Interesting Global News

> New judiciary guidelines in China specify that crimes of secession by Taiwanese “separatists” are punishable under Chinese law. The guidelines authorize the use of trials in absentia and even the death penalty for anyone asserting Taiwan’s independence.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/DzpzK

> Peace Now says approval of more than 12 sq km is biggest since peace process began in 1993

Report: https://peacenow.org.il/en/state-land-declaration-12000-dunams

Archived version: https://archive.ph/4HYjn

> ‘Severe’ and ‘potentially record-breaking’ heatwave sends temperatures soaring across US

Archived version: https://archive.ph/gEdL5

> The public broadcaster's management said in its defence that RAI bought the show from an external partner and pledged to clarify the incident.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/SdND9

> In his five-page statement, Commissioner Edward Caban identified no inaccuracies in ProPublica's investigation but instead argued the story was unfair and that he’s “in compliance” with the guidelines. Our reporting shows otherwise.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/2RCvz

> Buddhist monks in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh chanted blessings and threw flowers on Thursday to welcome 14 trafficked artifacts repatriated from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/EI4Zb

> Three planes, 270 tons of equipment, 800 square meters of stage: the figures from Madonna's massive free concert in Rio in May sounded like they came from another age.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/mhFj9

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/461080

> Germany's economy ministry will look "very closely" into a deal to supply Chinese-made wind turbines for an offshore project in Germany's North Sea, saying on Wednesday questions of critical infrastructure and competition must be addressed. > > Under the deal between German asset manager Luxcara and Ming Yang, the Chinese group would supply 16 turbines, each with a capacity of up to 18.5 MW, set for installation in 2028. > > The ministry comments come amid broader trade tensions between Europe and China, recently focused on electric cars where the EU has proposed tariffs on Chinese imports. > > Earlier on Wednesday, Europe's wind industry lobby criticized the deal, saying it gave China access to critical infrastructure in Germany and that Europe's supply chain had been ready to deliver turbines for this project.

[Edit for introducing the link.]

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/459808

> Archived link > > “What [authoritarian] regimes have in common is their fear of a well-informed public,” Christoph Jumpelt, the head of the international relations unit at Germany’s public broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, said this week in Taiwan. > > International media groups like AP, Reuters and PA Media Group cooperate with China's state-controlled agency Xinhua for being able to operate within the country. It should be obvious that such a conditionality has no place in what they say is a “purely commercial” arrangement, not in the least as this does a huge injustice to the thousands of journalists who struggle each day to report the facts. > > - Last month Fu Hua, President of China’s official Xinhua News Agency, which sits directly under the country’s State Council, made a whirlwind tour from New York to London, meeting with top executives from AP, Reuters, and PA Media Group, to foster long-standing business relationships. > > - Such deals with Xinhua should invite tougher questions about how international media companies with a stated commitment to professional standards should deal with Chinese media giants whose sole commitment — crystal clear in the country’s domestic political discourse— is to strengthen the global impact of Party-state propaganda. > > - Xinhua's Fu is not a champion of independent media values, or a partner in tackling the information challenges of the future. Prior to his role at Xinhua, Fu served as a deputy minister of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department. His agenda is that of China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party, the CCP. Plain and simple. > > - The partnerships with Western media are part of a broader effort by Xinhua to deepen its global media influence, curtailing criticism of the Chinese government and shaping international discourse that portrays the CCP in a positive light. And yet, year in and year out, Western media executives insist, even against the substance of their own statements, that this type of cooperation is just normal business. > > - If it is true, for example, that AP “publishes none of the stories" by Xinhua as it claims, what then is the point of such empty formalities? “Like most major news agencies,” said a former agency head, “AP has an agreement with state-run media in China that allows AP to operate inside the country.” > > - And there we have the crux. AP’s relationship with Xinhua, in place since 1972, forms the political foundation on which AP and other major news agencies, including Reuters, are able to operate in China. > > - It should be obvious such conditionality has no place in any “purely commercial” arrangement. And as they obscure the true nature of the arrangement, news outlets do a huge injustice to the thousands of journalists who struggle each day to report the facts. > > - Western outlets that claim to uphold professional values need to decide where they stand while insisting on the charade of standing with Xinhua, shaking hands and signing on the dotted line.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.one/post/16476649

> For the good of the republic and to demonstrate new leadership before the election.

