Europe

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43762657

• The European Union plans to expand its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism to some assembled goods such as cars and washing machines to help close loopholes.
• The EU introduced CBAM to safeguard its industry during an ambitious shift to net zero by 2050 and prompt other parts of the world to make their output greener.
• The EU will propose measures to extend the levy to selected steel and aluminium-intensive downstream products, and will also unveil a proposal on how to support its own exporters via a new fund.

...

The European Union plans to expand an incoming emissions charge on imported goods as part of efforts to strengthen a flagship climate policy that’s aimed at protecting the bloc’s industries during the green shift.

The EU has pressed ahead with its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism — which covers six emissions-intensive sectors — despite criticism from trading partners from the US to China. On Wednesday, it plans to propose measures to extend the levy to some assembled goods such as cars and washing machines to help close loopholes, according to a draft.

...

The EU introduced CBAM to safeguard its industry during an ambitious shift to net zero by 2050 and prompt other parts of the world to make their output greener. The idea is that carbon-intensive sectors forced to comply with the bloc’s world-leading climate laws won’t face unfair competition from producers operating in nations with weaker rules. It comes amid concerns that Europe is deindustrializing under the strain of high energy prices and the green transition.

“The overall objective of the legislative proposal is to strengthen the effectiveness of CBAM, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fighting climate change globally,” the EU says in the draft proposal, which is still subject to change. “This proposal will extend the scope of CBAM to selected steel and aluminium-intensive downstream products.”

...

As of January this year, dozens of carbon-trading systems were in force globally, covering almost a fifth of global emissions, according to a report by non-profit organization IETA. Under EU rules, the fee importers will need to pay could be at least partially waived if a carbon levy has already been paid in the country where the goods were produced.

“The CBAM is deeply unpopular among major exporters to the EU, but it has already proven to be effective in pushing reticent countries toward building or expanding carbon-pricing efforts,” said Henry Lush, a carbon analyst at consultants Veyt.

...

The European Commission on Wednesday will also unveil a proposal on how to support its own exporters via a new fund filled with a quarter of the proceeds collected from the levy over the next two years, according to a draft seen by Bloomberg. In addition, it will present detailed rules on calculating fees that importers will have to pay at the border, and measures to prevent circumvention.

The fees companies will have to pay will largely depend on the so-called default values, which will effectively set a price list for emissions when importers can’t provide verified, installation-specific data at the border, according to Robert Jeszke, head of Poland’s emissions management authority.

“In the early years, the most immediate behavioral effect is likely to be improved monitoring and verified reporting, rather than instant deep decarbonization across the board,” he said. “But CBAM’s financial materiality will rise over time.”

...

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43734791

Just as Russian President Vladimir Putin was clear about his intentions toward Ukraine, Chinese President Xi Jinping has left no doubt about his plans for Taiwan. The only way to deter him from pursuing "reunification" with the island is to make clear that the costs of doing so will be punishing.

Web archive link

...

Last month, Japan’s new prime minister, Takaichi Sanae, stated that Chinese aggression against the self-governing democratic island could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, warranting a military response.

Takaichi is right, but it is not just Japan that would be affected. Because Taiwan produces 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductors and hosts one of its most vibrant globalized tech ecosystems, a blockade or invasion would send shockwaves through the global economy, potentially tilting the race for AI leadership in China’s favor. The fall of free Taiwan would also upend the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, placing much of Asia under China’s yoke, while cementing China’s chokehold on the South and East China Seas. For these reasons, a conflict over the island has the potential to escalate into a broader war.

...

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43732293

Web archive link

The EU has identified short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb, TripAdvisor, and Expedia as a major driver of Europe’s affordable housing shortage, but has stopped short of spelling out how far it intends to regulate them, according to a draft of its forthcoming housing plan seen by Euractiv.

While light on detail, the draft said the Commission will propose new legislation on short-term rentals next year, aimed at limiting their negative effects while “preserving their benefits.”

The initiative would form part of a broader housing package that pairs closer scrutiny of short-term rentals with a review of EU state-aid rules to steer public funding towards housing projects, alongside new simplification measures for planning, permitting, construction and renovation.

