Europe

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/59411845

From the Article:

“If you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again,” Vance replied. Hegseth agreed that “I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC.” But, he added, “we are the only ones on the planet (on our side of the ledger) who can do this.”

Miller, the Trump confidant, effectively ended the conversation by saying that the president had been clear. “Green light, but we soon make clear to Egypt and Europe what we expect in return.”

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/24399065

Archive: none required, use reader mode if necessary

“They come highly motivated, much more so than the average recruit today,” says Valentyn about the former prisoners. There are hundreds of them, although he doesn’t reveal the exact number. In routine training, at least 50 huddle among the trees of a dense forest of bare branches on the outskirts of Kramatorsk. Some receive instructions to simulate an assault, others practice with their rifles, and others learn how to provide first aid to a wounded person.

Not every prisoner benefits from the new law. Those convicted of treason are excluded, as are drug traffickers, rapists, pedophiles, or those convicted of murder. The final say on release always rests with a judge. “There are mainly thieves and those convicted of assault,” Arey believes. Garik, a 28-year-old professional middleweight boxer, ended up in prison over a fight. He broke several bones in a man’s face, and because he was a federated athlete, the judge gave him a sentence equivalent to if he had committed assault with a knife, an aggravating circumstance that also exists in Spain. He received 13 years, but his lawyer managed to get his sentence reduced to eight. “I had been in my cell for two years, with nothing to do, when they asked me if I wanted to come. I didn’t think twice,” he says.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/59333147

Germany is at a crossroads when it comes to its security policy — one of the deepest upheavals of the post-War era.

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/24388181

Archive: https://archive.is/2025.03.25-034656/https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/03/25/sweden-rebuilds-its-total-defense-model-in-which-every-inhabitant-must-be-prepared_6739488_4.html

It was 6 pm on Thursday, March 20. Twenty-five people had signed up for the course entitled "Sköt dig själv" ("Take care of yourself"), offered free of charge online by the women's organization Lotta. The two instructors in their thirties started by advising on how to recognize an emergency situation – the number to call, the radio frequency to listen to. Then, for more than two hours, they detailed the food and equipment to be stored at home, before encouraging people to cultivate a piece of garden or balcony, to increase the country's food self-sufficiency, 50% dependent on imports.

Civil defense organizations offer courses like this one every week in Sweden. Although the possibility of armed conflict is rarely mentioned, it is on everyone's mind. "Sweden is not at war. But it's not at peace either," summed up conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on January 12. None of the kingdom's 10 million inhabitants can ignore this. In November 2024, they all received in the post a new edition of the booklet "In case of crisis or war," distributed by the Civil Protection Agency, reminding them that they must stock at home enough to eat, drink, heat and look after themselves for one week, without any outside help.

Printed three times during the Cold War, the brochure had already been sent to 4.9 million households in 2018, following Sweden's decision in 2015 to resurrect its "total defense." Developed after the Second World War to cope with a "total war," this model, combining military and civil defense, was based on the principle that the army would not be enough to protect the country: Its population still had to hold out.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/59389994

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27351678

The design leaves ~~something~~ everything to be desired (in part because it's a PDF I guess), but it's to the point and says last update was 2025-03-19 so apparently it's kept up to date.

One thing I thought kinda interesting is that it seems the gap in price between cage/barn and free range eggs is closing. Not sure why this would be, perhaps due to stricter requirements on space per chicken in cage/barn removes the advantage compared to free range? Also interesting that the price of organic eggs seems like it's increasing at a much slower pace than other categories.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27360883

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/31488774

Archived

Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago, according to data collected by The Associated Press.

They allege the disruption campaign is an extension of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war, intended to sow division in European societies and undermine support for Ukraine.

[...]

The alleged disruption has a double purpose, James Appathurai, the NATO official responsible for the alliance’s response to such threats, told the AP.

One is to create “political disquiet” and undermine citizens’ support for their governments and the other is to “undercut support for Ukraine,” said Appathurai, deputy assistant secretary-general for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber.

[...]

The cases are varied, and the largest concentrations are in countries that are major supporters of Ukraine.

Some incidents had the potential for catastrophic consequences, including mass casualties, as when packages exploded at shipping facilities in Germany and the U.K. Western officials said they suspected the packages were part of a broader plot by Russian intelligence to put bombs on cargo planes headed to the U.S. and Canada.

[...]

European authorities are investigating several cases of damage to infrastructure under the Baltic Sea, including to a power cable linking Estonia and Finland. Finnish authorities detained a ship, suspected of being part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to avoid sanctions, after that cable and others were damaged.

