🇬🇧🇪🇺 UK and EU outline new strategic partnership to boost trade and security

The UK and the EU have outlined a “new strategic partnership” aimed at bolstering trade and presenting a united European front in Ukraine in defiance of Donald Trump’s threat to upend decades of transatlantic alignment.

A defence and security pact that would see closer cooperation on Ukraine is top of the shopping list along with migration, which is a hot topic on both sides of the Channel.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/28/uk-offers-eu-a-strategic-partnership-to-boost-trade-and-security

🇺🇸🇾🇪 Houthi Attack Campaign Against US Navy: The Houthis used a complex strike package combining ballistic and cruise missiles and drones to force the USS Harry S. Truman to take evasive action.

🇺🇸🇮🇷 US-Iran Nuclear Talks: Western media reported that the April 26 US-Iran nuclear talks in Oman ended in “major disagreements” despite repeated positive messaging from senior Iranian and US officials. One of the key disputes is reportedly over whether a final agreement should address the Iranian missile program. Iran’s unwillingness to make concessions on its missile program may risk collapsing the talks or pushing negotiations toward a deal less expansive than the deal US President Donald Trump reportedly desires.

🇮🇷 Chemical Explosion in Iran: A large-scale explosion occurred at Shahid Rajaei Port in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan Province, on April 26. Western media reported that the blast was caused by the explosion of a chemical precursor for solid missile propellant. The loss of a large amount of key chemical precursor for Iranian missiles may further delay Iran's ability to rebuild its intermediate-range, solid-fuel ballistic missile stocks after Israeli strikes damaged key production sites in October 2024. China delivered the same precursor to Bandar Abbas earlier this year. These chemicals further illustrate how China-based entities have likely helped Iran replenish its missile stockpile and restore key aspects of its defense capabilities.

🔗 Critical Threats

🇺🇸 The White House says even Supreme Court justices may be arrested if they harbor illegal aliens.

🔗 AF Post

🇪🇸🔌 24 March 2025: World Nuclear Association Highlights Concerns Over Spain’s Energy Future

In recent weeks, Spain has witnessed significant national discourse on the role of the Spanish nuclear fleet which has motivated many open conversations on its nuclear energy strategy.

Dr Bilbao y León raised concerns for Spain’s economy should it continue policy of phasing out nuclear power in the country, whilst promoting the benefits that nuclear energy offers as a clean, reliable, always-on power source.

"I am concerned about Spain’s economic future without nuclear energy. Progress and socioeconomic development require abundant, clean, and affordable energy, available every day, all year round. Nuclear power provides exactly this, and major energy consumers around the world—heavy industry, the chemical sector, transportation, artificial intelligence—are increasingly turning to it.”

https://world-nuclear.org/news-and-media/association-news/world-nuclear-association-highlights-concerns-over-spains-energy-future

🇪🇸🔌 Spain Signals Openness to Keeping Nuclear Power Plants Open

Spain is signaling for the first time that it’s open to reconsidering the shutdown of nuclear plants over the next decade amid a global revival of atomic energy.

While that’s not the plan agreed with nuclear plant operators, and it would be up to them to present concrete proposals, extensions are not ruled out, Environmental Transition Minister Sara Aagesen said in an interview.

“Nuclear energy will be present in our mix at least until 2035” but could go beyond that if companies propose extensions, which hasn’t happened yet, she said prior to an International Energy Agency summit on the future of energy security. “We’re not considering anything because there is no specific proposal on the table.”

The government’s energy roadmap aims to boost renewable power output to make up for the nuclear phaseout, while reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Spain’s goals of cutting carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, which Aagesen has adamantly defended, haven’t changed with the US pulling out.

“There is no coming back,” she said. “Europe has always shown leadership and will continue to do so.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-24/spain-signals-openness-to-nuclear-phaseout-talks-with-utilities

🇪🇸🔌 Spain hits first weekday of 100% renewable power on national grid

Spain’s grid ran entirely on renewable energy for the first time on April 16, with wind, solar, and hydro meeting all peninsular electricity demand during a weekday. Five days later, solar set a new record, generating 20,120 MW of instantaneous power – covering 78.6% of demand and 61.5% of the grid mix.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/04/22/spain-hits-first-weekday-of-100-renewable-power-on-national-grid/

🇪🇸📝 Less than two weeks later, the Iberian Peninsula suffers a widespread blackout leaving Portugal, Spain, as well as southern parts of France, without electricity for up to 10 hours.

