I held the package close, its precious contents pressed against my spine. The steady beeps that communicated life drove my exhausted legs forward. Even with the combat stimulants running rampant through my blood, my nervous system bringing fibrous polymer muscles to their brink, and a set of assisting servos practically tripling my stride speed, I was exhausted. The sun and its rays bared down on me like a predatory dragon, each ray a fang made of flame, ready to tear open my suit and scorch my skin…but not today.
“Not today!”
I picked my stride up and sent every muscle in my body past overdrive, I tore stone and sand as I sprinted farther forward and collapsed. I had finally made it to one of the only rations of shade on the desolate moon surface. As I hit the ground and retreated into the shade, I removed the pack from my shoulders and gently laid the box down. I opened the zipper that held the sunshade on and looked at the pale figure inside.
“Hello my love, I hope you’re resting well, we finally made it, now just time to wait…and you'll be better again”
I took my helmet off and took a deep breath before beginning to set up camp. I thought back to the mission room, where I was nearly denied entry to Io
“You understand the journey you’re undertaking has never been completed before? This is a mission that as of this moment has a 100% rate of failure. Do you not think it would be wiser to simply say your goodbyes and prepare for a life without her?”
I shook my head as the council stared at me with tired expressions and pained eyes
“I am three times decorated am I not?”
The head minister nodded and shuffled her papers, reading slowly from the top page
“Argon Lethius, 12 tours, 7 rotations, 153 confirmed neutralizations, 3000 pending, strength record unmatched, augmentations class S granted. You’re also the sole surviving candidate of the sky petal program”
The sky petal program, an experimental research project I had taken part in to pay for my wedding. The core concept was simple: graft photovoltaic cells onto our skin and use nanotechnology to create a bio-mechanical ecosystem within the dermis.
The result was going to be humans capable of photosynthesis, making us less susceptible to nutrition based disaster. Rejection however was high in the program and when your body is trying to fight its skin, things get ugly quickly. A dormant gene I had passed on from my mother allowed my body to accept the prosthesis but at great cost, I was now essentially allergic to solar radiation. When I'm planetside I'm just fine, but if I was in an area devoid of atmosphere, the nanotech would go overkill, usually producing energy akin to solar flares from my skin.
“Mr. Lethius, your feats and skills are unmatched, your circumstances are impossible to reproduce and the dedication you’ve shown to this coalition has been unwavering. Which is why we sympathize with your loss, and grieve with you. Crystal was-”
I snapped at her
“Is…she’s still alive”
The minister nodded and corrected herself
“I'm sorry, Crystal is an incredible addition to this council, and we are deeply sorry both internally and externally. But the dragons of Io have no official record, and the sunlight alone could overcharge you in a day, leaving not only our best military asset but also his sick wife stranded without hope of rescue”
I nodded and spoke solemnly
“3 days supply, and a ship to drop me off, if I don't respond in 4 days, come get my body and bury her where we fall. She loves it there. Even if I can't save her, I want her to rest somewhere she would be happy”
I snapped back to the present and finished setting up camp. Unpacking our supplies and connecting a set of solar panels to her cryo-chamber. I watched her take deep breaths through the ventilator as I threw a tarp overhead and began digging into the rockface.
“You’ll be ok my love, by this time tomorrow you’ll be your old self again”
I dug for hours, tearing holes in my suit and flaying the skin from my fingers. As my blood hit the white dirt and stained the cracked surface, I felt a degree of nausea rise up from my stomach. Saliva filled my dry mouth and I bit down on my tongue to prevent the vomit. Bile reached the back of my throat and I dug my fingers into the dirt, searching for the Will to resist my body’s urges. The sun couldn’t take me, my mind couldn’t shake me, I would not buckle before saving her. Before long I couldn't go on, and I needed to rest.
I swallowed hard and sat back, laying down and looking up at the harsh sky.
“Hindsight is 20/20, we can keep trying new things but sometimes this is just how things work out, I’m sorry”
I nodded as the doctor left the room and she sat motionless in her gown.
“That guy didn’t know what he was talking about, there’s so many treatments, we’ll just go to another doctor”
She brushed a strand of hair out of her face and looked up at me
“I’m tired of my love, can we go home?”
I nodded without speaking and embraced her, feeling her slow and weakened heartbeat against my chest, its rhythm in sync with my own.
“Sure, We’ll go home”
That was the last time I saw her awake, she fell asleep on the car ride home…and never woke up. I was able to bring her to the hospital where they revived her, but she was comatose, most likely asleep till the cancer kills her.
“I’m sorry my love”
I looked over at her chamber before bringing my hand up to my face and staring at the mangled flesh of my palms.
“A drop of blood for a question, a thousand heartbeats for an answer”
I heard the voice in my head as if it was a thought I had formulated all on my own, but the voice was different, it didn’t belong to me nor anyone I had ever heard before.
“A single tear for a favor, an entire ocean for its completion”
I crawled to the spot where my blood had dripped into the ground, the sand was stained red but almost completely dry. I leaned over it and thought about my honeymoon, I thought about vacations and work, time together and apart, moments where she was everything. I thought about the idea of my life without her, and then it came like a flood. Tears flowed freely from my eyes and drenched the ground, the first falling square on the red stain in the sand. The liquid pooled on top and a small ribbon of crimson fluid flowed upward into the tear drop. The ribbon danced and waved in a thin line through the microscopic ocean.
“What is your question?”
The voice came from above me now, and as I slowly looked upward, a loomed overhead, blocking the sun from view, and causing my heart to skip a beat.
“What…is your question”