Housing shortages have emerged as a top political priority for the Commission, which has appointed Dan Jørgensen as its first commissioner dedicated to housing a year ago. The European Parliament has also established a special committee on the housing crisis.

...

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43693292

Bloc’s justice commissioner says action needed to protect consumers from products sold on platforms such as Shein.

Archive link

...

[European Justice Commissioner] Michael McGrath [said] that the bloc was not protecting its citizens sufficiently from a rising tide of unsafe goods sent directly from China to customers’ homes.

“I am very concerned about the volume of unsafe products coming into the European Union. I think we have a duty to better protect EU citizens, and we also have a duty to European businesses to ensure that they are operating on a level playing field,” McGrath said.

The Irish commissioner said that “year in, year out” national authorities found products that were “very dangerous, with life-changing consequences for individuals” and which could “even cause loss of life”.

Customs and enforcement officers were overwhelmed, with only “a tiny proportion of the unsafe products coming into the European Union” being stopped, McGrath admitted. “That’s not good enough.”

Some 4.6bn low-value parcels entered the EU in 2024, and the number is continuing to double every two years, he said. Around 90 per cent come from China.

...

He said when dangerous goods were identified, often by consumer groups, platforms usually got away with taking them off sale. “I think there needs to be a stronger deterrent,” he said.

Cosmetics and toys are among the most common types of products detected.

...

Last month, Brussels said it was examining Shein’s sale of potentially illegal products, including childlike sex dolls and weapons, under its Digital Services Act, which regulates online content.

Brussels has asked for additional information from the company, which could lead to an in-depth investigation and fines.

It followed a move by Paris to suspend the site in France for allegedly advertising the products. France is also seeking to ban AliExpress, owned by Chinese tech group Alibaba, and Portugal-headquartered Joom for similar reasons.

...

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43626010

Web archive link

Any peace deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine will only last if Moscow makes real concessions, including limiting the size of its armed forces and curbing its growing military budget, the EU’s top diplomat has said.

In an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera published on Friday, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, warned that without meaningful concessions from Moscow, Europe risks facing new conflicts elsewhere.

...

The problem for peace is Russia,” Kallas said, adding: “Even if Ukraine received security guarantees, without concessions from the Russian side, we would have other wars, perhaps not in Ukraine but elsewhere.”

...

Kallas said that Kyiv and its allies “certainly welcome the momentum toward peace that the U.S. administration is showing,” but cautioned that Russia lacks a “genuine will for peace.”

“It [Russia] is constantly bombing Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure,” she told Corriere della Sera, stressing that “first we need to see a ceasefire.”

She said that in order to achieve sustainable peace, it is necessary to ensure that “Russia does not attack again”, adding that this requires clear concessions from Moscow.

...

"We need concessions from Russia, whether that means limiting its army or restraining its military budget,” said Kallas, who served as Estonia’s prime minister from 2016 to 2021.

Moscow has significantly increased its military budget in recent years, diverting vast resources toward the defense industry to sustain its war in Ukraine.

...

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43628100

Web archive link

• Deutsche Bahn’s recent bulk order of electric buses from BYD sparks a heated labor dispute.
• Critics label the purchase decision a “bad joke,” citing concerns over domestic industry and worker loyalty.
• Despite political pressure for local sourcing, Deutsche Bahn opts heavily for Chinese manufacturers through European subsidiaries.
• BYD, a major player in electric buses, operates a U.S. plant but still faces challenges assimilating into Western markets.
• Union leaders vow to bring the controversy before Deutsche Bahn’s supervisory board, escalating tensions.

...

The recent announcement of Deutsche Bahn’s considerable electric bus procurement from BYD, a Chinese manufacturer, has sparked outrage from EVG [stands for Eisenbahn- und Verkehrsgewerkschaft, the Railway and Transport Union in Germany], the key labor union representing railway workers. The main gripe? A perceived threat to domestic employment and a failure to uphold the government’s call for economic nationalism.

EVG’s leader, Martin Burkert, wasted no time declaring the purchase a “bad joke”. This blunt criticism encapsulates growing concerns about multinational supply chains overrunning local industry. Burkert highlighted the dissonance between the government’s recent exhortation for “location patriotism” and Deutsche Bahn’s decision to pursue cheaper, foreign-made buses.

...

