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[Washington Post Opinions @PostOpinions]

What would the Founding Fathers think of the people of Ukraine? They actually had a lot in common, David Ignatius explains.

🔗 Submit your questions for @IgnatiusPost here: https://t.co/0bK3jROhFk

[Archaeo - Histories @archeohistories]

The Evolution of the Iron Lady (1990)

This political cartoon, published shortly after the resignation of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in November 1990, illustrates the dramatic rise and fall of one of the most influential and polarizing political leaders of the 20th century. Thatcher served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, making her the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the office.

Nicknamed the "Iron Lady" by a Soviet military newspaper in 1976, Thatcher embraced the label as a symbol of her uncompromising political style. During her tenure, she oversaw major economic reforms, privatized state-owned industries, confronted labor unions during the 1984–85 miners' strike, and led Britain during the 1982 Falklands War, which significantly boosted her popularity. Despite winning three consecutive general elections, Thatcher resigned in November 1990 after losing support within her own Conservative Party.

Between 1979-1990, the proportion of British workers belonging to trade unions fell from approximately 55-39%, reflecting one of the most significant shifts in the country's labor and economic landscape during Thatcher's premiership.

© Reddit

#archaeohistories

[Nadeem Haque @nadeemhaque]

A Typical DMG Career: The Quiet Ladder

Young Ahmed clears the CSS exam and enters the Civil Services Academy in Lahore. For two years he lives inside a pressure cooker of lectures, drills, and endless networking. His batch quickly forms tight “tribes” — lifelong alliances that will decide postings, favours and promotions for decades. This tribe or family will stay in power for the next 30+ years

After the academy he spends three hard years in the field as Assistant Commissioner: revenue courts, law-and-order crises, angry crowds and politicians. The district teaches him how Pakistan actually runs.

By his mid-thirties the system rewards the sharp ones. Eighty percent of ambitious officers secure scholarships to Harvard, Oxford, LSE or similar. Ahmed returns with a foreign degree, polished English and a valuable international contact book. He is now fully westernized and indirectly wired to take debt and follow western consultants

Back home he hunts “project” postings. Many move to donor-funded programmes — World Bank, ADB, FCDO, USAID — either on deputation or full secondment. The salary is better, the work cleaner, the reports international. No matter if more debt is required. Not his problem. Besides the consultants give him clean advice that he learnt at Harvard etc

By now he has also secured a spacious GOR house in Lahore that, with the right connections, he will not vacate for the next thirty or forty years.

A few years later he angles for an overseas slot: Commercial or Economic Counsellor in an embassy, or a position at the WTO or some other such agency.

After three to five rewarding years abroad he returns as Joint or Additional Secretary. With luck he reaches full Secretary rank, controlling large budgets and key policies.

In these golden years he quietly but aggressively cultivates donor representatives. Conferences, study tours and quiet dinners build the bridge.

When retirement arrives — or even early retirement — consulting contracts, advisory roles and well-paid door-opener positions appear. Donors need exactly these men: insiders who know every file, every approval route and every decision-maker.

What should we expect? A highly internationalised bureaucracy whose career incentives are shaped as much by foreign aid ecosystems as by national interest.

Who do they ultimately serve? The Government of Pakistan on paper; the revolving door of donors and multilateral organisations in practice.

Conflict of interest? Significant and largely unaddressed.

This is why experts like Stefan Dercon remain in high demand. For a few hundred million pounds over the years, Britain and other donors have built deep influence inside Pakistan’s elite bureaucracy. The system is not “owned,” but it is skilfully rented.

[Dr. M.F. Khan @Dr_TheHistories]

In 1988, a man named Mehran Karimi Nasseri arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and found himself in a situation with no clear way out....

He had been a refugee for years, having left Iran and spent time in several European countries attempting to gain the legal right to live somewhere. When he arrived in Paris, his refugee papers and travel documents were missing, lost somewhere in transit. Without them, French authorities would not allow him to enter the country. Without proper documentation, no other country would accept him either.

He could not go forward. He could not go back. The terminal was the only place where he legally existed.
So he stayed.

Days passed. Then weeks. Then months. Officials engaged in bureaucratic processes that moved at a pace entirely unmatched by the urgency of his situation. Legal efforts were made. Paperwork was filed. And in the meantime, Mehran Karimi Nasseri continued living in Terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulle Airport.

He slept on a red bench near a fast food restaurant. Airport staff brought him food. He read books and newspapers. He wrote in journals. He watched thousands of people move through the terminal each day, all of them going somewhere, none of them staying.
He stayed for 18 years.

