cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5176088

Prime Minister Mark Carney has broken his silence on jailed Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai, saying he supports his release on humanitarian grounds and also because he believes in freedom of the press.

Mr. Carney said “we would urge the release of Mr. Lai” when asked by The Globe and Mail at a news conference why he had not joined U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in calling for the Hong Kong businessman to be freed.

The Prime Minister’s statement was welcomed by MPs, human-rights advocates and Mr. Lai’s international legal team.

“We are grateful to Prime Minister Carney for calling for the release of Jimmy Lai. As a champion of Canadian values with strong Canadian connections, we hope the Prime Minister will now raise his case directly with China,” said Brandon Silver, director of policy and projects at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.

...

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/51328301

The Culture Committee of the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday approved an amendment to Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara’s “informed consent” bill, extending the current ban on sex education from kindergartens and primary schools to middle schools (ages 11 to 14).

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/51332353

The researchers found that in Bismillah Mor, the solar microgrid has provided a “partial, yet significant” response to energy poverty, giving the community stable access to electricity for essential domestic needs, including lighting and small household appliances. The microgrid was also found to foster forms of empowerment and emancipation, particularly for women, leading the researchers to conclude that the microgrid is “not merely a technological solution but a potential catalyst for broader social change.”

https://archive.is/ZTJ9Q

Ultrawealthy Asians are turning to Chinese stocks as they look to benefit from the artificial intelligence boom, while also seeking to profit from falling interest rates and the rally in gold, according to private bankers and wealth managers in the region.

Collective fortunes of ultrawealthy Asians, or those with a net worth of $30 million or more, ballooned 10% in the first half of this year, according to Wealth-X, a market research company specializing in analyzing the wealthy. As their nest eggs have grown, well-heeled investors in Asia have begun turning their attention to the rally in Chinese stocks.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/51328058

https://archive.fo/hdRKM

The meeting between the US and Ukrainian presidents descended many times into a “shouting match”, with Trump “cursing all the time”, people familiar with the matter said.

They added that the US president tossed aside maps of the frontline in Ukraine, insisted Zelenskyy surrender the entire Donbas region to Putin, and repeatedly echoed talking points the Russian leader had made in their call a day earlier.

“Zelenskyy was very negative” following the meeting, according to one of the officials, adding that European leaders were “not optimistic but pragmatic with planning next steps”.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/51327740

The agency says it already has enough supplies in place to feed the entire population of the Strip for three months – if full access is granted by Israel.

One week into the fragile ceasefire, WFP has been bringing in an average of 560 tonnes of food each day.

“The ceasefire deal has opened a narrow window of opportunity, and WFP is moving very quickly to scale up food assistance and reach families who have endured months of blockade, displacement and hunger,” said Abeer Etefa, WFP Senior Regional Communications Officer and Spokesperson for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe.

Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Ms. Etefa said teams and supply networks were fully mobilised.

Five distribution points now open

“We’re still below what we need, but we’re getting there,” she noted. Five food distribution points are now operating across Gaza, focusing on women and children. “Our goal is to expand to 145 distribution points across all of Gaza—that’s the scale we’re aiming for,” she added.

Aid agencies stress that sustained access and multiple crossings are essential to reach everyone in need. Only two crossings are currently open, and those in the north remain closed, restricting deliveries to the hardest hit areas.

“Roads are blocked and destroyed. This is a huge limitation to transport,” Ms. Etefa said.

Because of access and security constraints, no food distributions have yet taken place in Gaza City, only nutrition supplies for children and pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office (OCHA), said the northern crossings remain closed “because the Israeli authorities have not opened them”.

He added that road repairs and clearance of unexploded ordnance are also essential for safety and access. “It is very important to have these openings in the north, as that is where the famine took hold,” he said.

Fletcher says UN determined to deliver

UN relief chief Tom Fletcher joined the aid effort in Gaza on Friday, saying humanitarian teams are delivering on a 60-day plan to massively scale up life-saving work.

He said though the challenges ahead are immense, the UN is determined to deliver on the humanitarian possibilities created by US President Donald Trump’s peace deal.

The Humanitarian Affairs chief drove to Deir al Balah, where he visited the Castle Bakery - one of nine that the World Food Programme (WFP) supports across southern and central Gaza.

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the ceasefire has meant that the bakery can access fuel and flour, allowing it to produce up to 300,000 loaves of pita bread per day.

170,000-tonne aid scale up

According to WFP, 57,000 tonnes of food are already pre-positioned in Egypt, Jordan and inside Israel, with plans to scale up to 170,000 tonnes – enough for 1.6 million people over three months. “Beyond that, we need to maintain at least three months of stocks at all times,” Ms. Etefa said.

On 16 October, 950 trucks entered Gaza, including eight carrying fuel and three carrying gas, according to OCHA. Around of third of them passed through UN-coordinated mechanisms.

