian TV series Likvidatsiya (Liquidation”), has died at Botkin Hospital in Moscow after being arrested on treason charges, the Russian human…
meduza.io
The Belgorod branch of Russia’s Federal Security Service has opened a criminal case against Nikita Parmenov, editor-in-chief of the outlet Pepel, on charges of justifying terrorism. meduza.io/en/news/2026...
Criminal case opened against editor-in-chief of Russian border-region outlet Pepel on charges of justifying terrorism — Meduza
The Belgorod branch of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has opened a criminal case against Nikita Parmenov, editor-in-chief of the outlet Pepel, on charges of justifying terrorism, Fonar…
meduza.io
A growing number of Russian soldiers who were still schoolchildren when the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began are being killed in the war.
‘Still Just a Child’: The Russian Teenagers Fighting and Dying in Ukraine - The Moscow Times
“Why?! A young soldier who’d never seen combat … Still just a child,” Svetlana Serezhkina, a resident of the Moscow region, wrote on social media after news emerged of the death of Alisher Svirin, the...
themoscowtimes.com
Alexander Kondratov was best known for his work as an art and production designer for the 2007 post-World War II detective drama “Liquidation.”
Award-Winning Production Designer Dies at Moscow Hospital After Arrest for Treason - The Moscow Times
Alexander Kondratov, an award-winning production designer for the popular Russian TV series “Liquidation,” has died at a Moscow hospital after being transferred from a detention center where he was aw...
themoscowtimes.com
Impartiality does NOT mean giving equal weight to science/facts/reality on the one hand and right-wing populist culture war BS on the other. Every section referenced actually DID give pros and cons, and difficult choices. The MoS ignored that and pretended it was one-sided.
🧵 Wow - this article is bordering on unhinged! Apparently the BBC is akin to a “North Korean re-education camp” for teaching children about net-zero and covering both the pros AND cons of immigration Join me for a masterclass in cherry-picking and context stripping to brainwash your own readers👍🏻
The latest stop-motion offering from Laika Studios was a 16-year-long labour of love. 👉 tcnv.link/x6hsHF6
If the PM reboots the UK for working-class people, unions will be with him. But the time for talking is over | Andrea Egan
If the PM reboots the UK for working-class people, unions will be with him. But the time for talking is over | Andrea Egan
Andy Burnham has railed against neoliberalism – the historic shift must start with this week’s budget, says Andrea Egan, general secretary of Unison
theguardian.com
It's remarkable to me that, even as France, Germany and Spain flirt with the temptation of far-right rule, voters with long-term experience of it in Poland, Hungary and now Serbia have gone to such great efforts to rid themselves of it.
What does Putin want from the #SCO after 2022? Not an anti-Western alliance—at least not yet. Moscow wants diplomatic visibility, sanctions resistance, and a stage for its multipolarity narrative. But the SCO gives Russia much less than the Kremlin hoped. 1/4
Serbia’s student protest movement has gone from demonstrations over a deadly train station collapse to defeating Aleksandar Vučić’s party at the polls. Belgrade residents celebrated the victory after record election turnout. meduza.io/en/short/202...
Belgrade erupts in celebration after Serbia’s student-led opposition defeats Aleksandar Vučić — Meduza
Subscribe to Meduza’s newsletter and don’t miss the next major event in the post-Soviet region. Available everywhere with an Internet connection. Protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy…
meduza.io
A Russian satellite made an extraordinarily close approach to a Western commercial spacecraft that provides imagery to Ukraine. A retired Russian colonel portrayed the maneuver as a warning to companies aiding Kyiv, including Starlink. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Russia is escalating its confrontation with the West in orbit. Its satellites are pursuing spacecraft from companies helping Ukraine — and Starlink has been put on notice. — Meduza
There has long been talk of “hunter” satellites and an intensifying confrontation in space between Russia and the United States. But this week brought an unprecedented escalation in the new “star…
meduza.io
On the moral and political idiocy of Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine. With comments from Nobel Peace Prize Laureate @avalaina.bsky.social
Ukraine’s Feeling of Moral Whiplash at the Hands of Trump (Gift Article)
The United States once declared that Ukraine’s fight was the front line in a global battle for freedom. Now the Trump administration is sending money to Moscow.
nytimes.com
How is Donald Trump’s criticism of President Zelensky interpreted in Moscow? “As a mandate to continue military pressure,” writes one Russian paper. I ask Muscovites to name one word that’s important to them & read what Russian schoolkids are taught about “defence of the Motherland.” #ReadingRussia
Moscow perceives Trump criticism of Ukraine "as a mandate to continue military pressure."
YouTube video by Steve Rosenberg
youtu.be
Putin’s rollout of patriotic exhibition centers has cost at least 5.4B rubles across four regional projects, 7x7 reports. Residents have objected to the expense and the loss of public spaces, from a 35-year-old aquarium in Vladivostok to parkland in Ryazan. semnasem.org/articles/202...
Конвейер национальной идентичности. Что теряют регионы и их жители из-за строительства центров путинской пропаганды
В регионах с 2024 года по распоряжению Путина открываются филиалы Национального центра «Россия». Согласно версии властей, эти площадки должны популяризировать достижения страны и укреплять...
semnasem.org
Yekaterinburg's history museum and activists install 52 markers at mass graves filled in the 1930s–50s. They also cordoned off the burial sites to keep off cyclists & pedestrians. Archaeologists identified the graves during excavations in 2022 at the former NKVD killing grounds. t.me/itsmycity/53...
It's My City
Братские могилы расстрелянных в 1930-1950-е годы на 12-м километре Московского тракта пометили табличками Музей истории Екатеринбурга и общественники, занимающиеся сохранением памяти репрессированных...
t.me
Trump’s approach to working with Putin has closed off the one realistic pathway to end the conflict with Ukraine, Thomas Wright argues. He details what the president should be doing instead, and how Trump’s political weakness could work to his advantage:
Why Trump Can’t Sell Putin a Deal
Economic incentives don’t persuade the Russian leader. Here’s what could.
bit.ly