Australia

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/32722013

Source, details and zoomable map

Australia's Global Lithium Resources is pressing the government to halt what it calls a takeover attempt by Chinese investors of its cornerstone asset ahead of a shareholder meeting this week.

The company is counting on government intervention after the nation's Takeovers Panel declined last week to review what Global Lithium says may be an unlawful association among China-linked shareholders seeking to control its Manna lithium project in Western Australia.

The company's campaign poses a test for a government that is pushing for critical minerals projects to drive economic growth and boost security links with the United States, its key global ally, while not wanting to anger its top resources customer, China.

Global Lithium management wants Australia's treasurer, who receives advice from the Foreign Investment Review Board, to force the shareholders pushing for board changes to sell down their stakes. The treasurer could block them from voting at Thursday's shareholder meeting, the Western Australia Supreme Court said in a ruling in November.

The company froze development of its Manna lithium project late last year amid a protracted downturn in the battery raw material market. Global Lithium management alleged in filings with regulators that director Dianmin Chen was working with a group of foreign-linked investors holding between 30% and 40% of shares to take control of the board and its main asset.

ALLEGATIONS OF POTENTIAL ILLEGALITY

Led by Executive Chairman Ron Mitchell, Global Lithium management has advised shareholders to reject proposals to reappoint Chen, appoint other Chinese-born directors and cap the board at three directors.

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Mitchell alleges an undisclosed association among shareholders may violate Australia's takeover laws and the foreign takeovers act. He made the accusations in filings to the Australian Securities Exchange, the Western Australian Supreme Court, and in a report to Australia's Treasury last year.

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• r/nbn

Shit's fakked

I hope we respond by putting tariffs on American pickups. Democratic nations need to cut the US out of the global economy entirely until they learn how to act right.

Apologies if there's any weirdness in this post, it's my first one.

For menopausal women, the hormone replacement therapies Prometrium, Estrogel and Estrogel Pro – or estradiol and progesterone – will go on the PBS for the first time in 20 years. About 150,000 women using those treatments currently pay up to $670 a year, but this will come down to $380, a saving of $290.

Contraceptive pills Yaz and Yasmin, which are used by 50,000 women and typically cost $380 a year, will be the first new oral contraceptives added to the PBS in more than 30 years. Government subsidies will bring them down to $126 a year, or $31 for concession cardholders, saving $254. Both changes will come into effect on March 1.

Great that this isn’t an election pledge. It’s coming in on March 1!

Taiwan’s top diplomat in Canberra has said Taipei stands by to offer Australia advice in tackling disinformation campaigns as the nation braces for a surge in conspiracy theories and fake news in the run up to the Federal election.

The Australian Electoral Commission has expanded its efforts to counter false or misleading information about the voting process, with a “Stop and Consider” campaign designed to help voters spot AI deep fakes and false rumours on the internet.

After spending years on the front lines against cyber-attacks and online propaganda campaigns, Taiwan has become a world leader in identifying and tackling disinformation and is already exchanging information with the UK and other European nations about its strategy.

The Taiwanese had developed a strong mechanism for independent fact-checking groups to work hand in hand with government ministries to quickly stamp out fake news, explained Douglas Hsu, Taiwan’s chief Representative to Australia, in an exclusive interview with The Nightly.

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Australia has banned DeepSeek from all government devices and systems over what it says is the security risk the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup poses.

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Growing - and familiar - concerns

Western countries have a track record of being suspicious of Chinese tech - notably telecoms firm Huawei and the social media platform, TikTok - both of which have been restricted on national security grounds.

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An Australian science minister previously said in January that countries needed to be "very careful" about DeepSeek, citing "data and privacy" concerns.

The chatbot was removed from app stores after its privacy policy was questioned in Italy. The Italian goverment previously temporarily blocked ChatGPT over privacy concerns in March 2023.

Regulators in South Korea, Ireland and France have all begun investigations into how DeepSeek handles user data, which it stores in servers in China.

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Generally, AI tools will analyse the prompts sent to them to improve their product.

This is true of apps such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini as much as it is DeepSeek.

All of them gather and keep information, including email addresses and dates of birth.

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Archived

The head of mining giant Rio Tinto has once again underlined his company’s commitment to renewables, but questions remain about the future of its giant smelters and refineries in Queensland after the new LNP state government put a halt to new wind farm approvals.

The decision by the Queensland LNP – first reported by Renew Economy last week – puts a pause on the approvals of four major wind projects in the state – including the 1.4 gigawatt Bungapan wind project that is essential to Rio’s plans to wean its energy intensive industries off its dependence on coal.

The decision by the Queensland LNP, which follows their refusal in opposition to endorse the previous Labor government’s renewable energy targets, has rattled many in the energy industry.

The state has the lowest share of renewables of any in the country, a situation that would have been unchanged even with Labor’s target of 80 per cent renewables by 2030, but the LNP intervention seems sure to make it even more of a laggard.

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If you're at all interested in etymology and Aussie slang, I found this to be a fascinating little read.

I recommend to check the channel out. Honestly we need more Aus content like this

So who does the Sydney birds?

Police charge man allegedly behind famous ‘Pam the Bird’ graffiti on Melbourne landmarks

Criminal charges bring alleged solo ‘Pam the Bird’ artist back to earth

You got two options here. So which one are you going to choose? hmmmm?

Why must our internet infrastructure be so fucked.

In short:

Dozens of people across Australia have shared their experiences of vitamin B6 toxicity with 7.30.

Terri-Lynne South, a GP and dietitian, says the number of cases is likely to be under-reported.

What's next:

The TGA says it is considering a proposal to tighten regulations, including changes to where and how B6 vitamins are sold.