Before me now stood a massive beast, speaking in the voice I had heard in my mind and digging his gargantuan claws into the sand. The tip of each toe ended in a blade that was crystalline and almost translucent. Each blade too had a glowing orange stripe that when shifted, turned the sand underneath him to panes of glass. His arms were broad and powerful, covered in green scales and his maw hung open with a light blue mist emanating from his teeth. He was the dragon, the one from Io who space gods told legends about.
“I…I want to know something about my wife”
He knelt down on his two front arms and brought his eyes to my level, a kindness flowing between his seemingly infinite pupils.
“Your wife. She is a story I myself cannot seem to get over. What do you wish to know?”
I looked up at him and let out a deep breath before gesturing to her
“Can- can she be saved”
His gaze snapped to her case and he slowly moved over to where she slept
“You brought her with you, of course you did, you could never leave her behind.
I crawled over and knelt next to him, tears still flowing from my eyes.
“Please tell me, can she make it?”
He turned around and knelt next to me, putting a massive hand gently on my shoulder and speaking softly.
“My boy, She’s already made it, just not in the direction…you were hoping”
He tapped the monitor screen and it stopped showing vitals, instead displaying a digital sign in dark red letters. I read them aloud to myself.
“Subject deceased, time since last recorded activity. 37 hours 22 minutes 48-49 seconds”
He nodded and spoke calmly
“You wanted to badly for her to live, you saw her living, even when she wasn’t”
I slammed my hand on the crate and opened the lid, picking her up in my arms and putting my ear to her chest.
“Come on, come on. You’re ok, you’re ok”
I clutched her in my arms as silence arrived to my ears. I rocked her and cried into her soft silken hair. Her pale skin had lost its glimmer and I pressed my forehead against her own. I spoke through tears and a tightened throat
‘No, she cant die, I found you! I finally found you! Come on sweetheart you’re ok right? Just wake up. He's here baby we made it, please just wake up, please”
The dragon loomed over head and let out a deep breath, speaking gently, so as not to disturb the silence
“She is gone, and even I cannot save her”
I felt my skin begin flaming as I turned my head back up toward him
“Then what can you do? What can you do if you can’t bring her back to me? Why are you a legend if you cant make her breath again?!?”
He whispered softly into her ears and I felt the wind of the world around me change
“Because I can send you to her”
The planet fell silent and she disappeared along with the dragon. The camp was gone, my hand had been healed, my suit was gone and instead I wore a thin white shirt and loose cotton shorts. I was comfortable, and as I stood to my feet I felt as if my thirst had been quenched, my hunger satiated, I was…ok.
“Hello?”
I called to the emptiness, and before long a soft sullen voice spoke back.
“Hello darling”
She took my face in her hands and turned me around, holding my cheek as my whole body shook
“Hi beautiful”
I brought my hand up to her own and felt her soft warm skin against mine, I pressed my head into her hand and leapt forward, bringing her close and up into the air as I spun her around. She laughed as I gently set her down and wrapped my arms around her.
“I’m sorry you can’t stay”
I looked at her and spoke quickly
“What do you mean I can’t stay? The dragon sent me to you, he sent me to see you, so we can be together again”
She shook her head and kissed my softly, as she pulled away she put her hand on my chest
“It’s not your time hero, I’ll see you eventually, but this is goodbye for now”
I woke up on the sand, the dragon standing over me, holding her body as she began to slowly turn to dust. His tears fell on her degrading body as he handed her to me, and lowered his head.
“I'm sorry, it’s never permanent, did she tell you goodbye?”
I took a deep breath and held her in my arms before walking a few paces forward, and laying her down on the sand. I spoke calmly as tears streamed down my face.
“Yea…she did”
He nodded
“That is more than most get, was she smiling?’
I wiped my eyes and laughed
“Yea…she was”
He fluffed his wings and let the world around us grow heavy with winds
“Then your mission is complete”
I continued to cry as I looked back at him and spoke in a wavering tone
“Did you know I was a general?”
He strolled over and sat next to me, watching her particles flow away with the storm
“You were the most powerful general of all time, incapacitating but never killing, for a man with your rank one must usually commit vast atrocities but you…you never took one life”
I nodded and watched the wind whip and carry sand alongside her body
“I didn’t want to take life, I was reprimanded over and over but I always knew there was a better way, she wanted me to try, to make it so at every opportunity we could fight without ending lives…she hated senseless death…and I think I see why now”
He spoke calmly, wiping his eyes as the last of her bones turned to crystalline dust in the wind
“Her death was not senseless, in fact you'll find that when something as beautiful as her dies, it becomes impossible to make sense of it. That does not mean it happened without sense, and it does not mean her death must be for nothing. When men first meet me, they offer a drop of blood, and that is all I require for the question, but to gain my favor, they must give up a piece of themselves”
I sighed and looked up at him
“What do you need from me then?”
He gestured to where her body had sat moments ago
“You just let the biggest piece of yourself go without a fight. You have paid for more than enough trips to see her”
I nodded and spoke without waiver
“I'm not supposed to keep visiting her though, am I? She won’t be happy till we see eachother again permanently, and if I show up prematurely…she would probably be pissed. So ,I guess now I just live?”
He laid down in the sand and let out a deep groan
“I don’t think I’ve lived in quite some time, I’ve been stranded here for so long, evading capture to exist within my freedom, too afraid to face the cosmos again”
I patted his side and gripped what was essentially his ankle
“You shouldn’t be afraid, fear doesn’t do anything for men like us. Maybe we should sit a while, and see if your fear doesn’t go away”
He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes, laying down as I watched the sun rise over the horizon. My heartbeat continued, but as I watched the last of her ashes swirl through the air, I found a modicum of peace, and I thought about her.

