MarkRoweLondon

Trump envoys press plan with Ukraine as sanctions eased on Russia President Donald Trump's envoys were to meet Thursday with Ukrainian negotiators for the third time in two weeks to press his plan to end the war as his administration eased economic pressure on Russi...

The Trump administration is starting roll back some of the sanctions on Russian oil company Lukoil. This was after not bringing in the secondary sanctions that were the ones that would have made the difference. These sanctions were part of a long con. www.france24.com/en/live-news...

When it comes to money-losing tech revolutionaries, OpenAI is in a class by itself.

(via Deutsche)
@weisenthal.bsky.social

Zack Polanski set to challenge right-wing hatemongers on BBC Question Time again Zack Polanski dropped an appearance on Have I Got News For You to attend a debate on Question Time instead - as it should be

See you on the other side!

www.thecanary.co/trending/202...

Reform UK gets £9mn donation from Christopher Harborne Money gives Nigel Farage’s party a big financial boost as it tries to capitalise on its lead in opinion polls

Reform UK gets £9mn donation from Christopher Harborne on.ft.com/4rCFCWE

Police officers kettle counter demonstrators outside the Mercure hotel in Bristol

A guest post from one of the Bristol antifascists who was brutally assaulted by officers from Avon & Somerset Police during a counter-protest on 15 November:

"One person was knocked unconscious, one had a tooth knocked out, and several people ended up with concussion" netpol.org/2025/12/03/b...

Ghislaine Maxwell to seek release from prison: court filing Her petition comes after President Donald Trump signed law requiring the release of records related to Jeffrey Epstein.

Her petition comes after President Donald Trump signed law requiring the release of records related to Jeffrey Epstein.

Update: Israeli strike kills five people, including two children, and wounds 32 others <article data-history-node-id="432271" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/update-israeli-strike-kills-five-people-including-two-children-and" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/update-israeli-strike-kills-five-people-including-two-children-and" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Update: Israeli strike kills five people, including two children, and wounds 32 others</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>Gaza's civil defence agency said that a series of Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed five people, including two children,&nbsp;in a shelter camp housing people displaced by Israel's war.</p> <p>"Five citizens, including two children, killed and others injured, some seriously, as a result of an Israeli missile strike" in Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Yunis, civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.</p> <p>The agency said the strike hit near the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in Khan Yunis and "targeted" a shelter camp.&nbsp;</p> <p>The hospital also reported that five people, including two children aged eight and 10, were killed and another 32 were wounded.</p> </div> </div> </article>

Update: Israeli strike kills five people, including two children, and wounds 32 others - https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/update-israeli-strike-kills-five-people-including-two-children-and

Donald Trump Jr-backed start-up scores $600mn US federal government deal President’s son’s fund 1789 Capital poised to capitalise from father’s administration

A rare earths start-up with only 30 staff has won a blockbuster funding deal from Pentagon, three months after Donald Trump Jr’s venture capital firm invested in the company.

Vulcan Elements will receive a $620mn loan from US defence department as part of a $1.4bn deal

www.ft.com/content/952f...

"Foodbanks are at breaking point this winter.. [Trussell] expect to hand out an emergency food parcel every 10 seconds over the next 3 months"

The UK has the sixth largest economy in the world #GMB

Israeli forces kill 357 Palestinians in 50 days of ceasefire Children, photojournalist among Palestinians killed by Israeli forces across Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Children, photojournalist among Palestinians killed by Israeli forces across Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Essex university to cut 400 jobs as overseas student numbers plummet Roles to be lost are part of wave of redundancy programmes across UK’s higher education sector

Great article from @amyborrett.ft.com. But it does make me wonder again why there was zero national media coverage when the University of Brighton closed down its big, decades-old campus in Eastbourne. Now of course, it would make a great case study for a journalist of the economic/cultural impact.

Thousands of Washington state Medicare users could soon have claims denied by AI Starting Jan. 1, traditional Medicare recipients in Washington state will face a new hurdle to get certain procedures covered — private AI companies that get paid based on how many claims they deny.

Starting Jan. 1, traditional Medicare recipients in Washington state will face a new hurdle to get certain procedures covered — private AI companies that get paid based on how many claims they deny. (via @kuow.org)

Over 1,200 people have lost their lives in Southeast Asia after historic flooding.

