World News Non-US

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16522447

"Dozens of tons of cocaine have been taken out of circulation," German authorities said. The drugs were first uncovered in Hamburg last year.

Investigators in Germany have discovered a record amount of cocaine worth several billion euros, authorities reported on Friday.

"Dozens of tons of cocaine worth several billion euros have been taken out of circulation," the Baden-Württemberg State Office of Criminal Investigation and the Customs Investigation Office in Stuttgart, as well as the Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office announced.

The huge quantity of drugs was first discovered in the port of Hamburg last year, and, according to the German news agency DPA, originated in South America.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16522427

The French political class is tearing itself apart with feuding and backbiting ahead of this month’s vote.

We’re only four days into France’s election campaign and the vendettas are already boiling over in a melodramatic flurry of grab-your-popcorn vaudeville acts. 

Humiliated in the EU election, President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called a national parliamentary election, hoping to stem the tidal advances of the far right. 

His rivals tried to seize on the historic moment to set enmities aside and unite — but things haven’t gone as planned, to put it mildly. 

In the country’s main center-right party, the besieged leader barricaded himself in party headquarters claiming he was still in command, until a rival turned up with a spare key to demonstrate that was no longer the case. 

On the far right, two prominent figures descended into open warfare, with one accusing the other of setting “the world record for betrayal.” 

Meanwhile, on the left, a co-operation agreement has been struck and parties seem intent on putting their differences behind them — but tensions still crackle between two star figures, in terms of both personality and issues including Ukraine and Gaza.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/23194544

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16523136

Germans under 25 gave the AfD 16% of their vote in the European elections, with particular support in the east

Paul Friedrich, 16, could not wait to cast his first ballot and had no doubt which German party had earned his support in the watershed European elections.

“Correct, I voted AfD,” he said proudly in the bustle of the commuter railway station in Brandenburg an der Havel, an hour from central Berlin.

The far-right Alternative für Deutschland made particularly stunning gains on Sunday among young voters. For the first time in a national poll, 16- and 17-year-olds could cast their ballots – a reform that had been strongly backed by left-leaning parties.

After overwhelmingly supporting the Greens five years ago, Germans under 25 gave the AfD 16% of their vote – an 11-point rise – helping place the party second behind the opposition CDU-CSU conservatives and well ahead of the Social Democrats of the chancellor, Olaf Scholz.

The AfD tapped deep wells of support in the former communist east, winning in every state including Brandenburg, where it claimed 27.5% of the vote.

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And his concerns echo those of many teenagers and twentysomethings in town: fears of war spreading in Europe, inflation, economic decline, “unchecked” immigration and, above all, violent crime, which they say is rampant when they use public transport or hang out in public spaces at night.

https://archive.is/nZrrP

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16503267

From June 1 to June 11, Israeli forces killed over 800 Palestinians and wounded over 2,400 as they carried out bombardments and raids across Gaza, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported. This is an average of over 72 Palestinians killed each day at the hands of Israeli forces.

This includes Israel’s assault of Nuseirat refugee camp on Saturday that killed 274 Palestinians, including 64 children, and injured 698 others, with Israeli forces carrying out one of the most deadly single attacks of their genocidal siege so far in order to retrieve four Israelis held hostage in Gaza. The attack was carried out on a bustling civilian center in the middle of the day, raising questions about whether Israeli forces violated international law.

The 11-day death toll also includes at least 70 Palestinians killed and over 300 wounded due to heavy Israeli shelling in central Gaza on June 4, MSF said; and at least 40 Palestinians killed and 74 wounded on June 6, when Israel bombed a UN school-turned-shelter in Nuseirat. The killings of hundreds of Palestinians in other Israeli attacks, ranging across southern, central and northern Gaza, in the first days of June have otherwise been largely ignored by news outlets, and are hardly documented by official sources.

Behind each death is a horrifying story of a Palestinian who lived through months of displacement, constant bombardment, hunger and likely the loss of family members, bearing witness to the 37,000 people killed by Israel in Gaza over eight months just to themselves be killed by Israeli forces. Survivors recall horrors, like children who recount being pulled out of the rubble of their homes, and the pervading smell of death.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/23165160

Vladimir Putin has demanded that Kyiv cede more land, withdraw troops deeper inside its own country, and drop its Nato bid in order for him to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Putin’s fresh ceasefire demands were issued as envoys from more than 90 countries, including Ukraine, convene in Switzerland this weekend to discuss a western-led peace plan. Russia is not invited to the conference and the president’s remarks on Friday were likely to have been timed as a spoiler to that summit.

Speaking with diplomats at the Russian foreign ministry, Putin publicly updated his terms for ending the war in Ukraine for the first time since he launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022, when he demanded regime change in Kyiv and the country’s “demilitarisation”.

The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said Putin was in “no position” to make demands on Ukraine and could end the war he had started “today if he chose to do that.”

The products included MDH's Madras Curry Powder, Sambhar Masala Mixed Masala Powder, and Curry Powder Mixed Masala Powder, and Everest's Fish Curry Masala.

https://archive.is/MrM5W

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16439987

More than eight months into Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza, the territory’s healthcare system is barely functioning, with the World Health Organization reporting this week that there have been 464 Israeli attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system since October 7, affecting 101 health facilities.

Gaza’s Health Ministry warns that the few remaining hospitals still partially functioning could completely shut down due to Israel’s near-total blockade of the territory, which is keeping out parts needed to maintain hospital diesel generators, as well as crucial medical supplies.

Over 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza, and nearly 85,000 Palestinians have been wounded. “The situation in Gaza … remains catastrophic,” says Dr. James Smith, an emergency medical doctor just back from Gaza, where he treated patients for nearly two months.

