Hotznplotzn

joined 1 year ago
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/40883678

Archived

[...] A coalition of 72 freedom of expression and human rights organisations [published] a letter to the UK’s Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer, urging him to secure the release of writer, media publisher and UK citizen Jimmy Lai.

Earlier this week, Jimmy Lai’s long-running national security trial resumed for closing arguments after being delayed twice last week due to poor weather and concerns over Jimmy Lai’s health, which has deteriorated significantly over the last year. Aged 77, Jimmy Lai has been held in solitary confinement for almost five years and faces a potential life sentence if convicted.

During yesterday’s closing arguments, a representative of Jimmy Lai’s defence team addressed the judges, stating ‘It is not wrong to support freedom of expression. It is not wrong to support human rights‘.

In the joint letter, led by Reporters Without Borders, the coalition calls on the UK government to act swiftly to secure Jimmy Lai’s humanitarian release on medical grounds, so he can be reunited with his family and receive necessary medical care.

For further background information on Jimmy Lai, please refer to the PEN International Case List.

[...]

 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/40883678

Archived

[...] A coalition of 72 freedom of expression and human rights organisations [published] a letter to the UK’s Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer, urging him to secure the release of writer, media publisher and UK citizen Jimmy Lai.

Earlier this week, Jimmy Lai’s long-running national security trial resumed for closing arguments after being delayed twice last week due to poor weather and concerns over Jimmy Lai’s health, which has deteriorated significantly over the last year. Aged 77, Jimmy Lai has been held in solitary confinement for almost five years and faces a potential life sentence if convicted.

During yesterday’s closing arguments, a representative of Jimmy Lai’s defence team addressed the judges, stating ‘It is not wrong to support freedom of expression. It is not wrong to support human rights‘.

In the joint letter, led by Reporters Without Borders, the coalition calls on the UK government to act swiftly to secure Jimmy Lai’s humanitarian release on medical grounds, so he can be reunited with his family and receive necessary medical care.

For further background information on Jimmy Lai, please refer to the PEN International Case List.

[...]

 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/40883678

Archived

[...] A coalition of 72 freedom of expression and human rights organisations [published] a letter to the UK’s Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer, urging him to secure the release of writer, media publisher and UK citizen Jimmy Lai.

Earlier this week, Jimmy Lai’s long-running national security trial resumed for closing arguments after being delayed twice last week due to poor weather and concerns over Jimmy Lai’s health, which has deteriorated significantly over the last year. Aged 77, Jimmy Lai has been held in solitary confinement for almost five years and faces a potential life sentence if convicted.

During yesterday’s closing arguments, a representative of Jimmy Lai’s defence team addressed the judges, stating ‘It is not wrong to support freedom of expression. It is not wrong to support human rights‘.

In the joint letter, led by Reporters Without Borders, the coalition calls on the UK government to act swiftly to secure Jimmy Lai’s humanitarian release on medical grounds, so he can be reunited with his family and receive necessary medical care.

For further background information on Jimmy Lai, please refer to the PEN International Case List.

[...]

 

Archived

[...] A coalition of 72 freedom of expression and human rights organisations [published] a letter to the UK’s Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer, urging him to secure the release of writer, media publisher and UK citizen Jimmy Lai.

Earlier this week, Jimmy Lai’s long-running national security trial resumed for closing arguments after being delayed twice last week due to poor weather and concerns over Jimmy Lai’s health, which has deteriorated significantly over the last year. Aged 77, Jimmy Lai has been held in solitary confinement for almost five years and faces a potential life sentence if convicted.

During yesterday’s closing arguments, a representative of Jimmy Lai’s defence team addressed the judges, stating ‘It is not wrong to support freedom of expression. It is not wrong to support human rights‘.

In the joint letter, led by Reporters Without Borders, the coalition calls on the UK government to act swiftly to secure Jimmy Lai’s humanitarian release on medical grounds, so he can be reunited with his family and receive necessary medical care.

For further background information on Jimmy Lai, please refer to the PEN International Case List.

[...]

 

Archived

The Bolshoi Theatre’s management has signed an agreement to roll out special software to monitor its employees, Sistema reports. The contract for installing InfoWatch Traffic Monitor provides surveillance of 500 work computers at a cost of 21.6 million rubles ($270,000).

The program will monitor the work and behavior of employees — who are referred to in technical documents as “controlled persons.” — generating individual profiles for each staff member while recording any ‘abnormal actions.’ Criteria for being placed in a “risk group” include the use of profanity in work emails, discussing management, or preparing to change jobs. The software also flags any expressed “interest in the war in Ukraine,” along with unspecified “political views.”

Violations will be detected through artificial intelligence that creates “shadow copies” of all employee activity on social media and messaging platforms (WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram) and web browsers. In addition, the software will log all text typed by users. The collected data will be processed by the security service in real time.

[...]

 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/40882844

Archived

Crime in Russia has hit its highest level in 12 years, the exiled news outlet Vyorstka reported, citing Prosecutor General’s Office data.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Russia registered 27,124 crimes in the first half of 2025 — 3,747 more than in the same period a year earlier and the highest figure since 2013.