The union’s forceful objection serves as a reminder that procurement practices in public transportation are not merely transactions—they are also political statements with social consequences.

...

Behind the headline tension lies a complex web of procurement rules, subsidiary dynamics, and geopolitical considerations. Deutsche Bahn’s decision to engage BYD does not equate to a direct Chinese purchase. Instead, contracts are funneled through BYD’s European subsidiaries, enabling them to compete under EU regulations ... Crucially, this procurement channeling is what allows these Chinese-origin companies to bypass outright exclusion, despite increasing political skepticism about Chinese industrial influence.

...

Yet this arrangement spots scrutinizers in the union and political spheres who emphasize that true “local sourcing” must go beyond legal technicalities. Public sentiment often equates such purchases with foreign imports, especially given media narratives about economic competition with China. This perception puts public pressure on political leaders to reassess procurement guidelines and possible protections for domestic manufacturers.

...

BYD’s journey shows the complexities of confronting skepticism around foreign ownership and geopolitical concerns. In the U.S., the company has faced investigations around national security concerns tied to Chinese Communist Party links and came under scrutiny as the Senate debated legislation to restrict federal funds from supporting Chinese-owned manufacturing firms.

These hurdles underscore the broader challenges non-Western companies face when trying to embed themselves in Western infrastructure projects, especially in sectors as sensitive as public transportation. BYD’s efforts to comply with “buy American” rules by employing hundreds of American union workers and sourcing components locally demonstrate a bid to mitigate these concerns.

...

This [union's] approach combines hard-hitting rhetoric, such as labeling the BYD purchase a “bad joke,” with detailed advocacy for increased domestic procurement to protect European workers. They also seek to forge alliances with political leaders to introduce stricter guidelines favoring local manufacturers in future tenders.

Key elements of this strategy include pushing for:

• Clearer definitions of ‘local content’ in public contracts to exclude loopholes exploited by subsidiaries of foreign firms.
• Increased transparency requirements for manufacturers bidding on sensitive infrastructure orders.
• Strengthening labor protections and safeguarding union jobs within evolving green transport industries.

...

Addition: To provide a broader picture: DB will be ordering around 3,300 busses over the next years with the main supplier being Germany's MAN. China's BYD is supposed to deliver a few hundreds.

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43497910

Web archived link

EU countries agreed to indefinitely immobilise Russian sovereign assets on Thursday, removing a major obstacle to providing a €210 billion “reparations loan” to Ukraine.

The decision by EU envoys came the day after Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever openly questioned the legality of the European Commission’s proposal to permanently freeze Moscow’s funds based on an emergency provision of the EU treaties.

Use of “Article 122“, formally floated by the Commission last week, is critical to avoid the assets being returned to Russia if sanctions on the Kremlin are lifted, which could leave Belgium on the hook to repay hundreds of billions of euros to Moscow if the loan goes ahead. The vast majority of the assets are based at Euroclear, a Brussels-based clearing house.

Currently, sanctions on the assets must be rolled over unanimously by EU capitals every six months. Hungary’s pro-Moscow leader, Viktor Orbán, has repeatedly threatened to block the extension of the sanctions, but has ultimately always backed down.

One EU diplomat said the vast majority of EU countries supported Thursday’s move. Another said that Hungary and Slovakia – another pro-Moscow member state – will likely vote against the proposal when EU countries formally decide on Friday. Belgium will likely abstain, they added.

...

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43437020

Archive link

EU countries are to fast-track a decision to indefinitely immobilise up to €210bn in Russian sovereign assets, in an attempt to bypass Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán even before Europe’s leaders meet for a summit next week.

...

Diplomats handling the legislation see advantage in moving swiftly in coming days to detach the contentious question of immobilising assets from the debate on raising loans for Kyiv backed by the frozen Russian funds. That funding question will be left to EU leaders next week.

The move to vote within the coming week, overriding the principle of unanimity on sanctions decisions, risks enraging Hungary and other countries that oppose the measure. Past instances of EU countries outvoting other member states on critical issues — such as Poland and Hungary on migration policy — have caused bad blood between capitals for years.

...

The European Commission last week proposed using €210bn of Russia’s foreign assets immobilised under sanctions in the EU to fund a loan to Kyiv, initially for €90bn that would be disbursed in the next two years.

