London, United Kingdom
Joined April 2008
Replying to @virvikram
Invited to Pfizer vaccine, got 'unblinded' my trial. Happy to say:"Pleasure talking to you just now – I can confirm that you have received two doses of SARS-CoV-2 rS with Matrix-M1 adjuvant vaccine as part of the NOVOVAX trial. That is, you have received the active vaccine.
7
1
2
45
Look at the post below. Yesterday, we reported that Europe’s four biggest mobile operators 🇩🇪🇫🇷🇪🇸🇬🇧are exploring a joint bid to take on Starlink: phones connected straight to satellites, no tower needed. The replies came on cue: “Europe can’t launch. Europe has no satellites. Europe has no money. SpaceX has no competition. Period.” We hear this every time Europe talks about tech independence. But are they right? 👇 ❌ “Europe can’t launch.” ✅ True, SpaceX launches far more: 165 Falcon 9 flights in 2025. That gap is real. But even Amazon booked 24 launches on Europe’s Ariane 6 for its own Starlink rival. Ariane 6 has already put 100 of its satellites in orbit. In September, @isaraerospace, a German 🇩🇪 startup, reached orbit. At the same time, Europe’s first reusable rocket prototype is on its pad in Sweden 🇸🇪. And the @esa has put €900M+ behind a new generation of rockets. That’s more than twice the ~$400M NASA gave SpaceX to develop Falcon 9 and its Dragon capsule. What will happen to American launchers once these are operational? ❌ “Europe doesn’t build satellites.” ✅ Galileo, Europe’s GPS, is the most precise satellite navigation system in the world. Over 4.5 billion devices use it. Probably yours too. Finland’s 🇫🇮 @iceye_global runs the world’s largest fleet of radar satellites, which see through clouds and at night. @Thales_Alenia_S, in Turin, Italy 🇮🇹, built over half of the International Space Station’s living space. It also built the current satellites of Iridium, the American satellite-phone network. @AirbusSpace, @ThalesAerospace and @LDO_Space are merging their space businesses into one 25,000-strong champion. And IRIS², the EU’s own 348-satellite network, is moving to full deployment of its governments and defence infrastructure. If Europe has “nothing”, why are NASA’s astronauts living in it and your phone navigating with it? ❌ “Europe doesn’t have the money.” ✅ EU households keep €12 trillion in cash and bank deposits. That’s more than Nvidia and Apple, the world’s two most valuable companies, combined. Enough to buy SpaceX five times over. On top of that, Europeans hold $8 trillion in US stocks and bonds. For now. Because something has changed. Every year, €300bn of European savings leaves the EU. Europe is done watching it go: it has started building a single market for savings and investment, so that European money grows European companies. Some, like Danish 🇩🇰 pension funds, have already started dumping US government bonds. What will happen the day Europe offers a real alternative to American financial markets? ❌ “Europe is years behind on innovation.” ✅ 3 of the last 4 Nobel laureates in physics were born in Europe 🇬🇧🇫🇷🇧🇪. All three did their prize-winning work at American universities. The world’s first microprocessor, the chip that became the brain of every computer, was designed at Intel by an Italian 🇮🇹: Federico Faggin. Google’s AI lab, DeepMind, was born in London 🇬🇧. OpenAI was co-founded by scientists born in Poland 🇵🇱 and Slovakia 🇸🇰. Now Washington is cutting research funding, and applications from US-based scientists to the European Research Council have more than doubled. The EU has proposed doubling its budget too. Europe’s red tape can be cut with a vote. Can America win back the trust it has destroyed by threatening, humiliating and insulting its allies? ❌ “Europe needs America more than America needs Europe.” ✅ Look closer. In April, NASA flew astronauts around the Moon for the first time in over 50 years. The module that powered their spacecraft, pushed it to the Moon and kept them alive was European, assembled in Bremen, Germany 🇩🇪. NASA’s Webb telescope launched on a European Ariane 5, so precisely that its fuel should last about 20 years instead of 10. And the world’s most advanced AI chips can only be made with machines from one company: ASML, in the Netherlands 🇳🇱. We’ve seen this film before. In 1970, American planemakers ruled the skies. Europeans pooled their strengths and built Airbus. Airbus has out-delivered Boeing every year since 2019. The US just turned 250. The University of Bologna, in Italy, was founded in 1088, 938 years ago. Europe has been written off many times. Those trying to convince Europeans we can’t stand on our own forget who gave the world the Renaissance, the scientific revolution, the welfare state and the World Wide Web, born at CERN in Geneva 🇨🇭. Betting against Europe isn’t analysis - it’s hubris. And that arrogance is pushing European public opinion towards one conclusion: we’re done with America. One day, those repeating “weak, dependent Europe” will wake up to a Europe running on its own rockets, satellites, capital and talent. That day is closer than they think. 🇪🇺
After Trump and Musk restricted Starlink in Ukraine, four of Europe's biggest phone companies are joining forces to bring satellite coverage straight to your phone. European industry is answering what people want: a satellite service that isn't controlled from Washington.