By the time he finally left the airport in 2006, when he was admitted to a hospital due to illness, he had spent nearly two decades in a space designed for transition, a place where everyone else was always on their way to somewhere else.

His story became known around the world. The filmmaker Steven Spielberg adapted it, very loosely, into the 2004 film The Terminal, with Tom Hanks playing a character inspired by Nasseri's situation.
Nasseri returned to the airport in 2022, reportedly living there again briefly before his death later that year.

What his story captures, more than anything, is a very modern kind of absurdity, the gap that can open between a person and the systems designed to place them somewhere in the world. Those systems failed Mehran Karimi Nasseri completely. And in the space where they failed, he built something that looked, in its own strange way, like a life.
Not the life anyone would have chosen. But the one that was available.

He read his books. He wrote in his journals. He watched the world pass through. For 18 years.... After returning to the airport in 2022, he died there of a heart attack in November of that year.

© Vintage Facts

#drthehistories

[jeremy scahill @jeremyscahill]

⚡️ Exclusive: Internal Documents Show Trump’s “Board of Peace“ Moving to Crush Palestinian Self-Determination

🔺Gaza Proposals obtained by Drop Site show Trump’s board attempting to force a Palestinian surrender that Israel could not achieve in war.

https://t.co/Asck8RA5ft

[The Washington Post @washingtonpost]

Can cats spread viruses to humans? It's rare but the emergence of new strains has raised concern.

Here’s what you need to know: https://t.co/gtD4xzwu57

[The Wall Street Journal @WSJ]

Inside the wartime debate over how to use AI on the battlefield. https://t.co/SF9TrpxZD3

[CAp TAin @Ishan4792]

میجر (ر)ہارون کا بھائی کیپٹن (ر)خرم اور اس کا دوست میجر (ر)عبدالرحمان بھی فوج سے ریٹائرمنٹ کےبعد لشکرطیبہ اور بعد میں وزیرستان جاکر القاعد*ہ میں شامل ہوگئے۔ یہ تینوں الیاس کشمیری کے قریبی ساتھی بنے اور طالبان کے دوبارہ ظہور اور القاعد*ہ کا ایجنڈا آگے بڑھانے میں اہم کردار ادا کیا۔

[DNI Tulsi Gabbard @DNIGabbard]

Today, on my final day as Director of National Intelligence, I’m releasing never-before-seen communications and documents exposing how Dr. Fauci provided millions in US taxpayer dollars to fund dangerous gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab, worked with politicized elements within the Intelligence Community to suppress the truth about his actions and hide the virus’ lab-leak origins, and lied to Congress while under oath in 2024. It’s time you know the truth.

https://t.co/3YJSstB7d4

[DNI Tulsi Gabbard @DNIGabbard]

Today, I’m releasing never before seen intelligence revealing new evidence of past US government funding for more than 120 biolabs in over 30 countries, including Ukraine.

In support of President Trump‘s Executive Order to end federal funding of dangerous gain of function research around the world, and increase transparency and accountability, ODNI will continue working with partners across the Administration to identify where these labs are, what pathogens they contain, and what “research” is being conducted.

https://t.co/pLMD0krc69

[Umar Cheema @UmarCheema1]

Time for Sovereign AI. Pakistan cannot afford to wait.

In a first, the U.S. government has ordered Anthropic to deny the entire world access to its two most powerful new AI models: Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5. Whatever the official reason, the message is clear: America doesn’t want the rest of the world using its most advanced AI models. AI is the new weapon.

This reminds me of Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei, who said in the 1980s: a country without its own technology is like a country without an army.

AI is creating a new have/have-not world, where the entire world depends on just two countries: the U.S. and China.

As a nation, we have missed too many trains like technology revolution and internet boom etc. We cannot afford to miss this one.

Western and Chinese AI models don’t properly understand our context: languages, history, culture etc. We may not be able to build the world’s most powerful AI. But we can build sovereign AI, trained on Pakistani data, Pakistani context, Pakistani knowledge.

With this, our data stays inside Pakistan. Our services cannot be switched off by a foreign government. What happened on Friday can never happen to us again.

This train is still at the station. But not for long. Don’t miss it.

[Archaeo - Histories @archeohistories]

He was admired by high society and trusted by emperors, yet his life would end before a firing squad in revolutionary Russia.

Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, the youngest legitimate son of Emperor Alexander II and uncle of Tsar Nicholas II, was considered one of the most charming and approachable members of the Romanov dynasty. Handsome and elegant, he was especially admired during his years as an officer of the Grodno Hussars, where his dark-green uniform and skill on the dance floor made him a favorite among aristocratic circles. Despite his royal status, Pavel preferred the pleasures of society life and rarely sought positions of great responsibility. His first wife, Princess Alexandra of Greece, died while he was still young, leaving him devastated and the father of two children, Grand Duchess Maria and Grand Duke Dmitri.

