Kremlin backs covert campaign to keep Viktor Orbán in power [FREE TO READ] Vladimir Putin endorses plan drawn up by Russian consultancy that is under western sanctions

Russian agency conducting disinformation in Hungary thinks association with Putin would go badly for Orbán but association with Trump will go well

as.ft.com/r/80fa722d-2...

Anthony Blinken says Israel tried to pressure Obama to bomb Iran, warning they’d do it with or without the U.S. Obama refused. Trump caved to the same tactic. Also worth noting: Obama’s name doesn’t appear in the Epstein tapes.

Donald Trump has no ‘phase two’ plan for Iran war, says US senator [FREE TO READ] Intelligence committee member Mark Warner suggests administration has failed to outline next steps in briefings

no words

Donald Trump has no ‘phase two’ plan for Iran war, says US senator - as.ft.com/r/29507281-4... via @FT

Donald Trump links Greenland pursuit to failure to win Nobel Prize [FREE TO READ] US president texts Norwegian leader that he no longer feels obliged ‘to think purely of Peace’ after missing out on award

Look what they made him do

Donald Trump links Greenland pursuit to failure to win Nobel Prize - as.ft.com/r/f3973ea0-b... via @FT

NGOs raise alarm over case against Italy’s anti-graft prosecutors [FREE TO READ] Ex-head of Milan’s anti-corruption unit appealed conviction for withholding evidence in case against Eni/Shell

“Shockingly there now appears to be zero interest at the [OECD’s] working group on bribery to look into these matters”

on.ft.com/3WCXaDP

Lessons for the Fed from my time at the helm of Argentina’s central bank As I learnt to my cost, attacks on the independence of the institution never end well

oh the irony

www.ft.com/content/9cdb...

Germany and Italy pressed to bring $245bn of gold home from US Trump’s attacks on the Fed and growing geopolitical risks reignite public debate about repatriating bullion

Sign of the times: great story from @olafstorbeck.ft.com @amykazmin.bsky.social
www.ft.com/content/e393...

War on Iran is splitting Trump’s Maga movement As a decision on involvement looms, some of the president’s most ardent supporters have turned against him

Trump in 2019: “Going into the Middle East is the worst decision ever made.”

www.ft.com/content/02d1...

This is Europe’s ‘global euro’ moment But greater international prominence will not happen by default — it must be earned

top class trolling here by Christine Lagarde

www.ft.com/content/4d5d...

Trump official who shut down counter-Russia agency has links to Kremlin Darren Beattie, who alarmed the State Department with his pro-Moscow views, is married to a woman whose uncle has ties to Vladimir Putin

Darren Beattie - the State Dept official who dismantled the US government's main center for fighting Russian and Chinese propaganda around the world - turns out to have personal ties to the Russian elite.

www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025...

By me and @olihawkins.com:
- 16 of the 25 “VIPs” who won dinner and a reception with Trump by buying and holding $TRUMP meme coin have now emptied their wallets.
- 5 of the VIPs who only bought into the coin when the dinner was announced may have actually *made money* from the contest. (1/2)

Donald Trump says 80% tariff on China ‘seems right’ ahead of trade talks US president stakes out position as Treasury secretary heads to Geneva for negotiations

Oh dear

"Privately, however, many foreign officials have indicated that talks with the US appear to be progressing slowly, with US officials unable to articulate specific demands."

www.ft.com/content/382e...

Yes, this is a real tweet.

In time when most things are bad...this one still rises to "holy shit" status

Trump so much wants China to call

truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...

Virgil van Dijk signs new Liverpool FC contract - Liverpool FC Virgil van Dijk has today signed a new contract with Liverpool FC to extend his time with the club beyond the 2024-25 season.

breaking news

www.liverpoolfc.com/news/virgil-...

