cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/39835523

The surface of the Dead Sea is hundreds of meters below sea level so it seems like pumping would only be needed to prime a siphon and then it could keep flowing. What am I missing?

Members of OASIS Open, the global open source and standards organization, have approved the Open Document Format (ODF) for Office Applications V1.4 as an OASIS Standard, the organization’s highest level of ratification. ODF V1.4 improves developer documentation, adds new features, and maintains full backward compatibility.

The release of ODF V1.4 coincides with the 20th anniversary of ODF as an OASIS Standard. Over two decades, ODF has served as a vendor-neutral, royalty-free format for office documents, ensuring that files remain readable, editable, and interoperable across platforms. Governments and international organizations, including NATO, the European Commission, and countries across multiple continents, have adopted ODF for document exchange.

“ODF V1.4 is the effort to evolve the ODF format to its newer challenges, adding relevant clarification and additions to the existing ODF V1.3,” said Patrick Durusau, OpenDocument TC co-chair. “We are pushing hard to meet expectations of the Office software industry.”

OpenDocument V1.4 contains enhancements in accessibility, professional document formatting, and advanced functionality across text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Improvements include better support for assistive technologies, enhanced visual design capabilities, and expanded features for data analysis and technical documentation. These updates strengthen OpenDocument’s role as a comprehensive solution for modern workplace productivity and inclusive document creation.

“ODF provides a vendor-neutral foundation for office productivity and collaboration worldwide. With V1.4, the standard continues to evolve, supporting cloud collaboration, richer multimedia, and standardized security,” said Svante Schubert, OpenDocument TC co-chair. “The format will remain reliable across platforms for years to come. Looking ahead, ODF is moving beyond document exchange toward standardized, semantic change-based collaboration — enabling precise, meaningful sharing of interoperable changes across platforms.”

According to a transcript obtained by the German outlet, Europe rallied around Volodymyr Zelenskyy and sharply criticized Washington.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned the U.S. could be about to “betray” Ukraine, according to a leaked transcript of a call between European leaders strategizing about how to protect Kyiv.

The details of the phone call — which took place Monday and involved Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and others — were published by German magazine Der Spiegel and saw the leaders discussing U.S.-led peace negotiations with Kyiv and Moscow.

“There is a possibility that the U.S. will betray Ukraine on the issue of territory without clarity on security guarantees,” Macron said, according to Spiegel, adding there was “a great danger” for Zelenskyy. The Élysée did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment. Spiegel reported the Élysée denied in a statement to the German outlet that Macron spoke of any betrayal. “The president did not use those words,” Macron’s office said, per Spiegel.

Archive link

Nearly two years ago, on December 7, 2023, the war triggered by Hamas's attack on Israel gave Hussam al-Astal a second chance at life. The former noncommissioned officer from the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, sentenced to death by the Islamist movement, was awaiting execution in the Asda prison, a sprawling ochre concrete complex whose highest windows overlook a faded amusement park and the sea to the south of the enclave. Hamas had accused him of having assassinated one of their own, an engineer, acting on orders from Israel. In late fall 2023, Asda's guards fled under Israeli bombardment, taking most of their prisoners with them. Al-Astal said he broke out of his cell three days later. Reached by phone in Gaza – where Israel prohibits foreign press from entering – he relished his luck. At 50, he has regained weight and rediscovered his sense of humor. He has become a warlord.

Al-Astal leads a militia less than one kilometer from an Israeli base that protects him. He rules over the ruins of his hometown, Khan Yunis, behind the "yellow line" that has split Gaza in two since the October 9 ceasefire. He roams the eastern sector, controlled by the Israeli army and entirely depopulated, alongside at least three other Palestinian groups funded and armed by Israel. This is a zone from which the military is supposed to withdraw in the second phase of the deal brokered by the United States.

For two years now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought to use such groups and the clans from which they originate as an alternative to both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which he no longer wants in the enclave. "Together, we represent that alternative to Hamas. We will rid Gaza of Hamas, which is responsible for all our suffering for so many years," said al-Astal. This militiaman said he protects 25 families, amounting to a few dozen fighters and their relatives. In total, he and his allies command only a few hundred men, a force far too small to rival Hamas. Their own clans have publicly disavowed them. Gazans despise these opportunists, who, via Israel's protection, have established themselves as the main organized looters of food convoys in the enclave since 2024.

Paywall? https://archive.is/QClSs

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/54320835

https://archive.is/CEqhQ

Back in her days as a Taiwanese student activist, Cheng Li-wun gave fiery speeches urging the island to sever its Chinese bonds and declare independence.

These days, she says that Taiwan’s people should proudly declare that they are also Chinese.

“I don’t believe that time is on Taiwan’s side,” Ms. Cheng said at the Nationalist Party’s headquarters in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, in an interview with The New York Times. “The rapid rise of mainland China means that its national strength is incomparable to what it was just four years ago, let alone 10 years ago.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/54319800

The EU has agreed allow certain foods altered using genetic engineering techniques to be sold without special labeling under a new framework. The rules distinguish between NGTs and GMOs.

Swiss company Proton is further expanding its productivity suite. In addition to an email service, calendar, VPN, password manager, and drive, Proton Sheets is now available. It is an alternative to Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, an increasingly important advantage as countries take sovereignty more seriously.

Alternative link