The figures also mark the first time that the the tally exceeded 23,377 in a six-month span since 2014.

The agency did not disclose the types of crimes.

The figures come as more than 130,000 veterans of the war in Ukraine — including thousands of former prison inmates — return home.

[...]

The government has long debated how to manage returning ex-combatants, particularly those recruited from prisons.

Last year, Nina Ostanina, head of the State Duma’s Family Protection Committee, urged the authorities to establish permanent oversight of former inmates returning from the front.

But Andrei Alshevsky, a lawmaker on the Duma’s Security Committee, rejected the idea, arguing that “heroes of the [special military operation]” had already “atoned for their guilt with blood” and deserved the state’s care.

[...]

 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/40882844

Archived

Crime in Russia has hit its highest level in 12 years, the exiled news outlet Vyorstka reported, citing Prosecutor General’s Office data.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Russia registered 27,124 crimes in the first half of 2025 — 3,747 more than in the same period a year earlier and the highest figure since 2013.

The figures also mark the first time that the the tally exceeded 23,377 in a six-month span since 2014.

The agency did not disclose the types of crimes.

The figures come as more than 130,000 veterans of the war in Ukraine — including thousands of former prison inmates — return home.

[...]

The government has long debated how to manage returning ex-combatants, particularly those recruited from prisons.

Last year, Nina Ostanina, head of the State Duma’s Family Protection Committee, urged the authorities to establish permanent oversight of former inmates returning from the front.

But Andrei Alshevsky, a lawmaker on the Duma’s Security Committee, rejected the idea, arguing that “heroes of the [special military operation]” had already “atoned for their guilt with blood” and deserved the state’s care.

[...]

 

Archived

Crime in Russia has hit its highest level in 12 years, the exiled news outlet Vyorstka reported, citing Prosecutor General’s Office data.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Russia registered 27,124 crimes in the first half of 2025 — 3,747 more than in the same period a year earlier and the highest figure since 2013.

The figures also mark the first time that the the tally exceeded 23,377 in a six-month span since 2014.

The agency did not disclose the types of crimes.

The figures come as more than 130,000 veterans of the war in Ukraine — including thousands of former prison inmates — return home.

[...]

The government has long debated how to manage returning ex-combatants, particularly those recruited from prisons.

Last year, Nina Ostanina, head of the State Duma’s Family Protection Committee, urged the authorities to establish permanent oversight of former inmates returning from the front.

But Andrei Alshevsky, a lawmaker on the Duma’s Security Committee, rejected the idea, arguing that “heroes of the [special military operation]” had already “atoned for their guilt with blood” and deserved the state’s care.

[...]

 

Archived

One of Russia’s leading drone manufacturers is facing serious financial difficulties that have brought it to the brink of bankruptcy, the CNews news website has reported.

Kronstadt, known for its Orion and Inokhodets drones used for both military and civilian purposes, has been hit with 40 lawsuits totaling 626.3 million rubles ($7.8 million, according to spot foreign exchange market data published by Reuters) over the past three months.

The largest claims came from Innovative Technologies and Materials (151.1 million rubles) and the Research Institute of Modern Telecommunications Technologies (220.6 million rubles).

Kronstadt itself faced an attempted bankruptcy filing by Turbodjet Micro in August 2023.

The company’s most recent publicly available financial figures, from 2020, showed a revenue of 2 billion rubles ($24.9 million) and a net loss of 3.6 billion rubles ($44.8 million).

“The situation could lead to bankruptcy,” Nikolai Ryashin, CEO of drone service company RusDronPort, told CNews. “Subcontractors who provided services or delivered products without receiving payment are now filing lawsuits en masse to enter the creditors’ registry.”

[...]

[–] Hotznplotzn 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Among the last 4 posts here in the comm, 3 are about this issue.

 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/40878089

Archived

When a Ukrainian-made drone attacked an ammunition depot in Russia last September, it showcased Kyiv’s determination to strike deep behind enemy lines and the prowess of its defense industry.

The moment was especially gratifying for the woman in charge of manufacturing the drones that flew more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) to carry out this mission. For months after, Russia no longer had the means to keep up devastating glide bomb attacks like the one that had just targeted her native city of Kharkiv.

“Fighting in the air is our only real asymmetric advantage on the battlefield at the moment. We don’t have as much manpower or money as they have,” said Iryna Terekh, head of production at Fire Point.

[...]

 

Archived

When a Ukrainian-made drone attacked an ammunition depot in Russia last September, it showcased Kyiv’s determination to strike deep behind enemy lines and the prowess of its defense industry.

The moment was especially gratifying for the woman in charge of manufacturing the drones that flew more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) to carry out this mission. For months after, Russia no longer had the means to keep up devastating glide bomb attacks like the one that had just targeted her native city of Kharkiv.

“Fighting in the air is our only real asymmetric advantage on the battlefield at the moment. We don’t have as much manpower or money as they have,” said Iryna Terekh, head of production at Fire Point.

[...]

 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/40877781

Russia has launched 574 drones and 40 missiles on Ukraine in one of the heaviest bombardments in weeks, Ukrainian officials say.

