Skip Navigation
InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)TA
Posts
1,325
Comments
374
Joined
3 yr. ago
World News @beehaw.org
tardigrada @beehaw.org

'Moral and scientific imperative:' Share Covid data, World Health Organization tells China

Cross posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17841591

The World Health Organization has urged China to share data on the origins of the Covid pandemic, five years on from its start in the city of Wuhan.

"This is a moral and scientific imperative," the WHO said in a statement to mark what it called the "milestone" anniversary.

"Without transparency, sharing, and co-operation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics," it added.

Many scientists think the virus transferred naturally from animals to humans, but some suspicions persist that it escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan.

China has not responded to Monday's WHO statement. In the past it has strongly rejected the lab leak theory.

In September, a team of scientists said it was "beyond reasonable doubt" that the Covid pandemic started with infected animals sold at a market, rather than a laboratory leak.

[...]

[WHO] director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said at t

China @sopuli.xyz
tardigrada @beehaw.org

'Moral and scientific imperative:' Share Covid data, World Health Organization tells China

The World Health Organization has urged China to share data on the origins of the Covid pandemic, five years on from its start in the city of Wuhan.

"This is a moral and scientific imperative," the WHO said in a statement to mark what it called the "milestone" anniversary.

"Without transparency, sharing, and co-operation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics," it added.

Many scientists think the virus transferred naturally from animals to humans, but some suspicions persist that it escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan.

China has not responded to Monday's WHO statement. In the past it has strongly rejected the lab leak theory.

In September, a team of scientists said it was "beyond reasonable doubt" that the Covid pandemic started with infected animals sold at a market, rather than a laboratory leak.

[...]

[WHO] director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said at the time that at least seven million people had died i

Technology @beehaw.org
tardigrada @beehaw.org

‘Major incident’: China-backed hackers breached US Treasury workstations

The US Treasury Department notified lawmakers on Monday that a China state-sponsored actor infiltrated Treasury workstations in what officials are describing as a “major incident.”

[...] ATreasury official said it was informed by a third-party software service provider on December 8 that a threat actor used a stolen key to remotely access certain Treasury workstations and unclassified documents.

“Based on available indicators, the incident has been attributed to a Chinese state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor,” Aditi Hardikar, assistant secretary for management at the US Treasury, wrote in the letter.

A Treasury spokesperson said in a statement to CNN that the compromised service has been taken offline and officials are working with law enforcement and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

“There is no evidence indicating the threat actor has continued access to Treasury systems or information,” the Treasury spokesperson said.

[...]

Technology @beehaw.org
tardigrada @beehaw.org

Baltic subsea sabotage: We’re letting Russia (and China) undertake target practice, Western security experts say

Archived version

Weak-kneed responses to attacks on Baltic cables risk allowing the Russia-China axis to conduct free target practice against NATO critical infrastructure, promoting the two countries’ proficiency, interoperability and lethality.

Thanks to this opportunity, Russian crews and their masters ashore will become much better at crippling critical infrastructure connecting NATO states just as Europe is preparing for a defensive war against Moscow’s aggression. And Chinese planners and crews will similarly become more adept at waging this form of hybrid warfare in the Indo-Pacific.

The presence of China-flagged vessels near disruptions to undersea cable infrastructure in Europe in 2024 raises questions about whether Beijing’s involvement was accidental, surveillance-related or part of a coordinated effort. That Beijin

  • Herman&Chomsky provide some good insights, but there are major shortcomings and points where they are outright false. Among others, it is often cited by anti-democratic propagandists. China uses this book, it's among the very view Western books that are not censored in China, there is even a Chinese translation. They use Chomsky&Herman to criticize democracy and human rights (China's criticism of capitalism is sort of a pretext).

    Tankies and other communities use it as some sort of ultimate truth. This is rubbish.

    Chomsky is even conveying pro-Russian, anti-Ukrainian viewpoints in the meantime (here is an older article, I am sure you know Chomsky's hypotheses).

    Don't get me wrong, but sometimes I am wondering how many of those citing the book have really read it.

    As someone already wrote in another thread, the moderation in this community seems to follow personal preferences rather than justifyable rules.

  • Environment @beehaw.org
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    Global coal demand to hit a record 877 crore tonnes in 2024 driven by China, India while renewables slow growth in developed nations, IEA says

    Cross posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17832023

    Archived version

    The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that global coal demand is expected to reach unprecedented levels in 2024. In its latest report, "Coal 2024: Analysis and Forecast for 2024," the agency predicts coal consumption will climb to 877 crore tonnes, marking a new record.

    The report notes that while global coal demand increased by 1% in 2023, the growth rate has slowed compared to previous years. In 2021, coal demand surged by 7.7% following the COVID-19 recovery, while growth rates moderated to 4.7% in 2022 and 2.4% in 2023.

    [...]

    China, the world's largest coal consumer, will significantly drive global demand. The IEA estimates China's coal consumption will grow by 1% in 2024, reaching 490 crore tonnes. India, the second-largest consumer, is expected to see a 5% increase, bring

    Climate Crisis, Biosphere & Societal Collapse @sopuli.xyz
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    Global coal demand to hit a record 877 crore tonnes in 2024 driven by China, India while renewables slow growth in developed nations, IEA says

    Archived version

    The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that global coal demand is expected to reach unprecedented levels in 2024. In its latest report, "Coal 2024: Analysis and Forecast for 2024," the agency predicts coal consumption will climb to 877 crore tonnes, marking a new record.

    The report notes that while global coal demand increased by 1% in 2023, the growth rate has slowed compared to previous years. In 2021, coal demand surged by 7.7% following the COVID-19 recovery, while growth rates moderated to 4.7% in 2022 and 2.4% in 2023.

    [...]

    China, the world's largest coal consumer, will significantly drive global demand. The IEA estimates China's coal consumption will grow by 1% in 2024, reaching 490 crore tonnes. India, the second-largest consumer, is expected to see a 5% increase, bringing its consumption to 130 crore metric tonnes—a leve

  • As I said, I fully support that this is an issue, and it's a good article. I wouldn't have expected to be in this commmunity. When I see a comm called 'Socialism' I wouldn't expext an analysis on the Haji in Saudi Arabia. But it's a big problem for all of us, and especially for countries like SA where it's already been hot even before the climate change, of course.

    Addition: Global coal demand is on the rise as you might have read, just posted something. Why has that been deleted?

  • Let me say that this is on you and Beehaw, I just think it is an article about the Haji. The solution here is to just provide enough cooling methods I would say. I feel putting this in a wider 'capitalist and climate' frame is a bit overdone.

    Climate change is our all issue, and it's caused by self-defined capitalist and socialist countries alike. Similar things happen in Brazil's Amazon region, in Asia, almost across China's BRI, and across the globe. It's not unique to socialism.

    But, again, it's on you and I don't want to make that a big issue. Sometimes it's better to agree to disagree :-)

  • Saudi authorities have installed air-conditioned shelters and other cooling methods. But these are only available to pilgrims with official permits. Most of those who died did not have permits, meaning they could not access cool relief.

    This is absolutely devastating, there's absolutely no doubt. When reading the article, though, I didn't understand why this is an article in this particular community. Maybe Saudi Arabia should provide more cooling methods, or not let too many people in?

    Although climate change is, of course, caused by Western-style capitalism, it is by far not the only reason. China, a socialist country, is the world's largest coal producer and importer, and coal likely remains the bedrock of China's energy system for at least another decade.

    I feel this is a well-researched article, but maybe the wrong community?

  • China @sopuli.xyz
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    Shein Reality Check: The Dark Side Of China's Fast Fashion Boom

    Cross posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17814401

    Archived version

    Shein, a Chinese retailer, has rapidly risen to compete with the likes of H&M and Zara — and even Amazon. But now France is leading the West''s crackdown on the questionable practices of so-called "fast fashion."

    An investigation provides a deep look inside the company's working and sourcing practices.

    [...]

    There is not a minute to spare on the fourth floor of the sewing workshops building [...] “Here, 20,000 items are produced per day. We handle everything, from the purchase of fabrics to the packaging of the items, including cutting. SHEIN wants us to go fast and gives us fines if we don't meet deadlines,” a foreman says. The conversation ends there. SHEIN prohibits any visits and comments from its official suppliers, explains the director.

    SHEIN stays very evasive about its supply chain. T

    Socialism @beehaw.org
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    Shein Reality Check: The Dark Side Of China's Fast Fashion Boom

    Archived version

    Shein, a Chinese retailer, has rapidly risen to compete with the likes of H&M and Zara — and even Amazon. But now France is leading the West''s crackdown on the questionable practices of so-called "fast fashion."

    An investigation provides a deep look inside the company's working and sourcing practices.

    [...]

    There is not a minute to spare on the fourth floor of the sewing workshops building [...] “Here, 20,000 items are produced per day. We handle everything, from the purchase of fabrics to the packaging of the items, including cutting. SHEIN wants us to go fast and gives us fines if we don't meet deadlines,” a foreman says. The conversation ends there. SHEIN prohibits any visits and comments from its official suppliers, explains the director.

    SHEIN stays very evasive about its supply chain. The retailer relies heavily on small workshops, unlike

  • @zante@slrpnk.net

    No profit in peace, champ

    This seems indeed be the main theme of Putin and 'war economist' Andrei Belousov, who has pushed for aggressive state spending to boost arms production even before he was appointed Russia's 'defense minister.'

    Russia's military spending might officially reach ~7 percent of GDP in 2024, many economist say it may even be higher.

    In 2025, Russia plans to spend 40 oercent of its state budget for the military, up from 30 percent in 2024.

  • World News @beehaw.org
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    Less ‘European family’, more howitzers: Ukraine needs hardware, not cosy words

    This is an opinionated piece by Peter Pomerantsev, senior fellow at SNF Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University.--

    It’s also in Ukraine that one realises that “freedom” and “sovereignty” exist in a collaborative relationship with others. Ukraine is now defending its neighbours’ freedom from an advancing Russia. Kyiv’s resistance is benefiting Taiwan’s freedom, too.

    [...]

    As Ukraine prepares for possible negotiations, its leadership is asking what “guarantees” its partners can give. If “international order”, “Europe” and even “Nato” are flaky concepts, how can guarantees be secured into something real? Ukrainians remember the Budapest memorandum of 1994, when Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in return for promises from Russia, the US and Britain to respect its borders. Everyone fears a repeat of those empty words. Even if Russia agrees to a ceasefire next year, what’s to stop it rearming and attacking again?

    [...]

    The idea that freedoms and military production are so

    Finance @beehaw.org
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    Cross posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17809174

    Archived version

    One of China’s leading developers is now on the authorities’ radar for default risk. A major Hong Kong builder is asking lenders to extend loans. Another industry peer is selling an iconic but largely empty mall in Beijing.

    As China’s property debt crisis enters its fifth year, there is little indication that distressed developers are finding it easier to repay debt as a slump in home sales continues. Their dollar bonds are still trading at deeply distressed levels, their debt issuance has nearly dried up, and the sector is a notable laggard in stock markets.

    Alarm bells went off again in recent weeks, when the banking regulator told top insurers to report their financial exposure to China Vanke to assess how much support the country’s fourth-largest developer by s

    China @sopuli.xyz
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    Archived version

    One of China’s leading developers is now on the authorities’ radar for default risk. A major Hong Kong builder is asking lenders to extend loans. Another industry peer is selling an iconic but largely empty mall in Beijing.

    As China’s property debt crisis enters its fifth year, there is little indication that distressed developers are finding it easier to repay debt as a slump in home sales continues. Their dollar bonds are still trading at deeply distressed levels, their debt issuance has nearly dried up, and the sector is a notable laggard in stock markets.

    Alarm bells went off again in recent weeks, when the banking regulator told top insurers to report their financial exposure to China Vanke to assess how much support the country’s fourth-largest developer by sales needs to avoid default.

    [...]

    "While recent go

  • Mississippi River towns pilot new insurance model to help with disaster response

    [...]

    While conventional indemnity insurance requires insured owners to prove specific losses by amassing evidence and presenting pre-storm documentation, parametric insurance pays out quickly after agreed-upon “triggers” – such as wind speeds or river heights – reach a certain level.

    For the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) pilot, [insurance company] Munich Re has suggested using watershed data from the U.S. Geological Survey to determine the best gauges along the river to measure flood depth. Once the river flooding reaches a certain depth, the payout would be triggered.

    [...]

  • U.S. News @beehaw.org
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    With increasingly frequent hurricanes, floods, and fires, "the model of insurance as it stands right now isn't working" - new data shows just how bad the climate insurance crisis has become

    The report is very interesting to read (link opens pdf)

    What is clear is that costly natural disasters are becoming more frequent, with the average time between billion-dollar events dropping from four months in 1980 to approximately three weeks today. As those risks grow, some insurers are pulling out of states entirely. For example, State Farm and Allstate have left California, and dozens of smaller companies have collapsed or fled Florida and Louisiana.

    When that happens, homeowners must turn to government-backed insurers of last resort, which are available in just 26 states and typically cost more than private coverage. Enrollment in those state-run plans has skyrocketed, the JEC report notes, and they now cover more than $1 trillion in assets.

    The report also says:

    Americans will experience climate risk over the next

    Politics @beehaw.org
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    U.S. Congress has the power to block Trump from taking office, but lawmakers must act now

    Archived version

    This is an opinionated article by legal experts: Evan Davis was editor-in-chief of the Columbia Law Review and David Schulte was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. Both clerked for Justice Potter Stewart. Davis is a New York lawyer who served as president of the New York City Bar and Schulte is a Chicago investment banker.--

    The Constitution provides that an oath-breaking insurrectionist is ineligible to be president. This is the plain wording of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. “No person shall … hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” This disability can

    China @sopuli.xyz
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    2024: A year of mass attacks reveals anger and frustration in China

    Cross posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17794715

    "The Chinese people are so miserable," read a social media post in the wake of yet another mass killing in the country earlier this year. The same user also warned: "There will only be more and more copycat attacks."

    "This tragedy reflects the darkness within society," wrote another.

    Such bleak assessments, following a spate of deadly incidents in China during 2024, have led to questions about what is driving people to murder strangers en masse to "take revenge on society".

    Attacks like this are still rare given China's huge population, and are not new, says David Schak, associate professor at Griffith University in Australia. But they seem to come in waves, often as copycat attempts at garnering attention.

    [...]

    From 2019 to 2023, police recorded three to five cases each year, where perpetrators attacked pedestrians or strangers.

    In 2024, that number jumped to 19.

    [...]

    In 2019, three people were killed and 28 injured in su

    World News @beehaw.org
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    2024: A year of mass attacks reveals anger and frustration in China

    "The Chinese people are so miserable," read a social media post in the wake of yet another mass killing in the country earlier this year. The same user also warned: "There will only be more and more copycat attacks."

    "This tragedy reflects the darkness within society," wrote another.

    Such bleak assessments, following a spate of deadly incidents in China during 2024, have led to questions about what is driving people to murder strangers en masse to "take revenge on society".

    Attacks like this are still rare given China's huge population, and are not new, says David Schak, associate professor at Griffith University in Australia. But they seem to come in waves, often as copycat attempts at garnering attention.

    [...]

    From 2019 to 2023, police recorded three to five cases each year, where perpetrators attacked pedestrians or strangers.

    In 2024, that number jumped to 19.

    [...]

    In 2019, three people were killed and 28 injured in such incidents; in 2023, 16 dead and 40 injured and in

  • There's a brief documentary on the Shadow Fleet Fueling Russia’s War (24 min)

    Invidious link Original YT link

    An armada of aging oil tankers is helping to keep Russian oil flowing. Hundreds of vessels are part of a “shadow fleet” that’s allowed the Kremlin to dodge Western sanctions over its war on Ukraine. Bloomberg set out to uncover the traders, intermediaries and investors that make up this network, and how they’re getting rich in the process.

    Addition:

    Finnish PM calls for tougher measures against Russia’s shadow fleet

    Finland's PM Petteri Orpo (NCP) has called for firmer measures to combat the risks associated with the so-called shadow fleet of Russia, [saying he] had discussions about the issue with his counterparts from Denmark, Estonia, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the European Commission.

    [Finnish] President Alexander Stubb, meanwhile, has been in contact with Nato.

  • World News @beehaw.org
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    It’s raining men: How all-male voting “carousels” helped Georgian Dream -the pro-Russia ruling party in Georgia- hold on to power

    Archived version

    In Georgia's recent parliamentary elections, the decisive factor in the ruling Georgian Dream party’s victory was the use of “carousels”: a method of vote rigging in which voters cast their ballots at more than one polling station.

    In this case, those involved were predominantly male, allowing the fraud to be detected through a gender-based study of data that the Georgian Central Election Commission (CEC) inadvertently provided to independent observers.

    Unlike in Russia, outright ballot stuffing is impossible in Georgia, so the orchestrators of carousel voting had to obtain IDs or other identification numbers from real voters who had been paid not to turn up at the polls. Election analyst Roman Udot estimates that a fair vote would have resulted in the ruling party losing its majority in parliament. Anyone interested in checking The Insider’s work can download the data and veri

    Technology @beehaw.org
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    A 9th U.S. telecoms firm has been hit by a massive Chinese espionage campaign, the government says

    Archived version

    A ninth U.S. telecoms firm has been confirmed to have been hacked as part of a sprawling Chinese espionage campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans, a top White House official said Friday.