While oil and gas companies keep getting richer, ordinary people around the world are left struggling to survive.

ICE Arrested and Separated Chinese Father From 6-Year-Old Son, Advocates Say The father and son were detained at an ICE check-in on Nov. 26, advocates say. The son’s location is currently unknown, while the father is being held at an upstate ICE facility.

A 6-year-old boy is missing after ICE arrested him and his dad in NYC last week and shipped them off to separate facilities. www.thecity.nyc/2025/12/02/i... @thecity.nyc @gwynnefitz.bsky.social

Evening Standard headline: Zipcar parking bays left empty when firm quits London should be converted into ebike parking. Councils urged to repurpose car club bays for e-bikes to help tackle capital’s pavement parking problem.

Not so fast Human Forest! Car clubs play an important role in reducing car use and ownership. Maybe Zipcar can be rescued or replaced?

Totally up for normal parking bays to be repurposed for dockless hire bikes.

We can have both.

FYI @rosslydall.bsky.social

www.standard.co.uk/news/transpo...

If we simply took their money for the poor, using any means necessary, we’d change the world overnight

People used to say, with great confidence, that variable renewables could never safely provide more than 5% of grid power. That estimate has crept up ever since, though the "great confidence" part never wavers.

Anyway, about China ...

PCS general secretary says thousands of the DWP's own staff have to claim Universal Credit from the DWP because pay in the DWP is so low

I can’t find reference to that grant now, but it would be an odd detail for my memory to invent.

Why Zipcar gave up on London The car-sharing scheme was hit by rapidly increased costs, a new congestion charge, and a lack of support from councils.

Among other issues with Zipcar's model in London: Having to negotiate individually with 32 boroughs, some of which charged thousands of pounds per car. Meanwhile, Croydon council outsourced much of their employee car fleet to Zipcar and may be a bit screwed. www.londoncentric.media/p/zipcar-lon...

TBF digging into it last night, Streetcar took on VC funding a couple of years before selling to Zipcar, and those guys aren’t altruists. I’m pretty sure we joined for free at the start due to funding from Livingstone’s GLA, and they claimed not-for-profit model at that point.

Revealed: MPs rack up huge rent expenses while pushing through cuts to benefits MPs are allowed to rent a second home, but while they are simultaneously cutting benefits for the vulnerable, the cost feels hard to swallow.

Senior MPs including Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick and Darren Jones are claiming tens of thousands of pounds a year in taxpayer-funded rent expenses while either calling for or implementing benefit cuts on the poorest

By me, for the Big Issue www.bigissue.com/news/politic...

"According to data from Media Radar, The New York Times took in more than $20 million in advertising revenue from fossil fuel companies from Oct 2020 to Oct 2023, twice what any other outlet earned from the industry" - @amywestervelt.bsky.social, Matthew Green & @joeygrostern.bsky.social

#NYT

2005 Streetcar starts in London. Receives GLA grants/funding as I recall.

2010 Streetcar is acquired by Zipcar

2013 Zipcar is acquired by Avis Budget Group

2025 Avis Budget Group closes London operation with 30 days notice

Actually 20 years! Bring back Streetcar:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streetc...

Car-sharing company ZipCar to end UK operations ZipCar, which has more than 600,000 UK members, temporarily suspends new bookings on its platform.

The BBC says Zip Car has more than 550,000 London members.

That’s 550,000 people who aim to drive as little as possible, but rely on a car club for tricky trips that don’t work by public transport.

TfL is this risky for future levels of car ownership and driving?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

18 years without a car, I suppose we’ll need to buy an EV now and have it sat in a kerbside parking space for 98% of its life.

Zipcar is shutting down its UK operations, basically the only car club that worked in London. Massive kick to anyone who tries to live in capital without owning a car. Having been a customer for 17 years and used Zipvans to move house repeatedly, this is.... very bad! (Zipcar is owned by Avis)

FFS @zipcar.bsky.social , you started out as a free-membership, not-for-profit mission to wean people away from car ownership. But as usual, everything the private sector touches turns to shit. This moment was inevitable once you were sold to a multinational car rental company.

Grenfell Tower fire