I think it is fairly clear that "Rewilding" , though originally a US term, has had far more success in Europe than the US, (though not necessarily the idea), I wanted to talk about part of why the term 'rewilding" might have greater practical utility in Europe, and Practical differences in Rewilding in the US and Europe, note I am coming from a US perspective and would appreciate European commentary, especially if you feel I misrepresented the situation

• Greater Rewilding Potential

The ecosystems of nearctic were hit much weaker by the Quaternary Extinction than Palearctic, with a larger share of terrestrial megafauna going extinct (22% vs 57%). In particular the south American origin taxa like ground sloths and glyptodonts, multiple species of each disappeared, with nothing remotely similar on earth. Additionally because Europe is just a small peninsula of Eurasia, which is connected to Africa, a much larger share of species that disappeared in Europe survived elsewhere (dhole, lion, l, common hippo, barbary macaque, Malayan porcupine, onager, moon bear etc), there are US/Canada examples of 'exotic" natives to return, ( saiga, wild horses, yak from Eurasia, thick billed parrots and jaguar from Mexico) but they are fewer and further between

• Weaker baseline/ rewilding ideas not endemic

Many US Conservationists/environmentalists, and environmentalist-minded public, already think of the arrival of white-people as the baseline, the idea that Ideally wolves/bison/pumas etc., would be allowed to recover across large shares of their precolonial range wherever they can survive, is not foreign or radical to the American public, and common among the environmentalist public, which can make the branding of it as "rewilding" and the presentation of it as a radical new idea feel awkward. while this colonial baseline makes the American public more immune to shifting baseline syndrome, and to have a nebulous " the way it was when my grandad was a kid" Idea of what is natural, it also makes it more difficult to suggest new baselines further in the past.

• Lack of Indigenous people

Sami aside, most of Europe doesn't have Indigenous communities. Native Americans have historically been viewed as basically wildlife, heavily dehumanized, and the (obviously false, hell even the First Thanksgiving Story every American knows is about them teaching the pilgrims how to farm) idea that they didn't alter the landscape and "put it to use" used to justify the stealing of their land and lives. Today this stereotype has been reclaimed and rehabilitated, Native Americans are seen as sources of environmental wisdom and guides to how the land should be managed by many left of center (not entirely wrong, as with the loss of megafauna the environment shifted to one where plant biomass controlled by fire, and many endangered ecosystems like Gary-oak woodlands, cane-breaks, and pine barrens, depended on Indigenous fore based management) , environmentalist natives often play up they're connection to the landscape as a native person, and environmentalists and indigenous communities often work together, such as when diseased salmon farms threatened wild salmon populations they used in the Pacific North-West, or when the Keystone-Xl pipeline was going to go through tribal land, acknowledging the devastating effect native Americans had on the megafauna of this continent, and how heavily they altered the local ecosystems, could potentially do severe damage to this Environmentalist-Indigenous partnership if it went mainstream.

