cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/12798623

Dutch government scrambling to keep ASML in Netherlands

The European People’s party (EPP), an umbrella group of centre-right and conservative parties, has said in the final draft of its manifesto ahead of elections to the European parliament in May that it wants a series of deal with non-EU countries with a view to deporting irregular migrants for asylum processing in “safe” third countries.

“Yet another unsavoury EPP chunk of red meat, meant to attract the far-right vote. It will not work. All the EPP strategy has achieved over the past years, is making the far right bigger. So if they know it doesn’t work, why do they stubbornly repeat the same tactics each time?” said Sophie in ‘t Veld, a Dutch MEP, and the lead representative for the liberal Renew group on the parliament committee for civil liberties, justice and home affairs.

Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/9704432

Early voting in Russia’s presidential election has already begun in temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine. With critics and opponents silenced, exiled or murdered, Vladimir Putin is expected to be anointed for another six years when the polls close at the end of next week.

The picture that Russian television will paint is almost as predictable as the final result: carefully curated images of grateful Ukrainians, delighted to be brought under Russian rule.

Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/9683315

While there is always high probability of harassment from Beijing during Manila’s missions in the West Philippine Sea, this is the first time — under the Marcos’ administration, at least — that Filipinos were hurt.

Embassies from different countries expressed dismay over the incident and called on parties to show respect for international law, with some emphasizing the 2016 Arbitratral Award that invalidated China’s so-called 9-dash-line that included parts of Manila’s waters. The European Union was among the first to issue a statement on China’s “dangerous maneuvers and blocking” on Tuesday morning.

“The EU reiterates the call for all parties to abide by [the] legally binding 2016 Arbitration Award and international law to peacefully resolve disputes, guaranteeing safety in maritime waters,” EU Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Véron said.

Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/9680168

"It is one thing to see funny deepfakes in Instagram Reels, and it is another to receive a message saying that your face has been reused for propaganda purposes in China," says Olga Loiek.

Another (moderated) video is here (21 min)

Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/9678117

Judge Silas Reid’s climate change scepticism came during an ongoing trial at Inner London Crown Court that began on Monday 19th February, regarding five women from Extinction Rebellion in the UK. Giving directions to the jury ahead of their deliberations, Reid said: “It is important to note that the circumstances which are relevant are those of the damage and not other circumstances… The circumstances of the damage do not include any climate crisis which may or may not exist in the world at the moment nor does it include whether nonviolent direct action can prompt change."

Judge Reid famously imprisoned one of the defendants currently on trial, Amy Pritchard, along with others, for mentioning the words ‘climate change’ whilst on trial last year. The report references UK courts’ attitudes to climate and environmental activists:: “They have forbidden protesters from mentioning climate change, thereby preventing them from explaining the reasons for their protest. Courts have held convicted environmental defenders who disregarded this prohibition in ‘contempt of court’ and imprisoned them for up to eight weeks.”

Judge Reid's newly expressed doubts about the reality came on the same day as the United Nations Special Rapporteur, Michel Forst, released his latest report claiming that "state repression of environmental protest and civil disobedience" would pose "a major threat to human rights and democracy."

European Union Council and the European Parliament on Tuesday reached a provisional agreement to ban the entry of products made with forced labour into the European single market.

The agreement clarifies the different responsibilities the EU Commission and the member states in identifying the companies exploiting forced workers and banning their products.

The deal intends to break these companies' business model, Pierre-Yves Dermagne Belgium's Economy and Labour Minister said in a statement.

"With this regulation we want to make sure that there is no place for their products on our single market, whether they are manufactured in Europe or abroad," he said. Belgium currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.

The bans would be enforced on goods made outside the EU by forced labour and on products manufactured in the EU with parts made abroad by forced labour.

The provisional agreement still needs to be formally approved by the European Parliament and the Council to be enforced.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.nl/post/11733521

It's long been understood that the war in Ukraine will likely be a long and hard one, determined as much by production, supply, economics and political will as well as the skill and sacrifice of those fighting it.

