The BBC article: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

UK saves 'millions' of pounds by ditching Palantir for refugee system

The government said its in-house IT system was "more flexible" while meeting "high standards" of security.

bbc.co.uk

What’s that, Gussie? Madeleine Basset will break off the engagement if you don’t stop Spode building a data centre over the Market Snodsbury Cricket Club?

Mayfair Cynic@mayfaircynic.bsky.social · 5d ago

"I'm thinking of putting a data centre in the lower field, Ted" "I wouldn't know about that, sor" "Once we get the drainage sorted out, of course"

The European response to the #Ceuta crisis will go down in history as an own goal that emboldened Europe’s adversaries. Instead of showing solidarity, Italy & co sought to punish it. Now, with the vast majority of arrivals already returned, the failure wasn’t border control but European solidarity.

Sánchez on Italy’s stupid Schengen decision: “Solidarity and empathy are optional. Respect for European treaties and data is not. Number of irregular entries between 2021 and 2026 according to Frontex: 1/

Six million Europeans have already voted on the design for the new Euro banknotes. Impressive numbers for the summer holidays: Al 6 miljoen Europeanen stemden over toekomstige eurobiljetten vrtnws.be/p.5wjNZ9pjJ (link to vote is at end of article, I can’t view it as I’ve already voted #teamCulture)

Al 6 miljoen Europeanen stemden over toekomstige eurobiljetten | VRT NWS Nieuws

Al 6 miljoen Europeanen hebben gestemd over de ontwerpen van de nieuwe eurobiljetten. Dat meldt de Europese Centrale Bank (ECB).

vrtnws.be

And yes, this is a criminal offence in the UK.

404 Media@404media.co · last wk.

The U.S. government has charged Samuel Tunick with allegedly typing in a passcode to wipe his phone before officers could search it. “I hope people understand that the charges against me are meant to intimidate people." @josephcox.bsky.social reports. Read now: www.404media.co/the-governme...

Hardly surprising since a lot of people got in early before the price increased but an opportunity to point out the flagrant hypocrisy of the anti-immigration right in insisting that new arrivals must integrate and then forcing them to pay more to do so.

BRUZZ@bruzzbe.bsky.social · last wk.

Sinds een jaar geleden de administratieve bijdrage om Belg te kunnen worden, verhoogd werd van 150 euro naar 1.000 euro, is het aantal procedures gehalveerd. Dat blijkt uit gegevens van FOD Financiën.

Still 34⁰ in Paris at 21:30. I'm finding it harder and harder to see some friends' and acquaintances' posts of frequent flights. When will this addiction be cured and why does the link to a planet that is literally on fire continue to be ignored? #ClimateCrisis

This is devastating news. I can't quite believe it. RIP Glen Hansard. www.independent.ie/irish-news/o...

Oscar-winning musician Glen Hansard dies in Dublin motorcycle crash

Renowned musician Glen Hansard has died overnight in a motorcycle crash in Dublin’s Lucan.

independent.ie

Back in 2017 I wrote about the expectations European students wishing to study in the UK had about what would change with Brexit. What ended up happening was really a worst-case scenario at the time.

Brexit leaves EU students wary

EU applications for British universities have slumped 7 percent following the country's decision to leave the EU, breaking 10 years of growth. They are expected to be down 57 percent in the aftermath ...

dw.com

Vote between different options for the new euro bank notes.

Clémence Robin@clemencerobin.bsky.social · 2w ago

Bientôt de nouveaux billets € dans nos portefeuilles! Vous pouvez voter en ligne et choisir entre les graphiques suivants 👇 surveys.ecb.europa.eu/10b/neweuro/

Oh fuck this. Digital/transformation of government is how people experience public services. It directly impacts how people vote. It directly impacts how we feel about and trust government. This IS the important stuff.

Matthew Holehouse@matthewholehouse.bsky.social · 2w ago

As Burnham told the Times - the "real show in town" is making sure people can go for a pint on a Friday rather than stuff (like digital transformation of central govt) that "wouldn’t make a tangible difference to people’s lives anytime soon"

How will the Government’s Digital Wallet work? (Don't worry, this is in Ireland) www.irishtimes.com/technology/c...

How will the Government’s Digital Wallet work?

