Liam Hoare 🇺🇦

I just had the stitches removed, and everything looks great. It will continue to heal over the next two to three weeks, and I'll have the final remaining wisdom tooth removed at the end of April. Then I'll finally be wisdom-toothless.

Wealthy Dubai residents race back to UAE to avoid tax bills Some risk spending too few days in the emirate and too many in the UK

Tax exiles stuck in London desperately trying to get *back* to Dubai to avoid becoming tax resident in the UK? Just great stuff. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

The people running football up and down the pyramid only ever seem to have one idea, which is more football.

ICYMI.

Kemi Badenoch just absolutely refuses to think deeply or do the work.

This week's edition of The Vienna Briefing is here and it's about the impact on Austria of the Israeli–United States strikes on Iran. open.substack.com/pub/viennabr...

The partner of a sitting Labour MP is among three people who have been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, the Guardian understands. Security services are investigating foreign interference in UK democracy, including attempts to obtain information on policymaking and interfere with sovereign affairs. A second person is understood to be the partner of a former Labour MP.

The partner of a sitting Labour MP *and* the partner of a former Labour MP?

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Trump helps MAGA influencers flee Middle East war zone on private jet Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz, dogwalker Sarah Daither, former lobbyist Jay Footlik, and others managed to escape on a private plane thanks to the White House.

Interesting detail here: the Trump Administration flew Jay Footlik, the lobbyist behind Israel's Qatargate scandal, back to the USA on a private jet. Seems he was in Qatar.

You know, either taking Lueger's statue down or leaving the monument as it is covered in graffiti would have been a lot less expensive.

Mehrkosten für Lueger-Denkmal-Neigung Die geplante Schiefstellung des umstrittenen Lueger-Denkmals in Wien kostet mehr als zunächst bekannt. Die ursprünglich kommunizierten Kosten von 500.000 Euro stiegen mittlerweile auf über 770.000 Eur...

The cost of the City of Vienna's ill-judged 'artistic contextualisation' of its monument to its former mayor, the antisemite Karl Lueger, has escalated from €500,000 to more than €770,000.

Related: No one seems to be enjoying Trump's attacks on Starmer more than the supposedly patriotic wing of the British press.

What is the source of the right wing meme about drilling in the North Sea? As far as I’ve been aware, my entire adult life it’s been noted the fields are drying up and there’s not much left there unexplored, is there new information I’ve missed or is this just cargo cult Thatcherism “she did it so”

Bari’s Steele Attempt As CBS News plots the future of its morning show, Bari Weiss floated the idea of bringing former ESPN anchor turned Donald Trump supporter Sage Steele into the mix, Status has learned.

Scoop: As CBS News works to reengineer its morning show, Bari Weiss expressed interest in former ESPN anchor turned Donald Trump supporter Sage Steele.

Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/bari-weiss...

Sebastian Kurz: „Es ist absolut richtig, militärisch gegen den... Österreichs früherer Bundeskanzler und Außenminister, Sebastian Kurz, bezeichnet die amerikanisch-israelische Militäroperation gegen das radikale Regime in Teheran als „hocherfolgreich“. Die...

Interessant: Kurz hat, offenbar auf eigene Initiative, der „Presse“ ein Interview zum Irankrieg gegeben.

www.diepresse.com/20643805/seb...

I believe the dementia theory.

Gulf States in Race Against Time to Repel Iran’s Onslaught There are only so many air-defense interceptors available to knock down an almost limitless number of drones.

"'The intensity of interceptor usage that we have seen over the last couple of days can’t be maintained for more than another week—probably a couple of days at most, and then they will feel the pain of interceptor shortage.'"

Now also seems a great time to be in defence stocks, a good time to be in healthcare and financials, an okay time to be in consumer staples and discretionary, and a bad time to be in tech.

What's taking a real hammering right now are non-U.S. markets:

🔴 Amundi Core Stoxx Europe 600 UCITS ETF Acc 📉 3.45%
🔴 Amundi Core MSCI Japan UCITS ETF 📉 4.99%
🔴 iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI UCITS ETF 📉 4.43%

Versus a decline of 0.92% for the iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF.

If you want to know how the British print news industry ends (which is, de facto, amazingly still what supports most newspaper websites) it's the distribution channels getting banjaxed. When you lose "TG Jones" etc even people who want a paper can't get one. That'll be the real start of the ending.

Naturally Ed Davey is involving himself in this because he is an unserious person.

So, too, is the idea of the British government imposing a system whereby worldwide income would be subject to British income tax populist tripe. No one who has had any experience of the U.S. tax system would dare suggest such a thing.

Mocking Isabel Oakeshott and her like in Dubai is all good, knockabout stuff, but the idea that a British citizen should no longer enjoy the protection of the British state because of where they live is populist nonsense.

The Jewish Community of Vienna has upped security at Jewish institutions in cooperation with the police following the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran and Iranian strikes on Israel and the Persian Gulf. This is a precautionary measure and was not made in response to a concrete threat to Jews in Austria.

Exclusive: A new CBS News emerges amid Iran crisis The joint Israeli and American attacks on Iran were the first major test of the new CBS News right-leaning and pro-Israel editorial leadership.

"The Saturday special saw the closer marriage between [The Free Press and CBS News]; multiple guests who appeared on the Free Press web broadcast, like conservative political commentator Douglas Murray, also were featured on the network’s broadcast later that evening."

Chag Purim Sameach, dear friends and colleagues.

My thoughts are of course with the folks @haaretzcom.bsky.social reporting through another war as Tel Aviv comes under fire from Iranian bombardment.

Tweet from Ryan Grim: "Understand what Neera is arguing for here: she thinks that no Democratic candidate should appear on any podcast where a host has flirted with conspiracy theories around Charlie Kirk and Israel. I don't think she understands how many podcasts that includes. And if you make the opposite argument, and say no, actually, tens of millions of people love those shows, Democrats should be on them, she says I'm "defending anti-semitic conspiracy podcasters." The good news is that this stuff doesn't work anymore. Save your breath, nobody cares."

I really don't think "There are so many antisemitic podcasts out there that you just can't help but appear on them" is the defense they think it is.

One can oppose the Islamic Republic, welcome the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and hope for a pluralistic and democratic future for Iran. But nothing indicates it would be sage to place any trust in the forces currently conducting this attack on Iran.

The principal problems with the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran (beside their dubious legality) is that none of the people conducting the war can seem to agree on what it's about and there doesn't seem to be a plan for the day after tomorrow.

I don't know if Taylor Lorenz is the best person to argue that social media doesn't rot people's brains.