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The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) measures the skills of 15-year-olds in reading, maths and science. It has been carried out every three years since 2000.

In reading, mathematics and science, last year’s results show the lowest scores ever measured for Germany since the first study.

The European Parliament’s rapporteurs on the proposed Industrial Accelerator Act are closing the EU market to Chinese investment in sectors where Beijing is dominant, going further than what the European Commission suggested.

Germany’s machinery and plant manufacturers are increasingly shifting their research activities abroad. Forty-three percent already conduct research and development outside of Germany, according to a survey of 400 member companies conducted by the industry association VDMA. More than two-thirds (69 percent) of those already conducting research abroad intend to expand their research and development activities beyond Germany’s borders.

Eurometal forecasts the loss of 300,000 manufacturing jobs by the end of 2026 due to intensifying competition from China, which currently has a record trade surplus with the bloc of €1 billion per day.

Key Points

The EU is committing €200 million to Greenland, targeting connectivity, clean energy and critical raw materials.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe stands firmly with Greenland as Trump renews his push for U.S. control of the territory.

Denmark says it wants closer cooperation with both the U.S. and European allies on Arctic security and defense.

The first major project is expected to be a partnership with Israel’s Rafael, which produces air-defence systems, guided missiles, and electronic warfare systems and is known for its “Iron Dome,” which protects Israeli airspace.

The cuts are expected to largely impact office roles, with the majority of cuts affecting its UK operations, where around 34,000 staff in total are based.

(…) "On Monday, thousands of people gathered in front of a small church in the Serbian capital to pay their respects to Mladić. Armed forces stood guard at his casket, on top of which was laid his signature military hat as well as a sword. A display of medals lay in front.Outside the church, Serbian flags had been hung nearby, and a huge banner unfurled across the street read: “Welcome, General, thanks be to your mother for bearing a hero.”

cross-posted from: piefed.social/…/oil-lobbyists-anti-abortion-group…

Nigel Farage’s party is welcoming polluting interests and radical pressure groups to its annual gathering.

Corporate titans including Google, Meta, and TikTok will be appearing at Reform UK’s annual conference this week, rubbing shoulders with fossil fuel interests, far-right politicians, and Christian rights groups.

The conference, designed to showcase the party’s policies and politicians, will be attended by figures from some of the world’s biggest tech companies – several of which have donated to funds and projects associated with U.S. President Donald Trump.

They will be joined by the likes of Fuels Industry UK, a trade group for the oil sector which counts BP, Shell, and ExxonMobil among its six members. Reform, whose senior figures frequently deny climate science, advocates for the dramatic expansion of fossil fuel production in the UK.

It’s no wonder Reform is slumping to third in the polls

German voters headed to the polls on Sunday for a key regional election in the ex-communist east where the far-right, anti-immigrant, Moscow- and Trump-friendly AfD is expected to secure an easy majority. Our correspondent Nick Holdsworth tells us more.

Minister says Sweden has ‘fulfilled its commitments’ amid criticism of ‘unjust’ deportation decisions such as case of Joyce Thomas

Paywall?

Bessent praised the EU for formally joining “Operation Economic Outcast,” as Washington widens its war against Iran to economic pressure.

The EU has separately maintained its own sanctions regime targeting Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its military support for Russia.

South Korea is weighing options including military assistance to support the U.S. bid to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though no decision has been made.

WASHINGTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would ask European nations to pay back the United States for ​military aid and munitions previously sent to Ukraine amid the ongoing war with Russia ‌and appeared to signal a halt in sales to allied nations.

COPENHAGEN, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Russia is recruiting Danish citizens to help plan sabotage against Danish defence firms with ​ties to Ukraine, the country’s national security ‌and intelligence service, PET, said on Thursday.

cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/51446344

Next Sunday, September 6th, state elections will be held in Saxony-Anhalt. All eyes are on one party in particular: the AfD. Not only could it become the largest party with 42% of the vote, but due to Germany’s electoral system, it might even be able to govern alone. The other parties will probably get about as many votes together as the AfD alone. Security services in the state classify the AfD as extreme-right. And the party plans to implement its ideology in schools, since education is a state responsibility. They intend to make significant changes there. They want to make it less “woke” and more patriotic. For example,

• the party wants separate schools for disabled children and refugees.
• In history, less attention to the Holocaust and more to Bismarck.
• politics banned from classrooms.
• No rainbow flag, but the national flag in the schoolyard.
• No more anti-racism programs.
• And Russian becomes a compulsory subject.

