Ukraine, Belarus tensions rise as border militarization intensifies The Ukrainian president has denounced the Belarusian army's construction of artillery positions near the Ukrainian border. Belarus's leader Alexander Lukashenko warned he is prepared to 'use everything' to prevent an attack on his country.

Ukraine, Belarus tensions rise as border militarization intensifies

Federal Judge Breaks Trump’s Permitting Blockade The opinion covered a host of actions the administration has taken to slow or halt renewables development.

NEW: A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that key actions Trump took to delay solar and wind projects across the U.S. were illegal (me for @heatmap.news)

🇪🇪 ERR: The U.S. paused ammunition deliveries to Estonia (especially HIMARS rockets) due to the war with Iran, likely for months, not weeks.

Estonia says it has enough anti-tank weapons but may seek alternatives or rethink purchases if delays continue.

Don't miss this landmark ruling of CJEU Court.
It changes the legal landscape of EU, and solidifies LGBTQ+ rights as a core function of EU legislation.
It also forces a legal change in not only Hungary, but also in Poland, Slovakia, etcetera.
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And as a secondary effect it will also grant LGBTQ+ persons the right to seek asylum in Europe, especially trans-people from the US.
If you, or anybody you know is a trans-person in the US, and can't travel abroad due to the US travel ban for trans-people...
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...remember that you can seek asylum at a European Legation in the US.
3/3

Palantir manifesto described as ‘ramblings of a supervillain’ amid UK contract fears Alarm caused by posts of Alex Carp, tech firm’s CEO, championing US military dominance and of AI weapons

'The US spy tech company Palantir published a manifesto extolling the benefits of American power and implying some cultures are inferior to others – in what MPs have called “a parody of a RoboCop film” and “the ramblings of a supervillain”.' 1/2

We expect some positive decisions tomorrow on the €90 billion loan to Ukraine.

This would show that our support for Ukraine remains strong and that Russia cannot outlast Ukraine.

My doorstep ahead of today’s Foreign Affairs Council ↓

the thing about our current moment is that yes, the anti-AI and anti-big tech people are getting very reactive nowadays - but have you seen what they’re *reacting* to?

Just organise them into a committee. That'll do them in.

Not surprising.

This is what the BBC does during elections campaigns, supporting the far right.

Here’s another example (Ofcom investigated for 2 years but Theresa May got elected…) :

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scot...

We are seeing elevated errors and timeouts on some Bluesky-hosted services, and are investigating.

The Trump family’s World Liberty Financial is borrowing against its own thinly-traded token. New reporting suggests the company may have partnered with individuals connected to a US-sanctioned human trafficking operation. And Justin Sun, who was among the project’s earliest and largest investors, has denounced it as “‘World Tyranny,’ not ‘World Liberty Financial’” as his $75 million investment remains frozen.1

The Trump family’s World Liberty Financial is borrowing against its own token. New reporting suggests the company may have partnered with individuals connected to a US-sanctioned human trafficking operation. And Justin Sun has denounced it as “World Tyranny” Financial as his tokens remain frozen.

EV sales grew by over 20% and now make up around 1 in 4 new car sales worldwide.

⚡️EVs made up more than ½ of sales in China and electric truck sales there tripled.

⚡️EV sales outside of China, Europe and the US ramped up by more than 50%.

Climate Change Concern Near Its High Point in U.S. The 44% of U.S. adults who currently worry "a great deal" about climate change or global warming is near its 46% high point from 2020.

US elites decided, like a school of fish, that climate concern is old, boring, "woke," square, not hip & popular any more. As usual, it was based almost entirely on internal elite dynamics. It had nothing to do with the actual public, which is more concerned than ever.

Anyone arguing that some flavor of AI literacy will protect women from AI deep fake porn is at best unserious and at worst desperate to protect their automated goon generator. This is prima facie not a literacy problem.

The EU may unblock a €90 billion loan for Ukraine on Wednesday, April 22.

This amendment is the final element needed to launch the funding mechanism for Ukraine. The item has been included as one requiring no discussion (I-item), which typically indicates a prior agreement among member states.

