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Bosphorus Observer

@yoruk.bsky.social
17K followers 471 following 691 posts

Obsessive ship-spotting by the Bosphorus -.-. .-. .. -- . .- / .. ... / ..- -.- .-. .- .. -. . 50501

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Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 38m
Trump started a stupid & illegal war in Iran that has driven up diesel prices. Now he wants to bankroll Putin's illegal war against Ukraine by buying diesel from him.   One strategic disaster after the next. www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
politico.com
Trump lifts sanctions on Russian diesel, suggests US may buy amid surging fuel prices
The move comes weeks ahead of the midterm elections.
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Reuters @reuters.com · 20m
US lifts sanctions on daughter of Myanmar military-linked businessman reut.rs/4ATE8fz
reut.rs
US lifts sanctions on daughter of Myanmar military-linked businessman
The United States lifted ​on Friday sanctions on the daughter of a Myanmar businessman accused of supporting the country's military, according ‌to the US Treasury Department's website, after she filed a suit seeking removal from the blacklist.
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Bosphorus Observer @yoruk.bsky.social · 1h
The person who believes Stephen Miller is the second -most powerful person in the world must have a world the size of a walnut.
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The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 2h
Trump said his administration has reached an agreement with Russia’s Vladimir Putin for Russia to supply hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel fuel in the coming months. on.wsj.com/4yRXcsQ
on.wsj.com
Trump Strikes Deal With Putin for Russian Diesel
The president said Russia has agreed to supply large amounts of the fuel to the U.S. and global markets, as rising prices rattle voters.
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Bosphorus Observer @yoruk.bsky.social · 2h
1) Trump will do anything for Putin 2) United States is in no position to mediate between Ukraine and Russia ------------------------- Trump agrees deal with Putin for Russia to release diesel on to global market giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @financialtimes
giftarticle.ft.com
Trump agrees deal with Putin for Russia to release diesel on to global market
Pact between Washington and Moscow comes just weeks before critical midterm elections in the US
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Eric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 08/10/2026
This story follows up on piece we published over the weekend detailing the role that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have played in negotiating this multibillion-deal--with Russia even though some of the deal investors are family business partners. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/u...
nytimes.com
U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine Now Involve an Oil Deal Tied to Trump Allies (Gift Article)
President Vladimir V. Putin brought up a sale of Russian energy assets with President Trump’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, pushing a deal that raises new questions about conflicts of inter...
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Eric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 08/10/2026
JUST POSTED: In Trump’s Russian Oil Deal, Middle East Funds Are the Biggest Owners A majority of ownership in a proposed multibillion-dollar deal would go to a group of Middle Eastern investors, including some with business ties to the Witkoff family and Kushner www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/w...
nytimes.com
In Trump’s Russian Oil Deal, Middle East Funds Are the Biggest Owners
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AFP News Agency @en.afp.com · 08/10/2026
BREAKING US execution by firing squad of Fort Hood shooter to be livestreamed: Pentagon official
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Edward Luce @edwardluce.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
This is where we are. Live stream executions for Maga porn. Such barbarism is not easily wiped away.
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Ken Vogel @kenvogel.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
SCOOP: While Trump was crisscrossing the USA last week trying to help the GOP stave off a midterm washout, two of his top political advisers were in Republika Srpska advising its pro-Russian government on election issues. James Blair & Chris LaCivita were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each.
nytimes.com
Amid Midterm Crunch, Trump Advisers Took Time to Help Russia-Aligned Government (Gift Article)
James Blair and Chris LaCivita, who are leading the president’s congressional campaign operation, traveled to Republika Srpska to provide election advice.
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Reuters @reuters.com · 06/10/2026
Record imports push US trade balance deep into the red in August reut.rs/3UdqC5I
reut.rs
Record imports push US trade balance deep into the red in August
The US trade deficit widened more than expected in August as imports jumped to a record high against the backdrop of robust domestic demand, keeping trade on track to again ​subtract from economic growth in the third quarter.
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Los Angeles Times @latimes.com · 06/10/2026
Trump suggests letting Iran 'take out' Los Angeles, San Diego during campaign rally
latimes.com
Trump suggests letting Iran 'take out' Los Angeles and San Diego at campaign rally
Trump made the remarks during a rambling speech in which he said gas prices would be lower soon, touted his ouster of Venezuela’s dictator, and made attacks on news outlets.
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Euronews @euronews.com · 06/10/2026
A passing ferry found only an overturned lifeboat and life jackets at the scene, while two injured sailors from a second vessel are being rushed to hospital in Varna. #EuropeNews
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 06/10/2026
The government *still* isn’t tracking how often immigration agents detain U.S. citizens. We are. 500+ Americans have been handcuffed, held at gunpoint or held against their will in Trump’s second term. Our tally is almost certainly an undercount. THREAD (content warning: violence) ⬇️
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Bosphorus Observer @yoruk.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Whistleblower who flagged Lutnick’s links to Epstein dies The former British banker who spent more than 35 years working in financial markets has died by suicide: www.thebanker.com/content/0228...
thebanker.com
Whistleblower who flagged Lutnick’s links to Epstein dies
The former British banker who spent more than 35 years working in financial markets has died by suicide
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 03/10/2026
Negotiations to end the war in Ukraine "have expanded to include a multibillion-dollar oil deal that would benefit Middle Eastern business executives with ties to the two main U.S. negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner" reports @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/u...
nytimes.com
U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine Now Involve an Oil Deal Tied to Trump Allies (Gift Article)
President Vladimir V. Putin brought up a sale of Russian energy assets with President Trump’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, pushing a deal that raises new questions about conflicts of inter...
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Eric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 03/10/2026
Here's a little chart that our graphics team did to help you keep track of the various players.
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Eric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 03/10/2026
This Lukoil pending deal has a tie-in to the billionaire Syrian-born Qatari brothers that I wrote about earlier this year-- who have teamed up with Ivanka and Jared on a real estate project in Albania. Yes, it's an intricate web. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/19/u...
nytimes.com
Syrian Billionaires Needed a Favor in Washington. They Invoked the Trump Name. (Gift Article)
The attempt by the Khayyats to influence foreign policy while discussions are underway about potential Trump family deals is an increasingly common feature of the president’s second term.
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Eric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 03/10/2026
JUST POSTED: Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have pushed a multibillion oil deal with Russia as part of peace talks that will bring profits to their family business partners. A new front for Trump-era conflicts of interest. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/u...
nytimes.com
U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine Now Involve an Oil Deal Tied to Trump Allies (Gift Article)
President Vladimir V. Putin brought up a sale of Russian energy assets with President Trump’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, pushing a deal that raises new questions about conflicts of inter...
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Peter Baker @peterbakernyt.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Trump administration’s talks with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine have expanded to include a multibillion-dollar oil deal that would benefit a Trump donor and Middle Eastern businessmen with ties to Witkoff and Kushner. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/u...