But despite that realisation, the transition of the war into its third year of full-scale fighting still represents a bitter milestone, and while the front has seen some movements recently and the year is likely to see a number of offensive actions - at a strategic level, the lines are moving at a glacial pace, and often only when the supply situation allows.

By popular vote - today we're going to look at where the war in Ukraine stands in 2024. We'll explore ammunition production and supply, the economic health of the countries involved, some of the trends in terms of the way the fighting is evolving and put together what predictions we can for the coming months.

Patreon: /perunau

cross-posted from: https://feddit.nl/post/11732350

Italy plans to withdraw its air defense system, SAMP/T Mamba, from Slovakia, replacing the American Patriot air defense system. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico received a message from the Italian government about the withdrawal, citing the need to deploy it elsewhere.

Fico raised concerns about protecting nuclear power plants and other strategic targets in Slovakia. Previously, Slovakia provided military assistance to Ukraine, including a Russian S-300 missile defense system and temporary deployment of US Patriots.

However, under Fico's new government, Slovakia refused the 14th package of military aid to Ukraine, citing the need to maintain its defense capability. Fico emphasized not obstructing private defense companies' exports and affirmed military-technical cooperation with Ukraine during a meeting with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.nl/post/11731873

Please use your browsers built in function to translate and read the full article in english:

Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, is facing a significant challenge surrounding the Taurus missile, a 5-meter-long, 1.4-ton precision-guided cruise missile of the Bundeswehr. Initially, it was an internal political dispute within the coalition on whether to deliver the missiles to Ukraine. However, since Scholz broke his silence on Taurus last week, the issue has gained international attention, with accusations of indiscretion and a leaked conversation among Bundeswehr officers adding to the complexity.

In a conversation initiated by Luftwaffeninspekteur Ingo Gerhartz, details about Taurus were disclosed, including the potential quantity of missiles for delivery and their estimated cost. The situation has raised concerns about Germany's security, as the leaked information could pose risks given the country's vulnerability to Russian intelligence. Additionally, the controversy has strained relations with allies, particularly the UK, following Scholz's public explanation for rejecting Taurus delivery to Ukraine and allegations of Germany's inability to handle target guidance independently.

The British government denied Scholz's claims, but the leaked conversation indicated the UK's involvement in supporting Ukraine with missile guidance. The situation has heightened tensions, with some viewing Scholz's statements as an abuse of intelligence information. There are also accusations of the Chancellor providing false information regarding the necessity of German involvement in Taurus deployment.

Despite these challenges, Scholz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius are adopting a defensive strategy, urging unity against Russian President Vladimir Putin's alleged eavesdropping. The government characterizes the situation as absurd Russian propaganda. While the opposition may exert pressure, Scholz appears unlikely to reverse his decision on Taurus delivery, fearing it would be seen as a response to the surveillance and potentially escalate the situation. Overall, the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine seems increasingly improbable in the aftermath of recent events, aligning with Putin's interests.

Thierry Breton, the European industry commissioner, will lay out proposals to encourage EU countries to buy more weapons together from European companies, and to help such firms increase production capacity, according to EU officials.

Eiffel Tower lit up to mark change, seen as way of protecting law that decriminalised abortion in 1975.

The French parliament has enshrined abortion as a constitutional right at a historic joint session at the Palace of Versailles.

Out of 925 MPs and senators eligible to vote, 780 supported the amendment, which will give women the “guaranteed freedom” to choose an abortion.

There was thunderous applause in the chamber as the result was announced on Monday; in central Paris, the Eiffel Tower was illuminated to mark the occasion.

The measure had already been passed by the upper and lower houses, the Sénat and the Assemblée Nationale, but final approval by parliamentarians at the joint session at Versailles was needed to effect constitutional change.

The prime minister, Gabriel Attal, told those gathered in the opulent Congress Hall in the palace’s Midi wing: “We are haunted by the suffering and memory of so many women who were not free. We owe a moral debt [to all the women who] suffered in their flesh.

“Today, the present must respond to history. To enshrine this right in our constitution is to close the door on the tragedy of the past and its trail of suffering and pain. It will further prevent reactionaries from attacking women.