When a fake French Defense Ministry website claimed citizens were being called up to fight in Ukraine, a French minister denounced it as Russian disinformation. German authorities suspect Russia was behind a campaign to block up scores of car tailpipes ahead of national elections, according to a European intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

[...]

Countries have always spied on their enemies and long waged propaganda campaigns to further their interests abroad. But since the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has become “bolder,” hitting the West with sabotage, vandalism and arson in addition to the tactics it previously used, including killings and cyberattacks, said Elisabeth Braw, an expert on the attacks at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

“The way you can weaken a country today is not by invading it,” she said.

China has also been accused of espionage and cyber operations in Europe, and The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukrainian authorities were responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in 2022. Kyiv has denied this.

“Multiple countries engage in hybrid operations,” said David Salvo, managing director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund. “Russia is the overwhelming culprit in Europe.”

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/41139041

Any law that shits on your rights will eventually be used by fascists.

And yet there are still countries pushing for ChatControl / encryption bans in Europe.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/31483854

Archived

TLDR: Mainly good news as power generation from natural gas has dropped significantly, largely replaced by renewables, despite rise in electricity prices during the energy crisis has partly discouraged both industrial and residential consumers from switching to electric alternatives. Energy-intensive industries reduced gas consumption either despite economic challenges, but are still struggling.

[...]

Electricity generation from natural gas has fallen by 26% since 2021 [...] While some initial switching in 2022 involved coal or oil, renewables have been the main replacement, with their share of total power generation increasing from 39% in 2021 to nearly 50% in 2024. The decrease in total electricity generation has also contributed to lower gas demand, as the EU’s overall electricity consumption has declined since 2021.

[...]

While the overall manufacturing industry has remained stable (-1% since 2021), energy-intensive sectors such as metallurgy (-11%), non-metallic minerals (-15%), and chemicals (-10%) have seen sharp declines, largely due to high energy costs affecting competitiveness.

[...]

sharp rise in electricity prices during the energy crisis, which has partly discouraged both industrial and residential consumers from switching to electric alternatives. Additionally, low economic and demographic growth and the decline of energy-intensive industries have contributed to an overall reduction in energy demand, slowing down the need for electrification. This suggests that, in the short term, electrification is not yet driving the decarbonisation of final energy consumption at the scale needed to replace natural gas entirely.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/34877118

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/9598089

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27227073

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27212222

cross-posted from: https://fedia.io/m/europe@feddit.org/t/1950256

Signal, Telegram, and I think even Whatsapp have stickerpacks. (Signal Stickerpacks example). Does anybody know a stickerpack for the European Union? Or we could crowdsource one together :) > > Maybe even get the @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu in on this?

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/59144279

ROME, March 22 (Reuters) - Negotiations on a potential contract between Elon Musk's satellite internet operator Starlink and the Italian government have stalled, reflecting broader geopolitical tensions, Italy's defence minister said on Saturday.

cross-posted from: https://europe.pub/post/31828

Dem US-Auslandssender Radio Free Europe droht das Aus, denn Präsident Trump will ihm das Budget kappen. Während Autokraten rund um den Globus Beifall klatschen, formiert sich in Europa eine Allianz, die den Sender retten will. Von Danko Handrick.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/31373910

What emerges is that despite their different focal points, support for European values serves as a common denominator for most of these movements. What unites them is their opposition to corruption, democratic backsliding, and the concentration of power in the hands of elites.

[...]

These movements share important characteristics despite their different national contexts. All emerged in response to specific events: a train station collapse in Serbia, a pedophilia scandal in Hungary, a secret meeting with Putin in Slovakia, the rise of far-right euroscepticism in Romania, and the halting of EU negotiations in Georgia. Despite these different triggers, they all reflect deeper grievances about governance, with corruption and abuse of power emerging as common themes.

[...]

The European Union, in its own interest, should provide much clearer support to these movements rather than maintaining diplomatic distance or prioritizing short-term stability. By standing firmly with citizens who embody its core values on the streets, the EU would not only strengthen its moral authority but also invest in the democratic future of the entire continent. These courageous demonstrators are not just fighting for their own countries—they represent the living heart of the European project itself.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27093875

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/9460842

German newspaper article: https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000262056/die-schallwaffe-von-serbiens-machthaber-wurde-identifiziert

Translation (DeepL + minor corrections):

The sonic weapon of Serbia's ruler has been identified

Recordings on social media show sound cannons on the riot police's off-road vehicles. The interior minister becomes entangled in contradictions.

The disturbing images of panic among the peaceful participants at a protest rally in Belgrade went around the world. In numerous videos show thousands of people suddenly trying to escape and trying to flee and stumbling over each other. Some of them fall.