166
713
53
2,642
87,249
Ten reasons why the UK economy is on track: @Keir_Starmer @RachelReevesMP Keir Starmer Rachel Reeves Keir Starmer Rachel Reeves Keir Starmer Rachel Reeves Keir Starmer Rachel Reeves Did I mention Keir Starmer?
3
27
102
695
He says the name just fine when he’s begging the Qataris for a personal jet or the Saudis for funding for his son-in-law’s private equity firm. Wonder what’s changed?
Trump on El-Sayed: "His name is actually Abduladadalalalala. It's Adulbabababababa Mohammed Al-Sayed. So his middle name is Mohammed. So I was right. He's a jihadist."
2,169
26,279
582
207,464
2,903,714
🚨India’s ₹3,000 Crore Maldives Currency Swap: A Step Towards Rupee Internationalisation and De-Dollarisation India has approved the rollover of an existing ₹3,000 crore currency-swap facility for the Maldives. This is not a fresh ₹3,000 crore giveaway. It is an extension of an existing financial arrangement designed to provide short-term rupee liquidity when the Maldives faces financial pressure. On the surface, it may look like a routine financial decision. Strategically, however, it represents something much bigger. The Maldives is heavily dependent on tourism, imports and foreign-currency inflows. It needs foreign exchange to pay for essential imports and meet external obligations. Access to an Indian-rupee liquidity facility gives Male another financial channel, one that does not necessarily require every transaction to pass through the US dollar. That is where the larger story begins. India has increasingly encouraged the use of the rupee in international transactions, particularly with neighbouring and strategic partner countries. Bilateral trade settlement in local currencies can reduce the need for dollar conversion in eligible transactions, while currency-swap arrangements provide a liquidity backstop during periods of financial stress. These are different mechanisms, but they point in the same direction: greater regional financial connectivity centred around the Indian rupee. That is the essence of de-dollarisation, not necessarily replacing the dollar overnight, but reducing dependence on it wherever viable alternatives emerge. For the rupee, this is also about internationalisation. A currency becomes internationally relevant not simply because its issuing country has a large economy, but because businesses, banks, investors and governments outside that country are willing to use, hold and trust it.
2
90
3
322
34,307
#BREAKING Over 400 Indian-origin students, researchers and alumni across 27 countries have issued a statement titled 'Spare India from Anarchy' The signatories, including individuals affiliated with MIT, Oxford, Harvard, Stanford and Cambridge, have raised concerns over protests and what they describe as attempts to undermine India's constitutional institutions The statement criticises the growing preference for street protests over parliamentary dialogue and calls for political differences to be resolved through constitutional and democratic processes
414
1,580
162
5,271
246,922
Ho grande rispetto per le migliaia di persone che oggi hanno manifestato pacificamente, anche partecipando alla mobilitazione indetta dalla CGIL che ha visto anche la partecipazione dei leader della sinistra. Qualunque siano le idee per le quali si manifesta, la partecipazione è alla base di qualunque sana democrazia. Dall’altro lato, però, non possiamo ignorare quanto accaduto in altre piazze italiane. A Milano, come mostrano queste immagini, lanci di pietre contro le Forze dell’Ordine, agenti feriti, danneggiamenti e violenze che hanno costretto a interrompere il corteo. A Torino sono state fermate persone con sanpietrini e martelletti frangivetro. A Bologna i disordini hanno portato alla chiusura precauzionale della stazione ferroviaria. Teppisti che sfruttano le manifestazioni per seminare il caos, aggredire chi garantisce la sicurezza e tenere in ostaggio intere città. Manifestare è un diritto. Mettere a ferro e fuoco le nostre città non lo è. Rinnovo la mia richiesta alle opposizioni: non siano ambigue su questo. Condannino senza ambiguità queste violenze e lancino un appello chiaro affinché ogni mobilitazione sia pacifica. Di fronte a scene del genere, il rifiuto deve essere unanime. Ogni reticenza diventa giustificazione. Il silenzio non è accettabile.
3,840
4,190
625
23,135
1,102,754
Replying to @AbdulElSayed
117
338
4
7,756
172,141
This is Tommy. Tommy had a question about my allegiances. Listen to the end to hear about his.
10,822
28,026
4,544
193,244
14,919,162
In case you forgot what a U.S. president beloved by the world looks like. 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 Live in Manchester: An Evening with President Barack Obama. The arena holds up to 23,500 people with standing room, and the event was SOLD OUT.
2,017
4,942
233
20,918
323,633
Vikram retweeted
Fair
1
1
246
Trump: "We are running low on ammo, not because of my war on Iran but because Biden gave 'massive amounts' of Tomahawks to Ukraine." The U.S. didn’t supply a single Tomahawk to Ukraine. Trump is literally and physically the biggest liar in world history! 🤥
653
3,182
219
8,949
87,860
29 Muslim men have been convicted of raping a single 13 year old girl in West Yorkshire 29 Men on one little girl These people are barbarians, savages, vile. How many more little girls need to suffer before we admit these people don't belong in our country? DEPORT THEM ALL
1,853
11,719
919
27,141
313,556
When was the last time your state gave Congress a full majority? • 70 years ago in Kerala • 64 years ago in Tamil Nadu • 54 years ago in West Bengal • 41 years ago in MH and Gujarat • 41 years ago in UP and Bihar • 28 years ago in MP and Rajasthan • 21 years ago in Haryana In several states, Congress hasn’t won a full majority in decades. How long has it been in your state?
