American Journalist Abducted in Iraq, Security Officials Say

Worried for Shelly Kittleson, I hope she is freed as soon as possible

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/31/w...

Ukrainian FPV giant signs deal to build drones in US One of Ukraine's largest drone makers, General Cherry, has signed a deal to produce unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the U.S., the company said in a statement shared with the Kyiv Independent on Mar...

⚡️Ukrainian FPV giant signs deal to build drones in US.

FPV drone and interceptor maker General Cherry reached an agreement with U.S. defense firm Wilcox Industries to produce drones in its New Hampshire factories.

Pessimism takes root in UK as shoppers struggle to afford essentials Millions are dipping into savings or borrowing to get by as the Iran war drives up prices, survey shows

You can feel it in London, the mood on public transport, the vibe on the street. There's a kind of broken dystopian edge to the UK these days.

www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Trump is contemplating the sheer folly of boots on the ground in Iran. How did it come to this? | Simon Tisdall After the anguish of Iraq and Afghanistan, it’s almost unthinkable the US would again send troops to the Middle East – but its president is desperate and narcissistic, says foreign affairs commentator...

What a time to be alive

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Humanitarian Situation Report | 27 March 2026 | United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Occupied Palestinian Territory Millions of people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory remain reliant on relief aid provided to them amid tight restrictions; many lack protection from Israeli policies and acts of violence ...

More Palestinians have been displaced by settler violence and Israeli access restrictions in the first three months of 2026 than in all of 2025, the U.N. says. www.ochaopt.org/content/huma...

A war of regression: how Trump bombed the US into a worse position with Iran Analysts fear Iran has played a weak hand well and the US has blundered into a defining strategic failure

"Iran plans to turn the strait into a money spinner ... could raise $80bn a year... tankers carrying oil from favoured non-hostile nations such as India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea and China could be waved through or offered cheaper rates."

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

The escalation trap: how the Iran war could become more costly and complex Iran’s is trying to create wedges between Gulf states and the US, but Trump is very comfortable on the ‘escalatory ladder’

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

US historian Robert Pape in the Guardian

“They [Iran] are forcing the publics in the Gulf to ask: ‘Why are we paying the price of a war that appears driven by expansionist Israeli policies?’”

And to a broader extent through oil prices that applies to the rest of the world too

But to implicitly give up on lifes ability to provide it at all, or pathologise those who live in the hope of finding it, or seek it, feels like a profoundly modern statement of collectively acculturated disillusionment.

Some people just want to feel peak dionysian experiences, people who want more than medium, and it is frustrating that life cannot provide that every day.

As much as there are problems in life for people with addictions and the need to experience strong feelings, there is a kind of tyranny of the "happily uninspired", or "acceptantly mediocre", that comes with the pathologisation of those that want more .

Is Love Addictive? Many Say Yes, and It’s Changing Our Idea of Romance.

This was a good read.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/m...

‘They pushed so many lies about recycling’: the fight to stop big oil pumping billions more into plastics Plastic production has doubled over the last 20 years – and will likely double again. For author Beth Gardiner, metal water bottles and canvas tote bags are not the solution. So what is?

Global plastic production projected to double or triple according to this. Any chance we could *not* do that

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Yeah honestly the 6 7 thing is so disappointing. Somehow things can be a thing these days without actually having any meaning at all

You know you're getting old when not only do you not understand what the kids are into, the music they listen to or the fashions they wear, but you actively don't want to either

How flattery became a big, beautiful industry [FREE TO READ] Never before have there been so many rich people to be boosted

One effect of our age of the rich: the flattery industry is booming. Call them luxury hotel concierges, personal trainers, Trump cabinet members, Musk "loyalists", wealth managers etc, but the essential job is flatterer. Me
@financialtimes.com on how the industry works on.ft.com/43SIvbR

The Day Anthony Hopkins Quit Drinking | The Interview YouTube video by The Interview

For anyone going through a difficult period of their life right now, this interview with Anthony Hopkins is incredibly inspiring.

youtu.be/1mbe4F3YBqw?...

The Murky Plan That Ensures a Future War Who will benefit from the White House’s 28-point proposal for Ukraine?

For a decade, Russia has been seeking to divide Europe and America, to undermine NATO and weaken the transatlantic alliance. This peace plan, if accepted, will achieve that goal.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

Daily Mail owner strikes £500m deal to buy Telegraph titles Acquisition likely to trigger in-depth investigation by regulator after agreement between DMGT and Redbird IMI

Well, this is pretty terrifying. The Daily Mail is buying the Telegraph.

One massive consolidated right-wing media empire controlled by off-shore interests at a critical moment in global politics.

What could go wrong?

www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...

Growing inequality drives stock market disconnect with broader economic reality...

"the number of so-called "everyday millionaires" has more than quadrupled since 2000 to about 52 million people.
...
The scale of wealth makes it difficult for markets to go to ground for very long."

The new Russian internet: closed, censored, and “secure” The World Wide Web is gradually disappearing in Russia — not only as an information technology, but also as a space of freedom. The Russian state is making great efforts in building its alternative Ru...

Moscow is making great efforts in building its Runet — a closed and strictly controlled Russian internet. The Barents Observer has compiled an overview of what is happening in the Russian segment of the internet

Milan prosecutors investigate alleged ‘sniper tourism’ during Bosnian war Groups from Italy and elsewhere alleged to have paid Serb soldiers to shoot Sarajevo residents during siege

Heinous

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

Outgoing BBC director general to address staff after Trump threatens to sue for $1bn Trump says he will file legal action by Friday if the BBC does not apologise and

This threatened law suit is ridiculous. But very irritating that the BBC put itself in such a vulnerable position and will now have to spend so much energy and attention defending itself,

www.bbc.com/news/live/cd...

Moscow's forces push south of the Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, Russian commander says Russian forces have pushed deep into the Ukrainian city of Kupiansk and curled southwards to capture a series of train stations, a Russian commander on the ground said on Tuesday.

Moscow's forces push south of the Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, Russian commander says reut.rs/43piAIr

Inside the rise of Ireland’s new far-right terror threat The emergence of the IDA marks a shift to small, tightly controlled extremist cells operating covertly in Ireland

“A country long defined by its own ­history of political violence, paramilitarism, and vigilantism, Ireland now faces a different kind of threat. This time, the targets are non-white immigrants and Muslims.”

Brilliant reporting by @johnmooneyirl.bsky.social.

Using never-before-seen videos, rare testimonies and leaked military files, Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit exposes abuses and battlefield weaknesses in the civil war raging across Myanmar. Watch: aje.io/junta #MyanmarExposed

The bear and the bot farm: Countering Russian hybrid warfare in Africa Russia has many quiet enemies in Africa. Working together, like-minded Africans and Europeans can roll back its troublesome influence.

"Clearly echoing Erwin Rommel’s Nazi force, the Africa Corps is the Kremlin’s new expeditionary formation in Africa. ...Like Wagner before it, it is still laden with neo-Nazi and white supremacist symbology."
on Russian neo-colonialism in Africa:
ecfr.eu/publication/...

Gunvor drops bid for $22bn of Lukoil assets after US moves to block deal Treasury calls Swiss trader ‘Kremlin’s puppet’ and says it would block its licence to operate

US blocks $22b sanctions-prompted sale of Lukoil to Gunvor, a Swiss commodity trader cofounded by Putin ally Gennady Timchenko in the 90s. Timchenko fully divested for a decade but US treasury says Gunvor still a "Putin puppet"

www.ft.com/content/19e5...