For the loan scheme to work, the underlying assets need to be immobilised indefinitely, rather than for six-month periods that can only be renewed with unanimous agreement of all EU27 countries.

...

*To bypass the risk of the sanctions being lifted, the commission has proposed using emergency powers reserved for dealing with economic crises to indefinitely impose the sanctions on the assets. Enacted under Article 122 of the EU’s treaties, it can be passed with just a majority of EU countries, circumventing potential vetoes. *

Locking in the sanctions would also mark a statement against Washington. An initial Ukraine peace plan partly drafted by American officials had called for the bulk of the assets to be poured into two US-led investment funds.

...

Belgium, home to central securities depository Euroclear, which holds €185bn of the Russian assets, has opposed the loan proposal, citing legal and financial risks. It fears being left on the hook for legal claims from Russia should the sanctions be lifted unexpectedly.

Belgium has demanded ironclad guarantees that other member states would agree to be jointly liable and share the costs of potential legal suits against it or Euroclear. The commission has addressed “almost all” of Belgium’s demands for the reparations loan, president Ursula von der Leyen said.

...

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43437255

The Ukrainian company Ukrspecsystems is set to collaborate with British educational institutions to train future professionals for its drone manufacturing plant in Mildenhall, the company’s UK director, Rory Chamberlain, [said].

The company is currently partnering with universities to develop educational programs for students.

Chamberlain emphasized that this collaboration will benefit not only Ukrspecsystems but also the broader drone manufacturing ecosystem and its suppliers.

“We are working on this with local educational institutions. We will create courses and transfer knowledge to local students and engineers,” Chamberlain explained.

...

Ukrspecsystems is also working on a program to offer British military personnel opportunities to join the industry before they finish their service, helping them transition into related careers afterward.

...

Earlier, it was reported that the Ukrainian company Ukrspecsystems has obtained a location at a UK airfield for its drones and is building a specialized runway for UAVs.

...

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43319573

Web archive link

Over 1,000 documented TNR [Transnational Repression] cases have occurred since 2014, affecting individuals across 100 countries and involving at least 44 perpetrator states. Europe has emerged as a critical venue for TNR, with a growing number of targeted journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents, and whistleblowers seeking safety and protection on European soil.

Despite the scope of the problem, there is currently no binding European or international legal instrument specifically addressing TNR. Existing human rights instruments, including the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), while applicable in principle, do not offer comprehensive safeguards tailored to the realities of TNR.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5800183

Archived version

A couple of hundred kilometers southeast of the Serbian capital of Belgrade lies the city of Bor, home to one of the largest reserves of copper in the world and one of the most egregious examples of environmental racism towards a Romani community anywhere in Europe.

In Bor, a community of more than 300 Romani people find themselves unwillingly at the centre of a story of corruption, unscrupulous government contracts, and environmental degradation in a country with a regime on the brink of potential collapse. As the forces of government, a multinational mining company, and the local municipality converge on Bor, it is the Romani people living on the edge of the mine who are left to suffer the indignations of segregation and pollution. Their story exposes the sharp edge of environmental racism in Europe.

...

[In 2018], the Chinese multinational Zijin Mining Group Co., Limited took a 63% controlling interest in [Serbia's state-owned mining company RTB Bor] as part of a $1.26 billion deal with the Serbian government. The name of the mine changed to ‘Serbia Zijin Bor Copper Mine’ and that year the mining operation produced a net income of around €760 million, with most of the profit coming from the conversion of debt into new shares. The exact details of the public tender and what was in the contract that was drawn up between the Government of Serbia and Zijin Mining are not publicly known. What is known is the record of Zijin around the world for grievous human rights abuses, exploitation, and environmental harm. The company faces accusations of forced labour of Uyghur, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz workers in China; forced labour of workers in Tibet; forced evictions of villages in the Democratic Republic of Congo to make way for cobalt mines; poisoning the Tingjiang River in China with toxic waste and threatening water supplies and fishing industries; and allegations of pouring toxic sludge into tunnels in Colombia where informal miners were working.

...

