@westerneuropean

This is a good sign for my longstanding campaign that my cat should be foreign secretary

🚨 8 in 10 popular AI chatbots regularly assisted with planning school attacks, bombings, and high-profile assassinations.

At a time when mainstream AI becomes a tool for violence, this new research by CCDH & @cnn.com shows how AI-generated violence is a matter of choice 🧵

Fascinating thread - one thing that leapt out for me was a formerly dominant centre left party being squeezed by Greens in diverse graduate heavy cities and by the radical right in economically insecure manufacturing towns. Certain patterns keep repeating

Billionaires’ % share of federal election spending in:

2008: 0.3%

2024: 19%

@nytimes.com #GildedAge
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/u...

Oil for power: How Maduro’s cronies traded Venezuela’s natural resource wealth for Trump’s protection Venezuela’s parliament has passed a law granting amnesty to political prisoners — while in practice banning the return of opposition leaders to the country. It is no coincidence that Nobel laureate Ma...

Oil for power: How Maduro’s cronies traded Venezuela’s natural resource wealth for Trump’s protection

Keeping the “old guard” in power appears to suit the Trump administration just fine, as its main preoccupation is access to Venezuela’s oil industry.

Iran’s Control of Hormuz Means It’s Exporting More Oil Today Than Before the War Tehran is letting ships carrying its crude pass through the strait, while it scares off others that would dare.

Iran is exporting more oil through the Strait of Hormuz than before the war, showing it is in control of a strategic waterway that it has closed off to the rest of the region’s oil producers. www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Reaching net zero by 2050 ‘cheaper for UK than one fossil fuel crisis’ Climate change committee finds move to renewable energy would also bring health, economic and security benefits

Great framing!

With the world in a new dangerous place, if one thing is sure, there will be more fossil fuel crises..

nice @fionaharvey.bsky.social !

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Three more vessels hit by projectiles in Strait of Hormuz, showing merchant ships remain in firing line Three vessels have been hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, maritime ​security and risk firms said on Wednesday, bringing the number of ships struck in the region since ‌the Iran conflict began to at least 14.

Three vessels have been hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, maritime security and risk firms said on Wednesday, bringing the number of ships struck in the region since the Iran conflict began to at least 14.

Great piece today by @samfr.bsky.social today on how progressives need to ‘pick fights’ to cut through in today’s attention economy.

Our recent piece on “a war on bills” shows what this could look like for the cost of living.

www.ippr.org/articles/a-w...

Peter Mandelson pay-off was about £70,000, documents will show [FREE TO READ] First tranche of papers could cause embarrassment for Keir Starmer’s government

EXC: Peter Mandelson’s govt pay-off was £70,000, the Cabinet Office document dump this afternoon will show

Via @georgewparker.bsky.social , @pickardje.bsky.social and me

as.ft.com/r/45f4acc8-f...

Casualties and Injuries after russian strike in Kharkiv:

This morning, russians carried out a drone strike on the premises of a civilian enterprise in the city.

Two people were killed, and seven others were injured‼️

That’s a rare downbeat note from Kudlow.

Oh, ffs.

This very straight news piece buried deep within the FT never uses words like corruption or insider dealing but every detail is quietly devastating. Why is the FT virtually alone in the UK media in covering this important story?

Embarrassing Iran U-turn for the right, but Keir Starmer’s problem is worse Despite a change of heart from Reform and the Conservatives, the Middle East war is much more difficult for the government

1/2 The data here that over the last decade Iran, not Afghanistan, has been the leading source of both general asylum claims & small boats is remarkable because the rightwing supports regime change in Iran which will increase asylum claims & they prefer to discuss in….

www.ft.com/content/2d90...

When I said 'Kemi Badenoch is so partisan, under her the Tories would oppose puppies and kittens if Labour said something nice about them', I didn't mean it literally.

More than 1,000 schools destroyed in Ukraine since war began-UNICEF More than 1,300 schools have been totally destroyed in government-held areas of Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion and others have been badly damaged, the U.N. children's fund UNICEF said on Tuesday...

More than 1,000 schools destroyed in Ukraine since war began-UNICEF

www.reuters.com/world/europe...

The government has announced that migrants will have to pass an English language test at the B2 level to obtain settlement, up from the current B1 level.

This change will come into force in March 2027.

In Russia, who's criticising Donald Trump...and who isn't? YouTube video by Steve Rosenberg

From today’s Russian papers: Donald Trump “needs help extricating himself from the poisoned political web spun from his arrogance & recklessness. Putin’s political trump cards have multiplied due to the miscalculations of his US counterpart” #ReadingRussia

@rafaelbehr.bsky.social spot on

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The 'German car manufacturers will ensure UK gets a great deal' thing is still alive and kicking 10 years on ...

As an IR professor, it's depressing that this is outperforming all others as the best theory of US foreign policy

An entire administration populated by the guy who gets his arse handed to him in the bar in Good Will Hunting

Trump is heading for a hard reckoning over Iran It isn’t a sign of Trump Derangement Syndrome to consider the Trump administration's Iran war video obscene

An utterly brilliant article on a revolting spectacle. Do Read. @questingvole.bsky.social

spectator.com/article/trum...

Sussex VC warns of ‘profound consequences’ from study visa ban - Research Professional News Sasha Roseneil appeals to parliamentarians over suspension of visas for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan

“Restricting access to UK universities for outstanding students from these countries risks undermining this legacy and diminishing the UK’s standing as a trusted partner in international development.” (Sasha Roseneil)

Ncuti Gatwa's acclaimed theatre run of beloved classic play is set to stream for free Alongside Gatwa, the play stars Sharon D Clarke, Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́, Eliza Scanlen and Hugh Skinner.

The National Theatre will stream The Importance of Being Earnest starring Ncuti Gatwa for free. The performance from the winter 2024/25 run will be on YouTube from 12 March. A watch-along premiere will be at 7pm GMT, during which viewers will have the opportunity to interact through chat/polls. 👜

Spirit of ‘56 update

The UK government's rhetoric portrays international recruitment into the NHS as an uncomfortable necessity – tolerated to plug current gaps, but politically undesirable and expected to recede as domestic capacity builds.

I argue this approach needs to change.

Net zero will cost less than fossil fuel price rise, UK climate adviser says Climate Change Committee report comes after days of turbulence in global energy markets

"Reaching UK net zero by 2050 will cost less than the economic hit of a fossil fuel price rise similar to the 2022 energy shock"
www.ft.com/content/d163...

The BBC will regret jettisoning the Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race

The Conservative press are all up in arms over the BBC "losing the rights to the boat race" like it's some great national betrayal.

Meanwhile, in the real world:

● LBC had the radio rights from 2005 to 2010

● ITV had tv rights from 2005 to 2009

● Nobody else cares