Frankfurt (Germany) (AFP) – European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde said Wednesday that the continent could not afford to miss out on the artificial intelligence revolution as the continent's growth model comes under increasing pressure.

Nursery children in Russia have been forced to simulate hostage situations at gunpoint in nationwide anti-terror drills.

Pictures shared across the country showed kindergarten and primary school children taking part in exercises involving balaclava-clad “terrorists” pointing guns at them.

Initial results showed children's lungs in London were smaller in capacity than those in Luton, which is less polluted than London but has a similar mix of pollutants.

At the end of the study the children's lung capacity reached near identical levels in both groups.

"While we would expect children's lungs to grow year on year, our results indicate that the London children's lung growth had accelerated during the four years to 'catch up' with the control group in Luton to reach similar levels of lung capacity," researchers say.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10816541

Work is progressing at the site where the former Whirlpool factory – taken over by Italian Green Factory, part of the Tea Tek group – is being converted; the company will produce components for photovoltaic systems there. The Research Centre, as set out in the business plan, will be ready in November. It will be the first operational hub of the major reindustrialisation project promoted by the Neapolitan business group, which has already taken on the approximately 290 employees left jobless by the American multinational: a project involving an investment of over 90 million, supported by a development contract.

In short, where washing machines were manufactured until two years ago, a research centre focusing on the application of artificial intelligence to energy networks will be up and running in a few months’ time; it will also be equipped with a quantum computer [which] marks the first step in a close partnership with the university system and an intensive collaboration with the team led by Professor Francesco Tafuri of the Department of Physics at the University of Naples Federico II, an internationally renowned expert who has already designed and physically assembled a prototype for his university. The process for registering a patent for the IGF computer has been initiated.

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The first site will focus on the production of wiring harnesses, electrical switchboards, transformer substations for photovoltaic systems and power skids. In Pomigliano, on the other hand, production will focus on structural steelwork and components for solar trackers. Production here could begin in January 2027. In Via Argine, following the removal of 32,000 square metres of asbestos, refurbishment work has begun and is due to be completed by September 2027.

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With an investment of 92 million for the production side and 25 million for the research side, IGF – in which Invitalia has held a 49 per cent stake since January 2026 for a period of five years – has been awarded a grant of 23 million and a loan of 35 million at a preferential rate.

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Archived

The first vice president of the Assembly of Ceuta and deputy of the PSOE [the ruling Socialist party of PM Pedro Sanchez], Melchor León, has directed an open letter to Pedro Sánchez to demand immediate intervention in light of the situation the city is facing after the massive influx of migrants recorded at the end of July.

In his writing, he asks the president of the Government to declare a state of alarm, activate a national interest emergency, and request a permanent deployment of Frontex at the border.

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The writing takes on a particularly personal tone when León describes how, according to his account, the crisis has affected the daily life of Ceuta. "This August, the children of Ceuta have not gone to the beach. We have run out of parties," he states.

He also refers to the situation of businesses and the concern of part of the population. "There are women in my city who think twice before leaving home," he writes, before assuring that there are parents who do not know what to answer their children when they ask why they cannot go to the park.

A city can endure almost anything," he concludes in that passage. "What cannot be endured is not knowing."

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The letter ends with a direct request to Pedro Sánchez: "Give us back the truth. Give us back normality. And set a date."

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León emphasizes in the letter his connection to the PSOE, although he insists that his request is made from his position as a representative and neighbor of Ceuta.

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Meanwhile, border workers' unions say Spain's central government disregarded Ceuta warnings before migrant rush,

In the weeks before a rush of more than 70,000 migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, border workers warned Spain's central government that more people, spurred on by social media, were arriving by sea, adding they feared an escalation.

Spain's government did not heed ​their warnings and took little action ...

Public and private warnings issued by trade unions representing border workers, seen by Reuters, highlight that Spanish authorities were warned weeks earlier that arrivals to the enclave in North Africa could escalate and urged to act fast.

