https://archive.is/LnTjR

The EU committed on December 3rd to end all imports of Russian natural gas by September 2027, and the quantities it buys have already been slashed. But it continues to buy Russian fertiliser that is made from natural gas—more of it, for some types, than before the war.

Hackers gained access to an online coding repository belonging to the University of Sydney and stole files with personal information of staff and students.

The institution said the breach was limited to a single system and was detected last week. It promptly shut down the unauthorized access and notified the New South Wales Privacy Commissioner, the Australian Cyber Security Centre, and education regulators.

cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/55295459

Archived version

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Amid the backdrop of its spat with Japan, Beijing has hosted a flurry of recent diplomatic activity with European leaders. German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil visited in November, followed this month by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.

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This whirlwind of visits follows a similar active scene in the fall, when European leaders visited Japan during the World Expo Osaka.

The timing of the European leaders' visits to China comes at a curious time for Japan. Last month in parliament, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made comments about a Taiwan emergency that triggered a furious response from China.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been using his meetings with European officials to push Beijing's narrative about the dispute.

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He reportedly told Wadephul that, unlike Germany, Japan has not thoroughly reflected on its history of aggression even 80 years after World War II.

He told French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot that Beijing believes France will understand and support China's legitimate position, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The European countries have refrained from commenting on these reports directly, an attitude that can be interpreted as tacit approval.

But Japan should not be too concerned about Europe cozying up to China. The recent diplomatic visits were mostly planned before Takaichi took office. European diplomacy in Asia typically balances visits among Japan, China, India and other major countries.

Europe's basic position is to position Japan as a country with which it shares democratic values and the rule of law.

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Beijing is trying to spread the narrative that Tokyo is reverting to its militaristic ways, but EU policymakers are not buying it. Rather, they see China's hegemonic ambitions as increasing the risk of a Taiwan conflict, forcing Japan to respond.

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The Chinese government's call for its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan has been widely reported in Europe. Meanwhile, China has a history of using export controls on rare-earth elements to pressure European companies. When these factors are combined, the image in Europe of China as an authoritarian state that uses economic coercion as a weapon grows stronger.

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Policymakers in major European economies frequently exchange information and coordinate China policies, though approaches vary across the continent. Long-term plans are emerging to reduce economic dependence on China, tighten regulations on Chinese companies operating in the European market and control the inflow of Chinese products into Europe.

Europe is pursuing strategic autonomy while seeking to distance itself from both Washington -- which it is also at odds with -- and Beijing moving forward. It is quietly working to de-risk from both powers as part of its long-term strategy to strengthen itself as an economic bloc.

Signs are emerging that China's excessive pressure on Japan is failing to win over Europe.

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Japan must clearly demonstrate that it is a country based on the rule of law and an open society, and that it is a defender of liberal democracy and market economics. If Takaichi uses Group of Seven summits and other forums to explain this thoroughly, Europe will listen.

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Now is the time to deepen cooperation with democratic forces in the Indo-Pacific region like South Korea, Taiwan and Australia, and gird against authoritarian states seeking to disrupt the international order.

While the yakuza used to pride themselves on not preying on the poor and weak, the tokuryu have no such scruples.

They make much of their millions from conning Japan’s ageing population

Tokyo police – who called them their “biggest public order priority” – set up a 100-officer taskforce in October to “destroy” the groups.

cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/55295297

SINGAPORE: Scammers, as well as recruiters and members of scam syndicates, will face mandatory caning of at least six strokes under amendments to Singapore's criminal law set to take effect on Dec 30.

When Anthony Joshua made his professional debut against Emmanuel Leo in 2013, fresh from Olympic gold in London, the boxing world treated it like the start of a coronation.

At roughly the same time, a 16-year-old prankster from Ohio named Jake Paul was posting six-second Vine videos - chatting to pineapples in supermarkets and climbing into strangers' shopping trolleys for a laugh.

More than a decade later, through wildly different routes, the pair have arrived at the same place.