nytimes.com
U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine Now Involve an Oil Deal Tied to Trump Allies
President Vladimir V. Putin brought up a sale of Russian energy assets with President Trump’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, pushing a deal that raises new questions about conflicts of inter...
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 03/10/2026
The Trump administration’s talks with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine have expanded to include a multibillion-dollar oil deal that would benefit Middle Eastern business executives with ties to the two main U.S. negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
trib.al
U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine Now Involve an Oil Deal Tied to Trump Allies
President Vladimir V. Putin brought up a sale of Russian energy assets with President Trump’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, pushing a deal that raises new questions about conflicts of interest.
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Reuters @reuters.com · 02/10/2026
World food prices near four-year high in September, UN says reut.rs/4yrIgl1
reut.rs
World food prices near four-year high in September, UN says
World food prices rose in September to their highest in ​nearly four years as logistics disruptions and weather concerns ‌affected crop markets, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said.
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Bosphorus Observer @yoruk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
End of an era: courageous and thoughtful reporting by @jmalsin.bsky.social
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Bosphorus Observer @yoruk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Kremlinology on the Potomac
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Henry Foy @henryjfoy.ft.com · 23/09/2026
So it's official. EU sanctions on Russia are no longer only for the benefit of Ukraine's existential fight against Moscow's invasion - they are now currency for EU capitals to trade for prisoners. Welcome to the Brussels bazaar.
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Bosphorus Observer @yoruk.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Defying the most basic logic:
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Reuters @reuters.com · 26/09/2026
OpenAI's models accessed public US Census, SEC data, Bloomberg News reports reut.rs/4xPOIS2
reut.rs
OpenAI's models accessed public US Census, SEC data, Bloomberg News reports
OpenAI's models accessed publicly available information from US government ​websites, including those of the ‌Census Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission, Bloomberg News reported ​on Friday.
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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 26/09/2026
The American military should experiment relentlessly with better ways of identifying future commanders. That is not exactly what Hegseth's new test would accomplish.
lnk.thebulwark.com
The Pentagon Has a New Test for Top Officers. It’s Not Clear Why.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s rationale was less than convincing.
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Bosphorus Observer @yoruk.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
In the iconic 1983 sci-fi NBC TV miniseries V, journalist Michael Donovan secretly sneaks into the mothership and captures video footage proving the Visitors' human faces are latex-like synthetic skin masks and contact lenses hiding scaly green skin, vertical slit pupils, & a diet of live rodents.
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Bosphorus Observer @yoruk.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
5000 years diplomatic practice of “say anything & listen anything with a straight face” vs Queens conman
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Bosphorus Observer @yoruk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018...
theguardian.com
Trump fought against fitting of sprinklers in apartment where man died
Property mogul spoke against retrofitting of sprinklers in Trump Tower as unnecessary and expensive
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The Associated Press @apnews.com · 23/09/2026
BREAKING: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges the world’s leaders to keep choking Russia’s revenues and impede its war efforts.
bit.ly
Zelenskyy, at UN, urges leaders to keep choking Russia's revenues and impede its war efforts
Ukrainian President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging world’s leaders to keep choking Russia’s revenues and impede its war efforts. He's telling the U.N.
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Kaja Kallas @kajakallas.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The veneer of democracy is all that remains in Russia. I have proposed measures against those facilitating these sham elections in occupied Ukrainian territories. (2/2)
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 18/09/2026
honestly some of the most apocalyptic impacts of "AI" will be shit like this, and most of the doomsday dipshits predicting SkyNet can't be bothered to notice or care
arstechnica.com
UnitedHealth uses AI model with 90% error rate to deny care, lawsuit alleges
For the largest health insurer in the US, AI's error rate is like a feature, not a bug.
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Bosphorus Observer @yoruk.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
washingtonian.com/2026/07/11/k...
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Euronews @euronews.com · 21/09/2026
Left triumphs in Berlin as AfD surges in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania ➡️ l.euronews.com/tXOA
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Reuters Legal @legal.reuters.com · 18/09/2026
US President Donald Trump on Friday signed the sweeping Russia sanctions bill into law, the White House said in a statement, paving the way for increased economic pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
reut.rs
Trump signs Russia sanctions bill into law
US President Donald Trump on Friday signed the sweeping Russia ​sanctions bill into law, the White ‌House said in a statement, paving the way for increased economic pressure on Russia over its ​invasion of Ukraine.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Kremlev, the Russian who sponsored Don Jr's wedding, is a former member of the Night Wolves biker gang, went to China with Putin and is personally sanctioned by Ukraine for his role in abducting children. He praises Stalin on social media www.propublica.org/article/dona...
propublica.org
Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch
The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...
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Alison Killing @alisonkilling.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
NEW: AI has made warfare faster and more lethal, but hasn't made it easier to win. Our deep dive on how AI is being integrated into the battlefield, with @johnthornhill.bsky.social @digitalcampbell.ft.com @fabricedeprez.bsky.social and Charles Clover as.ft.com/r/948d5342-a...
as.ft.com
The era of AI warfare has arrived
Autonomous systems are being rapidly integrated on the battlefield, as models advance in ways even their creators cannot fully predict
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Reuters @reuters.com · 17/09/2026
Number of ships transiting Strait of Hormuz falls to three on Wednesday, data shows reut.rs/4AiG2pu
reut.rs
Number of ships transiting Strait of Hormuz falls to three on Wednesday, data shows
Commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz dwindled to ​just three ships on Wednesday, down from ‌12 a day earlier and well below the 10-day average of about 17, preliminary ship-tracking data showed on Thursday.
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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 11/09/2026
For at least three years Bellingcat has been covering Russia’s grain smuggling operation - shipping grain from occupied Ukraine . You can read our reporting on this here: www.bellingcat.com?s=grain
bellingcat.com
You searched for grain - bellingcat
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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 11/09/2026
It’s harvest season in Ukraine, but in the first two weeks of August, Ukrainian grain exports were down 75% from the same period last year. Russia’s military blockade has effectively cut off Ukrainian ports from the Black Sea.🧵
Reads What Routes Does Ukraine's Grain Trade Have Left. Pictured grain being harvested.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 14/09/2026
Kremlev’s previously unreported relationship with Trump Jr. represents an extraordinary development: a member of Putin’s circle financially supporting the president’s son and gaining intimate access to the Trump family.
propublica.org
Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch
The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 14/09/2026
Trump Jr. and his bride Bettina Anderson had their first dance on the island rented by Kremlev, which can go for around $100,000 a night. The company that put on the Kremlev-funded fireworks display charges around $70,000 for such shows.
Donald Trump Jr. and his wife, Bettina Anderson, at their wedding, watching fireworks paid for by Umar Kremlev. 

