Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 9h

'“It forces us to grow our economies and to do the things we should have been doing,” he said, adding that his mantra was “seek ye growth” as a way of raising the government’s capacity to spend on social programmes.'

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 9h

Zambia’s president on cuts to international aid: “It’s painful for now... There is a shock."
“But longer term, it’s a good thing." www.ft.com/content/6878...

US aid cuts were ‘long overdue’, Zambia’s president says

Hakainde Hichilema tells FT abrupt closure of USAID was a ‘shock’ but offers opportunities for African nations

www.ft.com

1

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 9h

Also life within the camps of Calais - when they're allowed to be called camps, predicated upon volunteer groups' semantic preferences.

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 9h

This extraordinary piece covers the nebulous nature of reporting around illegal immigration into England, constituting the earlier lorry boardings and current sea crossings on small boats into Kent.
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

The truth about the small-boats crisis

What Nigel Farage won’t tell you

www.newstatesman.com

1

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 9h

Having children from occupied territories wish the pseudo-Tsar a happy birthday on behalf of his expanding Russkiy Mir isn't weird in the slightest. www.thetimes.com/article/e82b...

1 2

Reposted by Usagi

Cethan Leahy @cethanleahy.com · 11h

Blinkist fascinated me because it always seemed like an admission that the non fiction books targeted at their audience (CEOs and aspiring CEOs) only had two thousand words of an idea stretched out to 200 pages.

The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 18h

Abridging has always been in vogue. Now, apps like Blinkist take entire books and crunch them down to a series of what are called Blinks—which amount to around 2,000 words. “Is that what books are coming to, a handy social lubricant?” Anthony Lane asks.

Can You Read a Book in a Quarter of an Hour?

Phone apps now offer to boil down entire books into micro-synopses. What they leave out is revealing.

www.newyorker.com

6 10 36

Reposted by Usagi

James Ball @jamesrball.com · 6d

“Nigel Farage is wrong in principle, his approach is racist, and we oppose it”

“Nigel Farage is right on immigration, but he doesn’t have the skill or experience to deliver his plans”

At some point, the government has to pick *one* of these narratives, instead of veering wildly between the two.

24 89 390

Reposted by Usagi

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 1d

Need I go on.
bsky.app/profile/usag...

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · Aug 28

This is a pretty diplomatic way of managing China's undermining of British businesses, along the lines of the financial support provided to manufacturers reliant on rare earth imports; the best we can hope for, given China won't be placed on the enhanced tier of FIRS.

1 1

Reposted by Usagi

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 1d

Taken holistically, there is a worrying pattern emerging here, and our economic security is not guaranteed without significantly more stringent measures.
bsky.app/profile/usag...

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · Sep 8

BYD weren't kidding when they mocked the grant as a "backdoor tariff" against Chinese EV models - it is effectively that, in more diplomatic form. It's purposes is to support the greenest and most UK-manufactured vehicles.
www.ft.com/content/e39d...

1 1

Reposted by Usagi

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 1d

Or the fact the likes of BYD are actively encouraged, through state subsidies in China, to continue dominating the international EV market because the county in which it first embedded its domestic production is now directly benefiting from its success.
bsky.app/profile/usag...

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 20d

Where local governments have backed the right automaker, it has paid off in economic growth and promotions. BYD is now a market leader and Changfeng County has benefited from its domestic and international appeal.

1 1

Reposted by Usagi

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 1d

The success of BYD in this country has, of course, nothing to do with the significant lack of tariffs placed by this government on Chinese EVs imported to the UK. www.thetimes.com/article/d5bb...

1 1

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 1d

Speaking of a significant lack of government apparatus, opportunistic North Korean hunters have resorted to butchering and flogging any type of dead animal they can get their hands on to make a few bob. www.thetimes.com/article/d23c...

Desperate North Koreans hunting animals to edge of extinction

The Siberian tiger and Amur leopard are among species whose meat and fur is said to be traded on the black market — from which the government profits too

www.thetimes.com

1

Reposted by Usagi

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 5d

I honestly thought semantics mattered when it came to terrorism.

1 2

Reposted by Usagi

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 5d

Pretty sure we went through the social media and press agonies of sorting "Islamist" and "Islamic" from each other in the context of IS and terrorism back around 2013-14. Please let's not go through this bullshit again.

