CAVOK

joined 2 years ago
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Irregular migration is a European problem, but the answer is not to send migrants to Central and Eastern Europe, he said

[–] CAVOK@lemmy.world 9 points 15 hours ago

In brief

Combing through 20 years of images from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft, scientists have tracked 1039 tornado-like whirlwinds to reveal how dust is lifted into the air and swept around Mars’s surface.

Published today in Science Advances, their findings – including that the strongest winds on Mars blow much faster than we thought – give us a much clearer picture of the Red Planet’s weather and climate.

And with these ‘dust devils’ collected into a single public catalogue, this research is just the beginning. Besides pure science, it will be useful for planning future missions, for example incorporating provisions for the irksome dust that settles on the solar panels of our robotic rovers.

[–] CAVOK@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The US is demanding the EU water down parts of its green legislation just months after agreeing a tariff pact to avoid an all-out transatlantic trade war.

According to a US government position paper seen by the Financial Times, Washington has asked Brussels to scrap requirements for non-EU companies to provide “climate transition plans”.

It has also demanded that the bloc change environmental legislation on supply chains to exclude US companies and others from “countries with high-quality corporate due diligence”.

Washington’s demands come as US President Donald Trump has also pressured Brussels over its laws restricting big technology groups, sparking nervousness within the EU that the trade deal agreed in July will not hold.

The EU’s corporate due diligence rules, which came into force last year, require companies operating in the bloc to identify any environmental and social harms in their supply chains, in a bid to crack down on forced labour and pollution.

But in its paper, the Trump administration described the legislation as a “serious and unwarranted regulatory over-reach” that “imposes significant economic and regulatory burdens on US companies”.

The legislation’s “extraterritorial reach, onerous supply chain due diligence obligations, climate transition plan requirements, and civil-liability provisions will adversely impact the ability of US businesses to compete in the EU market”, the document adds.

Washington has communicated its demands to the European Commission in recent days, according to two EU officials familiar with the matter.

Unlike traditional trade negotiations, the US is not offering concessions in return. “It’s a one-way street,” said one EU official.

US companies fear the due diligence rules will expose them to increased risk of legal actions in an already litigious market, because they allow activist groups to take legal action over child labour and environmental damage in their supply chains.

According to US officials, several American companies have said that they will need to halt operations in the EU as a result of the due diligence and sustainability reporting rules, which demand that companies report on hundreds of data points related to their environmental footprint.

Violations of the due diligence rules could result in fines of up to 5 per cent of global turnover.

The legislation has come under attack from US oil and gas companies, with ExxonMobil’s chief executive Darren Woods describing the rules as threatening US companies with “bone-crunching” penalties on a results call in August.

The demands expand on Trump administration concerns contained in July’s trade pact, reached at Turnberry in Scotland, which said “undue restrictions” should not be imposed on transatlantic trade, and specified that the EU should make changes to cut red tape.

The “Turnberry” deal set tariffs on most EU products at 15 per cent, but left open scope for further concessions by Brussels. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said EU regulations were a “red line”, but is herself weakening them after complaints from European businesses and governments.

A panoply of laws forcing companies to fight deforestation, labour abuses and reduce their impact on the environment are being weakened or delayed, and the US is pushing Brussels to go further.

The interim “framework agreement” reached at Turnberry marks the beginning of a wider process to remove unfair trade barriers in the EU, according to two US officials.

The US has also raised concerns about the EU’s carbon border tax, which would apply as of next year to polluting industries outside the bloc, such as steel and aluminium manufacturers.

Washington also objects to an upcoming EU anti-deforestation law, which would ban the import of goods such as timber and cocoa if producers fail to prove that no forests were felled in their production.

Brussels last month said it would delay the deforestation rules for a second time by another year, blaming an IT system issue.

The EU is already making efforts to streamline the rules as part of a broader agenda to cut red tape within the bloc and as European companies are also balking at the rules.

But the simplification drive has hit a roadblock in the European parliament, with leftwing politicians accusing the conservatives of deregulation and siding with the far right to gut the legislation.

 

On 8 October 2025, Commission President von der Leyen participated in the EP plenary debate dedicated to a united response to recent Russian violations of the EU Member States’ airspace and critical infrastructure.

In her speech to the plenary of the European Parliament, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that Europe must strengthen its strategic capacity to deter and address these threats, with initiatives like the Eastern Flank Watch and the Drone Wall for comprehensive airspace protection. Furthermore, Europe is focusing on developing critical capabilities, forming Collaborative Capability Coalitions, and bolstering its defence industry to ensure self-reliance and secure domestic job growth. Tackling these hybrid threats requires a new mindset, exploring innovative solutions, and demonstrating unity and resolve against aggression.

 

Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze vowed opposition arrests Sunday (October 5) after police used pepper spray and water cannons against opposition protesters who tried to enter the presidential palace in what he termed was a coup bid during a controversial election. Georgian riot police detained five activists on Saturday, as the opposition staged a large demonstration on a day of local elections.

 

Germany has been marking the 35th anniversary of reunification between East and West. Over three decades later, stark economic disparities remain, fueling a sense of being left behind for many in the East.

 

Plötner says German shipbuilder is open to the idea — all Canada has to do is ask

 

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Trine, a hotel receptionist in the Danish capital, has had trouble sleeping recently. She is too nervous about the unsettling noise of unidentified drones hovering in the night.

 

Moldovans have voted in what is arguably the country's most pivotal election since independence in 1991. Our guest says that there was "a big danger that pro-Russian forces might have drawn Moldova into Russia's war against Ukraine". But that danger was averted, and voters gave a clear thumbs-up to Moldova's European future and its desire to join the EU. We analyse the result of this parliamentary vote with Nicu Popescu, a former deputy prime minister and former foreign minister of Moldova.

 

Thousands of Greek workers prompted large-scale disruption during a 24-hour general strike on Wednesday, protesting against the conservative government's plans to introduce a 13-hour work day. The strike has disrupted transport in the capital Athens and the second-largest city Thessaloniki, trains and ferry services, while teachers, hospital staff and civil servants are also taking part.

[–] CAVOK@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

Same. I prefer the term irregular migration myself, which is coincidentally the proper name for it. "Illegal migration" seems like the right-wing word for it that everyone just seems to have adopted.

[–] CAVOK@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

Damn you autocorrect. 😂

Fixed.

[–] CAVOK@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

Me neither but I found it hilarious. Apparently in Hamburg if you read the comments.

[–] CAVOK@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago

Already made the jump on my kids laptop. They're now fedoristas.

[–] CAVOK@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I'm not opposed to taxing the rich at all.

[–] CAVOK@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I'm not sure they can stop you buying it, but they can see what you bought, or at least who got the money. While i do see your point, I'd rather have an European alternative to Visa today than the perfect digital euro in 10 years. Preventing crime is a responsibility of a nation state, so being able to track money flows is a feature, not a bug.

[–] CAVOK@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago (10 children)

How is a digital euro a "surveillance currency"? Or rather, how is it worse than Visa and Mastercard?

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