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"Trump ‘fails the laugh test’ with bid to undermine elections by weaponizing the Census, critics say. Trump touts shoddy analysis and bogus data to claim ‘I WON THE ELECTION’ as he pushes for sweeping restrictions on ballot access" www.the-independent.com/news/world/a...

New AI tools mean that small teams can produce viral political content at scale and in a way that allows them to avoid personal accountability. "Because they’re anonymous, they can effectively say anything with impunity”. www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

Hungary scraps crypto trading penalties of up to eight years in prison Hungary has repealed its mandatory crypto conversion validation system and removed two related criminal offenses that exposed users and service providers to prison terms of up to eight years. … www.byteseu.com/2294685/

Ban on goods from occupied West Bank would help protect two-state solution, says Emily Thornberry – UK politics live

Ministry of Defence of Ukraine💙💛 President of Ukraine introduces Evgeniy Khmara as Minister of Defence of Ukraine Evgeniy Khmara also noted that Ukraine needs more air defense capabilities and needs its cooperation with partners to deliver more results. mod.gov.ua/en/news/pres...

India Becomes APAC’s Top Data-Center Market Outside China, Hits 1.7 GW: Study. Global hyperscalers Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are the next-largest investor group, with $84 billion announced. About 95% of all announced investment is targeting large hyperscale AI campuses.

⚡️Ukrainian soldiers use training in Germany to desert. The soldiers had been sent to Germany for training before returning to Ukraine to fight Russia, according to Die Zeit.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was showing signs of utter confusion 10 days before he was hospitalized ... voting incorrectly and even getting the Senate Clerk to signal yea or nay for him. www.tmz.com/2026/08/20/m...

Two Hong Kong activists who organised annual vigils marking China’s deadly Tiananmen crackdown in 1989 have been found guilty of “incitement to subversion” in one of the most high-profile cases in Hong Kong since Beijing imposed its national security law in 2020.

"Ukraine Planned to Swarm Moscow Airports With AI-Guided Drones The stalled operation, code-named “M&Ms,” sought to isolate Russian elites and force Vladimir Putin to negotiate a truce." No paywall: archive.ph/EdgsJ

Oh no www.sixthtone.com/news/1018913 "The allegations, which emerged last weekend on domestic social media, come just two weeks after she went viral for an interview with British-American director Christopher Nolan about his recent blockbuster “The Odyssey.”

Reuters On Iran: “Trump to impose unprecedented economic warfare and isolation on Iran could have implications for countries that trade with it. Here are some of Iran's main trading partners in recent years: China, Iraq, Russia, Pakistan, Oman, India, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.” tinyurl.com/yzdjs85r

UK reports unexpected deficit of £1.8bn as John Healey prepares for first budget

🔒 Cyber — Beacon CRM Breach Hits UK Charities A compromised AWS key exposed donor names, phones and addresses at ~1,000 UK charities via Beacon CRM. #CyberSecurity #UKCyber #UKPrepperHub ukprepperhub.co.uk/814y?...

After 9 Years, China Is Reopening Its Borders To Recycled Plastic thediplomat.com/2026/08/afte... #NationalSword #NationalSword2

On Fedorow and Elections in Ukraine. Another interesting one by @caolanrob.bsky.social. I have no idea how a fractured and nightly bombed country could realistically hold an election. Someone who wants it could you elaborate how to do it? Till then, I considering it another stupid Trump/Musk idea.

A 12 August 2026 benchmark found 68% of AI-generated webpages break on real devices, 1.7x the human rate. A diff confirms the code looks right; a preview looks right at one width. Neither catches what breaks. pipelinemag.ai/posts/ai-generated-respons...

📢 Far-right politicians trying to influence election outcomes have sunk to a new low that threatens Australia’s democratic process.

Israel re-establishes closed West Bank settlement, defying growing international protests

'It has serious political and constitutional angles' David Yelland, host of 'When It Hits the Fan' podcast and former editor of The Sun, told #BBCBreakfast with the return of Prince Harry to the UK, the Royal Family need to resolve the split with Prince William bbc.co.uk/news/article...

❗️💧🔥💧❗️ El Niño Increased rainfall and storms to hit UK due to biggest El Niño for a century - says Met Office ‘Unprecedented’ weather pattern over Pacific Ocean to be felt worldwide with severe droughts expected in southern hemisphere www.theguardian.com/environment/...

North Carolina election board denies voting site at nation’s largest HBCU for second time www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

California state Sen. Aisha Wahab won a special election to fill the remainder of Eric Swalwell's term in Congress, representing the 14th Congressional District through January. She is the first Afghan American to serve in Congress. #AishaWahab #News

China versucht mit aller Macht, das Tiananmen-Massaker aus dem nationalen Gedächtnis zu löschen. In Hongkong haben sich viele Menschen lange dagegen aufgelehnt. Zwei Demokratieaktivisten müssen dafür nun büßen.

Friday scoop: Chinese officials are evaluating a proposal to host the annual UN climate summit in 2028 after India withdrew its offer earlier this year. This would be China's first time hosting the summit. w/ Alf Cang www.bloomberg.com/news/article...