Lays out an argument about how to navigate the difficulties ahead, addressing the challenges that would result.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/445597

> A ban on politicians lying will be brought in before the 2026 Senedd [the Welsh parliament] elections, the Welsh government has promised. > > Counsel General Mick Antoniw [...] promised that the law would disqualify Senedd politicians and candidates found guilty of deliberate deception from being a Member of the Senedd (MS). > [...] > It is not yet clear whether the proposed law would make lying a criminal offence or a civil sanction. > [...] > Mr. Antoniw said it was a "matter that goes to the heart of everyone".

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/442629

> Archived link > > Original report is gated. > > Chinese and Russian companies are developing a strike drone similar to Iran’s “Shahed,” which has been actively used in attacks on Ukraine, according to European officials familiar with the matter, as reported by Bloomberg. > > Officials did not identify the drone under development, but Chinese defence websites and several media outlets have indicated that China is working on a kamikaze strike drone named Sunflower 200. This drone reportedly bears a resemblance to the Iranian Shahed 136 in its appearance and functionality. > > The officials noted that Chinese drones have not yet been used in Ukraine. > > Several countries believe that supplying Russia with drones for attack purposes would cross the threshold of lethal assistance. Two officials conveyed this concern, highlighting the implications of such actions.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/429369

> Germany's cabinet blocked the planned sale of Volkswagen's subsidiary MAN Energy Solutions' gas turbine division to a Chinese company on Wednesday, two government sources said. > > The decision comes as Germany and the European Union try to reduce risks from economic ties with China. > > MAN Energy Solutions said last September that the government would take a closer look at the planned sale to Chinese state-owned CSIC Longjiang GH Gas Turbine Co (GHGT). > > The deal was first announced in June 2023 at an undisclosed price. > GHGT belongs to the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), which dominates the Chinese shipbuilding industry. > > A spokesperson for MAN Energy Solutions declined to comment. > Three people familiar with the matter had told Reuters on Tuesday that Germany would block the plans. > > MAN Energy Solutions will wind down gas turbine development and production as a result of the blocked sale, one source had said, adding the group would retain its profitable turbine service business. > > Germany's economy ministry has the right to review and block transactions deemed to have implications for national security.

> The department restored more than 2,000 missing discipline records to its public database of uniformed officers, weeks after ProPublica revealed data reliability issues. But it also removed case numbers, making future oversight more difficult.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/8IixW

> New yen bills use 3-D holographic technology to curb counterfeiting, which Japan’s money printing agency called a world-first. Cashless payment has been slow to catch on in Japan.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/ID6Os

> The ruling brings to an end a decades-long fight for justice by victims who were forcibly sterilised.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/oZMR0

> Regional and smaller universities say they should be exempt from limits on overseas enrolments and elite capital city institutions should be targeted

Archived version: https://archive.ph/3RA2S

> The incident took place at a Hindu religious event in Hathras district in Uttar Pradesh state.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/H1eKv

Content warning: mentions of sexual and physical abuse.

> Sex trafficking survivors say the hotel chain ignored obvious signs that they were being trafficked to protect its profits. The company is set to face hundreds of lawsuits across the country, write Richard Hall and Alicja Hagopian

