Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/9877600

[Warning: The article contains content that may distress some readers.]

The UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has concluded that Russian forces have committed a variety of war crimes in Ukraine, including sexual and gender-based violence against individuals as young as four and as old as 82.

"We've not only pursued searches for evidence directly at known scenes of crimes, but we've also been monitoring open sources of information, such as social media channels," said Andrii Kovalenko, the lead prosecutor for the southern Kherson region, which was controlled by Russian forces for almost nine months until late 2022.

Tracking down people to provide testimony is difficult, as is identifying exactly where the crimes occurred, Kovalenko said.

"Victims were brought there with their faces covered," he said.

Live updated official results: https://www.legislativas2024.mai.gov.pt/resultados/globais

The Austrian Raiffeisen Bank, part of an industrial combine that underpins Austria's economy, is the biggest Western bank in Russia. Washington is facing stiff resistance from Austrian politicians and officials, some of whom have defended Raiffeisen.

Although Austria publicly supports Ukraine, several officials say they are reluctant to completely sever decades-old ties with Russia, thinking it will still be possible to restore relations.

Recently, Austria pressured Ukraine to suspend Raiffeisen from an Ukrainian blacklist, holding out on backing fresh European Union sanctions on Russia until they did, people familiar with the situation said.

Austria and the bank wanted it to be taken off a Ukrainian list dubbed "international sponsors of war" - which sets out to shame companies doing business in Russia and supporting the war effort by, for instance, paying taxes.

Vienna remains a hub for cash from Russia and its former Soviet neighbours and Austria maintains close ties with Russia through critical gas pipelines and finance.

Original link https://www.ft.com/content/22089f01-8468-4905-8e36-fd35d2b2293e

Voters in Portugal go to the polls Sunday in an early election that could see the country join a shift to the right seen across Europe after eight years of Socialist rule.

Agreement with Budapest raises fears of Beijing’s growing influence in Europe.

Hungary’s interior ministry claimed the deal would improve safety in tourist hotspots or during events that attract large numbers of spectators.

But the plan has drawn criticism from those concerned the agreement will be abused by communist China, which has a lengthy record of human rights abuses.

The patrols could be the first step to establishing secret police stations or used to intimidate the overseas Chinese community, they warned.

As first reported in the Telegraph, FSU member and University College London (UCL) academic Michelle Shipworth has been banned from teaching her own course, after a Chinese student complained that discussing modern slavery in China was too “provocative”. Incredibly, UCL sided with students who said they were “distressed” by her handling of the topic, and imposed a raft of restrictions on Michelle in order to ensure their courses remained “commercially viable” to Chinese students.

Michelle Shipworth is an Associate Professor at UCL’s Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources, and has taught at the institution since 2009.

Michelle found herself under investigation after a seminar last October examining data from the Global Slavery Index 2014. The seminar forms part of her ‘Data Detectives’ training module, and is designed to prepare students for an assignment which external examiners have described as “particularly innovative” and “excellent”, and her Faculty’s teaching lead has previously stated is worthy of a teaching award.

The European Commission says China hasn’t been playing fair in that its government has been paying subsidies through “direct transfer of funds,” among other actions, reports Reuters – which the EC says tips the balance in China’s favor and leaves European automakers out to dry.

Back in October 2023, Europe launched its formal investigation into the Chinese EV industry, as European companies are struggling to compete with the cheap, high-tech Chinese imports, made by low-cost labor, entering the European Union.

Romania has officially rejected a request filed by the Chinese telecommunications group Huawei, which wanted its equipment to be used in the 5G network in Romania, according to a decision published in the Official Journal.

The government explained that this decision was "based on law 163/2021 regarding the adoption of measures related to information and communication infrastructures of national interest and the conditions for the implementation of 5G networks," Economedia.ro reported.

The law stipulates that communication providers will be able to use in 5G networks only technologies, equipment, and software from manufacturers authorized in advance by the decision of the prime minister, based on the approval of the National Defence Council (CSAT).

Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/9783455

"Three French companies will be setting up partnerships with Ukrainian companies, in particular in the drone and land equipment sectors, to produce spare parts on Ukrainian soil, and perhaps ammunition in the future," French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu said.

"The idea is to have the first production units running this summer," Lecornu added.

Sweden became NATO’s newest member on Thursday (7 March 2024), upon depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the Government of the United States in Washington DC. With Sweden’s accession, NATO now counts 32 countries among its members.

Parliament is expected to vote on its first reading position during next week’s plenary session. If Parliament adopts its first reading position, the Council will then formally approve the regulation, and it will enter into force after being published in the EU Official Journal.

On 31 January 2024, the EU Commission proposed that import duties and quotas on Ukrainian and Moldovan exports should be suspended for another year. Russia has deliberately targeted Ukrainian food production and Black Sea exporting facilities to undermine the country’s economy and threaten global food security.

Moldova and France will sign a defence cooperation accord on Thursday as part of the West's efforts to strengthen the former Soviet state's capabilities amid what they fear are increasing efforts by Russia to destabilise Moldova.

Moldova, a western neighbour of Ukraine, has a tiny defence budget and has long had tense relations with Moscow, which have worsened as Chisinau backs Ukraine in the war against Russia.

Russia has troops and peacekeepers based in Transdniestria, a breakaway statelet of Moldova that has maintained its autonomy for three decades with the Kremlin's support.

The French presidency said in a statement on Wednesday that defence and economic cooperation accords would be signed when President Emmanuel Macron meets his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu in Paris.

He would underline his "support for the independence, sovereignty and security of the Republic of Moldova, in the context of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine," it said.

Investigators raided Paris town hall Tuesday as part of a probe into a taxpayer-funded trip by mayor Anne Hidalgo to French Pacific island Tahiti, a judicial source told AFP.

On Saturday, Dutch public broadcaster NOS broadcast a story on the chip industry in Taiwan, reporting that "the country sees it as life insurance against an invasion by rival China" and interviewing former Taiwanese deputy minister of foreign affairs Roy Chun Lee.

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under control. Taiwan objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future.

Spanish data protection regulator AEPD said it demanded Worldcoin immediately cease the collection of personal information and stop using data it has already gathered.

The AEPD said its action came after several complaints regarding insufficient information, the collection of data from minors or not allowing for the withdrawal of consent.

More than 4 million people in 120 countries have signed up to have their irises scanned by Worldcoin's "orb" devices, according to its website. But the project has drawn criticism from privacy campaigners from Argentina to Germany over the collection, storage and use of personal data.