Following a pilot period with up to 10,000 users, the Digital Wallet could eventually store your driving licence, passport and birth cert

irishtimes.com

Not good! Having a gov dept for tech means it gets •Cabinet-level focus •the priority from Treasury •the resources (people) to plug tech into other Depts’ agendas If DSIT is merged with another dept—tech gets lost in the shuffle…along with UK’s global leadership in tech. www.ft.com/content/fec8...

Burnham eyes Jonathan Reynolds to lead beefed-up business department

Incoming prime minister discussing plans to give ministry more powers over science policy

ft.com

So #Belgium  will meet #Spain  this week. Both countries have very deep historical links that really took root when Philip the Fair married Joanna of Castile in 1496 in Lier, binding the Habsburg Netherlands to the Spanish crowns #WorldCup

USA Today on the first ten minutes of the game yesterday. Truly, two nations divided by a common language.

Social media can connect, engage & inspire. But we cannot ignore its impact on young people. That’s why we’ve launched a €1.48M call for proposals to create & test safer, more inclusive social media platforms and features designed with young users in mind. #SocialMediaDay

The timing of this is also important as it was just after the French AI Action Summit, at which the UK declined to support the summit agreement and instead made it clear that our national alliances were with the US rather than Europe.

Jim Pickard@pickardje.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Former UK technology secretary Peter Kyle agreed to include “more positive language about artificial intelligence” in a speech last year on the advice of Lord Peter Mandelson, co-founder of an advisory firm that worked for OpenAI and Palantir www.ft.com/content/1b3e...

Happy to join Prime Minister Kristersson & Prime Minister Modi in Gothenburg. Our 🇪🇺🇮🇳 agreement - the mother of all deals! - heralds a new era in our relations. We're working hard to have it applied this year. To fast-forward its benefits for our people & businesses ↓ link.europa.eu/HPqgg4

My €0.05: the Lisbon fudge is fairly meaningless, to all intents & purposes we are another DG of the Commission in all but name and the turf warfare is no different to the kind you get in any government between the MFA and line ministries. The real problem is lack of QMV & budget to give CFSP teeth.

Euractiv@euractiv.com · 3mo ago

EEAS in crisis: Who speaks for Europe?

It was notable in Eluned Morgan’s concession speech that she explicitly wished Plaid well, said she hoped for stability & that they all wanted the best for Wales. In doing so she framed PC as legitimate and reasonable - where you’d imagine the knee-jerk from London would be ‘nasty separatists’ (1/2)

My jaw-dropper yesterday was 2 Plaid seats in the very Conservative and very border constituency of Monmouthshire / Torfaen.

Bleddyn Bowen@bleddb.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Still can’t get over how much of a sweep this is for Plaid Cymru across the Labour heartlands. 30% in Casnewydd-Islwyn, 37-41% in the two Cardiff constituencies. 🤯 #Senedd26 Still a bit hard to believe.

This is so much a continental European election result it’s almost funny. True Britain Democrats (PfE) 26% Ecology/Planet Action (G-EFA) 18% Christian Democrat Union (EPP) 17% Socialist Workers Revolutionary Party (S&D) 17% Europe Liberalism! (Renew) 16% Others 6%

Wider Westminster is as bad for it as Parliament. It may not be drinking at your desk. But it is the evenings in the pub where the real conversations happen. Where things do get decided. And if you don't drink for whatever reason, have caring responsibilities, whatever...you ARE excluded.

€63.2M are available to support AI innovation in health & online safety. We have launched 7 calls under the #DigitalEUProgramme to support work in AI, digital health, digital skills, and online safety. The deadline for applications is 1 October 2026 link.europa.eu/hg6JVj

Congratulations to Rumen Radev on his victory in the parliamentary elections. Bulgaria is a proud member of the European family and plays an important role in tackling our common challenges. I look forward to working together, for the prosperity and security of Bulgaria and Europe.

Freedom of expression, academic freedom, and creative liberty should never be taken for granted. It's a collective achievement, reflected in your everyday actions. In the EU, you have the space to speak your mind without having to shrink who you are. #ProtectWhatMatters🛡️🇪🇺

Met @davidboogerd.bsky.social en Stefan Paas spraken we over Jesus, Trump, AI en hoe de macht van AI en de bedrijven erachter ons verandert #deongelooflijke ↘️ www.eo.nl/podcast/de-o...

The United Kingdom is coming back to Erasmus+. The European Union and the United Kingdom have enabled the UK's association to Erasmus+ in 2027. More ↓ link.europa.eu/MHc9JP