Spanish authorities say 80 people died in the rush and Moroccan authorities said 14 bodies were recovered in their territory, putting the number of confirmed deaths at 94. ​Human rights groups say more remain missing and the number could be higher ...

Archived

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot on Aug. 18 signaled his government could support using about 200 billion euros ($230 billion) of Russian frozen assets to support Ukraine, provided Europe shows "solidarity" in sharing the risks.

Last December, Belgium blocked the EU's plan to use frozen Russian sovereign assets — most of which are held in Euroclear, a Belgium-based clearing house — to back a major loan for Ukraine, denying Kyiv a much-needed source of funding.

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Belgium "does not have the capacity alone to carry on its shoulders the reimbursement of over 200 billion euros," Prevot said.

For Prevot, the prerequisite to any such use of Russian assets is that the action would have to be coordinated among European countries "or even beyond," with "previously negotiated solidarity clauses" in place.

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The risk Belgium fears stems primarily from a bilateral investment treaty that Belgium still has with Russia.

Signed at the end of the Cold War, the treaty rules out any "expropriation" of Russian assets.

However, the legality of that treaty is in doubt after the EU said that countries should not enforce any rulings from any court that go against the bloc's sanctions rules.

In the bloc's 21st sanctions package, adopted in July, the agreed text mentions "safeguards" to protect entities that uphold sanctions against outside legal pressure, albeit without specific details.

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"Nevertheless, we will need, with the support of experts if necessary, to find a legally sound solution that mitigates all these risks. Otherwise, Belgium will likely maintain its cautious reserve position," Prevot said.

"Let's see what the next few months bring," he added.

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Archived

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Arresting the person who set fire to a warehouse, photographed a military shipment or prepared one component of an operation matters. But it does not necessarily deter the intelligence service that used that person. If the operative is easily replaced and knows only an intermediary, losing him may simply be treated as an operational expense. Genuine deterrence begins only when the consequences reach higher: the organisers, financing mechanisms, communications infrastructure, front companies, assets and networks of intermediaries that make future operations possible.

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Resilience is not enough if the adversary pays no price

This is the distinction between deterrence by denial and deterrence by punishment. In the first case, the adversary calculates whether it can overcome the defences. In the second, it must answer a harder question: what will it lose even if the operation succeeds?

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Henrik Praks of the International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS) frames the problem similarly in his analysis, “Russian Hybrid Attacks in Europe: From Deterrence by Attribution to Response”. He argues that hybrid operations are attractive to authoritarian states in part because democracies find it difficult to respond rapidly, directly and proportionately. Such operations are designed to complicate detection and attribution while increasing the political cost of a forceful response. Praks calls for stronger attribution capabilities, counter-intelligence, sanctions, information-sharing and cooperation among states willing to act together. His conclusion is clear: Russia must see that its hybrid activities will carry consequences.

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Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, told the Financial Times that the alliance could consider moving away from a purely reactive posture towards a more aggressive or proactive approach, particularly in cyberspace. The discussion also raised the question of whether, under certain circumstances, pre-emptive action could be considered a form of defence. Dragone also pointed to legal, jurisdictional and ethical constraints. This is not an adopted NATO doctrine, but the fact that such questions are being discussed at all shows how the boundaries of the debate are shifting.

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Self-deterrence may be the greatest danger

The limits of any response must remain clear. Not every fire is sabotage, not every breakdown is an act of subversion and not every incident can be credibly attributed to a foreign state. The more serious the response, the stronger the evidence linking the operation to its sponsor must be. Russia’s system of intermediaries is attractive precisely because it makes such an evidentiary chain difficult to establish.

The objective is therefore not to abandon the law in the name of effectiveness, but to create mechanisms that make faster action possible within the law. Praks points, among other measures, to stronger attribution, intelligence-sharing, counter-intelligence, sanctions, expulsions and cooperation among groups of states prepared to respond more decisively.

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Ultimately, the entire strategy comes down to changing the adversary’s calculations. If an operation is cheap, the operative easily replaceable and the most serious consequence of failure is that person’s arrest, the system does not deter the real sponsor ... The objective must be to create a situation in which, before sending another operative, the potential sponsor has to answer a far more important question: Is this act of sabotage worth the price we will have to pay?

