Author | Lightnews

The New US Sanctions Move Actually Protects Russia For Now

hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 19h

Instead of two weeks, in this case the Trump administration has provided some protection to foreign companies (think Chinese, Indian, Turkish, which are buying and refining lots of Russian oil) until at least November 21.

Think Four Weeks, Not Two

phillipspobrien.substack.com

hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 20h

Europe's largest space groups unveiled a preliminary deal on Thursday to join forces in satellite manufacturing and services after months of negotiations to counter the runaway growth of rivals led by Elon Musk's Starlink.

www.reuters.com

Reposted by hopebuilding

ProPublica @propublica.org · 1d

Records obtained by ProPublica indicate that food banks across the country were expecting more than 27 million pounds of chicken, 2 million gallons of milk, 10 million pounds of dried fruit and 60 million eggs that never arrived.

Trump Canceled 94 Million Pounds of Food Aid. Here’s What Never Arrived.

ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the administration’s cut...

projects.propublica.org

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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 23h

World Health Organization says 41 critical patients evacuated yesterday as Rafah border remains shut, despite ceasefire.

UN urges Israel to allow 15,000 people in Gaza to receive treatment abroad

World Health Organization says 41 critical patients evacuated yesterday as Rafah border remains shut, despite ceasefire.

bit.ly

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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 22h

Analysis by the Guardian and Kyiv Independent of satellite imagery, monitoring data and on-the-ground testimony connects the devastation of Ukraine’s forests directly to the Russian invasion.

Wildfires have consumed vast chunks of Ukraine. Is Russia deliberately fuelling the flames?

In 2024, nearly a million hectares of Ukraine’s land burned. Heat, mines and shelling contributed, but footage of drones targeting firefighters has raised the question of war crimes

European Union agrees on new sanctions against Russia targeting its shadow oil fleet and LNG imports

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The Associated Press @apnews.com · 1d

BREAKING: The European Union agrees on new sanctions against Russia targeting its shadow fleet of oil tankers and banning LNG imports.

The European Union has agreed on a new raft of sanctions against Russia targeting its shadow fleet of oil tankers and banning its imports of liquefied natural gas.

bit.ly

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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 22h

The sanctions package will also significantly expand the number of non-Russian companies banned from doing business with the bloc in a bid to prevent Moscow from circumventing the restrictions.

Slovakia lifts veto on latest Russia sanctions

The decision comes on the eve of a crucial meeting of European leaders that will seek to stress the EU’s support for Ukraine.

www.politico.eu

hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 22h

This is work which he wants to continue as king, stating that what excites him most about his future role is to create “a world … that actually does impact people’s lives for the better”.

Banning Prince Andrew, paring down royal causes – what a modern monarchy might look like under William

William has chosen to focus much of his work as Prince of Wales on issues with a social purpose.

ICJ orders Israel to allow aid into Gaza and says restrictions breached international obligations

hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 22h

The stinging advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice in The Hague also found that Israel had a duty not to impede the supply of aid by UN organisations including the beleaguered UN Palestinian relief agency Unrwa, which has been in effect banned from the territory since January.

UN’s top court also finds Israel failed to justify blocking Unrwa and other relief agencies

Poland’s birth rate is in freefall. The cause? A loneliness epidemic that state cash can’t solve | Anna Gromada

hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 22h

Communism, in rejecting the bourgeois model of the family, propelled women into full employment and higher education, a policy that left Poland with one of the EU’s smallest gender-pay gaps. .... Yet in the private sphere – marriage, domestic labour, child-rearing – conservative norms endured.

Bonuses for families have done nothing to fix a baby bust caused by post-communist Europe’s relationships crisis, says sociologist Anna Gromada

Tens of thousands to attend rival rallies as Hungary’s election campaign kicks off

hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 22h

Magyar, 43, a former lawyer who broke publicly with the governing party in February 2024, has alleged that Fidesz is committing “a string of crimes” and is using state funds to ship its voters to the capital, promising free food and vouchers for those who attend.

Budapest marches by ruling Fidesz party and opposition Tisza will take place in a highly polarised political climate

The Best New Building In The UK

hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 22h

A care home that tackles the twin issues of loneliness and a lack of affordable housing for elderly people has been crowned the UK’s best new building. Appleby Blue in south London... won the Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling prize

A care home that tackles the twin issues of loneliness and a lack of affordable housing for elderly people has been crowned the UK’s best new building. Appleby Blue in south London, which won the Roya...

www.karunanews.org

hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 22h

Friday’s contest is now effectively a showdown between the leftwing independent candidate Catherine Connolly and Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys. Interestingly, Fine Gael, a centre-right party that has been in power since 2011, has never held the presidency.

Ireland’s presidential election race now down to two women

Catherine Connolly has a significant leader over Heather Humphreys in the polls but these elections are notoriously unpredictable.

Engineering hope: how I made it my mission to help rebuild Ukraine’s critical infrastructure

hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 22h

The project aimed to not only repair what was damaged but to build better infrastructure: homes that are more resilient, more sustainable and ready for future crises. Mitoulis recalled that the whole idea for BridgeUkraine was born out of a deeply personal moment...

Bridges are not just engineering projects, they are lifelines.

‘I have it in my blood and brain … I still haven’t been able to shake this nightmare off.’ How voices from a forgotten archive of Nazi horrors are reshaping perceptions of the Holocaust

hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 23h

Yet they also uncover a more complex reality where friendship, empathy and tenderness could exist alongside nightmarish brutality and abuse; where prisoners could sell out their fellow inmates for a scrap of food, but also where guards could turn a blind eye in a moment of compassion.

The Ravensbrück archive reveals how being a survivor of the camps did not always entail innocence.

Why Trump Is a ‘Scarcity President’

hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 23h

"Even though he denies climate change, he’s the first climate change politician, because he comes at a moment when limitlessness is no longer possible. .... So, Trump is the scarcity president."

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Greg Grandin on the end of the American myth of limitlessness.

foreignpolicy.com

hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 23h

"However, we also found that in spite of these regressions, the tide seems to be turning, with activists partnering with women in leadership to reclaim their rights and imagine bold new standards for equality and inclusion."

Women’s Rights Are Winning

Around the world, high-profile setbacks have inspired overlooked progress.

foreignpolicy.com