Archived version: https://archive.ph/jc8GM

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/404448

> Archived link > > Taiwan said the Chinese coast guard boarded a Taiwanese fishing boat Tuesday before steering it to a port in mainland China, and demanded that Beijing release the vessel. > > The Tachinman 88 was intercepted by two Chinese vessels Tuesday evening near the Kinmen archipelago, which lies a short distance off China’s coast but is controlled by Taiwan, Taiwanese maritime authorities said in a statement. > > Taiwan dispatched three vessels to rescue the Tachinman 88, but the one that got close to the fishing boat were blocked by three Chinese boats and told not to interfere, the statement said. The pursuit was called off to avoid escalating the conflict after Taiwan’s maritime authorities detected that four more Chinese vessels were moving closer, the statement added. > > “The Coast Guard calls on the mainland to refrain from engaging in political manipulation and harming cross-strait relations, and to release the Tachinman ship and crew as soon as possible,” the statement read. > > The boat had six crew onboard, including the captain and five migrant workers, according to Taiwan’s official Central News Agency. The vessel was just over 20 kilometers (12 miles) away from Jinjiang in mainland China when it was boarded, Taiwanese authorities said. > > China claims self-governing Taiwan as its territory and says the island must come under its control. The Chinese military regularly sends warplanes and ships toward the island and staged a large exercise with dozens of aircraft and vessels in May. > > Fishermen from both Taiwan and China regularly sail the stretch of water near the Kinmen archipelago, which has seen a rise in tensions as the number of Chinese vessels — including sand dredgers and fishing boats — have notably increased in the area. > > In February, two Chinese fishermen were drowned while being chased by Taiwan’s Coast Guard off the coast of Kinmen, prompting Beijing to step up patrols in the waters.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/404240

> Archived link > > Over the past 40 years, the Chinese government has carried out several programs to reduce and eliminate extreme poverty in the Country. On 25 February 2021, the National media announced that extreme poverty had been almost eliminated in China. > > There were, however, many human rights issues that came up along the way. And many even argue some measures of China's poverty reduction strategy should rather be viewed as a way to gain leverage in its border disputes with its neighbors. > > - The Targeted Poverty Alleviation (TPA) program was officially implemented in 2015, it was structured to follow the whole process: from poverty identification to poverty exit. > > - TPA developed five core methods to lift the poor out of poverty: industry, relocation, ecological compensation, education, and social assistance. Despite its innovative approach to eradicating extreme poverty, TPA methods have some harsh side effects, especially for ethnic minorities. > > - the relocation strategy is not new to the Chinese government. However, after launching the TPA, it was mainly directed toward regions where most people belong to China’s ethnic minorities. Tibet is one of the regions where the mass relocation programs are more controversial, mainly because of the numerous human rights violations perpetrated by China’s government against Tibetans since the creation of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in 1951. > > - the PRC is carrying out a “Sinicization” campaign whose objective is to eradicate any trace of Tibetans’ autonomy’s desire. Mass relocation programs are part of this strategy, even if the government maintains that it is the most effective strategy to reduce poverty and, at the same time, to stop environmental degradation. > > - Tibetans are moved to locations where they cannot continue their former livelihoods or lifestyles. Often, for example, herders are moved to farming areas and farmers are moved to urban areas where they will be entering the labor market without the experience to do so. Part of the TPA indeed is to provide relocated people with initial subsidies and social assistance to facilitate their adjustment to new lifestyles, but for what concerns Tibetan herders, this kind of assistance is not enough. > > - If Tibetans do not agree to relocate, authorities are allowed to exert different forms of pressure that range from intrusive home visits to implicit threats. After the relocation, the Chinese government demolishes their former homes once they have been relocated to prevent them from coming back. The UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement provides that states should, when circumstances allow, prioritize the rights of restitution and return. > > - In recent years, the relocation of Tibetans has been accurately directed towards villages along the contested territories between China and its neighbors. It involved building 628 border villages called “well-off border defense villages” which were selected for their remote location, very sparse population, and poor conditions. > > - For China’s government, these villages have multiple objectives: reduce the poverty rate in the country, and keep an eye on the movements of populations and activities across the border. Moreover, the location of these villages, and the development of bridges and railway lines in the same regions, should be viewed as a way to gain leverage in its border disputes with its neighbors. > > - China is particularly concerned about one of its neighbors: India. Although trade between the two nuclear powers surpassed $136 billion in 2023, relations between Beijing and New Delhi remain tense. China reclaims large parts of Indian territory, including the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh which was recently renamed “Southern Tibet” by China’s government. > > - The response of the newly elected National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was the renaming of 30 places in Tibet, signaling its willingness to confront China, at least theoretically. Indian and Chinese troops stationed along the border regularly engage in conflict, sometimes resulting in casualties. > > - As China focuses more on border defense and security in Tibet, the situation between India and China at the borders is likely to escalate and possibly result in more clashes. China is investing heavily and strategically in border-related infrastructure and in relocating and re-educating residents. The Indian Government may follow suit and bolster its borders by investing more, securing them, and ensuring their safety. > > - For India, the Himalayan problem is a bilateral affair, but recently Modi seems more willing to let China know that he is looking for new allies. Modi thanked Lai Ching-te, the newly elected President of Taiwan, for his message of congratulations after being re-elected. Nevertheless, the Taiwan-India relationship remains unofficial, and their political connections seem to be directed at deepening economic cooperation.