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Archived

The French government is deeply wary of the risk in the 2027 polls of Russian interference aiming to put a more Kremlin-friendly candidate in the Elysee against the background of the war against Ukraine.

Prosecutors are probing deepfakes and fake video reports posted on social media targeting the main two centrist candidates -- the former prime ministers Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, the office of the Paris prosecutor told AFP.

It had already opened a probe into a disinformation campaign against left-wing politician Raphael Glucksmann who has yet to formally declare but is widely expected to stand.

The fabricated content appeared on X in posts impersonating legitimate French media outlets and falsely claimed that Attal had Parkinson's disease and that Philippe had contracted an illness.

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Glucksmann was meanwhile targeted through false information about his partner, the star news anchor Lea Salame who presents the main evening news programme on France 2 TV.

A security source, asking not to be named, said these operations have remained low-profile for now. But they are the first since the start of the campaign to directly target contenders for the Elysee.

The move by prosecutors "demonstrates that judicial authorities are taking seriously the gravity of these digital interference tactics and the need to protect the integrity of the democratic debate they seek to distort," Attal's legal team said Tuesday.

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"It is fundamental to state this simple fact: we cannot allow Vladimir Putin's Russia to manipulate the 2027 presidential election -- an election that is existential for the French people," said Glucksmann.

France's Viginum watchdog attributed the campaign targeting Attal with a "high degree of confidence" to the pro-Russian "Matryoshka" network.

A security source said another Russian-linked propaganda network, Storm-1516, was behind the campaigns targeting Glucksmann and Philippe.

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Here is the study in English: Russian Voice in the Chinese Information Space: The Case of Poland (pdf)

Here is the study in Polish: Rosyjski głos za Wielkim Murem: współpraca rosyjsko-chińska na przykładzie narracji dotyczących Polski (pdf)

Russian propaganda and disinformation content is part of the Chinese information message. Some of them reach Chinese audiences as direct translations of Russian materials, while others are taken over and amplified by local channels, an investigation by the Disinformation Analysis Centre at the National Research Institute of Poland (NASK) finds.

Russian and Chinese disinformation campaigns "are united by a broader, anti-Western narrative that serves the interests of both Moscow and Beijing," the report says.

Focusing on narratives related to Poland, NASK finds that the Russian message does not appear in the Chinese infosphere by accident. The report identified hundreds of Chinese materials concerning Poland that literally reproduced Russian propaganda and disinformation.

In China's tightly controlled information space, such content can function because it is consistent with the broader narrative of the authorities in Beijing. Russia and China have their own interests, but in this case they share a common denominator – an anti-Western message – says Patrycja Krzyśpiak, author of the report and expert at the NASK Disinformation Analysis Centre.

In the analysed materials, the experts identified four main narratives concerning Poland. They portray our country as pursuing a confrontational and aggressive foreign policy and striving for militarisation in the face of war in Europe. At the same time, NATO is blamed for conflicts and tensions, and the European Union is portrayed as politically and socially unstable. The most prominent message was about Poland's allegedly aggressive foreign policy, often combined with an anti-NATO narrative and accusations of Poles being Russophobic.

Almost 1,000 materials and eight months of monitoring

For eight months – from 7 January to 31 August 2025 – NASK experts monitored more than 25 Chinese media channels, including Xinhua, CCTV, Baidu, Sina and Weibo. They identified 966 materials concerning Poland that contained content identical or almost identical to Russian propaganda and disinformation. The largest number, 523, appeared on Weibo, and 255 on the Sina platform. Patrycja Krzyśpiak, the author of the study, points out that the actual scale of the phenomenon may be much larger. The scope of the study was affected by both limited access to the Chinese Internet and the lack of transparent data on published content.

The report shows that Russian narratives are not only replicated in the Chinese infosphere – they are part of a broader anti-Western message and are used to achieve Beijing's own information goals. It is also worth noting China's growing technological capabilities in conducting influence operations, which are being carried out in Poland, among other places.

