Effrosyni Pavlakoudi

Trump’s strikes on Iran are an illegal war of choice—and Europeans should say so – European Council on Foreign Relations As the conflict threatens to escalate, European governments must make an assertive case for diplomacy and prepare for humanitarian catastrophe

Trump’s strikes on Iran are an illegal war of choice—and Europeans should say so: ecfr.eu/article/trum...

Opinion | The Iranian Regime Has Committed a Massacre We surveyed medical workers across 14 cities and 11 provinces in Iran about their experiences treating wounded protesters.

A harrowing account of what doctors and health workers saw and experienced during the bloody crackdown on the protests. Tough to read www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

I've made a new starter pack of people to follow for news and commentary on Iran.

Got the idea from a request by @kakape.bsky.social

Good thread.

I'd qualify though, our goal may not be regime *change* vs regime *destruction*. Rumsfeld's Iraq view in 2003 was just smash and leave. With military hardware, regime security nodes, economic infrastructure destroyed, we wouldn't have to care who ran Iraq or what happened next 1/

Panic in the Gulf as Iran lashes out at US allies Tehran targets regional countries housing American bases despite their refusal to allow attacks from their territory

Panic in the Gulf as Iran lashes out at US allies ft.trib.al/aIgA7KF

Πόλεμος στη Μέση Ανατολή: Τι σηματοδοτεί η επίθεση στο Ιράν; | LiFO Ποιες θα είναι οι συνέπειες για την Ελλάδα; Ο δρ. Ευρωπαϊκής Ασφάλειας και Νέων Απειλών και κύριος ερευνητής του ΕΛΙΑΜΕΠ, Τριαντάφυλλος Καρατράντος, εξηγεί.

Πόλεμος στη Μέση Ανατολή: Τι σηματοδοτεί η επίθεση στο Ιράν;
Ποιες θα είναι οι συνέπειες για την Ελλάδα; Ο δρ. Ευρωπαϊκής Ασφάλειας και Νέων Απειλών και κύριος ερευνητής του ΕΛΙΑΜΕΠ, Τριαντάφυλλος Καρατράντος, εξηγεί. www.lifo.gr/stiles/optik...

Hungary's leader orders extra security at energy sites, claiming Ukraine plots disruptions Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ordered extra security at critical energy infrastructure sites after claiming Ukraine was attempting to disrupt Hungary’s energy system.

Viktor Orban is now 20 points behind in the polls - and so he has ordered the military to guard “key energy facilities” against a possible Ukrainian “attack.” Hungarians fear he plans a fake national security emergency or false-flag incident before the April 12 election
apnews.com/article/hung...

Fun!

Ενδεχομένως προετοιμάζει το έδαφος ώστε να κηρύξει τη χώρα σε κατάσταση έκτακτης ανάγκης πριν τις εκλογές;

The death of the Trump trade Investor backlash against US markets appears to be real

The death of the Trump trade ft.trib.al/r6KHgDG | opinion

Tried but didn't succeed.

10 years ago tonight. ~Nothing has changed, including the media normalization of him or the GOP's collective collapse as a party into far right authoritarianism. The only thing that's different is now a lot fewer people tell you you're wildly overreacting for noting the direction of the sunrise.

Leader of Columbia Brain Institute Quits Over Friendship With Epstein The Nobel laureate Richard Axel is not accused of wrongdoing but called his association with Jeffrey Epstein a “serious error in judgment.”

Breaking News: The Nobel laureate Richard Axel said he was resigning as co-director of a Columbia brain institute over his friendship with Jeffery Epstein.

Judge blocks Trump DOJ from reviewing Washington Post reporter's seized data The federal magistrate judge expressed frustration that the Justice Department failed to flag a law that protects journalists from having their work materials seized.

A federal magistrate judge rescinds the Trump administration's ability to examine data seized from Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson last month, saying he would "conduct an independent judicial review" of the materials obtained by the Justice Dept. through a search warrant.

Modi visits Israel as Netanyahu lines up 'hexagon' of allies | The National

Israeli leader bills Indian PM's trip as chance to build new 'axis' in region

EU’s Ukraine envoy: Russian ‘war crime’ leaves Kyiv civilians freezing On the EU Confidential podcast, EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernová says an “information fog” has obscured the extent of suffering as Moscow attacks energy infrastructure.

