Rachel Lavin
@rachellavin.bsky.social
Data journalist at The Irish Times Investigations Unit. Formerly Bloomberg, The Sunday Times, The Sunday Business Post, The Sunday Independent & The Washington Ireland Program Opinions all mine Twitter @rachellavin
"Their trade-off is explicit, in that they will exchange a smaller audience for the freedom to mean what you say in the place you actually live." www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...
The performance of Irishness for outside approval is finished
Kneecap, Sally Rooney and the comedian Vittorio Angelone ask a question the State has avoided for years: what is all of this for, if not for us?
irishtimes.com
🇷🇺 ⚔️ A Russian attack on NATO is no longer unthinkable. Bloomberg Economics modelled how an invasion of the Baltic states might unfold — and what it would cost ⤵️ www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202... @jenniewelch.bsky.social @albertonardelli.bsky.social @jhjanicki.bsky.social
🧐 For Bloomberg: Satellite images question Trump’s claim Iran’s atomic sites were destroyed We looked at the damage to Iran's most heavily protected nuclear site👇📡🗺️ Here we can see new craters, possible collapsed tunnel entrances and holes on top of a mountain ridge... 1/4
Spain is bucking European trends by embracing migration 🇪🇸 Foreign-born residents are projected to more than double in the next 50 years 📈 Spain already saw one of the fastest demographic shifts in developed nations this century 1/3 www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Musk "told people he was taking so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that it was affecting his bladder." "He took Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. And he traveled with a daily medication box that held about 20 pills..." www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/u...
On the Campaign Trail, Elon Musk Juggled Drugs and Family Drama
nytimes.com
According to the Integrated Food Security Classification, one in five of Gaza’s population are now experiencing the most extreme level of starvation - famine 👇 1/3 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
"The sovereign grant that supports King Charles III and his family in carrying out their official duties increased by 53% in the last financial year ...£132 million - more than quadruple the £31 million of the initial grant introduced in 2012" www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024...
King and Prince William’s estates ‘making millions from charities and public services’
Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster likely to make at least £50m from leasing land to services such as NHS and schools, according to investigation
theguardian.com
Israel has blocked all international aid into Gaza for more than nine weeks now The UN says Gaza is experiencing “probably the worst humanitarian situation ever seen throughout the war." 📉👇for @bloomberg.com
How AI is changing the battlefield: "Instead of dozens or even hundreds of soldiers supporting one $100 million system, one soldier using AI software could command dozens of cheap, autonomous weapons, whether they’re airborne, in space, on land or in the sea." 📈👇 www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
Silicon Valley Is Coming for the Pentagon’s $1 Trillion Budget
The Trump administration wants startups to remake the US military, setting the stage for a battle over the world’s biggest defense budget.
bloomberg.com
NEW: President Trump's policies and actions have been stopped by US courts more than 200 times. We've been tracking lawsuits from the moment he was sworn in, identifying at least 320+ by the start of May -- and more keep coming. A deep, deep dive into the data: www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
Trump Has Been Stopped By Courts More Than 200 Times
A Bloomberg analysis of more than 325 court cases involving challenges to President Trump’s executive actions reveals the stress test on the balance of power taking shape.
bloomberg.com
Every week during the years before its collapse, Stenn sent granular emails to its Wall Street backers listing its biggest clients, line by line. Yet all was not as it seemed... www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-04-23/stenn-collapse-how-citigroup-bnp-paribas-missed-fintech-s-warning-signs
Wall Street Missed Warning Signs Ahead of $1 Billion Fintech Implosion
Big banks like Citigroup and Natixis thought they were backing a $1 billion fintech darling. But when Stenn blew up, most of its supposed partners said they had never worked with the company.
bloomberg.com
See how the Australian election count is unfolding amid "Albo's" forecasted win... 🗳️📊👉 bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
With US-Iran talks getting underway today, these are the highest-level talks since 2022. Here is how Iran's production of highly-enriched uranium has surged since then... www.bloomberg.com/news/article... 1/3
"Israel controls more of Gaza than at any point during the war, part of a plan that officials increasingly describe as leading to a full military occupation." See how the IDF's 'buffer zone' has expanded 👇 🗺️Map w/ @TomFevrier 1/3 tinyurl.com/ntry4xv4
"The world’s richest people added $304 billion to their combined net worth, the largest one-day gain in the history of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after Trump pledged to pause tariffs for some countries." 📊 by my colleagues @bloomberg.com bloomberg.com/news/article...