• Greater romanticism of agricultural land

The US isn't entirely without this, there is a great romanticism of "cowboy culture" and cattle ranching, which is part of why so much federal land is used for it, but i really don't think it comes close to the UK and Irelands relationship with sheep pastures, where they have managed to turn some of the most ecologically destroyed landscapes (and unproductive farmland) endless expanses of sheep nibbled lawn, into one of if the most heavily romanticized places in the world, additionally conservation organizations like The Wildlife Trusts in the UK focus on maintaining older forms of agriculture to support the animals that use those agricultural landscapes, and in contrast to them Rewilding is a genuinely radical shift

• Declining agriculture

The reintroduction of megafauna to specific sites aside, Europe has been becoming wilder due to a reduction in agricultural land use. For a variety of reasons (declining population, concentration from rural to urban areas, etc.) , making room wild vegetation to recover and more natural habitat for local wildlife to utilize, The same large scale agricultural land abandonment is not being seen in the US, part of it is the US population is still growing (and not just because of immigration, even the Natural Population Growth Rate won't be negative till the 2040's), but probably more importantly is differences in agricultural policy, US Agribusiness has managed to become relatively export focused, The US is the second largest exporter of agricultural products( was first before Brazil overtook us), 177 billion dollars' worth of agricultural net export in 2021, meanwhile the EU and Ukraine combined where only about 50 billion, this larger export market means the share of land used by humans is less dependent on the local population, and will shrink less or less severely when the population does shrink

Since MAGA always likes to frame aid to Ukraine as a zero sum game, and always talk about putting America first in such a context, what are the main benefits (from purely self interest) for the US to continue aiding Ukraine?
It would be preferred if some resources on this topic can be linked to, and if y’all can go into a fair bit of detail on it as well.

I'm not sure if this has been discussed here before (I haven't seen it mentioned), but Jerry Heil's live rendition of the hook, sung an octave (?) higher and with intense fervor and the "ooooooo", markedly contrasts with the monotony of the studio version, which almost renders the song unremarkable and boring. Prior to the final, I had only listened to all the Eurovision songs on Spotify and had already picked my favorites, usually skipping Urkaine entirely... just to get completely blown away by Ukraine's live performance and show in the final. The fresh interpretation was astounding and instantly made them my new favorite.
If you don't know what I am talking about, here are the sections of the song with their respective timestamps where these changes are clearly evident.
Studio version (original):
https://youtu.be/NrTSm6aY5ts?si=CPI-vxsCWZ1KQENT&t=66
Grand final version:
https://youtu.be/d4N82wPpdg8?si=zP1PGQvJaejajk9L&t=74
Due to all the drama surrounding this year's Eurovision, there hasn't been much discussion here about the Ukrainian performance at all, but I think they absolutely earned finsihing 3rd.
I also firmly believe they deserved better from the jury, and if they hadn't been disadvantaged by the "death slot" in the running order, they might have achieved an even higher finish.

Let's face it, Russia lives in an delusionary Orwellian dystopian world that they cannot get out of unless Putin dies. However, history has proven this region was constantly unstable for the last 107 years. The sad part is Russians forgot that the last collapse in the 1990s the West helped them stabilize and this is the thanks that they get. They played into Russia's ego of status by giving their new country the old USSR UN Security seat (which they weren't entitled to).
There was no US vs THEM? We sold them primo products and advanced technology and they sold us OIL/GAS. It was a very stable situation. However, Putin's ego got in the way. Ukraine (a sovereign nation) kicked out his puppet government and moved toward the west. This bruised his fragile ego and voila an unprovoked invasion and a purely disastrous war with no end or winning is now the reality.
Now, propagandists argue that Ukraine was abusing the Russian minority there. Total BS and answer this question with proof. Where in the 33 Human Rights bodies that investigate minority groups have these Ukrainian Russian minorities filed complains. There are NONE. Palestinian has over 1,000 complains to the UN about abuses by Israel and other groups have complaints in their minority positions in (Turkey, Iran, etc) but NOT ONE SINGLE complaint filed by Russian Ukrainians.
Here is the sad part, Putin is stealing from Russia's natural resources and the Russian National Sovereign Wealth fund to finance this war. The Russian National Sovereign Wealth fund is their public retirement program. This means when Putin is dead, all those retired and planning on retiring will have NO RETIREMENT money. They will blame the West for their return to poverty instead of looking at their faults. And the West will NOT bail them out this time. Russians are literally going to go extinct as Putin kills off all males for war (SOURCE: https://jamestown.org/program/ukrainian-war-increasing-gender-imbalance-in-russia-threatening-future/). They have the highest rate of male mortality in Europe as they drink themselves to death, and China is now in control of Russian currency. This country is so screwed three ways over and no one talks about it. It's like watching a slow motion train wreck. I feel sorry for the people who have to suffer for this and by this I mean Ukrainians. Russia, again as history has proven, will collapse in a horrific manner and expect the UN AID programs to bail them out. When they collapse, Russia will no longer be one country and finally can be removed from the UN Security council.

