Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was one of the first world leaders to back the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, which started on Feb. 28.

For Ukraine, the choice was logical: Iran is a Kremlin ally that has backed Russia's aggression against Ukraine and supplied drones to Moscow.

Moreover, Zelensky is seeking to curry favor with U.S. President Donald Trump and show that Ukraine is a reliable ally, analysts say.

. . .

But it is unclear whether this strategy will work.

Trump's hostility towards Russian allies like Iran and Venezuela has not yet affected his relationship with the Kremlin. Moreover, Trump has been reluctant to antagonize Moscow and take a more pro-Ukrainian stance in peace talks.

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Window into Iran

Many Iranians whom CBC News interviewed feared speaking publicly. Often, when they agreed to interviews, they often requested that their name or image be withheld because they feared facing reprisal. Iran’s brutal clerical regime frequently imprisons and kills those seen to be expressing dissent.

Hundreds are crossing the border every day, including those who are returning to the country from abroad, and had to make the journey in by vehicle as the airspace over Iran has been closed.

Many of those who are leaving have dual citizenship or family or business opportunities abroad.
[...]
An Iranian American, who only wanted to be identified as Bridget, said she was scheduled to fly out of Tehran just as the U.S. strikes began. She was already on the plane when the pilot announced the flight would be grounded and everyone needed to get off. It took her two days to reach and cross the border. Once she got there, she said she joined a small crowd of Iranians waiting to leave.

“People were actually asking me, you know, ‘The United States not gonna win, is it?’” she said.

“And I really thought they were joking…. I mean, we just have to see what the losses are here.”

what up with that?

but my neighbours dogs are still on the loose and I'm nearly dead from heart failure what are the implications

An Intercept analysis finds that every single Board of Peace member state has been rebuked for human rights violations.

https://archive.ph/cZyVc

Crosspost from https://lemmy.ca/post/61226066

Oracle Corporation quietly published a blog post announcing that the U.S. government had authorized it to run generative AI on federal government data. That means pattern recognition, automated data analysis, and decision-making tools now approved to operate on your Medicare records and military systems, cleared at the highest civilian and Department of Defense security levels. (And yes, Oracle also just took over the infrastructure running your Medicaid and ACA data — that happened this week too, and we’ll get there.)
The AI running on the classified side is Grok, built by Elon Musk’s xAI, hosted on Larry Ellison’s cloud, processing Top Secret American intelligence data. That went live today. While you were watching Tehran.

Crosspost from https://sh.itjust.works/post/56181411

I just heard the founder of Buy Nothing New Month this morning and about this website. We don't have to wait for a particular month to take small actions (or large). The site is full of great ideas and apart from benefiting the environment, you will be benefiting your wallet. https://www.buynothingnew.com.au/

Container ships account for roughly 100 of ​the 750 ships ensnared in the Strait of Hormuz ‌backups following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, Jeremy Nixon, CEO of container carrier Ocean Network Express (ONE), said on Monday.

"About 10% of ​the container ship global fleet is caught up ​in this," Nixon said at S&P Global Market Intelligence’s TPM26 ⁠container shipping conference in Long Beach.

Maritime insurers ceased covering voyages through ​the strait between Iran and Oman, which carries around one-fifth of ​oil consumed globally as well as large quantities of gas, as Iran retaliated against U.S. and Israeli strikes. The commander of the country's ​Revolutionary Guards told Iranian state television Monday that any ​ship that attempted to transit the strait would be set aflame.

I actually flinched when I saw her face, the face of smug chastisement for caring about people's lives, the face of terror.  I flinched, and then had to make art to cope with the fear she struck in my three hearts

Via today's Ars article

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/43783882

After spending taxpayers’ money, Florida governor will likely be left holding bill for $608m promised by Trump administration

Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, spent $1.2m of taxpayers’ money per day to open and operate the notorious immigration jail known as Alligator Alcatraz, court records obtained by the independent investigative news website the Florida Tributary reveal.

A switch in position by Donald Trump’s administration also now looks likely to leave Florida on the hook for at least $608m spent on the harsh Everglades detention and deportation facility and other immigration jails, the outlet said. That was despite gloating by DeSantis in September that the state would be reimbursed from federal funds.

James Uthmeier, DeSantis’s former chief of staff and Florida’s unelected attorney general, admitted last week the possibility that a federal reimbursement grant the governor had insisted was locked in might not be delivered after all.

FCC rejects protests because Charter and Cox don't compete directly in most places.

TEHRAN, IRAN—As groups of families and others gathered Sunday evening at cafes around Niloofar Square—a middle-class area in eastern Tehran—after breaking their fast for Ramadan, a series of explosions struck the area, leveling several buildings and killing over 20 people, according to witnesses at the scene and later reports from local news sources.

Witnesses who spoke to Drop Site said two explosions hit the area—a smaller strike in the vicinity, followed by a larger one that devastated much of the neighborhood, a tactic known as a “double tap” strike that is used to inflict maximum casualties.

Videos of the immediate aftermath of the attack showed several individuals dead and wounded as well as massive destruction on the street outside. In Cafe Ahla, next to the square, blood and debris soaked the floors. Several patrons who had been sitting there when the attack struck could be seen dead on the floor or with their mutilated bodies still sprawled across their seats.