This Friday, in Miami, they will share a ring in a professional heavyweight contest that still feels faintly unreal.

https://yewtu.be/watch?v=3nF3j3bK35M

Everyone wants a piece of the Bondi massacre, it seems. I took a look at some of those factions and the things they've done in the wake of the tragedy. After the clown show, I have a chat about the conclusions I've come to.

---

thank you

Tom Tanuki
Shared December 18, 2025

The startling rise in unrest reflects the increasing pressures in China’s economy, particularly on low-paid workers. For decades, people have flocked from China’s countryside to booming cities to chase dreams, opportunities and incomes that could transform their lives and those of their families back home.

But as China’s development enters a new era of slower growth and the country battles “involution” – a downward spiral in the economy that means people have to work longer hours for less pay – many of those internal migrants are giving up on their big city dreams.

The pressure comes from two directions.

Firstly, struggling local governments, which collectively are estimated to be saddled with at least 44tn yuan ($6.2tn) of debt, need money for public services and to pay salaries. This incentivises local officials to seize land. Even though the property sector has plummeted the seized land can still be used as collateral to get new loans – despite their eye-watering levels of existing debt.

Secondly, another trend that has the potential to foment dissatisfaction in China’s rolling countryside is the return of migrant workers from China’s cities. While there is no official data on this trend, anecdotes abound. Hengyang county in south China’s Hunan province saw around 183,000 workers return home for this year’s Spring Festival, with more than 40,000 of them staying there, according to one recently published paper.

Ever since I was a young pig

I pooped upon my balls

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/47560941

Archived

[...]

The Lai verdict represents not merely a continuation of this judicial function [of courts serving an autocratic regime] but a new low. The Court of First Instance departed from political impartiality by adopting politicized language against Lai – and by extension, Hong Kong’s entire pro-democracy movement.

The verdict claims Lai’s trial is not a “trial for his political views and he is free to hold whatever views he likes on politics.” Yet its substance overwhelmingly associates his guilt with political speeches and actions. The opening paragraphs stigmatize Lai’s character with loaded language: his “rabid hatred of the CCP” (Chinese Communist Party), his “deep resentment,” his “obsession to change CCP’s values to those of the Western worlds and counterbalance China’s influence.”

The court describes him as “poisoning the minds of his readers” through “venomous assertions” in the Apple Daily. The verdict traces Lai’s origins in Hong Kong – a story of displacement from mainland China shared by many Hong Kongers – to paint a picture of a man motivated by hatred rather than principle.

[...]

Jimmy Lai’s conviction is not merely a personal tragedy for a man who may die in prison. It declares that in today’s Hong Kong, voices of political dissent will be criminalized, international engagement seeking accountability for the domestic government will be punished, and courts will be deployed to endorse manipulated information and legitimize repression.

Beijing and its proxies have long portrayed Lai as a criminal; now they have a judicial stamp to cite. The global community must recognize this verdict for what it is: not a milestone of justice or common law jurisprudence, but cognitive warfare by judicial means.

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43915876

Web archive link

The government must stop “dragging its heels” over whether to add China to the enhanced tier of its threat regime, the parliamentary intelligence watchdog has warned.

The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) – made up of senior MPs and peers – flagged several areas of the National Security Act where there are “unresolved issues” in its annual report.

The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) came into force in July and requires anyone carrying out “political influence activities” on behalf of a foreign power to register with the government or face prosecution.

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Russia and Iran are on the enhanced tier, which requires anyone working for those states to declare any activity, not just political work.

Adding China to it would mean people carrying out work in the UK under Beijing’s instruction would need to register with the government.

“Given the extent of the threat posed by China (as identified in the committee’s 2023 China Report), and particularly that of its interference operations, we are concerned to see the government dragging its heels on this decision,” the ISC wrote.

The report acknowledged that “dexterity” is required to “balance the tension between security and prosperity”.

But it said it had previously found the government “reluctant to prioritise security considerations” when it comes to China.