Katarina Mathernová, the EU’s envoy to Kyiv accused Moscow of war crimes, describing the “humanitarian calamity” unfolding as Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure leave hundreds of thousands of people without heat amid sub-zero temperatures.

EU delays 'Made in Europe' plan after disagreements over scope The European Commission said on Monday it had delayed the announcement of a policy to prioritise industrial parts and products made in Europe by a week after disagreements over the geographic scope of the scheme.

EU delays 'Made in Europe' plan after disagreements over scope reut.rs/46jKlnf

‘Amid plunging temperatures and relentless attacks, Ukraine has shown the world it will not abandon the fight for its future. Europe must match this resolve with volia of its own. Not doing so would be a strategic and moral failure.’

Read my op-ed on 🇺🇦 🇪🇺 intertwined futures ⏩

Switzerland says still aiming for legally-binding trade deal with U.S. Switzerland still plans to broker a legally-binding agreement from talks with the United States aimed at finalising a preliminary deal struck in late 2025 that cut U.S. tariffs on Switzerland to 15% from 39%, the government said on Monday.

Switzerland says still aiming for legally-binding trade deal with U.S. reut.rs/4kTQX1J

Q1. What has AI actually changed in how Europe detects and responds to disinformation?

#AI4TRUST

Infographic titled "The European Air Transport Command (EATC) – A model for multi-national cooperation". It shows Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain delegating national air transport assets to the EATC under a "revocable delegation of authority". The EATC helps pool and coordinate aircraft for air transport, air-to-air refuelling and aeromedical evacuation missions. A map highlights participating countries in Europe.

Defence clusters are Europe's best bet to boost military capabilities via deeper industrial & operational cooperation, writes @lscazzieri.bsky.social.

From Eurofighter to the European Air Transport Command, minilateral defence initiatives are only gaining momentum. www.iss.europa.eu/publications...

Privacy watchdogs warn over global AI deepfake risks Authorities from around the globe co-signed a statement on Monday, highlighting AI safety concerns and signalling their intent to cooperate to tackle a "global risk"

Privacy watchdogs warn over global AI deepfake risks

“That will be a ‘no thanks’ from us”: Denmark and Greenland reject Trump’s hospital boat offer.
🔗https://eurac.tv/9Yp2

This is absolute gold

I've been meaning to run this analysis for a while: the probability of voting Labour at GE2024 in seats *gained* by Labour was higher for people who were younger, more liberal, on the left economically, more likely to favour immigration, do not think immigration is the most important issue, etc.

These people are poison. They will unleash racist thugs on the streets of this country and call it security. They will subjugate us to the US and call it patriotism. They must be stopped. There is no more important task in politics.

‘Don’t go to the US – not with Trump in charge’: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks Karen Newton was in America on the trip of a lifetime when she was shackled, transported and held for weeks on end. With tourism to the US under increasing strain, she says, ‘If it can happen to me, i...

A retired British primary school administrator with a British passport and a valid visa was shackled, chained and detained for six weeks by ICE

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

YouTube video by Direkt36 A CSAPDA (THE TRAP) - Az Orbán-korszak elvesztett lehetőségeinek története

Here's the documentary that 1.1 million Hungarians have watched over the past week, documenting the damage that Viktor Orban's regime has done to health, education and public transportation in Hungary
with English subtitles:
youtu.be/9NQEcLIiOpM?...

The Trump Administration Is Ending Aid That It Says Saves Lives The State Department will let lifesaving projects expire because “there is no strong nexus between the humanitarian response and U.S. national interests,” according to an internal email.

Quietly, the Trump administration is now ending even the life-saving aid that they had promised would be preserved

Reporting from @hana-kiros.bsky.social

www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...

Η απελευθέρωση των Ιωαννίνων Ο αγώνας για την απελευθέρωση των Ιωαννίνων υπήρξε η σημαντικότερη στρατιωτική αντιπαράθεση μεταξύ Ελλάδας και Οθωμανικής Αυτοκρατορίας στο μέτωπο της Ηπείρου, κατά τη διάρκεια του Α’ Βαλκανικού Πολέμ...

Xρόνια πολλά στα «γυάλινα και μαλαματένια» #Γιάννενα (Μιχάλης Γκανάς), στον «ανθότοπο των ονείρων» (Γιωσέφ Ελιγιά).
Χρόνια πολλά στην πόλη της καρδιάς μου!
#Γιαννενάκια
www.sansimera.gr/articles/601...