An Ode to Joy
Europe
This is a credible problem. If the CIA director was in Moscow some months ago, last time right before the start of the war, this is a problem.
TLDR, the drop in renewable energy generation is caused by the drought, because less water means less hydropower, but drought usually means more light, which could be compensated by additional solar panels.
Excerpt:
The doctor who performed the Netherlands’ first case of euthanasia on a child under 12 did so with due care, the supervising committee concluded after investigating. The patient, a child of nearly 2 years who suffered from several severe medical conditions, died at the end of 2025.
We are all tired of hearing the same tune: “the far-right is winning.” Yet, it keeps happening.
Far-right parties are topping polls across Europe’s biggest democracies while already sitting in cabinets and even leading governments in several EU countries and beyond.
Note: article is almost one month old. Still relevant since I’m curious how you’d answer this question:
" Do Moderate Politics/ Politicians fail to gain popularity due to a Lack of Mythological and Cultural Communication?
President Karol Nawrocki said he hopes the US will finalize plans to establish a permanent military base in Poland, to be called ‘Fort Trump.’
Nawrocki is confident that a decision is “just a question of time” and he’d like construction to be completed before President Donald Trump’s term ends.
The idea of a permanent US base was first floated by Nawrocki’s predecessor Andrzej Duda in 2018, and officials in Warsaw have redoubled their efforts to lock in a presence for US troops since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022
According to Dataforce numbers reported by Automotive News, the overall market grew to 835,409 units while Chinese vehicles accounted for 11.7 percent of registrations.
New guidelines will require all schools in Northern Ireland to offer girls the option to wear trousers as part of their uniform.
Education Minister Paul Givan said the revised guidance will allow girls to wear trousers as part of their uniform and also for PE and games.
Sinn Féin MLA Cathy Mason has described the decision as a “welcome but embarrassing U-turn by the minister”.
Education Committee chairman Nick Mathison said the minister will have to explain why he “took so long to move on this issue”.
The guidelines are legally binding under the School Uniforms Act which came into operation earlier this year.
cross-posted from : lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/75822925
In a leaked document, the Irish Presidency proposes to EU Member States that the interest of OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta and SpaceX to make profits should take precedence over the fundamental right to data protection. Use of personal data “in the context of AI” should automatically be lawful. There seems to be wide informal agreement by many Member States. In particular, Big Tech would be able to use all personal data collected over the past decades with virtually no restrictions, as long as this happens “in the context” of AI. Schrems: “Under these proposals, the profits of AI companies would trump European’s fundamental right to privacy. This is nothing but a digital expropriation of Europeans.” All this is happening despite the key figures of AI corporations actively warn about the enormous risks associated with their own products.
#EuropeanUnion #AI #BigTech #privacy #digitalRights
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the state election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
cross-posted from: https://feddit.online/c/euro@feddit.online/p/1972997/children-born-today-in-europe-will-live-through-almost-twice-as-much-extreme-fire-weath
Study shows young Europeans will experience years of dangerous fire weather over their lifetime as climate warms, but rapid emissions cuts could substantially reduce their exposure.
U.S. President Donald Trump says he is working on a “massive deal” to purchase potash from Belarus.
“The pricing would be for substantially less than we are currently paying to Canada, very good news for our Farmers and Ranchers,” he posted to Truth Social on Monday.
Canada is the leading exporter of potash, shipping about 22.9 million tonnes in 2024, accounting for over 39 per cent of global exports according to the Government of Canada.
The leading destination of Canadian exports of potash is the United States. The U.S. imports nearly 85 per cent of its potash from Canada.
Belarus ranks third in potash production behind Russia and Canada.
EU sanctions against almost 3,000 individuals and entities linked to Vladimir Putin’s Russia could lapse at the end of Tuesday after Latvia blocked a proposed compromise involving two Russian oligarchs, diplomats said.
The dispute was triggered by France’s demand that the EU lift travel bans and asset freezes imposed on Alisher Usmanov, a Russian-Uzbek tycoon, on what Paris described as “national security” grounds. Diplomats said the request was linked to a potential prisoner exchange involving two French nationals, including a man accused of spying in Azerbaijan.
Some cool facts about Denmark. Don’t take the title so seriously ;).
Denmark has given the highest proportion of its GDP to Ukraine since 2022.
<…>
In How To Be Danish, Patrick Kingsley wrote about Denmark’s 70 folk high schools, which are attended by about one in ten adults, of all ages. Indeed it’s not uncommon for people to die of old age while enrolled, which Danes apparently consider a good death. Perhaps there is some sort of social democracy version of Valhalla where those who died in the middle of adult education go to.