The Spectator @thespectator1828.bsky.social · 5d

Humza Yousaf: terrorist attack had ‘nothing to do with Islam’.

✍️ Steerpike

Humza Yousaf: terrorist attack had ‘nothing to do with Islam’

What was your reaction to the attack on a synagogue in Manchester yesterday? Most right thinking people, you’d hope, simply recoiled in horror and dread on hearing the news that two Jews had been killed...

www.spectator.co.uk

1 1 1

Reposted by Usagi

Alix Kroeger @alixkroeger.bsky.social · 7d

More drones spotted where they shouldn't be, this time over critical infrastructure (power plant, hospital, shipyard) in northern Germany. This is becoming a regular occurrence

Mystery drone sightings reported over critical infrastructure in northern Germany

German authorities are investigating reports of unidentified drones potentially spying on critical infrastructure in Schleswig-Holstein.

apnews.com

2 6 4

Reposted by Usagi

Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 7d

Amazing nuggets in the PPE Medpro High Court ruling

The company was incorporated on 12 May 2020 and referred to the Covid "VIP lane" by Michelle Mone *the same day*, despite having no track record in manufacturing PPE

Who could have predicted that anything would go wrong?

17 140 320

Reposted by Usagi

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 8d

Lovely piece about the provenance of super-deep diamonds, of the type forming part of the crown jewels used in the coronation of King Charles III and The Queen Consort. In my opinion, they're far more elegant than the synthesised versions.

General Boles @generalboles.bsky.social · 8d

Fact of the Day 💎

In 1905, the Cullinan diamond (3,106.75 carats) was sent from Johannesburg to London 'by ordinary registered post' at a cost of 3 shillings (£11.79 in today's money).

History does not record if it was left behind a bin on delivery.

www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

How King Charles' diamonds reveal Earth's deep secrets

The largest diamonds to feature in King Charles III's coronation may be pieces of the ancient ocean floor, which drifted down into the interior of our planet – then came back up.

www.bbc.co.uk

2

Reposted by Usagi

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 8d

This case is significant insofar as it demonstrates the power of seized crypto to be held in funds (if crypto becomes an acceptable currency of government reserves) or converted to fiat and sold to plug budgetary gaps.

1

Reposted by Usagi

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 8d

"A budget of £5 million was set aside to buy herself a set of crown jewels."

Clearly, this thoughtful woman was also considering victim compensation in advance via inflation of Bitcoin values when accumulating her wealth.

2 1 1

Reposted by Usagi

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 8d

"During a raid on her home, detectives found her diaries detailing plans to invest in Liberland... Qian intended to become “queen of Liberland”, which she believed would entitle her to a diplomatic passport and immunity from prosecution."

1 1

Reposted by Usagi

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 8d

Zhimin Qian - who worked under aliases of Rose, Emma and Hua Hua and whose surname in Chinese means (with wonderful nominative determinism, "money") - fled to the UK after defrauding an estimated 128,000 investors in China.

1 1 1

Reposted by Usagi

Usagi @usagi3939.bsky.social · 8d

A fraudster known as the BitQueen has admitted laundering cryptocurrency now worth more than £5 billion (the value of the bitcoin has increased 20-fold since it was seized by Scotland Yard in 2018) which the government hopes will help to plug the hole in the budget. www.thetimes.com/article/8f57...

UK and China do battle for the BitQueen’s crypto fortune

Zhimin Qian pleaded guilty to laundering over £5 billion in cryptocurrency, which Rachel Reeves wants to use to plug the hole in the budget

www.thetimes.com

1 1 3

Reposted by Usagi

Duncan Robinson @duncanrobinson.bsky.social · 6d

The end of hippy punching: Keir Starmer invents a party Keir Starmer would vote for Labour has decided to stop punching its own voters
economist.com/britain/2025...

3 8 52

Reposted by Usagi

Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · 1d

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te:

"We hope Taiwan will continue to enjoy the support of President Trump. If he is able to convince Xi Jinping to permanently renounce the use of force against Taiwan, President Trump will surely win the Nobel Peace Prize"

President Lai interviewed by The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show-News releases-News & activities｜Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

english.president.gov.tw

2 3 7

Reposted by Usagi

Luke McGee @lukemcgee.bsky.social · 2d

His fans are getting weirder

4 3 14