Their activities in Serbia have not been without controversy either. ‘Serbia Zijin Bor Copper Mine’ has been accused of human trafficking, exploitation, and forced labor of Chinese workers after a 2021 investigation by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. Protests have also been held around Bor over excessive air pollution that has intensified since Zijin took over the mine in late 2018. The largest was a months-long-blockade of access roads to one of the mines by villagers from nearby Krivelj over pollution and environmental degradation.

...

When Zijin Mining bought Bor Copper Mine, they also bought the land around it. This resulted in the land on which the Romani community live in Herderova Street being transferred to the private ownership of the company ... [Therefore] since 2018, the residents have been unable to register their residence at Herderova Street, and therefore cannot obtain personal identification documents without issue. While some individuals have managed to register with the local social welfare center’s address, many are unable to do so for unclear, untransparent reasons. The absence of a systemic solution prevents all individuals who are living there (or even born there) from obtaining personal identification documents through their actual address, which is a prerequisite for accessing basic infrastructure, public services, and exercising their rights.

...

The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) holds the Serbian authorities responsible for failing to protect the rights of the Romani people living at Herderova Street and has filed a legal complaint with the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality. Additional complaints have been sent to the Division for Mining Inspection within the Energy and Mining Ministry, as well as to the Environmental Protection Inspection in the Environmental Protection Ministry. The Mayor of Bor, Aleksandar Milikić, who is from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), has so far declined to respond to requests for a meeting with the ERRC.

...

For most people in the city of Bor, the revitalization of the mining industry has contributed to the city’s overall economic development. While Bor is booming, though, the Roma living at Herderova Street have not felt the benefits. Instead, they bear the worst consequences of industrial expansion while being systematically excluded from infrastructure improvements and social services. The residents have clearly expressed their desire to relocate to safer, more suitable housing. Until such measures are implemented, urgent improvements to their current living conditions are a necessity. Without intervention, these Romani families in Bor remain at risk of forced eviction and homelessness at worst, or at “best”, remain stuck living on the edge of the mine.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5784157

Archived version

Russia launched a wave of attacks on Ukraine on Tuesday, killing at least six people in overnight strikes that hit city buildings and energy infrastructure, while a Ukrainian attack in southern Russia killed three people and damaged homes, authorities said.

The large-scale attacks come during a renewed U.S. push to end the war that has raged for nearly four years and talks about a U.S.-brokered peace plan. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met with Russian officials for several hours in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, a U.S. official confirmed to The Associated Press.

...

Russia fired 22 missiles of various types and over 460 drones at Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, noting that four drones flew into Romania and Moldova.

...

The Russian strikes knocked out water, electricity and heat in parts of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. Video footage posted to Telegram showed a large fire spreading in a nine-story residential building in Kyiv’s eastern Dniprovskyi district.

Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said two people were killed and five injured in Dniprovskyi and another residential building in the central Pecherskyi district was badly damaged.

Liubov Petrivna, a 90-year-old resident of a damaged building in the Dniprovskyi district, told the AP “absolutely everything” in her apartment was shattered by the strike and “glass rained down” on her.

Petrivna said she didn’t believe in the peace plan now under discussion: “No one will ever do anything about it. Putin won’t stop until he finishes us off.”

...

Ukraine’s energy ministry also said energy infrastructure had been hit, without describing the extent of the damage. Ukraine’s emergency services said six people, including two children, were injured in a Russian attack on energy and port infrastructure in Odesa region.

...

Three people were killed and eight more were wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s southern Rostov region overnight. The casualties occurred in the city of Taganrog not far from the border in Ukraine, Gov. Yuri Slyusar said in an online statement Tuesday.

The attack damaged private houses and multistory residential blocks, unspecified social facilities, a warehouse and a paint shop, Slyusar said.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5784029

The Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and State Modernisation is working on the so-called Germany Stack, which is intended to “create a sovereign, European-compatible and interoperable digital infrastructure for federal, state and local governments” as “national sovereign technology platform”. Until the end of November 2025, a public consultation is running, to which the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) has today submitted a statement (open new link in German).

...

