Mara Gulens

In today’s #vatniksoup I’ll introduce a Russian filmmaker, Anastasia Trofimova. She’s best-known for her latest controversial documentary “Russians at War”, and for working as a producer for Russian state-funded media outlet RT. 1/19

Updated projections of #Toronto’s future #skyline as viewed from Lake Ontario.

No joke: the son of Alexander Zakharov, mastermind of Russia's killer drones that attack civilians in Ukraine, is now interning at the U.N.'s disarmament institute. UNIDIR says he was selected through a "competitive and transparent recruitment process...on the basis of his qualifications, skills and experience for the position." Today's Tribune de Genève: tdg.ch/un-stagiaire-l… The drone unit is part of the Kalashnikov group now under Western sanctions, including in Switzerland. @tdgch: "The presence of Zakharov's son in Geneva implies that Switzerland issued him with a visa, which is compulsory for Russian nationals wishing to enter and stay in the country. When questioned, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration would not comment on the case. Alexander Zakharov's son did not respond to our messages." Former Russian diplomat Boris Bondarev, who defected last year because of the war in Ukraine, notes that the conflict has made it harder for Russians to get hired in the UN system. "Since Zakharov's son got the job during the war, we can assume that there was some form of assistance from his government to get it," he comments. We can only speculate, of course, but I'd be surprised if that wasn't the case."

Congratulations to D.Zinta Zommers of Latvia 🇱🇻 on election to @IPCC ! Best wishes on addressing the pressing challenges of #climate change adaptation mitigation! 🙏 thanks to all members for 💪 support! Pirmo reizi latviešu zinātniece ievēlēta Starptautiskajā klimata panelī!

I will be closing down my Twitter in 2 weeks. Meanwhile: My Transplanted Heart and I Will Die Soon nytimes.com/2023/04/18/opi…

@karenkho I don’t do U-turns with anyone’s driveway in rural Connecticut because I’m assuming they might shoot me. You gotta be a bit paranoid in this country.