I worked in schools for a total of 4 years and taught high school English for 1.5. By the time I started as a full classroom teacher, I knew it wasn't the right fit for me. I moved after my first year, then took a 6-month temporary assignment fulfilling a leave. At the end of my 6 months I was asked to stay on because the teacher I was covering chose not to return. I made the tough decision to leave for my own mental health, and 4 months of unemployment ensued as I actively searched for a new career.
During those 4 months I applied to 123 positions and attended 26 interviews at 17 different companies/organizations. Let me say first that I do not wish this job market on anyone. It was relentless. I have previous experience in the nonprofit sector, a master's degree from an ivy league, a restorative justice certification, and had several direct referrals from friends and colleagues, and it still took me several months of full-time searching to get an offer.
I now work as a lobbyist/coalition coordinator at a mission-driven nonprofit that fights for public education funding and reform. It's hybrid and much more my speed, and I make the same as I did teaching. I get to talk to legislators about how unsupported I was as a new teacher, and I get to connect with parents at under-resourced schools and empower them to create change.
I'm also doing 1099 work as a legal assistant and I'm signed up with a tutoring company -- and juggling 3 jobs feels extremely doable compared to teaching. People mean it when they say that we can do anything after surviving this job.
Anyway, I collected data throughout my interview process and thought it would be helpful to share some of the highlights, especially for people in English/History who aren't sure what kind of jobs to apply for.

• I applied for all sorts of positions, but the most common were in the following fields: Curriculum, Training, Nonprofit Management, Social Work, Travel, Fundraising, Higher Education. I looked for job titles like "Program Manager," "Instructional Designer," "Training and Development Manager," "Impact Manager," "Operations Coordinator," etc.
• I was most likely to get interviews in Social Work (3 interviews after 12 applications), then in Nonprofit Management (6 interviews after 28 applications), then Curriculum/Training (3 interviews after 42 applications). I also got 1 interview in Travel and 1 in Fundraising.
• Of the Nonprofit Management jobs I applied for, I was far more likely to get interviews at places that focused on education, after school programing, or youth in some way.
• I was far more likely to get nonprofit interviews than corporate or university. Based on my conversations in interviews, nonprofit leaders are far more likely to understand the breadth of skills that teachers bring to the table.
• I was DESPERATE for a hybrid job -- 75% of my applications were for hybrid or remote positions. Despite this, almost 50% of the jobs I was asked to interview for were for in-person positions.
• I was far more likely to get interviews from applying on Idealist or on the company site directly than applying through Indeed or LinkedIn. As far as I am concerned, Indeed is a complete black hole of fake job postings. Idealist is definitely the most legit of the job posting websites I used, and I was always more likely to get responses from orgs there, even if it was a rejection.
• I live in a HCOL metro area. I made $68k before leaving teaching. The average salary of the 123 jobs I applied to was $65.6k. The average salary of the 17 positions I interviewed for was $53.6k. If I applied for a job that paid under $49k, I was much more likely to get an interview... which felt insulting with my Master's degree.
• I was never invited to an interview that I didn't write a cover letter for. I was surprised because many of my corporate friends said they are completely unnecessary, but I didn't find that to be the case. I used AI to help me optimize my cover letters to the job descriptions and that seemed to help me get interviews.
• Of all of my applications (not just interviews), I was ghosted 60% of the time. 35% of the hiring managers reached out to deny me, and I withdrew my application from 5% of the jobs after interviewing and realizing it wasn't the right fit.

That was a LOT, but hopefully it is helpful to someone getting started on their journey! There is light at the end of the tunnel. I felt hopeless for so long, but I finally feel mentally healthy and cared for at my new position. If you have any questions or want to know more please AMA!