The Germany Stack can only achieve its stated aim if it consistently relies on Free Software. A proprietary stack would merely replace existing dependencies with new ones. Proprietary software developed by manufacturers in Germany or Europe does not provide the necessary conditions for sovereignty, creates new lock-in effects, and can at any time be withdrawn from access by public authorities – for instance, if a manufacturer becomes insolvent or is bought by a non-European competitor. Trust issues also remain when the code is intransparent, and security bugs may persist if there is no right to fix the software. Defining availability as Free Software as a criterion for components of the Stack does not disadvantage manufacturers of proprietary software. Rather, this decision creates an incentive for all manufacturers to produce and publish Free Software, from which not only public administrations but also the European economy and society as a whole will benefit.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5783864

[Op-ed by Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, two Russian investigative journalists and co-founders of Agentura.ru, a watchdog of Russian secret service activities.]

...

Whatever the outcome of the current negotiations, Putin’s obsession with Europe is so great that leading European nations and hardline anti-Kremlin states like Germany, France, Poland, the Baltic states, and the UK will continue to experience attacks.

Ukraine has been the fulcrum of the Russian president’s campaign to change the post-Cold War settlement of 1989-91, but it is only one part of a much more ambitious campaign to build a more Russia-friendly Europe.

It’s worth remembering that Putin’s ultimatum to the West in December 2021, on the eve of his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was primarily targeted at NATO’s presence on the European continent. In particular, it made extraordinary demands for the withdrawal of troops and weapons from NATO’s Eastern flank, including the return of NATO forces to their bases of 1997. That would have meant withdrawing garrisons in the Baltic states, Poland, and Romania.

...

Moscow firmly believes that Europe must be put “in its place” regardless of any deal over Ukraine.

This explains the Kremlin’s accelerating shadow war operations against Europe — including arson, sabotage, drone attacks, targeted assassinations of Russian emigres, and cyberattacks against infrastructure — that aim to unnerve the population and pressure governments to shift policy in Russia’s favor. An end to fighting in Ukraine does not change this logic.

...

Internal Russian factors also make a sustained peace improbable. Three and a half years of war in Ukraine have eroded the role of many key Russian institutions in anything involving relations with the outside world.

For instance, nobody cares what role Lavrov and his foreign ministry play in the current negotiations; the real talks with the Americans are taking place elsewhere and are handled by other actors — starting with Putin himself, his personal appointees such as Kirill Dmitriev, and the intelligence agencies, which have boosted their influence through several rounds of hostage exchanges.

...

The security agencies, meanwhile — omnipresent and all-powerful after two decades of growing power — have made full use of the Kremlin’s paranoia about Ukrainian spies and saboteurs, and now have their fingers in everything of any importance in the country — from federal ministries and regional governments, which are kept in line through selective repression carried out by the FSB, to corporations harassed by innumerable criminal investigations, which involve the FSB, or military counterintelligence, in one way or another.

...

Territorial gains in Ukraine, the fate of Zelenskyy, or a downsized Ukrainian army are too trivial to matter. By Russian spy standards, such outcomes would simply be inconsequential. It would merely enable a greater focus on the next round, with the new and bigger target of democratic Europe.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5768311

...

15 local residents sought medical assistance after the night attack. All were provided with necessary aid.

“Three people remain hospitalized,” the report stated. “These are women aged 52 and 64, and a 48-year-old man. One of the patients has smoke inhalation poisoning. The others have head injuries and lacerations. They are in moderate condition. The rest of the injured, including an 11-year-old girl, will recover at home”.

...

The attack caused fires on the balconies of a nine-story apartment building and an addition to a private house. Six cars were also damaged.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5768140

...

This comes against the backdrop of this year’s supply chain issues, where China, as a dominant producer, has used export restrictions as leverage in its trade conflict with the USA. Against this backdrop, EU Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič outlined how Europe intends to invest more heavily in Australian critical raw material projects in the future – ranging from equity participations and long-term off-take agreements to joint infrastructure initiatives.

Šefčovič made it clear that the EU’s focus is no longer solely on trade in the classical sense. Instead, targeted capital commitments and binding supply agreements are intended to secure the supply of critical raw materials in the long term. For Brussels, Australia is a key partner, possessing large reserves and stable political frameworks, and aiming to expand its role as a supplier of strategically important raw materials.

...

Australia is moving into the spotlight as a reliable supplier of critical raw materials. The country possesses significant deposits, for example of lithium, rare earths, graphite, and other raw materials required for batteries, high technology, and the energy transition. At the same time, Australia is considered a politically stable and legally secure investment location that seeks to expand its cooperation with like-minded partners.

...

For Šefčovič, Japan serves as a reference model for what such a raw materials strategy could look like. For years, Tokyo has been strategically investing in mines and refineries in partner countries to ensure its own industry can be supplied with critical raw materials even in times of crisis. The EU is now pursuing a similar approach: moving away from a purely market-based procurement policy towards strategic participations along the value chain.

...

Against this backdrop, the planned free trade agreement between the EU and Australia is also gaining new significance. An initial attempt failed in 2023, primarily due to differences in agricultural policy, as Canberra demanded greater access for agricultural products to the European market. However, Šefčovič now sees renewed “momentum” for new talks. He expects negotiations to resume early next year.

...

Archived version

...

[The] training is part of a longer, international training effort. It is a two-year project aimed at strengthening cybersecurity and AI skills. The majority of funding comes from the European Commission, amounting to nearly €465,000, with Estonia as a key partner contributing around €200,000. The entire project is run with Estonia's TalTech (Tallinn University of Technology) experts on site.

...

This strategic investment positions Moldova as a regional hub for training.

"Cybersecurity today is about national sovereignty," said Andres Ääremaa, ESTDEV's program manager for e-Governance and Cybersecurity. "States rely on digital data; being able to detect intrusions and defend systems is crucial for IT professionals and for a country's ability to exist independently."

...

By 2027, organizers aim to have about 100 trained specialists within national systems and dozens of young practitioners who can already apply AI tools in defense. The goal is to build capacity among students, government employees and critical-infrastructure operators.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5751516

Germany plans to significantly increase funding for the European Space Agency, with Research Minister Dorothee Baer set to pledge up to 5 billion euros ($5.76 billion) at the ESA's conference in the north-western city of Bremen next week.

"It will definitely be more than three years ago, when it was around 3.5 billion. If we now reach the 5-billion mark, that would be extremely positive," she told Reuters on Thursday.

...

The funding is part of a larger strategy on space security that the government presented on Wednesday, with plans to invest as much as 35 billion euros in coming years on space defence.

"We have been resting on a peace dividend for a very, very long time. That's why it's good and right that the strategic importance of space travel has now been so clearly recognized."

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5751458

A fortnight of marathon talks marked by Indigenous protests, the notable absence of the US — the world's second largest polluter — and a fire that forced a mass evacuation of the venue, have closed with a deal that many feel is weak given the scale of the climate crisis.

A main point of contention has been a road map to transition away from fossil fuels, the burning of which produces most of the emissions heating the planet and turbocharges extreme weather.

More than 80 countries — including Colombia, Germany and Kenya — had said a final deal would hinge on a concrete action plan to follow through on a previous hard-won pledge to shift beyond coal, oil and gas.

But the idea, which faced significant pushback from China, the Arab Group of nations, including petro-states such as Saudi Arabia, and others, did not make it into the final document.

...

In the closing session, COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago announced that he would spearhead two voluntary road maps — one to transition away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly, and equitable way, and another to halt and reverse deforestation.

While these plans are not part of the formal UN deal, all countries are invited to join. He also announced the first-ever conference on ending reliance on oil, gas and coal, to be held in Colombia in April.

Signatories include only 24 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Nepal, Netherlands, Panama, Spain, Slovenia, Vanuatu, and Tuvalu.

Archived version

...

In contrast to Russian intelligence, which now carries immediate political stigma due to the war in Ukraine, Chinese operatives face fewer social barriers inside European institutions. Until recently, cooperation with China in academia and technology was widely encouraged. “That has changed,” [Director of the Center for International Studies and Development at Jagiellonian University Marcin] Grabowski said, “but the access channels remain open, especially in research and development.”

He pointed to recent British cases in which fake headhunters approached parliamentary staff with lucrative job offers, a tactic MI5 has flagged. He also described encounters at academic events where “students” later appeared to be acting on behalf of Chinese authorities.

According to Grabowski, China’s espionage strategy is a “long game,” using diplomatic cover, business activity, and academic collaboration to map European decision-making and technological capacity. With espionage now “a natural element of international politics,” he said, Europe must recognize that China’s intelligence presence is neither marginal nor new and is still expanding.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5733961

Archived version

...