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Security minister Dan Jarvis said the decision [to add China to the enhanced tier of its threat regime] was under “very close review” when he was asked recently why China had not been placed in the top tier.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/40525859

We successfully plugged the hole in the ozone layer that was discovered in the 1980s by banning ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). But, it seems we might be unintentionally creating another potential atmospheric calamity by using the upper atmosphere to destroy huge constellations of satellites after a very short (i.e. 5 year) lifetime.

According to a new paper by Leonard Schulz of the Technical University of Braunschweig and his co-authors, material from satellites that burn up in the atmosphere, especially transition metals, could have unforeseen consequences on atmospheric chemistry—and we're now the biggest contributor of some of those elements.

It's been a long time coming that we would be though—Earth has plenty of other material spread through its upper atmosphere via meteorites burning up. In fact, even now, according to the paper, the total mass of material injected into the atmosphere from rockets and satellites is only about 7% of the mass of meteors that hit Earth annually. However, since rockets and satellites are primarily made up of metals, whereas meteors are primarily made up of silicates, the amount of metal we inject into the atmosphere is around 16% that of natural causes.

That may not sound like much, but for a few particular elements it's much, much higher. In 2015, anthropogenic (i.e. human-made) sources were the highest contributor to 18 different elements in the atmosphere. In 2024, that number jumped to 24 different elements. That could grow to as many as 30 different elements that will be the primary reason for their increased levels in the atmosphere in the coming decades.

[...]

The paper itself: Space waste: An update of the anthropogenic matter injection into Earth atmosphere

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43914993

Archive link

Pina Picierno is Italian, but Ukraine is everywhere in her vice president's office at the European Parliament in Brussels. Awards resting on the window ledge recognize her fight "for freedom and democracy in Ukraine," like the one she received in 2022 from the Istituto Affari Internazionali, an Italian think tank. There are books and novels devoted to Russia and its unfortunate neighbor, invaded by Kremlin troops in February 2022 and struggling ever since not to be carved up and subjugated. There is also a curious painting, a gift from Ukrainian army veterans, depicting their country's yellow and blue trident, into which real bullets have been embedded.

But what visitors do not notice at first glance is the small red button beneath the meeting table: a "panic button" meant to alert the Parliament security teams in case of danger or intrusion. The surveillance camera at the entrance, filming comings and goings, is just as discreet. Whenever she leaves the building, the MEP is always accompanied by a police escort. "I can't just wake up and go for a walk or suddenly decide to see a film," she said on Friday, December 12. "But there are people who risk far more than I do. Ukrainians, in their trenches, are under bombardment to defend their freedom."

...

For months, Picierno has lost count of the death threats she has received in the mail and in her email inbox. She has been the target of intimidation near her home in Belgium – incidents she does not want to discuss in detail so as not to interfere with the ongoing investigation. In January, pro-Russian activists distributed leaflets in Bologna, Italy, comparing her to Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister. Does she see Russia's hand behind these acts? "Yes," she replied simply, her face tense.

One episode in particular has fueled Moscow's anger in recent months. In early March, Vladimir Soloviev, a star host on the Russian state television channel Rossiya 1, was invited to appear on a television program in Italy on the channel Rai 3. Picierno publicly protested against this red-carpet treatment for "one of the Kremlin's main propagandists," who has been under European Union sanctions since 2022. "Italian public broadcasting cannot in any way serve as a megaphone for Russian disinformation," she warned on X.

Her efforts paid off: Soloviev's invitation was revoked. Furious, he lashed out with insults on his show on Rossiya 1. "Her mouth stinks of tyranny," he said – in Italian – referring to the MEP, whom he called a "dirty beast, a disgrace to the human race." Internet trolls then harassed her. The barrage was so relentless that she quickly stopped paying attention. But the escalation reached such a level that in June, the Italian government decided to place her under police protection.

...

The Italian is not the only European lawmaker facing pressure from Moscow since the war in Ukraine began nearly four years ago. "There are several of us being targeted by death threats – I myself regularly receive them on social media or by email," said French MEP Nathalie Loiseau (Renew Europe). She recounted how her hotel room was ransacked earlier this year while she was leading a mission observing the legislative elections in Kosovo. For the former minister for European affairs, a strong critic of Putin's regime, there is no doubt about Russia's involvement. "It was an act of intimidation," she said.