> Labour administration says ‘globally pioneering’ legislation will be brought in before next Senedd elections in 2026

Archived version: https://archive.ph/6LFaV

> Israel’s assault has displaced over 1 million people just since May, a UN human rights official said.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/Ile2Z

> "We held the rally... to show [management] that we're not afraid, that we're not going to be intimidated, and that we're not going to back down until we win a good contract for our patients and for ourselves"

Archived version: https://archive.ph/SE8Po

> Sweden is launching a groundbreaking new law, allowing grandparents to care for their grandchild and get paid.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/v5wCy

> Officials say a roadside bomb explosion in Pakistan’s volatile Baluchistan province has killed a woman and two children. Police blamed “terrorists” for Monday's attack.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/r6TjB

> Russian forces have captured an intact guidance system from a long-range U.S.-made ATACMS missile and are studying the American military technology, Russia's RIA state news agency said on Monday.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/FHzJK

> Study came after suicide of Lt David Metcalf, who logged his symptoms, and examination of his brain by scientists

Archived version: https://archive.ph/8VxIe

> Local media say a man in his 60s drove into people waiting at a traffic stop in South Korea's capital.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/yI7oj

> Reporting in Gaza has become nearly impossible with limited access to power, internet, and basics like food and water.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/ZA7yb

> Police tracked down Larry Changa of the infamous Tren de Aragua gang in a small town in Colombia.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/f0J71

> Years of brutal neoliberal capitalism combined with the left’s betrayal have led to widespread political demoralization.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/G9HS9

> Voters in the UK and abroad have either not received their ballots or have been left with too little time to return them

Archived version: https://archive.ph/bJnKI

> Al-Shifa’s Mohammed Abu Salmiya alleges Israel tortured him across seven months of detention without charge

Archived version: https://archive.ph/laRM9

> The United Nations food agency says more than half of households in Yemen are not eating enough due to poor economic conditions and a monthslong pause in food assistance to millions of people in the rebel-held north.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/eygqL

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/317669

> Archived link > > On 21 June 2024, China issued alarming new guiding opinions under the 2005 Anti-Secession Law. > > The guidelines threaten to impose a maximum potential death penalty for a range of vaguely defined supporting ‘Taiwan independence’ activities. They allow Chinese courts to conduct trials in absentia and appear to apply to both Taiwanese nationals and foreigners alike, in an unacceptable escalation in Beijing’s assault on the freedom of expression of the people of Taiwan and the international community. > > Michael Caster, Asia Digital Program Manager at ARTICLE 19, commented: > >“In these new guidelines, Beijing is seeking to wield the maximum threat of in absentia death sentences to instill fear and gag independent expression on all things Taiwan. Make no mistake, this has nothing to do with preserving cross-straits peace, as Beijing would have it. This development serves to further bully the international community into isolating Taiwan. The only acceptable response is to redouble solidarity and accelerate coordination and cooperation with Taiwan.

> Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/G3Zow