SOOOO this will be a long post, I will begin from the start so you understand the context.
I am a teen from an East European country where money is sparce
Around 3 years ago my mum left my dad to seek a better pay in another country and because of the worsening of her relationship with my dad (they weren't married), anyways a few months after that my dad quit his job, because he was "supposed" to work abroad, in reality it didn't happen so he was left without a job and for the next 3 years he worked odd jobs or if he found a stable job he wouldn't last long on it. Whenever he was unemployed after leaving his job, he was either excusing himself with "the job didn't pay enough" or "they were exploiting me to work long hours" or "they didn't need someone to work for that anymore, so they let me off", after getting unemployed he would use my mum for money for bills, food, himself etc... and whenever my mum refused to send him money he would say "look at what your mum is doing, she doesn't care about you or doesn't want you to be fed" and would deny any responsibility as to his situation. In all this time I refused to argue with my dad about insulting my mum for no reason, being lazy or irresponsible because I once had done so and he got extremely mad and traumatised me for a long time. I also need to add that last year in 2023 around April my dad almost sold his house, so he can pay back his debt and buy a house in a random village, when he realised he couldn't buy a house with the money he was selling his own house for, he quickly called my mum and begged her to bail him (as he owed 3k euros to the guy who wanted to buy the house), he offered my mum ownership over half the house in return, she accepted as it was a bargain. In September when my mum came back from abroad she gave my dad some money for the house and those 3k euros to pay back the guy, the thing that he didn't tell her was that they agreed with the guy not to give him that money back, so he scammed my mum 3k euros, he renovated a room for around 800 euros and the rest of the money was gone in 1-2 months (which is insane as this could last someone for at least 4 months). When I told my mum this she was furious and she said that he could've saved up the money for my future or in case he needs it desperately, instead he wasted it on food and alcohol and probably his lover.
At the end of 2023 he got a job as a maintenance worker at a central restaurant in a city as the previous worker had to return to Ukraine after a few years of working in here, so my dad was allowed to the job, he worked there for around 2 months when one day I came back from school and I saw him at home and he told me that he doesn't work there anymore as they didn't need a maintenance worker anymore, I did accept this as the truth with a bit of doubt so I didn't question him any further and since then until recently he hasn't had a job and relied mainly on my mum's money for everything, I was already getting pissed off at that point because of it and his laziness to find a job. Last month in April his friend came back from Germany and offered my dad to work together with him in Spain, my dad accepted so he got himself into fast credits, which if he stayed in here would never be able to pay back, he also asked my mum for money a few times because he had to pay 3 electricity bills and they even turned off our electricity for 2 days, but I didn't complain much as I knew my dad would go to Spain and he would return for money to fix the house and basically provide the basic needs of any decent living family. He was supposed to go work in there for 2 months and then return back for 20 days and repeat. I was left alone to live after he went to work in Spain, I managed to keep myself up while he was gone, so that was no problem. Two weeks after my dad went to Spain, me and my friend were at the store shopping for meat for that night's BBQ at my house when I got a call from my dad telling me that his manager had told him that him and 12 other new workers were getting released from the job as their shift was over apparently, he basically had to return back to the country and I didn't really believe his story, but I couldn't prove it wrong, though I read his work contract and found out that they couldn't "let him off" without notifying him 2 weeks prior, so he must've been kicked out. Then I talked with my mum and I told her the situation, she was clearly shocked as she gave him a lot of money to go there in the first place and was expectedly mad. She contacted his friend that he went together with and his friend told us a completely different story, the reason why he was "released" from the job was because he was lazy, pretended not to understand how things worked and was too laid back from the work itself by basically just sitting around, so the managers had enough of him and kicked him out. After I found that out, I realised that I could not live together with this man any longer, so the next day after the BBQ night (same day as he was supposed to be arriving in the house) I decided that I will move out of there and move to a family friend's house (he's abroad, so I am alone with his grandpa). I packed up everything from my room and everything that was my mum's and I moved to that house, my dad called me telling me he's coming back and I told him that I moved out because he was unserious and he hung up the phone. After that during the night he was threatening me that if I don't go back to the house there will be consequences, he threatened that he will call the police to search for me (even tho I told him where I am staying). After that he started begging me to come back, and I just decided to ignore him after his threatening messages as talking with him and trying to make him realise his mistake would only backfire at me. He recently had a call with my mum and she told him that she would not send him money for anything anymore even if I go back to live with him and he said, I repeat HE SAID that my mum never sent him any money, that it was all his, that she did nothing for me, and basically threatened her that he will hurt her (he's threatened her many times, insulted her etc without her doing anything to him and only trying to help).
To mention, my dad has never been physically abusive towards me and is rarely verbally abusive, unless you call him out on his lies, that he's lazy or that he's wrong, he always thinks he's right about everything, he's self righteous and never does any mistakes and everything that goes bad is someone else's fault. Also he's a big liar, he lies about everything, even the smallest things that don't need to be lied about.
So this was the story mainly, I am now in the new place for almost a week and I am getting used to this situation, my dad stopped texting me or calling me for 3 days now, he doesn't even answer my mum's phone anymore. I don't know how to handle the situation in the future, I don't have any idea how my dad will react in the next months, will I even speak to him and what should I do if I see him? I would love any advice or to hear your stories.