...

Her colleagues at the European Parliament have noticed that the native of the Naples region has lost weight in recent months. Out of fear of being poisoned, she now only eats food she prepares herself. "I'm human; fear is a normal feeling," she said. "But I also have a duty to be courageous. It's the price to pay if you want to try to change things." She quickly understood the seriousness of her commitment when she entered politics at the age of 16 to denounce the Mafia's hold on her country. Journalist Roberto Saviano, known for his work on the Camorra and who also lives under police protection, is a friend of hers.

...

"We need a Europe that is more courageous, stronger and more ambitious," said the MEP. A Europe that takes risks, so as not to run the risk of disappearing.

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43914993

Archive link

Pina Picierno is Italian, but Ukraine is everywhere in her vice president's office at the European Parliament in Brussels. Awards resting on the window ledge recognize her fight "for freedom and democracy in Ukraine," like the one she received in 2022 from the Istituto Affari Internazionali, an Italian think tank. There are books and novels devoted to Russia and its unfortunate neighbor, invaded by Kremlin troops in February 2022 and struggling ever since not to be carved up and subjugated. There is also a curious painting, a gift from Ukrainian army veterans, depicting their country's yellow and blue trident, into which real bullets have been embedded.

But what visitors do not notice at first glance is the small red button beneath the meeting table: a "panic button" meant to alert the Parliament security teams in case of danger or intrusion. The surveillance camera at the entrance, filming comings and goings, is just as discreet. Whenever she leaves the building, the MEP is always accompanied by a police escort. "I can't just wake up and go for a walk or suddenly decide to see a film," she said on Friday, December 12. "But there are people who risk far more than I do. Ukrainians, in their trenches, are under bombardment to defend their freedom."

...

For months, Picierno has lost count of the death threats she has received in the mail and in her email inbox. She has been the target of intimidation near her home in Belgium – incidents she does not want to discuss in detail so as not to interfere with the ongoing investigation. In January, pro-Russian activists distributed leaflets in Bologna, Italy, comparing her to Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister. Does she see Russia's hand behind these acts? "Yes," she replied simply, her face tense.

One episode in particular has fueled Moscow's anger in recent months. In early March, Vladimir Soloviev, a star host on the Russian state television channel Rossiya 1, was invited to appear on a television program in Italy on the channel Rai 3. Picierno publicly protested against this red-carpet treatment for "one of the Kremlin's main propagandists," who has been under European Union sanctions since 2022. "Italian public broadcasting cannot in any way serve as a megaphone for Russian disinformation," she warned on X.

Her efforts paid off: Soloviev's invitation was revoked. Furious, he lashed out with insults on his show on Rossiya 1. "Her mouth stinks of tyranny," he said – in Italian – referring to the MEP, whom he called a "dirty beast, a disgrace to the human race." Internet trolls then harassed her. The barrage was so relentless that she quickly stopped paying attention. But the escalation reached such a level that in June, the Italian government decided to place her under police protection.

...

The Italian is not the only European lawmaker facing pressure from Moscow since the war in Ukraine began nearly four years ago. "There are several of us being targeted by death threats – I myself regularly receive them on social media or by email," said French MEP Nathalie Loiseau (Renew Europe). She recounted how her hotel room was ransacked earlier this year while she was leading a mission observing the legislative elections in Kosovo. For the former minister for European affairs, a strong critic of Putin's regime, there is no doubt about Russia's involvement. "It was an act of intimidation," she said.

...

Her colleagues at the European Parliament have noticed that the native of the Naples region has lost weight in recent months. Out of fear of being poisoned, she now only eats food she prepares herself. "I'm human; fear is a normal feeling," she said. "But I also have a duty to be courageous. It's the price to pay if you want to try to change things." She quickly understood the seriousness of her commitment when she entered politics at the age of 16 to denounce the Mafia's hold on her country. Journalist Roberto Saviano, known for his work on the Camorra and who also lives under police protection, is a friend of hers.

