🇪🇸🔌 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/

🇮🇷💥❗️ — Reports of large blast at a military factory in Isfahan, Iran!

🇵🇰❌🇮🇳 — Pakistani and Indian media reports heavy armed clashes across the Line of Controll (LoC) in disputed Kashmir

🪖❗️🇺🇸🗯🇺🇦😵‍💫 — 📰 Financial Times | Nato chief to urge US not to force Ukraine into pro-Russia peace deal | Secretary-general Mark Rutte meets aides of Donald Trump who have sought settlement favouring Russian demands | April 24, 2025:

"Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte will urge President Donald Trump’s administration not to force Ukraine to accept a peace deal against its will, as the White House steps up pressure on Kyiv to acknowledge a de facto change in its borders.

Rutte will use meetings with Trump’s close aides on Thursday to argue that an unjust peace settlement that appeases Russian President Vladimir Putin would increase Moscow’s threat to Europe, said three officials briefed on the preparations.

The trip comes as Trump’s drive for a quick peace deal in Ukraine has threatened to drive a wedge between the US and Kyiv’s European allies."

🗄 Archive

🔗 Source:

🗣🗯🌍🆗🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺 — ✔️ TASS | Recognition of Crimea, Donbass as part of Russia imperative in settlement — Lavrov | Moscow has made no secret regarding its position on the settlement, the Russian foreign minister added:

"MOSCOW, April 28. /TASS/. The international recognition of Crimea, the DPR, the LPR, the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions as part of Russia is an imperative in the settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Brazilian newspaper O Globo.

"The international recognition of Crimea, Sevastopol, the DPR, the LPR, the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions as part of Russia is another imperative," he said. "All the commitments Kiev assumes must be legally binding, contain enforcement mechanisms and be permanent," Lavrov added.

Moscow has made no secret regarding its position on the settlement, the minister noted. "Russia proceeds from the premise that Kiev’s non-accession to NATO, as well as reaffirming its neutral and non-aligned status as per the 1990 Declaration on Ukraine’s State Sovereignty - these factors form one of the two pillars for a final settlement to the Ukraine crisis that would meet Russia’s security interests," he said. "The second pillar consists of overcoming the legacy of the neo-Nazi regime which took power in Kiev after the February 2014 putsch, including the initiative by its perpetrators to eradicate and cancel, in both physical and legislative terms, everything Russian, be it the Russian language, media, culture, traditions, or the canonical Orthodox faith," Lavrov explained.

"Demilitarising and de-Nazifying Ukraine is also on the agenda, along with lifting sanctions, withdrawing lawsuits and cancelling arrest warrants, as well as returning Russian assets subjected to the so-called freeze in the West," he emphasized.

Russia will also insist on obtaining solid security guarantees for itself in order to shield it from any threats "emanating from hostile activities by NATO, the European Union and some of their member states along our western border," the minister concluded."

🗄 Archive

🔗 Source:

🇺🇦🗯🚫😵‍💫🆗🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺 — 🇮🇪 Moscow based Irish journalist Chay Bowes on 𝕏:

"A Ukrainian Army brigade commander openly threatens Zelensky on a Ukrainain TV show.

He warns him not to negotiate with Russia, not to concede territory, or he will "Regret it"

Open threats to the commander in chief from his own troops, Ukraine is a lawless basket case."

🔗 Chay Bowes (@BowesChay)

🇮🇳❌🇵🇰 — Indian Observers claim that Indian Air Force warplanes are conducting recon sorties across the Kashmir's Line of Control and International Boundary on Indian side following the 6th night of border clashes