Mass surveillance company Palantir just demanded mandatory US military service in a newly published manifesto.

Palantir is also currently the recipient of roughly $2.4B worth of military contracts.

Somewhere Bismarck is looking down in confusion as Germany projects power by sending 4,000 pensioners, 12 buffet stations and a TUI loyalty program through the Strait of Hormuz

Orbán’s Hungary Defeat Shows Disinformation is Not a Political Magic Trick Counter-disinformation work should be supported continually, not to prevent certain election outcomes but to give voters the chance to make an informed choice.

Hungary’s April election ended Viktor Orbán’s 16-year run. Zsófia Fülöp & Szilárd Teczár write that disinformation isn’t a magic trick that reliably sways voters. The takeaway is to dial down election-only focus and support information integrity year-round.

Schlagzeile Academics Newsletter: "Antragsflut: #ERC zieht Notbremse". Tja mensch, wie kommt das denn, dass immer mehr Forschende immer mehr Anträge einreichen?? Zuletzt 250 Anträge, die *alle* begutachtet werden müssen von Kolleg*innen, die schon lange überlastet sind. Der Witz dabei: 1/3

From floods to wildfires, new ideas are helping Europe adapt to climate extremes Many people expect a raging wildfire to leave a blackened, lifeless landscape in its wake. But after a blaze swept through Las Hurdes in Extremadura, Spain, in 2009, the scene was quite different. In ...

Europe is scaling climate adaptation by connecting regions with similar risks.

Over 100 solutions are being tested: from nature-based wildfire barriers to underground flood sensors, so what works can be applied elsewhere: link.europa.eu/xGvq3N 🧪

One Year in, the Anti-Science Agenda of the Trump Administration Is Evident The White House's actions tell a story of a planned and intentional attack on our federal scientific infrastructure, causing real harm to people and the planet today and endangering all of us in the l...

We’ve documented more than 560 attacks on science by the Trump administration since January 2025. Read more in @jbd-phd.bsky.social latest blog here:

AP Exclusive: Europe has 'maybe 6 weeks of jet fuel left,' energy agency head warns The head of the International Energy Agency has warned that Europe has about six weeks of jet fuel left.

“In Europe, we have maybe six weeks or so (of) jet fuel left,” he said. “If we are not able to open the Strait of Hormuz ... I can tell you soon we will hear the news that some of the flights from city A to city B might be canceled as a result of lack of jet fuel.”

📊 NEW analysis: #Datacentre flexibility could play a key role in easing Europe’s grid congestion – while strengthening energy security and lowering costs.

Driven by the rise of #AI, Europe’s electricity demand could grow two to fourfold by 2035. 1/x

“From inception, Palantir’s purpose has been to provide…the ​‘ontology layer’ of fascism — helping to give its ideological goals a material reality.”
inthesetimes.com/article/pala...

Staunch Trump Supporters Are Now Asking if He’s the Antichrist The Iran war and a series of social media posts, including one depicting Trump as Jesus Christ, have some conservative commentators and fans suspecting the president may be the antichrist.

The Iran war and a series of social media posts, including one depicting Trump as Jesus Christ, have some conservative commentators and fans suspecting the president may be the antichrist.

Hundreds of Fake Pro-Trump Avatars Emerge on Social Media

“I’m new here and love God, America,and Trump!!”

Hundreds of accounts on social media featuring AI-generated pro-Trump influencers posting at a rapid pace about the “radical left” and “America First.”

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/b...

Scoop: NSA using Anthropic's Mythos despite blacklist The government's cybersecurity needs are outweighing the Pentagon's feud with Anthropic.

The National Security Agency is using Anthropic's most powerful model yet, Mythos Preview, despite top officials at the Defense Department,— which oversees the NSA — insisting the company is a "supply chain risk," 2 sources tell Axios.

It all makes sense when you understand that VC-backed tech companies want to insert themselves as a monopolistic, corporate tollbooth into EVERY human activity.

Transportation, communication, payments, farming, reading, listening to music, finding information, and now— with AI, *thinking*.