...

"We need a Europe that is more courageous, stronger and more ambitious," said the MEP. A Europe that takes risks, so as not to run the risk of disappearing.

Although the Danish law aims to integrate society, the EU's top court found that it could amount to ethnic discrimination.

Law and JusticeDenmark Denmark's 'ghetto law' faces scrutiny after EU court ruling Although the Danish law aims to integrate society, the EU's top court found that it could amount to ethnic discrimination.

Tenants on the Mjolnerparken estate in Copenhagen challenged the legality of development plans based on Danish social housing law The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Thursday found that Denmark's so-called "ghetto law" could be discriminatory, but said that the country's own courts need to decide if it goes too far.

The law, passed in 2018, allows the government to reduce public housing in neighborhoods where most residents are from "non-Western" backgrounds.

Denmark's government says the law was meant to help people integrate better by breaking up "parallel societies."

What does Denmark's 'ghetto' law say? Danish law categorizes neighborhoods based on unemployment, crime, education, income, and immigrant population. Areas where more than half the residents are "non-Western" and have at least two social problems are called "transformation areas." A government list defines which countries are considered "Western," including all EU member states. Public housing groups must cut social housing by 40% in "transformation areas" by 2030. They do this by selling, tearing down, converting, or ending leases on the homes. The policy has sparked criticism from rights groups, affected residents, and the United Nations. What did the ECJ find? Residents of Copenhagen's Mjolnerparken estate challenged the measure in 2020, arguing it unfairly targets ethnic minorities. Danish courts then sought guidance from the European Court of Justice.

The ECJ said Danish courts must decide if the criteria specified in the law on public housing are based on people's ethnic origin and thereby place them at a disadvantage. The ECJ emphasized that under EU law, neither nationality nor country of birth alone is sufficient to determine ethnic origin. Rather, this is assessed on the basis of several factors.

A lawyer for the Mjolnerparken residents facing eviction, Eddie Khawaja, noted that the ruling showed the criterion of 50% "non-Western" residents may seem "neutral on paper, but does not prevent residents from being subjected to direct or indirect discrimination."

The Danish Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing said the case would now return to Denmark's Eastern High Court and that the ministry would read the European court's verdict carefully.

Germany's foreign intelligence service is to be given far more scope for taking decisive action in threatening situations under plans of the office of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, according to media reports on Thursday. The proposals would allow sabotage operations to weaken hostile forces, according to public broadcasters WDR and NDR as well as the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, citing a new draft law on the country's Federal Intelligence Service BND.

A BND spokesman said that out of respect for the work of the government and the legislature, he would not comment on the amendment of the law or on any interim results.

According to the reports, the BND will no longer be limited to espionage, gathering and evaluating information, but will in future also carry out operational actions to protect the country. This would require a "special intelligence situation."

Such a threat level would have to be determined by the National Security Council comprised of key ministers, with approval from two-thirds of the members of the control panel of the Bundestag lower chamber of parliament.

The involvement of this secret committee - which monitors the work of the BND as well as the domestic intelligence service and military counter-intelligence - in such decisions would be new for the country.

Observers believe the proposed greater parliamentary involvement may be intended to reassure members of the legislature who are sceptical about expanding the BND's powers.

A special intelligence situation would reportedly be defined as one where a threat to Germany or its allies is identified, for example through another country's preparations for war or increased hybrid attacks.

In this scenario, the agency would also be allowed to actively retaliate against cyberattacks and redirect data streams or shut down IT infrastructure from which attacks are launched.

The BND will reportedly also be permitted to evaluate data using artificial intelligence and to use facial recognition software.

Agency personnel will be allowed to enter homes to install espionage technology and to secretly manipulate and sabotage equipment, such as weapon parts, to render them harmless.

The amendment to the BND Act is still in its early stages, according to the media outlets.

One aim of the planned reform is to enable the agency to act more quickly and decisively against significant increases in hybrid threats, particularly from Russia.