6-minute read.

political consultations were held between foreign ministries of Armenia and Georgia about "adherence to European values" and regional issues

It was the first bilateral consultation after the recent signing of the AM-GE Strategic Partnership agreement. Economy, trade, transport, energy, tourism, culture, and education were noted as the main pillars of this cooperation.
The demarcation of the AM-GE border will remain a priority on the agenda.
Regional developments were also discussed. The parties reiterated univocal support to each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The discussion also included the role of Armenia and Georgia in supporting peace and regional development, as well as adherence to European values.
In other news. Armenia's foreign ministry says they held discussions with Georgian colleagues regarding the recent decision by Tbilisi to require all tourists visiting Georgia to have health insurance. Armenia says the June 1 deadline reported earlier has been postponed.
source, source,

EU reportedly plans to freeze Georgia's membership bid to EU if "foreign agent" bill becomes law

Financial Times, citing a person briefed on the discussions between Georgian and EU officials in recent days

source, source,

EBRD's international forum was held in Yerevan: Day 2

TLDR video, full video in English, other video, Pashinyan's speech in English, sanctions compliance by banks,

EBRD bank funds its largest-ever road project in Armenia

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is lending €236 million to Armenia to build the southern section of the Sisian-Kajaran road. Details and how much faster the road will get in May 8 news digest.
The loan agreement was signed today between the Finance Ministry and EBRD during the latter's annual business forum held in Yerevan.

This important infrastructure project, part of Armenia's international North-South, is aligned with EU flagship initiatives for improved land transport connectivity and building resilience in the southern regions of Armenia.

EBRD: We appreciate Armenia’s aspiration to develop a transport and logistics infrastructure that will enhance its regional connectivity and integration with external markets. We support this project because it meets our strategic objectives in Armenia and the region.
source,

EBRD and InecoBank will co-finance the development of a new TUMO Convergence Centre for Engineering and Applied Science in Yerevan

See the architectural design and details about the new TUMO tech/science/innovation/education center here: TUMO.

is a unique STEM hub in Yerevan, focused on sparking innovation. It is where academia and industry come together and where Armenia connects to the world. Designed by the world-renowned Dutch architecture firm MVRDV, the Convergence Center’s flagship building will be an innovative horizontal skyscraper. Only six stories tall but stretched over 200 meters at the edge of the Hrazdan Gorge, the building occupies 17,000 square meters. It is made up of 300 modular spaces arranged inside a giant hall that creates a unique interior ecosystem.
The goal of the Convergence Center project is to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that will accelerate the growth of high tech, engineering and applied sciences in Armenia.

EBRD and InecoBank will chip in €7.25 million each. The EU Delegation to Armenia will also contribute.
source,

EBRD plans to invest €500 million in Armenia this year

EBRD: This is a historic figure and it shows that we are working closely with public and private sectors. We have already invested €640 million over the past 5 years, half of which is in the private sector.
The events in Ukraine have increased the need for stable connectivity between Europe and Asia, making the South Caucasus region and Armenia in particular an attractive area for international trade and investment. //
source,

Day 7 of anti-Pashinyan protests organized by pro-Russian opposition forces

CHAPTER 1
Yesterday the co-organizer Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan invited everyone to join a "big rally" near the opera building on Wednesday, the area where the EBRD is holding the international business forum attended by over 3,000 international and local officials. The police brought a large number of forces to protect the area.
GALSTANYAN (yesterday): At 5 pm on Wednesday there will be an international forum in our opera hall. Numerous international economic organizations will be present, and the leader of this government will give a speech there. Each one of you has the opportunity to be there and express your disagreement towards this illegal demarcation of our border. Come in big numbers. Tomorrow we must express our peaceful but strong dissent. //
The aerial view of Galstanyan's rally near the opera building on Wednesday: video
Galstanyan's followers attempted to block the movement of buses serving the EBRD economic forum attendees. video
CHAPTER 2
5 protesters + 4 trash cans = 9 video,
CHAPTER 3
A group of low-income residents from Vanadzor, who were registered with humanitarian organizations as aid recipients, reported to police that someone bribed and duped them to join the ongoing protests.
AUTHORITIES: On April 24, the suspect used vehicles to transport 7 people to join the protests in Voskepar, Tavush, in exchange for cash. The residents joined the protests and shut down roads until late evening. Upon return, the participants received the promised ֏3,000 ($8).
On May 9, the same suspect organized the transfer of several low-income food bank recipients to Yerevan's Republic Square to take part in "Տավուշը հանուն հայրենիքի" protest. They received ֏3,000 ($8) on the spot and were taken home to Vanadzor in late evening. //
Authorities published the audio of testimony by participants. Some of them were duped; they were told it was going to be a simple "road trip". One witness said there were 3 GAZelle vans transporting several participants. audio
CHAPTER 4
The protest organizers are in touch with former Ambassador-At-Large Edmon Marukyan's party LHK, Ruben Vardanyan's party Aprelu Yerkir, and "Hayaqve". These parties joined the Archbishop/ARF-led protest on May 9 and held political discussions with Galstanyan on Wednesday morning. Galstanyan urged his followers to ramp up the strikes and road closures starting tomorrow.
source, source, source, source, source, video, source,