“There are no fully functional hospitals any longer in Gaza and no health facilities that are able to absorb the sheer scale of need now.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/23050589

British band Massive Attack have pulled out of a concert in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, in protest against the government’s “attack on basic human rights”.

The decision to cancel the performance at the Black Sea Arena was first announced by organisers, who claimed that it had been made due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

In a statement issued a few hours later on Wednesday, the trip-hop band clarified that they feared appearing in Georgia would be seen as an endorsement of the country’s political leadership.

Critics at home and abroad have been further alarmed this month by a draft law that would prevent same-sex marriages from being registered and ensure that only “heterosexuals” could adopt children.

At the same time, references to LGBTQ+ people would be erased from public spaces under the draft legislation, and schools would be banned from making available information that supposedly “promotes belonging to the opposite sex, same-sex relations or incest”.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16447403

The industry that has traditionally powered about a quarter of GDP has been in a downward spiral that policymakers have struggled to halt

All across China, from Beijing in the north, to Shenzhen in the south, millions of newly built homes stand empty and unwanted. There were nearly 391m sq metres of unsold residential property in China as of April, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. That is the equivalent of Manchester and Birmingham combined – and then some – sitting as vacant, unwanted property.

This glut of idle property has caused a headache for the government, shaken the world’s second largest economy and raised tensions over the purpose of housebuilding in a nation where property investment had been viewed as a safe bet.

Since the real estate sector was sent into a tailspin in 2020, caused by the pandemic and a sudden regulatory crackdown, the industry that has traditionally powered about one-quarter of GDP has been in a downward spiral that policymakers have struggled to halt.

The crux of the problem is that, with shaky faith in the economy and big property developers failing to deliver on paid-for apartments, potential homebuyers are keeping their money out of the market.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16431256

Paris police said 3,000 people gathered in Paris on Monday evening, at a demonstration against the far right, which made historic gains in the European elections on Sunday. Other gatherings took place around the country.

Thousands of people gathered in several cities across France on Monday, June 10, in the evening, following the far-right Rassemblement National's surge at the polls in the European elections and French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement of a dissolution of the Assemblée Nationale.

Paris police said 3,000 people had gathered on the Place de la République in Paris at 8 pm. Many of them were young people, chanting with middle fingers raised, slogans such as "Everybody hates Marine Le Pen."

"The prospect of having a far-right prime minister in three weeks terrifies me," said Alice, a 24-year-old student. Alba Bourreau, 19, an arts student, was taking part in her "first political demonstration," having voted on Sunday for the first time, saying she's "ready to come and demonstrate as much as we need to." "We've come to mobilize against fascism, and because we're fed up with this image that France votes right or far right. The left also exists. It's in the streets tonight," said Luna, 19.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16376582

A Dutch warship was harassed by Chinese military aircraft in the East China Sea on Friday, the Netherlands said, becoming the latest country to accuse Beijing’s forces of initiating potentially unsafe encounters in international waters.

In a statement Friday, the Dutch Defense Ministry said two Chinese fighter jets circled the frigate HNLMS Tromp several times, while its marine patrol helicopter was “approached” by two Chinese warplanes and a helicopter during a patrol.

“This created a potentially unsafe situation,” the statement said.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16402341

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16389010

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16411822

The four instructors from Cornell College, a private liberal arts college in Iowa, were visiting a public park in the northeastern Chinese city of Jilin while on an exchange program.

Four American instructors from a small Iowa college were injured in a stabbing attack while on a teaching trip to China, their school and officials in both countries said.

The rare attack on foreigners in the powerful security state comes as China is trying to repair ties with the United States and revive tourism to help boost a sluggish economy after three years of isolation amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Chinese state media, which often report on Chinese nationals who are the victims of violence in the U.S., had not reported on the attack as of Tuesday afternoon local time, and discussion of it appeared to be tightly controlled on China’s heavily censored social media.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/16733167

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16401318

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16412344

Five of the world’s biggest banks are “greenwashing” their role in the destruction of the Amazon, according to a report that indicates that their environmental and social guidelines fail to cover more than 70% of the rainforest.

The institutions are alleged to have provided billions of dollars of finance to oil and gas companies involved in projects that are impacting the Amazon, destabilising the climate or impinging on the land and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples.

The banks say they follow ethical policies that help to protect intact forests, biodiversity hotspots, indigenous territories and nature reserves. However, the investigation says it has found geographical and technical limitations on their ability to monitor and achieve these stated goals.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16414284

China has been accused of dumping cheap electric cars on EU countries. But poor sales, price wars and tariff threats have prompted a mood change among some Chinese auto producers.

European policymakers warned a few months ago that the continent was being flooded with cheap Chinese electric vehicles. They accused Beijing of backing major production overcapacity to allow China's automakers to grow their share of the global EV market.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, launched an anti-subsidy probe into the oversupply issue late last year and warned China's EV makers that they could face a new import tariff to offset what Brussels said was unfair competition for European carmakers. 

The United States is due to levy a 100% import tax on Chinese-made electric cars, up from the current 25%, which will effectively keep Chinese automakers out of the US market. The EU currently levies a 10% tariff.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16368117

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16412056

Around 1,000 animals were killed in a fire in Bangkok's famous open-air Chatuchak market early Tuesday, gutting nearly 100 shops.

Birds, dogs, cats and snakes were burnt to death in their cages in the pet zone, which also included rats, pythons and geckos.

The blaze was started by an electrical short circuit, authorities said, adding that no human casualties or injuries have been reported.

The incident prompted renewed calls for authorities to shut the pet zone, which has long been criticised for the animals' poor living conditions and has reportedly led to high rates of disease and death.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16408650