13
247
14
902
37,016
Party to celebrate Ian Hislop's 40 years as editor of Private Eye & 65 years at the magazine. Has anyone currently in public life held the same job for longer? The Eye is the greatest journalistic institution of my lifetime. Long may Ian and the Eye reign.
339
633
55
4,112
119,628
Messy Muddied Murkier Mischief Burnham is MUCH more than just a former mayor now it seems? He has other attachments and Appendices! Always look at the Appendix Receipts hey Andy!?
1
9
21
432
and was already over 90% dealt with by Starmer & his negotiators who Burnham sacked out of spite for supporting Starmer.
Replying to @TedUrchin @UKLabour
It’s Sir Keir Starmer’s deal that was announced and been worked on from a year ago.
2
25
1
93
880
Zelenskyy is basically just trolling Trump at this point, and I'm all for it.
Thank you for everything, Lindsey! Дякую за все, Ліндсі! 🇺🇦🇺🇸
182
1,255
14
12,155
160,659
Vikram retweeted
Boom. 🔥
OSSOFF: Trump has cemented his legacy in American history as a failure and a disgrace. J.D. Vance will go down as a footnote in that disgrace.
355
2,022
22
10,903
110,562
This is exactly why Starmer's leadership on the international stage is so sorely missed. As anticipated, Burnham is really struggling to make an impact where it is currently most urgent.
NEW: Bloomberg Saturday read Andy Burnham confronts the nightmare of being PM under Trump. Does he have a plan? — He might want to focus on domestic issues but the Ukraine crisis has pushed foreign policy to the top of his agenda. Privately government officials talk about a dark reality: Trump is simply not on the UK’s side on the fundamental issue of European security. — It’s brought the special relationship to its lowest point in recent memory and poses Burnham a premiership-defining challenge, one senior official says. Even Churchill would find it difficult dealing with these global problems without Britain’s main ally and we have a novice in No10 by comparison, they say. — The early Burnham-Trump relationship has been difficult. While Trump was polite in front of the cameras at their first meeting, behind-closed-doors he railed against Britain’s lack of support for his Iran war, sources say. On Fairford, Trump and the White House have said things, ie that a joint US-UK operation tailed the suspects and that they planned a spectacular drone attack, that just aren’t true, they add. — Trump’s latest shift toward Russia leaves questions that Burnham’s government is struggling to answer, not least what is his strategy to handle the president and ensure Ukraine is not pressured into accepting an unjust outcome to the war. — On taking office, Burnham decided to follow the Keir Starmer/Jonathan Powell approach of pursuing quiet diplomacy to persuade Trump into taking less hostile positions towards Europe. Advocates point to counterfactual scenarios that would have been much worse: Trump didn’t try to take Greenland by force, he hasn’t left NATO, he hasn’t stopped all intel and military support for Ukraine, he hasn’t fully sided with Putin. — The UK’s key foreign policy aim beyond Ukraine is ensuring the transatlantic alliance does not collapse because that would realise Russia’s overarching strategic objective, an official said. Burnham and Britain’s role are more important than ever now Macron and Merz are declining powers, they say. — But right now it’s hard to argue the strategy is working. Officials say the change of government means diplomatic relationships have had to be restarted from scratch. No10 has announced no phone call between Burnham and Trump since the diesel deal, nor any call between the PM and other European leaders. Officials note the lack of progress under the Coalition of the Willing format in recent months. UK pledges to secure more air defences for Ukraine, including from the US, have yet to deliver. — If you ask the government what Britain is doing to help Ukraine, what conversations it’s having with the US to get them into a better place, what Burnham is doing with Macron and Merz, what’s happened to the coalition of the willing and where are the promised air defences, there is no answer. — It is very important to say that veteran UK officials do not see the situation for Ukraine as dire. The US appears to have been pressured by Zelenskyy into restoring Starlink. Ukraine retains the ability to strike Russian oil refineries even without US support. Russia is militarily and economically weak and desperate, and that is why Putin is so keen for Trump to up pressure on Zelenskyy, they add. Britain is sending more Storm Shadows. — Burnham told Bloomberg in Kyiv in August that he sees a progressive resurgence across the world in response to failed populism, including possibly in the US. In other words, he’s looking forward to a post-Trump world. But he still has to find a way to deal with him now. And the reality is, even if it’s Trump’s fault, an adverse outcome in Ukraine would be what Burnham’s premiership is remembered for. With @ChaplainChloe: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
8
46
152
3,960
The membership knew but our voices were ignored.
1
12