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Sepia

@ Sepia @mander.xyz

Posts
204
Comments
93
Joined
4 wk. ago

  • High levels of ‘forever chemical’ found in cereal products across Europe – study

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  • French tap water tainted by widespread forever chemicals, study finds

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  • UK: China spy case report criticises UK government and prosecutors as ‘shambolic’

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  • But are there European countries banning such second jobs?

  • UK: China spy case report criticises UK government and prosecutors as ‘shambolic’

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  • Many European nations decided to ban MPs from having second jobs precisely for this reason.

    I agree with what you've said including on the ban of MP's second jobs, but are there countries in Europe that ban such jobs? It may not be as easy as in the UK, but it's not completely banned anywhere afaik. Am I mistaken?

  • EU looks at legally forcing industries to reduce purchases from China

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  • Yes, it would make no sense to ditch Russian oil and gasl only to get then independent from U.S. or other countries' oil and gas or Chinese renewable energy tech. This is also done, however, although there may be some reason to speed up the development, and Europe definitely must revive its own RE industry.

  • EU looks at legally forcing industries to reduce purchases from China

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  • EU finalizes the phasing-out of Russian gas imports by 2027

    • Pipeline gas imports from Russia in to the EU under long-term deals must halt by Sept. 30, 2027, with a possibility of an extension to Nov. 1, 2027, depending on fulfillment of gas storage targets set by the EU. That compares with an end-2027 ban on those contracts originally put forward by the commission.
    • Short-term contracts for LNG concluded before June 17, 2025 will be prohibited as of April 25, 2026. Pipeline gas brought into the EU under short-term deals will be banned as of June 17, 2026.
    • To phase-out Russian energy, the deal obliges member states to prepare plans to diversify their supplies. The commission also plans to put forward a legislative proposal on phasing out Russian oil imports no later than the end of 2027.

  • Ukraine stares down the barrel of population collapse

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  • Dictatorships dont have the checks and balances. That is just a fact

    And? The trend of a society that gets older and older can't be reversed by dictatorial order. The issue of a countrywide worker shortage can't be cracked down. A lack of resources to pay reasonable pensions is a problem you can't shoot at.

  • Ukraine stares down the barrel of population collapse

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  • Why?

  • EU looks at legally forcing industries to reduce purchases from China

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  • the EU is supposed to “do something”.

    The first funding instruments are in place with some of them already issued.

    Stockpiles should have been built in the past already. European managers and politicians talked about it during the pandemic, but didn't do much, but the learning curve might have been steep in the more recent past as Europe might have learned that foreign countries - particularly China - aren't reliable.

  • Ukraine stares down the barrel of population collapse

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  • Ukraine was facing a population decline already before 2022, and the war made the situation worse. But Ukraine is by far not alone with the problem of a shrinking population as almost the entire world will face it in the next decades. Only a few countries in Central Asia and Africa are exempted. The decline is especially pronounced in China, where the population will decline by a factor of 2.2 in this century reaching ~600 million, down form the current 1.4 billion) as well as in the U.S., and Russia, where fertility rates have fallen below the population replacement level.

  • China floods the world with gasoline cars it can't sell at home

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  • Yes. An important detail in that respect is that local governments are required to increase their output at a certain rate set by the central government as Beijing wants to increase its GDP. If local leaders don't want to get in trouble, they rather meet their goals ... This is a major reason why they spend public money for projects no one needs.

  • EU withdraws WTO case over China’s trade restrictions on Lithuania, Vilnius backs decision

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  • TL;DR:

    Lithuania’s interests had been safeguarded and that the country’s annual exports to China had recovered to levels similar to those recorded before Beijing began applying economic pressure on Lithuania [due to Lithuania's allowance of opening a Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius under the name “Taiwanese”, rather than “Taipei”] ... The EU said “the main objectives of the dispute were achieved and the relevant trade has resumed."

  • EU finalizes the phasing-out of Russian gas imports by 2027

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  • Yes, but Europe must also revive its renewable energy industry to avoid dependence from malign influence and dependence from abroad ...

  • Macron heads to China for talks with Xi on trade ties and Russia's war in Ukraine

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  • Germany's foreign minister to visit China next week, as EU prepares to toughen up on trade

    The European Union is expected to toughen its trade stance on China next month, with signs that Germany - the EU's largest member and economy - is aligning with the shift and that the 27-member bloc may be sufficiently united to push through policy changes that deepen ties with like-minded trading partners ...

    China's weaker economy and its move up the value chain of industrial production means it is no longer the reliable market it once was for German exports.

    But Germany still remains a key investment partner for China, which is struggling to attract fresh funds as its post-COVID recovery struggles for momentum ...

  • Macron heads to China for talks with Xi on trade ties and Russia's war in Ukraine

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  • Germany's foreign minister to visit China next week, as EU prepares to toughen up on trade

    The European Union is expected to toughen its trade stance on China next month, with signs that Germany - the EU's largest member and economy - is aligning with the shift and that the 27-member bloc may be sufficiently united to push through policy changes that deepen ties with like-minded trading partners ...

    China's weaker economy and its move up the value chain of industrial production means it is no longer the reliable market it once was for German exports.

    But Germany still remains a key investment partner for China, which is struggling to attract fresh funds as its post-COVID recovery struggles for momentum ...

  • Macron heads to China for talks with Xi on trade ties and Russia's war in Ukraine

    Jump

  • Germany's foreign minister to visit China next week, as EU prepares to toughen up on trade

    The European Union is expected to toughen its trade stance on China next month, with signs that Germany - the EU's largest member and economy - is aligning with the shift and that the 27-member bloc may be sufficiently united to push through policy changes that deepen ties with like-minded trading partners ...

    China's weaker economy and its move up the value chain of industrial production means it is no longer the reliable market it once was for German exports.

    But Germany still remains a key investment partner for China, which is struggling to attract fresh funds as its post-COVID recovery struggles for momentum ...

  • RCMP restricts use of its Chinese-made drones — the vast majority of its fleet

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  • The high cost is related to the fact that non-Chinese drones are nearly twice as expensive, the RCMP said.

    Yeah, but non-Chinese drones are also not made under slave-like conditions.

  • EU to use frozen Russian asset for Ukrainian reparation loan as the bloc 'can address' Belgian worries, says top diplomat

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  • I am not a legal expert, but I guess if one files a lawsuit against you then you'll have to at least defend yourself, at least in Western democracies. So as a legal layman I would say simply ignoring might not be an option.

    Experts now apparently have found a legal way to use Russian asset as collateral for this reparation loan.

    A quick reminder that Russia has already seized (seized, not frozen!) Western assets within Russia of around 50 billion euros. The Kremlin introduced 'rules' that allowed it to confiscate assets of what it called 'unfriendly countries' as early as 2023. Among the affected Western companies whose assets were seized are Carlsberg and Danone, based in Denmark and France respectively. Both companies were 'punished' - according to the Kremlin - for halting their business in Russia.

  • Hong Kong student urging probe into deadly fire leaves police station

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  • So can he demand accountability now? Or will this be again seen as 'crossing the line'?