The author of the report indicates that the response to these threats should be not only fact-checking and refuting false and manipulative messages, but also media education, increasing the awareness of recipients and closer cooperation between experts dealing with foreign manipulation and interference in the information environment.

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Examples of Russian narratives in the Sinosphere

• “Poland adopts confrontational and aggressive foreign policy"

The dominant Poland-related narrative in the Sinosphere, which is fully consistent with Russian propaganda, is that of Poland’s alleged confrontational and aggressive foreign policy. It is often combined with an anti-NATO narrative and a narrative of alleged russophobia among Poles ...

In Chinese social media ... propaganda and disinformation materials primarily emphasize Poland’s aggressive stance toward neighboring countries and Russia – often with identical messages also directed at the Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia). They are cited as warmongers, and in Poland’s case, quasi-historical materials are also published to prove its aggressive stance toward neighboring countries ...

• “NATO is to blame for the unrest in Eastern Europe and other conflicts”

The narrative of Poland’s alleged confrontational and aggressive foreign policy is closely linked to a broader anti-NATO messaging. The starting point for this narrative is the factually incorrect assumption, intensively promoted by Russia and China, that NATO, under the leadership of the United States, is responsible for the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

Undermining the position and capabilities of the Transatlantic Alliance is one of the Kremlin’s overarching propaganda narratives, which also has a strong presence in the Sinosphere. China actively seeks to create a new world order based on organizations subordinate to itself, as evidenced by initiatives such as BRICS, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. This is directly related to competition with the United States in the technological and military arenas ...

• “Poland is pursuing militarisation as the war threat looms over Europe”

The narrative of the imminent threat of a full-scale war in Europe is persistent in the Chinese information space. It aligns with Russian propaganda, which aims to incite fear of conflict – intended to radicalize anti-war, anti-Ukrainian ... sentiments, and is visible, among others, in some far-right circles, which advocate for improved relations with Russia.

Part of this narrative is the message of Poland’s accelerating and irrational militarization. The Polish government’s plans to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP are portrayed as a push for confrontation and a path to war from which there is no return. Chinese media meticulously report on European countries’ efforts to improve the continent’s defense capabilities, portraying them as excessive “militarization." ...

• “European Union is politically and socially unstable”

Another narrative in which the Chinese message fully aligns with Russian propaganda is that of Europe’s political, economic, social, and cultural collapse. Its core revolves around anti-EU messages, which in most cases are identical to Russian propaganda and disinformation content that penetrates the European information sphere through radical, far-right channels, those sympathizing with conspiracy theories, or those identifying as anti-establishment ...

Issues of migration and civil liberties are an integral part of anti-EU narrative. As in the Russian media environment, the Sinosphere spreads a message that migrants are responsible for Europe’s social and economic problems. This narrative is strongly linked to the promotion of xenophobic and racist messages, as well as those targeting LGBTQ+ issues, which both Russian and Chinese propaganda present as one of the reasons for the alleged fall of Europe ...

The Chinese information space is characterized by a lack of in-depth discussion of political pluralism, typical of authoritarian countries. Democratic processes such as presidential or parliamentary elections are generally discussed in a rather circumspect manner, and official announcements generally present only an ideological outline of the main parties or candidates. Social media is increasingly featuring materials related to this topic, but they also tend to focus on presenting the possibility of “choice” as synonymous with chaos and instability.

This does not mean, however, that China doesn’t attempt to exploit the image of specific parties or politicians to bolster its own propaganda narrrative. Here, too, there is a clear overlap in content with the Russian message.

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A common and potentially dangerous misconception is that anything created and published in Chinese media support only the Chinese Communist Party's domestic interests and poses no information risks in other regions of the world ... It is important to note that Chinese government-controlled media is active in almost every region of the world, including in European countries. They have editions in various languages, aiming to reach the widest possible audience.