Steve's Reading Russia - Russian Press Review (16 April 2025) YouTube video by Steve Rosenberg

Moscow seems pleased. One Russian paper today: “Soviet leaders’ dream of driving a wedge between the European part of Nato & the US has come true.” Another: “Trump is destroying the world created by US liberals…the changes in the global system serve [Russia’s] interests.” #ReadingRussia

Trump is halfway to making America a police state [FREE TO READ] The president’s refusal to accept a Supreme Court ruling on illegal deportation is a turning point

More than halfway. The groundwork has all been done

on.ft.com/3EaGz4R

US fires Greenland base commander after JD Vance visit [FREE TO READ] Col Susannah Meyers accused of ‘subverting’ Donald Trump’s agenda

Yet more winning

on.ft.com/4lrGPgo

Trump said last night that if anyone but him was negotiating with China, the US would be paying China 104% - which is exactly what is happening today, to which he has no repsonse so far. (Also, Dimon said Bessent should take over negotiations.)

that last sentence - what can he possibly mean?

bsky.app/profile/bgru...

I though Vance was the clever one

The president — much as his predecessor did during a tariff announcement last year — featured auto workers heavily during a Rose Garden ceremony marking what he dubbed "Liberation Day" for the U.S. economy. Trump brought his go-to Michigan auto worker up to the podium, shouted out a group of United Auto Workers union members in the audience, and credited his administration's trade policy for spurring billions of dollars of U.S. investment from companies like General Motors Co., Hyundai Motor Co. and Vitale's old employer, Stellantis NV.

Stellantis says will temporarily lay off 900 U.S. workers following tariff announcement  - Reuters News 03 Apr 2025 14:37:41USA-TRUMP/TARIFFS-STELLANTIS (URGENT) DETROIT, April 3 (Reuters) - Stellantis NV, maker of Ram trucks and Jeeps, said on Thursday it was temporarily laying off 900 workers at five U.S. facilities after President Donald Trump's tariffs were announced, and temporarily pausing production at an assembly plant in Mexico and in Canada. The U.S. plants affected are powertrain and stamping facilities. Stellantis' Windsor Assembly, where the Chrysler Pacifica minivan and Dodge Charger Daytona are made, will be down for two weeks while Toluca Assembly, where the Jeep Compass and Jeep Wagoneer S are made, will be down the month of April, the company said..

Yesterday: Trump invites retired Stellantis auto worker from Michigan onto stage at tariff announcement.

Today: Stellantis temporarily lays of 900 workers in Michigan and Indiana.

eu.detroitnews.com/story/busine...

Trump kicks off sale of $2.3bn Truth Social stake Shares in Trump Media and Technology Group drop after company outlines plans in filing

"Wave and smile, wave and smile"

www.ft.com/content/1b41...

Right-wing YouTuber Tim Pool has made it to the White House pool — someone from his “Timcast” channel will be part of today’s pool duty covering the president.

Last year, DOJ revealed Pool was receiving millions of dollars from the Russian gov. Pool says he didn’t know where it was coming from.

Opinion | As Trump mayhem spreads, MAGA unity cracks From the Wall Street Journal editorial board to Fox News, capitulation is on the way out.

The Washington Post reckons the US is fighting back

wapo.st/3YaYEq3

Screenshot of Times article with headline: "Florida may loosen child labour laws to fill gap left by migrants" The article explains a law has been proposed in Florida to allow children as young as 14 to work overnight shifts in agriculture & constraction to make up for lost migrant labour. Yes really.

You truly could not make it up.

You could not.

Hegseth, Waltz, Gabbard: Private Data and Passwords of Senior U.S. Security Officials Found Online Donald Trump's most important security advisers used Signal to discuss an imminent military strike. Now, reporting by DER SPIEGEL has found that the contact data of some of those officials, including ...

Full story below.

“The reporting has revealed an additional grave, previously unknown security breach at the highest levels in Washington. Hostile intelligence services could use this publicly available data to hack the communications of those affected by installing spyware on their devices.“

This is evident when seeing @airwars.bsky.social important documentation of civilian harm recently as well as @vleckie.bsky.social’s valuable verification work in Yemen.

airwars.org/conflict/us-...