One person was killed in a drone and missile strike on the western city of Lviv, while 15 others were reported wounded in an attack on the south-western Transcarpathia region.

The attacks came as US President Donald Trump spearheads diplomatic moves to halt the war. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the strikes highlighted why efforts to bring it to an end were "so critical".

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine was ready to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in neutral Europe" - mooting Switzerland or Austria - adding that he was not against Istanbul either.

Zelensky has stated his willingness to meet Putin in "any format", although he has poured cold water on the idea of talks taking place in Budapest, which he said "is not easy today".

[–] Hotznplotzn 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Russia started that war.

Addition:

Putin orders Russians to be trained in using shotguns to shoot down drones

Russian ruler Vladimir Putin has instructed the Defence Ministry to prepare a course for Russians, both military personnel and volunteers, on using smoothbore weapons to shoot down drones.

[–] Hotznplotzn 1 points 8 months ago

It seems indeed that the US is more and more becoming like China, unfortunately.

[–] Hotznplotzn 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Data shows that India's Russian oil imports dropped in July

In July, Russia represented 34% of India’s total imports [down from 45%] of 4,44 million bpd. The data revealed that India's imports of oil in July were at their lowest level since September 2023.

The data shows that between January and July, India's Russian crude oil imports dropped by 3.6%, to 1.73 millions bpd. However, purchases from the U.S. increased 58%.

[–] Hotznplotzn 16 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

This comes from the Russian government.

Senior lawmaker Vladimir Gutenev, who also heads the State Duma’s Industry and Trade Committee, recently urged Russians to prepare for “regular and necessary” internet shutdowns.

“We’re used to paying with cards or smartphones and having constant connectivity,” he said. “But now it’s important to accept temporary restrictions as a necessity.”

You can look it up yourself - in Russia and elsewhere - using the [Shutdown Tracker Optimization Project](Shutdown Tracker Optimization Project):

According to Russian internet monitoring project Na Svyazi, authorities shut down the internet more than 650 times in June alone, most frequently in the cities of Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, Tula, Omsk, and Rostov.

There is ample evidence that the Russian government frequently shuts down the internet, and this is said not by some media but the Kremlin itself.

Addition:

Mapping Russia’s Internet blackouts: The Russian authorities keep shutting down mobile Internet. Here’s where it happens most, and how the outages are spreading.

[–] Hotznplotzn -1 points 8 months ago

I get your point, but in many countries - outside the EU, US and other Western democracies - politicians push their own and their industries' interests much harsher, in fact, they often do nothing else. In many countries of the world, if you publish an article like that, you risked to disappear or fall out of the window or something, which is why many such 'critical' issues never make news.

[–] Hotznplotzn 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I very much doubt that abolishing VAT would help as sellers usually don't pass on the VAT reduction to the price. That aside, I don't think the reason why people are supposedly reading less (if it's true?) has so much to do with the price.

[–] Hotznplotzn 0 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

And considering China’s total exports in 2024 were valued at US$3.58 trillion, it’s kind of insignificant in a sense that it signifies a shift in trade policy.

Comparing China's total trade to the share of a relatively small country like Israel makes no economic sense. Israeli exports are 'insignificant' also to the EU and the US, but this says nothing if not related to the size of its economies.

China is the largest seller to Israel among all the countries in the world.

Btw, China is also selling surveillance tech to Israel, a fact that is elegantly ignored by many here on Lemmy who are (rightfully) criticizing Israel and "the West" for its support. We must realize, though, that Israeli authorities are using facial recognition technology to entrench apartheid, as stated by Amnesty (and others) some time ago.

The Israeli authorities are using an experimental facial recognition system known as Red Wolf to track Palestinians and automate harsh restrictions on their freedom of movement ... In a new report, Automated Apartheid, [Amnesty International] documents how Red Wolf is part of an ever-growing surveillance network which is entrenching the Israeli government’s control over Palestinians, and which helps to maintain Israel’s system of apartheid [...]

Researchers identified the vendors of several cameras they found in occupied East Jerusalem. They documented high-resolution CCTV cameras made by the Chinese company Hikvision installed in residential areas and mounted to military infrastructure; some of these models, according to Hikvision’s own marketing, can plug into external facial recognition software. Amnesty International also identified cameras made by a Dutch company called TKH Security, in public spaces and attached to police infrastructure [...]

In an article, a newspaper titled, How Chinese firm linked to repression of Uyghurs aids Israeli surveillance in West Bank.

[–] Hotznplotzn 1 points 8 months ago
[–] Hotznplotzn 0 points 8 months ago (2 children)

In 2024, China imported goods worth $2.8bn from Israel, while Hong Kong imported an additional $2bn, according to the UN Comtrade database. With the combined $4.8bn, China is worldwide the second-largest buyer of Israeli goods behind the US.

China was, however, the biggest exporter to Israel with $19bn, more than twice the volume of second US with $9.4bn, and Germany with $5.6bn.

That's more than 'ambiguous talk' but has rather long been materializing I would say.

[–] Hotznplotzn 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)

How does that compare to other countries' politicians?

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