Laura Gordon Photography via Lewis Miller Design
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 14/09/2026
Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to rent out a private island and cover other big-ticket items like the fireworks show, according to records and people familiar with the event. The payments came from an entity in Dubai affiliated with his boxing association.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 14/09/2026
Look at this photo we found from Donald Trump Jr.’s lavish Bahamas wedding. Can you spot the Russian oligarch close to Putin who bankrolled the event? 🧵
A group photo shows about 35 people, including Donald Trump Jr.; his wife, Bettina Anderson; Ivanka Trump; Jared Kushner; Tiffany Trump; and Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev.

Little Pipe Cay/Lux Hospitality Bahamas; Laura Gordon Photography via Instagram; Laura Gordon Photography
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Reuters Legal @legal.reuters.com · 27/08/2026
Russian-speaking hackers used SpaceX’s AI coding assistant, Cursor, to help break in to a Belgian chemical company and at least six other firms earlier this year, according to data reviewed by Reuters and a report issued by the startup Gambit Security.
reut.rs
EXCLUSIVE: Russian-speaking cybercriminals used SpaceX’s Cursor AI tool to hack seven companies
Russian-speaking hackers used SpaceX’s AI coding assistant, Cursor, to help break in to a Belgian chemical company and at least six other ​firms earlier this year, according to data reviewed by Reuters and a report issued by the startup Gambit Security.
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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 25/08/2026
Charlie Brown, a former US Naval Officer and Senior Advisor at United Against Nuclear Iran, said the movements of Patria warranted scrutiny, especially as the ship is under sanction and is previously reported to have shipped arms.
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