The disruption was very likely caused by a loss of solar power generation in southern Spain. The grid self-stabilized according to reports before suffering from another loss of power generation moments before the Spain-France transmission line was interrupted due to grid instability. Another massive loss of renewable power followed immediately thereafter that caused a cascading failure of the power grid.

https://www.nbcnews.com/world/spain/live-blog/spain-portugal-power-outage-live-updates-widespread-blackouts-cause-ha-rcna203274

🇪🇸🔌 Spain is about to face the challenge of a “black start”

Since the Iberian Peninsula lost power in a massive blackout, grid operators are in the process of trying to restore power to millions of customers and businesses. As you might imagine, the process—termed a "black start"—is quite a bit more challenging than flicking on a switch. However, the challenge is made considerably more difficult because nearly everything about the system—from the management hardware that remotely controls the performance of the grid to the power plants themselves—needs power to operate.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/04/why-restarting-a-power-grid-is-so-hard/

🇨🇦 Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre loses Ottawa-area seat

Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has been defeated in Carleton, ending his nearly two-decade tenure as a Member of Parliament in the Ottawa-area riding.

The result is certain to ignite questions over Poilievre’s future as leader on a night that saw the Conservatives increase their seat count and vote share but finish second to the Liberal Party.

“To my fellow Conservatives, we have much to celebrate. Tonight we’ve gained well over 20 seats. We got the highest share of the vote our party has received since 1988,” Poilievre told supporters.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/conservative-party-leader-pierre-poilievre-loses-ottawa-area-seat/

🇨🇦 Canadians over 60 ranked reducing the cost of living, making Canada a better place to live, and housing affordability as less important than “dealing with Donald Trump at the ballot box,” while those aged 18 to 29 prioritized the reverse.

🔗 AF Post

📊 Mississippi, Louisiana fourth- and eighth-grade math scores surpass New York and California in 2024, per NAEP-adjusted results.

📝 arctotherium: This is what California K-12 demographics look like BTW. State is running off of William Shockley's legacy (being the center of the world tech industry with its network effects and natural monopolies), it's screwed if there's a true tech recession.

The state was 92% white in 1960, 78% in 2000.

🔗 arctotherium

🇮🇱🇸🇾 Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:

"We will not stop the war until Syria is dismantled and divided."

🔗 Levant24

🇨🇦🇮🇳 Canada now has 22 Sihk MPs, while the entire country of India has only 13 — despite India’s population being 1.4 billion larger and its Parliament having over 200 more seats.

🔗 Chris Brunet

🇨🇦 In just one decade Canada has forever changed the demographics, culture and future of their country. Trend emerging across the West.

🔗 Geiger Capital

🇵🇰🇮🇳 Pakistan's Information Minister says Pakistan has reliable intelligence that India intends to carry out military action against Pakistan in the coming 24-36 hours.

🔗 CradleMedia

🇺🇸🇮🇱📝Mel: San Marcos, Texas, a city of just 70,000 people identified that its residents were sending $4.434 million tax dollars to Israel each year so the city council drafted a resolution calling for the reallocation of those funds towards domestic priorities.

So now Greg Abbott is threatening to cut the city off from all future state contracts if it adopts this resolution.

Look at the condescending tone and mockery this so-called fiscal conservative uses when talking about the reallocation.

These politicians have ZERO loyalty to our country. They are total traitors.

https://fxtwitter.com/Villgecrazylady/status/1917345320880464241

🇺🇸🇮🇱📝 Dakota Sidwell: The clause is in most municipal and state purchasing agreements.

Almost every state.

Further, this isn’t the first time this has happened in Texas.

https://aclu.org/press-releases/texas-city-tells-people-no-hurricane-harvey-aid-unless-they-promise-not-boycott

🔗 D.Sauce