“Let’s not forget that the train of oppression can happen again. Let’s act to ensure that it doesn’t, that it never comes this day.”

He added: “I say to all women within our borders and beyond, that today, the era of a world of hope begins.”

Mathilde Panot, an MP from the hard-left France Unbowed, who proposed inscribing the abortion rights in the constitution, told the meeting it was “a promise … for all women fighting [for them] everywhere in the world”.

Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/9650190

[Warning: The podcast contains potentially distressing content.]

The day President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion, Feb. 24, 2022, Russia unleashed a brutal assault on the strategic port city of Mariupol. That same day, a team of AP reporters arrived in the city. Vasilisa Stepanenko, Evgeniy Maloletka and Mstyslav Chernov kept their cameras and tape recorders rolling throughout the onslaught. Together, they captured some of the defining images of the war in Ukraine. Stepanenko and Maloletka talk with guest host Michael Montgomery about risking their lives to document blasted buildings, burned-out cars, enormous bomb craters and the daily life of traumatized civilians. As Russian troops advanced on Mariupol, the journalists managed to escape with hours of their own material and recordings from the body camera of a noted Ukrainian medic, Yuliia Paievska. The powerful footage went viral and showed the world the shocking brutalities of the war, as well as remarkable acts of courage by journalists, doctors and ordinary citizens.

Next, we listen to audio that’s never been publicly shared before: phone calls Russian soldiers made during the first weeks of the invasion, secretly recorded by the Ukrainian government. AP reporter Erika Kinetz obtained more than 2,000 of these calls. Using social media and other tools, she explores the lives of two soldiers whose calls home capture intimate moments with friends and family. The intercepted calls reveal the fear-mongering and patriotism that led some of the men to go from living regular lives as husbands, sons and fathers to talking about killing civilians.

In Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, Russian soldiers left streets strewn with the bodies of civilians killed during their brief occupation. Kinetz shares her experiences visiting Bucha and speaking with survivors soon after Russian troops retreated. In the secret intercepts, Russian soldiers tell their families about being ordered to take no prisoners and speak of “cleansing operations.” One soldier tells his mother: “We don’t imprison them. We kill them all.”

Will Russian soldiers and political leaders be prosecuted for war crimes? Montgomery talks with Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Ukrainian human rights lawyer who received a 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. She runs the Center for Civil Liberties in Kyiv, which has been gathering evidence of human rights abuses and war crimes in Ukraine since Russia’s first invasion in 2014. Matviichuk says it’s important for war crimes to be handled by Ukrainian courts, but the country’s legal system is overwhelmed and notoriously corrupt. She says there is an important role for the international community in creating a system that can bring justice for all Ukrainians.

The combination of government-led forced labor and broader state repression and surveillance in Xinjiang severely limits access to the region and makes it impossible to safely interview workers, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.

The NGO's investigators spent months pouring over thousands of webpages to find evidence of companies’ participation in labor transfers, uncovering poducts and materials linked to state-sponsored forced labor. But Chinese internet censorship is making even this research increasingly difficult.

Human Rights Watch also urges European lawmakers to include remediation for victims of forced labor into new regulations.

A vote on the report is due on 20 March, but German socialist MEP Gabriele Bischoff, a member of the Parliament’s constitutional affairs committee (AFCO) and nominated rapporteur for the procedure, said that last week, the right-wing members of AFCO disagreed with the idea of introducing the mandatory training.

The EPP member of the AFCO committee is the German Sven Simon, who told Euractiv that “what we are opposing is a procedure in contravention of the [European] Parliament’s rules”.

The German center-right representative did not provide detailed clarification on which specific part of the rule is being violated by the procedure of the report.

Following several cases leaked to the press of MEPs accused of physical and psychological harassment of the staff in recent years, the European Parliament initiated a reform to reinforce anti-harassment internal procedures.

The European Parliament’s reputation was put at stake after different cases of MEPs harassing its staff were leaked to EU media.

In a resolution adopted on 25 April last year, the Parliament’s Women’s Rights Committee assessed the internal procedure for dealing with harassment cases as inadequate.