"Netanyahu’s government says it will seize land within Gaza — creating more buffer zones — and is urging hundreds of thousands of civilians to move, yet again, away from battle areas. The death toll is mounting." 📊 @jasonkao04.bsky.social @bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
"Fifteen Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers, including at least one United Nations employee, were killed by Israeli forces “one by one” and buried in a mass grave eight days ago in southern Gaza, the UN has said." www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
Israel killed 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers one by one, says UN
Workers on a mission to help colleagues were buried in mass grave in southern Gaza, says humanitarian office
theguardian.com
Some of the international flight routes diverted this morning after #Heathrow's closure 👇 The world's fourth busiest airport is expected to be shut until 11:59 p.m. (GMT) tonight. For more @bloomberg.com update: www.bloomberg.com/news/live-bl...
"The companies behind the inauguration attendees’ fortunes have been some of the biggest losers, dropping a combined $1.39 trillion in market value..." 📊Brilliant reporting by my colleague Dylan Sloan 👇 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
On Western 'tripwires' and why only the US can lay them... By the ever brilliant @andreaskluth.bsky.social (free to read)👇 bloom.bg/4irNVPJ
Real Ukraine Peace Talks Require a Real US Security Guarantee
For negotiations to succeed, security assurances to Ukraine must be credible, and for them to be credible they must be backed by the US.
bloom.bg
NEW: The actions of Trump and Vance in recent weeks highlight something under-appreciated. The American right is now ideologically closer to countries like Russia, Turkey and in some senses China, than to the rest of the west (even the conservative west). My column: www.ft.com/content/3046...
As Arab leaders propose a plan to rebuild Gaza - how much of the Strip is left standing? A Bloomberg analysis found that nearly 140,000 of Gaza's buildings are still intact - 40% of the total. w/ @krishnakarra.bsky.social a.bsky.social @tomfevrier.bsky.social Jason Kao 👇 tinyurl.com/3tr6zeuc 1/4
NEW: updated long-run gap in voting between young men and women in Germany: Gender divide continues to widen, but contrary to what is often assumed, young men continue to vote roughly in line with the overall population, while young women have swung sharply left. www.ft.com/content/29fd...
Curious about the German election? My colleague Tom Février is tracking the results for Bloomberg👇 #GermanElection2025 🇩🇪
Tom Février@tomfevrier.bsky.social · last yr.🇩🇪 🗳️ Support for the AfD surged in eastern Germany and all over the country. The far-right party is projected to get 150 seats in the Bundestag. 🔴 Explore live results, district by district, on @bloomberg.com ⤵️ www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
🇩🇪 🗳️ Germany’s conservatives won Sunday’s snap election with 28.9% of the vote, according to projections from public broadcaster ARD. The far-right AfD came in second place with 19.9%, and is projected to get 145 seats. 🔴 Live results on @bloomberg.com ⤵️ www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
Relevant repost from Twitter: President-elect Donald Trump vowed to “stop wars". But how do you end a war? I looked at every conflict since World War Two to find out... www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202... 1/5
"Trump and his movement do not share (Western) values, at least not unequivocally, and that is now sinking in across the rest of the West, which the United States has led for the past eight decades. This realization can be cathartic." www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
Without America, ‘the West’ Will Splinter, Wither and Die
The West is not a geography but an ideal worth defending, in Ukraine or anywhere. Donald Trump doesn’t understand that.
bloomberg.com
Trump's 'negotiated settlement' for Ukraine could see the country ceding control over a large swathe of eastern territory to Russia. Here's how Russia has expanded its control on Eastern Ukraine since 2014 👇 1/3