The Folk High School was the brainchild of Danish national hero Nikolai Grundtvig, who coined the concept of folkelighed, or what historian Knud Jespersen called ‘mutually committed community’. Jespersen wrote in A History of Denmark that ‘The key concepts in this were folkelighed, tolerance, openness and liberal-mindedness: the means were enlightenment and committed dialogue.’
<…>
Denmark also had the highest casualty rate among American allies in Afghanistan, losing 43 servicemen in the war to avenge 9/11.
<…>
The secret to Denmark’s success is their high trust and sociability, and Booth also wrote how, ‘according to the Danish think tank Mandag Morgen, they belong to more associations, clubs, unions, societies and groups, and have larger social networks, than any other nationality – 43 per cent of over-sixteens belong to something or other… There are 83,000 local and 3,000 national societies and associations in Denmark – on average every Dane belongs to three. Over a third belong to a sporting club or association. These range from your common-or-garden leisure-orientated groups – the Bittern Spotters Club, say, or the Danish Flødeboller Association – to the still-powerful trade unions, which have a combined membership equivalent to a quarter of the population.’
German chemicals giant Evonik plans to cut another 3,200 jobs as part of a wider restructuring programme, the company said on Tuesday, as the sector continues to struggle with sluggish demand, US tariffs and high energy prices.
The German Chemical Industry (VDI) recently lowered its production forecast for 2026 to a decline of 1.5%, in what it has described as the sector’s worst crisis since World War II.
Among other divisions, Evonik plans to discontinue its polyester business, which generated annual turnover of around €150 million ($171.8 million).
Evonik sees a good chance for growth in Asia and the United States, with the company saying it is currently examining investments in the regions.
cross-posted from: lemmy.today/post/60474001
Andy Burnham once kept Palantir out of Greater Manchester. His first test as prime minister is whether to cut the company’s £330 million NHS contract—and risk a rupture with Big Tech and Washington.
Palantir currently holds contracts worth around £670m in the public sector, including major deals in health, defence, and policing. The largest—a £330m contract to manage healthcare data on the NHS Federated Data Platform
Dalarna elects 11 lawmakers and a re-run would have to take place within three months
Probe reopened this week after new information emerged prosecutor says
Centre-left won 176 seats to 173 for right in September 13 national election
Our fight, it is no exaggeration to say, is the civilized world’s fight. It is a fight for reason and comity in the affairs of nations, against an administration whose worldview, and behaviour, is increasingly that of an aggressive dictatorship, in all its crudeness and its thuggery.
Mr. Trump, as the Prime Minister has said, aims to “break us,” a phrase with historic echoes. He has to now, or others will follow our lead. If he succeeds, then the world will be governed by nothing but force in the end, in trade as in other matters. But if we prevail, then “broad and sunlit uplands” must surely await.
https://www.forbrukerradet.no/shortlife/
Link to part one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Upf_B9RLQ
The Norwegian Consumer Council is an independent, governmentally funded organisation that advocates for consumer’s rights. It should be easy for consumers to make sustainable choices every day. Consumers have the right to be protected against exploitation – both financially and digitally. To ensure this, we work to provide easy access to information, enforceable rights, and sufficient redress options when something goes wrong.
Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos said on Tuesday it was suspending operations at three chemical plants in Hull, UK, blaming high European gas prices that have made production too expensive.
The three plants employ almost 4,000 people and makes chemicals used in medicines, clothing, cosmetics, detergents, building materials and explosives, the company said.
The French defense contractor Thales has introduced HexaForce
Under a new proposal, Europol is set to receive unprecedented access to personal data related to current and potential cross-border investigations. It’s part of a wider plan to expand the use of AI in policing.
Europol is not currently allowed to search for and store personal data without, according to the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), “indications” that the data is relevant. But in May 2026, former Europol officials revealed to investigative journalists that the agency has been running “shadow systems” for years. These parallel systems sit outside the agency’s mainframe, allowing them to avoid data protection and IT design requirements.
The plans would also expand Europol’s role in dealing with the private sector. The agency would become the central “hub” for private actors to share information and receive funding for digital policing tools development. Such tools include tech for subverting encryption, for instance, or for scaling up automated profiling.
Exit polls have the far-right AfD leading the Social Democrats in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the Left Party ahead in Berlin. Merz referred to the outcome as “a disaster”. DW has more.