Author | Lightnews

Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · 20d

“By simply pointing their dish at different satellites and spending months interpreting the obscure—but unprotected—signals they received from them, the researchers assembled an alarming collection of private data” @wired.com
www.wired.com/story/satell...

Satellites Are Leaking the World’s Secrets: Calls, Texts, Military and Corporate Data

With just $800 in basic equipment, researchers found a stunning variety of data—including thousands of T-Mobile users’ calls and texts and even US military communications—sent by satellites unencrypte...

www.wired.com

Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Sep 13

“Historisch gesehen hat keine Sprache in Europa ein geographisch so weit sich erstreckendes Verbreitungsgebiet – von Süddänemark bis an die Wolga.”

www.welt.de/kultur/artic...

Bericht zur Lage: Deutsch ist immer noch die am weitesten verbreitete Sprache in Europa - WELT

Der vierte „Bericht zur Lage der deutschen Sprache“ untersucht den Status des Deutschen auf dem Kontinent, wo 94 Prozent aller Deutschsprecher leben. Gute Nachrichten gibt es aus Ungarn und Rumänien. ...

www.welt.de

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Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Sep 9

“Much of the atomic fear stoked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has focused on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant…But Ukraine has a long list of vulnerable nuclear facilities, like reactors for research or power generation..,and storage sites for spent fuel.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/w...

Nuclear Sites Dotted Across Ukraine Pose Threat of Radiation Disaster

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Amy Ruckes

Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · Aug 3

Secretary General Antonio Guterres is slashing more than $700 million in spending and laying plans to overhaul the United Nations as the US pulls back support

UN Lays Out Survival Plan as Trump Threatens to Slash Funding

Secretary General Antonio Guterres is slashing more than $700 million in spending and laying plans to overhaul the United Nations as its largest sponsor, the US, pulls back support.

bloom.bg

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Reposted by Amy Ruckes

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · Aug 3

'The etymology of “vocation” can be traced to the Latin verb vocare meaning “to call”. In essence, we discern our vocation by what we recognise as the calling for our lives,' says Enuma Okoro: https://on.ft.com/450Ltfp

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Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Aug 2

“Lithuanian Armed Forces’ current radar capabilities were developed to meet requirements set before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The equipment is geared toward larger aircraft rather than drones, but lessons learned from the war in Ukraine will lead to upgrades.”

Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Aug 2

“The unmanned aerial vehicle that crossed into Lithuania from Belarus on Monday has been discovered at the Gaižiūnai training ground in the Jonava District, central Lithuania.”

www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-e...

Drone from Belarus discovered after four days of search in central Lithuania

The unmanned aerial vehicle that crossed into Lithuania from Belarus on Monday has been discovered at the Gaižiūnai trai...

www.lrt.lt

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Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Jul 21

"If UK companies won contracts funded by Safe money, the UK government must pay a percentage into the fund to help balance out the economic benefit of the contracts."

www.ft.com/content/1982...

EU will make UK pay to join €150bn defence fund

Boost to British businesses from contracts won through Safe project will require London to make financial contribution, diplomats say

www.ft.com

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Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Jul 21

"Under the new proposal, the EIC will include support for defence and dual-use start-ups, modelled on the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)."

Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Jul 21

"This is the first time a Commission representative has explicitly confirmed that the 40-year-old rule restricting the Framework Programmes to projects with civilian applications will be scrapped."

sciencebusiness.net/news/dual-us...

Horizon Europe will be ‘dual use by default,’ Zaharieva says

Dual-use projects will be supported across the whole of the next Horizon Europe programme, and not just under the European Innovation Council (EIC), as previously announced.“Like all parts of the futu...

sciencebusiness.net

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Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Jul 21

"Explaining the murky process: “She told us how much she would cut from our program but we didn’t know how much she would cut from those of our peers.” For everyone, apart from the small close-knit group in whom the president confides, it made the overall policy extremely difficult to grasp."

Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Jul 21

"Even von der Leyen’s team of commissioners hadn’t been aware of the overall figures until a few hours earlier."

www.politico.eu/article/ursu...

The muddled €1.8 trillion EU budget launch that exposes von der Leyen’s weaknesses

Simmering internal criticism of the European Commission president came to the boil over a messy, confused and secretive spending plan that highlighted divisions and revealed political fragilities.

www.politico.eu

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Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Jul 21

"Microsoft on Saturday issued an alert about active attacks on SharePoint servers. It said that SharePoint Online in Microsoft 365, which is in the cloud, was not hit by the zero day exploit."

www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

Microsoft server hack likely single actor, thousands of firms now vulnerable, researchers say

A global attack on Microsoft server software used by thousands of government agencies and businesses to share documents within organisations is likely the work of a single actor, a cybersecurity researcher said on Monday.

www.reuters.com

Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Jul 21

"Bloomberg reported that the administration is pushing Serbia and other Balkan nations to take in migrants deported from the US. Serbia’s authorities have not commented on the proposal."

balkaninsight.com/2025/06/11/k...

Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Jul 21

"Germany is indirectly liable for around € 262 bn under the NextGenerationEU recovery fund. This burden arises from grants, guarantees and loans for which Germany shares responsibility. So far, the scale of these commitments has been underestimated in public debate."

www.zew.de/en/zew/news/...

Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Jul 21

"Handelsblatt notes that a formal deficit procedure against Germany later this year cannot be ruled out, especially when the 2026 budget is submitted in autumn."

europeannewsroom.com/germany-reac...

Germany reaches agreement with EU Commission on 2025–29 spending plan

In addition to its spending plan for the next four years, Germany is expected to unveil its budget for 2026 later this year.

europeannewsroom.com

Reposted by Amy Ruckes

Anton Gerashchenko @antongerashchenko.bsky.social · Jul 20

That's why your national security doctrines require urgent revision," Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of #Ukraine said at the leading international LANDEURO conference on European land forces, held in Wiesbaden, Germany.

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Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Jul 21

“Production will likely have to be simplified and slowed over the coming years, while Russia will be forced to accept reduced quality of outputs and will suffer from ‘innovation stagnation’ in its technological research and development.”

Chatham House @chathamhouse.org · Jul 21

Report | Russia’s struggle to modernize its military industry

Moscow is struggling to build new technologically advanced systems. It is relying on Soviet-era legacy equipment and research, writes Mathieu Boulegue (@chrussiaeurasia.bsky.social).

Read our latest research⬇️

Russia’s struggle to modernize its military industry

How sanctions, war and ‘innovation stagnation’ are weakening Moscow’s capabilities

www.chathamhouse.org

Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Jul 20

"The long-term defence industry programme, EDIP, and the innovation programme, the EDF, would fall under the €451 billion so-called European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), a new umbrella structure unifying up to 14 existing budget lines."

www.euractiv.com/section/defe...

Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Jul 20

"A recent Eurobarometer poll showed EU citizens are not exactly eager to spend money on defence, despite growing warnings from NATO and the EU about the risk of future conflicts. Fewer than one in four people (23%) want the EU to use its funds for military purposes."
www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...

Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Jul 20

"Spain must carefully align its national defence strategy with the EU’s Readiness 2030 initiatives to maintain its role as a key player in EU defence and industrial cooperation."

www.realinstitutoelcano.org/en/policy-pa...

The defence dilemma: can Spain ride Europe’s defence revival?

What are the main strategic, technological, and regulatory changes in the EU's defence policy, and what is Spain's position on these developments?

www.realinstitutoelcano.org

Reposted by Amy Ruckes

The Conversation U.S. @us.theconversation.com · Jul 9

Pre-bunking, a method akin to vaccination, trains people to spot and resist misinformation.

A behavioral scientist explains why group-based approaches may be key to maintaining resistance over time: theconversation.com/misinformati...

Misinformation lends itself to social contagion – here’s how to recognize and combat it

Mass psychogenic illness has happened throughout history, but social media makes it more likely to spread.

theconversation.com

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Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Jul 9

“Several planned cross-border projects are positioned to not only supply clean energy to Europe, but also to strengthen political cooperation, attract foreign investment, and spur economic development in partner regions.”

CSIS | Center for Strategic & International Studies @csis.org · Jul 9

"Grid integration has emerged as a cornerstone of Europe’s long-term energy strategy, helping to respond to climate change, address energy prices, and mitigate strategic vulnerabilities," writes CSIS's Energy Security Program.

Read the full report here: csis.org/analysis/str...

Amy Ruckes @amyruckes.bsky.social · Jul 9

A single foreign policy officer, Elbridge Colby, “prompted last week’s decision…to halt shipments of some air defense missiles to Ukraine, which caught many Trump allies and lawmakers off guard”

www.politico.eu/article/pent...

Pentagon policy chief’s rogue decisions have irked US allies and the Trump administration

Even for an administration with a knack for moving fast and breaking things, Elbridge Colby’s moves at the Pentagon have caused frustration and friction.

www.politico.eu

Reposted by Amy Ruckes

Euromaidan Press @euromaidanpress.bsky.social · Jul 5

Ukraine is moving closer to NATO even without formal membership. Two Ukrainian mine countermeasure vessels, Cherkasy and Chernihiv, passed the Alliance’s Level 1 certification

This means the ships are now officially recognized as NATO-standard
euromaidanpress.com/2025/07/05/u...

Ukraine is becoming naval power: two ships pass NATO certification

Two Ukrainian vessels have officially become interoperable with NATO standards, and Ukraine's Marine Corps is now the largest in Europe.

euromaidanpress.com

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