UN Women: Recovery must be led by women and girls

UN Women’s Chief of Humanitarian Action, Sofia Calltorp, urged the international community on Friday to turn Gaza’s fragile ceasefire into a recovery led by women and girls.

“We have heard from so many women and girls across Gaza since the ceasefire began – a mix of fragile hope, deep exhaustion and quiet strength,” she said.

“For the first time in months, some can seek care, receive aid and sleep without the sound of airstrikes. But hope, on its own, is not enough.”

Ms. Calltorp stressed that over one million women and girls need food aid and a quarter of a million require urgent nutrition support. “This ceasefire is our window to deliver fast, to stop famine where it has begun and prevent it where it looms,” she said.

A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea across the rivals' heavily fortified border on Sunday, South Korea's military said.

The military took custody of the soldier who crossed the central portion of the land border, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. It said the soldier expressed a desire to resettle in South Korea.

It was the first reported defection by a North Korean soldier since a North Korean staff sergeant fled to South Korea via the border's eastern section in August 2024.

Trump called Colombia's president an "illegal drug leader" on Sunday and pledged to end U.S. aid to the South American country, following the leader's criticism of U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.

Mr. Trump accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro in a post on Truth Social of "encouraging the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields."

Hours earlier, Petro accused the U.S. in a series of X posts of hitting a fishing vessel in a strike it carried out last month, not a boat carrying drugs as it had claimed at the time. The Colombian leader said a fisherman had been killed in the attack, saying that in doing so the U.S. had "invaded national territory." He made a similar allegation earlier this month, claiming another boat that was struck by the U.S. military carried Colombian citizens — which the U.S. denied.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/37773278

Published date: 17 October 2025 21:23 BST

Hamas will not automatically commit to disarming and hopes the ceasefire with Israel will last three to five years to rebuild Gaza, Hamas politburo member Mohammed Nazzal said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday.

Asked if Hamas would give up its arms, Nazzal said: "I can't answer with a yes or no. Frankly, it depends on the nature of the project. The disarmament project you're talking about, what does it mean? To whom will the weapons be handed over?”

Arab diplomats previously told Middle East Eye that mediators were in discussions with Hamas about turning its weapons over to Arab peacekeepers or locking up long-range weapons such as missiles instead of destroying them.

Indonesia is one of the few countries still building new coal power plants, the most polluting sources of power. Chinese companies are playing a large role despite a pledge by Beijing to halt such support.

Heavy Israeli bombing rocked the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing at least 15 Palestinians, in a major violation of the ceasefire.

More than 100 air strikes were reported in Rafah and Khan Younis in the south, Jabalia in the north, and parts of central Gaza.

Among the sites hit were a cafe, a mobile phone charging station, a group of journalists and a house sheltering displaced people.

An unknown number of Palestinians abducted by Israel died or were killed while in custody; living former prisoners have described horrific and sometimes deadly torture.

Those charged with terrorism for supporting Palestine Action will have no jury in trials limited to 36 minutes each, with prison sentences up to six months. These are the plans for Starmer Courts for mass trials of anti-Genocide protestors.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/44335363

Archived

Europe is planning a “defence space shield” to protect military and communications satellites from attacks by Russia or China on the battlefields of tomorrow.

The project, to begin next year, follows the stalking of British, German and other military satellites by the Russians, and China’s development of space warfare, which is thought to be more advanced than western capabilities.

A European Union “road map” to prepare Nato allies for war by 2030 identifies a “militarised Russia” as “a persistent threat to European security for the foreseeable future” and sets four priorities: drone, air and space defence, and protecting Europe’s eastern flank.

[...]

"To ensure peace through deterrence, Europe’s defence posture and capabilities must also be ready for the battlefields of tomorrow, in line with the changing nature of warfare ... Those that develop their own technologies will be the strongest and least dependent, notably for the critical systems of modern warfare, such as drones, satellites or autonomous vehicles,” said an EU document published on Thursday.

[...]

Negotiated with Nato since June, the paper talks of Ukraine as “Europe’s first line of defence” and condemns Russian “aggression, which is reaching new heights of brutality and violence”.

The document says: “Reckless provocations and acts of hybrid warfare against member states, from cyberattacks to violation of airspace, are increasing.”

[...]

As Ireland's $1,500-a-month basic income pilot program for creatives nears its end in February, officials have to answer a simple question: Is it worth it?

With four months to go, they say the answer is yes.

Earlier this month, Ireland's government announced its 2026 budget, which includes "a successor to the pilot Basic Income Scheme for the Arts to begin next year" among its expenditures.

Ireland is just one of many places experimenting with guaranteed basic income programs, which provide recurring, unrestricted payments to people in a certain demographic. These programs differ from a universal basic income, which would provide payments for an entire population.