An extremely shrill sound can be heard in the videos. There are many indications the use of a sound weapon by the large contingent of Serbian riot police. Serbian riot police represented in the large contingent. The regime of President Aleksandar Vučić denied any use of such a weapon, DER STANDARD reported.

However, images emerged on Wednesday that contradict the official account from Belgrade. On the images, which were shared by opposition politician Marinika Tepić on X can be seen in police off-road vehicles on which so-called are clearly fitted with so-called Long-Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD). As research by several Serbian daily newspapers has revealed, this is likely to be that this is a product of the US company Genasys.

Weapon for psychological warfare

Specifically, the Serbian police are said to have used an LRAD 450XL. This is, despite its name, a device in the medium size category. Officially the device is marketed as completely harmless: according to a video from the manufacturer, it is a powerful speaker with an MP3 player.

The speaker is designed to make announcements which, according to the manufacturer Genasys are still understandable at 1700 meters distance. The fact that that it can also be used to quell protests is indicated by the sound the sound pressure levels: Sounds at 145 decibels are said to be continuously continuously for over eight hours thanks to the built-in rechargeable battery. Sounds can be reproduced at a relatively sharp angle of 15 or 30 degrees.

Loud noises above 85 decibels are already harmful to human hearing. Acute acoustic trauma can occur from 140 decibels. A fraction of a second is enough to damage the hearing. The weapons are marketed as “non-lethal” and manufacturers do not mention permanent hearing damage.

What the manufacturer only briefly mentions in the official product video is the button for the alarm sound. Only when you click further through the website, it becomes clear that the device is mainly sold to armies or police units. According to the manufacturer 100 countries and over 500 police authorities in the USA are already using such sonic weapons.

The LRAD 450XL is also advertised as a device for psychological warfare: It can be used to acoustically simulate the sounds of gunfire or even even entire battles acoustically. Something that conventional loudspeakers fail, according to the website. The “loudspeaker” also makes it possible to immediately create an acoustic “safety corridor” and disperse crowds of people.

On the hood

The device has a magnetic stand. This allows the weapon to be mounted on the hood of a car. In the case of the material that has now emerged, this is on the Defender jeeps of the Serbian police.

Remote control is also possible. The manufacturer offers a kit for wireless control from a distance of around 200 meters. This is consistent with the statements of the anonymous police officer in the Danas report: he stated that several such weapons were used during the mass protests on Saturday.

Interior Minister Ivica Dačić confirmed on Tuesday that the police have sonic weapons. These were purchased in 2021 and are the property of the Serbian Ministry of the Interior. However, they are not used according to the Minister of the Interior: “These systems (...) have not been neither put into operation nor installed in any of our vehicles or systems installed,” Dačić told Danas.

Sonic cannon? Yes, no, maybe

The police sources quoted by the publication contradict this account. All major police stations in Serbia would have sonic weapons, they say. Research by the newspaper Vreme also comes to the same conclusion.

Dačić had previously stated that the Ministry of the Interior had neither a sonic cannon nor similar sonic weapons. It was later said that this claim was “clumsy”. “What was meant was that the Ministry of the Interior has not included this instrument in its arsenal of means of coercion,” Dačić explained. And: “These systems are in boxes in our warehouses.” On Wednesday afternoon, things sounded different again: yes, sonic weapons were available, but they had only been used as loudspeakers, Dačić explained at a press conference.

President Aleksandar Vučić had categorically ruled out the possibility that the Serbian army had sonic cannons. A diversionary tactic, because it is obviously not the army, but the police police that uses such systems.

At the same time, Vučić announced legal action against all those who accuse the police of using such weapons. Furthermore it was said that a drone gun had triggered the panic, which is highly doubtful from a technical point of view. In principle, drone guns are nothing more than jammers, and these are completely harmless to humans.

“At a moment when everyone was quiet, when thousands and thousands and thousands of people were completely peaceful and not threatening anyone, you come up with the idea of demonstrating violence. That is an attack on on your own people,” says military analyst Aleksandar Radić, sharply criticizing the use of a sonic weapon. (Peter Zellinger, 19.3.2025)

TelegrafRS without much content: https://www.telegraf.rs/english/4075115-this-is-the-device-filmed-close-to-the-assembly-this-is-how-the-communication-tool-works

LRAD-450XL manual: https://genasys.com/content/uploads/2021/08/LRAD-450XL_D00101-Rev.-B_3-4.pdf

Miran Pogačars Video: https://x.com/MiranPogacar/status/1902310681988255912