Russia's foreign ministry responds to speculations and conspiracy theories that began after Pashinyan's recent meeting with Putin

Backstory: Former Ambassador-At-Large Edmon Marukyan has strained relations with several pro-West figures. The pro-West figures had accused Marukyan of serving the interests of Russia by providing pro-Russian advisory to Pashinyan. In turn, Marukyan accused the pro-West figures of unprofessionalism.
Pashinyan recently asked Putin to withdraw Russian agents from the Zvartnots airport and the AM-AZ border. After that meeting, Russia released a statement that included a phrase stating that Pashinyan asked Putin to preserve the troops along the border with Turkey and Iran.
Edmon Marukyan released a video in which he was simply "asking questions" to the pro-West figures. He wanted them to explain what exactly happened that Pashinyan "asked" Russia to preserve its forces on the borders with Turkey and Iran. Marukyan's video could be perceived as an attempt to incite a conflict between Pashinyan and pro-West figures by presenting Pashinyan as a "pro-Russian" figure who was supposedly given an opportunity to withdraw ALL Russian forces but "asked" them to stay.
Russia's foreign ministry was asked to comment on Wednesday.
REPORTER: The official statement reads that the Armenian side asked for the Russian guards to remain on the TR and IR borders. At the same time, we know that the Russian guards on TR and IR borders were installed under a different - bilateral state agreement. Does this mean that during the Pashinyan-Putin meeting, Putin offered to withdraw forces from TR and IR borders as well and that Pashinyan asked them to stay?
RUSSIAN MFA: No, Russia did not offer a complete withdrawal of all border guards from Armenia. Some other outlets claimed that the withdrawal is a result of an AM-AZ agreement not to deploy 3rd party forces on the border; these are all false. In reality, the Armenian side wanted to discuss the withdrawal of Russian border guards from several regions near the AM-AZ border as a result of the completion of their duties.
source, source,

Armenia and French Development Agency will expand cooperation

PM Pashinyan hosted Bertrand Walckenaer, the representative of the French Development Agency.
PASHINYAN: We highly appreciate the cooperation with the FDA and we hope to expand it to new areas. Armenia is interested in expanding cooperation with France in all fields.
WALCKENAER: We plan to expand the directions of cooperation and the scope of programs for the development of various infrastructures in Armenia. //
They discussed the ongoing construction of the large Vedi reservoir.
source,

Armenia and France expand partnership in civil aviation

The countries signed a technical agreement this week to exchange knowledge and experience.
source,

Armenia's Economy Minister and U.S. Department of Agriculture discussed the possibility of increasing agricultural exports to U.S.

Minister Papoyan's U.S. trip continues. They also discussed providing technical assistance in the field of agriculture.
source,

second round of major army leadership appointments and rotation in Armenia

Seven new appointments to various army departments, including Territorial Defense Forces.
DEFENSE MINISTRY: This is within the framework of ongoing army reforms in connection with the approval of the new statutes and structure of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Armenia.
source, source, source, source, source, source, source,

the ceremony of the withdrawal of Russian soldiers from Nagorno-Karabakh was marked in Ivanyan on Wednesday

Ranking army officials from Russia and Azerbaijan participated in the ceremony. The decision to withdraw without waiting for the 5-year term to end was made on April 17.
source,

Armenia and Slovakia discuss expansion of defense cooperation

Deputy MOD Brutyan visited the IDEB-2024 defense exhibition in Bratislava where he met Slovak MOD Kaliňák and representatives of their military industry. The talks touched upon defense and technical cooperation between Armenia and Slovakia and resulted in a number of agreements.
In other news. The pro-Azerbaijan Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico was shot by a left-wing activist and is in a life-threatening condition. The assailant was detained by police. A crowd was waiting outside a cultural centre when one of them started shooting. He was reportedly shot in the arm and abdomen.
source, source, source, video,

/worldnews
https://nltimes.nl/2024/05/15/dutch-coalition-talks-end-deal-pvv-vvd-nsc-bbb-form-cabinet

Hello! I`m from Ukraine. Looking for friends. I would like to practice my Czech language and to have some meeting and talking. I live in Ostrava. Would like to participate in some DnD games but don`t have experience in it.

Hi everyone! I Does anyone have advice/experience with dating in a quite conservative country? I’m from Ukraine and while many young people now are more accepting of people being lesbians it is still often frowned upon and rarely talked about( which is also why I made a new Reddit account to be able to join this community without people from Ukrainian communities knowing about it) Therefore there aren’t many people that come out as lesbians and there are no real communities etc. Now with the war the very few lesbian bars are closed and many people my age (around 20) left the country. Does anyone have advice on dating or finding friends from the community? thank you in advance!