If they end up governing, you also have to realize that they can adjust the education system for all pupils in that state in a way that suits their agenda, and that they can use it very effectively to position themselves.

The AfD’s lead candidate surrounds himself with figures from a banned neo-Nazi youth organization and Identitarian movement. Party officials have been seen attending Putin’s birthday at the Russian embassy in Berlin. If they win and govern in that state, they immediately get access to all documents from the German security services. And that is causing enormous concern for the German government. Because that way, Russia gets to look along via the AfD into all kinds of documents that you really don’t want Russia to have sight of.

Germany is also afraid that AfD will use this as a pilot project on a small scale to see what scores well and use that nationally. Combined with the fact that they are already the largest party in the polls, and a chancellor who is becoming less popular by the day… Germany is extremely worried about this.

An attempt to coup German parliament already happened 3 years ago by a group who wants the german empire back. One of the supporters was Birgit Malsack-Winkemann served as AfD member in the Bundestag, now awaiting her trial in prison… www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWLsNM9anq8

Their mass manipulation and disinformation seems to work on Germans. How is this possible in gods name? They say: “If I had known that democracy required this much effort… and came with so many compromises, I would not have wanted democracy.” You can see from surveys like the Sachsen-Monitor and the Deutschland-Monitor that more and more people would prefer a single-party system or one strong hand that takes care of everything. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE2OKiXJaxA Shows why poverty leads to extremism and why we learned we need a social welfare state to avoid it. Apparently we didnt put it into practics too well perhaps…

channel 5 on the rise of Germany’s new Far-Right:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2SjWowpynY

Klaus-Michael Kühne had no children and lived in a Swiss canton with zero inheritance tax. When he died, his €42.2bn fortune passed tax-free into a decades-old charity, instantly making it one of the wealthiest foundations in Europe.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp said on Wednesday French restrictions limiting government use of US-made software were proving counterproductive. His comments followed France’s decision to replace Palantir with domestic provider ChapsVision at intelligence agency DGSI over data sovereignty concerns. Karp said Europe’s regulatory environment was hurting competitiveness.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.online/c/euro@feddit.online/p/1932980/europe-facing-housing-affordability-crisis-continental-study-of-more-than-22-million-pr

cross-posted from : lemmy.zip/post/70753629

France and the Netherlands intend to work closely together on Europe’s technological development, the countries’ respective leaders announced on Wednesday.

The European tech sector must be strengthened, French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten emphasized during a joint visit to the Brainport technology centre in Eindhoven.

They underlined the vital importance of Europe’s strategic autonomy in the face of geopolitical changes and international conflicts.

“If Europe wants to stay in the race, it must consolidate production chains within Europe,” said Macron. He described Franco-Dutch cooperation as a driving force for innovation, AI, quantum technology and electronics.

“The European Union must itself become a technology giant,” said Jetten. Businesses, research, talent and industry must be better connected, he added.

Macron and Jetten were accompanied by representatives from tech companies and also visited ASML, a manufacturer of microchip production machinery.

Last year, the global market leader invested around €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) in the French AI start-up Mistral AI, thereby becoming its largest shareholder.

Macron was due to travel on to the UK after the visit.

The European Commission has designated: • ChatGPT → VLOSE (Very Large Online Search Engine) • Reddit → VLOP (Very Large Online Platform) • Roblox → VLOP The designations apply because the services reported more than 45 million average monthly users in the EU, triggering the DSA’s strongest platform obligations. That means additional scrutiny of systemic risks, algorithmic systems, illegal content, fundamental rights, minors’ safety, elections, public security, transparency and independent audits. For ChatGPT, the VLOSE designation is particularly significant because it brings a generative AI service into the EU’s very-large-search-engine regulatory framework.