[Russia’s Yantar “research vessel", after] its numerous appearances near the United States, Britain and western Europe [...] adopted a newly provocative stance this week, angering UK's Ministry of Defence by training lasers on RAF aircraft as it patrolled in the North Sea.

Yantar's task is thought to be surveillance of underwater fibre optic and other communication cables — both civilian and military — as well as gas pipelines, and the brazen confidence with which it goes about its work has got western politicians feeling on edge.

...

Analysts say the British government needs to ramp up its response as President Putin develops new craft and technology for marine sabotage in case the new Cold War turns hot.

Sidharth Kaushal, a senior researcher in sea power at the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank, believes the Yantar’s behaviour this week could signal future escalation. “I don’t think this is an acute crisis but it does show the general direction of travel in terms of how the Russians are approaching Europe and their special services are becoming more risk acceptant,” he added.

That places the Yantar in a wider pattern of conduct in the past two years exemplified by Moscow being accused of starting fires at European ammunition dumps, crippling the communications of German and Polish railway networks and sending incendiary devices to DHL logistics hubs in Britain and Germany.

...

Kaushal said that “much more needs to be done to secure [critical western undersea infrastructure] and there needs to be greater ability to constrain the activity of assets like the Yantar”.

Such measures could mirror some of Russia’s own “ways of making a vessel uncomfortable without necessarily crossing into open warfare”, such as radar jamming or the deployment of a directed energy weapon, he added.

Another tactic would be to strengthen legislation to crack down on Russia’s use of a shadow fleet of ostensibly commercial vessels for proxy sabotage.

There have been a series of incidents in which vessels with provable or suspected Russian links were accused of causing deliberate destruction. The Eagle S tanker allegedly damaged five undersea cables by dragging its anchor between Finland and Estonia in December last year, while the Newnew Polar Bear and the Yi Peng Three, Chinese ships, were involved in similar incidents in the Baltic.

...

Experts believe that the Yantar is engaged in mapping sub-sea infrastructure rather than damaging it, but that Russia already has sabotage capabilities way beyond any other country and the boundaries are being tested.

The Yantar is only one element of a wider Russian effort to probe and exploit weaknesses. Its azimuth thrusters — propellers in steerable pods — mean it can maintain its position for long periods as it conducts intelligence-gathering.

...

Lee Willett, an independent naval analyst, said Russia has less need for undersea cables than the US and Britain because of its large land mass and contiguous allies.

Willett agreed that Britain needed a robust response to Moscow’s efforts. “You have to have a very visible presence at sea and a very connected surveillance network both below the surface, on the surface and in the air,” he said. “The crucial points in these underwater networks have to be defended.” The ship has its own surveillance equipment and sensors but it can also deploy two-man Rus and Consul submersibles which can dive to about 6,000m (20,000ft).

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5733777

Key points:

• A huge solar power plant is under construction on Komanje Brdo in Stolac, in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), billed as a major investment in renewable energy. As announced, the construction of this area should become the largest photovoltaic facility in BiH.
• In June 2025, a Chinese worker died at the construction site. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNK), the deceased worker was killed while standing next to a forklift, after a pallet with a load fell on him.
• An inspection by authorities then found a total of 141 citizens of the People’s Republic of China who were employed at a construction site of which 71 were without previously approved temporary residence in BiH and without work permits. The dead worker was one of the illegal laborers.
• Despite the fact that the competent authorities have determined that a significant number of workers employed on this construction site were employed illegally, the construction site continues to operate and employs foreign nationals.
• A special problem is the fact that behind the project being built near Stolac by Ailin Technology and Industry, a company registered in BiH, but which cooperates with the Chinese company Norinco. That company is running the project in Komanja Brdo and is on the blacklist of the United States of America.
• Like other Chinese projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also in other countries of the Western Balkans, this case is also a common business practice of Chinese companies in the region. The main characteristics are the lack of transparency of the project, but also the violation of domestic legislation.
• Unfortunately, it took the death of a Chinese worker for the public to become more interested in this construction site and to identify numerous omissions and violations of Bosnian legislation.

Here is an article about the death of the Chinese worker: Authorities find 71 Chinese nationals working Illegally at Komanje Brdo solar project - (5 October 2025)