Years later, Pavel shocked the imperial family by marrying Olga Valerianovna Karnovich, a divorced commoner and the former wife of a colonel. Such a union violated long-standing Romanov traditions, as grand dukes were forbidden from marrying commoners and divorced women were not accepted at court. The scandal forced him into exile in Paris, separating him from much of Russian high society. According to his cousin, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, those years abroad transformed Pavel's personality. Exposure to intellectual and influential circles softened what had once been seen as pride and arrogance, revealing a kinder and more thoughtful man beneath the surface.

During the First World War, Pavel briefly commanded the Guard Corps on the German front but played little role in the political struggles consuming the empire. His son, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, later became closely associated with French fashion icon Coco Chanel and gained notoriety for participating in the assassination of Grigori Rasputin in 1916. Meanwhile, Pavel remained largely removed from state affairs as Russia drifted toward revolution. The collapse of the Romanov dynasty in 1917 brought an end to the world he had known since birth.

Unlike many members of the imperial family who escaped abroad, Pavel remained in Russia. After the Bolsheviks consolidated power, he was arrested and imprisoned despite suffering from poor health. In January 1919, amid the violence of the Russian Civil War, the once-celebrated grand duke was executed by a firing squad. Remembered by relatives as one of the gentlest Romanovs, Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich witnessed the destruction of the empire into which he had been born and ultimately became one more victim of the revolution that swept away centuries of imperial rule.

© Historical Stories

#archaeohistories

[Bhavika Agarwal @Ai_Tech_tool]

Instead of watching an hour of Netflix, watch this 2 hour hour Stanford lecture will teach you more about how LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude are built than most people working at top AI companies learn in their entire careers.

[The New York Times @nytimes]

From @TheAthletic: So many tennis players travel with their pets that the French Open hired a dog concierge to look after them so that their owners can focus on performing at their peak. Ten dogs were given their own credential badges. https://t.co/BNDkEqXP9t

[GateWatch @GatewatchHQ]

Nepal’s push for a “Sovereign AI Factory” could be a big story for @fusemachines investors.

A new opinion piece from Kathmandu Post argues Nepal should build sovereign AI infrastructure powered by its low-cost hydropower advantage, positioning the country as a future exporter of AI compute and digital intelligence.

Why does this matter to investors watching Fusemachines?

Because the article was written by Fusemachines CEO Dr. Sameer Maskey, and it directly aligns with a growing global trend: Countries are beginning to view AI infrastructure as strategic national infrastructure, similar to electricity grids, telecom networks, and cloud computing.

This is especially notable given Fusemachines’ longstanding focus on building AI talent pipelines and infrastructure across underserved markets.

[The Washington Post @washingtonpost]

A bacterium, called vibrio vulnificus, can be found in coastal salt or brackish waters and causes an infection called vibriosis.

Here’s everything you need to know about avoiding Vibrio, plus a few other organisms you might encounter at the beach: https://t.co/rUeDpg0YhE

[The Washington Post @washingtonpost]

Breaking news: In a win for OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, a judge dismissed all of Elon Musk’s claims against the artificial intelligence company after a jury found that Musk exceeded the statute of limitations for bringing the lawsuit. https://t.co/AOtNvGDIMd

[Geoff Wade @geoff_p_wade]

PRC: "Who Are China’s Diplomats? Beyond “Wolf Warrior” Hype" https://t.co/c7Fs2J5s4k

[Maleeha Lodhi @LodhiMaleeha]

Excellent points by Rabia

[Nick Schifrin @nickschifrin]

15 years ago, I woke up in Islamabad, Pakistan, where I had lived for 3 years as the @ABC correspondent, and drove about an hour and half to Abbottabad. I drove past Pakistan’s Military Academy, the country’s West Point, and turned into a neighborhood where one house stood high above the others. And ABC News aired the first footage from inside the compound where Osama bin Laden had lived and died.
The Navy Seal raid was the culmination of a decade of work by thousands of intelligence officers–including some who lost their lives. And the top CIA officer in Pakistan at the time, the chief of station, was Mark Kelton, now a Senior Advisor @ChertoffGroup, and a founding partner of the Five Eyes Group.
For our latest Compass Points from @NewsHour, Mark and I began a conversation about the intelligence that led up to the raid that killed the world's most wanted terrorist: