Eldritch Mlems

Pekka Toveri (EPP) delivers a powerful reminder: Europe cannot afford to ignore the Russian threat. Drawing on the painful history of countries like Finland, Estonia, and Poland, he rejects the notion that diplomacy alone can stop aggression. Toveri stresses the need for continued defence investments to ensure Europe's security and protect future generations. Highlighting the real power behind Russia’s defence budget, he urges Europe to stay on course. Watch to understand why he believes defence readiness is not optional—it’s essential.

https://archive.is/3hkO8

Old man started dropping weight like crazy. Guess who's now on hyper thyroid medication and doing much better? This guy😻

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has indicated that his country will no longer comply with the Dublin Regulation, an EU legal act that allows asylum seekers to be returned to the member state in which they first applied for protection.

Such a move would mark a further escalation in the Polish government’s increasingly tough line on migrants and asylum seekers. Tusk’s announcement prompted the European Commission to remind Poland that “all member states are required to fully comply with current asylum rules”.

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Such competition [arising from China's steel overcapacity] brings the threat of deindustrialisation in that sector – mirroring an existing trend for aluminium, which would hamper the continent’s efforts to ramp up its military industrial base “with the flexibility and speed required in a fast-changing geopolitical context”.

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The EU has long railed against China’s steel output, which represents more than half of the world’s total, but has been stirred into action by two factors emanating from the United States.

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“The industry remains threatened by global excess capacities and by global distortions from China and other countries that artificially support their domestic industries or circumvent EU trade defence measures and sanctions,” the plan said.

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In a “Steel and Metals Action Plan” unveiled on Wednesday, the plan proposed tightening steel import quotas by April 1, to reduce imports by a further 15 per cent. This would be an extension of a safeguard measure in place since 2018, which is set to expire in just over a year, a measure it also wants to expand in light of recent events.

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“Our competitors must not be able to take advantage of gaps in our regulatory framework, and this is why we are planning to make some changes,” said Stephane Sejourne, the European Commission’s executive vice-president.

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European Steel Association data show China produces 55 per cent of global crude steel output. The new plan estimated that in 2024, global steel overcapacity was “more than four and a half times the EU’s yearly consumption”.

According to the OECD, “China’s steel trade surplus has surged to nearly 100 million metric tonnes in 2024, on an annualised basis, a massive leap that is affecting competition across global steel markets”.

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Chinese steel products are the most common targeted by EU regulators, which has seven ongoing trade investigations into Chinese steel products, as well as existing import restrictions and tariffs in place.

The commission now wants to start opening probes preemptively, looking for the threat of injury, rather than substantial economic harm.

“To address the fast developments in global markets and to protect the industry, the Commission will strengthen the monitoring of trade flows and will proactively open investigations based on a ‘threat of injury’, without waiting for material injury to occur,” the plan said.

Found in the lush forests of Southeast Asia, these fascinating creatures can glide up to 150 meters between trees thanks to their large flaps of skin. They're primarily nocturnal, feasting on leaves, fruits, and flowers.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/59074514

Russia inflicted unimaginable suffering on millions of Ukrainian children and violated their rights since its full scale invasion of Ukraine begun in 2022, a new report by the United Nations Human Rights Office said on Friday.

"Their rights have been undermined in every aspect of life, leaving deep scars, both physical and psychosocial," said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk.

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"In the four regions of Ukraine that were illegally annexed by the Russian Federation in 2022, children have been particularly affected by violations of international human rights law...including summary executions, arbitrary detention, conflict-related sexual violence, torture and ill-treatment", the report said.

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Five boys and two girls were summarily executed in 2022 and 2023, with the report noting that the wilful killing of civilians was a war crime and a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions.

Some children had to take part in military-patriotic training, including singing the Russian anthem, and to follow the Russian school curriculum - in violation of international humanitarian law.

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The transfer of at least 200 children within Russian occupied territory and to Russia between February 2022 and December 2024 may amount to war crimes, the report stated.

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In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova related to the abduction of Ukrainian children. Russia denounced the warrants as "outrageous and unacceptable."

Russia failed to provide detailed information about the children to the Central Tracing Agency, thwarting families attempts to find them, the report said.

Some 50,000 people were reported missing in the war between Ukraine and Russia over the last year, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross in February.

More than 600 children were killed between 24 February 2022 and 31 December 2024 in Ukraine, including occupied territories, the UN Human Rights Office verified. At least 737,000 children had been internally displaced and a further 1.7 million were refugees.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/59073334

BRUSSELS, March 20 (Reuters) - European Union leaders said on Thursday that they will continue to support Ukraine, but they did not immediately endorse a call by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to provide at least 5 billion euros for artillery ammunition purchases.

“We need funds for artillery shells and would really appreciate Europe’s support with at least five billion euros ($5.42 billion) as soon as possible,” Zelenskiy told the EU leaders meeting in Brussels via video link.

https://archive.ph/cFjFc

Hey everybody, sorry, I couldn't think of a more fitting title. I feel the need to share my mental progress. After a long time of thinking "maybe I am - just eventually - transgender", I decided to go down the rabbit hole a few days ago. It was a very suppressed thought and it took me quite some strength to overcome it. I peeked in the mtf community and discovered the gender dysphoria Bible. And I ingested it. Every bit felt like it's describing me directly. And that's filling me with very mixed feelings. Obviously one is fear. I am 30 years old. Am married and have three kids. I'm worried about my own future, as well as the future of my closest. But there is also a feeling of euphoria in the background. Some weird feeling that's telling me it's right and everything is going to be good. That feeling is guiding me in unknown directions. When I was buying groceries today, I felt a surprising confidence in my thoughts. But that also got me to a situation I did not expect. When I first saw my own reflection, I didn't see myself. Previously, my only thoughts about my reflection were not that bad, I was mainly dissatisfied by my looks. This was different. And that brought me to the decision to for now change my online representation. For now, just in this small area of my life, I am a woman. And that feels pretty right.

They are talking about why we are so dependent on the USA because we don’t have European operating systems and European browsers.

For fucks sake, have they been living under a digital rock for the last 30 years?

The US, grappling with an egg shortage, is reaching out to Lithuania for egg exports after Finland declined. The situation has prompted ridicule online.