In Poland, China Media Group's media channels, CGTN, and Chinese Radio International (CRI), are active and publish in Polish, employing both Polish-speaking Chinese and Poles [in the linked study also shows a diagram and explains what it's called the 'information laundering' process by the Chinese government and the Russia].

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Paywall? https://www.removepaywall.com/search?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thetimes.com%2Fus%2Famerican-politics%2Farticle%2Fuk-tariff-100-percent-us-trump-jamieson-greer-tc2r8mn56

The Smederevo steelworks was once considered the "pride of Serbia." But since being acquired by China, one study is reporting a fourfold increase in cancer diagnoses around Serbia.

Berlin’s backing for Israel in the current context has irrevocably ruined Germany’s international standing.

At the same time, as a result of Germany’s neoliberal restructuring, processes of de-democratisation have been ongoing for years.

The deliberate erosion of democracy has paved the way not only for the selective application of international law, but also for the restriction of fundamental rights within Germany itself.

The German population is firmly against their country’s participation in the extermination of the Palestinian people. In a recent poll, 73 percent said they had a negative view of Israel, while 80 percent have rejected further weapons exports to Israel. Despite this, German arms export licenses to Israel have surged, enabling the state to continue committing war crimes.

While the German government’s blatant disregard for the will of its own people already points to a process of de-democratisation, this is exacerbated by domestic restrictions on fundamental rights, including freedom of assembly, freedom of opinion and speech, and academic freedom, alongside violations of due process - all in the service of the Zionist slaughterers.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10779182

Binance last year handed Russian authorities details of cryptocurrency donations to Ukrainian fundraising campaigns that were used as evidence to bring terrorism financing charges against a Russian IT specialist, law enforcement documents show.

While it is normal for companies like Binance to comply when law enforcement agencies in countries where they operate make legitimate requests to see client information, the world's largest crypto exchange said in 2023 it had fully exited Russia.

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Many Russian citizens have in the past few years used such exchanges to support causes that Moscow subsequently labelled extremist or terrorist. Several dozen people who made ​such donations have been prosecuted and convicted in Russia, rights activists who track the cases said.

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Russia's Investigative Committee, which handles serious criminal cases, alleged in October that IT specialist Yuri Belenkiy, who was detained in ‌September 2025, sent more than $700 to the Ukrainian military and an associated group, known at different times as the Azov Brigade and the Azov Regiment, which Moscow designates as a terrorist organisation.

Binance was under no obligation to provide the data, having quit Russia, and may in fact have had an obligation not to provide it under European Union data protection law, said Mike Bystrov, founder of law firm Stellar Consulting that advises on crypto regulation.

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The documents seen by ⁠Reuters only relate to Belenkiy's case, and Reuters could not determine if any other people who made donations via crypto have been drawn into the Russian law enforcement investigation, or if Binance had identified other users to Russian law enforcement.

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The First Corps Azov of the Ukrainian National Guard said it does not ​disclose donors' names.

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Reuters previously reported that Binance's regional boss had in 2021 met officials from Russia's financial monitoring agency who wanted help identifying customers who made bitcoin donations to Alexei Navalny.

At the time, Binance told Reuters it had never been contacted by Russian Authorities regarding the anti-Kremlin campaigner, who died ​in an Arctic penal colony in 2024.

In the wake of Russia's February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Western sanctions imposed on Moscow in response, Binance said it was selling its entire Russian business.

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The documents seen by Reuters show Russian law enforcement officials sent a request to Binance for Belenkiy's transaction history, and Binance responded by sending details showing crypto transfers to the Ukrainian organisations.

Details of Belenkiy's transactions via Binance were incorporated as evidence in the case against him, one document showed. An interim outline of the case sent to the offices of ​the Russian prosecutor-general cites the transactions as grounds for the terrorism financing charges.

Binance declined to comment on details of Belenkiy's case.

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After the Russian investigators sought Binance's cooperation, they received two replies from an email address case@binanceholdings./ru, the documents show. Reuters found a post on Binance's website advising Russian and Belarusian law enforcement agencies to use this address to contact the company.

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Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume. It was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao in China.

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