    Biden administration officials said this month that at least eight telecommunications companies, as well as dozens of nations, had been affected by the Chinese hacking blitz known as Salt Typhoon.

    But deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger told reporters Friday that a ninth victim had been identified after the administration released guidance to companies about how to hunt for Chinese culprits in their networks.

    ...]

    The hackers compromised the networks of telecommunications companies to obtain customer call records and gain access to the private co

    World News @beehaw.org
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    Archived version

    Listening equipment was placed on Eagle S and related tanker Swiftsea Rider to monitor Nato naval and aircraft activities.

    Russia-linkex dark fleet* tanker Eagle S (IMO: 9329760), seized by Finland on December 25 for damaging an undersea cable, had transmitting and receiving devices installed that effectively allowed it to become a “spy ship” for Russia, Lloyd’s List has learnt.

    The hi-tech equipment on board was abnormal for a merchant ship and consumed more power from the ship’s generator, leading to repeated blackouts, a source familiar with the vessel who provided commercial maritime services to it as recently as seven months ago.

    [...]

    As well as Eagle S, another related tanker from the same ownership cluster, UK-sanctioned Swiftsea Rider (IMO: 9318539), also had similar equipment install

    World News @beehaw.org
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    Sanctioned Russian LNG ship fails four-month quest for buyer as potential buyers are reluctant to circumvent sanctions

    Archived version

    A vessel carrying a sanctioned shipment of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) appears to be off-loading the fuel into storage in Russia’s far east, having failed to find a buyer willing to circumvent US restrictions despite a four-month, across-the-world journey.

    [Edit title for clarity.]

  • International airlines cancel flights to Russia after the passenger plane was shot down, according to media reports.

    • Azerbaijan Airlines suspends flights to 7 Russian cities for security reasons
    • Kazakhstan's Qazaq Air suspends flights to Yekaterinburg
    • Israeli airline El Al cancels all flights from Tel_Aviv to Moscow

    Addition:

    Rasim Musabayov, a member of the Azerbaijani parliament's international relations committee, in an interview with Turan news agency:

    "The plane was shot down on the territory of Russia, in the skies of Grozny. It is impossible to deny this. Those who did it must be held criminally responsible and compensation must be paid. If this does not happen, then, of course, relations will move to another level."

  • World News @beehaw.org
    tardigrada @beehaw.org

    Azerbaijan says that passenger plane that crashed on 25 December was subjected to "external interference," investigators examine "what kind of weapon, or rather what kind of rocket was used"

    Azerbaijan's transport minister has said the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed on 25 December was subjected to "external interference" and damaged inside and out, as it tried to land in Russia's southern republic of Chechnya.

    "All [the survivors] without exception stated they heard three blast sounds when the aircraft was above Grozny," said Rashad Nabiyev.

    The plane is thought to have come under fire from Russian air defence systems before being diverted across the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan, where it crashed with the loss of 38 lives.

    The Kremlin has refused to comment, but the head of Russia's civil aviation agency said the situation in Grozny was "very complicated" at the time and a closed-skies protocol had been put in place.

    [...]

    Azerbajian Airlines said on Friday that a preliminary inquiry had blamed both "physical and technical external interference", without going into details.

    However, aviation experts and others in Azerbaijan believe the plane's GPS systems were a

  • Russian missile shot down Azerbaijani passenger plane, preliminary findings suggest

    A Russian surface-to-air missile was responsible for the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432, which killed 38 passengers, Azerbaijani media reported Thursday.

    Unnamed Azerbaijani officials cited by the Baku-based news agency AnewZ said preliminary findings suggest the missile was fired from a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system as the plane approached Grozny in the North Caucasus republic of Chechnya on Wednesday morning.

    GPS jamming, previously reported by Flight Radar 24, caused the aircraft to lose communication with air traffic control while flying over Russian territory, the officials added.

    Chechnya and surrounding North Caucasus regions were targeted by drone strikes early Wednesday. AnewZ said that, under such conditions, Russian authorities were required to close airspace to civilian aircraft, but for unknown reasons, this was not done.

    Addition: NATO calls for full investigation of Azerbaijan Airlines crash